President James F. Barker

Clemson University's 14th president, James F. Barker, is first and foremost an architect. He came to the office with a clear blueprint of Clemson's future in mind – to become one of the nation's top public universities. To achieve this vision, Barker led the development of 10-year goals and an action plan built around collaboration, focus, relevance and academic quality.

For his leadership, Barker has been honored with the Buck Mickel Award for Business and Community Leadership by the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the Anderson Independent-Mail's Pointing the Way Leadership Award, and the Order of the Palmetto – the state's highest civilian honor. He also was inducted into the Boys and Girls Clubs Hall of Fame.

Barker is a recipient of the National Distinguished Professor Award of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and served as president of that association. He was named Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and has also been a partner in an architectural practice.

As President, Barker remains committed to the classroom. Each spring, he is part of a team that teaches an undergraduate course exploring "a sense of place" in architecture, literature and history.

Barker, a native of Kingsport, Tennessee, earned his bachelor of architecture degree from Clemson in 1970 and his master of architecture and urban design degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1973. He and his wife, Marcia, have two sons, Britt and Jacob, and a daughter-in-law, Rita Bolt Barker.