A senate RESOLUTION

 

TO RECOGNIZE march 5, 2025, AS "clemson day" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

 

Whereas, Clemson University was founded in 1889 through a bequest to the State of South Carolina from Thomas Green Clemson, a Philadelphia-born, European-educated engineer, musician, and artist who married John C. Calhoun's daughter, Anna, and settled at her family estate in South Carolina; and

 

Whereas, Clemson's campus is the entire State of South Carolina, with the university having a presence in every county in South Carolina, agriculture research centers from Piedmont to the coast, youth programs that serve more than a hundred thousand young people per year, and innovation campuses devoted to research and economic development in Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, and North Charleston to support both existing and emerging industry clusters ranging from agribusiness and manufacturing to aviation and advanced materials; and

 

Whereas, Clemson's annual economic impact is over six billion dollars, resulting in thirty-seven thousand jobs statewide and generating almost one hundred and fifteen million in annual tax revenue; and

 

Whereas, Clemson University is a Tier 1 Research Institution as determined by the Carnegie Foundation, which puts it among the top universities in the nation in research output; and

 

Whereas, Clemson University has earned top rankings for graduation rates, value, efficiency, and return on investment, all while maintaining an excellent student experience; and

 

Whereas, Clemson University is home to the State's first-ever veterinary school, the Harvey S. Peeler Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine, which is expected to enroll its inaugural class in the fall of 2026; and

 

Whereas, Clemson University received more than sixty-two thousand applications for enrollment in 2024 and offers a path to a Clemson degree to more than ninety three percent of South Carolina applicants each year; and

 

Whereas, Clemson University enrolls more than twenty-five thousand undergraduate and graduate students and has nearly two hundred thousand living alumni - with over one hundred thousand of these alumni living in South Carolina; and

 

Whereas, Clemson University is part of a national system of land-grant universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, providing statewide research, extension, and regulatory programs to enhance economic growth in South Carolina's agribusiness and forestry industries through a continuous education of farmers, foresters, and land managers; and

 

Whereas, for more than one hundred thirty years, Clemson University has fulfilled the covenant between its founder and the people of South Carolina to remain a "high seminary of learning" and to improve the economy of the State through its historical land-grant responsibilities of teaching, research and extended public service.  Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the Senate:

 

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, recognize March 5, 2025 as "Clemson Day" in South Carolina.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the president of Clemson University, James P. Clements, Ph.D.

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