DATE: June 25, 2007

CONTACT: Andrew C. Land, (864) 653-3250
landa@clemson.edu

WRITER: Teresa C. Hopkins, (864) 656-1222
hopkin1@clemson.edu

Clemson rededicates James F. Byrnes Room of library

CLEMSON — Forty-one years have passed since the Cooper Library at Clemson University named one of its rooms for the late South Carolina Gov. James F. Byrnes. At 3 p.m. Friday it will be rededicated to honor Byrnes’ service and to celebrate a renovation that has been two years in the making.

The renovation and rededication is the result of a commitment by 1953 Clemson alumnus Ward V. Buzzell and several members of the Clemson chapter of the Blue Key Honor Society.

“We are delighted with the result that our design team has produced. It has been a real honor for all of us to help perpetuate the memory of Gov. Byrnes and to work with committed undergraduates and alumni alike,” said Andrew Land, a 2004 and 2007 graduate of Clemson and Blue Key member and past president. “Ward Buzzell is to be commended particularly for his role as the guiding force and tireless leader of this project. We hope the results reflect the dignity and the monumental accomplishments of Gov. Byrnes, a great South Carolinian of a stature not seen since John C. Calhoun.”

The James F. Byrnes Room is located on the fourth level of the library and contains many of Byrnes’ papers that chronicle his service to South Carolina and the world.

Byrnes served in Congress from 1910 to 1925 then practiced law in Spartanburg until elected to the Senate in 1930. In 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Byrnes to the U.S. Supreme Court. That same year he was named a life trustee of Clemson.

During World War II Byrnes served as director of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. Following a stint as Secretary of State, Byrnes served as South Carolina governor from 1951 to 1955. He died in 1972.

The Clemson chapter of the Blue Key Honor Society is the nation's oldest chapter with continuous active membership since its inception in 1932. Blue Key was founded at Clemson College in 1932 under the leadership of President Enoch W. Sikes and has initiated over 1,400 members. Blue Key is a premier honor society that recognizes college students at senior institutions of higher education for balanced and all-around excellence in scholarship, leadership and service.