Rufus Early Clement (June 26, 1900 – November 7, 1967) was an American academic administrator and university president.
In 1937, he was named president of Atlanta University, position which he held until his death some thirty years later.
[4] At least one author supports this theory, arguing that Du Bois' confrontational approach to civil rights for African Americans clashed with Clement's more accommodationist inclination.
[6] In the 1966 gubernatorial election, Clement endorsed the Republican nominee, U.S. Representative Howard "Bo" Callaway, who challenged the Democrat Lester Maddox, a businessman and staunch segregationist who had closed his Pickrick Restaurant to avoid integration.
Clement's son-in-law, Robert Joseph Pershing Foster, was Ray Charles' personal physician.