L. Gregory Jones

President, Belmont University

L. Gregory Jones is the president of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he began service June 1, 2021. He also is the founder of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity and is the Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Distinguished Professor of Theology and Christian Ministry Emeritus at Duke University Divinity School.

Jones is dedicated to cultivating strategic and visionary leadership and innovation in partnership with individuals and institutions. His focus on leadership and innovation builds on his scholarly work in forgiveness and reconciliation as well as his years in leading Christian institutions.

He served Duke University as dean of the Divinity School from 1997 to 2010 and from 2018 to 2021. He founded Leadership Education in 2008 and directed its work until 2010 and continued as senior strategist until 2021.

In 2010, he began service as Duke’s chief international strategist to advance and coordinate the university’s global engagement. In 2016-17, Jones served as executive vice president and provost of Baylor University, helping lead the university through a year of challenges as well as several key leadership transitions.

He is the author or editor of numerous books, including “Christian Social Innovation,” the co-authored “Navigating the Future: Traditioned Innovation for Wilder Seas” (with Andrew P. Hogue, in 2021), “Forgiving As We've Been Forgiven: Community Practices for Making Peace” (with Celestin Musekura, in 2010), “Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry” (with Kevin R. Armstrong, in 2006) and the widely acclaimed “Embodying Forgiveness: A Theological Analysis” (1995).

Jones, an ordained United Methodist pastor, has published more than 200 articles in a variety of publications.