JCUAC Begins
How the city Mayor and the university President formalized the Joint City/University Advisory Committee
On September 11, 1989, a group called Greater Clemson, Inc filed its final report. While it is not clear how widely this report was circulated, it does make claim to the organization’s having been formed in December, 1979 under South Carolina’s Great Towns Program for the purpose of “establishing and maintaining lines of communication between all major elements, in particular the City, The University and the Chamber of Commerce.” The first committee named in their report is the Joint University/City Committee stating at the outset that there was a period of time these two entities “went their separate ways, with little or no concern about the need to plan together or to work together.”
Although Greater Clemson, Inc claimed that the original iteration of this joint group was formed under Mayor Larry Abernathy and President Walter Cox, there exists a later document setting up a new framework. This October 1, 1990 Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mayor Abernathy and President Max Lennon sets up the Joint Committee as the “official body” to “study and recommend” ways the two entities will work together. This brief, yet clear, MOU establishes an equally shared annual budget and lists “areas of mutual concern” that includes the following just as they appear below:
- Planning and Land-use
- Student Housing
- Transportation and parking
- Security and public safety
- Public works and utilities
- Fiscal responsibility and impact
The Joint City/University Advisory Committee (JCUAC) meeting Minutes from November 19, 1990 reflect that the MOU was discussed at the level of reporting that both the Mayor and the President had each signed. The presiding JCUAC leader Gaston Gage asked that a copy be secured by the Secretary.
