Joshua Cline has been named the executive director of advancement at Concord University, beginning his eighth year of higher education administration. A self-proclaimed lover of Appalachia and native of southwest Virginia and Southern West Virginia, he grew up in Tazewell, VA, where he graduated from Tazewell High School in 2005. A graduate of Bluefield University, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 2009 and has completed graduate course work in the Master of Public Administration program at Marshall University.
Prior to his service at Concord University, Cline was the vice president for institutional advancement and marketing at Bluefield University from 2019 until 2024. During his tenure he oversaw the successful completion of the university’s Centennial Campaign, raising over $25 million, managed the institution’s crisis management team dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside facilitating the University’s branding and enrollment marketing initiatives. He previously served the institution as the director of alumni relations and annual fund giving from 2009 to 2013.
Departing higher education for leadership roles in local government and non-profits, he worked as the assistant city manager for the City of Bluefield, West Virginia from 2013-2017. The author and manager of the city’s Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program application, he also established the municipality’s land reuse agency, facilitated economic development plans and new initiatives for the municipality, spearheaded comprehensive plan development, managed grants and gifts, acted as the communications officer, and handled needs of the general population and local businesses. In 2015, at the age of 28, he was awarded the 40 Under 40 designation for innovative and transformational young leaders in West Virginia by The State Journal.
In 2017, he transitioned to the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce as its president and the Princeton-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce as its interim president. There, he facilitated the merger of the two local organizations into the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias, a regional chamber with greater influence in Virginia and West Virginia. There he authored new by-laws, board governance documents, employee handbooks and other pertinent documents for the new organization. He also actively served in state organizations leading the development of chamber executives and staffs across Virginia and West Virginia during this time.
A longtime Rotarian, service above self is an important part of his life. Within the field of higher education, he served as a member of the Bluefield University Board of Trustees and executive committee as chair of the Committee on Trustees. Additional committee work includes service on the Faculty and Curriculum Committee and Student Development Committee. Working to further the development of the region, he currently sits on the WVU-Princeton Community Hospital Board, WV Read Aloud – Mercer County Board, City of Bluefield, West Virginia Planning Commission, Development Authority of Mercer County (Mercer County EDA) Board and is a trustee of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Previously, he volunteered with a number of community organizations, including the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau as a past chairman, Bluefield University’s New Opportunity School for Women as an instructor, the United Way of Southern West Virginia as a board member, Visit Southern West Virginia as a board member, the Bluefield University Alumni Association and Bluefield YoungLife. He resides in Bluefield and is married to Dr. Peyton Morhous Cline, a local pharmacist. They have two children, Crawford and Chandler, and a cocker spaniel, Freddie Pepper.
