Understanding the Upstate

Distinguished Clemson University scholars convened over two days to better understand what defines the rapidly growing region of the Upstate.

The College of Arts and Humanities, College of Architecture, Arts and Construction and School of Architecture hosted five informative and collaborative roundtable sessions on April 4-5 in the Barnes Center. Renowned author and Clemson alumnus Ron Rash delivered the keynote address, focusing on the area's uniqueness he frequently includes in his Appalachian-centric novels. The Upstate includes 10 diverse counties: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg and Union.

My relatives who have left the mountains have always come back to be buried there. I think that's interesting and significant. … To me, the landscape architect and I are both doing something similar. We're both trying to illuminate a landscape.

RON RASH, AUTHOR AND POET

"My relatives who have left the mountains have always come back to be buried there. I think that's interesting and significant," Rash said of the region. "To me, the landscape architect and I are both doing something similar. We're both trying to illuminate a landscape."

The symposium is the brainchild of School of Architecture Associate Professor Timothy Brown, who approached then College of Arts, Architecture and Humanities Dean Nicholas Vazsonyi with the idea more than a year ago. The college split last summer, with Vazsonyi becoming the founding dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.

School of Architecture Associate Professor Timothy Brown laughs while listening to Rash at the beginning of his lecture on April 4.

Brown said Vazsonyi strongly encouraged him throughout the change to pursue the idea of holding a symposium, hoping it would breed interdisciplinary research ideas.

"Architecture is, in a sense, about everything and holds the key to interconnectedness," Vazsonyi said. "It's engineering, math, design, history, sociology, psychology, philosophy and environmental studies. … The Upstate is nestled in a space of extraordinary natural use. There is something in these hills."

'Shaping the region'

The interdisciplinary approach to the symposium allowed speakers to share ongoing research work focused within the region, which included discussion about the geographic limitations of growth in some areas of the Upstate and the ongoing reclamation work at the Woodland Cemetery.

Panelist and director of Graduate Studies in Architecture + Health David Allison shared public research from the City of Clemson that projected the Upstate would balloon to 1.8 million people, up from the current population estimates of 1.5 million, by 2040. University Historian Otis Pickett discussed geographic determinism, area political divides and racial discrimination that permeated the Upstate in Reconstruction.

Panelists said Clemson's standing in the Upstate has only grown in this century and shows no signs of slowing. President Emeritus Jim Barker recapped actions taken by University leadership in 2000 to expand specific graduate programs into Greenville. CU-ICAR was founded in 2007, and Clemson's MBA Program found a permanent home in Greenville ONE some years later. He said both moves were key in Clemson being ranked as a top 25 public university for the first time in 2014.

"The idea was to take graduate students and faculty to where the real action was and not trying to create a branch campus," Barker recalled. "The graduate school of business should be located in the heart of the business community."

Interim dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Construction George Petersen said Clemson's influence over the region will shape the area's future in the years ahead.

"Thomas Green Clemson's vision contributes to the education, economic viability, cultural vibrancy and the community wellbeing," he said. "For many, Clemson's strong athletic programs contribute to the region's pride and camaraderie. Clemson is, and will be for the foreseeable future, central in shaping the region and its residents in many ways."

Rash's lecture at the Upstate Symposium has been archived and can be viewed here.

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