Clemson University Corporate and Foundation Relations

Dominion Energy provides $175,000 to support Emerging Scholars and The Men of Color National Summit.

Dominion Energy generously donated $150,000 to support the Emerging Scholars Program. The Program’s mission is to establish a college-going culture among students from South Carolina’s economically disadvantaged areas. For the 2022-2023 school year, 154 students across five counties are supported and provided with tools and resources for academic enrichment, developing leadership skills, and increasing college preparedness. Since 2012, 85% of Emerging Scholars have enrolled in a two or four-year institution, and 75% of those students matriculated in South Carolina with a majority enrolling at Clemson University.

Dominion Energy also donated $25,000 to support The Men of Color National Summit. The mission of this national conference is to close the opportunity gap for African American and Hispanic males. Bringing together approximately 2,400 high school and college students, business professionals, educators, government officials and community leaders from around the country, the Summit emphasizes the importance of education, best practices, and choices to increase high school and college graduation rates. Since 2018, the two-day Summit has impacted the lives of thousands of young men by providing inspirational guidance on career and professional development, entrepreneurship, masculinity and personal identity, graduation achievement and community engagement.

Corporate support plays a critical role in the success of these programs and Dominion Energy’s gift helps sustain their ability to serve students and families across the State of South Carolina.

 

 

 

Ford Motor Company to Sponsor Students in Automotive Engineering

Ford Motor Company generously donated more than $80,000 in February to establish scholarships and fellowships in Automotive Engineering. The Ford Motor Company Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students pursuing a Certificate/Minor in Automotive Engineering. Ford will help selected scholars gain industry insights and will participate in the annual CU-ICAR Awards Ceremony. This gift establishes Ford Motor Company as a sponsor in Clemson University’s AuE Certificate/Minor program.

In addition, the Ford Motor Company Fellowship in Automotive Engineering will be exclusively awarded to graduate students who have completed the Certificate/Minor program in Automotive Engineering and are now studying Automotive Engineering as a graduate student at Clemson University. This Fellowship will help support the professional development of students in AuE and will function as a recruitment tool to bring the best and brightest students to CU-ICAR.

The formation of these two programs will build on the relationship established with Ford as a significant recruiter of Clemson University graduates and through Ford’s sponsorship of Deep Orange 10 and URP projects (University Research Program).

Hitachi High Technologies committed $125,000 to support graduate students

Hitachi High Technologies originally established the Electron Microscopy Fellowship in 2014 and has recently committed to the continuation of the fellowship for five years.  The purpose of this gift is to provide an annual fellowship for one graduate student enrolled in the College of Science or the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. The 2018-2019 recipient, Kathryn Peruski focuses her studies on environmental, nuclear-site remediation research. Using microscopes available at Clemson’s Electron Microscopy Facility, Peruski has captured the miniscule fragmenting of neptunium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear power generation that is stored underground. Through her research, Peruski hopes to better understand what causes neptunium to break so engineers can design effective storage methods for nuclear waste.

The Electron Microscope Facility has several state-of-the-art high resolution transmission electron microscopes (TEM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and a combined Focused Ion Beam (FIB)/SEM microscope. Housed at the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory in Anderson, the facility has steadily grown with Hitachi’s support. The multi-user facility attracts clients from the aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, textile, electronics, environmental and medical industries.

The ongoing partnership between Hitachi and Clemson University provides funding as well as innovative technology to the Microscopy Lab where Hitachi houses multiple cutting-edge microscopes used to promote research.

 

Fluor supports Clemson University with a $60,000 donation for campus programs and student associations.

Fluor, a long-term corporate partner and supporter of Clemson University has donated $60,000 to support initiatives on campus and student organizations.

As part of this donation, Fluor will join the Michelin Career Center as a Platinum Tiger Partner. They have been an important partner, historically, with the Career Center, and have supported Clemson’s programming and outreach efforts with more than just monetary assistance; Clemson and the Career Center can always count on Fluor representatives to assist with classroom presentations, resume critiques, student employment opportunities, and career testimonials.

Fluor will also support the Community Resilience Course Program for undergraduate students participating in Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries. In collaboration with Clemson’s Risk Engineering and System Analytics Center (RESA), students in this course will investigate areas of vulnerability in Puerto Rico as they relate to Hurricane Marie.

In addition, Fluor will continue support for the Construction Science Management Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering Honors and Award Banquet, and the continuation of the Fluor Engineering and Science Study Hall, managed by PEER and WISE.

Finally, Fluor’s donation will support several student organizations including, Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries, National Society of Black Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineering, and IEEE Southeast Design Competition Team.

Engineering Information Foundation supports CU-WIN math program for Lowcountry girls

Supported by a $15,000 grant from the Engineering Information Foundation, based in New York, NY, Clemson hosted the CU Women in Numbers (CU-WIN) summer camp for middle school girls in Charleston, SC this month. The two-week camp introduced participants to mathematical theories, applications, and role models in order to inspire greater persistence among women in the STEM pipeline.

Clemson’s Programs for Education Enrichment and Retention (PEER) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), led by Director Serita Acker, hosted the camp at the Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI). Cummins, a leading power generation product company, helped provide funding and volunteers through their STEM and Women’s affiliates groups to support the camp.

The camp’s content and programming was designed and led by Clemson graduate students Maya Rucks and Rhoda Latimer. Participants enjoyed opportunities to engage as “digital pen pals” with a girls’ school in Ghana, sharing about their experiences with academics and future aspirations via video messages. The students also toured local Cummins and Boeing plants to see STEM in action.

Female industry representatives from Cummins and Boeing served as role models to the girls throughout the camp, helping them learn about their experiences working in a STEM field and the paths they took to achieve their career success.

Upstate students engineer self-driving boats through Bosch Community Fund-sponsored summer camp

Upstate elementary, middle, and high school students participated in an Autonomous Boat Summer Camp for Ocean Conservation led by automotive engineering professors Srikanth Pilla and Yunyi Jia at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). Sponsored by the Bosch Community Fund, the camp provides students with opportunities to engineer their own small self-driving boats and learn the importance of cleaning the oceans.

Mike McCormick, vice president and technical plant manager at Bosch Rexroth in Fountain Inn, said, “Bosch has always supported programming that combines STEM education with environmental stewardship initiatives and this is a terrific example of that cross-section.”

“Plastic waste is the biggest threat to our oceans,” said Jia. “Animals end up eating these microtoxins and, in turn, die. Or sometimes we end up eating the animals and effectively poison ourselves.”

Jia said the camp is intended to keep students interested in STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and math – but they also get a lot of  ecological and sustainability knowledge.

“While teaching them all sorts of great information on autonomy, we’re using this as an opportunity to also show them that the ocean is worth saving,” he said.

During the camp students are learning about the harms of plastics, the basics of boat building, software coding and, of course, boat autonomy.

Thanks to additional funding from the Bosch Community Fund, the camp builds on a previous 2017 grant supporting an autonomous boat competition among Clemson students at CU-ICAR. In that competition, 71 students were divided into 18 groups that built autonomous boats with cruise control, boundary tracking and collision avoidance using the sensing signal processing, filtering techniques and advanced control methods they learned in class.

Thank you, Bosch, for supporting STEM outreach and education in South Carolina!

Clemson celebrates Wells Fargo’s ongoing investment in education programs in South Carolina

On Wednesday, July 25, representatives from Wells Fargo visited the Clemson campus to celebrate the company’s longstanding support of the Call Me MISTER and Emerging Scholars programs, which spans more than ten years.

Call Me MISTER (CMM) was founded in 2000 to address the low numbers of African American men teaching in South Carolina public K-8 classrooms. CMM’s co-curricular approach pairs a rigorous educational curriculum with supplemental seminars in such topics as character development, community service, and teacher efficacy. CMM students (“Misters”) gain the knowledge/skills to be effective teachers, servant leaders (when servanthood comes first, leadership will naturally follow), and compelling role models for students of all backgrounds.

Emerging Scholars has seen great success in meeting its goal of creating a college-going culture in the state’s economically disadvantaged areas. Specific highlights include: 100 percent of its scholars graduated from high school; 90 percent of these students attend college or join the military their first year out of high school; and 79 percent of program participants who matriculated to some form of postsecondary school after graduation either attended a research institution or four-year college or university.

During the event, Wells Fargo heard about the impact of their investments in these two unique programs from student beneficiaries and from program directors and staff. Several Misters led the attendees in a group activity at lunch to demonstrate their classroom skills firsthand.

In his remarks, Provost Bob Jones discussed the importance of Wells Fargo’s impact on South Carolina: “Both the Emerging Scholars and Call Me MISTER programs have made a transformational impact on education in South Carolina and have allowed the dream of higher education to become a reality for hundreds of students. This success would not be possible without the generous support we have received from Wells Fargo over the years.”

Thank you, Wells Fargo, for your commitment to supporting South Carolina students through the promise of education!

Duke Energy Foundation continues longstanding support of Clemson’s PEER & WISE programs

The Duke Energy Foundation gave $85,000 to Clemson University to continue support of two summer programs that are aimed at increasing diversity in the pipeline that carries talent from academia to the workplace. The foundation granted $45,000 to Project WISE and $40,000 to PEER/WISE Summer Experiences.

Project WISE offers hands-on mini courses designed to develop middle school girls’ knowledge in STEM fields. The foundation expanded the grant last year to specifically target and recruit girls from the Pee Dee region to attend, and that effort continued this year. Sixty girls are enrolled in Project WISE. The Duke Energy Foundation has supported the program since 1997 and some of its alumni have gone on to become Clemson students.

PEER/WISE Summer Experiences seeks to increase the number of minority and female students who pursue both higher education and careers in STEM fields. Incoming Clemson freshmen who participate in the three-week PEER/WISE Summer Experiences will earn two hours of college course credit through both online and in-person educational opportunities, and will be provided with hands-on STEM learning and research experiences.

The program seeks to help students understand the difference between the academic demands of high school and college, and introduce them to the academically intensive STEM college experience through instruction and study skills development in mathematics and engineering from Clemson faculty.

“Programs like these are crucial to giving young people the skills they will need to succeed in the 21st century as well as create a diverse workforce,”  said Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, Duke Energy’s South Carolina state president. “Our ongoing partnership with Clemson University helps produce skilled workers, grow communities and bring them new ideas.”

Both camps are organized by PEER & WISE, a program in the university’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences that supports groups underrepresented in engineering and science.

Serita Acker, the director of PEER & WISE, said she is grateful for the foundation’s continued support.

“Duke Energy’s contributions and visionary thinking are helping us transform lives and keep the pipeline filled with diverse talent,” she said. “We are deeply appreciative for their support of Project WISE and PEER/WISE Summer Experiences.”

Katerra joins Clemson’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute as Founding Partner

Clemson University’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute (WU+D) has added California-based company Katerra to its member program. Katerra joined the institute as a Founding Member, giving $50,000 toward the institute’s mission of researching, educating and providing resources for industry stakeholders in a variety of disciplines to advance wood-based products.

“Clemson is delighted to have Katerra as one of its founding partners,” said Pat Layton, WU+D director. “The innovation they are bringing to the construction industry to set forward a path to increase efficiencies within the building construction systems may provide a transformational change in how we build homes and communicate in the future.”

“We are pleased to be a part of the Wood Utilization + Design Institute, which is bringing together diverse stakeholders to advance the wood products industry in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast,” said Hans-Erik Blomgren, PE SE, director of testing and characterization at Katerra. “Mass timber represents the future of sustainable construction. Through effective collaboration we can drive positive economic and environmental outcomes for end consumers, companies and students alike.”

Katerra is an end-to-end construction and technology services company that applies systems approaches to remove unnecessary time and costs from building design and construction. Katerra’s offerings span architecture and engineering services to interior design, materials supply and construction management for a growing number of building markets: multifamily housing, mass timber high rises, master plan developments, industrial, education, hospitality, student housing and retail buildouts.

Thank you, Katerra, for supporting the next generation of talent for the wood products industry!

BMW continues support of Call Me MISTER and German Language programs at Clemson

BMW has continued its longstanding support of Clemson’s Call Me MISTER and German Language programs with two new $50,000 gifts.

BMW has supported the Call Me MISTER program annually since 2002.  Call Me MISTER pairs a traditional educational curriculum with supplemental seminars in topics such as character development, community service, and teacher efficacy so that the students who emerge from the program as Misters are equipped with the knowledge and skills to not only be effective teachers, but also compelling role models for students of all backgrounds.

BMW has supported the German Language Program at Clemson annually since 2003. BMW’s investment has supported such initiatives as the BMW Lecturer of German, held by Lee Ferrell, the annual German Summit held each spring, the Clemson Language Intensive Program, and the International Forum for German and Spanish in the Professions.

Thank you, BMW, for supporting Clemson students and programs!