Fall 2005 -- Vol. 58, No. 4

Timeless mission

This issue of Clemson World explores some new and exciting aspects of the University’s mission that, while distinctly separate, taken together indicate the dawn of a new era in the Clemson story.

As the CU-ICAR campus takes shape, it is giving substance to the vision. BMW is now occupying the first building on the site, the Information Technology Research Center; designs for the campus master plan and the Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center have been shared and are further detailed in these pages; and additional partners are joining the CU-ICAR family, most recently The Timken Company. As you will read, the initial excitement over CU-ICAR continues to grow.

The CU-ICAR model has inspired other Clemson partnerships. The joint commitments of private partners, the University and the state of South Carolina are creating economic development opportunities throughout the state, while simultaneously giving opportunities for our students.

The South Carolina Research Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board just approved $10.3 million for the Clemson Restoration Research Campus, a North Charleston project that involves completion of the Hunley preservation and development of a “restoration economy” that is a natural fit for the Lowcountry. The board’s $5 million funding of an innovation center in the Clemson Research Park will promote an advanced-materials economic cluster for Anderson County, with emphasis on transferring the knowledge acquired in the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory and other research facilities to existing and new businesses.

The “knowledge-based economy” is a term we use to describe the movement of information from research laboratories to its applications for society. While the term is new, the concept is not new to us at Clemson. The knowledge-based economy is, in fact, the very heart and soul of Clemson University as defined in the will of Thomas Green Clemson. Improving the lives of South Carolinians through education was his intent. Surrounded by economic devastation, this man of science saw the acquisition and sharing of knowledge as South Carolina’s only hope for prosperity.

Through its public service and Extension programs, Clemson has always supported a knowledge-based economy. These new initiatives, and others to come, are the 21st century manifestation of a model that has served Clemson and South Carolina well. The combination of our Extension Service, Research and Education Centers with these new laboratories across the state makes Clemson a powerful force for South Carolina’s future economy.

Look with me in this issue at some of what that future holds — CU-ICAR and other economic development initiatives — a new center for international education in Brussels — a model for emergency-room medical care right here in our Edwards Hall nursing program — hands-on learning projects that take our students around the world — and more.

The Clemson of the future is firmly rooted in the Clemson of the past, fulfilling a mission conceived in the 19th century but timeless in its passion and commitment to creating a better world.