Clemson University trustees approve 2011-12 budget

CHARLESTON, SC – July 15, 201 1- Clemson University’s trusteesFriday approved the school’sfiscal year 2011-2012 budget at their summer quarterly meeting inCharleston. The $815 million annual budget includes an approximate 2.2percent overall increase in total revenues and expenditures.

Chief Financial Officer Brett Dalton said, “This modest increase intotal resources and expenditures is less than the Consumer Price Indexestimate of 3.6 percent inflation for the most recent 12 months.”

Additional permanent cuts in state appropriations and the loss of morethan $19 million in stimulus funding were offset by additional generatedexternal revenue, grants and contracts, and a 3.8 percent increase intuition and fees.

Dalton said the university continues to invest most heavily in its coreacademic and academic support areas. Funding for scholarships andfellowships is projected to increase again this year, reflecting thefocus on affordability and access for South Carolina families. Thebudget also reflects reductions in expenditures for total wages andbenefits, primarily because of fewer administrative and supportpositions.

The trustee approval of the budget endorses the administration’scommitment to fund the Clemson 2020 plan through new revenue generationand internal reallocations. The Clemson 2020 Road Map is a 10-year strategic plan that calls for investments in facultyhires, student engagement, upgraded facilities and technology, andfaculty and staff compensation — with most of the funding to come fromexisting resources and new revenues.

Provost Dori Helms reported that applications for freshman admissionalready had surpassed last year’s record. As of June 24, freshmanapplications totaled 17,019 — 5,885 in-state and 11,134 out-of-state.Transfer applications totaled 2,225, also an increase from 2010.Graduate applications were up 3.3 percent, to 6,121, as of July 1.

In other action, the board approved:

    * termination of a substance abuse certificate program and amaster’s degree in early childhood education, both of which have had lowenrollment.
    * a new concentration in entrepreneurship and innovation for Masterof Business Administration (MBA) students. Classes will be taught byClemson business faculty and by professional entrepreneurs who serve asadjunct instructors.
    * a Six Sigma Certificate the industrial engineering department willbegin offering this fall to undergraduate students who want to focus onstatistical quality control, design of experiments, process analysisand quality engineering techniques.
    * the final phase for an addition to Freeman Hall, funded byself-generated revenue from the industrial engineering department, thatwill add 24,000 square feet of office, classroom and research space.
    * concept phases for Littlejohn Coliseum annex and wastewatertreatment plant upgrades. The coliseum project will provide qualitypractice facilities for the men’s and women’s basketball teams with twoadditional practice gyms and offices. Private donations from IPTAY, theClemson University Foundation and other non-state sources will financethe annex addition.
    * concept and final phases for graduate student housing at theBaruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science in Georgetown.
    * a naming request for the university soccer stadium in connection with a fundraising goal of $1million for renovations.

Former South Carolina legislator and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David H.Wilkins was unanimously reelected chairman of the board of trustees for atwo-year term. He has served on the board since 2007.

The Greenville native earned his undergraduate degree in history fromClemson in 1968 and his law degree from the University of South Carolinain 1971. He is a partner at the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley &Scarborough LLP.

Kim A. Wilkerson of Cayce, who was selected as life trustee in 2010,assumed the seat vacated when Life Trustee Dr. John James “J.J” Brittonof Sumter became an emeritus trustee at this meeting.

Britton, a leader in the Sumter community, was first elected toClemson’s board of trustees as a legislative trustee in 1981 and againin 1988. He was selected as a life trustee in 1995, serving the boardwith distinction for 27 years, including two terms as vice chairman.

“J.J. Britton has given countless hours of outstanding service toClemson University,” said Wilkins. “Clemson is a better universitybecause of his dedication and commitment. Our challenge was to identify asuccessor who is as intelligent, accomplished and passionate abouthigher education in Clemson University.”

Wilkerson, who graduated from Clemson in 1980 with a bachelor of sciencein financial management, was named president of Bank of America SouthCarolina in 2005. She has a long history of service to Clemson,including as a member of the Board of Visitors and the ClemsonUniversity Foundation board of directors.

Clemson University is governed by a 13-member board, including sixtrustees elected by the state legislature and seven life members, asprovided by the will of Thomas G. Clemson, whose bequest to the stateled to the institution’s founding.