Greetings fellow Tigers!
The Clemson family is a group like no other. Once you’re a Tiger, you are a Tiger for life – no matter how far you travel or the amount of success you acquire. Brian Dawkins has never forgotten the impact that Clemson had on his life and career, and because of this, he has made a commitment to give back to Clemson – impacting the future for many of our students.
Brian spent his freshman season contributing to Clemson Football on special teams and earned his starting role at free safety his sophomore year. Three years, one all-ACC honor, and one second-team All-American honor later, Brian was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played in the NFL for 16 seasons with both the Eagles and the Denver Broncos, earning Pro-Bowl honors nine times. In 2012, Brian returned from the Broncos to Philadelphia, signing a one-day contract with his former team to retire as an Eagle, and the franchise subsequently retired his jersey number during their following season. Most recently, he was honored as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018. As Brian accumulated honors for his skill level and his character, Clemson also chose to honor his accomplishments by instituting the Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor to be given to a former Clemson football player who had been out of school for at least 10 years. Brian was the inaugural recipient in 2013, and he has since been joined by Bill Smith (2014), Warren Forney (2015), Jerry Butler (2016), Jeff Davis (2017), and Mark Richardson (2018). Though Brian’s NFL career has ended, true to form, his impact only continues to increase – this time through philanthropy and education. In 2009, he and his family established the Dawkins Family Scholarship Endowment at Clemson to provide scholarships to students from underrepresented student populations. Many students have already benefited from the Dawkins’ generosity, and many more will follow in their footsteps. You can read more here and watch a video about Brian Dawkins and the scholarship endowment here.
As I mentioned last week, I will be featuring a different endowed chair who will be recognized at this year’s Fall Convocation during the next several B-Notes. Dr. Chris Paredis was recently named BMW Endowed Chair in Systems Integration for Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). His research benefits CU-ICAR’s mission, and his ability to teach and inspire students helps educate the workforce of the future. A national leader in systems integration, Dr. Paredis has an impeccable track record in the field of system engineering and design of complex systems. Dr. Paredis comes to Clemson from Georgia Tech, where he was a professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering as well as director of the Model-Based Systems Engineering Center. Prior to that he worked with the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he served as the program director for Engineering and Systems Design (ESD), Systems Science (SYS) and Design of Engineering Material Systems (DEMS). At CU-ICAR, Dr. Paredis is working to establish an internationally recognized research and education program around the design and realization of complex systems, with the automobile as the demonstration platform. He is also heading up and providing intellectual input to CU-ICAR’s Deep Orange vehicle development education program. Dr. Paredis is greatly respected in the engineering research community, having served as a speaker at the National Academy of Engineering’s German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium as well as receiving the Distinguished Visiting Fellowship award from the British Royal Academy of Engineering and the ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Service Award in 2009 and 2010, respectively. You can read more about Dr. Paredis and his position at CU-ICAR here.
Clemson has a wonderful partnership with BMW, and we are appreciative of their company and the programs they fund that help make us a top-25 public university.
Mary Anne Raymond has been named the Thomas F. Chapman ’65 Distinguished Professor in Leadership in the Clemson University College of Business. The endowed professorship was created by long-time Clemson benefactors Tom and Karen Chapman as part of their inaugural Cornerstone Partner for Academics gift of $4 million presented to the university last fall. As recipient of the Thomas F. Chapman ’65 Distinguished Professorship in Leadership, Raymond has been awarded one of the highest academic honors bestowed on a faculty member. Endowed professorships build academic recognition; inspire lifelong learning and excellence; and create opportunities for collaboration, mentoring, touching lives and advancing scholarship. The Chapmans’ $4 million gift to the university was the first Cornerstone Partner for Academics gift to Clemson. Cumulatively, the Chapmans have given $6.3 million in athletic and academic gifts to Clemson to further the university’s mission and vision. You can read more about Mary Anne, the endowed professorship, Tom and Karen Chapman and the Thomas F. Chapman Leadership Scholars Program here.
B- Proud!
It’s not too late to make your end-of-year gift to help Clemson reach our goal of 23 percent alumni participation. We need 575 donors! Visit our website or call 864-656-5896 to make your gift by this SATURDAY and help impact the lives of our students today, tomorrow and forever!
As this fiscal year ends, we reflect upon the many successes at our university and recognize how PROUD we are to be a part of the Clemson family. We are consistently ranked among the best – academically and athletically. We are recruiting and retaining the best faculty, attracting the brightest students and have successful alumni impacting our state, our nation and the world!
With the upcoming national holiday, we have the opportunity to celebrate our independence and express how PROUD we are to call America our home. We will take a break next week for the holiday, but I’d like to wish you all a happy and safe Fourth of July!
Go Tigers!
Brian O’Rourke
