What’s News This Week
“Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people’s legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world.”
― The Sugar Queen
Webinar: How Academic Libraries and Related Units Can Lead and Shape AI Initiatives Responsibly and Proactively
Clemson Libraries is hosting a webinar on the role of academic libraries in the adoption of AI in higher education with Crystal Ramsay, Senior Director of Teaching and Learning with Technology for Penn State University Libraries. “How Academic Libraries and Related Units Can Lead and Shape AI Initiatives Responsibly and Proactively” will be held on Zoom Thursday, December 11, at 10:30 a.m. Join here.
Ramsay will share how she has worked both outside of, and now within, University Libraries to build AI capacity — not as a series of tools and trainings, but as part of a coordinated institutional strategy. Drawing on her role as a tri-chair of Penn State’s AI Coordinating Council, she will highlight the structures, relationships, and power dynamics that matter most right now. Participants will explore how to marry the transactional (training, tooling, guidance) with the transformational (rethinking learning, equity, and access) so that AI becomes a catalyst for deeper educational impact rather than just another technology to implement.
In her role at Penn State, Ramsay champions innovation and creativity by advancing cutting-edge technologies and forward-thinking strategies. She leads her department’s initiatives in collaboration with all Penn State colleges, campuses, and administrative units, ensuring the delivery of meaningful, future-ready educational experiences for faculty and students that support Penn State’s strategic goals of academic excellence, innovation, and access.
With more than 30 years of experience in education, Ramsay bridges imagination and implementation, guiding efforts to modernize learning environments, foster evidence-based teaching practices, and explore the potential of emerging technologies to shape the future of higher education. In addition to her leadership role, Ramsay is an affiliate faculty member in the College of Education and a member of the graduate faculty. Her research interests include emerging educational technologies, faculty development, flexible learning space.
–Angela Nixon
Dr. Mike Coggeshall – “A Slow Life but A Good Life”
Join us as we host Mike Coggeshall, Professor of Anthropology, as he discusses his latest book, “A Slow Life but a Good Life: Stories from the South Carolina Mountains,” which is being published by Clemson University Press.
A Slow Life but A Good Life describes a time when good stories served as a primary source of entertainment and information. Over the past several decades, he has collected numerous stories about the lives of long-term residents in the South Carolina mountain counties. This book presents these stories, along with a discussion of the social context of storytelling and an overview of the dialect in which the stories are told.
Coggeshall will speak about his new book on Wednesday, December 3, at 4 p.m. in the Cooper Library Byrnes Room (401). The event will also be available online via Zoom. (join password: 077536)
–Lynn Dingle
Holiday Lunch
Please RSVP if you haven’t already.
Sign up to bring a side or dessert.
Sign up to create an ornament with Joni.
After lunch, we will have at least three fun activities that you can choose to participate in if you wish.
1. Van Hope will be the Holiday Trivia Master and host a trivia competition! Everyone who participates will join a small group and complete against other groups to see which group will hold the title of Trivia Team of the Year! Be thinking of fun names for your groups and brushing up on your general trivia.
2. Joni Addis will host holiday ornament crafting. Join Joni to create a lovely holiday ornament that starts as a book and turns into a snowflake! Joni will provide the instruction and the supplies. This event is limited to 10 crafters. The sign-up sheet has a photo of the ornament you will be creating.
3. Cath Bruhnke will be hosting a holiday photo booth. Come have your photo taken alone or with your colleagues! You’ll get a photo sticker to keep, and you can add emojis from the iPad app if you’d like.
We can’t wait to see you there!
–Kellie Marlatt
December Safety Brief
Please see PDF for active links!
Safety-Brief-Date-December-2025.pdf
–Fredda Owens
Happy Birthday to You!
Renna Redd 12/2
Lee Tessnear 12/3
Laura Wells 12/3
Lori Bryant 12/8
Janet McNeil 12/10
Angela Nixon 12/11
Bobby Hollandsworth 12/14
Teresa McCoy 12/19
Chris Morris 12/18
Otis Pickett 12/20
Joe Bradford 12/21
Kirstin O’Keefe 12/23
Fredda Owens 12/24
Mairead Downes 12/24
Doreen Dixon 12/26
Look at who is having a birthday this month! Happy Birthday to all our December-born colleagues. Who knew there were so many of you! Celebrate all month long! We wish you a wonderful birthday!
Celebrating a Work Anniversary!
Amal Mostafa 1 2 / 1 6 / 2 0 2 4 – 1 Y E A R
Lynn Dingle 1 2 / 0 5 / 2 0 2 2 –3 Y E A R S
Leigh Ward 1 2 / 0 1 / 2 0 2 1 – 4 Y E A R S
Janet McNeil 1 2 / 1 7 / 2 0 1 9 – 6 Y E A R S
Chris Vidas 1 2 / 0 1 / 2 0 1 8 – 7 Y E A R S
We are proud to recognize and celebrate the dedicated service of our colleagues who have reached milestones in their Clemson University Libraries careers.
Please note that these announcements going forward reflect Libraries service time only. The University formally acknowledges total state service through the distribution of pins and certificates. Individuals in the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) who have questions about their service time toward retirement should reference their Member Access account. Those enrolled in an Optional Retirement Program (ORP) should consult their selected vendor for retirement information.
Please be aware that calculating total University service time involves individualized research and may include factors such as temporary versus full-time status, student employment, and other considerations. For these reasons, we are focusing our recognition on Libraries-specific service time.
Thank you so much for all the talent and expertise that you bring to the Libraries! We appreciate all you do!
We’re a Captive Audience
Share your updates, news, and items of interest with your colleagues!
See you next week!