B-Note May 30, 2019
May 30, 2019
Greetings fellow Tigers!
I had the honor of joining Clemson University leadership, alumni, donors and student leaders (past and present) for a groundbreaking ceremony last Thursday for the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel. The chapel, named after a Clemson student who passed away unexpectedly in 2015, will be located adjacent to the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts and be an inviting venue for all people to celebrate, meditate and reflect.
Ken and Mary Cadden, the parents of Samuel J. Cadden, made the lead gift of $1.5 million in June 2016 that set forth an impressive fundraising campaign. Less than three years later, pledges received for the chapel from more than 1,500 donors exceed $7 million. Among the 1,500 donors are four pillar donors, Charles and Susan Barker, Roy McCall, Melvin Younts and Ashley Johnson, who have made significant pledges to the chapel. It is because of these generous gifts that a dream shared among many members of our Clemson family is now coming to fruition.
Ken and Mary were in attendance Thursday and spoke of their strong desire to carry on their son’s legacy. Sam Cadden was a rising junior majoring in financial management at the time of his death. He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and Knights of Columbus. Following his death, his parents discovered a wish list that included a desire to one day have a building at Clemson named in his honor. The Caddens drew one step closer to making their son’s dream come true Thursday. The reception concluded with a ceremonial groundbreaking in a trough fittingly filled with orange sand. Other special guests included Jim and Beth Clements, Almeda Jacks, Clemson graduate and former student chapel committee chair Matt Gabriel and several past student leaders who had volunteered their time to the chapel over the years. You can read more about the chapel and the groundbreaking event here, view photos here and watch a video recapping the event here.
The Schwehr family, including Michael William ’81, Linda Pogue, Laurel Michelle and Victoria Leigh ’16, have made a $500,000 gift to Clemson University that will increase opportunities for students and faculty to engage globally. The gift will create the Schwehr Family Global Service Learning Annual and Schwehr Family Global Service Learning Endowment, both of which will support service-learning, research and engagement in under-resourced communities. The Schwehr Family Global Service Learning Annual will be used immediately to support student and faculty opportunities in developing countries. It will provide annual competitive seed-funding grants to faculty for the development of new Global Service Learning programs. Once fully funded, The Schwehr Family Global Service Learning Endowment will provide financial support to programs designed for students from any of the colleges. Thank you, Schwehr family, for your commitment and generosity to our students, Clemson and global engagement! You can read more about their gift here.
On Sunday, the Clemson Corps hosted a community-wide Memorial Day service at Clemson University’s Scroll of Honor Memorial honoring the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military. This year’s ceremony recognized the 75th anniversary of World War II’s D-Day landings. Prior to the ceremony, on Friday afternoon, a group of Clemson alumni and friends placed American flags around the Scroll of Honor to honor the 493 Clemson alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice in service for our country. Col. Ben Skardon placed flags on stones honoring two men who saved his life in a Japanese prison camp in WWII. Col. Ben Skardon is a 101-year-old survivor of the Bataan Death March and revered alumnus and professor emeritus of Clemson University. But simply and humbly put, he is a true American hero.
B-Inspired!
As Clemson Tigers, we strive to be loyal, dedicated, passionate and honorable. Stories of our most admirable Clemson Tigers – like the Caddens and Colonel Skardon – inspire us to exhibit those characteristics we revere the most. Thank you for your unwavering support to Clemson that is allowing us to break ground on our newest facilities, make the discoveries of the future, address the most critical challenges and transform lives and communities. Because of each of you, we are building a better future for our students – today, tomorrow and forever.
The Samuel J. Cadden Chapel is a wonderful place to show your support of Clemson. You can make your gift to the chapel here and powerfully impact the lives of Clemson students for generations to come.
Go Tigers!
Brian O’Rourke