Greetings fellow Tigers!
John Griffin, Associate Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Studies, has shared with us information for the 2018 Fall Convocation scheduled for August 20. For the second year in a row, we will welcome all new students to Clemson University during one ceremony and celebrate the accomplishments of our newest Faculty Endowed Chair recipients. Inaugural Academic Cornerstone Partner, Thomas F. Chapman ’65, will be our Convocation guest speaker. As a student athlete, Chapman earned a degree in economics and was honored as a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference pitcher. Tom Chapman has a long history of supporting student success and leadership initiatives at Clemson, including the Thomas F. Chapman Leadership Scholars Program and the President’s Leadership Institute.
In the next several B-Notes, I will be highlighting the endowed chairs who will be celebrated during this year’s Convocation and recognize the generous donors who have provided the funding to help attract and support these eminent scholars.
The C. Tycho Howle family has given generously to Clemson throughout the years and has established endowed chairs benefiting computing research – one of which has been awarded to Dr. Sally McKee. Dr. McKee received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Yale University, master’s degree from Princeton University and doctorate from the University of Virginia. Dr. McKee was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Utah’s School of Computing from 1998 – 2002, where she worked on the Impulse Adaptable Memory Controller project. She joined Cornell University’s Computer Systems Lab within the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2002. She moved to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in 2008. In 2018, Dr. McKee was named the C. Tycho Howle Endowed Chair in Collaborative Computing Environments within the Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University.
Tycho Howle graduated from Clemson with honors in physics and went on to get his master’s degree in systems engineering, which was then in the electrical and computer engineering department. He worked at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton for a few years before going to Harvard Business School to get a master of business administration. Tycho, a Lancaster native, became a pioneer in the E-business world and an Atlanta philanthropist. A company he founded in 1983, Harbinger Computer Services, grew to more than 40,000 active customers, 1,000 employees spread across eight countries, and annual revenues exceeding $155 million. Tycho served as both chairman and CEO for most of his 17 years with Harbinger. In 2001, he founded nuBridges, Inc., a firm that provided security and managed services to help businesses protect sensitive information. It was acquired by Liaison Technologies in 2011. Tycho lived most of his professional life in Atlanta and gave back generously to the city’s causes, ranging from the arts to programs that help the homeless, while also supporting Clemson. Thank you, Tycho, for supporting Clemson and contributing to our University’s success in attracting top faculty.
Clemson University President James P. Clements announced Monday that Steven H. Crump has been named interim vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately. Crump, a 1978 graduate of Clemson, has served as associate vice president and controller since 2014. He joined Clemson in 1990 following a career in public accounting and had served as associate controller from 1992 until the time of his promotion in 2014. The search to identify a permanent successor for Brett Dalton will begin in the near future. Further details on the search will be provided as they become available.
The bond shared among Tigers is like no other. And when you’re able to share that bond with members of your family, it is truly special. Jack Maffett ’50 and Allyson Maffett ’91 – father and daughter – shared a love of Clemson and bonded by collecting South Carolina quarters. Allyson has attended the Golden Tiger Reunion every year with her father since her mother passed away five years ago. Jack passed in February, but Allyson still wanted to see her father’s classmates one last time at this year’s reunion. To honor her father and their special bond, Allyson brought a bucket of South Carolina quarters totaling over $800 that she and her father had collected. Donating to Clemson – a place they both loved – is a truly special way to honor her father and their bond.
B- philanthropic!
Clemson was literally built upon the tradition of philanthropy. With the generosity of our donors, like Allyson Maffett and C. Tycho Howle, we are able to embrace and honor Clemson’s history. This tradition – among the many other Clemson traditions – has made Clemson a top-25 university, attracting the best students, faculty and staff. We need your unwavering support as we strive to reach our goal of becoming a top-20 public university and show the rest of the world what we already know – Clemson is the best!
The time is NOW to make your end-of-year gift and receive your free lapel pin. If you haven’t done so, please visit our website and make your gift by June 30 to show your continued loyalty to Clemson and to our future students!
Go Tigers!
Brian O’Rourke
