Biography:Christopher Clemens

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| module = Scientific careerFieldsPhysics
AstronomyInstitutionsIowa State University (1994–1996)
California Institute of Technology (1996–1998)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1998–ThesisThe Origin and Evolution of the White Dwarf Stars (1994)Doctoral advisorEd Nather
Don WingetDoctoral studentsMercedes López-Morales }} James Christopher "Chris" Clemens (born 1963) is an American astrophysicist and academic administrator. He is the Jaroslav Folda Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Clemens works on astronomical instrumentation, white dwarf stars, and exoplanetary debris. Clemens was Provost of UNC-Chapel Hill from 10 December 2021 to 16 May 2025. He stepped down as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost on May 16, 2025.[1] In September 2025, Clemens filed a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its Board of Trustees alleging violations of North Carolina’s Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law. The complaint asserted that the Board held closed-session discussions on matters such as tenure and athletics in violation of state transparency rules.[2]

Education and career

Clemens studied astrophysics at the University of Oklahoma and was the 1995 recipient of the Carl Albert Award from the College of Arts and Sciences.[3] He received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. His dissertation "The Origin and Evolution of the White Dwarf Stars" was selected by the Council of Graduate Schools for the 1995 distinguished dissertation award in math, physical sciences, and engineering.[4] He was awarded a 1993 NASA Hubble postdoctoral fellowship and conducted research at Iowa State University before joining California Institute of Technology as a Sherman Fairchild Postdoctoral Fellow from 1996–98.[5][6]

Research and teaching

Clemens' research interests include astronomical instrumentation and the study of pulsating white dwarf stars.[7] In the early 2000s, he led the research team that designed and built the Goodman Spectrograph at the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR).[8] He teaches undergraduate astronomy and graduate stellar astrophysics as well as courses in the history of science.[9] As part of UNC's "Difficult Dialogues" initiative, in 2007 he developed a cluster course at the intersection of science and religion called the "Medieval Foundations of Modern Cosmology."[10] A Roman Catholic, he speaks frequently on the compatibility of science and religion, arguing that "science as we know and practice it is a product of a Western Christian culture."[11][12]

In 2017 Clemens used his astronomical experience to design the Baldachin in the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina.[13] Clemens created a design that depicts the night sky as it appeared on Easter Sunday in the year 33, the likely date of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Using astronomy to study time has been a theme of Clemens' instruction at the University of North Carolina.[14]

Work at UNC Chapel Hill

At UNC, Clemens has served as chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Senior Associate Dean of Natural Sciences, Senior Associate Dean of Research and Innovation, founding director of the Institute for Convergent Science and founding director of the Program for Public Discourse.[15][16]

Sponsorship of Student Organizations

Clemens has served as faculty sponsor for several UNC student organizations, some of them controversial, adhering to the AAUP's Joint Statement on the Rights and Freedoms of Students principle that "institutional recognition should not be withheld or withdrawn solely because of the inability of a student organization to secure an adviser."[17] He and other faculty sponsored UNC College Republicans and Carolina Review.[18]

Program for Public Discourse

Clemens helped establish and served as inaugural faculty director of the controversial Program for Public Discourse (initially called the Program in Civic Virtue and Civil Discourse), which was the precursor to the conservative School of Civic Life and Leadership.[5][19] The program has been described as having a "conservative bent" with ties to the Dowd Foundation and other conservative academic centers such as the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, directed by Robert P. George and School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, directed by Paul O. Carrese.[20] The program is held in high regard by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.[21]

Tenure as Provost

Clemens was appointed to the position of Provost in December 2021 in a move described as "shrouded in secrecy" by WUNC North Carolina Public Radio.[5][22][23] In his term as Provost, UNC has launched two new schools, the School of Data Science and Society[24] and the School of Civic Life and Leadership.[25] He has been an advocate for academic freedom and freedom of the intellect, and has hosted conservative-leaning climate change skeptics, Steve Koonin and Roger Pielke, Jr., in a Steamboat Institute sponsored debate.[26] In May 2024 it was revealed that the business school had secretly recorded a professor.[27] As of July 2024, Clemens has said he will work with faculty to develop a "transparent policy for the use of video cameras in classrooms."[28] He stepped down in May 2025.[29]

Lawsuit and aftermath

In September 2025, Clemens filed a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its Board of Trustees alleging that university leadership violated North Carolina’s Open Meetings Law and Public Records Law by holding closed-session deliberations on tenure and other policy matters. UNC disputed the allegations, releasing communications it said showed compliance with state law.[30] The case remains pending in Wake County Superior Court as of November 2025.[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Trustees' texts released amid lawsuit, UNC says they prove Chris Clemens". The Daily Tar Heel. November 7, 2025. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/university-bot-clemens-lawsuit-update-texts-released-20251107. 
  2. ↑ "Former Provost Accuses UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Violating State Law". Inside Higher Ed. September 24, 2025. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/trustees-regents/2025/09/24/former-provost-accuses-unc-chapel-hill-board-violating-state-law. 
  3. ↑ Jain, Gil (Winter 1995). "A Most Auspicious Occasion". Sooner Magazine: pp. 17–21. https://journals.shareok.org/soonermagazine/article/view/11247. 
  4. ↑ "Spotlight on Research" (in en). https://about.proquest.com/en/dissertations/spotlight/dissertations-archive/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Murphy, Kate (9 December 2021). "UNC-Chapel Hill picks campus professor to lead its academic strategy as new provost". https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article256194462.html. 
  6. ↑ "2017 and Prior Fellows" (in en). https://www.stsci.edu/stsci-research/fellowships/nasa-hubble-fellowship-program/2017-and-prior-fellows#section-5c76fe00-774b-4e30-8f92-a321436ed646. 
  7. ↑ "Provost Christopher Clemens". https://provost.unc.edu/about-the-office/executive-vice-chancellor-provost/. 
  8. ↑ Clemens, J. Christopher; Crain, J. Adam; Anderson, Robert (2004-09-30). "The Goodman spectrograph". Proc. SPIE. Ground-based Instrumentation for Astronomy (USA) 5492: 331. doi:10.1117/12.550069. https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/redirect/proceedings/proceeding?doi=10.1117/12.550069. 
  9. ↑ "'Unlikely' subject pairings lead to deep learning at Carolina" (in en-US). https://www.unc.edu/discover/unlikely-subject-pairings-lead-to-deep-learning-at-carolina/. 
  10. ↑ "J. Christopher Clemens | Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies". https://mems.unc.edu/faculty/j-christopher-clemens/. 
  11. ↑ Newman Community (2023-02-08). "Compatibility of Faith and Science" - Speaker: Dr. Chris Clemens. Retrieved 2024-09-10 – via YouTube.
  12. ↑ Clemens, Chris (2013-02-01). "Notes, presentation at Faith & Science Meeting, University of North Carolina". https://beaconsonthehill.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Singing-to-God_Hank_ds_2rmt.pdf. 
  13. ↑ "UNC astronomer helps cathedral plot Easter morning stars" (in en). 2017-07-26. https://www.wral.com/story/unc-astronomer-helps-cathedral-plot-easter-morning-stars/16838305/. 
  14. ↑ "'Unlikely' subject pairings lead to deep learning at Carolina" (in en-US). 2025-02-22. https://www.unc.edu/discover/unlikely-subject-pairings-lead-to-deep-learning-at-carolina/. 
  15. ↑ Stewart, Melissa (2018-10-01). "Institute for Convergent Science will speed process from discovery to impact" (in en-US). https://magazine.college.unc.edu/the-scoop/convergent-science-2/. 
  16. ↑ Hall, Grace (2022-06-13). "The Public Discourse Program at UNC-Chapel Hill: Expanding Students' Minds" (in en-US). https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2022/06/the-public-discourse-program-at-unc-chapel-hill-expanding-students-minds/. 
  17. ↑ "Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students" (in en). 2006-07-26. https://www.aaup.org/report/joint-statement-rights-and-freedoms-students. 
  18. ↑ Killian, Joe (2021-12-10). "UNC Board of Trustees approves "outspoken conservative" voice as new provost" (in en-US). https://ncnewsline.com/2021/12/10/unc-board-of-trustees-approves-outspoken-conservative-voice-as-new-provost/. 
  19. ↑ "2019.07.02 Smith Response". August 19, 2019. https://archive.org/details/2019.07.02smithresponse/page/n7/mode/2up. 
  20. ↑ Maruf, Ramishah (2019-09-15). "The Program for Public Discourse's seed money donor was the Dowd Foundation, director said" (in en-US). https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/09/discourse-program-donor0915. 
  21. ↑ "Oases of Excellence" (in en-US). https://www.goacta.org/initiatives/oases-of-excellence/. 
  22. ↑ "UNC-Chapel Hill announces new provost, amid concerns of closed-door dealings". December 10, 2021. https://www.wunc.org/education/2021-12-10/unc-chapel-hill-announces-new-provost-amid-concerns-of-closed-door-dealings. 
  23. ↑ "UNC Board of Trustees approves "outspoken conservative" voice as new provost". https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/unc-board-of-trustees-choose-outspoken-conservative-voice-as-new-provost/. 
  24. ↑ "School of Data Science and Society launches" (in en-US). https://www.unc.edu/discover/school-of-data-science-and-society-launches/. 
  25. ↑ Robinson, Jenna A. (2024-04-08). "UNC's School of Civic Life and Leadership Is Up and Running" (in en-US). https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2024/04/uncs-school-of-civic-life-and-leadership-is-up-and-running/. 
  26. ↑ "Energy Debate: Is 'Net Zero by 2050' Achievable? – University Research Week". https://researchweek.unc.edu/events/debate-on-nuclear-energy-with-dr-steven-e-koonin/. 
  27. ↑ Knox, Liam. "UNC Fires Professor They Secretly Recorded" (in en). https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2024/06/17/unc-dismisses-professor-after-secretly-recording. 
  28. ↑ Martin, Emmy (2024-07-16). "UNC to create campus-wide policy about recording classes after faculty pressure". https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article289972099.html. 
  29. ↑ Hamzik, Tommy (2025-04-03). "Message about Provost and Chief Academic Officer Chris Clemens" (in en-US). https://www.unc.edu/posts/2025/04/03/message-about-provost-and-chief-academic-officer-chris-clemens/. 
  30. ↑ "Trustees' texts released amid lawsuit, UNC says they prove Chris Clemens". The Daily Tar Heel. November 7, 2025. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/university-bot-clemens-lawsuit-update-texts-released-20251107. 
  31. ↑ "UNC-Chapel Hill Board Hides Information From the Public, Says Former Provost in Lawsuit". The Chronicle of Higher Education. September 25, 2025. https://www.chronicle.com/article/unc-chapel-hill-board-hides-information-from-the-public-says-former-provost-in-lawsuit. 



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