Clemson University Foundation elects new board members, officers

Published: August 6, 2012

CLEMSON — The Clemson University Foundation elected a chairman and vice chairman along with four new members.

G. Graham “Goz” Segars Jr. of Hartsville was elected chairman and Charles L. Sullivan Jr. vice chairman.

Segars is president and owner of Segars Development. He is a 1966 Clemson graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy. Segars is chairman of the Coker College board of trustees, a former board member of the Florence Darlington Technical College Educational Foundation and chairman of the Heritage Community Bank Board. He recently was awarded Clemson University’s highest alumni honor: the Distinguished Service Award. He served on the Clemson University Board of Visitors prior to joining the Foundation board in 2006. He and his wife, Pat, have five children.

Sullivan is the retired executive vice president of Sonoco Products Inc. A former Clemson student, he has an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Coker College. He is a Coker College trustee and former board chairman. He is a member of the American Management Association, past chairman of the Associate Member Council of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and past president of the board of the YMCA of the Upper Pee Dee. He joined the Clemson University Foundation board in 2006. He and his wife, Betty, have two children. 

These are the four new members of the board:

• William P. ‘Phil’ Bradley is a 1965 Clemson University graduate with a bachelor's in industrial management. He is an Allstate Insurance agency owner. He and his wife, Mary, established the Bradley Foundation Teaching Award and the Creative Inquiry Initiative. His involvement with Clemson University includes chairing the Legislative Committee of the Board of Visitors and service on the Clemson Restoration Institute Committee and the Clemson Agriculture Extension Service Charleston Advisory Board. He is also a member of Clemson in the Lowcountry, the Richard W. Simpson Society and the Benjamin Ryan Tillman Society. His father, uncle and son all are Clemson alumni. Bradley has two children and lives in Johns Island. 
• Bryant G. Barnes is a 1976 Clemson University graduate with an MBA from the University of South Carolina. He is president and CEO of Comporium, a communications company that provides services to York County, Lancaster County and the Midlands of South Carolina and Transylvania County in North Carolina. On March 1, the Barnes family celebrated 100 years of ownership of Rock Hill Telephone Co. (now part of Comporium). Barnes has served as chairman of the American Red Cross-York County Chapter and the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce, is past president of the City Club of Rock Hill and a member of the Rock Hill Rotary Club. He is a director of South Carolina Bank and Trust of the Piedmont, vice chairman of Home Telephone Co. in Moncks Corner and Spirit Telecom. Barnes also is past director of OPASTCO and current president of SCTA, both telephone trade organizations on the national and state levels. Barnes assisted in the creation of the Clemson University Barnes Electrical and Computer Engineering Endowment and was instrumental in establishing the SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Optoelectronics. His other Clemson involvement includes serving on the foundation’s Corporate and Foundation Relations Task Force. Barnes’ father and grandfather were Clemson alumni, classes of 1942 and 1915, respectively. He has three children (David, Class of 2010; Emily, Class of 2012; and Logan, Class of 2016) and lives in Rock Hill with his wife, Lynn.
• Janice E. Childress is a native of Six Mile who now lives in Easley. She is an owner and director of several health care businesses headquartered in the Upstate and a director of the Cornerstone Bancorp. She also manages various investments through her asset management company, Allegiant Carolinas Inc. She organized the Childress Foundation, a philanthropic organization, and is its chairwoman. Childress is on the Furman University Executive Advisory Council. She is past chairwoman of the board of Pickens County Meals on Wheels and a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church. Her involvement with Clemson University includes serving on The Will to Lead capital campaign Executive Committee and the President’s Leadership Circle; and as a member of the Thomas Green Clemson Society and an IPTAY Heisman Donor. 
• D. Byrd Miller III is a 1980 Clemson University graduate with a bachelor's in administrative management and an alumnus of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He is the CFO, Managing Member and Treasurer of William Barnet & Son LLC. He is past chairman of the United Way of Piedmont and is a director of Carolina Alliance Bank. He is a trustee of the Mary Black Foundation and a Spartanburg Regional Foundation Fellow. Miller is in the Clemson Fellows Major Gift Club and supports the College of Business and Behavioral Science Building Fund. He has two children, Cate, who graduated from Clemson is 2011; and Byrd IV, who is a rising senior at Clemson. Miller lives in Spartanburg with his wife, Liza, who is a 1980 Clemson graduate.

Clemson University Foundation
The Clemson University Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) entity organized solely to promote the welfare and future development of Clemson University. It was chartered in 1933 to support the university’s educational and scientific goals. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to manage and disburse assets prudently within a policy that encourages the enhancement of the resources of the Foundation.