{{Short description|American educator and activist (1914–2001)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Clarice Cross Bagwell | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|12|15}} | birth_place = [[Pickens County, Georgia|Pickens County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|09|26|1914|12|15}} | death_place = [[Cumming, Georgia|Cumming]], Georgia, U.S. | resting_place = Cherokee Memorial Park<br/>[[Canton, Georgia|Canton]], Georgia | other_names = | occupation = Teacher | alma_mater = [[Georgia State University]]<br/>[[University of Georgia]]<br/>[[West Georgia College]] | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''Clarice Cross Bagwell''' (December 15, 1914 – September 26, 2001<ref name="bagwells-clarice-cross">{{cite web |title=Person Page - Clarice Cross |url=http://bagwells.com/p273.htm#i8349 |website=bagwells.com |access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref>) was an American educator and activist. She was the first woman in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] to serve as [[Jury#Composition|forewoman]] of a [[grand jury]],{{efn|The grand jury was empaneled in [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee County]].}} as well as one of the first [[special education]] teachers in the state of Georgia and the first in [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb County]]. She studied at [[Georgia State University]], the [[University of Georgia]], and [[West Georgia College]].<ref name="gwa-bagwell">{{cite web |title=Clarice Cross Bagwell |url=https://www.georgiawomen.org/bagwell-cross-clarice |publisher=Georgia Women of Achievement |access-date=14 December 2020 |date=2020}}</ref> Bagwell also was president of the [[Georgia Parent Teacher Association]] and sat on the [[board of directors]] of the national [[Parent Teacher Association|PTA]]. Working for the PTA's Committee on International Relations, she visited Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and the USSR on goodwill and outreach missions.
Bagwell was born on December 15, 1914, in Pickens County, Georgia. She married chemist and teacher Leland Horace Bagwell,{{efn|Born 18 September 1913; died 1 October 1972.}} sometime after 1930. They had two children, David Leland Bagwell{{efn|Born 8 February 1943, died 18 May 1967.}} and Thomas Nathan Bagwell. Leland was the founder and CEO of American Proteins, founded in 1949 as the North Georgia Rendering Company; after his death in 1972 she became the company's chairman of the board and co-owner and ran it alongside their son, Tommy Bagwell. American Proteins would become the largest [[poultry renderer]] in the country before being purchased by [[Tyson Foods]] in 2018 for $850{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="tyson-pr-worth">{{cite web |last1=Sparkman |first1=Worth |title=Tyson Foods Builds on its Commitment to Sustainability through Acquisition of American Proteins and AMPRO Products Assets |url=https://www.tysonfoods.com/news/news-releases/2018/5/tyson-foods-builds-its-commitment-sustainability-through-acquisition |website=Tyson Foods |access-date=14 December 2020 |date=15 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="paglia-fcn">{{cite news |last1=Paglia |first1=Brian |title=Tyson Foods to acquire American Proteins and AMPRO Products Assets |url=https://www.forsythnews.com/local/business/tyson-foods-acquire-american-proteins-and-ampro-products-assets/ |access-date=14 December 2020 |work=[[Forsyth County News]] |date=15 May 2018}}</ref> Bagwell never took a salary for her work.
Despite not being an alumna, Bagwell was a strong supporter of [[Kennesaw State University]], where she served as a trustee for 18 years, was in charge of the KSU Foundation's Special Projects Committee, and in 1997 received the first [[honorary doctorate|honorary doctorate of humane letters]] bestowed by the school.<ref>{{USCongRec|1997|E1347|date=June 27, 1997}}</ref> In 1996,<ref name="whitmire-fcn-2017">{{cite news |last1=Whitmire |first1=Kelly |title=New center at KSU named for local donors |url=https://www.forsythnews.com/local/new-center-ksu-named-local-donors/ |access-date=14 December 2020 |work=[[Forsyth County News]] |date=17 October 2017}}</ref> the Bagwell family-owned American Proteins donated $2{{nbsp}}million worth of land, {{convert|680|acres|ha}} in [[Bartow County]], to the KSU Foundation,<ref name="ksu-news-2016">{{cite web |title=Education building named for Chantal and Tommy Bagwell |url=https://news.kennesaw.edu/stories/2016/bagwell_building_naming.php |website=KSU News |publisher=Kennesaw State University |access-date=14 December 2020 |date=19 October 2016}}</ref> its largest gift at the time; the university's [[Bagwell College of Education]]{{efn|Formally the Leland H. and Clarice C. Bagwell College of Education.}} is named in both her and her husband's honor,<ref name="ksu-bagwell-about">{{cite web |title=About BCOE |url=https://bagwell.kennesaw.edu/about/index.php |website=Bagwell College of Education |publisher=Kennesaw State University |access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref> and the KSU Foundation's Bagwell Medal for Distinguished Service, established in 1991,<ref name="kudos-ksu-mdj">{{cite news |title=Kudos to KSU |work=Marietta Daily Journal |date=24 June 1997}}</ref> is named after Clarice.
Additionally, Bagwell was a charter member of the [[Georgia Conservancy]], the [[Georgia Federation of Business]], and the [[Professional Women's Club]]; was appointed by three governors to Georgia's [[State Crimes Commission]]; initiated Cherokee County's first roadside park program along [[Georgia State Route 20|SR{{nbsp}}20]]; and served as president of the [[Georgia Legislative Forum]] and a chairperson on the [[National Council on Crime and Delinquency]].
Bagwell received commendations from the [[American Cancer Society]], the [[Community Concert Association]], and the [[Heart Association]]. In March 2020, Bagwell was added to the [[Georgia Women of Achievement]] Hall of Fame.<ref name="rollins-mt-2020">{{cite news |last1=Rollins |first1=Ivia |title=Four trailblazers to be honored by Georgia Women of Achievement |url=https://www.macon.com/positively/happenings/article240882471.html |access-date=14 December 2020 |work=[[The Macon Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=9 March 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Clarice Cross Bagwell headstone.jpg|thumb|Bagwell's headstone in Canton, Georgia]] Bagwell died on September 26, 2001, in Cumming, Georgia, at the age of 86.<ref name="ajc-obit-bagwell">{{cite news |title=Family-Placed Death Notices: Bagwell |work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date=28 September 2001 |page=D14}}</ref>
==Footnotes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Georgia Women of Achievement}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagwell, Clarice}} [[Category:1914 births]] [[Category:2001 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American educators]] [[Category:Kennesaw State University people]] [[Category:Georgia State University alumni]] [[Category:University of Georgia alumni]] [[Category:University of West Georgia alumni]]