June 6, 2022 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
“HPEB is like a family, and I love working here,” says Wendy Clemmer, grants administrator for the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB). “This is by far the best job I have ever had.
Hailing from Lexington, South Carolina and currently in the final stages of completing her third UofSC degree, Clemmer is a lifelong Gamecock. She used her first two degrees (B.A. in Education, M.Ed. in Education Administration) to teach elementary students for 14 years, and then decided to pursue her long-time interest of working in finance.
“Back in my early college days I worked as a bookkeeper,” Clemmer says. “I really enjoyed making sure the company budget was balanced and that everything was paid and accurate.”
Writing proposals can be stressful, and I like to think that I can help the process be just a little bit easier. I feel really proud when a grant that I worked on is funded because I know what it means to our faculty, and I’m happy that I was able to be a part of that.
-Wendy Clemmer, grant and account manager for the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
Her first position at UofSC was with the College of Nursing, where she worked with a faculty member on a large R01 award. Clemmer was fascinated with the entire grant lifecycle process and was fully hooked after completing the Gamecock Research Administrators Network Training (GRANT) Certificate Program sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.
“The most influential thing that led me to accept my current position was the extremely positive things people had to say about public health,” she says. “When I told friends around the university that I was offered a job with the Arnold School, they overwhelmingly encouraged me to take it. They were right. This is a great place to be.”
For the past two years, Clemmer has supported HPEB and the South Carolina SmartState Center for Healthcare Quality (led by HPEB professor and SmartState Endowed Chair of Clinical Translational Research Xiaoming Li) with their pre- and post-award actions. Her daily activities include tracking spending, paying bills and hiring new employees, but her favorite part of the job is pre-award planning.
“I love a good budget and helping faculty members create a really strong proposal,” Clemmer says. “Writing proposals can be stressful, and I like to think that I can help the process be just a little bit easier. I feel really proud when a grant that I worked on is funded because I know what it means to our faculty, and I’m happy that I was able to be a part of that.”
Always learning, Clemmer is just three classes away from completing an MBA at UofSC Aiken. After graduating in December, she’ll have even more knowledge to apply to her impactful work.
“I love the Gamecocks and love being able to say that I work here,” she says. “I am lucky to work with so many amazing people. We are a really close team and are lucky to have Dr. Daniela Friedman as our department chair and Maria Sophocleous as our business and HR manager.”
The feeling is mutual.
“Wendy’s brilliance and affinity for finance matches her collegiality, commitment to HPEB, and great sense of humor,” says Sophocleous, who works closely with Clemmer. “Wendy brings excellence to our department and her kindness and warmth touches everyone every day. We love working with Wendy very much! She is wonderful!”
The Staff Spotlight Series is sponsored by the Arnold School's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.