The College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities at Clemson University has extended its highest honor to 11 exceptional individuals. The Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was honored at a formal dinner March 8 at the Madren Conference Center.
New members included faculty emeriti, alumni, industry leaders and other friends of the College who had been nominated by individual departments or by the dean:
- John Butler, Department of Performing Arts
- William A. Caldwell, Department of Construction Science and Management
- Elizabeth Carney, Department of History
- Steven Grosby, Department of Philosophy and Religion
- C. Douglass Harper, Department of Construction Science and Management
- Peter R. Lee, School of Architecture
- Frank Lucas, FAIA, School of Architecture
- Barry Nocks, FAICP, Department of City Planning and Real Estate Development
- Thompson E. Penney, FAIA, School of Architecture
- Marilyn Thompson, Department of English
- Robert A. Waller, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities
Dean Richard E. Goodstein founded the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities Hall of Fame in 2017 to celebrate the people who have had a significant impact on the College’s educational, research and service goals.
Legends and legacy
The 2019 ceremony was attended by Provost Robert H. Jones and several founding members of the Hall of Fame: President Emeritus Jim Barker, Ronald Moran, Ben Skardon and Ralph Rynes. The Class of 2018 was represented by John Acorn, Chip Egan, Betsy Goodale, Mickey Harder, Roger Liska and Art Young.
“I look around and I see so many giants who have been a legacy at Clemson University – so many who’ve made the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities what it is today,” Dean Goodstein remarked. “Your leadership and wisdom have touched the lives of Clemson students, whether it’s been through the classroom, through mentoring or through the support of our College in so many ways. Your professional success and your devotion to this University serves as an inspiration to us, and to our students as they begin their own lives.”
As they accepted their awards, the new Hall of Fame members offered anecdotes and occasional advice, but mostly they offered thanks and shared their love of Clemson.
One of the evening’s most poignant moments came when the late Peter R. Lee was honored. His wife, Chieko, and his son stood before the room while the Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Architecture was recognized. Lee died Jan. 24, at the age of 90. “My father should be here,” Anthony Lee said.
When Dean Goodstein first learned of Professor Lee’s illness in January, he went to visit him at home, along with Kate Schwennsen, director of the School of Architecture. “It was our honor to present Peter with his Hall of Fame print, and to ‘bring the ceremony to him’ in what turned out to be the last week of his life,” Goodstein said.
The Lee family was presented a framed photograph of Professor Lee from the Clemson Archives that showed him doing what he loved – teaching.
Honored in absentia
New Hall of Fame members Frank Lucas and Robert A. Waller were unable to attend the ceremony.
Thompson E. Penney warmly acknowledged Lucas as his mentor and business partner when he accepted his own award. Penney, the former national president of the American Institute of Architects, described how he had worked for Lucas as a high school student. Without Lucas, he said, he never would have been able to study architecture at Clemson, much less become an accomplished architect or go on to lead the major architecture firm company Lucas founded.
Waller, dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1981-94, contributed written remarks, which were delivered with vigor by poet Ron Moran, his former associate dean. Waller mentioned that he had been looking forward to the Hall of Fame ceremony as “a time to renew Clemson acquaintances and to visit old haunts” but was unable to make the trip. He joked that as deans, he and his contemporaries had been given a mission “to bring Clemson into the 20th century.” The College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, as we know it today, was shaped by his innovations and the departments he created during his tenure.
Class of 2019
Below are brief biographies for the 2019 inductees of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities Hall of Fame:
John Butler
As a longtime director of bands, Butler conducted the Army ROTC band, the Air Force ROTC band, the concert band and Tiger Band. He became the first chair of the Music Department in 1969 and later served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts for one year. Butler brought high-profile guests to Clemson University, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre and the Boston Pops, and lobbied tirelessly for a professional performing arts center on campus. He retired in 1987.
William A. Caldwell
The CEO of Waldrop Mechanical Services has engaged with the Department of Construction Science and Management for more than a decade. Caldwell has served on the CSM Industry Advisory Board and Executive Committee, and his company is a longtime corporate partner. He has addressed classes, hosted student field trips and helped conceive and support the department’s Construction Industry Symposium. Caldwell is a past chairman of the board for the Associated Builders and Contractors Carolinas Chapter and past board member of the Mechanical Contractors Association of South Carolina.
Elizabeth Carney
Professor Emerita Carney taught in the Department of History from 1973-2017, serving as undergraduate coordinator from 2001-13. Carney received the Thomas Green Clemson Award for Excellence in 2009 and was Carol K. Brown Scholar in the Humanities from 2010-17. Her books include “Women and Monarchy in Ancient Macedonia,” “Olympias Mother of Alexander the Great” and “Arsinoë of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life.” Oxford University Press will publish her book “Eurydice and the Birth of Macedonian Power” in May. Carney has another book in progress.
Steven Grosby
Professor Grosby joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion in 1997 and has remained exceptionally committed to teaching ever since. Grosby, too, is an exceptional scholar of religion and nationality. He has written, edited or translated eight books and has served on the editorial boards of eight journals around the world. His book “Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction,” from Oxford University Press, has been translated into six languages. Grosby is retiring at the end of the 2018-19 academic year and has two books under contract.
C. Douglass Harper
The Chairman of Harper General Contractors Corporation has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Construction Science and Management at Clemson. His company helped establish the department’s first endowed faculty chair and it funds an annual scholarship for minority students. Under his leadership, the family firm became one of the largest construction corporations in the Southeast, now listed among Engineering News-Record’s Top 400 Contractors. Harper has served on the University’s Board of Visitors and led the task force that established CU-ICAR in Greenville.
Peter R. Lee
The Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Architecture served on the faculty from 1968-93. He was an early innovator in sustainable design, winning the International Solar House Architectural Competition in 1957. Lee received the Distinguished Professor Award from Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in 1989. He served as the Clemson professor-in-residence in Genoa, Italy, in 1976-77 and later taught in Jordan as a Fulbright Fellow. The architecture class of ’76 created the Peter R. Lee and Kenneth J. Russo Design Award in his honor. Lee died in January.
Frank Lucas, FAIA
As the founder of LS3P, Lucas has made immeasurable contributions to South Carolina’s built environment. His many commercial and governmental projects include the Charleston International Airport and the city’s Gaillard Municipal Auditorium. Lucas became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1983. His thriving firm has expanded to eight cities and more than 330 employees. Lucas received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award from Clemson University in 1992. He was awarded South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Palmetto, in 2016.
Barry Nocks, FAICP
For more than 40 years, Nocks has served the planning profession and Clemson University as a teacher, consultant and leader. In Greenville, he left a visible and enduring legacy as director of the master plan for the Reedy River Corridor, helping the city become a national model for public/private partnerships. Nocks worked to improve education in his discipline through leadership roles with the Planning Accreditation Board and Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. Nocks was named a Fellow in the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2014.
Thompson E. Penney, FAIA
The chairman, president and CEO of LS3P received both his undergraduate and graduate architecture degrees from Clemson University with honors. Under his leadership, LS3P has been recognized as one of the Top 20 architecture firms in the country by Engineering News-Record and Architectural Record. Penney is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and served as its national president in 2003. He received the AIA South Carolina Medal of Distinction, its highest honor, in 2009. Penney has received numerous accolades from Clemson and the School of Architecture.
Marilyn Thompson
A distinguished journalist, Thompson is an alumna of the Department of English who started out at The Clemson Tiger. She was a reporter at numerous major newspapers before joining The Washington Post. Thompson served as editor and vice president of The Lexington Herald Leader and worked at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times before returning to The Post’s national desk. She is currently a senior editor at ProPublica. Thompson has served on the Clemson Humanities Advancement Advisory Board, and has authored or co-authored four books.
Robert A. Waller
At Clemson, Waller served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1981-94. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and served on its faculty from 1963-81. His books include “Rainey of Illinois” and the 2017 title “Relief, Recreation, Racism: Civilian Conservation Corps Creates South Carolina State Park System, 1933-1942.” Among his accomplishments as dean, Waller founded the departments of Performing Arts and Philosophy and Religion, established the Language and International Trade major and implemented the Communication Across the Curriculum program.
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