Clemson in Pickens County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Walter T. Cox, Jr.

Photographed By Brian Scott, May 29, 2009

1. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Marker

Inscription.
Walter T. Cox, Jr., native of Belton, South Carolina, came to Clemson University in 1935 as a freshman cadet. As a student, he was a company commander in the Cadet Corps and an all-state guard on the football team. After graduating in 1939, he remained at the University for one year of post graduate study during which he anchored the Tigers front line that helped defeat Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl. Except for military service in the South Pacific, he never left Clemson.

During the 1940's, he worked for Clemson Athletics in a number of capacities - Assistant Football Coach, Business Manager, Baseball Coach and Recruiter. He filled in for the Boxing Coach who was called into the military; helped cleat land with handsaws, chains and mules, for construction of the football stadium ("Death Valley"); and became a member of IPTAY. In 1950, he became Director of Public Relations and Alumni Affairs and Assistant to the President. He became Dean of Student Affairs in 1956 and Vice President for Student Affairs in 1965.

Dean Cox served as Vice President for Student Affairs for almost three decades. During his tenure, enrollment grew from 2,700 to more than 12,500. He presided over some of the most important milestones in Clemson's development into a major university including the enrollment of women and the peaceful

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desegregation of the student body. At the request of the Board of Trustees, he left the Student Affairs post in July 1985 to become Clemson's 10th President.

Erected 1998.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Entertainment • Sports. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1985.

Location. 34° 40.75′ N, 82° 50.233′ W. Marker is in Clemson, South Carolina, in Pickens County. Marker can be reached from Calhoun Drive. Marker is located east of the Edgar A Brown University Union, on the campus of Clemson University. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Clemson SC 29631, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Quercus lyrata (Overcup Oak) (within shouting distance of this marker); Hardin Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); First Woman Graduate (within shouting distance of this marker); Tillman Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Integration with Dignity, 1963 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Trustee House (about 300 feet away); Thomas Green Clemson (about 300 feet away); Military Heritage Plaza (about 400 feet away); The Old Tillman Hall Bell (about 400 feet away); Class of 1943 Veterans (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clemson.

More about

Photographed By Brian Scott, May 29, 2009

2. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Marker

this marker. Sculpture by T.J. Dixon and James Nelson.

Also see . . . Clemson University. Official website of Clemson University. (Submitted on July 5, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

Additional commentary.
1. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Obituary
The Greenville News
June 30, 2006

Interment services for Walter T. Cox Jr., 87, will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, 2006, at the university’s “Cemetery Hill.” Following the interment, a memorial service will be held at the Brooks Center on the Clemson University campus. Services will be officiated by Dr. Todd Wilson, Clemson First Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 30, 2006 at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home in Central. Honorary pallbearers will be surviving members of the “Great” Class of 1939, former CU presidents, Dr. R.C. Edwards, Dr. Phil Prince, Dr. Max Lennon, and Dr. Constantine “Deno” Curris.

Dean Cox died Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at St. Francis Hospital, Greenville, S.C., after a short stay resulting from injuries suffered in a fall on June 14th. Born in Belton, S.C., he was the son of the late Walter T. Cox Sr. and Grace Campbell Cox. He came to

Walter T. Cox, Jr. Statue and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, May 29, 2009

3. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Statue and Marker

Clemson College in 1935, and “never left.” Commissioned at Clemson in the Army as an infantryman, he fought in the Pacific campaign and was a proud World War II veteran. A Tiger letterman, he started on the 1939 Cotton Bowl football team. After graduating, he served in a sequence of jobs starting as a football and baseball coach, alumni and public relations coordinator, the first “dean of students,” the first vice president of student affairs, development officer, and as the tenth president of Clemson University. He was a counselor to many students during his 52-year career of public service and was affectionately called Dean Cox. He had a number of distinguished awards for his service at Clemson and was awarded the Order of the Palmetto. He was a director on the SC Public Service Authority, served on the board for Blue Cross Blue Shield, and was a board member of the C&S National Bank of SC. He was a member of the Clemson First Baptist Church for over 60 years, serving as a deacon. He was a 60-year member and past president of the Anderson Rotary Club.

He was the widower of the late Mary Johnson Cox and then Jenelle Garrett Cox. Surviving are his sons, Walter T. Cox, III (wife Victoria Grubbs Cox), Frank J. Cox (wife Crossie McDowell Cox), and J. William Cox (wife Janet Hedrick Cox); and daughter, Grace Cox Kerns (husband Charles Kerns); stepdaughter,

Walter T. Cox, Jr. Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, May 29, 2009

4. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Statue

Jennie Cox Waddington (husband Harry Waddington); five grandchildren, Lisa Cox Craig, Walter T. Cox IV, Katharine Cox Johnson and Campbell Johnson Cox, and Wesley Kerns; and six great-grandchildren, Grace Craig, Katherine and Mary Johnson Craig, Madison Johnson, and Miriam Cox and Riley Cox; three stepgrandchildren, Lewis Greer, Harrison Greer and Julia Greer.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: Mary Johnson Scholarship or to the Clemson Foundation at Clemson Fund (Clemson University), 110 Daniel Drive, Clemson, SC, 29631-1520. Respect and tributes can be made at http://www.carepages.com, 'TheWTCoxfamily' site.

Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, Central-Clemson Commons, is assisting the family with the arrangements.

— Submitted July 5, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

Walter T. Cox, Jr. Plaza image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, May 29, 2009

5. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Plaza

Walter T. Cox, Jr. Plaza Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, May 29, 2009

6. Walter T. Cox, Jr. Plaza Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 5, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,144 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 5, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.