BLACKSBURG, Va. — Ed Jones was sure that he’d be a researcher after he finished his Ph.D. in wildlife biology at Virginia Tech. He was studying tularemia, an infectious disease that can spread from rabbits to humans, and he thought he’d spend his scientific career bouncing between the mountains and a laboratory.
But one day, he was asked to write a publication on tularemia for Virginia Cooperative Extension, which provided science-based information for people across the state on the challenges of the disease and how they could mitigate it.
That led to a meeting with land managers, where people’s eagerness to learn and collaborate to solve problems struck Jones. In graduate school, Jones helped out a summer camp Extension put on with the Virginia Wildlife Federation, and he assisted 4-H Congress. Something about the connections, and the partnerships and the realness of directly working with communities took hold.
“There was a lot of collaboration between people, which opened up doors to programs I couldn’t do before,” said Jones, whose towering 6-foot-2-inch frame is belied by his quick, disarming laugh. “I began to understand that my calling was to help other people. I could have been a decent teacher, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to be with people and help them.”
And so, for the next 38 years, that is exactly what he did.
As he rose through the ranks of Cooperative Extension in Mississippi, North Carolina, and, finally, Virginia, Jones never lost sight of his mission to help the communities he served by empowering people, stewarding resources, and shaping futures.
“There is a genuineness that comes through, whether he’s talking with someone from the White House or a local constituent,” said Marshall Stewart, the chief engagement officer for the University of Missouri System and the vice chancellor of Extension and engagement at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has known Jones for decades. “People just believe in Ed Jones. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t feel an affinity for him. He’s just a remarkable leader.”
After 11 years as director of Virginia Cooperative Extension — a tenure among the most impactful in the organization’s more than 100-year history — Jones, 68, is retiring to spend time with his wife, five kids, eight grandkids, and a fleet of canoes that have been out of the water for far too long.
Mike Gutter, currently a professor, specialist, and associate dean of Extension at the University of Florida, was recently named the new director of Virginia Cooperative Extension and will start Nov. 1.
Jones’ is a legacy that not only bolsters Virginia Tech’s reputation, but also helps cement the value and impact Extension has on land-grant institutions and communities across America.
“Ed is leaving a big gap, not just for Virginia, but for the country,” Stewart said.
He saw value in our partnerships and what we could accomplish together,” Ray McKinnie said.
That relationship and desire to collaborate not only helped improve programs, marshal resources, and create more innovative and effective ways to educate the public, but it also helped during difficult times.
In 2020, when the dialogue around race relations was a national issue, Jones, whose son is a white police officer, and McKinnie, who is Black, not only had a series of deeply personal conversations, they opened up the issue to all of Extension and encouraged everyone in the organization to take a hard look at their own biases and to talk with each other about the issues that linger around race relations in America.
One of the forums in which they had that conversation was during their ongoing “Ask Ed and Ray Anything,” sessions, where everyone is encouraged to submit anonymous questions and the two would answer anything. The events are held a few times a year as a way to connect with everyone in a large organization.
Jones never faltered during the sessions, even as hundreds of people tuned in and asked hard questions of their leader about a range of topics on hiring, raises, COVID-19, and more. But they always thanked Jones for his candor.
“To have that willingness to hear what the field has to say, good, bad, or ugly and to open yourself up like that on the spot demonstrates your confidence in your abilities as a leader,” said Lonnie Johnson, who oversees the 107 local Extension offices as associate director for field operations.
“He had the courage to stand up for what is right”
Jones’ impact has reached far beyond the borders of Virginia. Over the last decade, he worked on a national scale to ensure that the entire Cooperative Extension system will continue to make a lasting impact on America for generations to come.
He’s been a member of the Leadership Advisory Council of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, a member of the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees, chair of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy 4-H Leadership Committee, and chair of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.
His service was recognized with the Excellence in Leadership Award from the Association of Southern Region Extension Directors in 2020. Last year, he was given the Distinguished Service Ruby Award — the most prestigious level of recognition from Epsilon Sigma Phi, one of the oldest organizations of Extension professionals — for his outstanding leadership, innovative thinking, and sustained exceptional performance across his 37 years in Cooperative Extension.
These national connections often found him working alongside Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of the National 4-H Council, which is the largest youth development organization in the United States. While they worked together on expanding the reach of 4-H and how to make it a pipeline for talent, they also had some sensitive issues to tackle, such as 4-H’s policy on the inclusion of transgender youth.
“Ed is all about inclusion and he had the courage to stand up for what was right,” Sirangelo said. “He was the spokesperson for Extension’s values.”
After one long day of hard work, Sirangelo texted Jones to ask why he put so much effort and passion into his work. He responded with a photo of his grandchildren.
“He said he wanted the world they were growing up in to be a better place,” she said.
Jones, ever wanting to help out and lead, isn’t completely retiring after he leaves Extension. He’s going to work part-time with Sirangelo at 4-H to help put policies in place to help the next generation of America’s youth.
“He is driven by purpose and wants to continue to have that purpose,” Sirangelo said.
For Jones, that purpose was never about accolades and awards, but simply about making a positive change. His unique leadership style that mixed passion and kindness with wisdom and vision benefited not only the group that he led but people across Virginia and the U.S.
“I want to be remembered as someone who cared for the people in our organization who are making a difference for the people of the commonwealth,” he said.
He will be.
–Zeke Barlow, Virginia Tech