Professor returns home to strengthen rural education through deep listening, collaboration and respect
Darris Means M ’07 is preoccupied with making a positive impact on others, and he deeply understands the power of education. These traits predate his time as an academic: Education, Means said, was instilled as a core value by his mother, an inspiring figure that he lost to lupus when he was only 13.
“When she passed away, I decided to focus on pursuing higher education because my mother cared so much about education,” Means explained. “Through my journey as a first-generation college student, I have come to believe in the possibility of higher education, so my role is to be a contributor and not sit on the sidelines. It feels even more important to do this work in the state where I grew up.”
Means is a passionate educator whose career has taken him from his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to faculty positions in states including Georgia and Pennsylvania. His roles in higher education have always gravitated toward understanding opportunity gaps and removing barriers to higher education for youth. Now, he’s bringing a passion for rural education back home.
“Through my journey as a first-generation college student, I have come to believe in the possibility of higher education, so my role is to be a contributor and not sit on the sidelines.”
Darris Means M ’07
Since coming to Clemson University, Means has been elected president-elect designate by the National Rural Education Association. Through this role, he will lead national efforts to implement strategies to support and elevate rural education, all from his home base of Clemson. In 2024, Means was named the College of Education’s inaugural Dean’s Fellow for Rural Education. This position sees him working closely with leadership and community partners to positively impact rural education in South Carolina and beyond.
According to Means, the key is not for higher education leaders to provide a “correct answer” for rural school districts or communities. The key is partnership. It is listening and learning from multiple people and groups to collaboratively address challenges in rural communities, improve student experiences and outcomes, and celebrate and enhance the unique learning opportunities in these settings.
He said not every road leads to a bachelor’s degree, so educational and industry leaders have an opportunity to improve pathways to and through certificate programs, associate degrees and apprenticeship programs. Means said resources and opportunities are not the same even across rural locations in the state, so geographical, social and economic contexts are also critical when discussing education.
“The danger is in approaching challenges from a single lens; leaders in higher education will have some answers, but not all of them,” Means said. “Rural communities need multisector responses that see people collaborating with each other, spending time listening to each other and thinking about what we can do together.”
