Harold and Jessica Baldauf’s latest investment in Clemson University is helping strengthen academic advising by funding two new advisor positions in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences.
The gift supports advising across departments where enrollment has grown and staffing has struggled to keep pace.
“Both Jessica and I are committed to Clemson and to building a better path for students,” Harold Baldauf said. “A full and robust education must include, as a cornerstone goal, a pathway to success. This starts with excellence in advising students through curriculum, co-ops and internships, culminating in graduation and entry into the workplace and beyond.”
The Baldaufs were inspired in part by their son Daniel, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, whose experience navigating advising highlighted both the challenges and the importance of strong support for students.
The couple has five children: a daughter, Nikki, a graduate of George Washington University; a son, John, a United States Coast Guard veteran; a daughter, Cassidy, a graduate of Sacred Heart University and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; and a daughter, Delaney, a Clemson junior pursuing majors in psychology and criminal justice.
Stephanie Evans, the college’s director of student services, said the additional advisors provide flexibility to fill temporary gaps, reduce burnout and give students more personal attention during critical moments in their academic journey.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Baldauf family for recognizing a need that often operates behind the scenes but is absolutely essential to student success,” she said. “Advising is where students make some of their most important decisions.
“This investment allows us to lower caseloads, maintain continuity during transitions and give students the time and attention they deserve. The Baldauf family’s generosity highlights the important role philanthropy can play in strengthening advising and student support.”
Academic advisors guide students through course planning, connect them with campus resources and help ensure they are progressing toward graduation.
The new positions are structured as flexible “floater” roles, allowing the college to shift advising support between departments as enrollment patterns change and temporary staffing gaps arise.
The new hires, Charlie Beheler and Adeeba Chowdhury, are now in place.
Beheler initially began working with biomedical engineering students, a program that was significantly understaffed at the time of the gift, with approximately 340 students served by the equivalent of one full-time advisor.
The additional floater position allowed the college time to add registration support and strengthen advising capacity within the department. With that transition now in place, Beheler will move to the department with the most critical advising needs.
Beheler said she was impressed that a donor chose to support advising directly.
“Engineering is a demanding major, and having someone help students navigate that curriculum makes a real difference,” she said.
Chowdhury, a two-time Clemson graduate, is now serving as a mechanical engineering academic advisor.
About 1,200 students are enrolled in mechanical engineering, and the addition of a full-time advisor along with the Baldauf-funded position has helped bring advising ratios closer to the college’s goal of about 250 students per advisor.
“Mechanical engineering has more than 1,000 students, and there was a clear need for additional advisors,” Chowdhury said. “The fact that someone donated and recognized the need for extra advisors is like having an angel in disguise.”
