Scholars Walk and The Hardin Family Garden
Winthrop’s pedestrian-oriented campus encourages walking and biking in general, with its serpentine streets, brick crosswalks and infusion of special places-- some built to encourage casual interactions, others for individual quiet reflection.
As a homage to the British tradition admired by Winthrop’s founder, Dr. David Bancroft Johnson, the central promenade of the Winthrop campus is now known as Scholars Walk. Symbolically, Scholars Walk connects Winthrop’s humble beginnings – the Little Chapel where Dr. Johnson and his wife are entombed – to its future: a vibrant new heart of campus where major facilities are joined by special green spaces. Scholars Walk’s creation was incremental, advanced as each new heart of campus facility was created – in much the way scholars advance toward their degrees with each successive academic experience.
The culminating destination of Scholars Walk is The Hardin Family Garden, completed in Spring 2011, and made possible with the support of a generous and multi-faceted gift to Winthrop from alumna Patricia “Patz” Carter and her husband, Ray. In addition to providing scholarships and faculty support for Winthrop’s Department of Design, the Carters’ gift designated that the garden be named for the Hardin Family, which traces its Rock Hill roots back several decades, and includes several members of the extended Winthrop University family.
The Hardin Family Garden was designed to celebrate the “Golden Section,” a principle drawn from and reflected in nature, with teaching and learning applications in art and design, math, science, architecture, and many other disciplines. The principle, also called “the Golden Mean” or the “Divine Proportion,” can be seen in the Pyramids of Egypt, Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as the proportionality of the human body, most flowers, and many other living things. That facet of the design makes the Garden a place for teaching and learning in a variety of disciplines, as well as a place that inspires quiet conversation, individual reflection and dedication for excellence – all part of life in the Winthrop community of learners.
