Dear Clemson:
My warmest congratulations to all of those we have honored today and my thanks to those leaders of our faculty and staff who serve us in their presidential role. Clemson is a much better place because of all of you.
Here are some thoughts for you as we complete the Fall, 2006 semester.
Just looking at numbers can tell us one story about Clemson:
- Twice the level of research support of 5 years ago, now at $136M last year
- Total private giving measured at $60M last year (significantly up)
- 100 new tenure track faculty members
- A record percentage of freshmen who ranked in Top 10% of their high school class (50%)
- We increased classes under 20 to 43 % this year
These are impressive numbers, but it’s the people behind those numbers who are important. From recent newspaper articles, let me quote some of you as faculty members:
- Architecture Professor Yuji Kishimoto said about the quality of students coming to Clemson: “When you say something, they give you 2 or 3 ideas back. I really enjoy teaching these people.”
- Professor of Physics Jeremy King said the quality of the student body is causing faculty to completely re-think their approach to teaching. He called it “a quiet revolution happening all across campus.”
- Editorial from the Anderson Independent-Mail said: “Clemson’s increasing prestige is a vital tool in recruiting high-achieving students and accomplished professors…ultimately the entire state benefits…”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Given the progress and momentum we have built to become a Top 30 public university, it is important to note that what we are chasing is not a magazine ranking. What we are chasing are America’s finest students, smaller classes, a better faculty/student ratio and higher graduation rates. These are the substantive measures of quality. If we focus on these things, these substantive things, the rankings will take care of themselves.
What has been liberating in this effort is to realize that there is no other school like Clemson in the Top 30. We are our own type. There is no other land-grant school with less than 20,000 students with no law school or no medical school in our position. We have not changed the core of who we are or our “DNA” to improve quality.
I think you and I find this inspiring. When we reach the Top 20, we want Clemson to still be Clemson when we get there.
I know something of the history of the American Research University as America developed the university model designed in 19th century Germany. In fact, I believe we are doing something of great importance here and I do not exaggerate when I say what I am about to say. I believe we are re-inventing the research university. I believe that we are re-inventing the research university at Clemson right now. I believe we have a window of opportunity to do what other larger, more evolved research universities would do, if they only could. However, their moment of opportunity has passed, ours has just arrived. If we are wise, I believe we have the rare opportunity to re-invent the research university at Clemson.
Here are five (5) points to illustrate what I mean by this re-invention:
- Clemson will keep its soul. Our soul is undergraduate education. If we are wise, we can strengthen our soul as we grow to become a great research university. We believe that we must take our undergraduate students with us on this journey. And in the process we are re-inventing the research university.
- Clemson has and will continue to improve our faculty/student ratio. We have a 14/1 faculty/student ratio. Consider this; we have the faculty/student ratio of some of America’s best liberal arts colleges. This will help us ensure that our undergraduate students come with us on this journey. Further this faculty/student ratio will encourage even greater collaboration on campus. We have the time to build individual relationships with our students and colleagues. In the process we are re-inventing the research university.
- Clemson has the opportunity to make creativity one of our truly distinctive qualities. I have concluded that our Creative Inquiry experience is more than just a name. Creativity has broken out all over Clemson; it’s out of control…in the laboratories, studios and classrooms. I see the physical manifestation of creativity all around us. We are now a place of ideas. One of TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of 2005 was the “TWEEL” – an airless tire developed by Michelin. Our students in mechanical engineering and business are now working with Michelin to re-invent the TWEEL for other applications and markets. Further, this year, Popular Science magazine’s 2006 Innovation of the Year was the HurriQuake Nail, invented by Clemson civil engineering graduate Ed Sutt. In Landscape Architecture, a revolutionary master plan has been developed for how existing buildings can be linked together to encourage interaction among occupants. I believe if we are wise we will see that we are at a moment unlike any other where the stimulating environment we have created will explode with creativity and in the process we are re-inventing the research university and the creative economy that will follow. The knowledge economy is really “the creative economy” and it is built on ideas produced by creative people.
- Clemson is producing students who use both horizontal and vertical thinking. Our graduate and undergraduate students need to dig vertical holes in the plane of knowledge so that they have depth in thinking in their individual discipline. This is the traditional way of learning; the deeper and narrower the hole the better. However, I see evidence on our campus of these same students learning to think horizontally as well as vertically. Clemson students are beginning to make connections between these holes in the plane of knowledge. The 21st century will demand people who can think vertically as well as horizontally. It is interesting for me to find the origin of this work in the will of Thomas Green Clemson. He charged us to be both the “A&M College of South Carolina” (vertical) and a “high seminary of learning” (horizontal). He didn’t tell us how to do it but that was his charge. Clemson is doing this work and in the process we are re-inventing the research university.
- Clemson staff and faculty have demonstrated that they are bridge builders not wall builders. The diagram for today’s research university is a huge graduate school and research enterprise surrounding a shrinking undergraduate program. Few, if any, people or ideas cross from one territory to the other. We have said “no” to this model when we said when we reach our goal we still want Clemson to be Clemson when we get there. We envision a model where there are many layers and fuzzy edges between each layer. Where faculty move easily between these layers and even jump across one layer to get to another. So that a scholar does research and teaches freshmen and a teacher of freshmen also has a creative inquiry team linked to an idea for a start up company. We are saying no to this traditional research university model and saying we will invent our own model with more bridges and fewer walls and in the process we are re-inventing the research university.
These are five (5) elements of this re-invention. There are others.
There are many complex challenges ahead if we choose this very difficult path. There always are when you see yourself as a new type of university. It is the only way for us to further and dramatically increase the quality of our work while strengthening Clemson’s DNA.
I would like to hear from you about this idea. We need your critique, your encouragement, and your best thinking as we develop the path ahead.
As you change gears in the next several days consider these thoughts and give me your response.
You have earned a great holiday break. Best wishes for the season.
Sincerely,
James F. Barker, FAIA
President