Unrestricted

UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT.
TEACHING CLASS.
CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS.
UNIQUELY CLEMSON.

While most university presidents act primarily as higher education administrators, Clemson University president James F. Barker ’70 still spends time in the classroom, instilling in students a desire to think creatively and inspiring them to engage themselves outside of the normal learning environment. And it’s all thanks to unrestricted donations from donors. Through the President’s Seminar, a group of about 20 students and a half-dozen faculty members explore an interdisciplinary issue for three hours each week of the semester. It’s an interesting and innovative collaboration across curricula that stimulates a kind of intellectual thinking and dialogue that is uniquely Clemson.

“One of our recent programs focused on the role of setting in small-town life, in architecture and design, in literature and music,” says Barker. “Three of the essays that came out of the seminar were published in a special edition of The South Carolina Review. “The opportunity to still be in the classroom with students is something I hold dear. It keeps me grounded to the core purpose of Clemson,” says Barker.

Leading Academics
Each year, unrestricted gifts provide support for special academic and cultural programs that help to make the Clemson Experience unique and engaging.
But unrestricted donations do more than fund special programs like the President’s Seminar — they allow Barker and other University administrators to direct resources to the critical, promising and appropriate purposes in support of Clemson’s vision to become a top-20 public research university.

The Reality
While we have a clear vision of the University’s future and a detailed roadmap for getting there, specific priorities change as the dynamics
of education and research create new opportunities and possibilities.
To be successful in this competitive and challenging environment, Clemson must have flexible dollars that can be used as and when needed to fulfill the mission and objectives of the University. Without these unrestricted dollars, student scholarships and professorships may never come to fruition. Unrestricted dollars are vital to the success of Clemson University.

The Need
Clemson University needs unrestricted private gifts to support the greatest priorities of the University. Unrestricted annual gifts and unrestricted endowment funds may be named to honor you as donor or to honor someone else. Several named endowment opportunities exist with minimum funding levels, as follows:
Unrestricted Support Minimum Gift Guidelines

• Named President’s Excellence Fund $1,000,000
  Provides an endowment fund for use by the president for the advancement of academic excellence.
• Named Provost’s/Vice President’s Excellence Fund $500,000
  Provides an endowment fund for use by the provost or vice president for the advancement of excellence.
• Named Dean’s Excellence Fund $100,000
  Provides an unrestricted fund for use by a specific college dean or administrator for the advancement of excellence.
• Named Department Excellence Fund $100,000
  Provides unrestricted funds for the continuing support and advancement of excellence within a specified department.
• Named Excellence Fund $25,000
  Provides unrestricted funds for the continuing support and advancement of excellence.
• Leadership Circle $10,000 annually
  Provides unrestricted funds for the continuing support and advancement of the University.

• Unrestricted gifts are the University’s most valuable resource for long-term success because they allow money to go directly to where the need is the greatest. In essence, unrestricted funds:
• Help Clemson students receive a first-class educational experience.
• Enable Clemson faculty, staff and students to address real-world problems facing communities, families and industry.
• Ensure that more of the state’s brightest students remain in South Carolina.
• Increase the value of a Clemson degree for all alumni.
• Foster economic development.
• Ensure continued prosperity for the University and help the University reach the top 20.