Barry and Mary Mack of Fort Mill, South Carolina, have made an impactful $2.5 million gift to Clemson University, expanding the Mary Warner Mack Memorial Scholarship and naming a signature lakeside terrace in memory of their beloved daughter, Mary Warner Mack.
The Mary Warner Mack Terrace will serve as a welcoming gathering space overlooking Lake Hartwell — an enduring tribute to Mary Warner’s deep love for Clemson and the place where she truly found herself.
Designed to bring people together, the terrace will become a central part of the Clemson experience for alumni, students and visitors alike.
The Macks are recognized as Academic Cornerstone Partners, placing them among Clemson University’s most visionary philanthropic leaders. Their generosity reflects not only a profound personal legacy, but also a belief in Clemson’s future and its ability to shape lives for generations to come. As Cornerstone Partners, the Macks are helping define the physical and experiential heart of campus — creating spaces that foster connection, reflection and belonging.
“Mary Warner found herself at Clemson,” said Mary Mack. “She loved the classes, the community, her professors, late nights in the library, and of course, everything orange. Clemson was where she truly came into her own.”
The Macks share a deep commitment to service, leadership and community impact. Barry Mack, a fourth-generation attorney, is a partner in his family’s law practice, Mack & Mack Attorneys. He focuses on estate planning and serves as the Attorney for the Town of Fort Mill. He was a founding board member of the Nation Ford Land Trust and currently serves on the Board of Managers for the Anne Springs Close Greenway.
Mary Mack, recently retired CEO of Consumer and Small Business Banking at Wells Fargo, spent 40 years in financial services and now serves on a number of nonprofit and corporate boards, including Davidson College, Habitat for Humanity International, the Belk Foundation, Martin Marietta Materials and Barclays PLC.
The couple has long honored their daughter’s memory through philanthropy. A 2013 College of Arts and Humanities graduate who passed away unexpectedly in 2014, Mary Warner Mack was known for her compassion, curiosity and joyful spirit. In her honor, the Macks established the Mary Warner Mack Scholarship Endowment to support students from York County. Through this Cornerstone Gift, they expanded that commitment, broadening eligibility to all high schools in York County while prioritizing students from Nation Ford, Fort Mill and Catawba Ridge high schools.
The terrace now joins that legacy as a visible and vibrant expression of Mary Warner’s life — one that will be experienced daily by members of the Clemson Family.
“Mary Warner’s legacy is one of profound love and joy,” said Interim President Robert H. Jones. “And the Macks have chosen to honor their daughter’s life and passion for Clemson University through becoming our newest Academic Cornerstone Partners. The Mary Warner Mack Terrace at the Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center will serve as a place that brings people together across their entire Clemson experience and shares in the beauty of our campus and Lake Hartwell.”
Brian O’Rourke, Senior Vice President for Advancement, added, “The Macks’ generosity reflects the very best of what it means to be part of the Clemson Family. By enhancing scholarship opportunities and creating a beautiful Terrace along the lake — so beloved by Mary Warner — this gift ensures her legacy will live on in ways that both transform students’ lives and welcome alumni and visitors from around the world.”
A quote from Night and Day by Virginia Woolf—one of Mary Warner’s favorite authors—is inscribed on a plaque at the terrace: “I see you everywhere, in the stars, in the river, to me you’re everything that exists; the reality of everything.”
