Stephen Jones (BJU)

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Dr. Stephen Jones

Stephen Benjamin Jones (b. December 30, 1969), president, Bob Jones University. Born on the University campus, he attended Bob Jones Elementary School and graduated from Bob Jones Academy. In 1992 he received a bachelor's degree in public speaking from BJU and in 1996, a Master of Divinity. On the day he became University president in 2005, Jones also received a Ph.D. in Liberal Arts Studies from BJU. Jones' wife, Erin Rodman Jones, who is the Director of the BJU Museum & Gallery, is also a BJU graduate. They have three children.

Before becoming president, Jones served BJU as a teaching assistant, a residence hall supervisor, and the vice president for administration. Stephen Jones is the son of Bob Jones III, the grandson of Bob Jones, Jr., and the great-grandson of Bob Jones Sr, the university's founder. His older brother, Bob Jones IV, is a free lance writer.

Jones underwent a brief period of rebellion against his heritage and his parents' religious standards during his freshman year of high school, hardly more than a few hidden rock recordings about which he quickly confessed to his father. "I thought he'd fly off the handle, but he didn't," Jones said. "Dad was very straightforward, but very forgiving and very supportive." The worst part was having others on campus learn about the demerits he received for the incident. "I was always the good boy, and it hurt when it came out."^[1]

Stephen Jones serves on the board of trustees of Bob Jones University and on the board of directors of Evangelism Foundation, Inc., and the Gospel Fellowship Association. He speaks regularly at fundamentalist churches and schools throughout the country and, when in Greenville, to the assembled students and faculty during the University's chapel hour. Early in his administration BJU was granted full accreditation by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools.

When, in 2005, he was asked by Newsweek if he wished to play a political role as had his predecessors at BJU, Jones replied, "It would not be my choice." Further, when asked if he felt ideologically closer to his father's engagement with politics or to other evangelicals who have tried to avoid civic involvement, he answered, "The gospel is for individuals. The main message we have is to individuals. We’re not here to save the culture."^[2] In a 2005 Washington Post interview, Jones dodged political questions and even admitted that he was embarrassed by "some of the more vitriolic comments" made by his predecessors. "I don't want to get specific," he said, "But there were things said back then that I wouldn't say today."^[3]