Give Day is a special occasion for the Clemson Family around the world to unite and support the future of our students and upcoming Tigers. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Clemson’s Give Day, an opportunity to contribute to meaningful programs that shape the University’s future. We invite you to consider donating to the John E. Walker Department of Economics. There are two funds you can give to that directly support the department: the Economics Excellence Fund and the Power of One Challenge.
Economics Excellence Fund
By giving to Economic Excellence, you support our Creative Inquiry classes, where students collaborate with faculty to analyze data and tackle real-world issues, as well as the development of new courses, including Microeconomics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and additional courses that enable students to work with businesses on practical challenges. Recognizing the growing demand for analytical skills, we aim to expand our curriculum with classes focused on data analysis and programming in R Python and STATA.
A gift to the Economics Excellence Fund also will help us in expanding our global learning opportunities. This fall, we are excited to relaunch our study abroad program, which gives students the chance to take economics courses in an international setting. Half of the program will take place overseas, combining classroom instruction with hands-on fieldwork to see economic principles in action.
Power of One Challenge
The Power of One Challenge is a capital campaign honoring Bob Tollison, Bobby McCormick, Mike Maloney and Bruce Yandle through the creation of economics professorships. This is an investment in faculty excellence and student outcomes. At Clemson, we recognize that outstanding faculty are the foundation of exceptional learning. Attracting and retaining world-renowned academic, scientific and innovative minds requires a long-term investment in their scholarship, research and commitment to students. Your gift to this challenge also helps our faculty members maintain real-world policy and market presence while increasing Clemson’s influence.
This challenge is an opportunity to advance Clemson’s research prestige and honor those faculty members who have impacted so many lives. Clemson University has made remarkable strides in research, achieving the prestigious Carnegie R1: Doctoral University designation and recognizing the highest level of research activity.
The Power of One Challenge seeks to raise $2.5 million, contributing to a $5 million goal to support the following distinguished positions:
- The Tollison Chair in Economics – Honoring Bob Tollison, a scholar who played a key role in public choice theory, the economics of sports and the economics of religion.
- The McCormick Distinguished Professorship – Recognizing Bobby McCormick, a dedicated faculty member in economics from 1982 to 2007 and former Dean of the College of Business (2014–2018).
- The Yandle Distinguished Professorship – Celebrating Bruce Yandle, co-founder of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism and former Dean of the College of Business, as well as a distinguished economist with roles in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the President’s Council on Wage and Price Stability.
- The Maloney Distinguished Professorship – Commemorating Mike Maloney, a pivotal figure in establishing Clemson’s Economic Ph.D. program, recruiting its first class of doctoral students.
Make an impact on Give Day! As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Give Day, we encourage you to contribute to either the Economic Excellence Fund or the Power of One Challenge. Every gift makes a difference for our students, college and community.
Go Tigers!
