Danni M. Allen ’09

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Danni Allen

Danni Allen competed and won on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.”

A winning determined spirit

Danni Allen knows hard work and dedication can get you where you want to go. She practiced this while she was a student and continues to live by it today.
Allen competed and won the 14th season of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” a weight-loss reality show. She attributes much of her success in the competition to the lessons she learned at Clemson. As a freshman, she had not been accepted into the major of her dreams, architecture. Allen double-majored her first semester, worked hard and was accepted into the program. She says that lesson set her up for life. “‘The Biggest Loser’ was the same way,” she says. “I worked really hard and it paid off.”
During her appearances on “The Biggest Loser,” alumni and students noticed that Allen was showing her Tiger pride by wearing her Clemson ring — which she never takes off. Allen received Facebook and Twitter comments from Clemson people supporting her throughout the season. Football great C.J. Spiller let her know that he was pulling for her. When Allen responded that she had cheered for him in college, he said, “Now I’m cheering you on.”
Allen is paying forward her success by speaking about what she has learned through her experiences and encouraging others to find the inner strength to meet their goals, not just in weight-loss, but also life.

Gary J. Coleman ’08

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A progressive farmer

Gary Coleman '08Animal and veterinary sciences major Gary Coleman is a first-generation cattleman who exemplifies all that an entrepreneur should be.
Coleman was named one of The Progressive Farmer’s America’s Best Young Farmers and Ranchers for 2013. The program recognizes leaders in production and management innovation, and for involvement in their communities.
Coleman’s C. Calf Farms includes a 274-head cow/calf operation specializing in Angus and Brangus cattle, a facility that turns out 800 calves a year, hay sales, a pay-and-fish operation, feed mixing and sales, and a mobile meat store — Coleman 3 Meats. His meat products are hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, pork and goat — about 800 to 1,500 pounds per month.
The Anderson native’s cattle enterprise began when he was in ninth grade, and he bought a few steer calves while working at a local dairy. By the time he entered Clemson, his business included 70 brood cows. A few years later he experienced a huge setback when he lost 500 heifers and bull calves in a barn fire.
Coleman started again, and his perseverance paid off as he built his enterprises. He works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to make sure conservation is an important part of his management efforts.
Participation in leadership development events has allowed Coleman to bring ideas and practices from around the world back to his community. He served as the U.S. representative at the 2011 Five Nations Beef Alliance conference as a member of the Young Producer’s Council, and is active in several cattleman associations.
“It has been said, ‘It takes hard work to get to the top, but it takes a leader to stay there,’ ” he says. “As a first-generation farmer, putting myself through college, raising a daughter, relying on farming for income and dealing with the obstacles that come with the farming industry are all tasks that took dedication and passion. I have watched myself grow as a young farmer, [gaining] the ability to learn, lead and teach.”

Joseph G. Mizzi ’88

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Joseph Mizzi and children

Joseph Mizzi ’88, with children in Zambia, where construction began this spring on Chipakata Children’s Academy.

Empowerment through Education

Joseph Mizzi knows the impact of education. The grandson of immigrants, and among the first generation in his family to attend college, he values deeply the opportunities and advantages his Clemson education provided. Making education available for others is a passion that motivates and energizes this architecture alumnus.
That passion is evident through his work as treasurer and vice-chair of the board for the Salvadori Center, which uses structures in the environment to teach NYC kids math and science, and as a member of the board of directors of the Boy Scouts of America Greater NYC Councils and an active participant with the Boy Scouts’ Explorer program, which introduces students to potential careers. But his excitement is palpable when he starts to talk about his 14+ Foundation and its work in Zambia.
Mizzi, who is president of Sciame Construction Co. in New York City, co-founded 14+ Foundation with Nchimunya Wulf, a Zambian-born fashion stylist, with whom he shares a vision for educational initiatives in Zambia and other areas in Africa. The nonprofit works to build schools and orphanages in rural African communities.
Construction for their first project, Chipakata Children’s Academy, began in Zambia this spring. The school and orphanage will encompass more than 200 acres, and the foundation has already completed road improvement work, drilled water wells and provided a grinding mill and a supply store to allow the community access to basic goods and services. Development plans also include a health clinic and community center.
For more information on the 14+ Foundation, go to www.14plusfoundation.org.

John B. McIntyre ’51

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Cooking with care

A glance at John McIntyre’s class ring is just a glimpse of the 91-year-old World War II veteran’s loyalty. The ring is worn almost smooth from years of hard work, and more recently, dedicated cooking.
He picked up a pan for the first time at age 81 to cook for his late wife, Betty Ruth, as she battled Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. He would go on to serve the Easley community by preparing meals for neighbors and members of his church, win a 2007 national contest for his essay on what inspired him to cook, and receive the 2011 Easley Chamber of Commerce Duke Citizenship and Service Award.

John McIntyre

John B. McIntyre ’51


McIntyre’s knack for preparing Southern dishes such as chicken boudine casserole, scalloped potatoes and fruit cobblers came out of necessity. When Betty Ruth did not enjoy the food served in the nursing home where she spent two months with an injured knee, McIntyre began preparing her meals. When he decided to bring her home and care for her full time, he also continued to take charge of the cooking.
He perfected Betty Ruth’s favorite dishes, such as grits pie and shrimp creole, to the point where the only thing she found wrong with his cooking was that “he hadn’t started 50 years sooner.” After her death in December 2005, McIntyre decided to continue giving back by sharing his dishes with others in the community.
One of nine children and the first and only member of his family to attend college, McIntyre attended Clemson on the GI Bill and earned a degree in textile management. McIntyre married Betty Ruth in 1951, and they moved from Spartanburg to Easley in 1957, where McIntyre worked for Draper Manufacturing Co. McIntyre formed John McIntyre Textiles and Machinery in 1969 and remained with his company until his retirement at age 79.

Dorothy Behre and Julianne Garner

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Two Clemson grads awarded Fulbrights

Dorothy Behre and Julianne Garner, members of the class of 2013, have been awarded Fulbright grants to travel abroad as English teaching assistants.
Behre, of Charleston, received a degree in English and Chinese, and Garner, of Verona, N.J., received a dual degree in secondary education and history.
“In many ways winning a Fulbright Grant is akin to a national championship in sports,” said Stephen Wainscott, Clemson’s representative to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. “Clemson students are competing against the best and the brightest college students in the country, and the ratio of applications submitted to the number of grants awarded is often greater than 10-to-1.”
Behre will travel to Taiwan. A member of the Calhoun Honors College and Phi Beta Kappa, she studied British literature on a Duckenfield Scholarship at the University of Oxford, and studied abroad in China, France and Germany.
Garner will travel to South Korea. She was a member of the Calhoun Honors College and has toured Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Egypt.
English teaching assistants help teach English language while serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. Since 2008, 10 Clemson students have received Fulbright grants for study, research or English-language teaching in eight different countries.

Lifelong Tigers

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iphoneTOTMscreenIntroducing Tigers on the Move

Ever want an easy way to find out what an old classmate is doing now? Or a quick way to send a message to the Clemson Family about your newest job, impending nuptials or move to a new location?
“Tigers on the Move,” a new interactive Web portal, will allow you to do just that. A complement to the alumni news found in Clemson World magazine, this site will allow for real-time, immediate updates and searchability.
Check it out at TigersOnTheMove.com and submit your latest Tiger news today!

RINGsepiaGetting (more) social

Are you a ring-wearing Clemson alum? We have recently launched a Twitter feed and Instagram page dedicated to the Clemson Ring. Share pictures of you and your ring, indicating your class year and location by tweeting @ClemsonRing and tagging ClemsonRing on Instagram.

Students have chosen Ashby B. Bodine as the 2013 Alumni Master Teacher.

MasterTeacher2013Bodine is professor emeritus/visiting professor in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.
Bodine’s research has been on the biochemistry and immunology of archaic vertebrates, in particular, sharks, rays and skates. Since 2006 an interdisciplinary Creative Inquiry team mentored by Bodine has been researching an anti-tumor protein from the bonnethead shark that has great potential for use in anti-cancer treatments.
Bodine has received the Godley-Snell Outstanding Agricultural Research Award, the Class of ’39 Faculty Award for Excellence, the Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Teacher Award, the National Scholars Program Award of Distinction and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the National Association for Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture.
The Alumni Master Teacher Award for outstanding undergraduate classroom instruction is presented to a faculty member nominated by the student body and selected by the Student Alumni Council.

Class of 1963Class of ’63 celebrates golden anniversary

This year marked the Golden Tiger Reunion for the Class of 1963. Bobby Kemp ’63 drove the same car to reunion that he drove off campus on graduation day. The car even had its original Clemson College parking decal. See page 46 for news on the Class of 1963’s reunion gift.
More than 450 attendees returned to campus for Reunion Weekend, and alums from the Classes of 1939
through 1963 gathered to reminisce and reconnect with the Clemson Family.

Alumni Association names new board members

The Clemson Alumni Association Board of Directors has elected four new members to take office July 1.
Gary E. Clary ’70 of Central, a retired circuit judge and certified mediator and arbitrator, will serve a two-year term. An IPTAY representative emeritus, he has served as a member of the Alumni Association National Council and is a past president of the Cherokee County Clemson Club and now a member of the Fort Hill Clemson Club.
Mike Dowling ’93 of Greenville, chief financial officer of Southern First Bancshares will serve a three-year term. He served on the Student Alumni Council and is a past-president of the Clemson University Young Alumni Council. He has also served as an Alumni National Council representative and Board of Visitors representative.
Patsy Siebert DuPre ’80 of Hendersonville, N.C., will serve a three-year term. An independent contractor in Washington, D.C., she was on the board of the Washington-Baltimore Clemson Club before moving to N.C. Members of the President’s Leadership Circle, she and her husband have a son at Clemson.
Heather Simmons Jones ’97, M ’12 of Columbia, founder and CEO of Opus 3, a firm specializing in economic development, human resources and labor relations, was re-elected to a two-year term. She was a charter member and officer for both the Coosawhatchie and Anderson Area Clemson clubs and is a board member of the Columbia Clemson Club.
The alumni board has 23 members and is the governing body for the Alumni Association. Primary responsibilities include general oversight of programs and initiatives of the Alumni Association, financial audit and review, creation of governing policies and strategic planning.

DOING IT RIGHT, DOING IT BETTER

SeniorPlatoon2013Marching into history

This spring, members of the Clemson Senior Platoon once again gathered on campus to celebrate their Clemson history. The first drill team ever established at Clemson, the platoon was founded in 1930 by Gator Farr as a way to reward senior cadets for three years of hard work. The group remained active from 1930 through 1960, when Clemson became a civilian school.
The platoon has performed at home football games, bowl games and even once at Yankee Stadium. Through the years, the Clemson Senior Platoon has contributed more than $25 million back to Clemson, making it one of the most generous groups in the University’s history. Under the leadership of Sanford Smith ’55, the platoon still performs at events such as the First Friday Parade and Military Appreciation Day.

Alumni and students mark National Week of Service

For the fifth year in a row, alumni clubs and groups celebrated a National Week of Service. The first week of April, 20 alumni groups, from Montana to New England, joined together in community service projects that ranged from packaging, cooking or delivering meals to working with Habitat for Humanity and other nonprofits.
This year, the event was coordinated with the annual University week of service, and through Clemson Sweep and the Unity Project, students participated in on- and off-campus service projects.


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FlagSCBecome a Clemson advocate!

The Enterprise Act, a bill that would allow Clemson to operate some of its non-academic functions more like a business, was passed by the S.C. Senate this spring, but didn’t make it through the House before the legislative session ended. The bill would give the University’s Board of Trustees the authority to move such functions as athletics, research and economic development into a new “enterprise division” that would be able to do such things as buy and sell property without going through the process required for state agencies.
It’s needed, Clemson officials say, because the bureaucracy of state government frequently inhibits the institution’s ability to undertake projects with private business and industry in a timely manner to respond to market conditions. You can be an advocate for Clemson at the state level. For more information, or to sign up, go to clemson.edu/governmentalaffairs.

The Clemson Medallion

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Two trustees awarded Clemson’s highest honor

In March, Thomas B. McTeer Jr. and Joseph D. Swann were awarded the Thomas Green Clemson Medallion, the University’s highest public honor. The Clemson Medallion is awarded to those members of the Clemson Family whose dedication and service embody the spirit of the University’s founder. These two long-serving trustees who worked quietly and passionately have made immeasurable contributions to Clemson through leadership, teamwork and perseverance from classroom to career.

Thomas B. McTeer ’60


William Shakespeare said, “When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain,” and Thomas B. McTeer’s more than 35 years of service to Clemson as a man of few words but great action are a testament to this statement.
And to think this longtime Tiger fan almost became a Gamecock.
McTeer was set on playing Carolina football when Coach Frank Howard offered him a last-minute scholarship. He would go on to become one of the longest-serving members of Clemson’s Board of Trustees, his passion for teamwork and unity evoking a drive that would see the University through challenge and triumph, from integration to winning a national football championship and becoming a top-25 public university.
As an industrial management major, McTeer played football and ran track; was involved in student government, Tiger Brotherhood and Blue Key Honor Society; and served as vice president of the Central Dance Association and the senior class.
President of McTeer Real Estate since 1964, McTeer also has served on the Columbia Board of Realtors and the Columbia Zoning Board of Adjustment Appeals, and offers his skills and expertise to Clemson as a member of the Real Estate Foundation Board.
McTeer’s Clemson legacy has also continued through family ties. All three of his daughters are Clemson graduates as well as one of his grandchildren; two grandchildren are current students. An IPTAY and Clemson Fund donor, McTeer established the Sandra B. McTeer Memorial Scholarship Endowment in memory of his late wife. Chair of the board from 1981 to 1983, he was named Trustee Emeritus in 2012 after retiring from his tenure that began in 1976.

Joseph D. Swann ’63


When he took part in student government’s efforts to welcome Harvey Gantt to Clemson in 1963, Joseph D. Swann demonstrated the self-discipline and leadership skills he would later use to help guide the University to national and international acclaim.
A Clemson University trustee for 23 years and two-term vice chair of the board, Swann demonstrated a passion for service throughout his undergraduate career as a ceramic engineering major. He was involved with student government and Blue Key Honor Society and served as vice president of the junior and senior classes. He also lent his talents as a writer to the engineering magazine Slipstick and The Tiger student newspaper.
Swann began his career in the ceramics industry by working as a development engineer for the Ferro Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio. He went on to become the division materials manager and earned an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
After taking a job with Reliance Electric in 1969, he moved his family back south, eventually settling in Greenville and becoming vice president and general manager of the company. He was named senior vice president in 1995 when Rockwell Automation acquired Reliance Electric, and he became president in 1998. Though he retired in 2007, he continued to serve as chair of the board of directors for integrated power services.
A recipient of the Clemson Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 1995, Swann has served as an IPTAY representative and is a past member of the Board of Visitors. All three of his children are Clemson graduates, and his family left a permanent mark on the University in 2003 when the Swann Fitness Center was dedicated after their generous donation.

The lasting imprint of the Paw

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President Barker's view from his office in Sikes Hall

President Barker’s view from his office in Sikes Hall


From my second-floor office window in Sikes Hall, I look down every day on Bowman Field and a giant orange Tiger Paw painted on the road at the intersection of Old Greenville Highway and Calhoun Drive. You can see it, too, on a live webcam at clemson.edu.
From all points on the globe, alumni send us photos of themselves holding Tiger Rags and Tiger Paw flags. The backdrop may be the Eiffel Tower, a glacier in Alaska or a fighter jet on a dusty runway in Afghanistan, but the people are always smiling. You can see these photos, too, in this and every issue of Clemson World magazine and throughout the social media world.
[pullquote align=’right’ font=’oswald’ color=’#685C53′]Wherever Marcia and I travel, our Tiger Paw shirts and caps and lapel pins are recognized by strangers. They also smile and say: “You’re from Clemson!”[/pullquote]
These are the measures of a successful graphic design.
The Tiger Paw is universally acknowledged as the most recognizable logo in all of college sports. It has helped define Clemson athletics and Clemson University for more than four decades. It has brought joy to thousands of alumni and fans.

The evolution of a symbol

The paragraphs above were read aloud from a message I sent to Arlene Antonio, the wife of the late John Antonio, at his memorial service in June. John and his talented team at Henderson Advertising had created the Tiger Paw logo for Clemson.
On behalf of the Clemson Family, I was proud to express our gratitude for the excellent work they did on our behalf.
More literal representations of tiger mascots — even cartoon versions — come and go in style. Some are ferocious and intimidating, others are cuddly and lovable. The Paw, on the other hand, is ageless.
The Clemson Tiger Paw is as fresh today as it was when it was introduced in 1970. As a designer myself, I can appreciate the skill it took to create such a successful, enduring piece of graphic art.
As an alumnus and Clemson’s 14th president, however, I have come to appreciate its symbolic power.
The Paw has evolved from an athletics logo into a university symbol. Why? Because the Tiger Paw managed to capture something essential about the “One Clemson” spirit. It is beloved by all and we are united, as a community, by that simple affection.
It also represents not only our ferocious power, but the lasting imprint Clemson folks leave upon the world as we pass by.
Go Tigers!


James F. Barker, FAIA
President