Erwin Center to support emphasis in advertising and communication

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Thanks to a recent $1.05 million gift from Joe ’79 and Gretchen Erwin, co-founders of Erwin Penland Advertising, Clemson is now home to the Erwin Center for the Study of Advertising and Communication.
“Top companies, including most of our clients, are extremely proficient at developing more innovative and reliable products and services by using cutting-edge technology and insight-driven ingenuity,” said Joe Erwin. “The Erwin Center will help prepare future generations of marketers to similarly use information, technology and modeling methods to skillfully promote these products and services.”
Initially, the Erwins’ gift will provide up to five new courses to support a new emphasis area in advertising and communication for communication studies majors and as a minor to students in other majors. Many of the classes will be taught in collaboration with industry experts at Erwin Penland.
The communication studies department currently offers emphasis areas as diverse as sports communication, communication and the law, and health communication. Erwin said that he and Clemson representatives will be meeting with major brands, marketing agencies and other industry leaders across the country to solicit input aimed at ensuring that the center develops students who are uniquely qualified to drive the future of marketing communications.

Emeritus College celebrates 10 years of service

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Beyond the active faculty, staff and students found on the Clemson campus, there is another group that plays an active part in scholarship and service to the University and the community. This year, Emeritus College at Clemson celebrates 10 years.
At many institutions, retired faculty organizations are focused on benefits such as ID cards, parking permits and access to library services. While those things are certainly appreciated by the 700 members of Clemson’s Emeritus College, the organization is much more than that. Their mission also includes supporting Clemson University’s teaching, research and outreach missions. These active retirees continue to research, travel, present papers and serve the community. They have served as mentors to international students, administered and graded language proficiency tests for international graduate students, raised funds to support the Emeritus College and the general University. Many were involved with a project of identifying the places and people in many photographs held in Clemson’s archives.
For more information about the Emeritus College, or its 10-year anniversary, go to clemson.edu/emerituscollege.

Duke Energy helps fund workforce development initiative

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A $4.11 million grant from Duke Energy to Clemson’s Center for Workforce Development will fund initiatives in South Carolina to help provide a next-generation workforce in key cluster areas. The grant will be used to manage educational, research and outreach activities in support of workforce development and STEM education. The Center for Workforce Development will oversee distribution of these funds to partner institutions that include universities, technical colleges, K-12 institutions and STEM-oriented organizations through competitive grants, scholarships and internships.
The goal is to spur job growth by helping develop a labor force with specific skills in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and specifically in advanced manufacturing to support South Carolina’s burgeoning manufacturing industry.“Duke Energy recognizes that workforce development and economic development go hand in hand,” said Clark Gillespy, Duke Energy state president – South Carolina. “The Center for Workforce Development, through its far-reaching partnerships, addresses the challenges of creating next-generation engineers, technicians and scientists so the region and nation can continue to be competitive in a global marketplace.”
The center’s e-learning initiatives focus on creating innovative educational tools — aligned with industry employment needs — to increase workforce capacity. The center also supports working professionals who wish to upgrade their skills and further their qualifications.

Burton contributes to history

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Vernon Burton

History professor Vernon Burton was one of 10 historians invited to submit essays for the historical portfolio published by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to mark the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Burton’s piece, “Building the Transcontinental Railroad,” gives an overview of the importance of the railroad and the impact it had on America as the country recovered from the Civil War. The portfolio was distributed at the presidential inauguration luncheon.

Architecture students install Sassafras Mountain overlook

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From the summit of Sassafras Mountain, you can see Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

And now, thanks to a new overlook designed, constructed and installed by a team of graduate students in architecture and landscape architecture, visitors can enjoy that view.

The challenge was to provide a universally designed viewing platform accessible to all who visit the highest point in South Carolina, Pickens County and the Foothills Trail, according to Dan Harding, associate professor of architecture and director of the Community Research and Design Center at Clemson.
“The concept hinged on an idea that used a primary wood structure with a light, sky-blue-painted steel railing designed to leave visitors feeling as if they are floating over a wonderful rock out-cropping while remaining safely contained by the railing, which disappears into the expanding horizon,” Harding said.
Built entirely on campus, employing best practices associated with sustainable construction and resource management, the prefabricated overlook platform and the project components were transported to the job site by the design team with assistance from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. At the Sassafras parking area, about 80 feet in elevation below the top of Sassafras Mountain, the parts were efficiently reassembled over several days.
The Sassafras Mountain overlook can be accessed from S.C. State Road 199 or from the Foothills Trail.

Rogers named first-runner-up in Miss America competition

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Ali Rogers

Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers is just as proud of Clemson as the University is of her. With a host of Clemson supporters in attendance, the Laurens native competed for the Miss America crown this past January. She was elated to make Top 15, but making it to first-runner-up was more than she could have imagined.
“Even the idea of competing for Miss America was bizarre to me, to be honest,” Rogers says.
Growing up, Rogers was more interested in sports than pageants, attending her first Clemson football game at only four weeks old. She became a freshman in the fall of 2010, continuing the family tradition.
She held a senator position in student government, interned in the football office and became a sister of Alpha Delta Pi. Those are just some of the things Rogers misses most while she finishes her duties as Miss South Carolina.
Those duties include traveling all over the state to schools, churches and organizations to give inspiring speeches and meet her fans.
That crown will expire this summer, and Rogers will return to Clemson in the fall to finish her degree in communication studies. Eventually, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree with the help of the Miss America scholarship money.

Screenwriter: Kendall Sherwood ’09

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Kendall Sherwood

Kendall Sherwood came to Clemson with hopes of becoming an actor, but she left as a screenwriter. You might see her name on the credits for “Major Crimes,” a spinoff of the popular TV series, “The Closer,” where she is the writer’s assistant and script coordinator.
Because of Clemson’s requirement that theater majors must have experience in every facet of the field, Sherwood took classes in directing, acting, tech and writing. In one of her playwriting classes, she realized her love for writing and became interested in writing for TV shows.
This led her to Northwestern University where she earned an MFA degree in Writing for the Screen and the Stage. This program allowed Sherwood to pursue a career in TV writing while still writing for theatrical plays.

Planet hunter: Dirk C. Terrell ’87

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Physics major Dirk Terrell’s work was recognized as one of CNN’s Top Ten science stories for 2012. He helped discover a planet.
Terrell’s research in the area of binary star systems contributed to a Yale University-led project that identified and confirmed the existence of the first known planet orbiting a pair of suns — that’s in turn orbited by a second set of distant stars. The planet was named PH1 — Planet Hunters discovery number one — after the citizen astronomer organization, Planet Hunters, whose members first spotted it.
Terrell is the section manager for the Astronomy and Computer Systems section in the Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. He received a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Florida and was a NASA graduate research fellow.

“Numerical Methods Guy”: Autar K. Kaw M ’84, PhD ’87

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Autar K. Kaw, who received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Clemson, was recognized for his exceptional work as a professor at the University of South Florida. He’s one of four recipients of the 2012 U.S. Professor of the Year award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This highly selective award is considered the nation’s highest honor for engaging and influencing undergraduates.
It’s not the first time Kaw has been recognized for his outstanding teaching; he also received the National Outstanding Teaching Medal from the American Society for Engineering Education in 2011.
Kaw has taught mechanical engineering at the University of South Florida (USF) for 25 years — plenty of time to develop his teaching techniques. His teaching method utilizes new technology, such as social media, to help his students understand the complex mathematical modeling involved in mechanical engineering.
Students at USF aren’t the only ones benefiting from Kaw’s innovative teaching methods. He has dedicated his career to helping engineering students around the world and provides educational tips on his blog and through YouTube video lectures. Known as the “Numerical Methods Guy,” Kaw has helped thousands of students by redefining traditional teaching.

New York Botanical Garden (-er): Jaime E. Morin ’11

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Jaime Morin is assistant curator at the prestigious New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, N.Y., where she demonstrates her passion for showing the connection between people and plants. One of her responsibilities includes developing information and descriptions for the new native plant garden that will open in May.
Morin, originally from Connecticut, first learned about Clemson from a high school chemistry teacher. When she and her mother visited campus, she was very impressed with the friendliness of the people.
She began as a genetics major, but didn’t have dreams of medical school or long days in a research laboratory. After working for a plant nursery in her hometown during her summer break, she realized that horticulture was her passion. That fall she took HORT 101 and promptly changed majors.
During her time at Clemson, Morin played piccolo in Tiger Band, was a Bartlett Tree Foundation Scholar and worked at the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG). She credits her work with SCBG for sparking her interest in public horticulture and plant collecting.