R.C. Edwards: 1914-2008
Robert Cook Edwards: Timeline
- March 25, 1914 — Robert Cook Edwards born in Fountain Inn to John T. and Effie Cook Edwards
- September 1929 — enrolls at Clemson College as a freshman at age 15, having received a scholarship after completing the 10th grade of high school
- June 1933 — graduates from Clemson with a B.S. in textile engineering at age 19; also receives his ROTC commission as a second lieutenant.
- June 1933 — begins his career in textile manufacturing as supervisor of the quality control laboratory at Dunean Mill in Greenville, S.C., for J.P. Stevens and Company Inc.
- June 1934 — moves to Red Springs, N.C., to accept a position at the Charles D. Thoms Company Inc. textile manufacturing plant
- May 30, 1935 — Edwards marries Louise Odom of Red Springs, N.C.
- June 1936 — Son, Robert Cook Jr., is born
- April 1937 — accepts position of superintendent of weaving for Aberfoyle Inc. in Norfolk, Va.
- December 1940 — Daughter, Nancy Louise, is born
- July 1942 — called to active duty in the U.S. Army, assigned to quartermaster corps at Fort Meade, Md.; promoted to first lieutenant and later, captain
- December 1944 — transferred to 3rd Service Command Headquarters in Baltimore, Md.; eventually promoted to major
- 1946 — after discharge from the Army, Edwards resumes textiles career, serving as treasurer and then general manager of the Abbeville Group of Deering Milliken Mills, now Milliken & Company
- 1954 — serves as president of IPTAY
- June 1956 — becomes Clemson’s first vice president for development
- June 1958 — named acting president after the death of Clemson President Robert F. Poole
- April 9, 1959 — Edwards is elected Clemson’s eighth president by the board of trustees
- June 1979 — retires as Clemson president; the Edwards Endowment for Excellence in Science and Technology is established in his honor
- September 1983 — receives the Clemson Medallion, among the highest honors conferred by Clemson University, recognizing extended and sustained commitment and significant service to the university
- 1984 — inducted into the Clemson University Athletic Hall of Fame
- 1992 — Clemson dedicates Robert Cook Edwards Hall, which houses the School of Nursing
Highlights of the presidency of R.C. Edwards
- June 1958 — Edwards is named acting president after the death of Clemson President Robert F. Poole
- April 9, 1959 — Edwards is elected Clemson College’s eighth president by the board of trustees
- June 1959 — Edwards is awarded honorary doctor of laws degree from The Citadel
- Nov. 6, 1959 — Clemson dedicates new chemical engineering building, named for Samuel Broadus Earle; $800,000 in funding from the Olin Foundation represents largest grant yet to Clemson Agricultural College
- June 1960 — Edwards is awarded honorary doctor of laws degree from Wofford College
- 1961 — Clemson negotiates the settlement of $1 million plus land for the Simpson Agricultural Experiment Station from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Hartwell Lake project
- 1961 — Kinard Laboratory of Physics construction completed
- 1962 — Martin Hall classroom building and Benet and Young residence halls construction completed
- June 1962 — Edwards is awarded the Clemson University Alumni Distinguished Service Award
- Jan. 28, 1963 — Clemson becomes first public university in South Carolina to desegregate with the enrollment of Harvey Gantt
- 1963 — first women’s residence hall occupied
- March 11, 1964 — Gov. Donald Russell signs the state law changing the name of Clemson Agricultural College to Clemson University
- 1965 — Clemson awards the first Ph.D. degrees in engineering in South Carolina
- 1965 — Cook Engineering Laboratory and Barnett and Cope residence halls
- 1966 — R.M. Cooper Library and Geer and Sanders residence halls completed
- December 1966 — Edwards is named “Man of the Year in Service to S.C. Agriculture” by Progressive Farmer Magazine
- 1967 — Manning Hall residence hall construction completed
- 1968 — Littlejohn Coliseum, Daniel Hall, Rhodes Engineering Research Center, Lever Hall residence hall and Schilletter Dining Hall all completed
- 1969 — Redfern Health Center and Strode Tower completed
- 1970 — Byrnes Hall residence hall construction completed
- July 21, 1970 — Tiger Paw becomes the symbol for Clemson athletics
- 1971 — Edwards honored by Pickens County School District with naming of new junior high school, now known as R.C. Edwards Middle School
- 1972 — Alumni Center and Smith Hall residence hall completed
- 1973 — Jervey Athletic Center construction completed
- March 2, 1973 — Clemson announces gift from Thomas Mitchell Hunter, Class of 1909, to create the University's first endowed chair: the Hunter Endowed Chair of Bioengineering
- 1974 — Jordan Hall construction completed
- Dec. 3, 1974 — Clemson's total enrollment tops 10,000 students for the first time
- 1976 — Barre Hall and Edgar A. Brown University Union completed
- 1977 — Edwards Hall, later named for him (in 1992), completed
- 1978 — Edwards receives award from the Southern Regional Education Board for “distinguished contributions to higher education in the South”
- April 1979 — Edwards is awarded the Tasker H. Bliss Medal, one of the highest civilian honors conferred by the Society of American Military Engineers
- Sept. 15, 1978 — Clemson’s board of trustees establishes the Robert Cook Edwards Endowment for Science and Technology; the fundraising drive for the endowment, which had a goal of $1.2 million, raised $1.7 million
- June 1979 — Edwards retires as Clemson president