- Education
- BS, Ceramic Engineering — Georgia Institute of TechnologyJuris Doctor — University of South CarolinaMember, South Carolina Bar
- Recognition
- Georgia Tech Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni, 2003“Solid Image Award”
- Boards
- The HSC FoundationNational Caucus & Center on Black Aged, Inc.Georgia Tech External Advisory Board, School of Materials Science and Engineering
Commissioner William Clyburn, Jr.
President William J. Clinton appointed William Clyburn, Jr. on December 18, 1998, to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (formerly the Interstate Commerce Commission), a bipartisan, federal agency charged primarily with the economic regulation of the railroad industry. Mr. Clyburn was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate and served until December 31, 2001.
The Commissioner has experience in all three branches of government and has spent over 20 years in Washington, D.C. He has developed an extensive bipartisan network among Members and senior staff within the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, as well senior staff in executive branch offices. He also has strong ties to various state and local-elected officials.
Commissioner Clyburn currently serves on the board of directors of the HSC Foundation, which is dedicated to improving access to health services for underserved groups living with disabilities and chronic illness, and the National Caucus & Center on Black Aged, Inc. (NCBA), a non-profit organization focused on enhancing the quality of life for low-income elderly.
Mr. Clyburn previously served as senior counsel to U.S. Senator Zell Miller. He devised strategies for securing Airport Improvement Program (AIP) appropriations for airports, interfaced with the Department of Homeland Security to address improving the efficiency of airport security lines, and promoted the provision of state-of-the-art in-line explosive detection systems for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He advised the Senator on major infrastructure development projects, as well as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and other commerce issues.
At the time of his appointment, Mr. Clyburn had served as the Commerce Counsel to U.S. Senator Charles S. Robb of Virginia, where he was responsible for advising the Senator on education policy, science and technology initiatives, chemical manufacturing, electricity deregulation, federal preemption proposals and Senate Commerce Committee issues such as consumer affairs, telecommunications, and tort reform.
Prior to joining Senator Robb’s personal staff, he was the surface transportation staff counsel with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He organized Senatorial hearings before the Surface Transportation Subcommittee, and advised the Committee Members on technology and transportation legislation.
Before beginning his work on Capitol Hill, Mr. Clyburn was a law clerk for the Honorable Rodney A. Peeples, Circuit Court Judge for the Second and Ninth Circuits, South Carolina.
Before attending law school, Mr. Clyburn performed engineering duties at Westinghouse’s Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) in Aiken, South Carolina. At SRL, he conducted pioneering research under the instruction of Dr. George Wicks on the feasibility of immobilizing high-level radioactive waste into borosilicate glass matrices.
Mr. Clyburn received his undergraduate degree in Ceramic Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina, and is a member of the South Carolina Bar.
Mr. Clyburn was inducted into Georgia Tech’s prestigious Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni in 2003 and has served on the university’s External Advisory Board of the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Mr. Clyburn has taught a college-level course on public speaking, and still manages time to tutor chemistry and mathematics while volunteering as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) mentor to inner-city youth. He has been recognized for his community work and public policy contributions with a “Solid Image Award.”
Mr. Clyburn and his wife live in the Nation’s Capital and enjoy raising their two children.