John Palms

{{Short description|Dutch academic administrator (born 1935)}} {{use mdy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Dr. John Michael Palms.jpg | title1 = 6th president of Georgia State University | term_start1 = 1989 | term_end1 = 1991 | predecessor1 = William M. Suttles | successor1 = Sherman Day | title = President of the University of South Carolina | term_start = 1991 | term_end = 2002 | predecessor = Arthur K. Smith (acting) | successor = Andrew A. Sorenson | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|6|6}} | birth_place = Rijswijk, Netherlands | alma_mater = The Citadel<br />Emory University<br />University of New Mexico }}

'''John Michael Palms''' (born June 6, 1935, in Rijswijk, Netherlands) is an American military officer, nuclear physicist and college professor who also served as president of the University of South Carolina and Georgia State University.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure.citadelalumni.org/dcal/detail.php?id=80|website=The Citadel Alumni Association|title=Dr. John M. Palms, 1958}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citadel.edu/root/ssm-csmc/91-academics/schools/ssm/22251-dr-john-michael-palms|title=Dr. John Michael Palms - The Citadel - Charleston, SC|first=Goulet|last=Rachel|website=The Citadel|access-date=September 15, 2014|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061936/http://www.citadel.edu/root/ssm-csmc/91-academics/schools/ssm/22251-dr-john-michael-palms|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/profile/john-palms/ |title=John Palms - Forbes |website=www.forbes.com |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140915183551/http://www.forbes.com/profile/john-palms/ |archive-date=15 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Early life and education == John Michael Palms was born on June 6, 1935, in Rijswijk, the Netherlands. His family moved to the United States during World War II, and permanently settled in 1951. Palms became a naturalized citizen in 1956. He attended The Citadel and graduated in 1958. Whilst in the United States Air Force, Palms earned a master's degree in physics from Emory University in 1959, and later a doctorate from the University of New Mexico.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Dr. John Michael Palms |url=https://www.citadel.edu/root/ssm-csmc/91-academics/schools/ssm/22251-dr-john-michael-palms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601235934/https://www.citadel.edu/root/ssm-csmc/91-academics/schools/ssm/22251-dr-john-michael-palms |archive-date=2016-06-01}}</ref>

== Career == Palms worked in the United States Air Force as a nuclear weapons officer. After leaving the service, he worked for over two decades at Emory University. He worked as president of Georgia State for two years, and then as president of the University of South Carolina for twelve years. He then became a distinguished professor at South Carolina for five years. After his retirement in 2007, the university made him a professor emeritus.<ref name=":0" />

== Personal life == In 2012, Palms and his wife donated $1 million to the Department of Religious Studies at the University of South Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestate.com/news/local/education/article14415515.html|website=The State|title=College Notes: Palms donates $1 million to USC for religion chair, gardens|date=2012-12-25}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palms, John M.}} Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American physicists Category:Presidents of the University of South Carolina Category:University of New Mexico alumni Category:The Citadel alumni Category:Emory University alumni Category:United States Air Force Academy faculty Category:Emory University faculty Category:Georgia State University people Category:University of South Carolina faculty