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The Power of Scholarships


 

It has been just over a year since Billy and Ann Powers made the largest gift in Clemson’s history to the College of Business, making a difference in the lives of Clemson students, faculty and staff. The Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business is garnering national recognition for innovative programming, collaborative partnerships, and outstanding learning opportunities both in the classroom and the workplace.

A portion of the Powers family’s gift created a flexible endowment to ensure that every deserving student has access to these amazing learning opportunities for generations to come. This year, funds from the endowment provided $60,000 in merit- and need-based awards to 30 business students.

Courtney Brunson is one of those students. The management major from Florence, South Carolina, plans to graduate in December 2022 and pursue a career in human resources. Brunson explains that becoming a Powers Scholar is an honor that relieves the financial pressure during those important final semesters of study. She says, “I am so grateful to receive this scholarship because my parents and I work very hard all year to be able to afford for me to go to Clemson.”

Her love for Clemson and the gratitude Brunson feels toward the Powers family have inspired her to give back someday when she is able. She plans to use her Clemson degree to impact her community by participating in the Clemson Alumni Association, where she hopes to encourage and promote education and professional development. She says, “I am so proud and happy to be a part of the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business. With this scholarship, I am determined to represent the College to the best of my ability through academic success and community service.”

 

Clemson breaks new ground for business education

Architecture rendering for new School of Business building
The University broke ground in November for a new home for the College of Business. It will be one of the biggest academic building projects in University history.
[pullquote]“Our old friend, Sirrine Hall, has served us well,” said Bobby McCormick, College of Business dean, “but modern education needs to look and function like 21st century business, and that is what we are creating here.”[/pullquote]
The 176,000-square-foot building is expected to be ready for occupancy in January of 2020. It will nearly double Clemson’s business education space for one of the University’s fastest-growing academic disciplines. It will also be the anchor of a new academic precinct that one day will occupy as much as 600,000 to 700,000 square feet of building space.
LMN Architects of Seattle is designing the building in collaboration with the Greenville office of South Carolina-based LS3P, the architect of record. Other members of the project team include DPR, general contractor/construction management, and OLIN landscape architecture. Construction on the $87.5 million project will be funded through state appropriations, private gifts and institutional bonds.

Trustees approve plans for new business building, tennis center

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.