DATE:    9/10/96
WRITERS: Willard Strong, media relations specialist, 
         Santee Cooper, (803) 761-4053 
         Bill Baker, Clemson Extension news editor,
         (864) 656-3875
CONTACT: Jorge Calzadilla, director of South Carolina 4-H         
         Leadership Centers, (864) 656-1659                       

Walter Thompson Cox Biography

     CLEMSON -- Walter T. Cox began his lifelong connection with
Clemson University as a student-athlete in the fall of 1935. Four
years later, he graduated with a degree in General Science and
was a starting guard on the Clemson Tigers football squad that
defeated Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl.
     After graduating, he joined the Clemson coaching staff as
line coach, a position he held until September 1951. While on the
athletic staff, he also served as football ticket manager and
baseball coach. In 1984 he was inducted into the Clemson
University Athletic Hall of Fame.
     In 1942-43, military service interrupted Cox's career at
Clemson. He entered the armed forces and served with the rank of
lieutenant in the Fiji Islands, New Caledonia and Guadalcanal
with the 147th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Division.
     Cox was named assistant to the president of Clemson and
director of public relations and alumni affairs in September
1951, a post he held until 1955, when the Office of Student
Affairs was established. He was then named vice president for
student affairs and dean of students, a title he held for the 
next 30 years.
     In July 1985, Cox was named president of Clemson, a position
he held through February 1986. Cox retired as president emeritus.
     Cox received Clemson's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1963,
the Clemson Medallion in 1984, the Department of the Army
Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 1986, and the Order of the
Palmetto in 1987.
     He is a member of a number of community and service groups,
including the National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators, the S.C. Student Personnel Association, the
American Legion, the Anderson Rotary Club, the Clemson University
Chapter of Blue Key, the Clemson University Tiger Brotherhood,
the Clemson Lettermen Association, the Newcomen Society and the
Clemson First Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon.  
     He is a former director of Santee Cooper, the state-owned
electric and water utility; Blue Cross-Blue Shield of South
Carolina; and Citizens & Southern Trust Bank of South Carolina.
He is a director of the S.C. State Museum and an honorary
director of the Clemson Foundation.
     He is married to Jenelle Garrett Cox and has four children
and five grandchildren.
                               END