Jim Frederick PhD.
Dr. Frederick has been a research scientist and Extension educator with Clemson University for over 35 years. Born and raised in the outdoors of Pennsylvania, Dr. Frederick attended Penn State University and the University of Illinois prior to his employment with Clemson. His fields of study included the environment, natural resources, agriculture, and, of course, education. Dr. Frederick’s youth mentorship interests and experiences grew throughout the years. An Eagle Scout himself, Dr. Frederick served as a scout leader while his two sons were growing up in Florence. He coached youth basketball and baseball for the YMCA, city, and church leagues during this time. He was also actively involved in his church’s Sunday school and church sport programs. While with Clemson University, Dr. Frederick oversaw the community education programs at the Clemson Pee Dee Research and Education Center (REC) near Florence. He arranged and gave tours of the Pee Dee REC programs to the public, with visitors ranging in age from kindergarten to adults in their 80s. In the early 2000s, Dr. Frederick started the Outdoor Education Trail (OET) at the Clemson Pee Dee REC that was visited by thousands each year, including school field trips and by groups such as Boy and Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, the SC Ag Education Program. He organized the Clemson Saturday Outdoor Discovery Days which were family events open to the public. The OET was used weekly by the Choices Alternative School for at-risk youth as a site for community service projects and was the initial site for the Run for Brighter Days 5K and 10K benefit races, organized by the Jonathan Foundation. The OET was also used for summer camps hosted by different state agencies and was the host site for the Grow Your Own Future Program for disadvantaged middle schools, organized by the SC Dept. of Commerce and Dr. Frederick. Throughout the decades, Dr. Frederick also mentored many high-school and college students as part of his research programs. He served as a mentor for FSD1 students for several years. In 2024 he received South Carolina’s two highest environmental education awards for his efforts.
As a part of his current responsibilities, Dr. Frederick develops science-based curriculums for public schools. His two recent pilot programs include the Research Courtyard Program, and the Outdoor Engagement Center located at the Darlington Middle School. He works with the teachers and all of the students at the Middle School on these programs each year. Just prior to COVID, he partnered with the Families Engagement Organization to start a pilot mentoring program for at-risk students at the Darlington Middle School, which served as the foundation for the Brighter Futures Mentoring Program initiated this past winter. Dr. Frederick has also had the privilege of serving for many years on the Board of Directors for both the Jonathan Foundation and the Families Engagement Organizations.