ACM Chemistries Inc. Makes $100,000 Gift to Clemson

CLEMSON, SC – September 8, 2010 – Led by a pair of Clemson University civil engineering alumni, a Georgia company has pledged $100,000 to support the expansion and modernization of Lowry Hall, home of Clemson University’s civil engineering program.

Norcross, Ga.-based ACM Chemistries, Inc. is engaged in research, development and application of chemical admixtures for machine-made concrete products, such as pavers, roof tile and precast products.

Marshall L. Brown, president of ACM Chemistries, earned bachelor’s (1982), master’s (1986) and doctoral (1988) degrees in civil engineering at Clemson. Ted Light, vice president for operations, is a 1986 Clemson civil engineering alumnus. 

Ted and I are very proud of our Clemson education, and we are glad to be a part of civil engineering’s continued growth and success. The business we have today is a direct result of the education and research we had at Clemson, Brown said. I’m grateful for what Clemson has provided me, not only a wonderful education, but also my wife, Cindra, an economics graduate I met when we were at Clemson.

The ACM Chemistries gift will help expand classroom space and facilities for student instruction. The remodeling of Lowry also will improve the building’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and will accommodate graduate student and research needs.

The civil engineering department has almost doubled its enrollment in just a few years, and last April our advisory board took the proactive step to adopt this expansion and remodeling project and raise the necessary funds for it, said Nadim Aziz, department chairman.

Marshall is a member of the civil engineering advisory board. He has been a strong supporter and a friend of the department, Aziz said. We are very grateful for the ACM Chemistries gift and for the assistance it will bring our students.

Designed by the late architect and educator Harlan McClure, Clemson’s Lee Hall/Lowry Hall complex has earned a place on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1957-58 as the Structural Science Building, the modernist complex now is considered two buildings connected by a covered breezeway.

The civil engineering advisory board fundraising efforts for the expansion and renovation of Lowry Hall will begin in the next few weeks.

Clemson broke ground in April to expand and renovate Lee Hall, which houses the university’s architecture and visual arts programs.

This gift is part of The Will to Lead capital campaign, a multi-year effort to raise at least $600 million to support Clemson University students and faculty.