Clemson University’s Robert Jones, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, announced on Thursday that he will retire later this year.

Provost Jones has been with Clemson for 10 years, since September 2014. He will stay active in his role until the University finds a successor.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as the provost at my alma mater,” Jones said in a published press release. “While I will soon end my service as Provost, I will continue to watch closely the extraordinary achievements (at Clemson University) yet to come.”

Throughout Jones’ time as the University’s leader of academics, he has seen growth in enrollment, graduation rates, average standardized test scores, research funding, expenditures and more. Jones has also seen the establishment of several new programs and colleges, specifically the recent College of Veterinary Medicine — South Carolina’s only one.

Clemson University President Jim Clements is especially “grateful” to Jones for his care of students and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Clemson News. Clements described Jones as an “amazing and brilliant scholar and leader.”

Clements also noted that Jones’ work with Clemson’s “storied” Experimental Forest will both “protect” and “preserve” the forest in the future.

“I will miss working with my dear friend and colleague,” Clements said.

Jones graduated from Clemson University in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in forest management, and again in 1981 with a master’s degree in forestry. Prior to joining Clemson as his current position, Jones was a dean at West Virginia University for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and a department head and professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech.

The University immediately began a national search for the next provost after Jones’ announcement. Updates will be provided as the process continues.