ClemsonLIFE’s success reveals endowed professorship benefits

Joe Ryan, founder and executive director of ClemsonLIFE^™ (Learning is for Everyone), was named the Sue Stanzione Distinguished Professor in 2016, making him the first endowed professor in the Clemson University College of Education.

An endowed professor is financially supported by a donor’s gift, the principal of which is invested. The earnings from these generous donations support a faculty member’s salary or scholarly activities. Endowed positions are critical for a university to attract and retain top-tier faculty capable of enhancing its level of scholarship, instruction and its overall reputation across the country and internationally.

Ryan said the benefits of the endowed professorship have only grown and become more apparent in the ensuing years for both the program and Clemson University.

“The endowed professorship was not only a personal honor for me, but it has helped support the sustainability of the entire ClemsonLIFE program,” Ryan said. “Through this support, we have been better able to expand the program’s research arm, which has gone far in helping our students develop job skills and enhance their ability to live independently. Additionally, whenever the program’s key faculty transitions or retires, the University can recruit another leading expert within the field.”

Bob and Kaye Stanzione, Bob a 1969 alumnus and Kaye an honorary alumnus of the University, created the position and have supported Clemson University in numerous capacities over the years. Bob graduated with a degree in engineering, and he and Kaye first learned about ClemsonLIFE when a friend shared a video of Rion Holcombe, now a ClemsonLIFE alumnus, opening his acceptance letter to the program. Bob, whose younger brother lived with an intellectual disability before passing away in April 2024, said the video was truly an emotional experience for him. In later conversations with development officers from Clemson, Bob and Kaye shared their interest in giving to both the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences as well as to the College of Education via ClemsonLIFE.

After visiting the program, meeting with staff and learning about the success of the program’s graduates, Bob and Kaye reviewed a proposal to double the program’s size from 20 to 40 students. They made an initial donation in 2014 to support the expansion efforts already underway. After seeing the program hire new staff and increase the program size over a single year, they agreed to donate an additional gift if it could be matched by other donors, which it was. 

After four years, the program had reached its expansion goal, so Bob and Kaye voiced their concerns about the sustainability of ClemsonLIFE in the long term. To help promote the program’s sustainability, Bob and Kaye worked with the development office in 2015 and donated funds to create an endowed professorship in memory of Bob’s mother.

“It has been amazing to see what an investment years ago in an endowed professorship has done for the program,” Bob said. “The accelerated advancements that the program has made in that time have been so satisfying to witness. It is also reassuring to know that the University will continue to use that gift to ensure that the program and its leadership will continue without losing momentum.”

While the Stanziones have been privy to all the positive current changes in the program and those on the horizon, new classes of LIFE students get to immediately enjoy the benefit of more classmates, certificate options and research-based improvements to the program. The effects of donors’ investments in the program, and specifically the Sue Stanzione Endowed Professorship are not lost on current ClemsonLIFE parents such as Chuck Hicks, whose son, Ross, became a LIFE student in Fall 2021.

Chuck and his wife, Colleen, were familiar with the LIFE program when they searched for options for their eldest son, who, like Ross, has autism. Chuck was immediately struck when visiting ClemsonLIFE by the residential aspects of the program and by Ryan’s prioritizing of research and technology to create practical applications for students with intellectual disabilities. He said a “tipping app” that helps users calculate how much money to spend in a restaurant might seem unnecessary to some people, but it is beneficial for people such as Ross who need it.

“The endowed professorship allows Joe and the rest of the LIFE program to focus not on some big, money-making research project that is only concerned with ‘cost-benefit,’ but on practical tools and applications that can help students like my son,” Hicks said. “That freedom to focus on what matters for these students is why other, similar programs measure themselves against ClemsonLIFE. I know because I’ve been on hand when other institutions visit, learn the program’s inner workings and want to hear from a parent like me. I have no hesitation telling them [Clemson] is the place to be.”

The support from donors such as the Stanziones has only increased the profile and impact of the ClemsonLIFE program. The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education recently awarded a collaborative research group led by ClemsonLIFE with more than $500,000 to implement assistive technology across three South Carolina post-secondary education (PSE) programs serving students with intellectual disabilities. The funding will provide technology and extensive professional training from Apple on how to best utilize these technologies to enhance academic instruction, independent living, social inclusion, employment and health and wellness.

The program has also successfully provided study abroad experiences for its students, with a second group of LIFE students experiencing Ireland in Summer 2024. This study program has been successful thanks to a collaboration initiated by Ryan with the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID) at Trinity College in Dublin. Trinity College and Clemson University have worked together to exchange best practices, share resources and enhance curricula. The partnership also facilitated joint research initiatives, enabling researchers from both institutions to collaborate on projects related to inclusive education, disability studies and transitioning students into employment or further education.

“The program’s latest research and activities have provided valuable insights, advancements in the field and improvements in the educational outcomes for these students,” Ryan said. “We owe much of that accomplishment to what our generous donors have made possible.”

After 16 years, the ClemsonLIFE program has established itself as a national model for post-secondary education for students with intellectual disabilities, and, according to Ryan, the numbers speak for themselves. National employment outcomes for this student population range between 14 and 34%, while nearly all (96%) of ClemsonLIFE graduates were employed after graduation. Similarly, while only 16% of adults with intellectual disabilities live on their own in the U.S., 67% of ClemsonLIFE graduates are now living independently.

Universities use endowed positions such as the Sue Stanzione Distinguished Professorship to help fund, recruit and retain top talent. Endowed professorships help universities recruit the very best minds within a field of study, enabling them to conduct cutting-edge research and develop innovative educational program, which in turn enables institutions to recruit the most talented student body. An endowed professorship is one of the highest academic honors bestowed by a university to its faculty, and this honorary position is usually held by a new or existing tenured faculty member who has demonstrated a high level of scholarly productivity and impact.