James P. Clements

James Patrick Clements (born March 11, 1964) is an American academic administrator who served as the 15th president of Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. He assumed office on December 31, 2013, after serving as the president of West Virginia University for five years and as the provost and vice president of academic affairs for Towson University.

Early life Clements is a graduate of Randallstown High School in Randallstown, Maryland. He earned a B.S. in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1985 and an M.S. in computer science from Johns Hopkins University 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. From 2004 to 2007, he was the university's vice president for economic and community outreach.

President of Clemson University Clements became the 15th president of Clemson University on December 31, 2013. He also served as chair of the American Council on Education (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 has written a book, Successful Project Management.

Personal life Clements married his wife, Elisabeth Smith Clements, on December 29, 1990. Dr. Clements and Beth have four children. 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.