USF Mourns Loss of Civil Rights Leader Clarence B. Jones

Jones was the founding director emeritus of the Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice (INSJ) at USF, co-founding the center in 2018 to carry forward the teachings of Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi.

“A man who stood at the center of history, Clarence generously shared his wisdom, courage, and moral vision with our university community,” said President Salvador D. Aceves ’83, EdD ’95.

Jones began teaching at USF as a visiting professor in 2012, and his course, “From Slavery to Obama,” was memorable, one alumna said.

“I’ll be telling my grandkids about getting the opportunity to learn from him,” said Taylor Jackson ’14, who took Jones’ class her junior year — which was the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, which Jones helped organize.

Provost Eileen Fung said Jones wanted to found the INSJ at USF “because he believed deeply that universities have a moral obligation to prepare the next generation for the work of justice.”

In 2025, the inaugural Martin Luther King Jr./Clarence B. Jones Faculty Fellow was launched to ensure that Jones’ teachings, his strategies, and his spirit continue to shape the education USF offers.

“This is especially important at a moment when this work could not be more necessary,” Fung said, “as our university community, our city, our state, and our nation face challenges that are as unsettling as they are urgent. Dr. Jones' legacy lives on here at our university.”