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CLEMSON UNIVERSITY BREAKS GROUND
FOR AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH CAMPUS
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| Clemson’s International Center for Automotive
Research will be built on 400 acres along Interstate 85 and
Laurens Road in Greenville on land owned by the estate of the
late John D. Hollingsworth. |
 On
a sunny autumn day in November, Clemson University marked a major
milestone that will have far-reaching implications for the school,
the state and the country. Officials broke ground on a 400-acre
Clemson University automotive research campus, to be anchored by
a graduate engineering center and unique research and development
facilities.
Governor Mark Sanford, Helmut Leube, president of BMW Manufacturing
of S.C.; and Todd Kirtley, general manager, industrial sector, of
IBM Global Services; joined Clemson University President James F.
Barker in turning the first shovels of dirt at what will be the
Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.
Barker said the research campus could help make South Carolina the
hub of the nation’s automotive and motorsports industry cluster.
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| BMW President Helmut Leube (from left), former
S.C. Governor Carroll Campbell, and S. C. Governor Mark Sanford,
join Clemson University President James F. Barker in turning
the first shovels of dirt at what will be the Clemson University
International Center for Automotive Research. |
At
the groundbreaking, Leube announced that BMW would build an Information
Technology Research Center on site, making BMW the park’s
first non-academic tenant. IBM also announced its plans to form
a long-term partnership with Clemson in this project, starting with
a first-year commitment valued at $1.1 million. Kirtley said the
commitment includes $750,000 worth of software and the assignment
of an IBM executive at the research campus to support the work of
Clemson faculty and students. IBM is working with both Clemson and
BMW on extended participation in the future.
“This
project represents a new era in economic development in South Carolina,
an era when research universities are actively engaged in creating
high-paying, knowledge-based jobs and enhancing the productivity
of key industrial sectors,” Barker said. “The automotive
research campus proves that the combination of academic strength,
industry partnerships, local leadership and strong state support
is a very powerful formula.” [More]
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