Clayton Hess

E. Clayton Hess (PhD), LMU President, is the Chief Executive Officer of LMU with responsibility for general supervision over all academic and non-academic areas within the University. Dr. Hess earned a bachelor of arts in history (1981) and two masters degrees from LMU, one in counseling (1987) and the other in curriculum and instruction (2006), and a PhD in human services counseling from Walden University (1998).

Dr. Hess began his career at LMU in 1981, shortly after graduation, as assistant director of admissions, director of testing, and director of career planning and placement. He was named director of institutional advancement in 1996 and director of institutional research, effectiveness and accreditation in 1998. In 2008, he was promoted to assistant vice president for academic affairs for planning and accreditation and was named vice president for academic affairs (VPAA) in 2010. In 2015, he was named provost and served as provost and VPAA until July 1, 2017, when he became LMU’s 21st president.

Dr. Hess was the founding chair of LMU’s Institutional Effectiveness Committee. He coordinated LMU’s strategic planning and institutional effectiveness processes for more than 10 years and has chaired the University’s general education committee. Dr. Hess has guided LMU’s growth at all levels, chairing committees responsible for substantive change proposals to initiate new extended learning sites offering associate, baccalaureate, post-baccalaureate, graduate and professional degree programs. He chaired the committee responsible for degree level accreditation change from Level IV to V to pave the way for LMU-DCOM and from Level V to VI for subsequent professional programs including the doctor of jurisprudence (JD), the doctorate in education (EdD), and doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM).

Dr. Hess was a member of the 2016-2017 SACSCOC Principles Review Committee, charged with reviewing and recommending changes to SACSCOC accreditation standards and processes. He has presented numerous sessions and talks at professional association meetings. He has also served on American Bar Association (ABA) Sabbatical Site Teams.