Emeritus College

2013 Memorials

John G. Alphrin, 1936 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. A graduate of N.C. State University, he was a researcher at Clemson’s Pee Dee Research Center in Florence. He patented the once-over low profile tobacco harvest and received numerous awards including the 1984 Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Agricultural Engineering Profession from the American Society of Ag Engineers.

Cynthia A. Belcher, 1947 – 2012
Assistant Professor Emerita of Nursing. Born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, she taught nursing at Clemson for many years. She held degrees from the University of Miami and Emory University.

Alma Bennett, 1941 – 2012
Professor Emerita of English and Humanities. An outstanding teacher, mentor and writer, she taught over 30 different courses in her career at Clemson. One of her latest writings was a collection of essays on Thomas Green Clemson. She received numerous awards including the Bradbury Award for contributions to the Honors College and the prestigious Class of 1939 Award for Excellence.

Douglas W. Bradbury, 1919 – 2012
Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering. He was a 1940 graduate of Clemson and taught here for 45 years. He was named an Alumni Master Teacher and a Sesquicentennial Professor at the Medical University where he held an adjunct professorship. He served in the army during WWII and landed on Normandy at D-Day. He continued to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve attaining the rank of Major.

W.C. Clinkscales, 1943 – 2012
Assistant Director of Extension Emeritus. Born in Abbeville County he began work with the Cooperative Extension Service upon graduation. He was very active in the 4-H program and later served in several administrative capacities. He retired from Clemson University and became a trustee at South Carolina State University. He also retired from the U.S. Air Force.

Headley Morris Cox, Jr., 1917 – 2013
Dean and Professor Emeritus of English. He was associated with Clemson University for over 50 years. During his tenure he served as head of the English department and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He also held a Senior Fulbright Lectureship at the University of Graz, Austria. He was active in the community and particularly supportive of the arts.

Teoman K. Doruk, 1934 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of Architecture. He first came to Clemson as a Fulbright Scholar in 1968. Throughout his 40 year career, he balanced his time between Clemson and his alma mater, Istanbul Technical University where he eventually served as Provost. He was known as an outstanding teacher and master of the creative process.

Robert Dean “Bob” Eflin, 1930 – 2013
Associate Professor Emeritus of Architecture. He retired in 1995 after teaching at Clemson for 25 years where he also served as campus Master Planner. He was originally from Kansas and was one of the founders of Schaefer, Schirmer, and Eflin Architectural Firms in Wichita. He was a graduate of the University of Minnesota.

J. Edwin Faris, 1928 – 2013
Head and Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics. Born in the state of Washington, he received a Ph.D. from N.C. State University and began his career at University of California – Davis. He went on to become department head at Virginia Tech, Washington State, and Clemson. He was an on-site USAID consultant in Chile, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Richard Charles Fox, 1925-2013  Professor Emeritus of Entomology
After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the US Army and was assigned to a B-12 Bomber Group of the Eighth Air Force. He was discharged from Lawson Army General Hospital in 1945. He received a B.S. degree (Entomology) in 1948 and a M.S. degree (Forest Entomology) in 1949. After working as the State Forest Entomologist for the Michigan Conservation Department, he returned to Michigan State University to pursue his PhD which was awarded in 1958. He was a professor at Clemson College (University) from 1958 until his retirement in 1981.

Thomas Harold Garner, 1930 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of Agriculture and Biological Engineering. A graduate of N.C. State University, he was a research and teaching professor at Clemson for 30 years. He also served in the U.S. Army. He was very active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and after retiring, served a fulltime mission with the church. He was described as a “farmer at heart and an engineer by craft.”

Joseph R. Haun, 1923 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of Agriculture. He earned a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from the University of Maryland and spent his career conducting agriculture and plant research. He is best known for the widely used Haun scale, which quantifies daily plant growth. His memoir, Unbelievable received the 2011 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award.

E. M. “Whitey” Lander, 1915 – 2013
Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History. A native of Calhoun Falls, he received degrees from Wofford and the University of North Carolina. Early in his career he was a high school teacher and coach. He was also the grandson of Dr. Samuel Lander, founder of Lander University. He served in the Army Air Force during WWII and was a Fulbright Lecturer in India and Nigeria. An accomplished author, he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Robert Jack Mercer, 1929 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Education. A graduate of Penn State and N.C. State Universities, he held professorships as both institutions before coming to Clemson. He retired from Clemson in 1993 where he was described as a “gentle and instructive spirit” greatly loved by his students. He also served in the U.S. Air Force and was active in several professional associations.

Frank Waters Paul, 1938 – 2013
McQueen Quattlebaum Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering. Born in Jersey Shore, he held degrees from Penn State University and Lehigh University. He authored over 100 books and journal articles, most in the area of robotics. He held three patents and was a member of numerous professional and honor societies including Sigma Xi. At the time of his death, he was a member of the Emeritus College Advisory Board.

Georgia T. Roberson, 1924 – 2012
Associate Professor Emerita of Home Economics. She retired from Clemson Cooperative Extension Service in 1979 after 34 years of service. With degrees from Winthrop College and the University of Maryland, she began her career as a County Home Demonstration Agent. She received an Honorary Doctorate from North Greenville University in 2005 where she funded the Roberson Residence Hall.

Victor A. Rudowski, 1924 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of English. Victor enjoyed a long career as an educator, historian and scholar at Harvard University, where he was a teaching fellow in Germanic languages, the University of Cincinnati, where he taught German, and then Clemson University, where he was a Professor of English. During his career he wrote many scholarly articles, in both English and German, as well as two books.

Max Douglas Sherrill, 1930 – 2012
Professor Emeritus of Physics. A graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College and the University of North Carolina, he was a long time professor at Clemson. He was active in the Clemson community and volunteered with the Clemson Child Development Center. He was also a staple fixture at most Emeritus College events.

Richard Ferman Wheeler, 1919 – 2013
Head and Professor Emeritus of Animal Science. A 1941 Clemson graduate, he also attended Mississippi State University and the University of Illinois. He retired as Head of the Animal Science Department at Clemson. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII and retired as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserves.

John Peter Wourms, 1936 – 2013
Professor Emeritus of Biological Science. After degrees from Fordham University and Stanford, and a post doc at Harvard, he taught zoology at Clemson for 30 years. He was an avid outdoorsman, sailing around the world in 1964 and climbing Mt. Kiimanjaro. He was an avid reader and a member of Phi Kappa Phi.