PROVOST'S OFFICE

Biography

As Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Clements is Towson University's chief academic officer, overseeing a division of approximately 800 full-time faculty, 600 part-time faculty, and 300 administrators and staff. He provides leadership in educational and curriculum development to Towson's eight colleges, including the Colleges of Business and Economics, Education, Fine Arts and Communication, Health Professions, Liberal Arts, Science and Mathematics, Graduate Studies and Research and Honors. The University offers a wide array of academic programs, from baccalaureate to doctoral degree programs, including 66 undergraduate majors and 46 graduate majors. The university has more than 21,000 students, including 17,272 undergraduate students and 3,839 graduate students. In addition to its large on-campus student body, the University has extensive enrollment in online programs and at satellite locations.

Dr. Clements is responsible for the Division of Academic Affairs' annual budget of approximately $180 million which funds academic programs, classrooms and labs, research, and outreach partnerships. He is responsible for Institutional Research, developing information for institutional planning and management, and the Office of Assessment, to assure that performance meets expectations for student learning. Dr. Clements brings extensive project management experience to his position, and he is also responsible for overall management of the University's strategic plan, "Towson University 2010: Mapping the Future." As Provost, Dr. Clements has successfully initiated numerous academic, student development, and community programs and partnerships that have benefited the campus and the region. He serves on the Governor's Task Force to address the statewide teacher shortage and the Governor's Task Force created to recruit and retain more women and minorities into information technology.
 

Prior to his appointment as Provost, Dr. Clements served as the Vice President for Economic & Community Outreach (DECO), a division created in 2004 to further the President's vision of Towson University as the Metropolitan University in Maryland. Dr. Clements had responsibility to develop, staff, build and secure funding for the division. As Vice President for DECO, Dr. Clements managed a staff of approximately 150 employees and lead the effort to secure more than $50 million in grants, contracts, gifts, and other external funding in four years. The Division oversaw numerous local, state and federal partnerships with organizations such as the National Security Agency, the Coalition of Urban & Metropolitan Universities, and Building STEPS. Under his leadership, the university became a National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance, a U.S. Department of Commerce EDA University Center, and an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Other successful outreach initiatives developed and launched under Dr. Clements’ leadership were TowsonGlobal, the Center for Homeland Security, the Edward V. Badolato Distinguished Speaker Series, the Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum, the Maryland Alliance for Information Security Assurance, and the Towson University Executive Club.
 

Dr. Clements has been a faculty member at Towson University since 1989. He began as a visiting assistant professor, progressed to assistant professor and received early promotion to associate professor with tenure in 1995. From 1997 to 1999, he served as the Chairperson for the Department of Computer & Information Sciences. In the year 2000, he earned early promotion to full professor. In recognition of his accomplishments, in 2002 he was named the Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor of Information Technology.
 

While serving as a faculty member, Dr. Clements chaired and/or served on various departmental, college, and university committees, including the assessment, curriculum, promotion and tenure, scheduling, and numerous faculty search committees. He also created the Center for Applied Information Technology (CAIT) and served as its Executive Director. In 2001, he served as Chairperson of the Search Committee for Vice President for University Advancement and as Chairperson of the Presidential Search Committee in 2002. When the presidential search was completed, he was selected to assume responsibilities as Co-Director of the President’s Transition Team and then Co-Director of the university strategic planning process.
 

Dr. Clements' diverse accomplishments have been recognized within, and beyond, the university. He has published and presented more than 70 papers on management, information systems, and technology. The 4th Edition of his popular project management book is currently used in more than 20 countries and published in four languages. An exceptional professor, he was the recipient of the Spirit of the University Award in 2003 and has been honored with several outstanding teaching awards given by students at the university. While serving as a faculty member, he also helped to secure several million dollars in grants from organizations including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the State of Maryland. He has served as a consultant to numerous business and industry groups during the past 20 years and currently serves on several Boards in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Dr. Clements has a M.S. and a Ph.D. in operations analysis from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, a M.S. in computer science from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.S. in computer science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.