Associate Director of Healthy Campus McKenzie McNamara has been named to an interim role supporting the office of Military and Veteran Engagement. She will help move the office forward with the departure of Brennan Beck, who has taken a job with the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Brennan has grown the Military and Veteran Engagement program with great intentionality these last five years, and we will undoubtedly miss him,” said Senior Associate Dean of Students Kimberly Poole. “We look forward to continuing this important work and supporting our student veteran population. We are grateful to McKenzie for willingly stepping in to ensure we don’t miss a beat!”
McNamara has served as the associate director of alcohol and other drug initiatives with Healthy Campus since 2019. Prior to that, she was a graduate assistant for Healthy Campus, where she earned the 2019 Walter T. Cox Graduate Student Award for demonstrated leadership, support of the holistic academic experience and commitment to diversity and acceptance.
She also served as a graduate intern with Military and Veteran Engagement in Spring 2019, where she helped develop the veteran needs assessment — an important tool used in program and policy development for student veterans at Clemson. She also has served as a member of the Clemson University Veterans Commission since Fall 2019, holding the positions of membership chair and coordinator for the strategic plan for inclusive excellence.
McNamara also has volunteer experience with Purple Heart Homes and assisted the Student Veterans Association (SVA) with its motorcycle benefit ride.
“In this role I’ll continue to prioritize the mission of serving and supporting the Clemson military-connected community through engagement, enrichment, empowerment and education,” McNamara said. “I am dedicated to supporting student veterans by listening to their needs, aspirations and goals. Through encouragement, connection to resources and community-building we will continue to help these students thrive at Clemson.”