The John de la Howe Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Timothy R. Keown as the President of the John de la Howe - School for Agriculture. Keown will replace Interim President, Dr. Sharon Wall and will take office effective July 1, 2020.

“The entire John de la Howe Board is so excited that Timothy  Keown has accepted this leadership role,” said Hugh Bland, Chairman. “Tim is well-known and respected in our State’s agricultural community. His history of changing student’s lives is well documented and exactly what we were looking for. Our Board’s mission is to make JDLH a jewel of the Upstate that will provide our State’s number one industry with outstanding professionals with the skills needed in today’s modern precision agriculture,” said Bland.

Keown is a native of Iva, SC and has a ten-year-old daughter, Ellory Claire. He currently serves as the Director of the Education Center for John de la Howe – School for Agriculture. Keown is pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Clemson University, with an anticipated graduation date of December 2020. He earned a Master’s of Agricultural Education and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education from Clemson University in Clemson, SC.

He began his teaching career at Creek Bridge High School in Marion, SC, moving on to teach Agricultural Education at Crescent High School in Iva, SC. Keown then served as the Associate State Director of Agricultural Education at Clemson University for five years.

During his career, Keown has been named South Carolina’s Young Agricultural Education Teacher of the Year, Crescent High School’s Teacher of the Year, WYFF Channel 4 Golden Apple Teacher, three times named the SC Young Farmer, and Agribusiness Advisor of the Year, Anderson County’s Top Twenty Under Forty Class of 2015, and Clemson University’s Young Alumni of the Year for the College of Agriculture.

Keown also served as the advisor to two State Future Farmers of America (FFA) Officers and two National Young Farmer Presidents. His former students have won over forty State FFA Proficiency Awards, State Star Farmer Award, and multiple State Winning Career Development Events (CDE) teams.

“I am truly humbled, honored, and excited to have the opportunity to serve the great State of South Carolina in this endeavor,” said Keown. “The John de la Howe team has a huge challenge to create a special school for South Carolina’s agriculturally minded students, but we are ready. I am passionate about South Carolina, our agricultural industry, and our youth; all of those areas have merged together with this unique opportunity, and I am so thankful the Good Lord has allowed me the chance to lead this historic school.”