Stumphouse Tunnel Sleuths
Bats are dying off at alarming rates due to white-nose syndrome. Researchers are exploring how to foster bat populations to survive this disease.
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Woman on the Move: Norma Hudnall '72, M '74, M '80
As one of five children, Norma Hudnall jokes that she comes from a long line of overachievers. Today at 68, the former counselor is still competing.
Hudnall runs a 7:18 mile, and last spring, the Spartanburg resident competed in the World Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships representing Team USA and the Atlanta Track Club. She took home the bronze in the triple jump and long jump, placed seventh in the 800-
meter race and took sixth in both the 1,500- and 3,000-meter races.
“I couldn’t do it without the peer pressure of my 5:30 a.m. running group,” Hudnall says about her rigorous training schedule that keeps her in top form.
But having competitive sports open to her wasn’t always a given. Hudnall competed in high school tennis, but when she came to Clemson in 1968, no women’s sports were recognized by the NCAA.
“I was dating this guy who was on the fencing team, and they let me fence with them,” she says. But awards weren’t hers to take home. Despite the roadblock, she feels like she’s making up for lost time now.
She began racing at age 40. Since then, she’s run 10 full marathons, including ones in Boston, Honolulu and Ireland. When she turned 60, she started running for the Atlanta Track Club, competing in her most recent events in South Korea. “I just decided to start experimenting with steeplechase and triple jump, and quite frankly, it’s just more fun to compete in more than one thing.”
Hudnall says naysayers who worry about injury or ailments keeping them from pursuing similar endeavors shouldn’t have so much trepidation. “One of my problems has been arthritis, and the first line of treatment for arthritis is exercise. I have severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis, and exercise can only make it better. Running can be therapeutic. But there’s also walking or water aerobics or cross training. Exercise is a good injury preventer as you age.” And that’s sage advice from an overachiever who hits the track every morning.
Erwins Become Second Cornerstone Partner for Academics
When Joe Erwin first began his advertising career in New York, the Clemson brand was still up and coming. He laughingly recalls having one of his training instructors refer to Clemson as “that Southern liberal arts school” in a room full of his Ivy League colleagues.
Clemson has come a long way since Joe Erwin graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and began working in advertising. He met Gretchen, an alumna of the University of Georgia, while they were working at Leslie Advertising in Greenville. After getting married and moving to New York to work for major advertising agencies, the couple returned to Greenville to launch their own advertising agency, Erwin Penland. Erwin Penland grew to be a national company with more than 400 employees and a prestigious client base across the country.
After transitioning away from Erwin Penland, Joe Erwin founded Erwin Creates, a company that continues his legacy of cultivating, growing and influencing a creative community in South Carolina. Through Erwin Creates, the Erwins created the Erwin Center for Brand Communications at Clemson in 2012.
The Erwin Center prepares Clemson students for the workplace by providing them opportunities to put their classroom skills into practice. They learn from marketing professionals who can provide real examples, and they address actual client needs that require them to utilize research, strategy, creative development and analytics to produce meaningful solutions.
The Erwins’ most recent gift makes them Clemson’s second Cornerstone Partner for Academics, placing them in a special group of bold and visionary donors who give transformational gifts of $2.5 million or more to lay a foundation for Clemson’s future. This gift includes $1 million for the new College of Business building and $1.5 million for student scholarships and programming support for communication students and adjunct faculty.
“That investment that we made and continue to make is about changing lives, and what we’ve seen in the last five years is that our investment has paid dividends at Clemson,” Joe Erwin said. “We’ve seen young people go on to great jobs right out of Clemson, working at agencies and brands that, when I was a kid, I don’t think we could have imagined.”
“Because of our great adjunct faculty and other faculty, they’re getting the kind of professional training that really makes them a hot commodity,” he continued, “and I love seeing Clemson people being hot commodities.”
Fair Winds and Following Kites: Phil Broder '90
“When the education career came to a sudden end, I was kind of looking around like, ‘OK, what do I do now?’”
Phil Broder worked in environmental education for 25 years before his career path suddenly changed, and he found himself starting his own kite-making supply business.
As a student at Clemson, Broder studied wildlife and fisheries biology with “a grand plan to become the president of the National Wildlife Federation.” While that dream didn’t quite pan out, Broder enjoyed serving as the first nature instructor at Clemson’s outdoor lab after graduation and moved on to work in a nature center outside of Chicago, where Broder’s career would take a wild turn.
“I was literally driving to the mall one day and drove past this kite festival,” Broder says. “I thought, ‘Huh. That looks cool.’ And I stopped to talk to some people, and found out that this kite shop had just opened up the street from my house. That was $100,000 ago.”
Broder’s newfound interest in kites soon blossomed into professional purpose when America’s biggest kite-making supplier closed. “There was a niche in the market, so I moved to fill it,” he explains. And so around four years ago, his online business, Fly Market Kitemaking Supply, was born.
While currently based in Lewisberry, Pa., Broder travels on a regular basis to show off the kites he crafts in events and competitions all over the world: “Besides kite festivals all around America — including the EPCOT Festival of Kites in Orlando to Kites on Ice on a frozen lake in Wisconsin — I’ve been to England, France, China, India, South Africa, Poland, Portugal and Canada.”
Becoming a kite-making supplier and award-winning kite maker was never in the plan for Broder, but he’s grateful for finding his passion and sharing it with his clients. “One of my customers sent me an email the other day of all the kites that he’s built with my supplies. As a business owner, that’s really cool. People are taking this stuff from me, and they’re making it into something beautiful.”
For Broder, the future looks bright. Recently married, he’s planning on taking a trip next fall to one of his favorite destinations: Cape Town, South Africa. “There just happen to be two kite festivals there in October,” he says, “so the idea is kite flying and honeymooning all together.”
Sonoco Partnership to Develop New Technologies, Package Formats
Every year, billions of dollars worth of packaged food is lost due to spoilage. Sonoco, one of the largest global diversified packaging companies, has announced a new research partnership with Clemson to address that packaging challenge.
“Sonoco is committed to serving fresh brands, using packaging to tackle the challenges they face,” said Sonoco President and CEO Jack Sanders. “Optimizing fresh food packaging to extend shelf life and maintain quality makes fresh produce more accessible to communities, and helps brands and retailers extend sales opportunities and eliminate food waste.”
The Sonoco FRESH (Food Research Excellence for Safety and Health) initiative will develop new technologies and new forms of packaging to optimize the fresh food lifecycle. Sonoco will contribute $1.725 million over five years to establish the multi-disciplinary hub for innovation and research. The company also will sponsor business-driven research projects totaling $1 million over that period. Sonoco FRESH is an extension of the partnership that created the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics at Clemson.
“Working with outstanding industry partners like Sonoco allows us to do more to develop solutions for the grand challenges facing the world, and it helps us to prepare our students to become future leaders,” said President Clements. “Leveraging the expertise of our faculty, Sonoco FRESH will play a key role in exposing our undergraduate and graduate students to issues related to the crisis of food waste and sustainability so that they will be informed and responsible decision makers as they enter the workforce.”
“We are honored to be working with Clemson, as reducing food waste is central to our combined efforts — and finding ways to extend freshness through new technology is key,” said Vicki Arthur, Sonoco’s senior vice president of plastic packaging and protective solutions. “We believe this partnership will deliver breakthroughs to help the entire packaging industry and will have a major impact on the distribution of fresh food across the country and around the world.”
Clemson to offer program for autism spectrum support
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 59 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, with the diagnosis being four times more common among boys. Currently there are no known post-secondary programs for degree-seeking students in South Carolina, North Carolina or Georgia to provide services for students with autism.
Clemson is hoping to fill this gap and will be offering a program of customized support services for students who identify on the autism spectrum beginning in the 2019-20 academic year. The program will provide support across four areas: academic skills and resilience; personal and interpersonal skills; independent living and social skills; and career and professional skills.
The program has been in development for the past two years, with pilot groups of Clemson students participating in a needs assessment and services involving the development of social skills, self-advocacy skills and career readiness, along with peer mentoring, academic coaching and individual sessions with a behavior therapist.
Students who are admitted to Clemson via the typical admissions process may apply to the program; the initial cohort will serve 10 incoming freshmen who will arrive for a summer transition program in summer 2019. The students will complete an academic class for credit while learning to navigate the campus and becoming familiar with the resources in place to support their integration and success. There will be a freshman-year emphasis on easing the transition from high school to college and enhancing independent living skills. Starting with sophomore year, participants will begin working on professional skills and developing career readiness, including participating in on-campus internships.
Jane Thierfeld Brown of the Yale Child Study Center and College Autism Spectrum co-founder has been an external consultant in the program’s development. She has helped established more than 20 similar postsecondary programs across the country in the past 15 years.
Operating Room Redesign Recognized at Healthcare Design Expo
A Clemson project integrating research and design to develop a safer, more ergonomic operating room received two awards at the Healthcare Design Expo + Conference in Orlando. The Realizing Improved Patient Care Through Human-Centered Design in the Operating Room prototype was the sole winner for conceptual design and a gold-level award recipient for using an evidence-based design process.
Anjali Joseph, Spartanburg Regional Health System Endowed Chair in Architecture + Health Design and director of the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing at Clemson, spearheaded the project. She worked with a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinical specialists from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Health Sciences South Carolina, as well as Clemson colleagues, including David Allison, professor and director of the University’s Architecture + Health graduate program. Allison led the design development of the prototype and incorporated it into a semester-long project for Architecture + Health students. The plans will eventually be implemented in MUSC’s new Ambulatory Surgery Center in Charleston.
The new operating room will:
- improve staff safety by reducing clutter and trip hazards.
- reduce surface contamination through material selection and improving ergonomics.
- support team communication by refining sightlines and visibility within the O.R.
- adapt as care delivery and technology change.
Chapman Gift Expands Leadership Program Across University
A leadership model based on lessons from the Land of Oz has proven to be the perfect training ground for some of Clemson’s highest quality students — thanks to the vision and extraordinary generosity of Tom and Karen Chapman.
In 2009, the Chapmans established the Thomas F. Chapman Leadership Scholars Program with a gift of $1 million to develop a small group of students from what was then the College of Business and Behavioral Science. The three-year program combines leadership lessons based on critical values with an academic scholarship to encourage participating students to invest in growing their leadership skills:
- In year one, leadership scholars focus on developing intellect and defining leadership capabilities (much as the scarecrow).
- Year two, leadership scholars learn about courage and ethics (much as the lion).
- Year three, leadership scholars focus on heart by serving others in their communities (much as the tin man).
The Chapmans’ most recent gift of $4 million, establishing them as Clemson’s inaugural Cornerstone Partner for Academics, will expand the program to include students from all colleges and also creates the Thomas F. Chapman ’65 Distinguished Professorship in Leadership in the College of Business. As Cornerstone Partners, the Chapmans join a special group of bold and visionary donors whose leadership lays the foundation at Clemson for future generations.
“The Thomas F. Chapman Leadership Scholars program is an amazingly successful and forward-thinking leadership initiative that is changing the lives of our students at Clemson University,” said President James P. Clements. “We are grateful to the Chapmans for allowing us to expand this transformational leadership experience to every college within the University.”
Building upon the impressive group of 85 students who have benefited from being Chapman Scholars, the expanded program will include 14 scholars per year, eight from the College of Business and one from each of the other colleges. The Thomas F. Chapman ’65 Distinguished Professorship in Leadership will recognize an outstanding faculty member who will influence potential leaders of our state and nation. The expansion of the program will extend the leadership values of intellect, courage and heart across campus and advance Clemson’s ability to develop graduates competent in their fields, as well as confident in how to lead throughout their lives.
The Chapmans not only support the program financially but also offer their time and talent to support and mentor students in the program. “We desperately need more effective leaders, and it will take compassionate and dedicated individuals to help us move this country forward — that’s why intellect, courage and heart drive the program,” Tom Chapman said. “Karen and I are honored to be actively engaged with the program. My Clemson education provided me a springboard into a life of many blessings. We made a commitment to give back to the programs and causes that are making a difference.
“The return on investment is for each of the Chapman Leadership Scholars to make the world a better place.”
Travelers Summer 2018
Robert Bussmann ’16, Michael Dolan ’15 and Matt Koch ’15, all second lieutenants, in Fort Rucker, Ala., celebrating Dolan’s graduation from the U.S. Army’s flight school where he learned to fly the CH-47F Chinook, a heavy-lift cargo helicopter.
Charlotte Cobb '91 named Clemson Alumni Association's Volunteer of the Year
The Alumni Association has selected Charlotte Underwood Cobb of Marietta, Ga., to receive the 2017 Frank Kellers III Volunteer of the Year award. The award recognizes an alumnus for outstanding volunteerism and service to the University.
The Alumni Association chose Cobb for her role in reviving, growing and re-energizing the Atlanta Clemson Club. Her leadership in increasing the number of events and locations around the Metro Atlanta area has improved accessibility and offered more opportunities to a broader range of alumni.
Cobb has also volunteered extensively for nonprofit organizations in the Atlanta community such as the Special Olympics of Georgia, Toys for Tots, the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and Ronald McDonald House Charities (in both Atlanta and Australia).
As a global events manager for The Coca-Cola Co., Cobb had various roles in planning and executing the company’s global hospitality program for five Olympic games, three FIFA World Cups and two Rugby World Cups. She now owns and runs her own company, 7C’s Event Management.