B-Note September 26, 2019
September 26, 2019
Greetings Tigers! As Davis and I mentioned in the video above, we are so grateful to the Nieri family for their wonderful and generous $5 million Academic Cornerstone gift to name the Nieri Family Department of Construction Science and Management – the first named department in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. As longtime friends and supporters of Clemson, Michael and Robyn are committed to the mission and vision of our University – athletically and academically –and are, yet again, blazing the trail for Clemson. Their leadership and transformational gifts to Clemson have been significantly impacting our student-athletes in the Nieri Family Student-Athlete Enrichment Center. And now, they are expanding that impact across our campus. The Nieri Family Department of Construction Science and Management will receive funding for:
-Experiential learning projects at the CSM Construction Yard at Ravenel with a focus on residential construction;
-A new Residential Construction Professor of Practice faculty position; and
-The Nieri Family Endowment, which will provide perpetual funding for the above initiatives.
Please watch this special video honoring the Nieris and their commitment to Clemson. You can view photos from the gift announcement and watch a video recapping the event. You can also read more about Michael and Robyn and their gift here.
Clemson University welcomed Ratan Tata to campus this week. Yesterday, Dr. Tata spent some time with the Tata Fellows, a fellowship program supported by Tata Trusts that allows students from the PSG College of Technology in India to pursue their master’s degrees at CU-ICAR. Clemson University also held its inaugural Global Leaders Forum. The forum featured Dr. Tata answering questions from students about global impact, philanthropy and business. Dr. Tata is an industrialist, investor and philanthropist. He was the chairman of the Tata Group (1991-2012, 2016-2017), a Mumbai-based conglomerate. The Tata Group of Companies is the leading corporation of India and has more than 90 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. They currently operate in more than 80 countries with more than 395,000 employees worldwide. Dr. Tata received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell in 1962, completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1975 and received an honorary doctorate of automotive engineering from Clemson University in 2015. The government of India honored Dr. Tata with its second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2008. It was an honor for Clemson to welcome Dr. Tata to our campus.
It was another great win for the Tigers on Saturday night in Death Valley. The 52 – 10 win over UNC Charlotte advanced the Tigers to 4 – 0 for the season. The team travels to Chapel Hill this weekend to take on the University of North Carolina.
B- Powerful!
The Nieri family embodies the spirt of philanthropy at Clemson that has been a part of our history since the beginning. It’s because of donors – like Michael and Robyn – that we are able to continue honoring our University’s greatest tradition.
Michael, Robyn and their family exhibit the character, leadership and spirit of the Clemson Tiger. Their love for Clemson runs deep. Michael and Robyn are forever leaving their mark at Clemson University. The commitment of the Clemson family is powerful, and with your support, we will continue to be a championship university in academics and athletics.
Go Tigers! Beat UNC!
Brian O’Rourke