DATE: June 19, 2007
CONTACT:
Wil Brasington, (864) 656-5652
wil@clemson.edu
CONTACT:
Grant Burns, (864) 370-2211
grant.burns@alumni.clemson.edu
WRITER:
Angela Nixon, (864) 656-0382
anixon@clemson.edu
EXPERT: Wil Brasington
Burns elected to lead Clemson Alumni Association
CLEMSON — Greer resident Grant Burns has been elected president of Clemson University’s Alumni Association. He officially steps into the role July 1.
Burns is a lawyer with Nexsen Pruet in Greenville. He graduated from Clemson with a bachelor’s in political science in 1988 and graduated from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1991.
While at Clemson, he served as student body president his senior year and was a member of Tiger Brotherhood, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, IPTAY Student Advisory Board and was a university tour guide.
As an alumnus, Burns continues to be an active member of the Clemson family. He has been a member of the Alumni National Council, the governing body of the Alumni Association, since 2003. He served as president of the Greenville Clemson Club in 1998-99 and served as a member of the club’s board of directors from 1995 to 2002. He is a member of the Tiger Golf Gathering board of directors and a member of the Clemson University Alumni Lawyers Society. He received the Greenville Clemson Club Super Tiger Award for 2005-06.
“I was first introduced to the Alumni National Council exactly 20 years ago when I was student body president,” Burns said. “It was a joy then, just as it is now, to be a part of such a hard working volunteer board which shares such a passion for all things Clemson.”
Burns and his wife Julie have two sons, Camden, 13, and Emory, 10. They are members of John Knox Presbyterian Church in Greenville, where Burns is an elder. He authored a book about the history of his church titled “The Church of Our Dreams – The First 50 Years of John Knox Presbyterian Church.” He has volunteered his time to Habitat for Humanity in Greenville County and other local organizations.
He served as president of the Greenville County Bar Association in 2004, president of the Greenville Young Lawyers Association in 1998 and chair of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association employment lay section in 1999. He has been a member of the South Carolina Bar House of Delegates since 2005 and is a certified moderator.
This year, he was named in the journal “Best Lawyers in America” and Greenville Magazine included him in “Best Lawyers in the Upstate.” In 2000, the magazine named him one of “Greenville’s Best and Brightest” in the 35 and under category.
Burns said his primary goal is to develop a strategic plan for the Alumni Association to guide the organization’s future.
“A word I heard recently and really like is ‘connectivity,’” Burns said. “I think that is the essence of the Clemson University Alumni Association – keeping alumni connected with students, faculty, staff, the university administration and each other. I want us to take stock in how we are making those connections now and think about how we can enhance our connectivity going forward.”
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