After 12 years at helm, Clemson president Jim Clements to step down By Anna B. Mitchell Dec 9, 2025 Updated 23 hrs ago CLEMSON — In a surprise announcement, Clemson University President Jim Clements — leader of the school for 12 years — said he will retire Dec. 31.
His departure caps a fraught year for the university, marked by federal funding cuts, national headlines — and a lawsuit — over the firing of two professors, and a real estate scandal that has prompted questions over political influence and conflict of interest.
The Clemson Board of Trustees called an emergency meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 10, to choose an interim president.
Clements sent a letter to students, faculty and parents on Dec. 9 announcing his decision. Board Chair Kim Wilkerson also shared a letter, in which she said the recommendation would be to have Bob Jones fill in as interim president, postponing his retirement as provost.
In her letter, Wilkerson praised Clements and said the board would celebrate his accomplishments at its Wednesday meeting.
“For the past 12 years, he has led Clemson University with vision, energy and an unwavering commitment to excellence,” Wilkerson wrote. “His extraordinary leadership not only advanced our academic reputation but also strengthened our sense of Clemson community and pride.”
Under Clements, Clemson has pushed its endowment past $1 billion, hit record levels of student enrollment and set in motion the creation of a $289 million veterinarian school, the state’s first.
Clemson posted news of its president’s departure on its Facebook page at 2 p.m. Dec. 9.
A spokesman for the school told the newspaper that Clements said he is leaving to focus on his health and his family.
“After much consideration and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to step aside and allow the University to begin its next chapter,” Clements said in a prepared statement, adding that serving as Clemson’s president “has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Clements’ decision to step down comes after a tough 2025 for the university.
Its football team has underperformed, ending with a 7-5 record after starting the season with a No. 4 ranking.
Clemson also had to freeze spending this year to maintain its bond rating, all while recovering from major cuts to its federal research funding — to the tune of $58 million.
The university drew national headlines in September after Clements chose to fire two assistant professors for remarks they posted online about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Clements faced immense political and fundraising pressures to remove the professors, The Post and Courier reported.
The firings prompted broad pushback from faculty, citing concerns over eroding academic freedom on campus, possible violations of First Amendment protections for speech the faculty made on private social media accounts and a possible breach of the Clemson faculty handbook. One of the assistant professors has since sued.
The latest problem Clements has faced is fallout from the “Newry Project,” a planned 5,200-unit development on 600 acres of rural land in Oconee County several miles from Clemson. Early ideations of the project included a satellite campus for the university in addition to commercial and residential construction.
Clements and Clemson trustee Nikki Haley both served as board members of a firm, United Housing Group, that has ties to the development group involved with the Newry project. Oconee County leaders have publicly called out the pair with suggestions that their connections with the university and UHG created a conflict of interest as pressure for Clemson to grow mounts.
Both have denied any involvement in the deal.
Clements and Haley resigned from UHG on Oct. 20.
Clements’ departure comes just over a year after trustees voted to extend his contract through 2029.
That deal, reached in October 2024, gave him a total annual compensation package worth $1.5 million, with the university providing his $331,532 base salary, according to the university. Clements also received a one-time retention incentive in 2024 of $100,000.
Career highlights Here are some highlights of Clements’ tenure at the helm:
Dec. 31, 2013: Clements’ first day as president. He had led West Virginia University for five years before that.
Sept. 22, 2014: Student Tucker Hipps dies after falling into Hartwell Lake during an early-morning run with his fraternity brothers. Clements suspends fraternity activities and leads a campus vigil for the student two days later.
Jan. 10, 2017: Clemson University defeats Alabama for the 2016 college football national championship in Tampa. They would do it again two years later.
2020: Clemson enrollment continues to grow despite the coronavirus pandemic and a general decline among universities nationwide
October 2021: Under Clements’ fundraising leadership, Clemson University’s endowment surpasses $1 billion for the first time.
2023: With a $103 million boost from the state of South Carolina, Clemson University moves forward with construction of the state’s first veterinarian school.
October 2024: University trustees extend Clements’ contract through 2029, with a pay package valued at $1.5 million a year.
Sept 2025: Facing immense political and financial pressure, Clements fires two assistant professors over their’ online commentary about Charlie Kirk, a conservative commentator gunned down six days earlier.
Dec. 9, 2025: After 12 years at the helm, Clements announces he is stepping down as Clemson’s president effective Dec. 31.
| 
