Gift to Lee Hall made in memory of Clemson University alumna

Published: April 25, 2011

CLEMSON — A seminar room in the new part of Clemson University’s Lee Hall will be named for Deborah K. McNair, an alumna who died suddenly last year while training for a triathlon competition near her home in Fort Mill. The naming is made possible by a $50,000 gift from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous.

Alumnus Philip McNair, married to Debbie McNair for 20 years, said he was touched to learn about the gift.

“She loved Clemson. It’s where we met and we never got very far from it,” he said. “We went back as often as we could, especially for football games. It means a lot to our family to know she will be remembered in this way.”

McNair, a 1987 graduate with a management degree, said his wife had become a triathlon participant in 2009 and quickly became accomplished in the sport. As a tri-athlete, she was ranked high in the S.C. Triathlon Series in the women’s Masters age group in which she competed.

A 1989 financial management major, she worked for Bank of America and was recognized as an early adopter of the company’s flex policies that enable parents to work from home. She was a senior vice president for private lending with a reputation for caring for and mentoring others.

“Her commitment to her family, athletics, work, church and people in general made her the most pleasurable person to know,” read a tribute to Debbie McNair in a Bank of America statement announcing a fund established for the McNairs’ son, Kit, now 14.

The gift naming the Deborah K. McNair Seminar Room is part of Clemson’s The Will to Lead capital campaign, a multiyear effort to raise at least $600 million to support Clemson University students and faculty.

Designed by the late architect and educator Harlan McClure, Clemson's Lee Hall/Lowry Hall complex has earned a place on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. Clemson broke ground in April 2010 to expand and renovate Lee Hall, which houses the university's architecture, planning and landscape architecture, construction and visual arts programs. Thomas Phifer is the lead designer on the expansion project with McMillan Pazdan Smith of Greenville serving as the design architects.

The plan to expand, renovate and restore Lee Hall is funded by federal money and private support. The project is slated for completion this fall and will be ready for classes in spring 2012.

The expansion portion of the project is a 55,000-square-foot building at the south end of the existing structure. It will be a low-energy building. The design calls for a simple interior that takes advantage of natural light. It employs a geothermal system integrated with radiant heating and cooling in the floors. The plan is to add solar collectors and a green roof to move the building to a self-sufficient, net-zero energy status.

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