Dr. Absalom W. Snell, 90, former head of Agricultural Engineering and associate director of the Clemson Agricultural Experiment Station, died Thursday. Snell served the university for 39 years from 1949 to 1988.
A professor and department chair in Agricultural Engineering, Snell was associate director of the Clemson Experiment Station from 1975 to 1988, and acted as interim director from 1986 to 1987.
He first came to Clemson in 1942, and graduated in 1949 after serving in the military during World War II.
Snell’s legacy of service and distinction is perpetuated through the Godley-Snell Award for Agricultural Excellence. The award is named in honor of W. Cecil Godley, former director of the Clemson Agricultural Experiment Station, and Snell, former associate director. The experiment station is a network of scientists on the main campus and at research and education centers across the state that conduct research and provide demonstration programs for farmers.
The Godley-Snell Award is the largest annual agricultural research award given at the university and is allocated from earnings of a fund that was first established upon Dr. Godley’s retirement in 1986, and was increased in 1988 when Snell retired.
The purpose of the fund is to stimulate excellence in agricultural research by making a personal award to faculty members conducting research through the Experiment Station.
In 1995, Drs. Godley and Snell were honored with a building named for them. The Godley-Snell Research Center houses research and teaching activities and the office of the university veterinarian.
Snell is survived by and his wife, four children, family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Clemson United Methodist Church, P.O .Box 590, Clemson 29633, or to Clemson University Foundation, 110 Daniel Drive, Clemson 29631-1520. Condolences may be expressed online at http://www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com/ .
