Lyceum Program hosts graduation ceremony to honor academic accomplishments

By Ryan Rogers

On May 12, 2022, the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism hosted a graduation ceremony in Phyfer Auditorium to honor their graduating Lyceum Scholars. The Lyceum Program uses a great books approach to studying the moral, political and economic foundations of a free society and, upon completion, fulfills the academic requirements for a Political and Legal Theory minor at Clemson University.

This year’s class, composed of eleven Scholars and one honorary Fellow, achieved numerous academic honors while at Clemson University, despite two years of challenges caused by the pandemic.

During the 2021/22 academic year, Louise Franke became the University’s first-ever Rhodes Scholar, the highest undergraduate award in the international academic community, while also being named the Top Senior in the College of Science Award and receiving the Outstanding Senior in Biochemistry Award. Meredith Johnson was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Slovakia for the 2022-23 academic year and received the Jack Tuttle-Pi Sigma Alpha Award in the Department of Political Science. Ryan Anderson won the Marian L. Harris Award for Excellence in Economics, while Abigail Ready was honored with the William S. Morrison Prize in the History Department.

In addition to their academic accomplishments and honors, several senior Lyceum Scholars worked tirelessly to establish Clemson University’s first humanities and social sciences publication, The Aurantiaco. Louise Franke and Meredith Johnson were co-founders, while Ryan Anderson, William Billbrough, Emily Bowling, Abigail Ready and Reece White served as editors in their respective areas of study. Lyceum Professor Adam Thomas acted as the Faculty Advisor.

Six senior Scholars also participated in the Lyceum Student Speaker Series (LSSS), which can be viewed on YouTube. LSSS offers students a chance to explore their intellectual interests in a public forum by showcasing a Lyceum Thesis or research from a Lyceum class. Louise Franke, Luca Frumento, William Galloway, Mason Harmon and Meredith Johnson all presented their first LSSS, while Emily Bowling presented her second.

Upon graduation, several Scholars plan to continue their education by pursuing M.A.’s, JD’s and Ph.D.’s in various fields of study across the United States. Others will either enter the workforce or partake in the Hudson Institute Political Studies Fellowship. When asked about this year’s Lyceum Class, C. Bradley Thompson, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism, said, “We have an extraordinarily talented class this year, who have distinguished themselves in many ways in their four years at Clemson. We’re incredibly proud of them and wish them the best as they go out into the world, representing both the University and the Lyceum Program.”

About the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism

CISC is America’s premier university-based teaching and research center dedicated to exploring the moral, political, and economic foundations of capitalism. Founded in 2005 and housed within Clemson University’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, the independently financed Institute is educating a new generation of students about the moral requirements of a free society.