A Word from Dean Richard Goodstein – November 2018

November 7, 2018

Dear Friends,

As the calendar turns to November, the temperatures are falling, leaves are beginning to fall and our Tigers continue to shine. I am happy to report that the past month has been memorable, with many notable achievements by our faculty, students and staff.

At the homecoming game on Oct. 20, Dean Richard Goodstein stepped up to conduct the national anthem. Image credit: Imagine! Studios

Many of you were here for homecoming and it was great to see so many friends, former students and alumni. Standing on the ladder at the 50-yard line preparing to direct “The Star-Spangled Banner,” I was reminiscing about how transformational Clemson has been for so many students, faculty and staff and how privileged we are to share this special place.

I want to offer a special note of congratulations to Anthony Bernarducci, who was the “Professor of the Game” at homecoming. Bernarducci was honored for his extraordinary work as the director of choral activities in the Department of Performing Arts.

Major milestone

Last week the Department of City Planning and Real Estate Development celebrated its 50^th anniversary with an event in Greenville, which was attended by more than 50 alumni. It was great to see so many successful planning professionals whose successful careers were forged by their Clemson experience. I want to thank John Gaber, chair of the Department of City Planning and Real Estate Development, and his staff for their dedicated work to make this a truly special event.

Sound and vision

Last month I had the opportunity to meet with several young architecture alumni in Seattle and share some memories with them and Professor Emeritus John Jacques. The Pacific Northwest is home to many successful Clemson architecture alumni, and I was thrilled to see their Tiger Pride on full display.

Mentorship opportunities

I am pleased to announce that the new online mentoring program in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities is up and running. The CAAH On Deck program aims to help our current students cultivate important networking skills. It also provides our alumni and professional partners a meaningful way to stay connected to their Clemson Family.

Through CAAH On Deck, we hope to foster a culture of mentorship in CAAH, with even our newest students having the confidence to reach out to professionals in their fields for advice and support.

Students can now use the Quick Connect feature in CAAH On Deck to be matched with mentors the platform recommends, based on the filters selected. For example, if a student wants to connect with a lawyer who majored in history and now lives in Charleston, CAAH On Deck will find the person in the program who most closely matches that request.

Our new director of CAAH Student Services, Cari Brooks, tells me additional features will continue to roll out. In January, we will launch our first formal CAAH Professional Partners mentor pairing; students and mentors will be matched for a three-month mentorship experience, all of which will be guided by and conducted through the online platform.

We welcome both students and mentors to join CAAH On Deck. And if you have thoughts to share or any questions about this mentorship opportunity, please email Cari Brooks directly at cabrook@clemson.edu.

Growth in the College

I want to highlight the remarkable enrollment growth in the College over the past year.  Our undergraduate enrollments are up 13 percent over last year, highlighted by a 28 percent jump in History majors, 19 percent in Construction Science and Management, 10 percent in English and 7 percent in Architecture. Within graduate studies, I was thrilled to see a 17 percent increase in our Real Estate Development program. The evidence is clear that programs in the College are attractive to undergraduate and graduate majors considering today’s changing job markets and career opportunities.

New rankings

In September, we learned that DesignIntelligence ranked our Master of Architecture as one of the top 10 accredited graduate programs in Architecture at a public university. They also recognized Clemson University among “Most Admired” programs, placing the Master of Architecture at 22 and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture at 18 among private and public institutions.

In recent weeks, DesignIntelligence announced Clemson University as a standout in their new category: “Most Hired From.” In Architecture, Clemson was ranked 6^th among schools of its size (private and public institutions with 70-99 total graduates, including both undergraduates and graduate students). Landscape Architecture was ranked 5^th among the schools with 20-34 graduates.

The new DesignIntelligence rankings are a testament to the quality of our faculty and the students who complete our programs. We greatly appreciate the industry partners that return to Clemson again and again when they are hiring. Congratulations to all!

A final note

I am saddened to report on the recent passing of Margit M. Sinka, a professor emerita of German in the Department of Languages. Sinka retired in 2007, but continued to conduct study abroad programs on Holocaust Remembrance until 2016. We will miss her many contributions to Clemson University over more than four decades. A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. on Dec. 1 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson.

With best wishes from campus – Go Tigers!

Rick