CBSHS Alumni Spotlight: Psychology alumna paves the way for future health psychology students by giving back

Meet Ruth P. Saunders, Ph.D., 1974 graduate of the Department of Psychology and professor emerita at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health.

Throughout her life, Ruth P. Saunders ’74 has felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Clemson University. Her time as an undergraduate student – first as an English major and then a psychology major – was formative, and her experiences laid the groundwork for a successful personal and professional life after graduation.  

Only one credit shy of a degree in English, Saunders transferred into the Department of Psychology to pursue her passion for experimental psychology and behavior. She recalls how her professors provided dedicated attention and graduate level instruction for their students – and how two courses, experimental psychology and human senses, drastically transformed her worldview. As a senior, she received the Outstanding Senior in Psychology award before graduating with high honors.

According to Saunders, her gratitude toward her professors and the Department of Psychology increased exponentially over time.

“I have long been thankful for supportive professors, innovative classes and the high-quality education I received as a psychology student at Clemson,” said Saunders. “As I progressed through graduate school to earn a master’s degree and Ph.D., I found that my undergraduate training in behavior and experimental psychology positioned me to perform well in coursework, research and writing, and I was eternally grateful.”

Throughout her career in higher education as a professor and researcher in the interdisciplinary field of health promotion in public health, Saunders said she has seen time and time again how her undergraduate training provided a solid foundation for her chosen career.

Her knowledge of behavior prepared her to promote health behavior for disease prevention and health promotion, specifically physical activity promotion in children with a methodological emphasis on monitoring intervention implementation. Her strong background in experimental psychology provided critical skills for conducting rigorous research. Furthermore, she said her psychology professors served as key role models for how to teach, advise and mentor students effectively over the course of her academic career.

Over the years, she expressed her gratitude to the Department through modest but consistent alumni donations and received personal, handwritten thank you notes for her contributions. She remained connected, and after her retirement, began imagining ways to express her gratitude with a larger donation.

During this time Pat Raymark, chair of the psychology department, stayed in touch, thanked her for her annual contributions and provided updates on the Department. Earlier this year, when he mentioned the upcoming approval of a Ph.D. program in health psychology, her plan for a donation crystallized. She could pay forward her gratitude for the Department and provide tangible support for students, faculty and staff in health psychology through the creation of the Health Psychology Enhancement Fund.

Saunders hopes her gift – and the development of the Health Psychology Enhancement Fund – will support the Department of Psychology in its ongoing efforts to nurture and develop students’ potential, just as her professors did when she was an undergraduate student. Her vision for the fund is to sustain excellence in teaching, research and service in health psychology through awards, travel and other supportive measures. She believes this gift will increase awareness of the importance of health psychology and provide visibility for a critical field at Clemson and beyond.

“The Clemson Department of Psychology enriched my life and career, and it is important to me to acknowledge my immense gratitude in a way that benefits future generations of psychology students pursuing a field so near and dear to my heart,” said Saunders.

In 2020, Saunders was recognized by the Department with a Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award. She said this was the most personally meaningful award she has received in her academic career.

“We are immensely grateful to Dr. Saunders for her generosity and support of our new health psychology program,” said Raymark. “She has been dedicated to the success of our students, faculty and staff since her time as an undergraduate, and she is an incredible representation of the Clemson Family. Through her generosity, the Health Psychology Enhancement Fund will allow us to continue to advance the mission of the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences to build people and communities through the field of health psychology.”

In retirement, Saunders’ avocations have been writing, creative nonfiction and poetry, and art. To learn more about her current work, visit: www.ruthpsaunders.com.

To support the valuable research and instruction being conducted in the health psychology program, donate to the Health Psychology Enhancement Fund here.

The Department of Psychology is in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS). Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in nine disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.