Month: May 2016

Dear Friends,

Campus is fairly quiet these days except for the sounds emanating from all the various construction projects across town. It won’t be quiet for long as freshman orientation begins on June 13. More than 3,200 incoming freshmen will be visiting campus over the next several weeks. The circle of campus life is always in motion, and I never tire of seeing wide-eyed 18-year-olds who are about to begin the next journey of their lives. Our student services staff is busy preparing for the annual summer invasion of matriculating freshmen to ensure a smooth takeoff. I know they are as excited as I am to meet the class of 2020.

A note of congratulations goes to two special friends of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. Jim Barker and James Bostic received Clemson’s highest public honor, the Clemson Medallion, on Saturday, May 28 at the Brooks Center. The Medallion is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to Clemson in the spirit of the University’s founder, Thomas Green Clemson.

As most of you know, Jim Barker is the founding dean of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, served as the 14^th president of Clemson University and is currently teaching in the School of Architecture. He was appropriately recognized for his transformational leadership of Clemson during his distinguished career.

Also honored was James E. Bostic, who has contributed his expertise, time and resources to Clemson, most recently in the promotion of diversity and inclusiveness. He generously supports Rhondda Thomas’ research in telling the full story of Clemson’s history.

I am extraordinarily proud of these two honorees who are so closely tied to the College and hope you will join me in congratulating both of them.

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The College’s STEAM initiatives and collaboration with the College of Engineering and Science were on full display during last month’s Artisphere Festival in downtown Greenville. Our Artisphere exhibits demonstrated the value of infusing the arts into the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math. I believe Clemson should be a national leader in STEAM education and our STEAM Network of faculty and staff have great momentum in providing leadership for this initiative. I thank them for their extraordinary work!

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I am pleased to congratulate the following faculty members who recently were notified of promotion and/or tenure for their outstanding work:

• Abel Bartley: Promotion to Professor of History
• Sarah Cooper: Promotion to Senior Lecturer of English
• Justin Durham: Promotion to Associate Professor of Music with Tenure
• Cynthia Haynes: Promotion to Professor of English
• David Lee: Promotion to Associate Professor of Architecture with Tenure
• Megan MacAlystre: Promotion to Senior Lecturer of English
• Dominic Mastroianni: Promotion to Associate Professor of English with Tenure
• Angela Naimou: Promotion to Associate Professor of English with Tenure
• Hala Nassar: Promotion to Professor of Landscape Architecture
• Kelly Peebles: Promotion to Associate Professor of Languages with Tenure
• John Pursley: Promotion to Senior Lecturer of English
• Paul Russell: Promotion to Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture with Tenure
• Travers Scott: Promotion to Associate Professor of Communication with Tenure
• William Terry: Promotion to Associate Professor of Geography with Tenure
• Ben White: Promotion to Associate Professor of Religion with Tenure
• Julie Wilkerson: Promotion to Senior Lecturer of Architecture
• Valerie Zimany: Promotion to Associate Professor of Art with Tenure

These career achievements represent years of dedicated work. I hope you will help me congratulate these deserving faculty members.

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Finally, I want to thank Gale Plocic for her four years of service to the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities as the administrative coordinator in the Dean’s Office. We will miss her professionalism and dedicated approach to her work and wish her the best in the next phase of her career in Georgia.

With best wishes to all for the beginning of summer,

Rick

Warm congratulations to all winners of this year’s faculty and staff awards!

Lightsey Fellows Program: Lee Wilson, Department of History, and Elizabeth Jemison, Department of Philosophy and Religion

Established by Dr. and Mrs. Harry M. Lightsey with an original pledge of $100,000, the endowment provides support for junior faculty members in the humanities for summer research projects that will advance their scholarship. A peer review committee of faculty has judged these proposals.

John B. and Thelma A. Gentry Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities: Lucian Ghita, Department of English

Established by Frank and Sarah Gentry to honor Mr. Gentry’s parents, John and Thelma Gentry, this peer-reviewed award recognizes an outstanding humanities faculty member and provides an annual competitive fund to support projects, materials and activities that will improve and enrich teaching in the humanities.

Dean’s Awards for Faculty
The annual dean’s awards are peer-reviewed by the college faculty awards committee. Each award comes with a plaque of recognition, placement on the list of awardees in the dean’s office and a cash award.

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching: Gabriela Stoicea, assistant professor of German in the Department of Languages

As one nominator commented, “[Her] classes rank among the very best that the university has to offer.  … I found them to be incredibly intellectually stimulating, and other students and I often mulled over ideas from class discussions long after class had ended.”

Another wrote, “She always upheld a certain atmosphere in her classroom that encouraged productive and thought-provoking conversation. She led us as we powerfully worked through seemingly difficult topics, such as societal oppression on the individual or the complexities of moral standards.”

And, from her own teaching statement, Professor Stoicea reminds us all of this very important message: “Contributing to my students’ intellectual formation is a privilege I never take for granted, but one that I work hard to earn every single day.”

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research: Vernon Burton, professor of history in the Department of History

As one nominator stated, “His influence stems directly from his research activity in multiple areas: from the traditional (books, journal essays, reviews) to the cutting edge (digital history and computing) to the civic (as a popular speaker, a public intellectual, and even as an expert witness in legal matters, including especially civil rights cases.)

Another nominator commented that, “Vernon Burton is the most prominent scholar alive today specializing in the history of the American South and one of the most productive researchers on our campus. … When national and state politicians and the national and international media want historical context and insight into the South’s unique and often troubled past, as well as other issues in American history, they turn to Vernon Burton.”

Dean’s Awards for Staff
The Dean’s Awards for Staff are peer-reviewed, with an outside representative serving on the selection committee. Each award comes with a plaque of recognition, placement on the list of awardees in the dean’s office and a cash award.

Dean’s Team Player Award: Sarah Edison, administrative assistant in the Department of Performing Arts

In one letter of nomination, the author wrote, “Sarah is a highly productive collaborative member of our team, is collegial, professional and always ensures that our department and our university look good.  … Because our department deals with live performances and events, there are often a variety of crises that must be managed so that audience members and patrons remain unaware. Sarah is a calm and confident “behind-the-scenes” player in these situations. When the Brooks Center is in need of additional labor, she often stays late, comes in early and works over weekends to ensure that things are done to her high standards.”

Another wrote, “Within the Department of Performing Arts, Sarah works with each ensemble director to craft programs and posters for their concerts. She carefully tailors each piece to the request of faculty members from across the theatre and music disciplines and is incredibly accurate and efficient at doing so.”

And finally, “Sarah’s contributions extend far beyond the Brooks Center.  … This year, as a member of the STEAM Task Force, she took minutes, coordinated meeting times, and helped organize the job responsibilities of the members.”

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Outstanding Customer Service: Emily Clarke, administrative assistant in the Department of English

The ASAP/7 Organizing Committee nominated Emily Clarke for her “extraordinary work as a co-organizer of the ASAP/7 conference hosted by Clemson University on September 24-25, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville. … The conference took over two years of planning and brought over 300 leading scholars, artists and writers to Greenville.  … The conference required an enormous amount of skill and initiative: we had to coordinate and assist the international association as well as the hundreds of organizations, businesses and individual participants involved. Emily voluntarily went above and beyond…continuing all her regular staff duties with good cheer, even as she helped us on weeknights and weekends, especially in the months leading up to the event. She designed the ASAP/7 logo and website and adapted that design for some of the most handsome conference t-shirts and tote bags we have ever seen. She was the lead contact for our plenary speakers and for tech support at the Hyatt.”

CAAH Student Choice Awards:

Each year, the CAAH Student Ambassadors coordinate two awards for faculty in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. The Ambassadors call for nominations and, as a committee, they recognize two members of the faculty for outstanding teaching and advising. This year’s winners were announced at the annual Honors and Awards Day for students in April.

Advisor of the Year: Matt Powers of the Department of Landscape Architecture

Teacher of the Year: Garry Bertholf of the Department of English

Dear Friends,

Walking across campus recently, I was struck by the sights and sounds of finals week. Students were finishing their exams, running to deliver their final papers before a deadline and others were carrying their belongings to their cars for the summer break. I recall the bittersweet memories of this time of year as a graduating senior, saying goodbye to great friends and my home for the past four years, and saying hello to an unknown future without the comforts of campus. As I vividly remember, it was an equally exciting and terrifying time in my life.

What gives me great joy is knowing the lasting impact our faculty have had on our students. I have no doubt our graduates are prepared for whatever their future holds due to their work inside and outside the classroom.

For faculty in the college, it’s also a time of reflection of the past year – the “light bulb” moments we had with our students, and the anticipation of summer.

On April 22, the Andrew Carnegie Corporation announced the 2016 Carnegie Fellows – a competitive fellowship program that identifies and rewards scholarship addressing significant challenges to U.S. democracy and international order. I am proud to announce that Dr. Maribel Morey, assistant professor of history, was chosen as one of 33 national winners. The fellowship comes with a $200,000 award in support of Dr. Morey’s work. Her proposal, titled “Big Philanthropy in the Lives of Black Americans: What Today’s Foundations Can Learn from this History,” will, according to Maribel, “detail the transformation of these philanthropic organizations from supporters of segregated education of black Americans to key institutions of the civil rights struggle.” This seems a very poignant national recognition of a Clemson faculty member, especially at this time in Clemson’s history. Congratulations Maribel!

In April we received a generous gift in celebration of three generations of Clemson graduates through an endowment established by Wilbur N. Ginn, Jr. (USN retired), his wife, Dorothy, and their son Wilbur N. Ginn III (English, 1969) and his wife, Alice. Part of the Ginn Endowment is dedicated to unrestricted support of the humanities. We are extraordinarily grateful for the Ginn’s generosity and dedicated Clemson spirit.

Finally, I pay tribute to this year’s retirees. With more than 166 years of service to Clemson, we honor these faculty and staff members for their exceptional teaching, research and service in support of our goal to make Clemson a top national university:

• Alton Brant developed Clemson’s American Sign Language program, the only one of its kind in South Carolina, and has directly impacted the lives of the Deaf Community throughout the region through our ASL interpreting program.
• Joan Bridgewood led the Russian studies program in the Department of Languages for 30 years.
• Wayne Chapman, professor of English, an internationally recognized Yeats scholar, served as editor of the SC Review, founder of the Center for Electronic and Digital Press, the University Press and developed a thriving partnership with Oxford University Press through Liverpool University.
• Toshiko Kishimoto started the Japanese program at Clemson, including the Language and International Trade program, and has been champion of Japanese culture in Clemson for 28 years.
• Sonja Massey, administrative assistant to the Clemson University Bands, has played an instrumental (pun intended) role in the many successes of the Clemson Bands for more than 28 years.
• Bill Stanton, lecturer of English, is retiring after 17 years of service. Bill taught a range of general education courses, including first-year composition and sophomore literature courses.  He is also a musician, and has recorded and released two CDs of his music over the past 3 years.
• Tony Wintz, lecturer of Construction Science and Management, is retiring after 11 years of teaching. He taught Materials and Methods, Contract Documents, Soils and Foundations and other courses.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate our graduates and thank our faculty and staff for a fantastic year. I hope you enjoy the beginning of summer and a well-deserved break in the academic year.

Rick