Philip Hunter Prince

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Philip Hunter Prince is a former Clemson football player who played on Coach Frank Howard's teams from 1944 to 1948. He later served for eleven months as Clemson University's twelfth president in the 1994-1995 academic year. He is an emeritus of the Board of Trustees.

Biography

Prince was born in Bostic, North Carolina on August 4, 1926 to Walter E. and Mary Palmer Prince. He attended schools in Erwin, Tennessee and received an athletic scholarship to attend Clemson College in 1944.

His time at Clemson was interrupted by service in the US Army from 1944-1945. Returning to Clemson, he distinguished himself as a member of the [[]], Tiger Brotherhood, and Alpha Phi Omega as well as being Co-captain of the 1948 Football Team which won the 1949 Gator Bowl and Vice President of the 1949 Senior Class. Upon graduation, he signed with the New York Giants football team, playing in about five games, while attending graduate school, but a shoulder separation saw him finish out the season with the New Jersey Giants farm team, and although he was asked back the following year, he opted to focus on school and getting married. He attended Columbia University and Kings College prior to additional service in the Army in 1950-1951. Prince worked for Milliken Company in various management and executive position between 1951 and 1967 and then served as vice president of the firm. In 1978, he became Senior Vice President of American Express Company. In 1983, he accepted a similar position with Synco Property, Inc. in Charlotte until his retirement in 1985.

Phil Prince has a distinguished record of service as a Clemson alumnus servicing on the Board of Visitors in 1971, Alumni National Council 1974-1976. Beginning in 1982, Prince served on the Board of the Clemson Foundation becoming its President in 1989. That year, the Clemson Life Trustees elected him to become a Life Trustee. He had received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1983 and the Clemson Medallion in 1989.

With the resignation of Clemson President Max Lennon in February of 1994, the Board of Trustees chose Prince to serve as Acting President. Prince served for eleven months and was named President by the Board on September 30, 1994May 1995.

The Philip H. Prince Alumni Presidential Scholarship is a Scholarship sponsored by Clemson University. The Prince Award for Innovation in Teaching is an annual award named for Clemson President Emeritus Philip Prince and recognizes outstanding teachers who demonstrate creative and novel teaching methods in the classroom.

Prince married Celeste Orr, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1950. She died Saturday, December 20, 2008, at the age of 80. They have two sons, Kevin and James.

Football

On the gridiron he is most remembered for a blocked punt against South Carolina in 1948. The Tigers scored a touchdown off the block and it proved to be the winning points in Clemson's 13-7 win. The win over the Gamecocks was the most major victory in Clemson's undefeated 1948 season, Clemson's first unbeaten season in 48 years. Prince was a starting tackle and co-captain on that team that concluded the season with Gator Bowl and Southern Conference championships. Prior to the 1948 season, Prince also started as a junior in 1947 and as a first-year freshmen in 1944.

References

-Jerome V. Reel Jr.; Mercer: Macon GA, 1998, pp. 282-300. Information on his pro football career drawn from Luther Gaillard's article, "Phil Prince Recalls His Grid Years at Clemson", Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Spartanburg, South Carolina, Sunday, 29 June 1969, Volume 97, Number 28, page B-1. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19690629&id=33ssAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2cwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6981,4782397

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Preceded by: Max Lennon Presidents of Clemson Succeeded by: Constantine William Curris