Remarks by President James F. Barker
General Faculty Meeting, Dec. 19, 2007
As I thought about what I wanted to say this afternoon to you – the members of our faculty and staff -- my mind kept returning to our students.
One of the things that is special and distinctive about Clemson is the caring relationship that exists between faculty, staff and students.
I’m not saying it doesn’t exist elsewhere. It certainly does. But so many people remark on it that I believe it is something that truly distinguishes Clemson from other research universities of our caliber.
This is a source of great pride for me.
It’s something that I hope we can hold on to — and build on — even as we become more well-known for our research and scholarship.
Our students are at the heart of our enterprise.
There is nothing more important to us than their welfare and their academic progress – the rigor with which we engage them in pursuit of their own educations.
Our future depends on how well we do this job.
So I want to talk with you briefly this afternoon, first, about student engagement, and, secondly, about student welfare.
The National Survey of Student Engagement — also known as NSSE — is considered by many as the best way to evaluate the quality of a university’s undergraduate programs.
Engaged students, in general, are successful students.
More than 160,000 first-year students and seniors at more than 1,000 institutions take part in the NSSE survey. They are asked a comprehensive series of questions that really try to get at whether deep learning is taking place.
NSSE specifically does NOT rank institutions. However, last month, for the first time, it released data on about 250 schools who agreed to have their results published. It also provides us with a report that shows how we compare to selected peers and to all NSSE participants.
There’s a gold mine of data in the full report, which we are studying to help us improve.
We have found much for Clemson to be proud of in our NSSE results. There are some opportunities for improvement, too.
First, the highlights:
On five composite benchmarks of effective practice, our scores are equal to or higher, by a statistically significant margin, than a selected group of peers, our Carnegie peers and all NSSE participants. That is true for both freshmen and seniors. These benchmarks are clusters of questions that relate to:
- Level of academic challenge
- Active and collaborative learning
- Student-faculty interaction
- Enriching educational experiences and
- Supportive campus environment.
To repeat, there is not a single composite benchmark where Clemson’s average score was below the average for other institutions.
Our students report finding a supportive and challenging academic environment.
When you break it down and look at specific questions:
- 92 percent of freshmen and seniors rate their entire educational experience as good or excellent. This is 12 points higher than our Carnegie peers.
- 90 percent of freshmen and seniors would choose Clemson again if given the chance.
- 80 percent of freshmen and 70 percent of seniors rate the quality of academic advising as good or excellent.
Among Clemson seniors:
- 78 percent worked with classmates outside of class on an assignment
- 78 percent did community service or volunteer work
- 68 percent did an internship, practicum or field experience
- 41 percent completed a culminating senior experience, like a capstone project
Among freshmen:
- 83 percent said their courses emphasized applying theories or concepts to new situations
- 86 percent said Clemson provides substantial support for academic success.
On all of these specific metrics, Clemson responses were higher, by a statistically significant margin, than our peers and all NSSE schools.
Our academic program is working.
One cluster of questions is related to mental activities. It is particularly significant, I think.
Our students — both freshmen and seniors — report that they are expected to analyze the basic elements of an idea, experience or theory, and then to apply those theories and concepts to practical problems or in new situations.
In other words, they are learning to think.
As the poet William Butler Yeats wrote: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” The spark of learning has been lit in our students, and we can all take pride in that.
On other specific questions, however, we would like to see improvement.
For example, fewer freshmen and seniors at Clemson — only 50 percent — said they had had a serious conversation with a student of another race or ethnicity in the past year. We know that increasing diversity and preparing our students for a diverse world remains a challenge for us.
If you would like a copy of the 4-page PDF “executive snapshot” of the NSSE results, I will be glad to send it to you. It’s also on our Web site.
On balance, we feel very good about our NSSE results, but we are using the survey in the right way: to study and continuously improve what we are doing at Clemson.
My second topic is more difficult to talk about, but also more important.
Nothing is a higher priority for Clemson University than the safety and well-being of our students.
We began the semester talking about safety and security in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. We’ve made many changes to make us a safer campus.
Yet today, we mourn the loss of seven Clemson students this semester.
The loss of any young person is a tragedy. We always ask ourselves: "Could this death have been prevented?"
Sadly, the answer is sometimes “yes.” And an example of a preventable death is the one that results from high-risk drinking among our students.
As a community, we must come together to solve this very difficult behavioral problem.
Student Affairs has been working for a long time to try to address the issue.
We’ve had educational programs in place for years. There has been consistent enforcement of policies on campus. When off-campus issues are brought to our attention, we address them, too.
This fall we created a new office, EMpower Clemson, that is charged directly with facilitating alcohol safety initiatives.
Our policies call for us to intervene and involve parents at the first sign of trouble. We are working to provide alcohol-free alternatives. We developed an alcohol safety education and media campaign that was ready to launch even before this latest tragedy. We are working with our students to carry the message, and to help us find approaches that will work with other students.
What is needed, clearly, is a culture change, and that is the most difficult thing to effect from the outside.
I believe recent events have been a clear wake-up call for many of our students, however. I’ve seen evidence that some are stepping forward to take ownership of this problem and to help us find solutions.
We have their attention. We must act, and we must act now.
I’d like to close today by mentioning each of the seven Clemson students who have died this semester. As I said in my campus e-mail, I cannot recall a time when we have lost so many young people in such a short span of time to such a wide range of causes. I’d like to take the unusual step now of saying a few words about each one, so that we may remember who they were and how they lived, not how they died.
Amy Marie Moxie was an 18-year-old freshman from Simpsonville and a pre-business major.
She was an honor roll student in high school and a state-champion swimmer. She loved children and coached the “guppy team” for her neighborhood swim club. According to her friends, Amy had a “sweet, gentle spirit” and “always exhibited a joy that was real genuine joy. It came from something deeper.”
Taylor A. Cox was a 19-year-old sophomore from Lexington and a civil engineering major. He was a Palmetto Fellow, a member of Calhoun Honors College and had a 4.0 at Clemson. He loved the outdoors and was “inquisitive and fun.” A few hours before he died, Taylor was walking with Ben Sill in the Issaqueena area of the Clemson Forest for a class. Ben said Taylor “really observed the world around him. He had an amazing depth and was very engaged in class. I wish all students were like that.”
Emily Lauren Yelton was a 19-year-old sophomore from Greenville. She came to Clemson with her twin sister Meredith and wanted to be a teacher. She loved working with children. The most important things in Emily’s life were her family, her friends and her church. She is remembered for her active spiritual life, her gregarious nature and her “contagious sense of friendship.”
Patti Ann Sylvia was a 30-year-old Ph.D. candidate in math from Massachusetts. She earned a master’s in physics from Lehigh and a master’s in math from Clemson. She was a strong, confident optimist who maintained a positive outlook on life even as she waged a two-year battle against lymphoma. She asked her adviser to bring work to her in Hospice care; she never gave up. Patti had been a competitive dancer in her youth. Her friend Chris Hunnicutt said, “When she was feeling well, she would tap dance down the hall in Martin Hall.”
Marc Anthony Cocozzela was a 22-year-old senior from Maryland and a history major. He planned to work in his family construction business, but majored in history for the love of it. “He was lively and had curiosity about him,” said his freshman adviser Elizabeth Carney. Marc was a favorite of faculty in history because he had such a good time with it.
Ralph Nathaniel "R.J." Pinnock Jr. was a 21-year-old senior from Columbia. He was a chemical engineering major and a PEER mentor. He was also a member of the Clemson University Symphony Orchestra and the MLK Enhancement Committee, and was active in Student Government. Sue Lasser says, “Ralph’s vibrant intelligence and swift, dry sense of humor made him good company.” The younger engineering students “were lucky to have him as a PEER mentor,” she said.
Benjamin Garrison Sprague was an 18-year-old freshman from Greenville and an engineering major, like both of his parents. His brother Jay is also a Clemson student. Ben graduated from Greenville High School, where he participated in Student Council and played football and soccer. He was a dedicated student who had perfect attendance from first grade through the 12th grade. His friends describe him as “brilliant, loving and kind.”
Marcia and I have visited with the family members of these students. They asked me to bring you three simple messages:
- Thank you for helping us though this impossible time.
- Don’t forget our kids.
- Don’t forget us.
One of their strongest fears is that they will now be separated from the Clemson family. So I ask each of us to ensure that they remain, forever, a part of this community and this family.
Let us remember these families during the upcoming holiday season. Thank you.