James Patrick Clements (born March 11, 1964) is the 15th president of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

Clemson, South Carolina Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

. He assumed office on December 31, 2013, after being president of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

for five years. Prior to his presidency, he was the provost and vice president of academic affairs for

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

Early life

Clements is a graduate of Randallstown High School in

Randallstown, Maryland Randallstown is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-centu ...

. He earned a B.S. in computer science from the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

in 1985 and an M.S. in computer science from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1988. He then returned to UMBC where he earned an M.S. in 1991 and Ph.D. in 1993, both in operations analysis.

Career

Clements joined the faculty of Towson University in 1989, where he taught in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. He was department chair of the department from 1998 to 1999. In 2002, he was named the Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor of Information Technology. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the university's vice president for economic and community outreach. Clements then served as provost and vice president of academic affairs from 2007 to 2009.

President of West Virginia University

Clements served as president of

from 2009 to 2013. During his presidency, WVU set many records in private fundraising, research funding, applications and enrollment. WVU grew and developed under Clements through partnerships; he initiated nearly $1 billion worth of construction projects around campus. He raised $800 million during his time at WVU.

President of Clemson University

Clements became the 15th president of Clemson University on December 31, 2013. In addition to his responsibilities as president of the university, he holds a joint appointment as professor in the School of Computing and professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering. President Clements has helped to raise more than $1.5 billion in private funds at Clemson, a 80% increase in private fundraising since 2014. Under his tenure, Clemson has had the largest campus facilities development initiative in university history. In addition to his role as president, Clements served as chair of the board of directors for the

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member c ...

(APLU) in 2015. He also served as chair of the

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,600 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educati ...

(ACE) Commission on Leadership; co-chaired the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and served on the executive committee of the APLU's Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity. He also serves on the ACE board and the Executive Committee for both the Council on Competitiveness and the Board for the Business Higher Education Forum. Clements' book, ''Successful Project Management'', is now in its 7th edition and is published in multiple languages and used in numerous countries.

Personal life

Clements married his wife, Elisabeth Smith Clements, on December 29, 1990. Dr. Clements and Beth have four children. Their daughter Grace has

apraxia Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex or corpus callosum), which causes difficulty with motor planning to perform tasks or movements. The nature of the damage determines the di ...

, a neurological speech disorder. In 2010 Beth Clements’ parents, Clifton and Priscilla Smith, donated $25,000 to West Virginia University in their granddaughter's name for research, they established the Grace Clements Speech Pathology and Audiology Research Endowment. At Clemson, Beth is a member of the advisory board for ClemsonLIFE, a program designed to help young adults with special needs. In 2015, the Clemson Board of Visitors established the Grace Clements Scholarship Endowment to provide financial assistance to ClemsonLIFE students. Clements and Beth contributed $100,000 to the endowment named for their youngest daughter.

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