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Greenville Business Magazine

The Business Narrative: Clemson President's Contract Extended

Oct 21, 2024 09:20AM ● By Donna Walker

(Photo courtesy of Clemson University)

Clemson Board Approves Five-Year Contract Extension for President Jim Clements

Clemson University’s Board of Trustees on Friday 10/18/2024 approved a five-year contract extension for President Jim Clements during its Fall 2024 Quarterly Meeting. 

The 15th president in Clemson’s history, Clements assumed the role on Dec. 31, 2013. 

Officials said the university has accomplished extraordinary successes under his leadership during the past decade-plus, including record-breaking numbers in admissions and enrollment, retention and graduation rates, fundraising, research, athletics and national academic awards.

“The unprecedented ascension of Clemson University under his leadership over the past decade is remarkable,” said Board Chair Kim Wilkerson. “Today’s board action is a testament to Jim’s continued leadership and vision as our university delivers on the Clemson Elevate strategic plan.”

During Clements’ tenure, Clemson was classified as an R1 – Very High Research University by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and has been reaffirmed two additional times. 

The university has increased research expenditures in the past decade from $152 million to $287 million and competitive awards received by Clemson faculty have increased more than threefold, from $70 million in FY13 to $232 million last year.

Students have also seen unprecedented successes earning the university’s first ever Rhodes Scholarship, first ever Churchill Scholarship and four Truman scholarships in the past seven years. 

In the past year alone, a record 59 Clemson students received prestigious national scholar awards while the overall four- and six-year graduation rates eclipsed previous university records.

The university has achieved fundraising successes during his time at Clemson, including a record-breaking $259 million from generous donors in 2024, up from $102 million in 2013. 

Clements has helped raise nearly $2 billion since his arrival at Clemson, and the value of the university’s endowment has doubled from $529 million to $1.1 billion as the operating budget has grown from $800 million to $2.1 billion.  

Clements’ tenure has seen more than $2.6 billion in new or renovated facilities constructed in the past 11 years, including the Wilber O. and Ann Powers College of Business, the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex, the Snow Family Outdoor Fitness and Wellness Complex, the Andy Quattlebaum Outdoor Education Center, the Watt Family Innovation Center and Douthit Hills. 

Additionally, under his leadership Clemson has added a pair of high-priority facilities requested by students and employees — the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel and the Phil and Mary Bradley Early Childhood Education Center. 

Current projects include the Advanced Materials Innovation Complex, the Alumni and Visitors Center and the state of South Carolina’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

A nationally recognized leader in higher education, and one of the longest serving university presidents in the country, Clements serves on the executive committee for the Council of Competitiveness and the College Football Playoff Board of Managers. 

He also is a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. Clements previously served as the Chair of the Board for the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, the board of directors of the American Council on Education, and the Council of Presidents for the Association of Governing Boards.

Clements developed and launched the President’s Leadership Institute, a nine-month leadership development program designed to support and develop professional and personal leadership within a diverse and inclusive community of faculty and staff at Clemson. 

Now in its ninth year, PLI has provided professional growth opportunities for 225 emerging, high-potential, and high-performing members of the faculty and staff of Clemson.

“It is an honor to serve as President of Clemson University, and I want to thank our Board of Trustees for their continued support and confidence in my leadership,” Clements said in a statement. 

He added, “Ever since Beth and I arrived at Clemson in 2013, you have welcomed us into the Clemson Family with open arms. Our incredible record-breaking success as a university over the past 10-plus years is because of the amazing people here at Clemson. The value of the Tiger Paw has never been higher, and I know the best is yet to come.”

AFL Announces Self-Certification for Build America, Buy America Act Compliance

Duncan, South Carolina-based AFL, an industry-leading manufacturer of fiber optic cables, connectivity and equipment, announced its self-certification for products compliant with the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act requirements.

 

Officials said the certification positions AFL as a key supplier for broadband infrastructure projects funded by the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

 

The BEAD Program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides funding to states for expanding high-speed internet access, with a focus on underserved and rural communities.

 

The BABA Act, a key component of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, mandates the use of domestically sourced or manufactured products for these projects.

 

Marc Bolick, president of Product Solutions, a division of AFL, said, “Our self-certification with the NTIA marks a significant milestone. It reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality, compliant products that not only contribute to the growth of broadband infrastructure but also support strengthening the U.S. manufacturing and the economy.”

 

Officials said AFL’s compliant products have been verified to comply with the Buy America Preference requirements or, at a minimum, meet the guidance as specified in the BABA Waiver for the BEAD Program.

 

This self-certification ensures that AFL's products are eligible for use in the program, supporting the goals of improving the nation's broadband infrastructure, the officials said.

Blake Bridges Promoted to President, General Manager of WYFF-TV 

Blake Bridges has been named president and general manager of WYFF 4, Hearst Television’s NBC affiliate in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina, television market, effective Nov. 18. 

 

He has served at the station for 17 years, the last dozen of which as general sales manager.

 

Bridges will succeed John L. Humphries, who is retiring.

 

“Blake has distinguished himself as one of our best and brightest leaders in our sales organization for more than a decade,” said Michael J. Hayes, Hearst Television president.

 

Hayes added, “He’s spent much of his career in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Asheville market, knows it well and is the ideal candidate to succeed John.  He will build upon the station’s hallmarks of outstanding journalism and community service with the exceptional team at WYFF 4.”

 

Bridges began his television career in 1997 as an account executive at Asheville, NC start-up WASV-TV, and was promoted the following year to WSPA-TV, the CBS affiliate in the market. 

 

Four years later, he moved to WXIA-TV in Atlanta, also as an account executive, before returning to the Upstate and WYFF 4 in 2007 as national sales manager. 

 

He served next as local sales manager, eventually assuming his current duties in 2012.

 

Under his sales leadership, WYFF 4 has earned four Hearst Tower Awards, the highest sales award given by Hearst Television. 

 

Since 2013, Bridges has served on the board of Music Mission Kiev, a Ukraine-based ministry serving widows, orphans and others impacted by the war in Ukraine. 

 

He received a Jefferson Award from the South Carolina-based nonprofit Multiplying Good, which inducted him into its Upstate ChangeMakers Class of 2022.

 

Bridges holds a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism, where he was a Presidential Scholar and served as a student judge in the Peabody Awards.

 

He participated in Furman University’s Diversity Leadership Initiative program, is a graduate of Hearst's executive development program, the Hearst Management Institute, and is enrolled in the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Leadership Institute.

 

Hearst Television owns and/or operates 35 television and two radio stations serving 27 media markets across 39 states reaching over 24 million U.S. television households.

More Than 60 Percent of U.S. Pharmacists Were Women But They Earned Less Than Their Male Counterparts

October is American Pharmacists Month, providing an opportunity to look at how this occupation has changed in recent years.

 

Most notably, the number of pharmacists rose every year from 2018 (286,400) to 2023 (337,400), a 17.8 percent increase, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS).

 

In comparison, the total number of U.S. workers ages 25 to 64 during the same period grew only 3.1 percent from 128 million to about 132 million.

 

The proportion of pharmacists in the total workforce also increased, starting at 0.22 percent in 2018 to 0.24 percent in 2019 and 0.26 percent in 2023.

 

Women have made up about 47 percent of the overall workforce in the United States since 2018, but they have a much higher representation in the pharmacy profession.

 

According to the most recent ACS data, between 60 percent and 62 percent of the pharmacist workforce were women from 2018 to 2023.

 

Despite this, the earnings disparity between male and female pharmacists continued.

Male pharmacists’ annual salaries decreased from $153,800 in 2018 to $136,200 in 2023.

 

(All earnings are in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars.)

 

Despite this decline, male pharmacists still earned more than their female counterparts and earned more than the overall pharmacist workforce median earnings.

 

Earnings of all U.S. male workers peaked at $69,390 in 2021 before dipping to $67,720 in 2022 and stabilizing at $68,070 in 2023.

 

Female pharmacists’ annual salaries also declined from $147,800 in 2018 to $130,500 in 2023.

 

Female workers’ median earnings also consistently lagged those of male workers.

 

While there was a slight increase from $54,940 in 2018 to $56,380 in 2021, their earnings dipped to $55,430 in 2022 before rebounding slightly to $55,730 in 2023.

 

The pharmacist profession is less diverse than the U.S. workforce as a whole.

 

White workers made up the majority (58 percent) of adults ages 25 to 64 in the workforce in 2023, down from 62 percent in 2018.

 

Although the share of white pharmacists also declined, from 65 percent in 2018 to 61 percent in 2023, they remained a significant majority.

 

Asian workers made up a small but growing proportion of the total workforce, increasing from 6 percent in 2018 to 7 percent in 2023. They were also overrepresented in the pharmacy field, with their share increasing from 22 percent in 2018 to 23 percent in 2023.

 

The percentage of Black workers in the total workforce remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 11 percent and 12 percent from 2018 to 2023.

 

However, Black pharmacists were underrepresented in the overall workforce, ranging from a 6 percent to 9 percent share of the workforce during the period.

 

The proportion of Hispanic workers grew from 17 percent to 19 percent, but they remained underrepresented among pharmacists, with only 4 percent to 6 percent identifying as Hispanic from 2018 to 2023.

 

The share of workers identifying as Some Other Race increased from 3 percent in 2018 to 5 percent in 2023. This group consistently accounted for a small percentage (from 2 percent to 4 percent) of pharmacists.

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