Patricia “Patti” McAbee HA ’03
Patricia “Patti” McAbee HA ’03
Trailblazing role model. Champion for tigers.
Patricia “Patti” McAbee of Greenville is “all in” for Clemson and for tigers.
Patti is the first woman to serve on the University’s Board of Trustees, beginning with her election by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1993. She has been reelected consistently since then and was the only female Trustee for 18 years.
A native of Ware Shoals, Patti earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the College of Charleston and completed a postgraduate certificate in arts management from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. She also completed Leadership South Carolina and Palmetto Leadership. She was named an Honorary Alumna of Clemson in 2003.
Patti’s professional career began in McCormick, where she raised her family. As founder and executive director of the McCormick Arts Council and the MACK Endowment Fund, she developed a thriving multidisciplinary arts organization. Expanding across the state, she led strategic initiatives and capital fundraising campaigns for numerous nonprofits, ranging from the Piedmont Leadership Center at Piedmont Technical College to Greenville’s Tourism Leadership Council. She founded Patti McAbee Consulting Inc., where she continues to support nonprofit organizations. Additionally, she was a primary church organist for more than 25 years.
Inspired by her mother’s example, Patti’s many volunteer roles, include serving on the boards of the ETV Endowment of South Carolina, the Greenville Chorale, The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina, Upstate Forever, Greenville Women Giving, the South Carolina Arts Alliance, Ten at the Top, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and Friends of the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts.
Patti was presented The Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina. Other of her numerous recognitions include Clemson University’s Distinguished Contributor Award from the Commission on Women and the Trailblazer Award from the Clemson Women’s Council.
Clemson’s mascot, the Tiger, has special meaning to Patti. In support of the Tigers United University Consortium, she and her husband, orthopaedic surgeon Thomas Eison, were members of a Clemson-led team of philanthropists, researchers and wildlife activists who traveled to India to see tigers in the wild and to learn about the challenges that are endangering them and what can be done to save them. She also is deeply invested in the stewardship of the Clemson University Forest, Clemson’s Historic Properties and the Lee Gallery.
Patti and Tommy have established two endowed scholarships at Clemson and contribute to athletics through IPTAY. They have three sons and four grandchildren. Their granddaughter, Mattie McAbee, is a current Clemson freshman.