The search committee has been appointed by Clemson University President Jim Clements to begin the process of identifying a successor for Provost Robert H. (Bob) Jones who announced his forthcoming retirement. After 11 years as serving as Clemson’s Provost, Jones will continue through Fall 2025 as needed to assist with the transition.
“I am grateful to each of the accomplished members of this committee for their commitment to assist in the search for our next chief academic officer. And, I am also thankful that Provost Jones will remain at Clemson through the Fall semester to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our Tigers and position our incoming chief academic officer for success,” said President Jim Clements. “Through the search committee’s input and guidance, I am confident we will identify our next provost who will continue to elevate the academic enterprise even further.”
After consultation with the faculty senate and in accordance with the Faculty Manual, President Clements has named 10 faculty members, three staff members and two (to be announced) students to the committee.
Chairing the Provost Search Committee is Windsor Westbrook Sherrill, Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Public Health Sciences and Associate Vice President for Health Research.
Search Committee Members
Windsor Westbrook Sherrill – Search Committee Chair – College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences
Sherrill served as chief science officer for Prisma Health for 10 years from 2014 to 2024. A Class of ’39 Award for Excellence recipient and SC Liberty Fellow, Sherrill’s research initiatives and collaborations garnered more than $19 million in external funding and have been published in journals such as Academic Medicine, Medical Education and the Journal of Health Administration Education. Sherrill served as the Faculty Representative to Clemson’s University Board of Trustees and continues to serve on the board of the SC Institute of Medicine and Public Health.
William C. Bridges, Jr. – College of Science
Bridges is the 2023 recipient of the Class of ’39 Award for Excellence. An alumni distinguished professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Bridges has been a Clemson faculty member for nearly 30 years. Bridges has served on over 300 graduate student advisory committees, as a graduate student advisor, and provided expert guidance to students from diverse disciplines as the ultimate “go-to” source for statistical expertise at Clemson University. His awards include selection as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and Fellow in the Institute for Global Road Safety and Security.
Anne Grant – University Libraries
Grant has been with Clemson Libraries for more than 21 years. During that time, she has held a number of leadership roles, both at the University level and within the Libraries. She chaired the University Assessment Committee and the Train the Trainer Campus Group and has served on many other boards and committees, including the University Grievance Board, the University Graduate Academic Integrity Committee, the Clemson Online Faculty Advisory Board and the Academic Technology Council. For the Libraries, she co-chaired the Library Flexwork Ad Hoc Committee and the Mold Mitigation Task Force, and chaired the Library Faculty Reappointment Committee, the Library Curriculum Committee and several other committees and groups. In addition to her job as a research librarian, Grant also serves as instruction coordinator, managing the libraries’ instruction program for both graduate and undergraduate students.
Matt Hersel – Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
An associate professor, Powers Fellow in the Department of Management and president of the Powers College of Business Faculty Advisory Council, Hersel was awarded the Powers College of Business Emerging Scholar Research Excellence Award and was a nominee for Clemson University Junior Researcher of the Year. His research has investigated stakeholder-focused management and leadership through ethical transgressions.
Carter McElveen – Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
McElveen is a principal lecturer of Marketing in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business and serves as the operations director of the J. Daniel and Nancy Garrison Sales Innovation Program. After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Clemson University in 2003, she began her sales career at Eli Lilly and Company. She received her Master of Business Administration degree in 2010 from the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business. McElveen spent eight years in sales before returning to Clemson to teach in 2011. McElveen was named an Alumni Master Teacher in 2016. Currently, she advises the Blue Key Honor Society and is a Delta Sigma Pi Faculty Initiate.
Brian Powell – College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
Powell holds the Fjeld Professorship in Nuclear Environmental Engineering and Science and is jointly appointed in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. He is also a joint appointee at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to build research collaborations between Clemson and SRNL. His recent research has earned more than $22M in funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Nuclear Security Agency. A Class of ’39 award recipient and Senior Researcher of the Year, Powell is the Faculty Representative to Clemson’s Board of Trustees.
Amanda Rumsey – College of Education
Rumsey is an assistant professor in the College of Education and her work focuses on children and adolescents, trauma, and school counseling, with emphasis on training needs and skill acquisition in the areas of suicide intervention, addictions, trauma, and multiculturalism. She is a nationally certified counselor (NCC), a licensed professional counselor (LPC), and certified school counselor and an active member of several professional organizations including the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES) the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC), the American School Counselor Association, and the Palmetto State School Counseling Association (PSSCA).
Vivek Sharma – College of Architecture, Art and Construction
Sharma is an assistant professor in CAAC and recently led the team of Clemson construction science and management majors to first place in the Associated Builders and Contractors 2024 Construction Management Competition. Sharma’s research centers holistically explore the impact of early programmatic and design decisions on facilities and patient outcomes. Sharma helped develop and implement an external Healthcare Benchmarking Program for the healthcare construction industry and Construction Industry Institute (CII) funded by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) / Military Health System (MHS).
Rhondda Thomas – College of Arts and Humanities
A Class of ’39 award winner and past Researcher of the Year, Thomas is the Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature teaching, researching and writing about early African American literature in the Department of English. She received a Fresh Voices in the Humanities award from South Carolina Humanities in 2022. She serves as the coordinator of research and community engagement for Clemson University’s African American Burial Ground, Andrew P. Calhoun Family Plot and Woodland Cemetery Historic Preservation Project, chair of the Advisory Committee for Clemson’s Memorial for Black Laborers project, and as a member on the South Carolina State Board of Review for the National Register of Historic Places.
Sarah White – College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
White is the University’s incoming Faculty Senate president, a professor of water quality and treatment and a nursery extension specialist. White and her laboratory work to evaluate the use of plant and bio-based treatment technologies to manage nutrient pesticide, and plant pests carried in irrigation water. From 2014 to 2019 she led a national team of researchers from 10 universities that received $8.2 million in funding from USDA-Specialty Crops Research Initiative. She serves as a consulting editor and reviewer for multiple journals and was a member of the University’s Vice President for Research Faculty Advisory Board.
Jeff Anthony – Staff Senate President
Anthony is occupational safety manager in the Office of Occupational and Environmental Safety and is the 2024-25 Staff Senate President. He is an Air Force veteran and member of the Army National Guard.
Rick Petillo – Executive Leadership Team
Petillo serves as the vice president for Finance and chief financial officer at Clemson University, playing a pivotal role in the institution’s financial management and strategic direction. A member of the University’s Executive Leadership Team, Petillo is responsible for oversight and stewardship for all financial aspects of the University, ensuring the institution’s fiscal well-being and long-term sustainability.
Lisa Knox – Executive Leadership Team
Knox is an Associate Vice President and Executive Director for Institutional Excellence, as well as deputy athletics director and chief of staff in the athletics department. The office of institutional excellence leads the execution of the University’s strategic plan Clemson Elevate, working collaboratively with the office of academic affairs and finance and operations through strategic alignment, operational excellence and operational resilience.