{"id":8186,"date":"2013-09-24T12:37:37","date_gmt":"2013-09-24T16:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/creative.clemson.edu\/clemsonworld\/?p=8186"},"modified":"2013-09-24T12:37:37","modified_gmt":"2013-09-24T16:37:37","slug":"q-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/q-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Q & A with the President"},"content":{"rendered":"

This spring, Clemson World<\/em> sat down with President James Barker to get his perspective as he prepares to step down from the presidency and back into the classroom.<\/h3>
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\nCW: What was your first priority as Clemson\u2019s president?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: The way I always respond to that question is the same, and that is, my first priority is our students. But that\u2019s a set of people and really the reason for our existence, and it\u2019s a reminder to all of us on the campus what role our students really play.
\nIf I think back to that moment, there were two things. We needed some stability here. I had lived through five presidents in 15 years, and each of those changes was so disruptive that it was hard to have any momentum built, because you were constantly changing the strategic plans. So I reasoned that if I would commit to stay at least 10 years, then that would be a symbol about stability. The other was that some fractures were starting to get a little bit wider, and I was concerned about keeping the Clemson Family united and unified. So the idea of One Clemson emerged early on. And nobody is as strong as Clemson when we are united.
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\nCW: In your inauguration speech you noted that Clemson is \u201ca living organism with a core and surface,\u201d the core having a covenant with tradition and the surface having a covenant with change. How have you balanced tradition and change in your leadership?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: This place has a special genius, a collective genius, about understanding that balance. Otherwise, we could not have experienced the degree of change that we did in the \u201950s and \u201960s when we went from an all-male and all-white military school, to the Clemson you see today, with students from 90 different countries, with 50 percent women. That would have torn many schools apart, and that did not happen to Clemson.
\nThere\u2019s this almost innate understanding about when it\u2019s time to hold on to traditions tightly and when to let go and make sure that change is what dominates our thinking. All I really tried to do was not mess that up too badly \u2014 to just pay attention to that history and say, \u201cWe\u2019re now in one of those times again, and it\u2019s time for this amount of change or this amount of tradition to rise.\u201d
\nIn that quote, I was really challenging each of us to engage in that change-versus-tradition discussion \u2014 let it not be an abstract idea, but a very real idea on how we solve problems, how we build strategic plans, how we deal with the future. That dialogue about change and traditions served us very well. You can go back to the ultimate source of tradition, which is Thomas Green Clemson\u2019s will, and he doesn\u2019t make it very clear about how this is to be done. He saw it as a dynamic thing; he understood the need for change.
\nYou can\u2019t say in the 19th century what the 21st century\u2019s going to be, or in the 21st century what the 23rd century Clemson should look like. We take seriously our roots as an ag school and an engineering mechanical school. But that doesn\u2019t stop us from working with BMW, and that doesn\u2019t stop us from doing wind energy. What will it take to bring prosperity to South Carolina in whatever century we\u2019re in \u2014 that\u2019s our charge from Thomas Green Clemson.
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\nCW: You didn\u2019t begin your presidency timidly. The top 20 goal was a bold reach. What motivated you to choose that?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: I\u2019ve said jokingly that I wish I\u2019d said top 25. That would have been very easy to do. Everybody thought that was ridiculous, because it seemed like a stretch too far. But when I think about the distinctive qualities of Clemson, it is clear that we are very competitive by nature. I challenged that competitive nature to say, \u201cWe can be top 20 in sports, and there\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t be top 20 in academics. This is something Clemson can accomplish if we work together.\u201d
\nAnd yes, [pullquote align=’left’ font=’goudy’ color=’#562E19′]I gulped a few times before I said that, because I knew we had been in the third tier a year or two before.[\/pullquote] And we\u2019re not there yet. But five consecutive years in the top 25 is clearly a trend, a level of success that I think we can be proud of.
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\nCW: You also noted in your inauguration speech that \u201cClemson is still a work in progress.\u201d What are the biggest changes you\u2019ve seen in your 14 years?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: It\u2019s hard not to start with technology. The kind of impact that instant communication has had \u2014 much for the better I think. I would list the range and location of where we are attracting students now \u2014 truly a national base, and an international base. Paths are as well worn in parts of China for students following their colleagues as they are in Bamberg and up and down the East Coast and in California and all the Midwest.
\nThe other thing that\u2019s changed dramatically for the better is our self-concept. To a person, we believe that we are a great school. Now some would say we are on our path to being a great school, and I wouldn\u2019t argue with that either. There are still many things we want to accomplish, but our expectations are that we\u2019re going to be great. That\u2019s emboldened us to dream bigger dreams and to try harder things. I\u2019m proud of all three of those things, but I think the change in self-concept is fundamental to the success of what our university can be.
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\nCW: What was your biggest challenge?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: We\u2019ve never really had the financial base to be able to justify our dreams. At the start of my service, we were 40 percent funded by the state, and now we\u2019re about 9 percent funded by the state. When I was a student, it was about 80 percent.
\nBut the biggest challenge, I think, was the Great Recession, when we all were furloughed \u2014 all of us took a pay cut \u2014 and yet we came through without any layoffs. We kept the Clemson Family as united as can be in a crisis like that. Coming out of that now, we\u2019re stronger than we ever were. Certainly our capital campaign has shown that \u2014 we\u2019re approaching $700 million, and we\u2019re dead serious about reaching that $1 billion goal. When we do, we\u2019ll be the only school our size ever to have done that, and I think that shows a lot about self-confidence and self-concept.
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\nCW: You\u2019ve often begun speeches with stories of life in the president\u2019s house. What\u2019s one of your favorites from over the years?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: Maybe the first one I told is still my favorite. We were here on a Saturday \u2014 just the two of us, Marcia and I \u2014 and that doorbell rang. I was doing something, so Marcia opened the door. She found me and said, \u201cThere\u2019s a group of students who want to talk to you.\u201d So I went out to talk with them, and they said, \u201cWe\u2019re on our way to Bowman Field to play Frisbee. Do you wanna play?\u201d
\nI called back to Marcia and said, \u201cCan I go out and play?\u201d And she said, \u201cYes, as long as you\u2019re back by 3 o\u2019clock, because you have an appointment at that time.\u201d
\nThat engagement is something I treasure probably more than anything else about living on campus or this work. [pullquote align=’right’ font=’goudy’ color=’#562E19′]That students would think to invite the president to play Frisbee \u2014 there is just something right about that.[\/pullquote] And I guess that gave me the confidence, that maybe I ought to get in the Tiger suit and do push-ups, and who knows, water-ski behind the rowing team. That degree of engagement always seemed to me to be the most joyful part of the job, but an important part of the job too.
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\nCW: How has your background in architecture enriched your presidency?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: I can\u2019t imagine a better preparation, a better education for a university president than architecture. I never thought of it this way, but at some point about six months into this service, it dawned on me that I\u2019m practicing architecture.
\n[pullquote align=’left’ font=’goudy’ color=’#562E19′]My education was very broad \u2014 all the way from poetry to plumbing \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t very deep. And that\u2019s what a president\u2019s job is.[\/pullquote] You don\u2019t have to be an expert in everything on campus, but you need to have some understanding. The liability is that I don\u2019t have the depth in any one area, but as president, that could get in your way. I really value that education because of the breadth that it gave me. It also asked for me to use both sides of my brain, the left brain and the right brain. So you\u2019ve taken physics and you\u2019re also taking painting.
\nThe other part is that I am conditioned to strive for the beautiful. My eyes and my brain are very much tuned to things that aren\u2019t, and they stand out when you\u2019ve had that kind of education. I really value the beauty of this campus and making sure that it continues to become even more beautiful with every decision we make. It\u2019s not just an aesthetic game I\u2019m playing; we attract students and faculty to this campus because they look around and say, \u201cThis is beautiful \u2014 I want to live here.\u201d It makes me look forward to getting up and coming to work every morning because I\u2019m surrounded by this kind of beauty.
\nWe have to make sure that we continue to do that in both the design of our buildings, and in the spaces between the buildings, the outdoor rooms. We ought to strive for this place to be a garden \u2014 every inch of it to be a garden \u2014 and I think we\u2019re making real progress there.
\nI get to live here, and enjoy it when it\u2019s filled with people and enjoy it when it very quiet and the mist is coming off of the lake. It\u2019s a spectacular piece of the earth.
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\nCW: When you look back, what were your proudest moments, both personally and professionally?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: Let me touch on a few of the highlights. I think that each one was a success that I didn\u2019t do, that the campus did \u2014 everybody was a part of this. These things are too complex for one person to do. But I would list among them the fact that we set out to get a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, and now students are leaving Clemson with that very important credential, and it\u2019s changed our self-concept.
\nThe fact that we enrolled and created the National Scholars Program in 2000 \u2014 I would list that as a major moment.
\nThe fact that we raised tuition 42 percent in one year and kept this family together. People rallied to support it because they believed in the quality of a Clemson education. We were one of the lowest priced, in terms of tuition, statewide, and we should have been priced according to the value we were giving. We built that base, and heaven knows \u2014 that was before the Great Recession \u2014 where would we be if we hadn\u2019t done that? The quality wouldn\u2019t be there.
\nThe partnerships we\u2019ve enjoyed with BMW, with Michelin, with the City of Greenville and with the state that created ICAR. It was a matter of really good teamwork and really good timing, and it\u2019s helped give South Carolina a direct look at what a knowledge-based economy looks like.
\nThe way we got through the Great Recession, with no layoffs, and we kept ourselves together.
\nThe fact that, at the start of the Will to Lead capital campaign, we could have delayed that announcement, because you don\u2019t do that kind of fundraising in the worst recession in 60 or 80 years. The Board said continue, the Foundation Board said continue, and we did. And that\u2019s why we are where we are now.
\nWinning both a National Championship in Golf and the Habitat for Humanity International College Chapter of the Year. That shows the true balance of Clemson.
\nThe Department of Energy grant we got to develop the drivetrain test facility in North Charleston, which is nearing completion now. That $45 million, combined with the state match, produced a $100 million project that we were able to capitalize on to create an environment that will help industry and serve our students remarkably well.
\nCreating the Academic Success Center, and Dori Helms, our provost, deserves credit for that. It was her idea and now we see the physical manifestation of a very good idea in a brand new building on campus.
\nI was touched by the Ring Ceremony, and having Col. Ben Skardon, one of my teachers, talk about what his ring had meant to him on the Bataan Death March and his prisoner-of-war experience for almost four years in the second World War.
\nAnd one that was hard, was the brawl we had with the University of South Carolina in football in 2004. We decided that we weren\u2019t going to go to a bowl game. That was behavior we couldn\u2019t accept, and we were not going to reward ourselves by having a bowl experience. I think that sent a pretty clear message about where our priorities were and a little bit of a statement about Clemson\u2019s integrity. It was not universally praised, but I think it was the right thing to do.
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\nCW: How has being an alumnus affected your presidency?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: Clemson is not ordinary; it is not normal. It is a school with all sorts of idiosyncrasies. We just don\u2019t behave like other schools behave, and we don\u2019t put priorities on things that some people, at other schools, might put priorities on. But the things we do put priorities on are critically important to us. It has taken me a lifetime to figure those things out.
\nI started at Clemson as a 17-year-old, the oldest of three boys, in a family that never had anyone go to college. My father died a year before the first time I walked across Bowman Field. I\u2019ve just found that knowing that history, those traditions, how a campus can embrace someone \u2014 that\u2019s where our priorities ought to be, and I understood that almost instinctively. I would have been a lousy president somewhere else because I didn\u2019t understand those things. I think that understanding those distinctive qualities, praising them, strengthening them, has been an important part of what I hope we\u2019ve accomplished.
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\nCW: Is there anything you would characterize as \u201cunfinished business\u201d as you retire?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: The enterprise legislation. I knew it was a very hard task to get that through in one year and even more so in an abbreviated year. But that\u2019s unfinished. It must happen \u2014 it is vital to our future. But we\u2019re halfway there, and we\u2019ll be planning our efforts between now and when the legislature begins in January. And we\u2019ll be very active in this offseason to plant the right seeds hopefully so that we can be successful.
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\nCW: What will you miss as you return to the classroom?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: No more knocks on the front door and to see who\u2019s there \u2014 to open that door and to see what kind of Clemson experience someone is having, and whether or not I can make that better. I will miss that. I\u2019ll miss the interaction with students and with faculty and staff too, but that interaction with students. That\u2019s one thing we\u2019ll miss, living right here in the middle of campus, surrounded by that energy, or that depression after the first round of tests. You can feel it by just being a part of this campus. So being an integral part of the campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is something I think we\u2019ll miss.
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\nCW: Is there a place on campus that has been particularly significant for you, either as a student, faculty member, or as president?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: There are moments when you walk on this campus that you get these glimpses of the mountains. There are a couple of beautiful spots where that happens on the campus; one of them is at the base of Tillman Hall. You look down College Avenue, and you see those mountains looming in the distance. I never get tired of that view. It\u2019s breathtaking.
\nAnd Bowman Field, because every time I walk across it, I have that memory of the first time I walked across it, and the sense that this campus gave me, just intuitively, that said, \u201cYou\u2019re going to be okay. We know you\u2019ve got lots of challenges, financial, you lost your dad, you\u2019re sort of representing your whole family in this effort. Trust us, you\u2019ll be okay.\u201d I felt that very much that first time, and now when I walk across Bowman Field, I feel the same way, every single time.
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\nCW: Is there a person who was particularly significant for you as a student?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: Ben Skardon. This Marine reading poetry in his big deep gravelly voice and reading Shelley and Keats \u2014 I was just mesmerized by that.
\nTwo faculty members in architecture who realized that I was having a financial crisis. They found a scholarship that fit my grade point average and need, and that kept me from having to drop out of school.
\nAnd then there was this speech teacher who had us listen to the speeches of Martin Luther King back in 1966 or \u201967. She never talked about the content. She would say, \u201cListen to the inflection here. You know I\u2019ve been teaching you about how repetition works when you\u2019re giving speeches, and inflection and volume.\u201d I was a changed person coming out of that class. I was not the same person walking out of there that I was when I walked in. It wasn\u2019t just about technique and speech either.
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\nCW: It\u2019s obvious that you and Mrs. Barker have approached this presidency as a partnership. How has that enriched and strengthened your presidency?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: That\u2019s absolutely true. The grace that she\u2019s shown and the hospitality that she\u2019s shown \u2014 I think it\u2019s in her DNA. But also the kind of preparation that I had for the job \u2014 she had the same. Consider this \u2014 our first year of married life was in married student housing here. So she had that same understanding about Clemson that I had and was an active part of the community. From her preschool days [as a teacher and director at Fort Hill Church], she has a lot of alumni in this town, and now they\u2019re my alumni. So we\u2019ve handed off four-year-olds who became Clemson graduates, and that\u2019s really a joy to see. When she sees them walking across the stage getting their degree, it\u2019s a special moment for her too. I don\u2019t have any doubt that the best first lady that Clemson\u2019s ever had is Marcia.
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\nCW: Any other thoughts you\u2019d like to share with us?<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: I think the thing that I\u2019m feeling right now, as the time for us to change majors comes, is an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I am overcome by moments that are so special to me that demonstrate the opportunity that we\u2019ve been given, and the gratitude that I feel for that opportunity to serve my alma mater for 14 years, to be the spokesperson for the Clemson Family, in times of loss, in times of celebration, all the way to memorial services for students, to picking up the trophy from the ACC Championship on the field and everything in between. I just have an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
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\nCW: I would say the University probably has the same sense towards you.<\/strong>
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\nBARKER: I don\u2019t know about that part, but I just know what\u2019s rolling around in my head and my heart, and it\u2019s powerful.
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