I hope this is the case. Board members need to embrace their role as fundraisers and ambassadors for the University. I'm curious to know which relationships she helped advance or which gifts she helped close. Did the admin get to dangle an audience with her as a perk of a giving at certain level? My (somewhat educated) guess is that Clemson's endowment reaching that arbitrary milestone has more to do with sustained success focus on fundraising over the last decade- especially planned giving(estate gifts, charitable remainder trusts, etc) + extremely favorable markets during the same time period.
Clemson's last two Presidents have been good fundraisers and have positioned the university for long term success while the in-state rival shines as a cautionary tale. Soda City University won't ever rise above mediocrity because of the utter lack of vision and leadership.
I hope that Haley emulates David Wilkens- who, much like Dabo & Co on the recruiting trail- does his work quietly- behind the scenes. Several posters above mentioned Wilkens- but he hasn't gotten enough credit for Clemson's success.
