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Clemson University Graduate School

Leadership Team

lopes_portrait_outside_sm_web.png

John M. Lopes, Ph.D.

Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

jmlopes@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-4172

John Lopes oversees all activities within the Graduate School. This includes advising the Provost on policy related to graduate education, overseeing all processes from application through graduation, and professional development for graduate students and faculty. He leads the Graduate School staff in working closely with academic units to support their goals and mission, developing and supporting innovative initiatives in graduate education, and evaluating and maintaining the exceptional quality of programs offered at Clemson. He is involved in recruiting, admissions, orientation, professional development, and inclusive excellence. He also works with faculty and staff to ensure that Clemson is effectively advocating for graduate students.

Natasha Croom outside with a water feature behind her.

Natasha N. Croom, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

nncroom@clemson.edu
864-656-2878

Natasha Croom works with the Office of Graduate Admissions, student academic progress processes, orientation and onboarding initiatives, funding efforts (i.e., assistantships, fellowships), recognition awards, and the Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan in the Graduate School. She serves as the non-voting Chair of the Graduate Council, as well as the Graduate Fellowship and Awards Committee. Foregrounding an equity lens, she works collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, and other divisions and units across campus to resolve dilemmas that may interfere with a graduate student’s overall well-being and academic success.

Croom is a tenured Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the Department of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development in the College of Education. As a critical race feminist qualitative scholar-practitioner, her scholarship focuses on disrupting intersecting systems of oppression (i.e., racism, sexism, classism, etc.) at the individual, group, institutional, systemic, and ideological levels of higher education. Through her praxis, she strives to work in and with communities to support the creation of policies, procedures, practices, opportunities, and spaces constructed from equity-based ideologies throughout and beyond post-secondary education environments and contexts. Prior to her Graduate School role, she served as Special Advisor to the Dean for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence in of the College of Education and as Program Coordinator for the Ph.D. program in Educational Leadership. Croom earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership in Higher Education from Iowa State University, a Master of Science in Education in Higher Education Administration from Texas A&M University (College Station), and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

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Vacant

Associate Dean for Academic Policy and Program Effectiveness

 

The Associate Dean for Academic Policy and Program Effectiveness leads the Policy and Procedure Review Program in partnership with Misty Stewart (Director of Student Success), Dena Smith (Executive Assistant to the Dean), and the faculty and student representatives on the Graduate Advisory Committee. This program involves a systematic, holistic, and guided review of the Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures ensuring support for equity and inclusion, student health and wellness, and faculty/staff workload balance. They also lead Graduate Academic Program Self (GAPS) Reviews in partnership with Cairen Withington (Director of Program Review and Effectiveness) to support graduate faculty in their continuous improvement of all graduate degree and certificate programs at Clemson.

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William G. Ferrell, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Curriculum, Academic Integrity, and Grievances

fwillia@clemson.edu
864-656-2724

Bill Ferrell is the nonvoting chair of the Graduate Curriculum Committee, Graduate Academic Grievance Committee, and the Graduate Academic Integrity Committee. In addition to leading the meetings, he also provides advice to faculty and students on matters within the purview of these committees.

He is Fluor International Supply Chain Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering in the College of Engineering, Computing, and Applied Sciences. His research and teaching interests are in supply chain logistics. Recently, his students have been focusing on research related to designing systems and facilities that support horizontal and vertical collaboration in logistics.

Van Puymbroeck

Marieke Van Puymbroeck, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Professional Development, Health and Well-being

mvp@clemson.edu
864-656-1721

Marieke Van Puymbroeck focuses on a diverse portfolio of activities including the GRAD 360° program with Jodi Cox and Rebecca Towe; supporting the Graduate Diversity Doctoral Fellowship in collaboration with the Office of Access and Equity; developing mentorship training for faculty in cooperation with the National Research Mentoring Network; improving teaching assistant training; supporting mental health initiatives; and the 3-Minute Thesis™ initiative.

Van Puymbroeck earned her B.S. in therapeutic recreation at Longwood College (now University), her M.S. in therapeutic recreation from the University of Florida, and her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Florida. Her research has been funded by ACL, NIH, AOTA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and many other agencies. Van Puymbroeck’s research focuses primarily on the use of yoga as a therapeutic intervention for people with neurological issues and fall prevention programs for older adults. Prior to joining the Graduate School, she Puymbroeck served as professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.

Admissions Team

zagorski.jpgJessica Zagorski

Director of Graduate Admissions

jzagors@clemson.edu
E-209 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-2561

The director of graduate admissions and recruitment oversees the operations of the Graduate Admissions Office by providing leadership and administrative direction for the implementation of the recruitment strategies and admission policies and procedures of the Graduate School.

staff-photo-placeholder.pngScott Phillips

Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions

sphill8@clemson.edu
E-209 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-6824

As Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions, Scott is responsible for system administration of the online application and CRM systems (Slate, Admit, and Prospect) as well as providing training for those systems. He works with graduate departments to create and implement communication plans, ensures the integrity of data within the student information system, and manages the change-of-term process.

portrait of aaron ducksworthAaron Ducksworth

International Admissions Coord.

aducksw@clemson.edu
E-209 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-5342

Aaron serves as a liaison to academic departments, program coordinators, and prospective applicants with regard to admission procedures, and coordinates the admissions process for international applicants.

Taylor Matthews NaylorTaylor Matthews-Naylor

Domestic Admissions Coord.

tmmatth@clemson.edu
E-209 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-4185

Taylor receives and processes digital and mail-in transcripts, provides recruitment support, manages the Bachelor-to-Graduate process, and coordinates the admissions process for domestic applicants.

carolinebyrd.pngCaroline Byrd

Graduate Assistant

cgbyrd@clemson.edu
E-209 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

kristieonaepting2.pngKristieona Epting

Graduate Assistant

kepting@clemson.edu
E-209 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

Administrative Team

staff-dena-smith.jpgDena Smith

Executive Assistant

denas@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-4172

Dena is the executive assistant to the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School and acts as office manager (Military Friendly designated staff).

staff-rebecca-towe.jpgRebecca Towe

Administrative Coordinator

rtowe@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-9349

Rebecca provides support to the deans and various Graduate School Committees and is a member of the GRAD 360° professional development team.

Jennifer Charette

Administrative Assistant

jcharet@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-5202

Jennifer welcomes Graduate School visitors to the office and provides processing of graduate assistantships and fellowships, student payroll, several other forms and procedures, and departmental procurement.

Banner and Data

staff-kelsey-loftus.jpgKelsey Loftus

Business Analyst

klloftu@clemson.edu
E-304 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

Kelsey provides data analyses with a university-wide scope to support the Graduate School and the goals of Clemson University to become a “Top 20” research institution. Directs and manages the Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship tracking system along with the related processes and data.

staff-greg-anderson.jpgGreg Anderson

Student Systems Business Analyst

gander3@clemson.edu
E-304 Martin Hall
Clemson SC 29634

Greg analyzes inefficiencies within the Graduate School’s application and admissions processes, and recommends technical solutions to improve them.

Program Review

staff-cairen-withington.jpgCairen Withington

Director of Program Review and Effectiveness

cairenw@clemson.edu

E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-3251

Cairen works with Graduate School leadership to ensure that the Graduate School fulfills its mandates to perform comprehensive reviews of all graduate programs, to ensure that academic leaders have the data they need to set goals and improve program effectiveness, and to continue the Graduate School’s efforts to collaborate with academic units to ensure the best possible outcomes for graduate students.

staff-photo-placeholder.pngFujaila Shahnaj

Graduate Assistant

fshahna@g.clemson.edu

E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

Student Success

staff-misty-stewart.jpgMisty Stewart

Director of Graduate Student Success

misty4@clemson.edu

E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-5336

Misty works with the Graduate School leadership team, faculty, campus organizations, and staff to enhance measures of student success for graduate students. She oversees onboarding, student engagement, retention strategies, and developing programs to aid students in completing their graduate degrees.

staff-photo-placeholder.pngKara Lee

Graduate Assistant

fosterl@g.clemson.edu

E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

Communications and Marketing

staff-jill-bunch.jpgJill E. Bunch

Director of Communications

jillbb@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

Jill directs the Graduate School’s internal and external communications and marketing, acts as managing editor of publications and multimedia content, and oversees staff in charge of admissions recruitment. She is a member of the GRAD 360° professional development team.

staff-mike-posey.jpgMike Posey

Marketing & Engagment Stategist

mposey@clemson.edu
D-139A P&AS Building
Clemson SC 29634
864-650-0797

Mike leads Graduate Admissions' marketing and recruitment efforts via Slate, the Graduate School's student relationship management system. He also handles the marketing and communications efforts for the Master of Transportation Safety Administration program, which is housed iin the Graduate School.

staff-bob-freeman.jpgBob Freeman

Graduation Standards Coordinator

rjfreem@clemson.edu
E-304 Martin Hall
Clemson SC 29634

Bob reviews student thesis and dissertation manuscripts to ensure proper formatting, produces Graduate School online content, assists with the creation and curation of forms, internal publications, and print graphics.  He also helps to organize and manage the doctoral hooding ceremony.

gracegabaldon.pngGrace Gabaldon

Graduate Assistant

ggabald@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson SC 29634

PATHWAYS INITIATIVES

LeAndrea Robinson

Pathways Initiatives Coordinator

leandr2@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson SC 29634
864-656-1546

LeAndrea provides support services to graduate students in fellowships and similar award programs that support academic success of students from underrepresented backgrounds through collaborative strategic recruitment, retention, liaison, and evaluation initiatives.

Professional Development

staff-photo-placeholder.pngJenny Presgraves

Director of Professional Development and Well-Being

betsyp@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson, SC 2963
864-656-1546

Jenny directs and manages programs and services for GRAD 360°, the Graduate School’s comprehensive professional development program for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. In addition to developing and hosting PD events, the team is creating a portfolio of mentoring programs focusing on the needs of international students and students from historically underrepresented identities in graduate education.

staff-mike-posey.jpgAlexis Taylor

Graduate Assistant

abt6@clemson.edu
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson SC 29634

staff-photo-placeholder.pngSallie Darby

Graduate Assistant

sedarby@clemson.edu 
E-106 Martin Hall
Clemson SC 29634