Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11, 2018 9:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. Littlejohn Coliseum
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ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SECOND COMMENCEMENT THURSDAY, MAY 10 AND FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018 9:30 A.M. AND 2:30 P.M. LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM PROCESSIONAL Dr. Robert Kosinski, University Marshal (Please remain standing for the processional, posting of colors and reflection.) PostING OF COLORS Clemson University Pershing Rifles C4 INVOCATIONS David Olumnide Kolawole Gundana—Thursday, May 10, 9:30 a.m. ceremony Jennifer Elaine Hill —Thursday, May 10, 2:30 p.m. ceremony Mary Catherine Ligon—Friday, May 11, 9:30 a.m. ceremony Patrick Ryan Kane—Friday, May 11, 2:30 p.m. ceremony INTRODUCTION OF TRUstEES President James P Clements RECOGNITION OF THE DEANS OF THE COLLEGES Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Robert H Jones CONFERRING OF DEGREES AND DELIVERY OF DIPLOMAS President James P Clements RECOGNITION AND PRESENTATION OF AWARDS Faculty Scholarship Award ALMA MATER (Please remain standing for the Alma Mater and recession of stage party.) RECESSIONAL TIGER RAG BOARD OF TRUstEES EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM E Smyth McKissick III, Chair ......................Greenville, SC James P Clements .................................................President Ronald D Lee, Vice Chair ..................................Aiken, SC Maxwell Allen ................ Vice President and Chief of Staff David E Dukes ............................................. Columbia, SC Robert H Jones ...................... Executive Vice President for Louis B Lynn ................................................ Columbia, SC Academic Affairs and Provost Patricia H McAbee .......................................Greenville, SC Brett A Dalton ....................... Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations John N McCarter, Jr. ................................... Columbia, SC George R Askew, Jr. ........Vice President for Public Service Robert L Peeler ............................................ Lexington, SC and Agriculture Cheri M Phyfer ......................................... Bay Village, OH Almeda R Jacks ..............Vice President for Student Affairs Mark S Richardson ......................................Charlotte, NC Tanju Karanfil .......................... Vice President for Research William C Smith, Jr. ................................... Columbia, SC Mark D Land ........Vice President for University Relations Joseph D Swann ...........................................Greenville, SC Angie Leidinger......Vice President for External Affairs and Kim A Wilkerson ................................................Cayce, SC Executive Secretary to the Board of Trustees David H Wilkins ..........................................Greenville, SC Brian O’Rourke ..........Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Trustees Emeriti Russell Kaurloto ..................................... Vice President and Chief Information Officer Louis P Batson, Jr. ........................................Greenville, SC Lee A Gill ..... Chief Diversity Officer and Special Assistant John J Britton .....................................................Sumter, SC to the President for Inclusive Excellence Fletcher C Derrick, Jr. ............................... Charleston, SC WC Hood, Jr. ......................................... General Counsel Leon J Hendrix, Jr. .................................Kiawah Island, SC Emily Watrous ................. Chief Human Resources Officer Harold D Kingsmore ......................................Clemson, SC Daniel Radakovich, Jr. ........................Director of Athletics Thomas B McTeer, Jr. ..................................Columbia, SC Allen P Wood ................................................. Florence, SC DEANS John D Griffin....................... ...Associate Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Jason W Osborne ...................... Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Timothy R Boosinger, Interim .......... College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences Richard E Goodstein ............... College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities Brett A Wright .......................... College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Robert E McCormick..............................College of Business George J Petersen ..................................College of Education Anand K Gramopadhye ....................College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences Cynthia Y Young ........................................College of Science Joyce Garnett, Interim ............................. University Libraries HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENT Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 2:30 P.M. Ambassador Nikki R. Haley Doctorate of Humanities Ambassador Nikki R. Haley is the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She serves as a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and National Security Council. At the United Nations, Ambassador Haley is making sure the American people see value for their investment; advocating for reforms that make the organization more efficient, transparent, and accountable. Those reforms include comprehensive reviews of United Nations’ peacekeeping missions, negotiating over half a billion dollars in savings and renewing them on a mission by mission basis to ensure more effective and targeted operations, while at the same time preserving and maintaining the integrity of peacekeeping forces around the world, whose job it is to protect civilians in conflict. On the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Haley is working to defend Americans’ interests and keep our country safe. She spearheaded negotiations for the unanimous passage of the strongest sets of sanctions ever placed on North Korea— cutting off the regime’s exports by 90 percent, and its access to oil by 30 percent. Ambassador Haley is a champion for human rights. During her Security Council presidency in April, 2017, she hosted the first ever session devoted solely to the subject. Her first overseas trip as Ambassador was to visit camps for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey. And she is partnering with like-minded nations to reform the UN Human Rights Council, while challenging human rights violators across the globe. Under her leadership, the United States has taken a strong stand against the chronic anti-Israel bias at the United Nations. These efforts have included successfully removing a false and defamatory report against Israel, which led to the resignation of the head of the United Nations’ agency behind the report. Prior to becoming the twenty-ninth U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Haley was elected in 2010 as the first female and first minority Governor of South Carolina. She was reelected in 2014, where she served until she was appointed to the President’s cabinet in November of 2016. During her tenure as governor the state’s unemployment rate hit a 15 year record low and South Carolina announced jobs in each of its 46 counties —more than 85,000 jobs in all. Governor Haley also ushered in the state’s largest education reform in decades—as a result, education funding was made more equitable for schools in the state’s poorest communities, reading in early grades became a priority, and classrooms were equipped with the latest technology. Born in Bamberg, South Carolina, the daughter of Indian immigrants, and a proud graduate of Clemson University, Ambassador Haley’s first job was keeping the books for her family’s clothing store at the age of 13. Ambassador Haley and her husband, Michael, a Captain in the Army National Guard and combat veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, have two children, Rena, 19, and Nalin, 16. GUEst SPEAKER Friday, May 11, 2018 at 9:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. Senator Tim Scott As a leader on tax reform, education and job training, and innovative ideas to reinvest in our nation’s distressed communities, United States Senator Tim Scott brings a unique perspective to the United States Senate. Growing up mired in poverty in a single parent household, Tim says that he is living his mother’s American Dream, and through his Opportunity Agenda works every single day to ensure every American family has the opportunity to succeed. Senator Scott has served the great state of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate since 2013, and brings with him a mission to positively affect the lives of a billion people with the message of hope and opportunity. Growing up poor in a single-parent household in North Charleston, South Carolina, Tim watched his single mother work 16-hour days as a nurse’s assistant to keep him and his brother afloat. As a freshman in high school, Tim nearly failed out, flunking four classes. However, the next year, he met his mentor named John Moniz who shared life-changing ideas and the basic principles of business with Tim. Through hard work, education, innovation, and with the discipline his mother gave him, he began the process of turning his life around. The lessons gleaned from his mentor still guide Tim today: you can think your way out of poverty, and financial independence is a stepping-stone for success. Having a job is a good thing, but creating jobs is a great thing. An unbridled optimist, Tim believes that despite our current challenges, our nation’s brightest days are ahead of us. During his time in office, he has been a tireless advocate for creating more opportunities for families living paycheck-to- paycheck and helping children who are mired in poverty have access to quality education. He launched his Opportunity Agenda, a legislative package aimed at achieving these goals, as well as the Senate Opportunity Coalition, a group of Senators