Dear Alumni and Friends of CAFLS,
I hope this message finds you well. As we approach the Fall semester, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of the exciting developments and initiatives taking place within the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences at Clemson University.
To begin, I am pleased to share that Dr. Soledad “Sole” Peresin has started her new role as Director of the Wood Utilization + Design (WU-D) Institute. She is a renowned scholar and industry collaborator working in the areas of renewable biomaterials and sustainable design. Her expertise will help our timber and timber products industries find additional market opportunities for their products. She joins us after serving as a professor in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment at Auburn University.
Also joining us from Auburn is Dr. Ramesh Jeganathan, who is the new chair of the Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences. He began his role on August 15th. His areas of research include exploring the linkages between Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes as well as molecular mechanisms underlying insulin resistance. He also gained valuable experience as an administrator during his time at Auburn. For example, he helped create and launch an online professional Master of Nutrition program.
We have many other new faculty and staff members who joined us as well. We will highlight some of their work and contributions in some of our future updates.
We are also excited to watch our new Forestry and Environmental Conservation building take shape near the intersection of Perimeter Road and Cherry Road. This is the third building on Clemson’s campus being constructed with mass timber, further highlighting that forestry and timber products continue to be a core strength of our College and our state. We will soon celebrate the completion of the building’s structural framework with a topping-out ceremony.
We have also completed the new College strategic plan, our “Boundless Impact Plan,” which will guide the work and activities of our college over the next 10 years. The plan is built around six key priorities, which include:
- A Hands-On, Minds-On Curriculum, Ensuring Student Success
- Attracting and Retaining Exceptional Talent
- Leverage our Unique Statewide Footprint
- Conducting High-Impact Research
- Fully Engaging Our Stakeholders and Alumni
- Ensuring Operational Excellence and Efficiency
We will have more to say about our plan and its implementation during the rollout phase later this fall. We look forward to your participation and engagement!
Lastly, we look forward to welcoming a new crop of Tigers to our beautiful campus. While we will not know the final number until later in the fall, we know the students joining us will be among the best-prepared group yet. In short, we look forward to seeing how they will model Clemson’s enduring core values of Integrity, Respect, Diversity, Patriotism, Excellence, and Self-Reliance. We can hardly wait for them to arrive!
In closing, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for your ongoing support of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. Together, we are shaping the future of agriculture, forestry and life sciences in our state and making a lasting impact on our communities and the world. I look forward to sharing more exciting updates in the future.
Go Tigers!
Matt Holt, Dean
College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
Clemson University
