Clemson University’s College of Science has named Daniel Whitehead as the chair of its Department of Chemistry, effective January 1, 2026.
“Innovative, strategic and thoughtful, Dan leads by example through his sustained excellence in scientific discovery, learning and engagement. He has significant leadership experience at the department and college levels, is a graduate of the President’s Leadership Institute, and is a trusted campus partner,” said Cynthia Young, dean of the College of Science. “I look forward to his leadership as we accelerate science and elevate Clemson.”
Whitehead is an organic chemist.
His bio-organic chemistry lab leverages collaborations across campus, the country and the globe to tackle difficult problems spanning the development of new organic chemistry reactions, the discovery of new drugs for chronic diseases driven by parasites and bacteria, and functional nanomaterials for environmental and biomedical applications.
His research has been funded by several federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations and industry, including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, the South Carolina Research Authority and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He holds three patents.
In 2019, Whitehead received the Fred D. Bisplinghoff Research Innovation Award “for consistently developing novel and visionary research projects for the benefit of the rendering industry at the Clemson Animal Co-Products Research and Education Center” and in 2025 was selected as a Dean’s Professor.
As an educator, he has mentored 59 undergraduate researchers, more than 40 of whom co-authored peer-reviewed publications. He has mentored 22 current or former graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.
“My biggest accomplishment at Clemson is the legacy of the students who’ve come through my group and been able to earn their degrees, whether that’s undergraduate researchers or graduate researchers, and moved on to good careers.”
Daniel Whitehead
Whitehead joined the Clemson faculty in 2011. He has served as the department’s undergraduate program coordinator since 2017 and co-associate chair since 2023. He also served on the Faculty Senate and chaired the College of Science curriculum committee from 2018 to 2025.
Whitehead graduated from the President’s Leadership Institute in 2024. He also participated in the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Academic Leadership Training Workshop at Johns Hopkins University.
Focus areas
As department chair, he said he will have three main focus areas: modernizing the department’s curricula for both graduate and undergraduate students to ensure alumni are competitive for today’s job market, capitalizing on the entrepreneurial mindset of faculty to marshal industry partners and philanthropic support for the department and identifying strategic research and academic areas in which the department can grow.
Several of the department’s faculty members and all of its organic teaching labs are moving into Clemson’s new Advanced Materials Innovation Complex (AMIC), freeing up space in Hunter Hall.
“One priority I have as chair is leading the development of a clear plan for how we’re going to utilize new space and reimagine existing space, and what areas of research we want to expand into as we hire new faculty members,” he said.
Given the current funding climate, Whitehead said it’s important that the target areas are primed for success from a variety of different funding agencies.
Best asset
“The best asset we have in the chemistry department is the people that I have the privilege of working with every day,” he said. “We have a wonderful combination of senior faculty who’ve been contributing at a very high level for a long time, and we’ve got this new cohort of junior faculty who are excelling in the early stages of their careers. We have excellent teaching faculty and an exceptionally dedicated staff. So, together, we have a strong trajectory for the future of our department.”
Whitehead replaces William Pennington as chair. Pennington has led the department since 2017 and is an Alumni Distinguished Professor.
“I would like to thank Bill for his steady leadership of the department which continues to significantly contribute to Clemson’s research, education and outreach missions and look forward to supporting him as he gives renewed focus to his research and student mentoring,” Young said.
Prior to his arrival at Clemson, Whitehead was a postdoctoral fellow at North Carolina State University. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Furman University before receiving his doctorate from Michigan State University.
