CWE Staff

The Center has the staff with credentials to identify and address the needs of local watershed stakeholders. The Center staff includes a Director, Associate Director, and a Program Coordinator. The Center is located in a suite of offices within the Department of Biological Sciences and operates as a university-wide center, drawing intellectual resources from all five colleges within Clemson University.

Director
The Director, Gene W. Eidson, Ph.D., has over 15 years of experience in community-based environmental stewardship programming. Dr. Eidson is a senior administrator and full tenured professor of Biological Sciences at Clemson University, Director of the Centers for Applied Ecology and Watershed Excellence, and serves as Director of Restoration Ecology within the Clemson University Restoration Institute.

Relevant experience includes being founder, President, & CEO of Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy, a 501(c)(3) organization located in Augusta, Georgia.  Dr. Eidson has a broad background in stakeholder communications and natural resources education, research, and outreach. Documentation of the accomplishments of the Academy is outlined on the website:  www.naturalsciencesacademy.org. Key experience related to watershed management includes development of one of the nation's largest constructed wetland projects for advanced wastewater treatment, restoration of Phinizy Swamp, nationally-honored natural resource-based educational programming for more than 45,000 weekend visitors per year, and a significant body of river, stream, wetland, swamp, and ecological restoration research.

Gene Eidson, Ph.D.
Restoration Ecology Director
Phone:  864-656-2619
E-mail:  geidson@clemson.edu

Associate Director
The Center Associate Director is Cal Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer has extensive experience in the Clemson University Extension and Public Service Program.  In his role as Coastal Environmental Quality Specialist, he investigated and educated individuals about nonpoint source pollution, aquatic nuisance species, and toxic algae. In 2003, be began work as the Extension Water Quality Coordinator at Clemson where, among other endeavors, he coordinated development and implementation of numerous water quality programs throughout the state such as Carolina Clear, South Carolina's Certified Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Inspector (CEPSCI) and Certified Stormwater Plan Reviewer (CSPR). Mr. Sawyer routinely provides water quality and stormwater-related information to various clientele groups, including homeowners, community and government officials, public works and planning staffs, engineers, landscape architects, developers, contractors, and other professional decision-makers. He also interacts regularly with colleagues within the USDA Southern Region network, which aligns geographically with the EPA Regions 4 and 6. He currently holds a faculty position in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Mr. Sawyer is a recipient of the Silver Hammer Award from the National Partnership for Reinventing Government and the Office of the Vice President as well as the 2001 and 2003 AT&T Communications Awards and the 2006 Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service Team Award for Superior Performance.

Calvin Sawyer
Associate Director
Center for Watershed Excellence
Phone:  (864) 656-4072
E-mail:  calvins@clemson.edu