Clemson’s summer graduates challenged to be 'change agents'

CLEMSON, SC – August 13, 2011 — Clemson University awarded 689 degrees during summer graduation exercises Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Of the degrees conferred, 325 were bachelor’s degrees, 294 were master’s degrees and 70 were doctorates.

Tri-County Technical College President Ronnie L. Booth, who received an honorary doctorate, urged graduates to work hard and be “agents of positive change in your life and the community in which you live.”

Booth was recognized for his achievements in higher education and economic development. He said Tri-County Tech and Clemson have been strong partners for almost 50 years.

The late R.C. Edwards, who was Clemson’s president when that partnership began, “would be proud of everything we have accomplished together to serve our students and the community, from the well-known Bridge to Clemson program to numerous transfer agreements that provide opportunities for our career program graduates to continue their education at this prestigious university,” Booth said.

In the Bridge to Clemson program, academically talented freshmen attend Tri-County Tech for one year and then transfer to Clemson their sophomore year.

Booth challenged the new graduates to “out-work, out-smart and out-perform” those around them to succeed in life. He urged them to never stop learning, to oppose unfairness when they encounter it, to celebrate the successes of others and to be agents of positive change.

Booth became president of Tri-County Technical College in 2003. He serves on the economic development and alliance boards for Anderson, Pickens and Oconee counties; the Upstate Alliance Board; Anderson Chamber of Commerce board of directors; Workforce Investment Act Board; Community Colleges of Appalachia Board; Pendleton Regional Education Center Advisory Board; President’s Advisory Board at Clemson University; and Collins Children’s Home and Family Ministries Board.