If you\u2019ve been on campus lately, you\u2019ve noticed a lot of construction fences, cranes and re-routed traffic. That\u2019s because Clemson University has embarked on one of the largest campus development projects in at least half a century \u2014 maybe in history.
\nWe call it Building Futures \u2014 a capital improvement plan to ensure that Clemson can compete at the highest levels and win \u2014 whether we\u2019re competing for top students, big grants or athletics championships. This once-in-a-generation physical transformation will move the university forward and cement our place as a top-20, nationally regarded research University.
\nBuilding Futures is a strategic plan to look past 2015 or 2020 or even 2025. It is intended to set the stage for Clemson\u2019s next 50 years, just as a surge of construction half a century ago, in the 1960s, positioned Clemson to become what it is today. It\u2019s about building advanced and sustainable facilities to prepare us for whatever comes next \u2014 facilities that foster innovative teaching and learning, support advanced research and technology transfer, improve productivity and efficiency, and protect our rich physical and natural assets. It\u2019s also about creating more educational and economic opportunities for South Carolina.
\nAlready underway are major projects that will transform many areas of campus.
\nThis summer, work begins in earnest on the Douthit Hills redevelopment to create a residential village for students that will change a main gateway to the campus \u2014 and change the view from the President\u2019s House. Seven residential buildings and a contemporary student hub will rise on 80 acres on the north side of Highway 93, telling students and visitors they\u2019ve arrived at one of the nation\u2019s top schools. The facilities will provide more on-campus housing options for upperclassmen and bring Bridge to Clemson students to campus. A comprehensive tree plan will ultimately increase the number of trees on the site by 30 percent.
\nWith the Core Campus development, the last vestiges of 60-year-old Johnstone Hall \u2014 built as temporary housing, mind you \u2014 and Harcombe Dining Hall will give way to a complex that includes a residential hall for freshmen that provides convenience, security, utility upgrades, modern dining facilities, a home for the Calhoun Honors College and more amenities. I know many of you have fond memories of Johnstone, but your children probably don\u2019t share that sentiment.
\nAn addition to Freeman Hall will add teaching and office space for industrial engineering that frees up research space, helps accommodate growth in student demand and makes room for fast-growing online master\u2019s programs targeted to non-traditional students working in corporate engineering jobs.
\nIn the center of campus, the digitally dazzling Watt Family Innovation Center will further define the area south of the library as the academic heart of the University. The center will be a hub of intellectual and entrepreneurial activity as it connects students, faculty and leaders from industry and government to generate ideas, solve problems and move new product concepts to the marketplace.
\nDays after graduation, Littlejohn Coliseum closed for a major renovation that will include reconstruction of seating areas, new practice facilities, locker rooms, meeting rooms and offices for the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams \u2014 a project completely funded by the athletics department and IPTAY.
\nLess visible but essential to the success of the Building Futures plan is a major overhaul of our electrical infrastructure \u2014 components of which date back to the 1950s.
\nThe process won\u2019t always be pretty. But the long-term gains \u2014 more and better housing and classrooms for students, capacity to grow research, improved landscapes and a tree stewardship plan that will leave us with more trees than when we started \u2014 are worth the temporary inconveniences.
\nThere\u2019s more to come \u2014 pending development of business plans and board and state approvals. Stay tuned for updates.
\nPlease pardon our progress. Think of the sound of construction as a tiger\u2019s roar \u2014 a sign of strength and greatness.
\nJames P. Clements
\nPresident<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Building Futures If you\u2019ve been on campus lately, you\u2019ve noticed a lot of construction fences, cranes and re-routed traffic. That\u2019s because Clemson University has embarked on one of the largest campus development projects in at least half a century \u2014 maybe in history. We call it Building Futures \u2014 a capital improvement plan to ensure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":13661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[828,1013,2291,2692],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-13660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-view-from-sikes","tag-core-campus","tag-douthit-hills","tag-president-clements","tag-spring-2015"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/05\/DouthitHillsAerial.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13660"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}