James W. Abbott (born June 12, 1948) is an American retired politician and academic, most recently serving as the president of the University of South Dakota from 1997 to 2018.
In 1994, Abbott was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with gubernatorial candidate Jim Beddow, a former president of Dakota Wesleyan University.
Abbott received his bachelor's degree in 1970 and his Juris Doctor in 1974 from University of South Dakota School of Law.
[3] In 2002, Abbott took a leave of absence from the presidency to seek to Democratic nomination for Governor of South Dakota.
In June 2007, Abbott took a leave of absence to donate a kidney to USD Chief diversity officer Bruce King at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.