Inside Clemson

Inside NOW: Financial/Budgeting seminars offered; Cole named interim director of regulatory services; creative inquiry forum highlights student research

Scroll down to read the following articles:

1. Semi-monthly pay: Financial/Budgeting seminars offered
2. Steve Cole named interim director of regulatory services at Clemson
3. April 9 Creative Inquiry forum highlights sustainability, bioengineering and other student research

4. Barker’s blog: CU Enterprise Act streamlines duplicate processes; maintains accountability

5. Discovery Research blog: A holistic approach to preventing and treating cancer
6. Student registration: iROAR help centers available through April 11
7. Being Mr. and Mrs. Clemson — Ron Grant and Janet Bean bring the Clemson spirit to life

8. A life in the Clemson library, enriched by the Staff Development Program

9. Got summer plans for your kids? Pre-Collegiate programs office offers academic summer programs for 7th – 12th grade students

10. CCIT Upcoming professional development opportunities

11. PARKING/TRANSIT: CAT deviations, parking and roadway closures, and towing events this week
12. OBITUARIES: Louise Chapman Elliott, retiree;
Richard Hegg, retiree

1. Semi-monthly pay: Financial/Budgeting seminars offered

Semi-monthly pay: Financial/Budgeting seminars offered

Last month, an announcement was sent out regarding the University’s transition to a semi-monthly pay cycle beginning June 2013.  In order to provide assistance as you continue planning for these changes, the university has partnered with an external resource to provide financial/budgeting seminars to all faculty and staff.

Financial/Budgeting seminars will be held at the dates/times shown below.  A webinar will be also be held for anyone not able to attend in person.

Financial/Budgeting Seminars & Webinar:

  • April 11, 1-2 p.m., McKissick Theater at the Hendrix Student Center
  • April 12, 9:30-10:30 a.m., McKissick Theater at the Hendrix Student Center
  • April 16, 11 a.m. – noon, McKissick Theater at the Hendrix Student Center
  • April 18, 2-3 p.m., Webinar only

Click here to register for any of the events above.  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Human Resources at Ask-HR.

For your reference, the information that was previously sent out regarding the paycheck cycle change may be viewed at:  http://www.clemson.edu/employment/compensation/Semi-Monthly.html.

2. Steve Cole named interim director of Regulatory Services at Clemson

http://www.clemson.edu/media-relations/4812

Steve Cole, head of Clemson University’s plant industry department, has been named interim director of the state’s Regulatory Services at the university. He succeeds Neil Ogg, who is retiring Friday following 37 years of service.

Clemson Regulatory Services is the designated state agency to safeguard the health of South Carolina’s crops, forests and landscape plants.

“Neil Ogg’s career of service to the state has been exemplary,” said George Askew, Clemson associate vice president for Public Service Activities. “He has championed a number of visionary causes, such as leading the effort to keep fertilizer from being misused as an explosive, the first such legislation in the nation.

“He has been at the forefront of securing new technology, such as the polymerase chain reaction laboratory in the Plant Problem Clinic and new software allowing soil recommendations to be downloaded to smart phones,” Askew said.

“South Carolina agriculture and Clemson University have benefited greatly from Neil’s career of leadership,” he said. “We are fortunate to have strong leadership within the unit that enables us to continue to move forward. Steve Cole is well-prepared to shepherd Regulatory Services during this transition.”

A former Georgia Department of Agriculture official and county Extension agent, Cole joined Clemson in 2012 to oversee plant inspection and certification programs designed to protect South Carolina farms, forests and green-industry businesses.

Cole served for more than a decade managing regulatory programs in the Georgia agriculture department, most recently as director of the department’s seed, fertilizer and feed section. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at University of Tennessee and a doctorate at the University of Georgia.

Clemson’s Regulatory Services include four areas: plant industry, pesticide regulation, plant problem clinic and homeland security:

  • Plant Industry functions include nursery inspection, survey and eradication of invasive plant and pest species, fertilizer and lime regulation, and seed and organic certification.
  • Pesticide Regulation is responsible for licensing pest management professionals and pesticide applicators, analyzing and registering pesticide products, and investigating pesticide misuse cases.
  • The Plant Problem Clinic identifies plant diseases, insect pests and weeds for regulatory action, as well as for the public in collaboration with Clemson Extension agents.
  • Homeland Security protects the state’s agricultural and food crops against agroterrorism or other catastrophic events.

3. April 9 Creative Inquiry forum highlights sustainability, bioengineering and other student research

https://blogs.clemson.edu/inside-clemson/uncategorized/april-9-focus-on-creative-inquiry-forum-highlights-sustainability-bioengineering-and-other-student-research/

The eighth annual Focus on Creative Inquiry is a glimpse into the future. Featuring the research of our undergraduate students, the poster forum displays a few of the more than 400 projects initiated by Clemson University Creative Inquiry teams. We have more than 3,000 students participating in Creative Inquiry, on more than 400 teams. These 250+ projects have resulted in 188 presentations at professional meetings, 95 publications in professional journals and three patent applications.

In the course of their investigations, our students have traveled to Africa and Haiti. They were integral to the establishment of the Social Media Listening Center, the first of its kind on a college campus in the US. Through their participation in Creative Inquiry, Clemson students have learned to be thinkers, leaders and entrepreneurs.

This year’s forum features a series of interactive exhibits:

  • Cooking with a chef: 1 – 3 p.m.
  • Sustainable foods: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Bioengineering demonstrations: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Social media listening lab: 10 a.m. – Noon
  • Explant retrieval: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Box turtle road safety: 10: a.m. – Noon
  • Sonicator demonstration: 1 – 3 p.m.

The Hendrix Center is the setting for this one-of-a-kind experience. Posters are on display from 10 a.m. – Noon and 1-3 p.m. on the second floor. The plenary session and awards presentation are at 3:15 p.m. in McKissick Theater.

Find out more at http://www.clemson.edu/ci/assets/documents/foci/2013.pdf

4. Barker’s blog: CU Enterprise Act streamlines duplicate processes; maintains accountability

https://blogs.clemson.edu/barkers-blog/2013/04/the-clemson-university-enterprise-act/

A bill recently introduced in the South Carolina Senate — the Clemson University Enterprise Act — creates an innovative, new state/university partnership that would give Clemson tools to be more efficient, cost-effective and nimble in managing operations outside the core undergraduate academic mission. It would streamline many of the time-consuming, duplicative processes we face, while maintaining full accountability back to the state.

The legislation would create a new division within Clemson University – an enterprise division – which would include units that need to operate like businesses or activities where we interact with the private sector. Examples would be CU-ICAR, athletics or student housing.

This is not a new idea for the state or for higher education. The enterprise division is modeled after the Medical University of South Carolina’s very successful hospital authority, which the General Assembly approved more than a decade ago.

Essentially, the legislation would give the Board of Trustees fiscal and directional control of operations within the enterprise division – and it would allow us to create alternative personnel, procurement and capital project processes for those operations. Any board actions on enterprise division matters would be taken during public meetings and entered into the public record, as is the case now.

To maintain state oversight, it would require mandatory reports to the Governor, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. It also requires an annual independent audit of the enterprise division, with findings reported to those same three individuals.

The enterprise legislation is essential to Clemson’s success in implementing the 2020 Road Map. Saving time and money now spent on duplicative approval processes can help us meet our reallocation targets. Being able to respond more quickly to private-sector partnerships will support our economic development initiatives and, in turn, make South Carolina more competitive. Streamlined personnel and procurement processes can make us more successful in competing for research contracts which will make our state more attractive to private industry.

It’s also important to recognize that there are many things the enterprise legislation won’t do. It won’t impact our core undergraduate education programs. It won’t affect faculty tenure, review and promotion procedures that are governed by the faculty manual. It won’t change restrictions on land-use land. It won’t eliminate the competitive bid process for capital projects.  It won’t eliminate state benefits or grievance rights for staff.  And, most importantly, it does not contradict the will of Thomas Green Clemson.

I will commit to keeping you posted as this legislation progresses through the General Assembly.  In the meantime, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Governmental Affairs office.

5. Discovery Research blog: A holistic approach to preventing and treating cancer

https://blogs.clemson.edu/discovery/2013/03/19/a-holistic-approach-to-preventing-and-treating-cancer/

by Jacqueline Dickens

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

I believe in the healing power of food.  Does this sound strange coming from a nursing student?  As someone who has completed advanced coursework in pharmacotherapy and pathophysiology, do you expect me to automatically think that pharmacological agents would most adequately manage a patient’s problem?  When you visit your healthcare provider, do you anticipate an order for a prescription medication order instead of the recommendation for a complementary or alternative medicine (CAM)?  When, exactly, did we get away from using diet, herbs and plants as treatments?  As I ponder these questions, I am reminded of a joke outlining the 4,000-year history of medicine:

2000 B.C. – Here, eat this root.

1000 A.D. – That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.

1850 A.D. – That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.

1940 A.D. – That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.

1985 A.D. – That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.

2000 A.D. – That antibiotic is dangerous. Here, eat this root.

Although ironic, I hope that as a society, we are getting back to our ‘roots’ and using real food, plants and herbs for natural, healing purposes.

Conventional, science-based medicine is mainstream in western society today.  But allopathic medicine is not the only answer.  Over one-third of adults in the United States use some form of complementary or alternative therapy, whether they realize it or not.  The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine classifies these treatments into five domains: (1) alternative medical systems such as traditional eastern medicine or indigenous systems including acupuncture and tai chi; (2) mind-body interventions such as meditation and the use of spiritual healers; (3) biologically-based therapies like herbalism, diet therapy or single nutrient usage; (4) manipulative and body-based methods to include chiropractic medicine, massage and reflexology; (5) energy therapies involving biofields or electromagnetic fields.  While conventional medicine focuses on the physical part of the patient’s body, holistic health care addresses integrated physical, spiritual, energetic and social elements (Townsend, 2012).

In October 2001, James ‘Rhio’ O’Connor received a devastating diagnosis for pleural mesothelioma. This rare cancer, caused by exposure to asbestos, affects the protective sac encompassing the pleural cavity of the lungs. In Rhio’s case, surgery was not possible and he shied away from traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. Rhio’s oncologist predicted he had less than a year to live. But through working with professional clinicians to develop a plan that incorporated a vegetarian diet, natural supplements and mind-body medicine, Rhio outlived these estimates by six years. I believe this was largely attributed to his sense of self-discipline, a natural curiosity and incredible determination (Cancer Monthly, Inc., 2012).

I truly admire Rhio’s will to live. If faced with a similar situation, I would like to think I would respond in the same manner.  It is important to thoroughly research the afflicting disease, including searching for recent clinical studies and long-term survivors who have defied the odds of their prognosis. I would not limit my investigation to conventional treatments prescribed by allopathic doctors, but would also consider CAMs and the recommendations of holistic medicine clinicians. Just as each person is unique, I believe the impact of disease can be equally individual.

What if instead of being used simply as treatment methods, CAM was incorporated into one’s everyday lifestyle, pre-diagnosis?  I believe that preventative measures would lower the incidence of cancer, disease and other chronic conditions in our society.  This is the reason behind why I try to live a healthy lifestyle.  An endurance athlete, my exercise regiment also encompasses restorative activities and stress management techniques such as Pilates method and yoga.  One of the most significant changes I made in my life occurred one year ago when I adopted a vegan diet, low in processed foods and high in organic fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The corresponding improvements I saw in my health have truly been phenomenal.

The concept of using nutrition to help manage or prevent a chronic disease is not a new idea.  Researchers Caldwell Esselstyn and T. Colin Campbell have investigated this topic since the 1960s.  Many diseases such as cancer have heritability components, but are also affected by environmental factors.  One of the most exciting benefits of good nutrition is the prevention of diseases that were previously thought to be due to genetic predisposition.  According to the American Dietetic Association, “The results of an evidence-based review showed vegetarians tend to have a lower overall cancer rates” (“Position of the,” 2009).  If excluding animal proteins from the diet turns off cancer genes via epigenetics and decreases risk for cancer and chronic diseases, I am all in (Campbell & Campbell II, 2006).

I get questions all the time about why I choose to follow such ‘extreme’ diet modifications.  But is plant-based nutrition really extreme, particularly when compared to some modern cancer treatments such as cutting into the human body to remove an internal component, injecting poisonous chemicals into the body or blasting it with radioactive particles?  While I don’t doubt these methods are proven means of treating cancer, all three sound pretty radical to me!  If I can do a few things pertaining to diet and exercise now to enhance my quality of life in the future, why not? What do I really have to lose?

Thomas Edison predicted, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”  In my opinion, preventive medicine is the most important component of health care, yet it is largely marginalized by society.  As a nursing student and an associate at a national health and organic grocery store, I frequently speak with people about leading healthy lifestyles.  But as a new Registered Nurse in 2014, I feel I will be even better equipped to educate patients on the effectiveness of diet and CAM in preventing and treating disease.

6. Student registration: iROAR help centers available through April 11

https://blogs.clemson.edu/inside-clemson/inside-news/student-registration-iroar-help-centers-available-april-1-11/

Students will be using iROAR for the first time to register for fall classes.  Like anything new, we are expecting that some will need assistance navigating and understanding the new procedures to register for classes.  Help Centers will be set up on campus to assist students April 1-11 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

Help center locations include:

  • Brackett 342
  • Sirrine G-12
  • Long Hall 228
  • Edwards 203

Encourage your students to view “how to register” and other helpful registration videos at
www.clemson.edu/iroar.

7. Being Mr. and Mrs. Clemson — Ron Grant and Janet Bean bring the Clemson spirit to life

https://blogs.clemson.edu/creative-services/staff/2013/being-mr-and-mrs-clemson-ron-grant-and-janet-bean-bring-the-clemson-spirit-to-life/?fs

By Molly Collins, Class of 2013
Media Relations

Founder’s Day marks a time when Clemson University commemorates the death of its founder, Thomas Green Clemson, while celebrating his determined spirit and vision for public education. He died on April 6, 1888, but on occasion, you can spot Thomas and his wife, Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson, around campus. But those aren’t ghosts that you are seeing.

Meet Ron Grant, director of college relations for the College of Engineering and Science, and Janet Bean, undergraduate student services coordinator for the Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The two dress as Mr. and Mrs. Clemson for multiple campus events, including Founder’s Day.

“The first time I played Thomas Green Clemson was for a college event in 2004,” Grant said. “More regularly, it started in 2009. The Legacy Day committee was looking for somebody to play Thomas Green Clemson, and I was the only one with the beard to say that I would do it.”

Grant remained solo for some time, but in fall 2011, the Legacy Day committee decided that it was time to pay tribute to Anna. While Thomas had the plan to offer education as the solution to the economic downfall of the South after the Civil War, the land that would serve as the location for an institute of higher learning belonged to her, and she was a big advocate of her husband’s vision. Bean was working as a tour guide at Fort Hill on football Saturdays when she was asked to suit up in corset and crinolines.

“It was time to give props to Mrs. Clemson,” Bean said. “I’m the right age, and Ron and I are about 10 years apart in age like Thomas and Anna were.”

Grant and Bean make appearances at many campus events celebrating the history of the University. Most recently, they were in character for the celebration of Thomas and Anna’s wedding anniversary, as well a birthday celebration for Anna in February. But of the many appearances they make, Legacy Day — which takes place in November — is a true favorite of the two, as it is a time when many students are introduced to Fort Hill.

“That’s probably my favorite event,” Grant said. “A lot of them have not been to the house before, and a lot of people say that if you come in this house you won’t graduate. I tell students that if you don’t come in this house in your four years, then you won’t graduate.”

For Bean, it’s the fact that so many students come into the house.

“There were more than 500 in a little over two hours this past year. It was exciting to see that number of students come in and learn about the history, and we had fun taking pictures with them.”

Grant and Bean love interacting with students while in costume and posing for photographs. And while many students do recognize them as University employees, Grant and Bean aren’t exactly themselves when in costume.

“When you put the costume on, it’s very different than what one wears today,” Bean said. “I’m wearing a long dress, a corset and crinolines. There’s a limit to your range in motion. I have a greater respect for anything a woman is able to do in that type of clothing.”

“It’s much more formal,” Grant said. “When we first started doing this, we were trying to evoke the spirit of Thomas Green Clemson, and the feeling at that time was that we could better accomplish that if I never spoke. Since Anna has joined us, she speaks, and I still typically don’t.”

But beyond the spectacle of appearing in costume, Grant and Bean relish the opportunity to pay tribute to these figures.

“They are an excellent example of what two people can do with a vision and with a sense of community,” Grant said. “And it is an honor to play the founder of the University. It has given me the opportunity to meet students, staff, friends of the University and alumni that I would have never known.”

“It’s a great honor,” Bean said. “You gain a greater appreciation for the people and what they were able to do.”

Suffice it to say, Grant and Bean have become an integral part of Clemson University’s many tributes to its founding. And just like the time-honored tradition of Founder’s Day, we might think of the live appearance of the Clemsons as a tradition in itself.

Founder’s Day Event: http://calendar.clemson.edu/event/founders_day_event

8. A life in the Clemson library, enriched by the Staff Development Program

https://blogs.clemson.edu/creative-services/staff/2013/a-life-in-the-clemson-library-enriched-by-the-staff-development-program/

When Micki Reid says she has been in R.M. Cooper Library her entire life, she means that quite literally. Reid has been spending time in the library since before she was born.

Her mother, Wilma C. Burkett, worked in the library for 38 years, during which time she was pregnant with Reid. Reid recalls spending a lot of time in the library as a child, and she worked as a student employee in the library while she was earning her bachelor’s degree in education from Clemson. She became a full-time employee at the library in 1993 and has been there ever since.

Reid is now the library’s communication coordinator and is tasked with publicizing the library’s services and programs to students, faculty, staff and the community. Many people are familiar with Reid’s work, though they may not know it. She’s the person behind the library’s social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and the library’s blog. She has even incorporated her hobby of photography into her work, posting a “photo of the day” every day on the library blog.

In 2011, Reid was accepted to participate in the Staff Development Program (SDP). As someone who participated in the library’s Career Success Program, which was very similar to the SDP, she knew it would be a challenge, but that it would also be rewarding.

“After you work here so long, you become complacent,” she said. “Doing something like this creates opportunities that you might not have been aware of previously. It’s nice to challenge yourself and to seek out opportunities that you normally wouldn’t have taken the time to do.”

In the SDP, participants work out a plan to accomplish 150 hours of professional development, personal development and University involvement/service activities, working toward specific goals in each area. Reid’s professional goals included helping to develop a Creative Inquiry team on library instruction and marketing. One of her personal goals was to take a photography class at Tri-County Technical College. She also took several Skillport classes online on topics ranging from Photoshop to creativity to stress relief.

For her community service, she volunteered in her hometown of Six Mile, using her communication expertise to help publicize the town’s Christmas parade and Issaqueena Festival. Even though her participation in the SDP ended last year, she has continued to remain active with her service to Six Mile by helping plan and promote their events.

Reid said the SDP was a very worthwhile program for her on a number of different levels.

“A program like this reminds you to get out of your box, to get out of your office and your department and do some different things that will benefit both you and the University,” she said. “It reminds you that the University has all these different functions and that we’re all working toward the same goal, to make Clemson the best place it can be for our students and for the other people who work here.”

She said the program helped her bond with her library colleagues who were also participating in the SDP, and that she has served as a resource and supporter for library staffers who are currently in the program.

Reid believes the administration’s support of the SDP speaks volumes about how much staff are valued at Clemson.

“I am so happy that the University is so supportive of staff enrichment through this program,” she said. “It was such a great experience.”


Applications for the next year of the SDP will be taken March 15 through April 16. For more information on eligibility requirements and to download an application, visit http://www.clemson.edu/sdp/eligibility.html.

9. Got summer plans for your kids? Pre-Collegiate programs office offers academic summer programs for 7th – 12th grade students
http://www.clemson.edu/summer/summer-science/

10. CCIT Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

http://www.clemson.edu/ccit/learning_tech/ccit_training/index.html

11. PARKING/TRANSIT: CAT deviations, parking and roadway closures, and towing events this week

https://blogs.clemson.edu/inside-clemson/inside-news/parkingtransit-cat-deviations-parking-and-roadway-closures-and-towing-events-this-week/

Parking at Brooks Center: White spaces reserved Thursday, April 4

Thursday, April 4, the white spaces in C-11 will be reserved in the morning for Tempest Trio, a Eskridge Tri-Art Series presentation. The performance begins at 9:30 a.m. and spaces will be released after the performance has begun. For more information, visit http://www.clemson.edu/Brooks/events/triart.php.

Parking at Brooks Center: Towing beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 4

Thursday, April 4, the white spaces in C-11 will be reserved starting at 6 p.m. for Patron’s Row parking for the performance of Tempest Trio. Any vehicles left in these spaces after 6 p.m. will be subject to tow. For more information about the show, visit http://www.clemson.edu/Brooks/events/detail.php?ID=602.

CAT bus deviation beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, April 5

Friday, April 5, TigerPaw Productions is hosting Tigeritaville, an outdoor concert on the lawn of Littlejohn Coliseum. Beginning at 4 p.m., Centennial Boulevard will be blocked from Ravenel Road to the Avenue of Champions. This concert impacts the following areas:

  • The Avenue of Champions from the IPTAY Office to the Littlejohn Coliseum Tunnel will be closed to vehicle traffic and the parking reserved for concert preparations.
  • CAT buses will be rerouted on their way back into campus from Perimeter Road to take a right onto S.C. highway 93 and then a right onto Williamson Road to get back on route. This means that Ravenel Road/Centennial Boulevard bus stop, Centennial Boulevard/Avenue of Champions bus stop, and the Breezeway stop along the route heading into campus will not be serviced after 4 p.m.
  • Vehicles parked on Centennial Boulevard and in the C-9 parking lot will need to relocate.

Calhoun Drive closed beginning at 5 a.m. Sunday, April 7

Calhoun Drive from just past the entrance to the Sikes parking lot to Tillman will be closed to vehicle traffic for set up of the Clemson International Festival. Parking for this event is directed to Parkway Drive and the Daniel Drive area near Clemson House.

Students are asked not to park in E-6 or Parkway Drive on Saturday, April 6 to reserve parking for festival guests.

Increased traffic around Hendrix Student Center Tuesday, April 9

There will be a large number of visitors on campus on Tuesday, April 9 for the Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum. Please allow extra time to find parking if you typically park in this area. If you are attending the forum, please consider riding the CAT Bus to Hendrix Student Center rather than driving. For more information about this event,  visit  http://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/creative-inquiry/opportunities/foci/.

12. OBITUARIES: Louise Chapman Elliott, retiree; Richard Hegg, retiree

Louise Chapman Elliott, 87, of Seneca died March 24, 2013. She served as an accounting technician for the College of Agricultural Science and retired in 1991 after 17 years of service.

Elliott is survived by her husband, two children, family and friends.

A funeral service was held March 26.

Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, South Carolina Chapter, 4124 Clemson Blvd., Suite L, Anderson, S.C. 29621 or American Cancer Society, 154 Milestone Way, Greenville, S.C. 29615.

Condolences may be expressed online at davenportfuneralhome.com.

Richard Hegg, retiree

Richard Hegg of Arlington, Va. died April 1, 2013. He served as department head of agriculture engineering and retired in 1997 after 30 years of service.

Hegg is survived by his wife, two children, family and friends.

Hegg will be laid to rest later this week near his hometown of Bruce, South Dakota.

Condolences can be sent to the Hegg Family at 1101 S. Arlington Ridge Rd., #1210, Arlington, VA  22202.

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