From Then to Now
Humble beginnings, maybe! But my has Clemson grown into a major university with all the fanfare associated with a large campus, thousands of students, and a fairly good football team.
If I were to attempt to describe the transformation using only one word, I would use the term Timing. Clemson’s transformation seemed to just have timing on its side. From the ending of WW2 where veterans were re-entering Clemson with GI Bill dollars in hand, to the changing economic landscape of South Carolina from a rural agricultural economy to an urban commercial economy. Not to mention in the later part of the transformation, women could attend college, and African Americans were soon to follow.
In answering the question of why it just seems as if suddenly Clemson abandoned the military mindset and moved to a civilian institution. The reason?
They had to. The state was changing, and most students at the time were arriving from within the state of South Carolina. I believe it at the least is plausible to believe that Clemson experienced the best of circumstances to increase enrollment. Returning veterans, a growing number of high school graduates, and the admission of women and African Americans to colleges was the perfect recipe for a transformation to an all-inclusive civilian institution.
In hindsight I just felt that the leadership of Clemson, not knowing when WW II would end, was already paving the way for a new Clemson. One that would eventually evolve into the great institution we all love today.
From an educational leader mindset, I believe the leadership of Clemson did see the transformation long before they set into movement the plans for creating a civilian institution. But why wouldn’t they? Educational leaders have been adapting and evolving since the beginning of higher education.
