“What’s Next?”: Dr. Jason Craig
Photo provided by Rampage student photographer Savannah Thompson
Dr. Jason Craig began serving as Bluefield University’s newest provost on July 7, 2026. Dr. Craig brings experience in a myriad of areas including physical therapy, along with years of background in higher education as a student, professor, and senior academic leader. Since beginning at Bluefield University, Dr. Craig has brought new ideas and helped spur progress at our very own “lighthouse on the hill.”
Dr. Craig, who originally is from America, grew up and received his education in Northern Ireland. After earning his bachelor’s in physical therapy, he went straight to earning his research-based PhD through the same university, the University of Ulster. After around four and a half years of research, Dr. Craig earned his PhD and began teaching at his alma mater.
“There wasn’t a lot of funding for the PhD research,” Dr. Craig said. “So it was like, okay, how do I fund myself? Because I was licensed to practice [physical therapy], what I ended up doing was working every afternoon in a different facility.”
Those were busy years for Dr. Craig.
“Every afternoon for about a year,” Dr. Craig said, “I . . . had a sandwich in the car, drove to a clinic, worked in a clinic, and then went home. I did three clinics in the evening. So I had eight locations I worked at during the week, Monday through Saturday, and then I researched during the day.”
He then gradually transitioned to doing more teaching work with the university, eventually joining the full-time faculty of the University of Ulster. After teaching for four years, Craig and his wife moved to America. They took a leave of absence for their respective workplaces so as to not leave Northern Ireland entirely, should things go differently than anticipated. Dr. Craig even went so far as to make the move back a secret even from his parents, along with his search for a job stateside.
“When we came, I said, ‘Okay, we’re going to come for a month,'” Dr. Craig said. “Didn’t tell them I was coming for an interview. No way I was telling my mother that beforehand, because that was just going to be messy.”
Dr. Craig even used a Walmart pit stop to keep up his ruse.
“I put my suit in a duffel bag, put it in the back of the car, drove to Walmart, and got changed in Walmart into my suit and tie, and then drove for my interview and then changed back before we got back to my parents’ house, so they had no idea,” Dr. Craig said.
As God’s providence prevailed, Dr. Craig received the job he interviewed for and joined the administration team at Marymount University, where he held a position for 26 years. During this time, Dr. Craig kept practicing physical therapy with sports teams, going on cross-country trips and sometimes even going so far as to travel continents.
“All of my work was with athletic teams, so it wasn’t just a set 9 to 5 in a clinic,” Dr. Craig said. “A lot of times it was evenings. A lot of times it was weekends. I traveled a lot, saw a lot of the world traveling with teams.”
It was during these years of heavy traveling that Dr. Craig and particularly his wife started to consider staying stationary for a while, which is where Bluefield University places its bookmark into the many chaptered lives of the Craigs.
Dr. Craig searched for institutions on the East Coast to transition his talents to and found Bluefield University. He started the application process, which led to a Teams interview while he was in Guatemala practicing physical therapy. Just as in his first stateside interview, his wardrobe posed a problem.
“I had 24 PT students out there on a study abroad service trip and did my first interview with the university here right before my day in the clinic, so I had my scrubs on,” Dr. Craig said. “I didn’t even have a tie with me.”
Nevertheless, Dr. Craig secured the provost position with Bluefield University and immediately started lending his many talents to BU, including his ability to practice physical therapy.
“It’s one of those things that once you’re licensed, you can kind of jump in and help out wherever. So even when I got here, I helped the athletic training guys with some physicals and stuff,” Dr. Craig explained. “Once you’re licensed to practice and you maintain that, then you can kind of do it anywhere you are.”
Dr. Craig has also settled into his primary role as a provost and enjoyed the slower pace of life that Bluefield, both university and city, can bring to its residents.
“The pace of life . . . I’m just enjoying it. I’m loving just being able to breathe a little bit, just to be able to relax a little bit,” Dr. Craig said.
Dr. Craig is excited to bring new ideas and ways to transition into the new age of learning at Bluefield University.
“I’ve always kind of been involved in that [innovation],” Dr. Craig said. “What’s the advancement? Where are we going? What’s next? What’s next? What’s next? So to come into this position, having done that for almost 30 years now, and . . . [ask] would this work? Would that work? What about this? That’s kind of been exciting for me to come in and to be able to work with folks that way.”
The Bluefield University Rams wish Dr. Craig the very best in his time here on campus.