Forty years ago, a story in the Saturday Evening Post praised Clemson University for achieving what other Southern universities had failed: "integration with dignity."

When African-American architecture student Harvey Gantt walked out of Tillman Hall on his first day of class in 1963, absent were the violent protests seen at the University of Mississippi months before.

Gantt's story - how he moved on to become the first black mayor of Charlotte, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and a partner in one of the city's most successful architectural firms -- is a source of pride for Clemson University and South Carolina.

But Clemson still is struggling to give meaning to the legacy school officials will honor today, the anniversary of Gantt's enrollment.

The school that was the first of South Carolina's public colleges to integrate has remained one of its least integrated.

School officials say they're trying to attract more black students through new, innovative programs, but rising academic standards and geographical isolation - the school is in a small, rural, overwhelmingly white town - make it difficult.

In a state where 30 percent of the population is black, observers and state officials say Clemson can do better and must now put words into action.

Behind others

Clemson was on the cutting edge in South Carolina when it admitted Gantt, a Charleston native who transferred from Iowa State University.

Since then, it has lagged behind other state schools.

Black enrollment at Clemson has averaged around 6 percent to 7 percent since 1970. Undergraduate enrollment of blacks peaked at about 8 percent in 1993 but slid to about 7 percent in the fall of 2001.

By comparison, black students made up 16 percent of students attending Columbia's University of South Carolina.

Overall, the state's four-year institutions maintained more than 14 percent African-American enrollment in 2001.

Some black students at Clemson say they'd like to see a change.

Natalie Odom, a senior majoring in management, said the lack of diversity at the Upstate campus takes some getting used to.

"I love it here because I'm very involved, but freshman year, I hated it," she said. "It can be slightly intimidating."

Beyond their control

Clemson officials say the low numbers are troubling but maintain the problem is largely out of their control.

Some say the biggest reason Clemson isn't attracting black candidates is because there aren't enough already there.

Dennis Pruitt, vice president for student and alumni affairs at USC, said having a significant number of minorities draws other students to the Columbia campus.

"We're really blessed because we integrated fast and furiously and developed a critical mass of [minority] students pretty quickly," he said.

At Clemson, Kirby said increased academic standards are to blame for recent drops in minority enrollment.

One way Clemson is fashioning itself into an elite institution is by raising its mean SAT score, which topped 1200 for entering freshman last fall.

The mean SAT score for blacks in South Carolina in 2002 was 839, compared with 1034 for whites.

'It's not rocket science'

Others say rigorous standards aren't an excuse.

"I don't buy the notion that you can't have diversity and excellence," said Frank Matthews, a Clemson alumnus and publisher of the journal Black Issues in Higher Education.

Matthews said schools such as Georgia Tech and N.C. State have found ways to boost minority enrollment without sacrificing standards.

"It's not rocket science," he said. "What it takes is a real commitment, and that needs to be put into practice."