DATE: January 15, 2009

CONTACT: Office of News Services, 864-656-2061, 207-1152, 650-4784

WRITER: Beth Jarrard, 864-656-3860
jarrare@clemson.edu

Clemson University President Emeritus R.C. Edwards dies

CLEMSON — Robert Cook Edwards, 94 , the president of Clemson University for 21 years, died _____________________ at Sterling House, an assisted living residence in Central where he has lived since December 2007.

Edwards, the eighth and longest-serving chief executive of Clemson, and his wife, Louise Odom Edwards, who died in July, served the university during a time of phenomenal growth and monumental events that shaped the future of the institution, such as the graduation of Clemson’s first female students and the enrollment of its first black students.

“R.C. Edwards was a giant in the history of Clemson University. No president will ever surpass his dedicated service to his alma mater nor his impact on all aspects of life at Clemson,” said current president James F. Barker.  

“Dr. Edwards has always been a part of my Clemson experience, from the day I first walked onto campus to today,” Barker said. “When he shook my hand at graduation in 1970, it was one of the proudest days of my life. I still stand in awe of all that he accomplished as president. He led Clemson through the transition from a small, all-male military college to a major coeducational, integrated university.  He presided over an era of enormous, much-needed change with strong, steady and visionary leadership. He will always be remembered.”   

A native of Fountain Inn, Edwards entered Clemson College as a freshman at age 15 and graduated in 1933 with a Bachelor of Science degree in textile engineering.

After a successful career in the textile industry, he returned to Clemson in 1956 as the university’s first vice president for development. He became acting president in 1958 after the death of President Robert F. Poole and was elected president by the trustees on April 9, 1959 — the second Clemson graduate to hold the position.

At his retirement, Edwards had personally awarded 28,750 diplomas, which represented more than 70 percent of all undergraduate degrees and all the doctorates awarded in Clemson’s history to that time.

He was recognized as a take-charge businessman and skilled negotiator who shared a special bond with students. His love of Clemson sports was legendary, having served as manager for the football team as a student and IPTAY president during 1954-55. He missed only one of the 242 football games Clemson played during his presidency.

In “Tradition: A History of the Presidency of Clemson University,” chapter author Stephen Wainscott wrote, “While some thought it contrary to the reserved academic image of a college president, Edwards saw nothing wrong with running onto the field with the football team or substituting for the Clemson spotter in radio broadcasts at games. Nor did he consider it a breach of presidential dignity to have orange tiger paws painted in his cheeks.”

Edwards and his first lady were a strong presence on campus and in the community. He was affectionately known as “R.C.” and she as “Moon Pie” by students and alumni, a reference to the popular Southern snack cake said to be the perfect complement to “RC Cola.”

He is survived by a daughter, Nancy Edwards Reid, and her husband, Bill; daughter-in-law Sandra Edwards Waggoner; brother, Joseph Thomas Odom Jr., and wife Martha Ann; sister, Josie Odom Galloway, and husband Herbert; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Louise Odom Edwards, who died July 29, and son, Robert Cook Edwards Jr.

[Insert funeral details]

Following a private committal service at Woodland Cemetery on the Clemson campus, there will be a memorial service at _____________________ at Clemson United Methodist Church, 300 Frontage Road in Clemson. The family will receive friends from _____________________________, at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home in Central.