How has South Carolina managed to yield a nationally ranked university?
You can take a lot of the credit. You created the LIFE Scholarship program, which has encouraged more of our best and brightest high school graduates to stay in state. Clemson has benefitted because we are the Number One choice of LIFE Scholars and Palmetto Fellows. You supported the Clemson Road Map, which funded faculty hires, start-up packages and graduate assistantships. This allowed us to recruit world-class teachers and researchers, and grow graduate programs that are the foundation for a knowledge-based economy. We have nearly doubled Ph.D. enrollment since 2001. You also supported institutional authority to set tuition and fees, which allowed us to offset budget cuts and fund core academic programs, the library and information technology. It also allowed us to create new student support programs such as the Academic Success Center, which has helped increase graduation rates and scholarship retention, both of which save families thousands of dollars. Question two: How has Clemso
