Inside Clemson

Employee Shout-Outs – June 9, 2025

Posted on by Colby Lanham

Marjorie Campbell and Debbie Gravely, CCIT Internal Operations

“Shout out to Marjorie and Debbie for your work in organizing and mentoring 19 CCIT staff for the 9-month ‘CCIT Emerging Leaders Institute (CELI).’ Thank you for your work to manage personal & professional development opportunities and arrange tours & speakers to provide us a better understanding of CCIT, Clemson University and the surrounding community. We appreciate you and are thankful for this opportunity!” – CELI c/o 2025

David Gilpin, Talent Management Systems Coordinator, Office of Human Resources

“A big thank you and shout out to David Gilpin, the Office of Human Resources’ talent management systems coordinator. Throughout the year, David is always so incredibly helpful. Comparing notes with other supervisors, we all seem to have the same experience in working with David in terms of his quick follow up and we are thankful we have him as a fellow Tiger to help all of us with what might be a hard task to navigate. David makes OnBase easy to use and we can just focus on giving our colleagues great feedback and support through the performance process.” – Anonymous

Sidney Angner, Genomic Core Technician, Center for Human Genetics

“Sidney’s contributions to the Center for Human Genetics Core are truly invaluable — we’d be lost without her! She’s a ray of sunshine who always goes above and beyond, giving her best in everything she does.” – Anonymous

Shannon Clark, Public Info Director, Records/Registration

“I had the pleasure of working with Shannon on improving the accessibility of the undergraduate catalog. She was proactive in asking thoughtful questions and genuinely receptive to feedback, using it to drive meaningful improvements. Her eagerness to learn and open-minded approach made our collaboration both productive and enjoyable.” – Jon Olson, Digital Accessibility Specialist, CCIT
















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Employee Shout-Outs – June 2, 2025

Posted on by Colby Lanham

Larissa Whitten, Director, Enterprise Quality Management Services

“Larissa! Your unmatched attention to detail has helped us publish a user guide for PDF accessibility that will be a game-changer in the national field of document accessibility. I am so impressed with your eagle-eye and thoughtful, thorough review of our website. What an asset you are to us, CCIT, and Clemson. THANK YOU for what you do.” – Dan Lewis and Walker Massey, Digital Accessibility

Kevin Finan, Procurement Manager II, Procurement and Business Services

“HUGE shout out to Kevin Finan for always having a positive attitude and for always being there to help others! You are a great asset to Clemson and the procurement team! I am very thankful for you! THANK YOU!!” – Jen Charette, Administrative Assistant, Dean’s Office, The Graduate School

Dr. Ale Kennedy, AVP and Chief Human Resources Officer and Human Resources Team

“We offer an immense thanks to AVP Kennedy for inviting us to speak at a recent HR “all hands”! We are encouraged by HR’s value of digital accessibility, notable by including us in this agenda and the audience’s engagement. We look forward to continuing to partner with Clemson’s Human Resources to assist in publishing digital resources that everyone can access. ” – Digital Accessibility Team





Posted in Shout-outs

Employee Shout-Outs – May 27, 2025

Posted on by Colby Lanham

Sandi Priddy, Administrative Coordinator with Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation (CAFLS)

“Thank you Sandi for your dedication to enhancing the student experience and for the incredible effort you put into organizing events for the department. Your hard work and attention to detail make a meaningful impact, we all appreciate all that you do!” – Anonymous

Vickie Byko, Administrative Assistant, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation

“Thank you Vickie for your always going above and beyond! You are so appreciated by us all!” – Anonymous

Kayla Steele Payne, Chief of Staff, CAFLS Administration Office
“Kayla is one of the most remarkable and highly effective staff members I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. She’s exceptionally organized, incredibly efficient, and ever cheerful in all her endeavors. Beyond these impressive qualities, she’s also exceptionally astute and possesses a remarkable ability to discern character. While I’ve had the pleasure of working with many exceptional staff members, Kayla truly stands out as one of the best.” – Anonymous

Kristi Cox (Director of Campus Reservations and Events), Callie Bunyea (Associate Director of Campus Reservations and Events)

“A huge shout-out to Pam Davis’s entire department, including Kristi Cox and Callie Bunyea for the exceptional job of coordinating over 5000 Clemson Tigers through graduation! Their team makes everything seamless – even had a Gamecock Faculty member enthusiastically comment to me how incredible it was!” – Kryssa Cooper, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs








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Mary Polen, retiree – April 21, 2025

Posted on by rreal

Mary Polen, retired administrative assistant with the National Dropout Prevention Center, passed away on April 21, 2025.

Polen began her Clemson career on October 28, 1977, and retired on July 1, 1994. She was then rehired from 1996 to 2011, totaling 32 years of service with the University. In addition to the National Dropout Prevention Center, she also worked for the computer center and provost’s office.

Mary Polen’s obituary is available online.

Posted in Obituaries

Employee Shout-Outs – May 19, 2025

Posted on by Colby Lanham

Sarah Reeves, Financial Business Manager, Student Affairs Business Operations 

“Sarah goes above and beyond daily to support the Division of Student Affairs departments, students, and campus partners. She steps up to any challenge. Sarah leads by example, works hard to always ensure everything is done the right way, and helps everyone that she can when needed!” – Lisa Bona, Chief Business Operations Officer, Student Affairs Business Operations 

Madeline Hellmich, Public Historian

“I’m super proud of Madeline’s recent success in making a digitally accessible PDF publication for Cemetery Hill. Learning to use Adobe InDesign is a steep curve — add to that the understanding and application of digital accessibility concepts, and you easily have a heavy lift on your hands for a beginner. Madeline immediately jumped on the opportunity and produced a beautiful, accessible newsletter with minimal coaching! Excellent work, Madeline.” – Walker Massey, Digital Accessibility Specialist, CCIT Internal Operations

Amie Bennett, Finance Manager, VIPR-GS

“Thank you for being such a great teammate and team player. Amie is always willing to jump in and help with a smile on her face!” – Anonymous

Steven Kay, Building Assessment Tech, University Facilities

“Thank you for sprucing up Barre Hall suite 109. We appreciate everything you are doing to make our building / suite cleaner and more presentable.” – Grants staff, 109 Barre Hall















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Brenda Burk, Faculty, University Libraries

Posted on by rreal
Brenda Burk.

Clemson University mourns the death of Brenda Burk, University records officer for Clemson Libraries.

“Brenda will be deeply missed by everyone in the Libraries. She was truly passionate about archiving and preserving history, and she made a huge impact in her roles leading Special Collections and Archives and Records Management. She was dedicated to her work and was very good at engaging with the campus community,” said Clemson Libraries Dean Chris Cox. “My thoughts go out to Brenda’s family and friends during this difficult time, as well as to her colleagues here in the Libraries and across campus.”

Burk began her Clemson career on April 7, 2014, totaling more than 11 years of service with the University.

“We are deeply saddened to learn the news of Brenda’s passing. Brenda has been a valuable member of our University community over her 11 years at Clemson,” said Ariel Turner, associate dean of collections and discovery. “Her passion for preserving and interpreting our local history and her work on records management have been enormously impactful. We send our deepest condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones.”

Bill Cline and Brenda book look at a binder full of historical documents.
Bill Cline ’77 shows a collection of his father’s items to Brenda Burk. Cline’s father was U.S. Army Cpt. William Cline, a 1941 Clemson College graduate, who was company commander of the 758th Light Tank Battalion, the only black tank battalion in WWII. The 758th served alongside the 92nd Infantry Division “Buffalo Soldiers,” and fought in Italy against the famous German “Gothic Line.” (Photo by Ken Scar)

“Her passion for helping others related to history and Clemson has been beneficial to all with Clemson University,” said Rick Owens, historic preservation officer with University Facilities.

Counseling services are available to faculty and staff through ComPsych, the University’s Employee Assistance Program provider, at 866-365-0813.

Her online obituary with service information will be updated when information is available.

Clemson University Obituaries

Obituaries for active employees, retirees and current students are issued by Inside Clemson once we are able to confirm the information. Since faculty and staff live and work throughout the state, we depend on university departments, colleagues or friends to notify us of the deaths of active employees and retirees.

Posted in Obituaries

Daniel Herr, retiree – March 26, 2025

Posted on by rreal

Daniel “Dan” Herr, retired University engineer with Facilities Maintenance Services, passed away on March 26, 2025.

Herr was a Clemson alumnus who began his Clemson career on September 27, 1971, and retired on January 3, 2003, totaling more than 31 years with the University.

Herr helped design the Outdoor Lab and the Class of 1944 Visitors Center, as well as laying out C-L-E-M-S-O-N on the upper deck of Memorial Stadium.

His daughter, Marianne Glaser, is a principal lecturer in the Department of Communication.

Daniel Herr’s obituary is available online (registration may be required). A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, June 21 at Grandview Cemetery Chapel in Maryville, Tenn., followed by a gathering at Springbrook Park in Alcoa, Tenn.

Posted in Obituaries

Employee Shout-Outs – May 12, 2025

Posted on by Colby Lanham

Human Resources Training and Onboarding Team

“I offer an enthusiastic Shout-out to Alexis Shepard, Training/Onboarding Specialist and the excellent Human Resources Training and Onboarding team, Alanna Landreth, Mary-Kate Califf, Cara Checchio, and Katie Smithson. This brilliant, devoted team is equipped with an understanding of digital accessibility and a more profound knowledge of Microsoft Word features. Not only will they be able to produce accessible documents for current and future employees, but applying their new knowledge will streamline their writing, making their publishing process more efficient. Thanks for hosting me for this workshop – I’m looking forward to our next session on digital accessibility for PowerPoint!” – Walker Massey, Digital Accessibility Specialist, CCIT Internal Operations

Bryan Smith, Area Extension Agent, Laurens County Cooperative Extension Office

“Bryan is always willing to help. He has been a tremendous resource in assisting Extension Agents with learning Salesforce and recently delivered a training on Excel for the South Carolina Association of Extension Administrative Professionals. I appreciate his willingness to step up and support others. Thank you, Bryan.” – Anonymous

Morgan Leeke, Benefits Counselor, HR

“Morgan was super responsive and helpful when navigating the FMLA process. It can be a bit daunting, but she made it easy. Thanks, Morgan!” – Anonymous







Posted in Shout-outs