Robert “Roddy” Jones grew up on the outskirts of Raleigh, the son of a family of builders. His great uncle, James A. Davidson, started building homes in Raleigh in 1918, and his father, Seby B. Jones, founded the Davidson and Jones Construction Company in 1934. Rather than his father’s alma mater, N. C. State, Jones enrolled at East Carolina College. At ECC, Jones played a major role in bringing fraternities and sororities to campus. Jones joined Kappa Sigma Nu and graduated with a degree in geography in 1958.
Upon graduation, Jones returned to Raleigh and became an apprentice carpenter in Davidson and Jones. After his father was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Jones took leadership in the company. At Davidson and Jones, he led a number of its major projects including the development of Crabtree Valley Mall, Imperial Center, Cary Towne Center, and the American Airlines terminal at Raleigh-Durham Airport.
In 1972, Jones was appointed to the ECU Board of Trustees. He served as its chairman from 1973 until 1975. During those years, Jones was a strong advocate for East Carolina in its drive for a medical school, despite the Board of Governors’ position that trustees from member schools should remain neutral on the subject. In 1975, Jones was not reappointed to the ECU board. The president Dr. Leo Jenkins was outraged by the decision, but Jones did not protest. After Jim Hunt’s election as governor in 1976, Jones became Hunt’s first appointment to the UNC Board of Governors. He served on the UNC Board of Governors for eighteen years. In 1988, Jones was elected chairman, becoming the first non-UNC-Chapel Hill alum to serve as in that capacity.
In 1977, Jones led the fundraising drive for the expansion of Ficklen Stadium, resulting in an increased seating capacity of 35,000. In 1983, Governor Hunt appointed Jones to the Order of the Longleaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest honor. Jones is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors for ECU’s Medical and Health Sciences Foundation. Several grants and scholarships honor Jones’ service to ECU, including the annual Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professorship in the School of Music.
Sources
- Bratton, Mary Jo Jackson. East Carolina: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
- Records of Leo W. Jenkins’ Tenure. UA02-06. University Archives, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
- Records of the Board of Trustees. UA01. University Archives, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
- Tuttle, Steve. “His Firm Foundation,” East, Fall 2008.
Additional Related Material
Citation Information
Title: Robert L. Jones
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 7/1/2019