DATE: December 10, 2007

CONTACT: Cathy Sams, (864) 650-4671
cathy.sams@pubaff.clemson.edu

WRITER: John Gouch, (864) 656-3859
jgouch@clemson.edu

Barker receives meritorious service award from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

ATLANTA — Clemson University President James F. Barker Monday (Dec. 10) received a James T. Rogers Meritorious Service Award from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) at the association’s 112th annual conference held in New Orleans.

“Jim was recognized for his valuable service to the Commission on Colleges and his commitment and dedication to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,” said Belle S. Wheelan, Ph.D., president for the Commission on Colleges, the required accrediting body for more than 780 colleges and universities in the 11 Southeastern states.

“Jim truly exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism that is so crucial to the success of the commission’s work. We are indebted to Jim for his dedication, commitment and unqualified support,” Dr. Wheelan added.

Barker received the award based on the quality of his service to SACS. During the three years he served as chairman for the Commission on Colleges, Barker led the search for a new SACS president, who was appointed in 2005. In addition to serving as a member of the executive council and a member of the Committee on Compliance and Reports, he served as a member of the SACS board of trustees.

Barker, who became Clemson’s 14th president in 2000, recently was named Business Person of the Year by Greenville Magazine. Barker also has been honored with the Buck Mickel Award for Business and Community Leadership by the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the Anderson Independent-Mail’s Pointing the Way Leadership Award and the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor. He also was inducted into the Boys and Girls Clubs' Hall of Fame.

Barker is a recipient of the National Distinguished Professor Award of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and served as president of that association. He was named Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and also has been a partner in an architectural practice.

A native of Kingsport, Tenn., Barker earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from Clemson in 1970 and his master's in architecture and urban design from Washington University in St. Louis in 1973.

The meritorious service award is designed to recognize faithful and dedicated service to the Commission on Colleges and support of its activities over a sustained period of time. Recipients demonstrate extraordinary commitment to the accreditation processes in various volunteer capacities.

Located in Decatur, Ga., the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the recognized regional accrediting body in the 11 U.S. Southern states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia — and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate's, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees. The Commission on Colleges is the representative body of the College Delegate Assembly and is charged with carrying out the accreditation process.  For more information about the association, visit www.sacscoc.org.

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