Ray Jones, clinical associate professor at the Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration, has been appointed as the new director of the David Berg Center for Leadership and Ethics.

He replaces Audrey Murrell, who was named acting dean of the Pitt Honors College earlier this summer. Murrell will continue her work with the Berg Center as a senior research fellow. 

The center, which was established in 1999, is dedicated to developing academic and experience-based learning programs throughout the business school.

Jones came to Pitt in 1992 as a graduate student, started teaching in 1996, and became a full-time faculty member in 2001. He has played a major role within the Berg Center and assisted in the design and development of CBA’s Certificate Program in Leadership and Ethics. He also has been named “Pitt’s Top Professor” 11 times by students.

“Audrey and I have been working together since I was a graduate student,” Jones said in a news release. “She has always built and maintained strong partnerships in the community and within the University. At the Berg Center, we’ve been able to continue these partnerships with people who ‘have skin in the game’ — those who we can depend on to get in front of students, staff, and the community to get into real issues facing ethics and leadership today.”

He is especially excited about a continuing partnership with Professor Jocelyn Carlin and the Carnegie Library on an Income Tax Assistance Program at the library’s Oakland location. The program was developed for Pitt business students interested in accounting to get real-world experience through volunteering their time and skillset to help senior citizens and individuals who fall under a certain income threshold. In 2020, the Berg Center will be working to expand the program by adding more volunteer days and more tax services.

“I’ve spent so many years studying as a student and teaching as a faculty member, it’s amazing to be working hands-on with a center that focuses so much on meaningful service to the school and community,” Jones said.