Did you know?

• Clemson is one of the friendliest colleges in the nation! A survey conducted by The Huffington Post recognizes the University for the students’ approachable, supportive and charitable nature, along with their deep love for other students.
• Clemson's TAPS yearbook was named the most outstanding college yearbook in the country in 2008 for the fourth year in a row. TAPS has been a Clemson tradition for 100 years.
• According to a national survey, Clemson students say they receive an education in a challenging intellectual environment that includes opportunities to work closely with instructors and other students inside and outside the classroom.
• The University offers an overall 14-to-1 faculty/student ratio, and nearly half of Clemson's classes have fewer than 20 students.
• The Clemson Experimental Forest is 17,482 acres and has nearly 45 miles of maintained roads and more than 100 miles of designated trails.
• During Earth Week 2008, Harcombe Food Court didn't use food trays, and as a result reduced water consumption by 4,585 gallons and saved $138 in energy costs during lunchtime as part of the Trayless Dining Initiative.
• Clemson's Habitat for Humanity chapter was named Campus Chapter of the Year by Habitat for Humanity International in 2008 for its strong relationship with the Pickens County affiliate and for being a leader in green building practices.
• Through Earth Week 2008, Schilletter Dining Hall reduced its food waste by .25 oz. - or 8.1 percent - per person, resulting in an overall decrease of 711 pounds per week.
• About 21,000 pounds of hand-made blue cheese is produced at Clemson each year, most of it sold directly to you or many top restaurants in town and across the state.
• "The most exciting 25 seconds in college football" began as a simple practicality. Players dressed across the road from the stadium and would run from there, through the gate and down "The Hill" to the field.
• The Corporation for National and Community Service has named Clemson to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll With Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth.
• Lamont Flowers, distinguished professor of educational leadership and executive director of the Houston Center, is the 2008 recipient of the Scholars of Color Early Career Contribution Award by the American Educational Research Association.
• The National Academy of Sciences invited President Jim Barker to address its 2008 international symposium in Washington, D.C., on collaboration and the CU-ICAR story.
• Clemson Video Productions' "Expeditions with Patrick McMillan" (aired on ETV) has won the International Academy of Visual Arts Gold Davey Award and the Diamond Statues of Distinction Media Achievement Award.
• Former Clemson All-Americans Jonathan Byrd and D.J. Trahan competed in the 2008 Masters April 10-13 in Augusta, Ga. It was the first time Clemson has had two former players participate in the same Masters. The two players were teammates on Clemson's 2000 team.
• The Charles H. Houston Center for the Study of the Black Experience in Education at Clemson University was established in 1988 to disseminate information and address issues pertaining to the educational experiences and outcomes of African Americans at all levels of the educational system.
• The Bridge program is a collaborative initiative with Tri-County Technical College that provides students a blend of academic and residential life during the freshman year at Tri-County Tech, then a seamless transition to Clemson for the sophomore year.
• The Clemson University Genomics Institute has developed an international reputation as a leading research and training center for discovering and analyzing genes. In fact, it has one of the largest collections of genetic materials in the world.
• PEER, a Clemson program designed to assist minority College of Engineering and Science students, celebrated its 21st anniversary in 2008.
• Every spring, the Women's Alumni Council hosts a "Bring Your Daughter to Clemson" weekend for girls ages 6 to 17 to learn more about the college experience and explore possible career paths.
• The Rutland Institute for Ethics provides the campus and the community with a forum to explore ethical issues, especially those affecting the Clemson family.
• Clemson attracted more than $150 million in externally funded research and sponsored program awards in 2007-08, the highest in University history.
• The Institute for International Sport named Clemson an All-American Sportsmanship School for 2007-2008.
• The Princeton Review ranked Clemson's Michelin® Career Center fourth in the nation among college and university career/job placement services.
• Clemson graduate and local businessman Joe Turner bought his first Wendy’s restaurant in 1981 and now owns 50, including the one in Clemson.
• Clemson townsperson Dr. Bill Hunter is credited with the suggestion to move the Clemson vs. USC football game from Big Thursday (always in Columbia) to alternating Saturdays at both campuses.
• Former Clemson President Robert Cook "R.C." Edwards once created a day when people were allowed to streak on campus without legal consequences.
• Clemson graduate and former IPTAY Director George Bennett is credited with starting the Welcome Back Festival.
• Clemson townsperson Jim Burns, a retired Clemson employee, was the founder of the Clemson Volunteer Fire Department.
• Clemson professor emeritus Taze Senn is the permanent president of the Class of ’39.
• Judge Keller's downtown business got its name when Clemson cadets were told to take their uniforms to Keller's store and let him "judge" it to make it fit.
• Clemson Mayor Larry Abernathy and former University President Walter Cox established the first joint “town ’n gown” committee in 1984.
• The fall 2009 semester marks the start of Clemson’s 117th academic year.
• The University has an agreement with the National Science Foundation for access to the Kitt Peak National Observatory.
• ESPN considers the rivalry between Clemson and the University of South Carolina one of the greatest college football rivalries ever.
• On every Homecoming Friday night since 1957, Tigerama — one of the nation’s largest student-run pep rallies — has featured the crowning of Miss Homecoming, skits by student organizations and spectacular fireworks.
• Clemson University prestigiously counts itself among roughly 280 colleges and universities with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, representing only 10 percent of the nation’s institutions of higher learning.
• Campus borders the 900-plus-mile shoreline of Hartwell Lake where swimming, boating, skiing and sailing are popular pastimes.
• The mountains are less than an hour away and offer canoeing, kayaking, white-water rafting, hiking, camping, snow skiing and trout fishing.
• The Gantt Intercultural Center provides support services for Clemson’s students of color and international students, while at the same time fostering a campus community that recognizes, celebrates, appreciates and values diversity.
• There are more than 50 intramural and club sports available ranging from volleyball to scuba diving.
• The Michelin® Career Center on campus offers services such as career workshops, on-campus interviewing, experiential education and internship programs.
• Each year Clemson offers admission to more than 1,000 transfer students.
• The Clemson Players, a student theater organization, co-sponsors an annual season of plays with productions designed and directed by faculty, guest artists, community members, theater majors and Clemson students.
• IPTAY, Clemson’s athletic booster club, originally stood for “I Pay Ten A Year.” For more than 75 years, IPTAY has been the lifeblood of Tiger Athletics — transforming the Tigers from a regional presence to a national power.
• At summer orientation, students new to Clemson have the chance to meet other students, register for fall classes, learn about the campus and the many opportunities it has to offer, and meet with faculty and staff from their respective departments.
• Twenty-seven of the first 37 degrees granted by Clemson were in “mechanical-electrical engineering.” They were awarded in 1896.
• One-third of Clemson’s freshman honors students graduated from high school as the top-ranked student in their class.
• David H. Wilkins ’68, HD ’05 became U.S. Ambassador to Canada in 2006 after serving more than 25 years in the S.C. House of Representatives.
• Strom Thurmond ’23, HD ’61 spent a lifetime in service to his country. Sometimes controversial, always colorful, he still holds the record as the longest-serving U.S. senator.
• Runner Kim Graham ’93 was a World Outdoor Championships gold medalist in 1995 and an Olympic gold medalist in 1996.
• Rachel Drews ’06, Marc Bryant ’99, Wil Whaley ’99 and Josh Tomlinson ’02 were part of a team that won the Oscar for visual effects for the movie “The Golden Compass.” All are graduates of Clemson’s digital production arts program.
• Alumnus Nancy Humphries O’Dell ’90 is co-host of “Access Hollywood” and of other major entertainment events.
• The nationally acclaimed Call me MISTER® program is designed to recruit, train, certify and secure employment for African American men as teachers in South Carolina’s public elementary schools.
• Held each spring, Campus Sweep brings faculty, staff and students together for a massive spring cleaning. The day includes various projects, from picking up litter to painting walls.
• Named for one of Clemson's first assistant coaches and faculty member, R.T.V. Bowman, Bowman Field holds a sense of timeless connection for Clemson. Originally the traditional parade ground for Clemson cadets and the home of Clemson College's first football, baseball and basketball teams, Bowman Field now serves as a "green beach" on sunny days and the perfect place for the union of town and campus for special events.
• Clemson Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is a ministry in which hundreds of Clemson students participate each week. The ministry is entirely student-led and meets each Thursday night in Tillman Hall.
• On move-in day University employees and current students welcome new students by toting their luggage and other belongings to residence halls.
• The phrase “Old Green Tom” refers to the weathered bronze statue of the University’s founder, Thomas Green Clemson, located in front of Tillman Hall. According to legend, students who read the plaque on the base of the statue will never graduate.
• In 1917, the entire senior class enlisted in World War I.
• Clemson College opened in 1893 with 446 students and 15 faculty under President Edwin Boone Craighead.
• The Clemson libraries have more than 40,000 electronic journal subscriptions.
• Clemson has 16 reference librarians, one assigned to every major at the University.
• We teach more than 4,000 freshmen about the library through the Clemson Connect program every year.
• R.M. Cooper Library is open 24 hours a day, five days a week in addition to weekend hours.
• R.M. Cooper Library houses a coffee shop, Java City, as well as a convenience store, Snax & Stax. You can also have pizza delivered from your favorite place. Just meet the delivery person in the library lobby.
• 216,756 books were checked out of the Clemson libraries last year. That’s more than 11 per student.
• Our oldest book — published in 1566 — is a second edition Copernicus.
• President James Barker hosts a 5K race (Race to the Rock) every spring that raises money for the libraries.
• There is an average of 3,100 visits to the R.M. Cooper Library every day.
• R.M. Cooper Library has more than 1 million visitors a year.
• Campus and community musicians give free Midweek Music concerts in the R.M. Cooper Library lobby one Wednesday a month.
• R.M. Cooper Library has six floors, two of which are underground.
• Special Collections houses the University Archives, the papers of John C. Calhoun and many manuscripts of noted South Carolinians.
• The Gunnin Architecture Library is the branch library for art and architecture and is in Lee Hall.
• The Clemson libraries Web site gets more than a million page views per year. That’s more than 22 views per student.
• 17,693 questions were answered at the R.M. Cooper Library Reference Desk last year.