November 2021 Group Watch: Jo Bonnor Named President of University of South Alabama
Jo Bonner, the former Alabama congressman who more recently has served as chief of staff to Governor Kay Ivey, will be the fourth president to lead the University of South Alabama. The Board of Trustees voted 11-2 in favor of Bonner’s selection at a special meeting. Bonner has decades of service to the state of Alabama in governmental and educational capacities. He was elected to congress in 2002, where he served on the influential House Appropriations Committee. From 2013-2018 Bonner served as vice chancellor for economic development at the University of Alabama System. During his final year with the university, he also served as interim director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority. He assumed the role of chief of staff for the Ivey administration in 2019. According to the University of South Alabama, the board will formally introduce Bonner as president at its next regular board meeting on December 2.
