Clemson Bestows Highest Honor on Trustee, Professor Emeritus
June 11, 2014
CLEMSON, SC — Clemson University is recognizing a trustee and a retired professor with its highest public honor. Ellison Smyth McKissick III of Greenville and Jerome V. Reel Jr. of Clemson are new recipients of the Clemson Medallion.
The Clemson Medallion recognizes individuals who have given long and sustained commitment and significant service to Clemson University.
“These two gentlemen each have devoted decades of their lives to Clemson and its faculty, staff and students,” said President James P. Clements. “Clemson would not be the university it is today without their hard work and leadership. It is a great honor to recognize them for their dedication, exceptional example and continuing impact.”
Smyth McKissick
Smyth McKissick has played many roles in his association with Clemson University through the years: student, alumnus (having graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in administrative management), benefactor and trustee. University officials have now bestowed the school’s highest honor on the Greenville native.
McKissick has been engaged with the university continuously. He has been a trustee since 1998, chairing or serving on numerous committees, including Finance and Facilities, Educational Policy, Institutional Advancement, Student Affairs, Research and Economic Development, Executive and Audit, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. He served as chairman of the presidential search committee that, along with the board of trustees, selected Clemson’s 15th president, Clements, last fall. He also served as a member of the search committee that, along with the board of trustees, named Clemson’s 14th president, James F. Barker, in 1999. He is an IPTAY member, served as Clemson University Foundation director, and currently chairs the university’s $1 billion capital campaign, The Will to Lead.
In 2012, he received the Clemson Alumni Association’s highest honor: the Distinguished Service Award.
McKissick is the fourth generation of his family to lead the family-owned textile business, Alice Manufacturing Company, where he has served as CEO since 1998. Smyth and his wife, Martha, have three children. Their daughter, Holly, is a Clemson graduate.
“Clemson University is still that student-centered university that cares most about students and the faculty and provides a student experience that affords young people the opportunity to be the best they can be. I’m proud of Clemson for putting that at the nucleus of all we do,” he said. “One of the great joys of my Clemson experience has been working with wonderful volunteers and serving next to great leaders who are all committed to the betterment of our university.”
Jerry Reel
Clemson’s historian since 2002, Jerry Reel has quite a history with the university himself. His career at Clemson went from potentially short-lived to one as honored professor and academic leader for 50 years.
The New Orleans native began putting down his roots in Clemson when, shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree in art history and literature and master’s in history from Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi). He accepted a faculty position with Clemson in 1963.
He was an instructor, then quickly advanced to assistant and associate professor, before being named professor of history in 1971. By then, he had become hooked on Clemson life. He is active in Fort Hill Presbyterian Church and served as adviser to Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity for more than 25 years. Students nominated him as a Clemson University Alumni Master Teacher in 1975.
“Our plan was to just stay here long enough to get my research for my Ph.D. finished,” Reel recalled. “I was going to go to England in 1964, do my research there, come back, do writing and translating, and then, hopefully, get my Ph.D. and go off to some other place. And here we still are.”
He earned his doctorate in British medieval history from Emory University in 1967.
Reel was named dean of undergraduate studies in 1979 and two years later was promoted to vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies, a position he held until 1992 when he became senior vice provost. Reel stepped down from that position in 2003 and became professor emeritus. He earned the South Carolina Governor’s Award in the Humanities in 2011.
Since 1978, Reel has taught a freshman one-hour-per-semester class and given more than 500 speeches about Clemson University’s history to various groups and organizations.
It is his love for Clemson that has led the Medallion winner to write a monograph and two books detailing the history of the university. He also contributed to two others.
An honorary Clemson alumnus, Reel has direct Tiger “orange bloodlines” throughout his family. His wife, Edmee, holds a master’s degree from Clemson, and all three of his children, two sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law are Clemson alumni. One grandson is a current Clemson student.
“I am overwhelmed, and slightly embarrassed, by this honor,” Reel said. “Typically, very important alumni win this award. It’s not something that a college teacher normally wins. So I am very honored, on behalf of all the people who have contributed to the history of Clemson University.”
Clemson University
Ranked No. 21 among national public universities, Clemson University is a major, land-grant, science- and engineering-oriented research university that maintains a strong commitment to teaching and student success. Clemson is an inclusive, student-centered community characterized by high academic standards, a culture of collaboration, school spirit and a competitive drive to excel.
