On Thursday, November 2nd, Richard Jones is officially stepping into his role as Syracuse University’s Board of Trustees, a position he accepted back in May.

Richard “Rich” Jones serves as executive vice president, general tax counsel and chief veteran officer for Paramount Global, overseeing worldwide tax planning, structuring, treasury, strategy, operations, litigation and legislative matters for the company, along with all veteran-related initiatives and programming for Paramount. Jones was a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, where he served honorably as a member of the 10th Mountain Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment.

He earned a B.S. degree and an M.S. degree in accounting from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, with honors, and a J.D. from the College of Law, with honors. In addition, Jones holds a 1998 LL.M. degree from Boston University School of Law.

Jones describes himself as just a hard-working soldier who has never forgotten where he came from as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. “I still operate like the staff sergeant that I was: head on a swivel, always looking out 1,000 meters,” Jones says. “Our mission at Syracuse University is to provide a world-class education. What should distinguish our approach to serving student veterans? What Syracuse does, which is so unique, is to supplement the classroom instruction with community, support, mentoring and life-coaching and always providing the practical survival skills necessary to be successful in the civilian workplace and beyond.”

He is heavily involved in the OVMA and IVMF as well as supporting student veterans on campus. Last year, Jones was honored as the Hometown Hero and more recently he was also recognized as the Nation’s Finest 50 along with Vice Chancellor Dr. Mike Haynie.

We are honored to work so closely with Jones and know he will be an excellent addition to the Board of Trustees.