Jones Recognized for a Career of Service
Professor Robert Emmett Jones earned the Outstanding Service Award from the College of Arts and Sciences. Jones is a pioneer in our environmental sociology concentration, as only the second faculty member in that area. In this role, Jones was a crucial leader in designing that concentration, building the curriculum and attracting undergraduate and graduate students alike.
Jones’s pioneering research in human dimensions of ecosystem management, in environmental values and public opinion, and sustainable rural and urban community development influenced the curriculum and energized too many students to count. Yet, Jones’s curricular contributions extend well beyond building his field. He has been a key actor in integrating the Sociology Department’s four concentration areas not just as individual pillars contributing to a robust academic program, but particularly as they provide essential knowledge needed for the pursuit of social justice-oriented scholarship.
Jones has long contributed to the Rural Sociological Society and the Society of Human Ecology. Perhaps most notably, he served as a charter member and organizer of the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management. Jones has played multiple roles in this professional association, from student awards chair, to working on the steering committee and the recruitment committee. The organization’s mission is to build and develop the subfield of environmental sociology as well as promote and engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts to advance societal understanding of the socio-ecological dimensions of environmental degradation and environmental injustice.
Jones has also been a valued reviewer for the National Science Foundation, the US Forest Service, the US Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and dozens of scholarly journals. It is important to note that this groundbreaking research is all in service to entities that are attempting to remediate environmental damage through humane public policy. Wherever UT has innovated in environmental protection and sustainability, Jones has played a key role.