The whine of buzzsaws gave way to sustained applause Friday when Clemson University formally named its electrical and computer engineering department the Milton Winford Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The naming ceremony honored Milton Holcombe, a 1953 graduate and electronics communication pioneer who has been a pillar of support to Clemson for nearly half a century. More than 100 people attended the dedication, which included the unveiling of a portrait of Holcombe displayed in the freshly renovated atrium of Riggs Hall, which houses the electrical and computer engineering department and administrative offices for the College of Engineering and Science. The record-setting gift will address critical needs in the department, provide annual funding of graduate fellowships and support for top faculty, as well as push Clemson a notch higher as a national institution. Counted in that total is the creation of the Milton W. and Betty Holcombe Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1987.
Longtime support includes annual giving and volunteer service.
The financial support has also enabled a larger number undergraduate and graduate students to participate in research in electrical and computer engineering. Every student in that department knows the story of Milt Holcombe and realizes that with hard work, they, too, could become industry-changing pioneers. Holcombe serves on advisory boards for the College of Engineering and Science, as well as the department. He is a former director of the Clemson University Foundation Board. His wife is currently a director on the Clemson University Foundation Board and serves on the Foundation Board Investment Committee.