Gift from Clemson couple honors Alumni Association president

Published: November 15, 2012

Ann Hunter (center) with Barbara and Jim McCabe image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Jim and Barbara McCabe of Clemson have honored a long-time friend with a $100,000 gift to Clemson University's Alumni Association.

The Ann Harvin Hunter Leadership Endowment honors Alumni Association President Ann Harvin Whetstone Hunter of Greenwood and will support leadership development for student and alumni volunteers.

Natives of St. Matthews, the McCabes’ relationship with Hunter goes back to before she was born. Jim McCabe and Hunter’s father, Jack Moorer Whetstone, were friends from fourth grade until Whetstone’s death in 1959. Little did McCabe know that he would later become close friends with Whetstone’s daughter.

“He was my best friend all the way through school,” Jim McCabe said. “He died when Ann was a baby, so she had to grow up without him in her life. After she was grown, we became acquainted with her. She has since called us her ‘surrogate parents.’”

The McCabes wanted to honor their friendship with Hunter in a way that would benefit Clemson and help create more alumni leaders like Hunter.

“I don’t think they could pick a better person to lead the Alumni Association. She’s very dedicated and works hard,” McCabe said of Hunter. “She’s a chip off the old block. She’s got her dad’s personality and her mother’s scholastic ability. She’s very well qualified to handle just about anything.”

“Mr. McCabe has told me so much about my dad,” said Hunter. “It has been a great connection with my dad. It is wonderful to hear the McCabes tell stories about my parents.”

Hunter, a native of St. Matthews, earned a bachelor’s degree from Clemson in 1980 and a master’s degree  in 1982, both in chemical engineering. She worked for Union Carbide in Greenville, then became a homemaker and full-time volunteer after the birth of her daughter, Rebecca, who also is a Clemson alumna.

Hunter has been the chairwoman of the reunion and special events committee and the honors and awards committee for the alumni board of directors and was named the Volunteer of the Year in 2009. She has served on the Women’s Alumni Council and has been an IPTAY representative for 14 years. Hunter also has been on the Clemson Athletic Council and has chaired its campus and community relations committee. She started her two-year term as president of the Clemson Alumni Association in July.

“This is such a fitting and special way to honor Ann Hunter because she is such a strong leader and champion for the Clemson Alumni Association,” said Wil Brasington, senior director of alumni relations. “The McCabes are also strong leaders for Clemson. Their generosity over the years has made Clemson a better place for students and alumni alike. We intend to use this endowment to develop the next generation of leaders for Clemson, who will inherit the mantle from Ann and the McCabes.”

Jim McCabe attended Clemson in 1943, but did not graduate after being called away to fight in the Navy in World War II. He is retired from Exxon Company U.S.A. and has been married to Barbara for 63 years. 

The McCabes have given three previous $100,000 gifts to Clemson. In 1999, they established an IPTAY endowment in memory of their friend Joe “Bogie” Bryant, who played center on the football team from 1950 to 1952. In 2007, they funded the Brian J. O’Rourke ’83 Unrestricted Endowment for Performing Arts, named in honor of Clemson’s executive director of development and alumni affairs. In 2011, they gave money to build a new baseball locker room at Doug Kingsmore Stadium; that locker room is named in their honor.

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