Clemson University and the City of Clemson are coming together on April 13, 2022 to celebrate the inaugural Campus & Community Day put on by the International Town & Gown Association (ITGA). The initiative recognizes the essential, powerful relationship between campuses and their host communities.
Throughout the day, colleges and their neighboring communities will be spotlighting partnerships online, featuring economic, intellectual, civic and social benefits they bring.
“College campuses contribute enormously to the neighborhoods or towns in which they reside,” said ITGA Executive Director Beth Bagwell. “College students tell us that they base their college decision in part on the health and vitality of the surrounding community.”
Clemson University President Jim Clements and Mayor Robert Halfacre spent time last week briefing a family advisory board on the many exciting things taking place within their respective municipalities. Beyond these two leaders, the Joint City University Advisory Board (JCUAB) — comprised of administrators from both — continues its efforts to ensure the town and gown relationship remains one of the nation’s best.
Clemson has had a number of town and gown initiatives that have been very successful, including the examples below.
Community COVID Testing
Over the past year and a half, Clemson University and the City of Clemson have come together to extend COVID-19 testing to the broader community. City residents and even those from outside the local footprint have been able to initiate a COVID test on weekday mornings through a special location set up at nearby Nettles Park, home to City of Clemson parks and recreation programs. Test results are then quickly processed by the University’s CLIA lab — the same method Clemson students and employees have come to know well. This semester, the University surpassed one million tests processed for COVID-19, many courtesy the community site at Nettles.
ITGA Annual Conference Coming in June
Clemson will host the upcoming ITGA Annual Conference — under the accompanying theme “Multiplying Our Strengths” — at the Madren Center from June 6-8, 2022. University and community leaders from around the country will come to Clemson with a focus on four major topics: being well, transforming relationships, crisis management and building community. Learn more about the conference here.
Clemson University Fire Services
One of the unique features of the town and gown relationship is demonstrated on a daily basis through the Clemson University Fire Department. By its name, the Fire Department offers fire suppression services to the University. However, it also services the City of Clemson. In 2018, the Clemson community welcomed its second fire station at an off-campus location on Issaqueena Trail to offer ongoing service to both the University and City.
