President Jo Bonner
Josiah (Jo) Robins Bonner, Jr. was selected the fourth president of the University of South Alabama in November 2021 with a commitment to establishing South as the Flagship of the Gulf Coast. Under his leadership, South has positioned itself as a top destination for a quality education and the region’s fastest-growing academic medical system.
Bonner regularly visits with students, teachers and college counselors throughout Alabama and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to tell South’s story. With a focus on engagement, he initiated Jag Days, bringing high school students to campus on Jaguar Athletics buses for spirited tours to see all South has to offer. His upbeat message builds on South’s journey of progress and renews its promise to students and their families: A degree from the University of South Alabama is a first-class ticket to a brighter future.
Under Bonner’s leadership, enrollment has grown for three straight years, with freshman classes up more than 30 percent during that time. Retention also has increased as more and more students have earned their degrees.
South’s Honors College has seen record enrollment, and in the last two years, the University has celebrated the recognition of six Goldwater Scholars — the second most in Alabama during that period.
With more students living on campus than ever before, the University is expanding housing options, including through the purchase of Traditions at South and Central House on Stadium Apartments, now SouthPaw Village. Other additions include the construction of the Geri and Gordon Moulton Jaguar Marching Band Complex and, in 2027, the new Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine building will open.
USA Health, the region’s only academic health system, has seen tremendous growth during Bonner’s presidency with the addition of Providence Hospital and its clinics. Enhancements also include an expanded and renovated pediatric emergency department at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital and the addition of the Kelly Butler ALS Center.
Today, USA Health operates more than 40 locations across the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The University has recorded four years of record fundraising under Bonner, and, in April 2026, he announced a $400 million Where Bold Begins comprehensive campaign to raise money for scholarships, faculty support, research, facilities and technology, and healthcare advancements.
Prior to arriving at the University, Bonner served as chief of staff to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. For more than a decade, he represented Alabama’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he earned a reputation as a respected and influential voice of reason in both Alabama and Washington.
He was a member of the House Appropriations Committee and chaired the House Ethics Committee. During Bonner’s time as chairman, the evenly divided Ethics Committee always had a unanimous vote.
Bonner is an inductee to the Alabama Academy of Honor, the state’s premiere recognition of 100 living Alabamians for their outstanding accomplishments and service. In 2016, the Business Council of Alabama created the inaugural Congressman Jo Bonner Spirit of Leadership Award and honored him as its first recipient. He also received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor the U.S. Navy bestows on a civilian, and has been named the 2023 Patriot of the Year by Mobile Bay Area Veterans Council.
President Bonner is married to the former Janée Lambert, of Mobile. They are the parents of two grown children: Lee Friedman, who lives in Mobile with her husband, Andrew, and their daughter, Louise, and Robins Bonner, who lives with his wife, Erin, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.