Inaugural Address: The Idea of Clemson
Distinguished leaders of the State of South Carolina, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Let me say to the students, the faculty, the staff, the Board of Trustees, the Alumni, the Honorable Governor, the Honorable Speaker of the South Carolina House, honored members of the South Carolina General Assembly, our distinguished Senators and Congressmen, and University representatives from throughout the nation and the world, and to the members of my family gathered here today, what a combination of joy and humility I feel as I officially accept the Presidency of my alma mater. It is, in all respects, the acceptance of a sacred trust.
My wife, Marcia, and my sons, Jacob and Britt, and I thank you for the remarkably warm welcome you have given us in our new service to Clemson and the extraordinary encouragement you have given us as we begin this service. We are grateful and energized by this encouragement. Let me say to my family: Your love, your lessons and your lives are and have always been an inspiration to me.
It is most gratifying to have the Presidents Emeriti here with us today. Each was my teacher, either as a student or as a dean, and each has been a vital part of my preparation for this service. (So any mistakes I make, remember who my teachers were.) President Robert Cook Edwards captured the spirit of how I feel on this occasion when he said in 1959:
"I am deeply humbled at this most responsible moment in my life. I can say only that my love for Clemson College and the responsibility of the Presidency of Clemson College to the people of South Carolina and to the young people we ed-ucate will govern my every action."
My education has been enriched by many other remarkable teachers. To my teachers, my faculty and staff colleagues, my students, my classmates assembled here today, let me say that each of you has been my teacher. Your insights, critiques, lessons through your actions, and your commitment to Clemson have shaped the way I see this institution. You have helped me realize the immense potential of Clemson University. It is you who have shaped my incredible optimism for our future. For this gift, I am extremely grateful.
Clemson. C-L-E-M-S-O-N. Clemson.
This name refers to many things. The man, the family, the place, the community, the athletic team, the University. Each is remarkably important. What do each of these "Clemsons" hold in common? The answer to this question is the most important "Clemson" of all.
Clemson is, at its very core, an idea.
Consider Clemson as an idea -- a wonderful, bold, noble, powerful idea. It is an idea planted in the earth by a Philadelphian in ground prepared by South Carolina's greatest statesman, John C. Calhoun. The Philadelphian, Thomas Green Clemson, was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris, shaped by public service as Ambassador to Belgium, shaken by war, devastation, the tragic loss of his only two children within 17 days of each other and yet, this Philadelphian conceived for us the seed of the idea that has transcended time, war, devastation, loss and tragedy.
Many others have nurtured, shaped and added substance to the idea of Clemson over the past 120 years. Let us examine the idea of Clemson in nine qualities that describe the idea:
The idea of Clemson is inclusive, not exclusive: The working and industrial classes must be included in the "benefits of scientific education." This inclusive idea of Clemson was nurtured by President E. W. Sikes when he said in 1927: "At Clemson there is an atmosphere of democracy in which only achievement counts."
Today, in the Clemson student body are students from all 50 states and nearly 80 countries lead by student body president Rita Bolt, and vice president Mohamed Abdel-Kader. All people are included in the idea of Clemson. The idea of Clemson is truly inclusive.
The idea of Clemson is academically challenging: Thomas Green Clemson's will requires that Clemson University must be both focused ("The South Carolina A&M College") and broad ("a high seminary of learning"). We cannot be one or the other; we must be both. Clemson must be much more than an ordinary university. The idea of Clemson is indeed academically challenging.
The idea of Clemson is visionary: Not all the results of our work will be seen in one lifetime, but the results will be part of the next lifetime. It is the vision of what Clemson can be that inspires one generation to serve the one that follows:
In 1994 President Phil Prince said: "At Clemson, we will achieve our vision through an uncompromising passion for excellence."
President Max Lennon also brought remarkable vision to Clemson.
This visionary thinking has helped ensure that Clemson is focused on the future. We balance a covenant with tradition in equal measure to our covenant with change. The idea of Clemson is visionary.
The idea of Clemson is indomitable: There were so many times in the life of our institution that could have marked the end of the noble idea of Clemson, yet at each point, the idea proved stronger than the crisis and stronger than anything else. The idea of Clemson passed the test of the Civil War, economic crisis, student walk-outs, negative coverage by the press, (and yes, losing football teams) to emerge stronger after each test. The idea will triumph. It has proven so. Thomas Green Clemson said: "To accomplish this purpose is now the one great desire of my life."
He would not let the idea die, not during his life, and he ensured, through his will, that the idea would live after his death.
The idea of Clemson is indomitable.
The idea of Clemson is bold, innovative, radical: Think of the three major changes that shaped Clemson's character in the 20th Century: moving from an all-male, all-white, military school to a coeducational, integrated, civilian university. Consider these changes, coupled with a major academic reorganization, all within the span of 40 years. Most universities would have been paralyzed by change. Not Clemson. The idea of Clemson became stronger with each significant change. We stand today a much better university because of bold, innovative and radical change.
In fact, I now see Clemson as a living organism with a core and a surface. The core of values is solid, conservative, anchored. The core has a covenant with tradition. However the surface of Clemson is dynamic, fluid and innovative. The surface has a covenant with change. Our challenge is to understand what belongs in the core and what belongs on the surface.
The idea of Clemson is bold, innovative, radical.
The idea of Clemson is distinctive: There is no idea like it and no university like us. We must celebrate how we are distinctive in equal measure to how we are similar to others in national comparisons. In our distinctive qualities lies our best future. President Walter Merrit Riggs said in 1910: "From its very inception, Clemson College has been unique. It is built on a covenant with the people; and its present welfare and its future growth depend upon the observance of that covenant."
President Deno Curris helped us understand Clemson's covenant and Clemson's distinctive qualities.
From our founding idea to our mission, to our board and governance, to our "sense of place" and "sense of community," Clemson is different from other institutions.
The idea of Clemson is clearly distinctive.
The idea of Clemson is sensitive to the needs of others: Thomas Green Clemson's Will contains this phase: "Feeling a great sympathy for the farmers of this state...."
The birth of public service comes from the "idea of Clemson."Along the way it was nurtured by many others, including Senator Lever who helped create the Cooperative Extension Service in America and is buried a few hundred yards from here on Cemetery Hill. No student should leave Clemson without a firsthand experience with the meaning of public service. It is integral with the idea of Clemson and the future of our University.
The idea of Clemson is forged in service to others.
The idea of Clemson is focused on the value of the individual: The idea was founded on the role and value of the individual -- from Calhoun to Clemson, to Benjamin Tillman, to the first life trustees, to 13 original board members, to the grave stones on Cemetery Hill, to the names in the sidewalks on campus, to each one of the faculty nicknames -- "Frosty" Bauknight, "Moose" Means, "Whitey" Lander - to the lists of alumni who gave their lives in service to America, to each of us today. The idea of Clemson is a collective idea about individuals. Each individual is valued in this community.
The idea of Clemson is focused on the value of the individual.
And finally, the idea of Clemson is based on family: The idea was forged from the family model and it continues today. Consider this. Somehow, Thomas Green Clemson took the deaths of his two children and used that incredible family tragedy to establish another family, the Clemson Family we are part of today. This was beginning to be evident to President Riggs as early as 1920 when he said Clemson: "is a cross between a big family and a small village. It has all the kindly ties of the big family and all the gossip of the small village."
This is why Clemson is home.
President Sikes also saw this in 1925 (75 years ago) when he said:
"In Clemson, you all find a home. You may have your own homes, your happy firesides, but here you have a common home."
The idea of Clemson has been nurtured across the generations to be evident in today's sense of the Clemson family.
All of these nine qualities combine to produce this wonderful, powerful, noble idea called Clemson.
As an architect, I have great respect for the power of an idea (and every now and then, I may have even had an idea myself), and I've learned that the finest ideas come quickly in a flash of genius, yet they have the substance to transcend time and grow more compelling and engaging with time.
Also, I've learned that the most important ideas have a physical manifestation. The idea of Clemson surrounds you today in the "sense of place" and "sense of community" you can see and feel on this campus. We have the privilege to call this place home.
To all gathered here today I say that with everything I am, I believe in the idea called Clemson.
But Clemson is still a work in progress.
The charge I have been given and I accept today is to ensure that the idea of Clemson will be stronger at the end of my service than it is now at the beginning. I know that the only way to fulfill this responsibility is to find the way for each of you to join me in this effort. I am convinced that there is no university in America stronger than Clemson when we are "one Clemson." A united Clemson is unstoppable.
As President Cox has said: "There's just something about this place that people want to become part of it."
If Walter Cox is right, and if we unite around the idea of Clemson, we have a future beyond our highest aspirations. That is the genius of the idea of Clemson. Each new generation presents and achieves a future beyond our highest expectations.
Chairman Gressette, Trustees of Clemson University, it is the single honor of my life to accept this responsibility as Clemson's 14th President. To all members of the Clemson family, I embrace this sacred trust with the full knowledge that you will join me to advance the "idea of Clemson" and reach an exciting future together. This is our legacy and this is our destiny.
Let's get started.
James Frazier Barker
14th President of
Clemson University
April 7, 2000