James P. Clements believes that great universities must operate on the principles of shared governance and community engagement in order to solve problems. Since becoming West Virginia University’s 23rd president on June 30, 2009, Dr. Clements has worked diligently to lay a foundation of cooperation for WVU, strengthening local and global partnerships that not only produce meaningful results for the University, but provide lasting benefits for all West Virginians.
Dr. Clements often says that no university in the country means as much to its state as WVU means to West Virginia. In order to fortify that relationship, he plans to continue positioning the University as a 21st century land-grant institution, providing innovative academic and wellness programs for students, technologically advanced research for use around the globe, and substantial service and health-care initiatives for the community.
To achieve that vision, Dr. Clements invited input on a strategic plan, a proposal that will provide direction for the next 10 years, and establishes the groundwork for the next 100. The responses to his “Share Your Vision” survey formed themes around seven key areas that impact the vitality and reputation of the University: academic and faculty excellence, research, undergraduate education, graduate education, state impact, health care, and multiculturalism and internationalization.
Dr. Clements has already announced several initiatives in support of the plan, including: creating a grants budget office to assist researchers; hiring 100 new faculty members to achieve goals directly related to WVU’s mission; building a new student health facility to increase wellness efforts; dedicating $1.5 million from capital funds to expand recreational space for students; and increasing research to position the University as a leader in fields such as energy, biometrics, and health sciences.
Additional priorities will be to continue offering world-class health care and to increase state outreach in the health sciences, to find more efficient and effective ways to use technology to drive progress, to increase the diversity of WVU’s learning community, and to develop an even broader global focus in preparing students for new international opportunities.
He also plans to focus on increasing student retention, increasing WVU’s doctoral program enrollment, enhancing leadership development, and increasing operating funds, among other goals.
Dr. Clements’ previous experience in higher education demonstrates his ability to help achieve these objectives, guiding WVU to continued stability, growth and prominence.
Before joining the Mountaineer family, Dr. Clements served as provost and vice president at Towson University, the second largest public university in Maryland. Under his leadership, Towson developed academic and student support programs that led to impressive increases in enrollment as well as retention and graduation rates. Towson’s externally-funded research increased by 36 percent during Dr. Clements’ tenure as provost.
Prior to becoming provost, he served as Towson University’s vice president for economic and community outreach and as the Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Computer & Information Sciences. He was a four-time recipient of Towson’s Faculty Member of the Year Award given by students at the University.
With a background in computer science, Dr. Clements also brings technological savvy to his role as president. He has a B.S. in computer science and an M.S. and Ph.D. in operations analysis from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), as well as an M.S. in computer science from Johns Hopkins University. His project management textbook, in its fourth edition, is used in more than 20 countries and is published in four languages.
In October 2009, he was named UMBC’s Alumnus of the Year in the Engineering and Information Technology category.
Dr. Clements chairs the boards of the WVU Research Corporation, the West Virginia United Health System, WVU Hospitals, and the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute Executive Advisory Board. He also serves as an ex-officio member of the WVU Foundation and WVU Alumni Association boards.
He is married to Beth Clements, and they have four children – Tyler, twin daughters Hannah and Maggie, and Grace.
