Posted 3/4/2008

Martha Kime Piper Award honors
former Arnold School Dean

CLEMSON – Dr. Donna Richter, a professor and former dean of the Arnold School of Public Health, is the 2008 recipient of the Martha Kime Piper Award.

The award honors the first woman president of a public higher education institution in South Carolina. South Carolina Women in Higher Education (SCWHE) presents the award annually to recognize a woman with an outstanding record of advancing and supporting women in higher education in South Carolina.

Dr. Donna Richter

SCWHE is a statewide organization that is part of the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education.

Each year, all academic institutions across South Carolina present nominees for this award, with only one woman selected for this honor. USC President Dr. Andrew Sorensen nominated Richter for the 2008 award.

Dr. and Mrs. Sorensen also were present when Richter received the award on March 1 during a ceremony at Clemson University.

Richter, who is now executive director of the South Carolina Public Health Institute (SCPHI), was dean of the Arnold School from December 2003 to August 2007. Based at USC, the SCPHI serves as a catalyst in promoting collaboration and innovation in addressing public health challenges and emerging threats.

Dr. Martha Kime Piper was the first female president of Winthrop College (now Winthrop University) from 1986 until her premature death from cancer in 1988.