By Drew Henry
Nearly two decades ago, Clemson University’s MBA program began a tradition rooted in recognition, craftsmanship and community. What started as a thoughtful way to honor graduating MBA students has grown into one of the program’s most meaningful milestones: the Clemson MBA tile ceremony.
“We want our students to have something that feels personal and meaningful,” said Jane Layton, Clemson MBA interim director. “The tile ceremony became our way of celebrating an accomplishment that takes incredible dedication, especially for working professionals.”
Held at Greenville ONE, where many MBA students complete their coursework, the tile ceremony was created for students who often could not attend the university’s larger main-campus commencement. Rather than letting those graduates quietly move on to the next chapter, the MBA program created its own intimate moment of recognition.
“For the last 15 years, I had the great pleasure of awarding students their tile and shaking each of their hands,” said Gregory Pickett, retired Clemson MBA director. “Now that I have stepped down, the lasting memory of how proud each student was as they went through the tile ceremony will stay with me forever. This event is truly a wonderful celebration.”
From the beginning, organizers envisioned a ceremony tied to something lasting. That idea led the Clemson business school to Asheville-based ceramics artist Diana Gillispie.
Gillispie recalls being contacted in 2007 by Rhonda Todd, the business school’s administrative assistant at the time, with a request to create a handcrafted tile that could serve as a permanent symbol of graduation.
Working with program leadership, Gillispie developed a custom mold for the MBA program that features the Clemson University seal. From the outset, the focus was on craftsmanship and continuity, ensuring each graduating class would be connected through a shared memento.
Presented individually, much like a diploma, the tile has become a symbol of perseverance, late nights and shared experience. The ceremony takes place three times each year and invites students to bring family and friends into the space where much of their MBA journey unfolded.
“It’s a chance for families to see where their student spent so many evenings,” Layton said. “Parents meet professors, classmates reconnect in person and everyone shares that sense of closure together. It feels more like a family celebration than a formal graduation.”
What makes the tradition even more distinctive is the tile itself.
“This was always meant to be a gift, not something mass-produced,” Gillispie said. “It’s handmade, pressed from a mold I created specifically for Clemson, glazed in a custom color and fired twice. Each one passes through my hands.”
Gillispie forms clay slabs, presses each tile individually and uses a unique glazing technique that leaves the Clemson seal unglazed while the surrounding tile is finished in a deep purple hue. The process is intentionally slow, producing only dozens of tiles each day. She creates roughly 250 tiles annually for Clemson and has retained the university as her only remaining institutional client.
“There’s a relationship there,” Gillispie said. “I’ve stepped away from most other accounts, but this one matters. These tiles mark a moment in someone’s life.”
The design has remained unchanged since the beginning, reinforcing the ceremony’s continuity across generations of graduates. No other Clemson department uses the tile, and Gillispie has declined similar requests elsewhere, preserving its exclusivity to the MBA program.
For Layton, that consistency adds to the tile’s emotional weight.
“When students look at it years later, they remember exactly where they were when they received it,” she said. “It’s more than a keepsake. It holds a memory.”
As the Clemson MBA continues to evolve, the tile ceremony remains a steady reminder of its values: community, intentionality and recognition of hard-earned success. Nearly 20 years later, the tradition endures — one handcrafted tile at a time.
