Thomas Clanton, MS, PhD
Department Chair, Sport Management864.977.7780
thomas.clanton@ngu.edu
Unit: Sport Management, College of Business and Entrepreneurship
Location: Tigerville
"There is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and good for life in the future than some good memory, especially a memory of childhood, of home. People talk to you a great deal about your education, but some good, sacred memory, preserved from childhood, is perhaps the best education. If a man carries many such memories with him into life, he is safe to the end of his days, and if one has only one good memory left in one���s heart, even that may sometime be the means of saving us." - Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Research Interests
Sport and Recreation within a Faith-Based Context, Sport and Positive Youth Development, The Bicycle as a Positive Youth Development Mechanism, Community Wellbeing
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Teaching & Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
2021Dissertation Title: Examining Religious and Spiritual Commitment Across Late-Adolescence and Young Adulthood
Master of Science in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
2013Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
2012 -
Professional Experience
Director of Youth and Missions
Easley Presbyterian Church
2014-2018 -
Selected Publications
Pinckney, H.P., Clanton, T. Garst, B., & Powell, G. (2020). Faith-based organizations: Oft��� overlooked youth development zones. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 38(1). doi: 10.18666/JPRA-2019-8232
Bowers, E. P., Winburn, E., Sandoval, A., & Clanton, T. (2020). Culturally relevant strengths and positive development in high achieving youth of color. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 70, doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101182
Garst, B. A., Clanton, T., White, D., Dickes, L., Griffin, S., & Gagnon, R. (2021).
Benchmarking South Carolina recreation providers’ role in addressing summertime food insecurity. Recreation, Parks, & Tourism in Public Health, 5(1), 5-36. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/820581Garst, B. A., Gagnon, R. J., Clanton, T., & Woodward, J. (2021). Cultivating Youth Affinity for College Within the Context of Campus-Based Summer Camps. Journal of Youth Development, 16(5), 64-85. doi: 10.5195/jyd.2021.1083
Clanton, T., Chancellor, H. C., Pinckney IV, H. V., Balidemaj, V., & Hadiandehkordi, P. (2021). Bicycling as a Positive Youth Development Mechanism. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 40(3).
Clanton, T., Chancellor, C., Pinckney, H., & Balidemaj, V. (2023). Examining Youth Bicycle Programming Through the Empowerment-Based Youth Development Model. Journal of Youth Development, 18(1), 4.
Chancellor, C., Romans, T. S., Clanton, T., Rhodes, T., & Park, S. (2025). Strengthening Active Transportation Through Small Grants. Future Transportation, 5(3), 84.
Clanton, T., Chancellor, C., Park, S., & Rhodes, T. (2025). Applying the Benefits-Based Programming Model to Advance Community Well-Being through Cycling. International Journal of Community Well-Being, 1-21.

