Winter 2006 -- Vol. 59, No. 1

Dynamic state of Clemson

As we enter a new calendar year, it’s fitting that we take a look at the state of our University.

Based on the tremendous commitment from the Sirrine Foundation, business support, record-breaking research dollars attracted by our faculty and the University’s efforts to redraw its role in service to South Carolina, I’m tempted to summarize the state of Clemson in two words — economic development.

But I will offer you two different words — search committee.

We’ve recently interviewed candidates for the position of vice president for student affairs and have begun seeking candidates for a new chief financial officer. We have searches under way for four college deans and a dean of libraries. In a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education — the “bible” of the academic press — Clemson ran a full-page ad listing more than 100 faculty positions that we will fill by May.

In the business world, this kind of mass exodus and turnover might be considered a sign of internal turmoil. But in our case, it’s the result of the convergence of two events — the natural wave of retirements of faculty who joined the academy in mass numbers in the 1960s and 1970s, and a five-year-old state program known as TERI (Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive). TERI provides incentives for retiring faculty and staff to stay in the system for up to five more years, giving us time to plan for their departure. Together, these two catalysts will cause us to replace one-third of our faculty and a significant number of administrators over the next five years.

The task of recruiting, mentoring and retaining so many key faculty and staff is a challenge, but it’s also a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape Clemson University. The decisions we make in the next few months will affect the quality of a Clemson education for the next 20 years.

Fortunately, we knew this was coming, and we spent the past five years getting ready. Here’s how:

1. We’ve established a clear vision — one that is widely known and considered a little audacious. Very simply, we intend to be one of the nation’s top-20 public universities. Few universities are bold enough to give themselves such a clear, measurable benchmark. But faculty and staff like knowing where a university is going. They realize that this vision is not about a magazine ranking. It’s about the quality of classroom instruction and making sure that we have the best teachers, facilities, library resources and information technology possible. It’s about students being engaged in their studies, not just sitting in a crowded auditorium with 500 of their closest friends listening to a lecture. It’s about making sure that students succeed and graduate on time with a degree that has value.

2. We have doubled research support in less than five years. That sends a loud message. It tells faculty and staff that we’re serious about being a research university and that this is a place where they can be successful in their scholarship. It says that research is valued and that support systems are in place.

3. At the same time, we have clearly demonstrated our commitment to maintaining excellent undergraduate education as the core of the University. We have a new general education curriculum focused on competencies such as critical thinking, communication skills and ethical judgment, rather than a list of courses. We have an Academic Success Center that is widely regarded as a national model for increasing freshman retention, scholarship retention and graduation rates. We are phasing in a mandatory, three-year research experience for all undergraduate students. These commitments speak volumes to prospective faculty and staff. They say this is a university that hasn’t forgotten the reason it exists is to educate young people.

4. We have established emphasis areas where we intend to build internationally competitive programs. When we hire faculty or staff members, we ask them to make a long-term commitment to us. Often universities aren’t willing to do the same in return. They’re not willing or able to say, “Yes, this is going to be a growth area. This is where we will be putting resources, not just this year but year after year.” Clemson can say that to faculty whose expertise is in automotive engineering or advanced materials or biomedicine or one of our other emphasis areas. They will know that this is a place where they can build a career, not just get a job.

5. And finally, Clemson is located in a state that’s committed to higher education. No state has a more generous scholarship program. Our lawmakers have enacted a record four pieces of legislation since 2002 to support university research focused on economic development. And our state has $10 million endowed chairs.

It’s true that funding for basic academic and outreach programs has declined in recent years — and, unfortunately, it was during a time when the cost of providing technology-based education has skyrocketed. The impact of these two factors on tuition is well-known. By 2005, because of inflation and budget cuts, Clemson would have needed a 93 percent tuition increase just to get back to 2000 funding levels — with zero investment in quality.

But I still consider the glass to be half full rather than half empty. The investments that we have made in scholarship and economic development are working. But what we need now is a similar investment in funding for core academic and outreach programs.

Improving base funding for academics, and therefore reducing the pressure on tuition, is doable in South Carolina in the next few years. We just have to decide it’s a priority. Nothing we do would send a louder message to the next generation of faculty and students that we are serious about increasing prosperity and the quality of life in South Carolina.

If we do not make that commitment this year, we could miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity. This hiring window will not be open for long. If South Carolina can make a five-year commitment to its research universities to support funding for new faculty and infrastructure they need in order to be successful — startup funding, laboratories, technology and graduate assistants — our students and our citizens will see a return on that investment for the next 20 years.

We’ve laid the foundation. Now it’s time to start building.