James P. Clements, Ph.D.
President, West Virginia University
Jim Clements is West Virginia University’s 23rd president. WVU is the flagship university of West Virginia, with an internationally diverse student body of more than 33,000 undergraduate and graduate students across approximately 200 degree programs in the University’s 13 constituent colleges, two divisional colleges, and multiple healthcare sites.
In addition, Dr. Clements chairs the boards of the WVU Research Corporation, the West Virginia United Health System, and the WVU Hospitals. In total, WVU and its affiliates represent a $2.3 billion enterprise and employ more than 18,000 people. WVU and its affiliates are currently undertaking more than $600 million of capital improvements.
Regionally, he is a board member of the National Energy Technology Laboratory Regional University Alliance. He is chair of the Implementation Committee of the Power of 32, a visioning initiative across 32 counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In the state, he recently co-chaired the WV Higher Education Policy Commission’s Diversity Initiative Council, currently co-chairs the WV Higher Education Policy Commission’s College Completion Task Force, as well as serves on the board of the West Virginia Business Roundtable.
On a national level, he is active with national higher education organizations such as the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and the American Council on Education (ACE). He is currently the co-chair of the APLU Energy Forum and has recently been appointed to the ACE Commission on Leadership. Clements was the only university president selected to join a 15-member Innovation Advisory Board to the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was also nominated and participated in the 81st Joint Civilian Orientation Conference through the U.S. Department of Defense.
Before coming to WVU, Dr. Clements served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Towson University, the second-largest public university in Maryland. 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 and Information Sciences.
Dr. Clements earned 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. The fourth edition of his project management textbook was published in four languages and used in multiple countries; the fifth edition was recently released.
At WVU, Dr. Clements is a tenured professor in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources’ Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.
He is married to Beth Clements, and they have four children – Tyler, twin daughters Hannah and Maggie, and Grace.
WVU’s First Family, standing from left: Jim, Beth and Tyler Clements. In rockers: Hannah and Maggie. Seated on lawn: Grace.
