Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business

Lyceum Scholars Program welcomes its sixth class of students

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Ten Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business freshmen have become the sixth class to join the Lyceum Scholars Program and choose an educational path that probes the history of liberty, capitalism and the principles of moral character.

Lyceum Scholars classroom
Adjunct lecturer Adam Thomas, center, leads 2020 class of Lyceum Scholars.

“Students in the Lyceum Scholars Class of 2024 come from a variety of educational  backgrounds — public, private, charter and homeschool,” said Adam Thomas, associate director of the Lyceum Scholars Program and an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Political Science. “They are pursuing a range of majors, from STEM fields to English, history, political science and business.  They may have different career goals, but they share an interest in classical learning and in understanding the moral, political and economic foundations of a free society.”

The Lyceum Scholars Class of 2024 and their hometowns include, Ashley Anderson, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Matthew Chisholm, Cumming, Ga.; Emily Cope, Acworth, Ga.; Emma Culberson, Greer, S.C.; Andrew Hiner, Fort Mill, S.C.; Caroline O’Neal, Beaufort, S.C.; Charlie Prunkl, Marietta, Ga.; Jared Uhle, Aiken, S.C.; Dodson Wood, Belton, S.C.; and Elizabeth Zarrilli, Annapolis, Md.

Emma Culberson sees the Lyceum program as an educational enhancement that will complement her technical career choice.

“The Lyceum Scholars Program is equipping me to make informed choices, politically, professionally, and ethically,” she said. “I want to be a chemical engineer who is not just technically competent, but who can weigh the different opinions and forces all around us through a broader lens, in order to make a social impact.”

Created in 2014, the Lyceum Scholars Program had more than 640 applications for entry into this year’s class. Under the umbrella of Clemson University’s College of Business, the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism’s goal is to bring a traditional liberal arts education to a modern university setting.

In order to qualify for the program, applicants undergo a rigorous screening process that includes writing three essays and interviews. Those accepted into the program receive a privately funded $10,000 scholarship distributed over four years to learn about liberty, free markets, the American founding, and moral character through a “Great Books” approach.

Charlie Prunkl said his experience with Lyceum program has been everything he wanted, and more.

“I was drawn to the Lyceum program because it allows me to seek answers to common truths about humanity by reading great thinkers who have gone before me who have raised these fundamental questions,” Charlie said. “I have been extremely impressed by my professors, peers, and the organizational body of the Lyceum program.”

The Lyceum Scholars Program, where students read from classic texts about renowned academics in political and economic thought, draws on the inspiration from the Lyceum school Aristotle founded in 335 B.C.

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.

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