Javier Clavere, D.M.A.

Background

Dr. Javier Clavere serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Saint Martin's University, the only Catholic Benedictine university west of the Rocky Mountains. An award-winning scholar, musician, technologist, entrepreneur and higher education leader, he is recognized for a uniquely interdisciplinary career that bridges the arts, humanities, philosophy, artificial intelligence and academic leadership.

With more than 15 years of senior leadership experience in higher education and 18 years in pastoral and community ministry, Dr. Clavere has dedicated his career to fostering human flourishing through academic excellence, innovation, student success and mission-centered institutional growth. His leadership is grounded in the conviction that the most important challenges facing higher education require not narrower specialization but broader integration of knowledge, wisdom and human creativity.

Recognized for his work on artificial intelligence and higher education, Dr. Clavere completed postgraduate studies in artificial intelligence for leaders at the University of Texas at Austin and has led initiatives exploring the impact of AI on learning, teaching, research and institutional decision-making. He was a licensed TEDx organizer who continues to offer presentations exploring artificial intelligence, human cognition, leadership and innovation in higher education.

Dr. Clavere's intellectual interests span semiotics, systems theory, ethics, theology, entrepreneurship, stoicism, leadership studies and educational innovation. He has presented research internationally, including at the Oxford Education Research Symposium at the University of Oxford, where his recent work explores the relationship between virtue, character formation and leadership in higher education.

Prior to joining Saint Martin's University, Dr. Clavere served as dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Earlier in his career, he held the Mary W. McGaw Endowed Chair at Berea College and served as executive director of the Semiotic Society of America, a leading interdisciplinary philosophical organization. He has also worked in technology and software development, experiences that continue to inform his approach to innovation and organizational leadership.

A true Renaissance scholar, Dr. Clavere holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance and chamber music and a Master of Music in music theory and semiotics from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Brigham Young University and postgraduate credentials in artificial intelligence leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a fellow of the HACU Leadership Academy, the University of Michigan New Leadership Academy and the Salzburg Global Seminar.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Dr. Clavere is devoted to his family. He and his wife, Lindsay, are the proud parents of three sons. Both enjoyed international careers as concert pianists, performing throughout North and South America and Europe, including appearances at the renowned Bösendorfersaal at the Mozarthaus in Vienna.

Today, he continues to draw on the disciplines of music, philosophy, technology, leadership and faith in his work. He believes the future of higher education lies in forming students who seek wisdom, practice stewardship, embrace hospitality and use their gifts in service to others and the common good.

Select scholarly publications

• Clavere, J., Meditations: For Our Times (forthcoming manuscript), 2027.
• Clavere, J., "The Multimodality of Semiosis: Beyond Multimodality," Cognition: Journal of Philosophy, 21(1), 34-44. Center for Pragmatism Studies, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil. 2020
• Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer, The American Journal of Semiotics and Yearbook of the Semiotic Society of America, 2016-2024.

Selected scholarly presentations

• "The Architecture of Virtue: Reframing Leadership and Character in Higher Education." Oxford Education Research Symposium, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, 2026.
• "Artificial Intelligence, Cognition, and Ethics." Oxford Education Research Symposium, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, 2025.
• "Humanistic Entrepreneurship and Educational Leadership." Oxford Education Research Symposium, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, 2024.
• "Abduction and Artificial Intelligence: The Hope for Our Human Future." Keynote address, XXII International Meeting on Pragmatism, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2023.
• "The Multidimensionality of Semiosis: Beyond Multimodality." Keynote address, XIX International Meeting on Pragmatism, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2019.