Former Speaker, Ambassador Wilkins Named Clemson University Board Chairman

July 20, 2009

CLEMSON, SC – July 20, 2009 –  Longtime South Carolina legislator and former U.S. Ambassador to Canada David H. Wilkins was unanimously elected chairman of the Clemson University board of trustees Friday, July 17, beginning a two-year term. He has served on the board since 2007.

“I am humbled and honored to be elected chairman and am grateful to my fellow board members for their trust and support.  Clemson University has been an important part of my life for a very long time,” he said. “I look forward to working closely with the board and the administration to make sure Clemson serves the future as well as it has served the past.”

Wilkins is a partner at the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and chairs the Public Policy and International Law practice group.

He was appointed by President George W. Bush to become the 21st U.S. Ambassador to Canada, serving in that capacity from June 2005 to January 2009. During his tenure, he helped resolve many high-profile issues between the two nations, including a decades-old softwood lumber trade dispute and is credited with strengthening the relationship between the United States and Canada.

Prior to his appointment as ambassador, Wilkins practiced law for 34 years in Greenville.

He was elected to the S.C. House of Representatives in 1980 and served for 25 years. He was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and was speaker pro tem before being elected speaker of the House in 1994, a position he held for 11 years making him the third longest-serving speaker in the state’s history. In 2001, he served as president of the National Speakers Association. Wilkins, appointed by President Bush, served on the Board at West Point from 2002 to 2005. He also served in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserves.

A native of Greenville, Wilkins attended Clemson University on a full athletic scholarship and served as captain of the tennis team. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Clemson in 1968 and his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1971.

He previously served on Clemson’s Board of Visitors and received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2003.

He and his wife of 37 years, Susan, reside in Greenville and have two sons and two grandchildren.