Ann Harvin Whetstone Hunter ’80, M ’82

The Clemson Alumni Association presented Ann Harvin Whetstone Hunter of Greenwood, South Carolina with the 2018 Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest honor for a Clemson graduate.

“The Distinguished Service Award allows us to take time to recognize a few truly remarkable members of the Clemson family, and

Ann Hunter is certainly one of those,” said Clemson University President James P. Clements. “Ann has committed countless hours to serving Clemson University and her community. We are proud of Ann and the example of service she sets for all of us.”

Hunter grew up in St. Matthews, was the valedictorian at Calhoun Academy and attended Clemson University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1980 and a master’s degree in 1982, both in chemical engineering. She was a member of the Joint Engineering Council and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) student chapter, and met her husband, Wilson Hunter ’79, through AIChE. She worked for Union Carbide Corp. before her daughter was born.

Hunter and her brother, Jack ’75, M ’78, inherited and now manage a timber farm and she is a member of the South Carolina and Greenwood County forestry associations.

Hunter is committed to supporting Clemson, evidenced by her participation on many Clemson boards. She has held several positions in the Greater Greenwood Clemson Club and served on the Alumni National Council and the board of directors of the Clemson Alumni Association, where she was president in 2014-16. She has also served as an IPTAY representative and on the IPTAY board of directors, The Will to Lead capital campaign athletic cabinet, the Clemson University Foundation board of directors, the Board of Visitors, the Athletic Council and the Women’s Alumni Council.

In 2009, Hunter was named the Clemson Alumni Association’s Volunteer of the Year, and the Clemson Alumni Association Leadership Endowment is named for her. The men’s coaches’ locker room at Littlejohn Coliseum and the trophy case at the Allen N. Reeves Football Operations Complex are also named for Hunter. As a member of the Richard W. Simpson Society and the Clemson Legacy Society, her support has included a Scroll of Honor memorial to honor her dad and her husband’s uncle.

Hunter’s commitment to her community has included being president of Greenwood High School’s PTO and twice named its Volunteer of the Year. She has also served First Greenwood Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Greenwood Food Bank. As a Girl Scout leader for 25 years, Hunter is a life member of GSUSA and was named Volunteer of the Year for the Greenwood Girl Scout Service Unit in 1988. She has also served as president of the Danse de Noel Assembly.

The prestigious Clemson Alumni Distinguished Service Award is based on three main criteria: personal and professional accomplishments, dedication and service to Clemson University, and devotion to community and public service. Members of the Clemson family nominate potential winners, who are then selected by the Clemson Alumni Association as outstanding alumni, public servants and examples to others.

“Ann has participated at the highest level of service and giving with Clemson and in her community,” writes Leslie Callison, ’81, a 2017 Distinguished Service Award honoree. “She has been publicly recognized through the Clemson Alumni Association Leadership Endowment established in her name, in addition to numerous leadership and volunteer awards, yet Ann not only serves in high-profile positions, but also quietly rolls up her sleeves to work locally, in Clemson and across the state when there is a need.”

The Hunters live in Greenwood. They have one daughter, Rebecca Hunter Patrick ’07, a son-in-law, John Patrick ’04, and one grandson, Hunter.