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by WILL FOLKS
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Days after our media outlet excoriated his administration for its lack of transparency on a controversial land deal, Clemson University president James P. Clements has abruptly resigned his office.
“Serving Clemson University has been one of the greatest privileges of my life,” Clements wrote in an email to school faculty, staff and students. “I am deeply grateful for the trust and friendship you have shown me and my family over the years.”
Clements’ resignation will take effect on December 31, 2025, per his missive. Prior to sending the email, Clements reportedly relayed his intentions to the school’s thirteen-member board of trustees – which includes a majority comprised of seven unconstitutional lifetime appointees (including former S.C. governor Nikki Haley).
Clements, 61, of Arlington, Virginia, said in his email that he had been “reflecting over the past several months about our accomplishments and my time here as president.”
“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,” he wrote.
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“We are incredibly grateful for Jim’s extraordinary leadership and tireless dedication,” board of trustees chair Kim Wilkerson noted in a statement.
Wilkerson is one of the seven Clemson trustees currently serving a lifetime appointment direct in contradiction of Article XVII, Section 1.B. of the S.C. Constitution, which explicitly states that “no person shall be elected or appointed to office in this state for life.”
Nonetheless, she and her fellow lifetime appointees – including Haley – will have veto power in choosing Clements’ successor.
“President Clements has been more than a leader — he has been a mentor, a friend and an advocate for every member of the Clemson Family,” Wilkerson added in her statement. “While we will certainly miss his guidance and enthusiasm, we also deeply respect and understand his decision to focus on his priorities.”
According to Wilkerson, Clemson’s board will hold a special called teleconference this Wednesday (December 10, 2025) at 2:00 p.m. EDT to “honor Clements’ enduring legacy” and to “begin shaping Clemson’s next chapter,” which according to her will include the naming of “interim leadership” and the selection of a search committee to begin the process of identifying Clements’ replacement.
Clements has been under fire after his administration was caught lying about the school’s starring role in a controversial development deal in Oconee County. FITSNews has led media coverage of that deal – amplifying the investigative work of Oconee County Council chairman Matthew Durham.
Clemson initially (and inaccurately, it now appears) accused Durham of spreading “false information” about the school’s role in the proposed 5,200-home Newry Mill development. Specifically, school leaders accused Durham of “targeting” Clements and Haley with misinformation.
Undeterred, Durham continued to hammer the school with inconvenient truths about its proximity to the deal (see here and here).
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When the initial story about the development broke, both Clements and Haley were board members of United Homes Group (UHG) – a Columbia, S.C.-based conglomerate with ties to the Newry Mill development. Clements and Haley both resigned from UHG’s board on October 19, 2025 – part of a wave of resignations that tanked the company’s stock and raised fresh scrutiny on the ties between the developers and the university.
While Clements has now resigned his post at Clemson, Haley remains a member of the school’s board of trustees.
“Clements’ resignation is a significant development, but it absolutely cannot be the end of this story,” Durham told FITSNews. “For weeks, Clemson issued public denials, even publicly calling me a liar by name, that do not match their own internal emails.”
“The land transfers, LLC structures, board entanglements surrounding Clemson, and the FOIA records we’ve uncovered showing active coordination with United Homes Group, where President Clements and University Trustee Haley serve on the corporate board, raise serious conflict-of-interest concerns involving the university and the surrounding development,” Durham added. “Those questions haven’t been answered, they’ve multiplied.”
According to Durham, “the public deserves a full, independent investigation – and if any wrongdoing is discovered, there must be accountability.”
“Clements stepping down doesn’t close the book. If anything, it proves why there must be more sunlight on the university,” Durham concluded.
As we noted just this past week, Clements was already on thin ice with state lawmakers upset over Clemson’s worsening budgetary issues – and the school’s escalating wokeness.
FITSNews has repeatedly called for the privatization of South Carolina’s institutions of higher learning – arguing “no taxpayer funding should go to institutions of higher learning, either in the form of direct appropriations, loan guarantees or student loans.”
Higher education is not – and never has been – a core function of government (especially not the inefficient way it’s done in the Palmetto State). These institutions should be cut off from the public dole and set free to pursue their destinies in the private sector – allowing the market to dictate whether they sink or swim.
Just as we have chronicled every step of the latest Clemson scandals, count on FITSNews to keep our audience apprised as to any new developments related to its “next chapter…”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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9 comments
Fit’s investigate reporting brought this on.
No it didn’t. Read his articles carefully. He can’t really articulate what the complaint is here. Which means, as usual, someone paid for him to write these stories or he just made up some clickbait.
Clements was knee deep in the shady real estate deal, quite possibly the real reason for his departure
At long last Clemson has been caught without the ability to deny, obfuscate or blame someone else. The resignations of the board should be next.
You would almost be inclined to think that Mr. Kendrick may be representing some of those involved in the proposed land deal.
Nope. I just don’t swallow all the b.s. here like you do.
All of the above may, or may not, be true. However, one thing remains. Clemson 28, chickens 14. Deal with it!!
But at least the chickens were able to retain Beamer.
Wish somebody would clean up the flagship and get rid of the Pastides clone and his crime family in Osborne