Just days after Kevin Guskiewicz announced his decision to remain at Michigan State, the Clemson board of trustees has chosen a new candidate for the University’s next president.

The Clemson BOT met on Thursday morning and selected University of Georgia provost Benjamin Ayers as the University’s 16th president. Ayers has served as provost of UGA since 2025, and previously served as the dean of UGA’s Terry College of Business.

The decision comes after the BOT opted to identify an alternative candidate from the existing pool from the search that originally selected Guskiewicz, rather than restarting the search.

Chair Kim Wilkerson said that there had been continued interest in the role over the past several days. Trustee Cheri Phyfer specifically recognized deans Anand Gramopadhye and Cynthia Young, who had previously been identified as two internal candidates in the search.

Following the nomination of Ayers on Thursday morning, the compensation committee reviewed the terms of Ayers’ contract, which is for five years with a base compensation of $1 million. $668,468 will be paid for by the Clemson University Foundation, and the foundation’s compensation can increase by $50,000 per year with positive performance reviews.

The contract also includes an incentive compensation package, with $225,000 per year available for annual goals and metrics, paid for by the foundation.

Ayers will officially begin his tenure as the University’s next president on Aug. 1.

This is a developing story. The Tiger will update this article with more information as it becomes available.