By Lance Turner of the Arkansas Business Publishing Group
The University of Arkansas said Wednesday that Eli Jones, the dean of Louisiana State University’s E.J. Ourso College of Business, will become dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, effective July 1.
“I am pleased that Dean Jones will lead Walton College at this critical time,” Sharon L. Gaber, the university’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in a news release.
“We were looking for an established and effective leader to further advance Walton College’s national and global stature among the world’s leading business colleges. Dean Jones possesses the experience, business reputation and connections, and energy to continue Walton College’s extraordinary progress in the years to come.”Jones said he was pleased to be named college leader.
“I look forward to working with faculty, students and staff – as well as the vibrant corporate community in northwest Arkansas and throughout Arkansas – to continue the college’s legacy of excellence and achievement in research, teaching and service,” he said in a news release. “This college is well poised to move ahead further in national and international recognition.”
Jones will also hold the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair in Business in addition to his position as dean. Before coming to LSU, Jones was associate dean for executive education; executive director of the program for excellence in selling; the founding director of the Sales Excellence Institute and professor at the University of Houston. He holds a doctoral degree in marketing, a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in journalism all from Texas A&M University.
