DATE: June 09, 2009

CONTACT: Tee Senn, 864-654-8020
tsenn@mindspring.com

CONTACT: Chip Egan, 864-656-3084
eclifto@clemson.edu

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

Clemson’s Class of 1939 to pass the gavel at 70th anniversary reunion

Class leadership will be passed to honorary members

CLEMSON — The next chairman of the Class of 1939 wasn't even born when his classmates earned their Clemson University diplomas.

For the first time in its history, Clemson’s Class of 1939 will be led by its honorary members under a unique structure that has enabled the class to grow, rather than shrink, with the passage of time.

For the past 20 years, the class has recognized a faculty member each year with the Class of 1939 Award for Faculty Excellence. The recipient is inducted into the class as an honorary member and his or her name is inscribed on the Class of 1939 bell monument located in the Carillon Garden.

To ensure that the vision and goals of the class continue well into the future, the original class members are handing off their class leadership to the honorary members. The gavel officially will be passed at the annual class reunion Saturday, June 13, which will mark the 70th anniversary of the class.

Besides the award recipients, the class has many other honorary members, including widows of original class members and other people the class members choose to induct.

Class president Tee Senn of Clemson, professor emeritus of horticulture who served as the horticulture department head for 25 years, believes the members of the class have a strong bond because they not only survived the rigors of an all-male military college, but they overcame the challenges of the Great Depression to get there.

“We were poor and times were tough,” Senn said. “Everybody worked, if they could find work. Not everybody had scholarships. So we were either working, or in class, or in military training; every aspect of our day was structured. All these things brought us closer together.”

Because of their own hardships, the class felt the need to give back and help others, Senn said. The class has three projects that help support the university: the faculty excellence award, an endowment to support the South Carolina Botanical Garden and a scholarship endowment.

“We believe in helping people get an education, and we wanted to do something to help future generations,” Senn said. “There will always be somebody who needs a helping hand.”

Senn said the faculty award came about because of the professors the classmates remembered from their time at Clemson.

“When we would get together, we would talk about the tough professors we had — we all had nicknames for them,” said Senn, who went on to teach at Clemson himself. “But they were all darn good professors. I think that Clemson’s faculty are some of the finest in the world.”

Honorary class president Chip Egan, interim dean of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, said the Class of 1939 award is very special because it is more than just a plaque to hang on a wall.

“When you receive this award, you realize you have become a part of something, part of a community that wants to make Clemson University the best place it can be,” Egan said.

Senn said the original class members want to see their legacy perpetuated, so on June 13 Egan will take over as the leader of the class at a noon luncheon at the Ramada Inn in Clemson. Also at the luncheon, the history department will make a special announcement that it is seeking a graduate student to write a history of the class as a thesis.

This year, three new honorary members will be inducted into the class: Bill Pennington, chemistry professor and recipient of the 2008-2009 Class of 1939 Faculty Excellence Award; Sandy Edge, director of the College and Business and Behavioral Science academic advising center; and Todd Steadman, associate director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

Senn said the honorary members will continue to organize the annual class reunion, which has been held every year for the past 60 years, as well as ensure that the faculty award and the scholarship are continued. The honorary members also will continue maintenance of the Class of 1939 Caboose located in the S.C. Botanical Garden.