Dr. Michelle McKenney Jones is a creative human resources leader with more than 31 years of corporate experience. Her areas of human resources expertise include recruitment and selection, compensation, succession planning,  organizational development, personnel investigations, labor relations, salaried personnel administration, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to extensive HR experience, Dr. Jones has served as an adjunct instructor in public and private universities across Middle Tennessee. Previously taught undergraduate courses include: Diversity Management, Compensation and Benefits, Compensation Administration, Business Ethics, and Organizational Culture Development. Graduate-level courses include Foundations for Graduate Business Studies, Introduction to Graduate Studies, and Staffing and Development. Dr. Jones currently serves as a dissertation advisor for the DBA program at Trevecca Nazarene University.

In July 2024, Dr. Jones joined Massey College of Business as a Faculty Fellow in Management at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. As an academic, Dr. Jones aims to contribute mightily to the scholarship, spiritual development, and engagement of students by creating a classroom environment that builds character and equips students with compassion, courage, and leadership to make impactful changes in the world around them. She currently teaches management and graduate-level Human Resource Management courses. Dr. Jones’ research focuses on generational cohort analysis (specifically Gen Z), organizational wellness programs, employee engagement, and employee retention. Her dissertation topic was entitled A Correlational Study to Examine the Relationship Between Wellness Program Usage and Gen Z Engagement in the Workplace (Jones, 2022).

Dr. Jones recently joined Belmont’s Hope, Unity & Belonging (HUB) Advisory Council, and actively serves on the Massey College of Business Belonging and Wellbeing committee. Dr. Jones regularly conducts workshops and seminars for the public and private sector and serves as Chair of the Personnel Committee and Board Member of the Nashville Ballet. She is an active Business Partner at Glencliff High School (GHS) in Nashville, TN, where she serves on the Advisory Board and the GHS Scholarship Board, annually awarding more than $15,000 to graduating seniors. Dr. Jones is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, an Associate member of Jack & Jill of America, Inc., and has diligently served on the Deacon and Women’s Ministries at her church in Nashville, TN. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, ziplining, music festivals, reading, and spending quality time with family and friends. Dr. Jones is married with two daughters and currently resides in Nolensville, Tennessee.