DATE: May 29, 2008

CONTACT: Ann Marie Alexander, (864) 656-7013
amalex@clemson.edu

CONTACT: Bruce Hohensee, (503) 780-7452
BHohensee@Herc.com

WRITER: Angela Nixon, (864) 656-0382
anixon@clemson.edu

Hercules Inc. establishes Ralph N. Pinnock Jr. Memorial Scholarship at Clemson

Fund will provide scholarships to enhance diversity in chemical and biomolecular engineering

CLEMSON – Hercules Inc., a special chemicals corporation headquartered in Wilmington, Del., has pledged $7,000 to establish the Ralph Nathanial Pinnock Jr. Memorial Annual Scholarship at Clemson University.

Named in memory of Clemson student Ralph Pinnock Jr., who died in a motorcycle accident in December 2007, the fund will provide scholarships to enhance diversity in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering in the College of Engineering and Science. Pinnock was a senior chemical engineering major from Columbia who had accepted a summer internship with Hercules.

“Ralph was a great young man who was really excited about our industry. He was exactly the kind of person we look for,” said Bruce Hohensee, recruitment manager for Hercules Inc.. “We thought this fund would be a great way to honor Ralph’s memory and encourage other minorities to follow in his footsteps.”

Pinnock was involved with student life at Clemson, serving as vice president of the Pi Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, as a member of student government and on the university’s MLK Enhancement Committee. He was a member of the Clemson University Symphony Orchestra and helped other minority students in his major as a PEER (Programs for Educational Enrichment and Retention) mentor.

Marquita Frazier, a freshman engineering major from Columbia, said Pinnock went above and beyond as her PEER mentor.

“He went out of his way to make sure we had the help we needed: with homework, studying for tests, getting to know our professors, knowing which classes to take,” she said. “We would have weekly meetings with him to talk about things. We were like his little brothers and sisters.”

PEER director Sue Lasser said Pinnock was a great role model for the freshmen to follow.

“He always wanted to give back to his community, to his Clemson University community, his African-American community and his fellow chemical engineering majors,” Lasser said.

People who want to donate to the fund can send checks payable to the Clemson University Foundation to Clemson University Foundation, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633. Checks should be designated to the Ralph Nathanial Pinnock Jr. Memorial Annual Scholarship.