Gloria Sanders McCutcheon boasts a long and distinguished history with Clemson University. As a child, she participated in statewide 4H competitions held on campus. Later, McCutcheon received both her bachelor and master’s degrees from Clemson. Ultimately, she achieved Professor Emeritus status after more than thirty years of teaching and research at Clemson University. In this interview, McCutcheon discusses her times as a student, the challenges she faced, her research, and her career at Clemson.
A native of Denmark, South Carolina, McCutcheon majored in stem, a field where she was typically the only Black student and often the only woman. Despite this, she enjoyed her classwork. She had professors who helped her, and students, she said, were largely friendly. Some even appreciated the diversity she brought to the class. Still, there were others who were not welcoming. On her first day at Clemson, McCutcheon recalls that her roommate did not want to room with her because she was Black – and demanded she leave the room daily. In another incident, McCutcheon decorated her dorm room door with a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a group of male students ripped it down calling King the n-word.
Despite such instances, McCutcheon found joy in participating in activities such as the Clemson Players and the Student League for Black Identity (SLBI). She also recalls the university providing a house for Black students to gather and hold activities. Beyond this, Black students found support in the larger Black communities of Clemson and Seneca.
McCutcheon graduated Clemson in 1972 and began her career at Clemson shortly thereafter. She later received her master’s degree from Clemson in 1978. Her Ph.D. studies were conducted at the University of Georgia. Her greatest accomplishments at Clemson, she said, involved her students and their work. She now teaches at Claflin University.