Author: vmushef

Hybrid Presentation – In the Seminar Room at the Emeritus College and by Zoom – email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom link.

Evolution of the Parks Mill Rocky Shoals Preserve

In the 70’s a group of young, creative people pooled funds into a project that they called Parks Mill, LLC.  The divisive politics associated with the time convinced these folks that they needed a place where they could “tune in and drop out” occasionally.  They found an old, abandoned grist mill and fifty or so acres on ruggedly beautiful Stevens Creek near Plum Branch in very rural McCormick County.  The LLC bought the site, and started developing it into a laid-back private community, centered around the old mill building and a beautiful stretch of the Creek.  They noticed the strange, beautiful flowering plants growing in the rapidly flowing water in the Creek that bloomed every May to mid-June, but they wre busy turning the old mill building into a community center. 

They added a rudimentary kitchen and a dispensary for adult beverages and built a bathroom with shower onto the back of the building.  A large loading dock area was enclosed and equipped with seating. Outside, they added a sweat lodge, and the large rocks in the creek made excellent spots to place candles for warm summer evenings and weddings.  That’s when the rocky shoals spider lilies (Hymenocallis coronaria) in the Creek began to get more attention.

Then time began to happen, and careers and building college funds began to demand more time.  Gradually, the community began to shrink, and shares came up for sale. Fortunately, a few forward-looking LLC members like Bill Quinn were able to buy parcels as they came available.

Then one spring in the early 2000’s, a call came into Bill Stringer’s Clemson phone from Bill Quinn.  He wanted to preserve the Parks Mill site in perpetuity and wanted the SC Native Plant Society to help to make this happen.  A couple of us drove down to look, saw the lilies, and our response to Bill Quinn was “YES! We will help!”  

We will discuss the Parks Mill preservation site through two vital elements:  the lilies in the Creek; and the historical grist mill structure. 

Samples of Kate Palmer’s Artwork on Display, Salon, Emeritus College: Beach Towel ~ Mountain View ~ Robber Barons in the Gilded Age ~ Lunch with a View

Please save the date for a special event on July 8, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am in the Salon at the Emeritus College

More Details Coming Soon!

Six Week Series by Cecil Huey titled “Space isn’t What it Used to be, Time isn’t Doing so Well Either, and Reality is a Crapshoot: Science from Pythagoras to Planck for Bar Stool Physicists and Starbucks Philosophers.”

Information on Emeritus College 6 Week Series on the History of Science by Dr. Cecil Huey Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering

Session 3 Guide (Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for a session zoom link)

Cecil’s Power Point Symbol Key

Series Course Syllabus

The following was featured in a recent Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) publication:

Emeritus College project featured by Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) | Clemson News

For Active links from the image above:

Parking Permit Application

DIRECTIONS – Emeritus Tiger One Card

PDF Version of Document for Printing

Click Link for Well-Being Special Edition

Well-Being Resources Webpage

Vicki Gillis and Quilts of Valor Read the Story in Our Clemson!

On Emeritus Day, April 22, 2025, Dr. Robert H. Jones, Clemson’s Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, received special recognition from Clemson University’s Emeritus College, the academic home to over 800 emeritus faculty. The Resolution of Appreciation and Esteem was approved by the Advisory Board and presented during the new emeriti recognition ceremony in the Bell South Auditorium. The reading, by Chip Egan, Advisory Board member, delighted Provost Jones who was not anticipating the special honor.

Pictured left to right: President Clements, Provost Jones, and Cecil Huey, Chair of the Emeritus College Advisory Board

Resolution of Appreciation and Esteem

Whereas, Dr. Robert H. Jones has served Clemson University as Chief Academic Officer and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost for a decade, and

Whereas, his tenure has been marked by conspicuous devotion to the faculty, our students, and the University, and

Whereas, his deep links to the University as an alumnus and his devotion to its land grant mission are manifest in his exemplary service, and

Whereas, his efforts have been central to teaching, service, and research mission of the University in ways too numerous to count, and

Whereas, this service has been rendered with courage, steadfastness, patience and good humor, and

Whereas, his high standards of performance and integrity serve as an example, much to be admired and emulated, and

Whereas, the emeritus faculty hold him in high esteem and warm regard, and

Whereas, the faculty wish to affirm this esteem and regard and desire to express appreciation for his efforts, therefore

Be It Resolved, that the Emeritus College proclaims its appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Robert H. Jones for his faithful service to the University and its faculty and students and looks forward tosoonwelcoming him into the Emeritus College.

Be It Further Resolved, that the Emeritus College wishes for him and his family continued success, good health, and happiness for many years to come.

On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, the Clemson University Emeritus College welcomed new members and honored its annual award recipients during its 22nd celebration ceremony and luncheon. President Jim Clements and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Bob Jones welcomed 21 new emeritus faculty members to the college and Cecil Huey, professor emeritus and chair of the Emeritus College Advisory Board, welcomed nine affiliate, associate, and honorary members.

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Space isn’t What it Used to be, Time isn’t Doing so Well Either, and Reality is a Crapshoot – Science from Pythagoras to Planck for Bar Stool Physicists and Starbucks Philosophers

(Six Sessions on Wednesdays, May 14, 2025– June 18, 2025)

Cecil O. Huey, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University

The ways we see ourselves and our universe have evolved from Babylonian metaphysics to a “modern” notion of reality that, even with millennia of thought behind us, remains a bit sketchy. This course will explore the convoluted tangle of scientific thinking that stretches from the Pythagoreans to Einstein’s relativity and the quantum revolution with a focus on cosmology and the physical sciences. It will be safe for barstool physicists having only dim memories of junior high math and Starbucks philosophers who don’t “do science” at all.

Sessions will be sufficiently “stand-alone” to accommodate inevitable conflicts and missed dates. In the interest of continuity, latter sessions will include brief “catch-up” reviews of previous topics.

Full Syllabus

Date: May 14, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Hybrid, Seminar Room & Zoom

Session 1—The opening session includes an introduction to the course, including its aims and organization, and an overview of the Ancient’s efforts to apprehend their world and to describe it. The focus will be on the Egyptians, Babylonians, and the Mediterranean world, through Aristotle.

Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom link

Full Syllabus

Session 2—This session examines the conceptual challenges facing early thinkers as their efforts to refine and sometimes escape Aristotelian dogma and to carefully apply refined observations and analytical methods and, especially, the watershed contributions of Galileo, Kepler, and Copernicus.

Date: May 21, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Hybrid, Seminar Room & Zoom

Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom link

Full Syllabus

Session 3—Here the focus falls on Newton, the Newtonian revolution, Maxwell, and advances in understanding and rigorous analysis that provided a foundation for the coming, transforming achievements of the early twentieth century.

Date: May 28, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Hybrid, Seminar Room & Zoom

Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom link

Full Syllabus

Session 4—Attention is devoted to Einstein and the Theory of Relativity, one of the most consequential scientific developments of the twentieth century. The discussion follows Einstein’s own description of his thoughts aimed at lay audiences.

Date: June 4, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Hybrid, Seminar Room & Zoom

Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom link

Full Syllabus

Session 5—Hard on the heels of Relativity came the Quantum revolution. This discussion traces the emergence of Quantum theory from early conceptual challenges through important, initial observations and examines the famous Einstein-Bohr debate.

Date: June 11, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Hybrid, Seminar Room & Zoom

Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom link

Full Syllabus

Session 6—This final session will further explore Quantum theory and a few of its most puzzling aspects and conclude with a course wrap-up.

Date: June 18, 2025, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Hybrid, Seminar Room & Zoom

Email emerituscollege@clemson.edu for the Zoom linkImage sources

Full Syllabus