Month: January 2024

We have a lot of exciting events coming up at Clemson MBA! Join us next week on the Main Campus in Clemson or at our Greenville ONE campus in Downtown Greenville to learn more about all that the Clemson MBA Program has to offer. From digital brand communication, entrepreneurship and innovation, and business analytics to our traditional corporate programs, we have a wide array of programs to fit your needs and goals. Whether you’re looking to enhance your skills in a specific area or seeking a comprehensive business education, our diverse range of programs cater to various interests and career paths. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to use you Clemson Employee Tuition Assistance benefit and take your career to the next level. 

RSVP to Attend

In celebration of the Year of the Dragon, Clemson Libraries and the APIDA Commission will host a lunch and learn event on Thursday, Feb. 8, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in room B210 at the Poole Agricultural Center.

Learn how to make dumplings and enjoy a lunch of traditional Chinese New Year food.

The event is free but registration is required. Register online via Clemson Libraries.

Help save lives and receive $50 in eGift Cards by donating to Staff Senate Blood Drive! The Blood Connection will be on campus on Tuesday, February 13, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. on Calhoun Dr. between the Carillon Garden and Bowman Field.

Register on the Blood Connection website by entering sponsor code 8CSS!

When I was growing up, I was naturally placed in the roles of mediator and ombuds within my family. If my parents were fighting, if my siblings were fighting, if my parents were fighting with my siblings, I would be the one to listen to all involved and help resolve it. I was in my twenties when I realized I could turn this into a career. Being a person others trust with their difficult situations and conflicts is an honor, and I wouldn’t change the career I ended up with. It can also be a burden.

Are you ever placed in the middle of other people’s conflicts? Maybe it’s two of your colleagues, your supervisor and their supervisor, your children, or your mom and your partner. When that happens, the first question to ask is, “Do I need to be in the middle of these people?”

If mediating between people is part of your role and responsibility and makes sense for you, let me know if you want to learn more about mediation and some of the skills to make that go smoother. But often, we are put in the middle of other people’s conflict because of our position, our personality, our sympathetic ear, or the fact that we mediated for them last time, and it is healthier for us to draw a boundary and remove ourselves. Drawing this boundary is difficult but important for your own mental health and the longevity of the relationships.

I recently worked with someone who reports to two people. These two supervisors are from different departments, and have different priorities, goals, and skillsets. The employee, Fred, was caught in the middle of two different and sometimes contradictory sets of instructions, and being new to the university, he did not know how to respond. My advice to him was to bring everyone together and put the responsibility back on them. For example, he could schedule a meeting with both of them and say, “Jane asked me to do abc, and June asked me to do xyz. Can we all figure out together how I need to proceed?” After this conversation, the burden of figuring out what he was supposed to do was back on them, and the situation might have highlighted the unsustainability of the dual supervisor arrangement.

I love to mediate conflicts, but I also recognize that it is not on me to resolve everything for everyone in every aspect of my life. What about you? Are there areas where you are in the middle? Maybe it’s time to say, “I’m willing to support both of you as this resolves, but I am not willing to be in the middle anymore.”

I do this kind of thing with my kids all the time. If they are fighting over a toy, instead of demanding that one of them give the other a turn, I will summarize: “Zeke is playing with a toy that belongs to Havi, and now Havi wants it back. How can we resolve this?” I’m surprised how willing they are to work together and come up with a solution that I might not have imagined. Instead of taking turns with Lego Spider-Nan, for example, they took his arm off, and one played with his arm while the other played with the rest of him. That is not what I would have suggested, but it worked for them! And the burden of resolving things for them was lifted off my shoulders.

Ulysses Owens Jr. and Generation Y Jazz Band

Friday, February 9, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
$35 Adults/$20 Students

Performer, producer and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. goes to the limit in the jazz world and beyond; claiming eight successful albums of his own. Owens has also gained special attention for his performances on GRAMMY Award-winning albums by Kurt Elling and The Christian McBride Big Band. In addition to five Grammy-nominated albums with Joey Alexander, Christian McBride Trio, John Beasley’s Monk’estra, and Gregory Porter. Both JAZZIZ and Rolling Stone Magazines picked his album “Songs of Freedom,” as a Top Ten Album for 2019 and in 2021 his most recent Big Band release, “Soul Conversations,” was voted the top album in May 2021 by JAZZIZ Magazine. Owens will perform as part of his quintet, Generation Y.

Josh Blue: The Freak Accident Tour

Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
$10 Adults/FREE Students

The event is presented in partnership between the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts and the Clemson University Accessibility Commission. 

After his groundbreaking win on Last Comic Standing in 2006, Josh Blue has risen through the ranks to become a well-established headliner at venues throughout the world. In 2018, Josh crushed his set on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In the same year, he was honored with a performance at the William H. Macy Gala at the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Canada. He wrapped up 2018 by recording his fifth hour special, Broccoli, at his home club, Comedy Works in Denver, CO. In 2021, following his 3rd place finish on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, Josh Blue hit the road with his As NOT Seen on TV Tour. Josh does over 200 shows a year, continuing to spread laughter and break down stereotypes of people with disabilities. His stand-up routine is in a constant state of evolution and his off-the-cuff improvisational skills guarantee that no two shows are alike.

CONTENT WARNING: This program may be offensive to some audience members and may include profanity, adult content, and sensitive topics.

Vienna Boys Choir

Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 4 p.m.
$50 Adults/$20 Students

The illustrious group of child musicians has been delighting music lovers across the globe for six centuries with their purity of tone, distinctive charm and diverse repertoire which includes everything from medieval to contemporary to experimental music. These gifted musicians with voices of unforgettable beauty are part of four touring choirs that hail from dozens of nations and together give over 300 concerts a year around the world. The Fort Worth Star Telegram raves “There’s no more gratifying sound than that of children singing. And there’s no more polished ensemble of children’s voices than the Vienna Boys Choir.”

“Besides the eclectic programming, let’s not forget the sheer wonder of young voices thoroughly trained and ensembles carefully crafted, and all of it performed from memory. It seemed as though nothing could set Carnegie’s vast space ringing like a high, finely-tuned major triad sung in vibratoless straight tone.” – New York Classical Review

The Asian Pacific-Islander Desi American (APIDA) Commission currently has several openings for leadership opportunities within the Commission. As they grow and expand on campus, APIDA is seeking new leaders with an overall goal to support and advocate for our APIDA community at Clemson. 

There are several Executive Board position openings, including commission chair, as well as openings within each of our committees (Faculty and Staff Concerns, Student Engagement, Programming and Budget, Communications and Education, and APIDAAwards). These are also open to those who are not currently a part of the commission, but would like to join.

If you are interested or know of someone within your budget center who might be interested in becoming more involved with the commission, please email Linda Li-Bleuel (LLIBLEU@clemson.edu), current chair of the APIDA Commission.

Race Registration

Celebrate and provide financial support to Service Dogs for Veterans. This organization rescues shelters dogs and trains them in partnership with a military veteran in need. 100 percent of proceeds go directly to Service Dogs for Veterans at sd4v.org.

This is an event for everyone, including dogs! Completing the walk earns your four-legged friend (if you choose to bring your pup) a prize of their own. The 5k race, held on the campus of Clemson University, will have awards for overall and age group winners. Additionally, top individuals will receive special recognition at the post-race awards.  The 5k kicks the event off at 9 a.m. and the full schedule for Puppies and Patriots is detailed on the registration page.

Veterans and their service dogs will be in attendance as special guests of honor. Please register for the races, attend in person to support the charities or sponsor a runner to make this event a day to remember!

Note: To be considered for chip timing in the run, registration must take place before Friday, March 8 at 8 a.m. To guarantee correct shirt size, registration must take place by Saturday, March 2.