Palmetto Award honors faculty, staff members and cadet

Jade M.E. Roy

Three men who have distinguished themselves among the faculty, staff and the Corps of Cadets will receive the prestigious Palmetto Award on Saturday during Corps Day festivities at The Citadel.

The Palmetto Award is one of the highest honors The Military College of South Carolina and its Board of Visitors can bestow. The highest is an honorary degree. The Palmetto Award is presented annually by The Citadel Board of Visitors to cadets, faculty, staff or alumni in recognition of exceptional performance that reflects great credit on the college or the state of South Carolina. Corps Day 2009 marks the 166th birthday of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. Activities began Thursday with the annual Principled Leadership Symposium and conclude Saturday morning.

This year’s Palmetto Award recipients are Cadet Lt. Col. Jade M.E. Roy, Director of Sports Medicine Andy Clawson and Director of Academic Leadership Programs Brig. Gen. Harrison S. Carter. The Palmetto Awards will be presented during Saturday’s military dress parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Summerall Field.  

Andy Clawson

A resident of Myrtle Beach, Roy is commander of the Regimental Support Battalion and a senior Political Science major. During his cadet career he has pursued numerous extracurricular activities that included several intramural athletics, the Rifle Legion Team, The Citadel Gospel Choir, the Kelly Cup Squad, the South Carolina Student Legislature, and the Wesley Foundation. Cadet Roy also worked to establish the Annual Bulldog Drill Meet, which brings hundreds of high school students to the campus each year. An invaluable recruiting tool for The Citadel, the meet has quickly become a premier event among high school JROTC units. Roy is the recipient of the Good Conduct Award and earned placement on the Commandant’s List for outstanding military and academic achievement 

Clawson became The Citadel’s first sports medicine director 36 years ago and continues to serve the college and its athletes with enthusiasm and selflessness. A native of El Dorado, Ark., Clawson received both his bachelor’s and master’s in education and physical education from Henderson State. In 2002, he was recognized by his alma mater with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Clawson has been recognized with the Charleston Metro Sports Council’s Achievement Award, the Fred Hoover Award, the highest sports medicine-related honor given in the state of South Carolina; and The Citadel’s Outstanding Service Award. Clawson also has served as athletic trainer for the 1976 USA Basketball Team Olympic Trials and volunteered his services for the 1996 Special Olympic World Games.

Harrison Carter

Carter joined The Citadel family in July 1999 as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college. He served as the catalyst for the establishment of the freshman seminar, Citadel 101, and he served as the institution’s representative for the founding of the Lowcountry Graduate Center. Carter has spearheaded institutional accreditation efforts for the college, its academic programs and The Citadel’s intercollegiate athletics programs. He also led a reorganization effort which resulted in the establishment of five academic schools at The Citadel. With that reorganization, he became the first provost and dean of the college.

A graduate of Georgia Southern University, the United States International University and the University of Georgia, Carter served on active duty as a naval officer during the Vietnam Era and completed 21 years of service in the Georgia Air National Guard. In 2004, he returned to teaching, serving a short time as interim provost. Carter teaches statistics and leadership courses in the School of Business Administration and was named director of Academic Leadership Programs.