Nieri Family donates $12.5 million to name state-of-the art Clemson Alumni and Visitors Center
November 25, 2024
Longtime University friends, Michael ’86 and Robyn Nieri HA ’20 along with their children and spouses Pennington ’15 and wife Katie ’15; daughter Maigan ’18 and husband Rob Lincks; son Patrick ’19 and wife Jessica ’19, have pledged $12.5 million for the soon-to-open Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center.
Located on the shores of Lake Hartwell adjacent to the Clyde V. Madren Conference Center and John E. Walker Sr. Golf Course, The Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center overlooks the 18th green on the shores of Lake Hartwell. The new facility will replace the current Alumni Center on Daniel Drive, which has been the Alumni Association’s home for nearly 50 years.
The multipurpose building will also house some of Clemson’s most important programs, including the Class of 1944 Visitors Center, Office of Admissions, Board of Trustees office, Center for Career and Professional Development, Complex Corporation, and the Advancement division, which includes the Clemson University Foundation, Clemson Alumni Association and Development.
Notably, housing the Class of 1944 Visitors Center in this new facility will have a huge impact on recruiting students. It provides an easily accessible and welcoming first stop for prospective students and their families who travel to Clemson each year in search of their college home.
“The reason we decided to give to the Alumni and Visitors Center was that it is a gift to every graduate and every person who will visit Clemson in the future. We believed it could have the biggest impact for so many, the entire Clemson Family. And we wanted to do it while our own family could enjoy it as well,” said Michael Nieri. “The joy of giving while you’re still around to enjoy it is a wonderful thing. If you have a love for your college and your college extended family, you know, there’s nothing better than that.”
The Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center will be an inviting destination for current and future members of the Clemson Family to feel at home. It will become Clemson’s gathering hub, a place where prospective students, parents, alumni, friends, faculty and staff can feel welcome. Just as importantly, this space will serve as the first impression for future Tigers and their families. Featuring state-of-the-art technology, the center will provide a dynamic multimedia experience designed to showcase Clemson’s students, faculty, programs and facilities. It will be the launching pad for visitors to discover the Upstate of South Carolina and explore everything Clemson has to offer.
About the Nieri family
Michael Nieri, who graduated from Clemson in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in construction science and management, is one of America’s leading homebuilding entrepreneurs. He founded Irmo-based Great Southern Homes in 2004, ranked by BUILDER magazine in 2020 as the nation’s 44th largest homebuilder. In 2023, he took the company public to become United Homes Group. One year later, United Homes Group won the 2024 Builder of the Year Award from BUILDER Magazine.
He was inducted into the S.C. Housing Hall of Fame in 2018 and was twice recognized as Builder of the Year by the Building Industry Association. In 2020, he received BUILDER magazine’s Hearthstone Humanitarian Award, a national recognition honoring homebuilders who demonstrate a lifetime commitment to public service. He is a past president of the BIA Charitable Foundation. In 2021, Nieri received the Clemson Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award.
Robyn Nieri graduated from East Carolina University in 1989 with a child development and family relations degree while minoring in child psychology and social welfare. She began her career as the director of several of the Columbia-based GLEAMNS Head Start centers, a community organization designed to assist low-income individuals and families in achieving and maintaining self-sufficiency.
She has dedicated much time and service to Clemson University over the years, especially when her three children were students. Robyn lends her support to head football coach Dabo Swinney’s “All In Ball” and serves as a member of the University’s Committee on Philanthropy. The Clemson Alumni Association honored her in 2020 with the designation of Honorary Alumna of Clemson University.
Professionally and personally, the Nieris have contributed significantly to improving quality of life for individuals and communities across South Carolina. Beneficiaries include the Boys Farm in Newberry, a haven for boys facing difficult family situations, and Camp Cole, a summer camp for children with cancer, to Habitat for Humanity projects in the Midlands and Pickens County.
At Clemson, the Nieris are Cornerstone Partners for both academics and athletics. In 2015, they made a $2.5 million Cornerstone gift to develop the Nieri Family Student-Athlete Enrichment Center in Memorial Stadium. In 2019, the Nieris made a Cornerstone gift of $5 million, to the Department of Construction Science and Management, after which the department was renamed the Nieri Department of Construction, Development and Planning. The family’s gift to name the Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center continues their amazing legacy of giving at Clemson.
The Nieris have three children, all proud Clemson graduates: son Pennington ’15 and wife Katie ’15, daughter Maigan ’18 and husband Rob Lincks, and son Patrick ’19 and wife Jessica ’19.
Because the Clemson Family is at the heart of the University, it was important for the Nieri family to include “family” in the naming of this new center. Just like so many members of the Clemson Family, the University has become central to the Nieri’s extended family life. The Nieri grandchildren are ready to someday carry on the family tradition and become official Clemson Tigers. The Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center will be there to welcome them, and you, home.
