Clemson’s freshman class exceeds 5,000

Clemson University’s new students include 5,100 freshmen and transfers from 46 states and two territories, as well as 40 nations.  President James Clements gave figures yesterday during the university’s convocation, before the start of classes today. “We are continuing to focus on recruiting and retaining a diverse student population, and we are making progress in that area. For example, the number of African-American students in this year’s incoming freshman class has increased 25 percent over last year’s incoming class. We are making progress, but we still have a lot of work to do, and it will take all of us working together to make Clemson a place where everyone feels valued and can succeed,” Clements said.   He also made reference to calls last year to strip the name Tillman from a university landmark building by telling faculty and student organization representatives:  “You will soon see some new signage in front of Tillman Hall, as well as a display inside, which will give a more detailed history of the building,” he said. “They have also been updating biographies of the university’s founders, which will soon be posted online.”