Students, faculty receive awards at Clemson University Commencement

Published: May 11, 2012

CLEMSON — Three outstanding students and a master teacher were recognized Friday during Commencement ceremonies at Clemson University.

Rhett Ricard of Pomaria received the Norris Medal; Derek Barre of Austin, Texas, and Kelly Arps of Alpharetta, Ga., received Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards; and Drew Lanham was honored as the 2012 Alumni Master Teacher.

The Norris Medal is given to the graduating student who is judged to be the best all-around by the university scholarships and awards committee. Ricard graduated with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and history. He was a Palmetto Fellow, a Presidential Scholar and a Coca-Cola Scholar. He was a student in the Calhoun Honors College and is a member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key, Alpha Lambda Delta and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Ricard served as treasurer for undergraduate student government for two years, as president of the Student Alumni Council and vice president of Blue Key Honor Society. He has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and traveled with the organization to build homes in Guatemala in 2009. In 2010, he studied abroad in Paris and Normandy, France. Ricard has been accepted to attend the University of Virginia School of Law.

First awarded in 1908, the Norris Medal was established under the terms of the will of D.K. Norris, a life trustee of Clemson.

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is given “in recognition of the recipient's influence for good, excellence in maintaining high ideals of living and genuine and disinterested service to others.” The award, named in honor of the first president of the New York Southern Society, was established by an agreement between the society and Clemson University.

Barre received his bachelor’s degree in management. A member of Clemson’s swim team, Barre was named to the ACC Honor Roll for three consecutive years and received the ACC Top 6 for Service Award in 2010. Barre organized the swim team’s participation in a fundraising dinner that raised more than $40,000 for Collins Children’s Home. He spoke to local elementary and middle school students as part of the Tiger Talk program and participated in the Student Athlete Advisory Committee’s Be a TIGER Field Day.

Arps graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. She was a student in the Calhoun Honors College and a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta pre-professional health honor society, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key, Alpha Lambda Delta and the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. She was a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Tiger Paw Productions. She volunteered her time at the Rosa Park Medical Clinic in Seneca and traveled to serve at a medical clinic in Roatan, Honduras, in 2010. She also took several service trips around the country with FCA.

The Alumni Master Teacher Award for outstanding undergraduate classroom instruction is presented to a faculty member nominated by the student body and selected by the Student Alumni Council. Lanham is professor wildlife ecology in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. His research interests include songbird ecology and conservation, integration of game and nongame wildlife management and the African-American land ethic and its role in natural resources conservation.

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