Ray Sawyer

Professor Emeritus

Ray obtained an undergraduate degree from Shippensburg University; a Master’s degree from University of Washington, Seattle; and he received his PhD from the University of Illinois. Ray and his wife Sharon moved to Clemson, South Carolina, where Ray taught in the College of Performing Acts at Clemson University for 31 years. Although Ray had many accolades during his tenure at Clemson, one notable accomplishment was his production of the play “American Buffalo,” which was chosen from hundreds of plays to be performed at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC, as well as at Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, South Carolina. The proceeds of the show helped establish a scholarship for aspiring actors and actresses at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts. Ray was a mentor for his students and stayed in contact with some of them until his death. Ray’s abilities extended beyond being a gifted director and teacher. He was accomplished at adjudicating, critiquing, and all other aspects of playwriting. He did not write as much as he would have liked, as he always put the emphasis on his students’ work rather than his own. This was Ray’s way- always putting others before himself. Ray retired from Clemson University as an Emeritus Centennial Professor and he and his wife Sharon eventually moved to Richmond Hill, Georgia, to be close to their daughter, Alison, and her family.