As I start my 34th year at Clemson, the pace of change on campus is truly remarkable. It’s not just the construction cranes and associated sounds of progress across campus, but more so the excitement of the 2020Forward strategic planning process and college reorganization. The opportunity to reflect deeply on our history as a land grant university and move the university’s priorities to 21st century emphasis areas has been exhilarating.
Susanna Ashton and Michael LeMahieu on the Yale campus
Congratulations to Susanna Ashton, professor of English, who has just departed for Yale University to begin a six-month appointment as a visiting fellow at the prestigious Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition. With Professor Mike LeMahieu’s recent return from a similar residency at the center, local faculty and staff are referring to Gilder-Lehman as “Clemson North” – not bad company! I am proud of Susanna and Mike for their outstanding work and for representing Clemson with distinction.
Congratulations also goes to Thompson Penney (’72 B.A., ’74 M.Arch.), who was recently named the Joseph P. Riley Leadership Award recipient by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. Thom, who is chairman, president and CEO of LS3P Architects, headquartered in Charleston, is a former president of the AIA, has received the Tau Sigma Delta Award for Design and Academic Excellence, the Rudolph E. Lee Award for Design, the Tau Sigma Delta Bronze Medal for Design Excellence, AIA National School Medal for Design Excellence and the AIA National Certificate of Merit. Thom is currently serving as a member of our Fluid Campus Taskforce. We are extraordinarily proud of Thom and his accomplishment!
In late breaking news from Lee Hall, congratulations to Anjali Joseph and her team for receiving a $4M dollar grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to investigate improved patient care through human-centered design in the operating room. The initial $1 million grant is renewable for three additional years, totaling $4M! Our Architecture + Health program continues to provide national leadership for architectural health care innovation. Stay tuned for an official announcement in a few weeks.
Last month we welcomed more than 20 new members of the faculty to campus and I am thrilled with the wealth of experience and academic excellence our new faculty will bring to Clemson students. One of my biggest thrills in August is getting the opportunity to meet and welcome new faculty to campus. You can read more about our new faculty in the October issue of CAAH Monthly. I hope you will join me in welcoming these new faculty members to the Clemson family.
The newly configured Humanities Advancement Board met for the first time last week and I thank the board members for their time, support, guidance and vision. I often write about the importance of the humanities at Clemson and I believe there are great opportunities ahead for our students and faculty surrounding initiatives supported by the board. I thank the HAB for helping pave a bright future for the humanities at Clemson University.
We recently bid bon voyage to a small group of students from our Solar Decathlon team as they departed for a semester-long trip to California. Under the direction of Dustin Albright, assistant professor of architecture, nine students are spending the semester in preparation for next month’s Solar Decathlon competition in Irvine, CA, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Thirty more students will join the team over the course of the semester, finishing the design and construction of the “Indigo Pine” project and leading up to the actual competition in mid-October. Undoubtedly there will be much more Solar D news to share over the next couple of months. I wish our students a successful, safe and productive semester on the left coast as they represent Clemson in a national competition.
Finally, I am thrilled to announce that the School of Architecture has been selected as one of 13 schools for the inaugural “Integrated Path to Licensure” program in the United States. Created by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, the program is designed to provide curricular integration in order to help graduates track a faster path to professional licensure. A special commendation goes to Professor Ray Huff and Director Kate Schwennsen for leading this effort on behalf of the School of Architecture.
Without doubt, it’s been a whirlwind start to the school year!
Best wishes from campus and Go Tigers,
Rick
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