Extension agent Katie Shaw honored for public service

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Clemson alumna Kathryn “Katie” Berry ShawAlumna Kathryn “Katie” Berry Shaw received the Alumni Award for Cooperative Extension Distinguished Public Service at the December general faculty meeting. An Extension 4-H agent in Laurens County since 2006, Shaw received the honor in recognition of creating innovative, hands-on educational programs that empower youth to become active members of their communities. In addition to her role as a 4-H youth development agent, Shaw currently serves as assistant of the S.C. 4-H horse program, which has led 4-H students to national equestrian awards the past two years. She is president-elect of the South Carolina Association of 4-H Extension Agents, an organization in which she has held numerous leadership positions, as well as president of the 4-H Agent Association.
An Orangeburg native, Shaw participated in 4-H and was S.C. 4-H Presidential Tray Winner, S.C. Future Farmers of America Equine Proficiency Award Winner and two-time Paso Fino Horse Association National Youth Champion in Equitation and Fino. She received her bachelor’s degree (2009) and master’s degree (2011) in agriculture education. “After growing up in 4-H and it playing a major part in my success, I decided to become a 4-H agent. I wanted to make an impact in the lives of young people just like the 4-H agents I had growing up did in my life,” Shaw said. [pullquote]“Being a 4-H agent means that I am constantly learning from co-workers, volunteers and the 4-H members. It is exciting be a part of something that is always changing and growing.”[/pullquote]
Shaw and her husband, Jimmie Lee Shaw ’07, received the S.C. Farm Bureau Achievement Award this year. They also won the S.C. Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet contest in 2015 and were awarded the South Carolina Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Excellence in Agriculture Award in 2009. They live in Newberry with their two daughters.

Global wellness: Lauren Whitt, Ph.D. ’06

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Lauren Whitt had been awake since 3 a.m. PST taking Google Hangout video calls with her global colleagues in London and Sydney. Wearing jeans, a T-shirt and sporting hair still wet from her morning routine, the easy-going Google wellness manager settled in at the California-based headquarters, ready to chat. This unconventional and interactive environment is nothing out of the ordinary for Whitt.
In fact, she prefers it.
“At Google we have a fun culture, so our campuses feel a lot like college campuses. We encourage people to do their work in comfortable and collaborative spaces,” Whitt said.
Whitt’s position at Google is vital — it’s her responsibility to ensure a happy and healthy work environment for every employee. As the wellness manager, her global team promotes and supports the wellbeing of Googlers worldwide. They even set a Guinness World Record for most money raised in 24 hours with their “Get One, Give One” flu vaccination campaign where every flu shot given on campus was matched with a charitable donation to vaccinate people in developing countries.
“Employees spend so much time in the workplace, so if we can create a culture promoting healthy decisions, then we’re ahead of the game,” she said.
One way they achieve this environment is by using behavioral science principles to prompt Googlers to make healthy snack choices.  Google provides free meals and snacks on campus, supporting the principle that collaboration and creativity often occur around food. It’s rare for a Googler to be more than 150 feet from a micro-kitchen or cafe. Sugary drinks are hidden behind frosted glass or on the lowest shelf, while the water bottles are displayed at eye level; healthy snacks are presented in clear bins while unhealthy snacks are hidden behind opaque bins. “Small daily changes promote a healthy office culture and employee base,” Whitt said.
Whitt’s education, including her Ph.D. in parks, recreation and tourism management from Clemson, led her to ask the question, “How do we help people be their best selves in their daily environments?” Though her research initially focused on academic advising and resiliency skill development for college athletes, she found her experience could be applied to inspiring personal action in the workplace.
Whitt’s holistic wellness approach encourages employees to be continually present to achieve their peak performance. “We encourage Googlers to be in the moment,” said Whitt. “If you’re at work, then be present and focused at work; if it’s at home, then invest yourself in your family and friends.”
— Courtney Meola ’17

Women, diversity in STEM focus of $3.4 million grant

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Like many universities, Clemson struggles with attracting and retaining women and underrepresented minorities as faculty. That problem is magnified in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Across the campus, 35 percent of full-time faculty are women. In STEM departments, the percentage drops to 19. When racial diversity is factored in, the statistics are even grimmer. Only one of the 509 STEM faculty members is an African-American woman; two are Hispanic women.
In an effort to improve those numbers, Clemson has launched an initiative funded by a $3.4 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to create an inclusive academic culture so women and underrepresented minorities are encouraged to enter and remain in academia. While the national initiative is called ADVANCE: Increasing Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers, Clemson’s program is nicknamed Tigers ADVANCE, and it has a greater goal: to build a culture that encourages diversity, inclusiveness and acceptance.
“The impact these STEM fields have on our society is immeasurable,” said Robert Jones, Clemson’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and co-principal investigator of the grant. “We need diverse ideas and perspectives in the academy and in our workforce to tackle the greatest challenges we, and future generations, will face.”
The grant application process, spearheaded by civil engineering professor Sez Atamturktur, took more than two years and countless hours from more than 40 faculty, staff and students. The group identified five major challenges to women in STEM faculty positions at Clemson and established these corresponding goals:
• Transform the culture and improve the campus climate to reduce bias and implicit bias against women and minority faculty.
• Increase the representation of women in STEM fields.
• Ensure equitable workload distributions so appointments to committees, special projects and other non-academic activities are assigned equally across the faculty.
• Enhance faculty mentoring and leadership development to support all faculty and increase retention.
• Implement family-friendly policies to help improve recruitment and retention of world-class faculty.
With Tigers ADVANCE, Clemson will increase the number of women being considered for faculty positions and put measures in place to retain female members. “We will strive to match the representation of women in faculty positions to the number of candidates available for those positions in the national pool,” Atamturktur said.
Of the 14,499 faculty applicants to Clemson between 2010 and 2014, 23 percent were women, 10.7 percent were minority women and 0.7 percent were African-American women. Of all eligible doctoral degree graduates in the country, 53 percent were women, 15 percent were minority women and 7 percent were African-American women.
“Our search committees absolutely are doing a good job of identifying talented women and bringing them to campus,” Atamturktur said. “The problem is the number of women in our applicant pools is very, very low. We’re starting with fewer options.”
Likewise, although women receive tenure and promotions at rates equal to men, women leave Clemson at rates higher than men. Between 2011 and 2014, 56 percent of assistant professors (pre-tenure faculty) who left were women. Among STEM faculty, 28 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty members who left were women, although women made up only 19 percent of the faculty.
While the NSF grant specifically supports women in STEM fields, Clemson will make its own investment to extend Tigers ADVANCE to non-STEM departments. “We believe this is the only way to achieve institution-wide impact and sustainable transformation,” Atamturktur said. “Five years from now our campus should be a lot more diverse with a more inclusive culture and more openness to new ideas.”

Planar, Dell team up with Watt Center as Sustaining Partners

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Clemson University professor Saadiqa Kumanyika

Clemson University professor Saadiqa Kumanyika, a lecturer teaching Women in Global Perspective, works with one of the classroom touch screens in the Watt Family Innovation Center that were provided by Planar. (Photo by Ken Scar)


Planar and Dell have become the first two Sustaining Innovation Partners for the Watt Family Innovation Center. Sustaining Innovation Partners provide $1 million or more in support for the Watt Center. Planar, a Leyard company and global leader in display and digital signage technology, supplied the Watt Center with 191 large-format, high-resolution interactive LCD displays and 12 LCD video walls, including the video wall in the auditorium. It is one of the largest interactive LCD video walls the company has implemented.
Planar displays are front and center in the building’s ultra-modern main lobby. Each classroom, hallway and study space throughout the building features Planar LCD displays that can be used by students and teachers for formal or spontaneous collaboration.
Dell, a global computing company, is supporting the Watt Center through a five-year technology grant that will help students, faculty and staff use cutting-edge technology to create and collaborate in the center. Dell will provide deeply discounted equipment software and services to empower innovation and collaboration by students, faculty and staff.
The Watt Center was designed to be an innovative hub where students, faculty and industry partners will collaborate, create, innovate and communicate using state-of-the-art technology and interactive learning systems. Both gifts were part of the Will to Lead for Clemson campaign, launched in 2006 in support of students, faculty, facilities and engaged learning. The campaign surpassed the goal of $1 billion in July.

Lighting the way for future engineers

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Jennifer Hibberts

Jennifer Hibberts


Jennifer Hibberts traveled an especially unique path to Clemson, one that spanned nearly 7,000 miles, three generations, and the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Hibberts grew up on a small Army garrison in the Marshall Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines. About 1,000 people live on the island of Kwajalein, and Hibberts’s high school graduating class had only 18 students.
The laid-back island lifestyle in this tightknit community was all Hibberts had ever known until she enrolled at Clemson in 2014. “I was used to an endless summer, and always being able to relax on a beach in the afternoon or go surfing on the weekends. I had to adapt to the ‘brutal’ winters of the Upstate, and football now fills much of my free time on weekends,” said Hibberts.
Despite growing up thousands of miles away, Hibberts’ family has close ties to Clemson and the Southeast, as her parents are legal residents of South Carolina, and she’s now the eighth woman in her family to attend Clemson. “I’m proud to come from such a successful group of women, and grateful for the opportunity to receive the same quality education that propelled them into the careers they are thriving in,” Hibberts said.
Following in her family’s footsteps, Hibberts quickly forged her own path at Clemson in the biosystems engineering program, Calhoun Honors College, extracurricular activities like the debate team and club water polo team, and her community of friends. Hibberts is also a Grand Challenges Scholar at Clemson. The program, sponsored by the National Academy of Engineers, seeks to equip college students to become well-rounded engineers ready to tackle the world’s largest challenges.
Through the program, Hibberts has been provided opportunities to study abroad in the French Riviera, gain hands-on research experience and network with industry leaders. In spring 2016, Hibberts added another honor when she became one of five inaugural recipients of the Hubbell Lighting Annual Engineering Scholarship, established by Hubbell Lighting to provide scholarships to exceptional engineering students. Hubbell Lighting and the Hubbell Foundation also established the Hubbell Foundation Scholarship Endowment, which will fund scholarships for years to come.
As the recipient of multiple scholarships at Clemson, Hibberts understands the importance of giving back. When she graduates from Clemson in 2018, she plans to apply to the Peace Corps. Hibberts’ experiences growing up in the Marshall Islands and at Clemson have instilled in her a passion for service and a global perspective. [pullquote]“I have been blessed to be able to travel and live in so many places around the world, and it has sparked a deep wanderlust within me,” says Hibberts.[/pullquote] “I’d love to continue to live and work overseas.” The gift from Hubbell Lighting and the Hubbell Foundation was part of the successful $1 billion Will to Lead for Clemson campaign.

Siemens provides Clemson with largest ever in-kind technology grant

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At the announcement of the Siemens gift, a “thought leadership” panel discussion
was moderated by Ted Pitts, president and CEO of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.
U.S. undersecretary of education Ted Mitchell, automotive engineering graduate student Shweta Rawat, associate professor of mechanical engineering Greg Mocko and adjunct professor of automotive engineering Joerg Schulte discussed the Siemens software and the role of technology in education and Upstate South Carolina’s role in the automotive sector.


Clemson has received the largest grant-in-kind in its history from Siemens, a global technology company. Software valued at more than $357 million will be incorporated into coursework and projects related to computer-aided design, engineering simulation, industrial design, digital manufacturing and manufacturing management in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences.
Both undergraduate and graduate students will have access to a product lifecycle management (PLM) software used by more than 140,000 companies throughout the global manufacturing industry — including 35 in South Carolina — to design, develop and manufacture some of the world’s most sophisticated products in a variety of industries.
This academic partnership will help students compete for jobs throughout the world and aid in building a workforce equipped with the skills needed for the high-tech jobs of tomorrow. “Preparing students to be highly competitive in the 21st century global economy is a central part of Clemson’s mission, and this new partnership with Siemens will provide our students with access to cutting-edge technical tools that can make them even more attractive to future employers — especially many of the world-class, advanced manufacturing companies operating in South Carolina,” said Clemson President Jim Clements. Kevin Yates, a 1989 Clemson alumnus and head of Siemens energy management division, said, “I am proud that Siemens is providing students with access to this software, positioning the University at the forefront of innovation and technology.
This partnership is rooted in a shared commitment to innovation and collaboration, and will allow Clemson — and South Carolina — to build a pipeline of skilled talent for the state’s growing manufacturing industry.” Clemson’s dedication to technology and innovation makes the University an ideal recipient for the in-kind software grant. With the University’s vision to create a high-tech collaborative environment through the Watt Family Innovation Center, Clemson shares Siemens’ commitment to fostering innovation, advancing technology and developing the next-generation workforce. To learn more about students using Siemens software, go to clemson.world and click on “Clemson Forever.”

Peru: Walton Norris ’02

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My wife and I recently visited Peru, and like many visitors to that beautiful country, we journeyed into the mountains to make our pilgrimage to the famous Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. While in the city of Cusco, known as the gateway to Machu Picchu, we visited a local watering hole called “Norton Rat’s Tavern” located on the main town square.
The walls and ceiling of the pub were covered with various flags from around the world, including some that represented a variety of sports teams. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to donate my Tiger Rag, and they welcomed the addition.
Why was it important to me to leave this small token of the University that I love so dearly in a city that sits over 11,000 feet above sea level? “…that the Tiger’s roar may echo o’er the mountain heights.”
Go Tigers!

My Clemson: Joey Wilson ’17 Duncan, South Carolina

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My time at Clemson has been quite a ride. I watched the Tigers win their first football national championship in 35 years. I’ve devoted my senior year to serving as undergraduate student body president. I met former Vice President Joe Biden while working in the fight against sexual assault. I’ve traveled the world from the Balkans to China.

The thing that probably drives me the most is my desire to have an impact on the world and change Clemson for the better. Every morning when I wake up, I take some time and think about different things I could do to make someone’s day a little bit better.
Relationships are so important. I think in our generation one of the things that’s lost right now is personal interaction. Some technology is great, but I think it’s important to meet face-to-face with someone and have a real conversation. That’s how you solve a lot of problems.
In my travels, I’ve learned that everyone is more similar than they are different. Everyone wants to be loved. Everyone wants to find happiness. Even if you don’t speak the same language, just a smile and handshake goes a long way. It’s not always about where you go. It’s about who you meet and who you’re sharing it with.
The honors I’ve received while at Clemson University have been humbling. It’s been wonderful to have been named a Schwarzman Scholar and to have received the Astronaut Foundation scholarship. I wouldn’t be here without the support of my family, the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson, my research mentor Dr. Delphine Dean, all my professors and the Calhoun Honors College.

I’ll miss Clemson after graduation. But I’m excited about the next chapter in my life, and I will always be a Tiger.

Joey is graduating this month with a degree in bioengineering and a minor in global politics and will be pursuing a master’s in public policy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, as a Schwarzman Scholar this fall. In 2018, he will move to England to pursue a Ph.D. in oncology as a Cambridge International Scholar at Cambridge University.

Trustees approve plans for new business building, tennis center

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Renderings of the new Clemson Business SchoolAt their February meeting, the Clemson Board of Trustees approved final-phase plans and resolutions authorizing issuance of revenue bonds to construct a new academic building to house the College of Business and a new tennis center on campus. Final approval by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority was granted May 2.Proposed site of Clemson Business School
The business college will relocate from its current home in Sirrine Hall, which was built in 1938. The proposed new 170,000-square-foot business building, scheduled to open in early 2020, includes classrooms and learning laboratories, faculty and administrative offices, study and gathering spaces, and common areas for greater collaboration among students, faculty, staff and business partners.
“This new home for our outstanding College of Business is a key component of the university’s ongoing efforts to provide the type of academic facilities necessary to keep Clemson among the very best public universities in the country,” said Preside James Clements. “We very much appreciate the support from our leaders in state government for this extremely important project and look forward to breaking ground on what will become one of the first business education facilities in the country.
The total project cost, estimated to be $87.5 million, will be funded through a combination of state capital appropriations, state institution bonds and private gift funds.
LMN Architects of Seattle is designing the building in collaboration with the Greenville office of South Carolina-based LS3P, the architect of record.
Scott May of LS3P, the project’s lead architect said careful consideration was given to respecting the character of other buildings on campus, particularly those iconic structures within eyeshot. LMN
“The planning team has created something timeless, by mixing old and new,” May said. “We didn’t want to replicate the likes of Tillman, Like or Godfrey, but rather take cues from them to maintain the campus’s structural harmony.”
The predominately brick and glass towers will feature an open design that includes an atrium. The towers will be connected above ground by an expansive outdoor stairway leading to a place and overlooking Bowman Field, and by an interior hallway on the building’s first floor. In addition to a multitude of technology-equipped classrooms, the building will house faculty and staff support offices, the college’s institutes and many shared learning spaces.
Sirrine Hall, the business school’s current home, will become swing space for people transitioning to new locations on campus due to renovation or new construction.
The proposed tennis center for the men’s and women’s varsity teams will retain existing tennis facilities, including outdoor competition courts and a 700-seat permanent stadium. The new 48,000-square-foot tennis center will include six indoor courts, two outdoor courts, a clubhouse, locker rooms, a training room, equipment rooms, a players’ lounge, laundry, coaches’ offices, a ticket office, public restrooms and related site work.
The total project cost, estimated to be $12.5 million, will be funded either by athletic facilities revenue bonds and/or athletic private gifts. It is scheduled to be completed in winter 2017-18.