Amenities and Services*

* These services are subject to change at any time and should not be considered a contract between the employee and Winthrop University.

Why join the Winthrop family?  The following are some of the amenities and services available to Winthrop employees:

Arts and Entertainment

The university hosts numerous performances and exhibits during the school year that are free or offered for reduced admission with a campus I.D.  Classes are offered for a fee to employees and their families. 

• Art exhibitions and lectures   
• DiGiorgio Student Union events — comedians, musicians, dancers, poets, movies, and lecturers  
• Foreign film series
• Music, theatre and dance productions www.winthrop.edu/arts/  
• Readings by poets and authors

Banking Facilities

Automatic teller machines are available for use on the main level of the DiGiorgio Campus Center, on the back porch of Margaret Nance Hall, and on Myrtle Drive outside Dinkins Hall. 

Bookstore

The Bookstore at Winthrop University sells school supplies, textbooks, imprinted clothing and gifts, general books and faculty-authored books. Faculty and staff may place special orders for general books or supplies not in stock.  The Bookstore offers a 30 percent discount every day on The New York Times best sellers.  Faculty may order/rent graduation regalia from The Bookstore.   Faculty and staff receive a 10 percent discount on most items purchased at The Bookstore.

Community Activities

Winthrop coordinates and joins area community agencies to host the following events:

• Convocation and Community Picnic — the opening of the academic year
• Kwanzaa - celebrating the "First Fruits" tradition of agrarian cultures in Africa
• More than a Month - goes beyond Black History Month to celebrate diversity and achievements of distinguished African Americans
• Christmasville - Rock Hill's holiday festival
• Come See Me - the largest all-volunteer festival in South Carolina celebrates the community and spring

Educational Opportunities

• Winthrop sponsors an Employee Educational Assistance Program which grants tuition waivers for eligible employees.
• The application for undergraduate admission will be processed by the Office of Admissions.  Complete information on the application process is available online.  Post-admissions services are offered by admissions staff and University College.
• The Center for Professional Excellence sponsors on-campus professional development seminars.
• The W.I.L.L. program (Winthrop Invests in Lifelong Learning), through Academic Affairs, provides an ongoing reading and computer skills program for staff.
• Vocational/career guidance is available to employees and their immediate family members through Winthrop's Center for Career Development and Internships.   
• The Academy of Music provides music instruction in piano, guitar, percussion, voice, violin, viola, and wind instruments to children in pre-K to 12th grade.  Pre-school children can participate in Kindermusik, a national curriculum designed to stimulate a child's cognitive, social, language, physical and emotional development through music.

Employee Benefits & Services

• Winthrop offers direct deposits to off-campus bank accounts and payroll deductions for approved loans and various 401K, 403B and 457 retirement plans.
• Flexible spending accounts are available for medical and dependent care expenses.  A Health Savings Plan is offered with a high-deductible health insurance plan.
• The State of South Carolina offers sick and annual leave to eligible state employees.  Bereavement leave and military leave are also available for eligible employees.
• Eligible employees can obtain state health and dental insurance, life insurance, dependent life insurance, and long-term disability insurance.
• Winthrop observes 13 paid holidays each year.
• Winthrop University is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Employee Discounts 

All Winthrop employees are eligible to receive discounts provided by local and national merchants as part of our PerksConnect program, https://winthrop.perksconnection.com/, using our group code: WU18.  Employees must create a username and signup using these instructions.  There is an app that can be downloaded to your phone through these steps.  Employees can subscribe to the listserv for emails regarding current specials at http://asap.winthrop.edu/distributionlist.  More information for vendors wishing to offer discounts.

Winthrop Dining Services

You can enjoy a wide variety of delicious food including national brands such as Chick-fil-A, Einstein Bros. Farmer's Field, Simply to Go, Starbucks, The Grill, Tres Habaneros, and Subway.  Thomson Caf is a residential restaurant featuring home-style entrees, fresh veggies and other great options.  The Eagle's Nest offers upscale dining at the Winthrop Coliseum.

Dining Services also operates an on-campus convenience store - the Eagle Express in Thomson Hall.  This store features grab and go items, snacks, groceries, Sushi with Gusto, personal items and more.

Employees need not worry about carrying around cash by purchasing Caf Cash.  By adding Caf Cash to your personal account, you can make purchases at any dining service location on campus - including Eagle Express - by simply presenting your Winthrop ID to the cashier.  Alternatively, all campus dining locations accept cash and credit cards (MasterCard or Visa).

For locations, hours of operation and menus, please visit the Dining Services website.   

 

Library

Ida Jane Dacus Library houses all of the university's library holdings and archives, and offers a wide range of services to faculty and staff including reference, interlibrary loan, library instruction, laptops, iPads, Kindles, online database searches and closed carrels (with Internet access) for faculty research projects. In addition to the Dacus Online Catalog (DOC) the library also supports wireless access throughout the building and offers Internet accessible study carrels.  More than 100 databases are available electronically, and more than 500,000 volumes are housed in the building.  Employees are permitted to borrow books and, when available, electronic readers (such as iPads and Kindles), for extended periods.  Employees' immediate family members may receive loan privilege cards to borrow books for a two-week period.  Free term paper counseling for employees' high school-aged students is offered.  The library also hosts a number of free exhibits and displays, some with accompanying lectures.

International Travel Opportunities

Travel abroad programs are offered by academic programs and the International Center, mainly during semester breaks and summer months, and some are extended to Winthrop employees and their families.

A Travel Clinic is coordinated by Health Services and offers pre-travel assessment, vaccine updates, prevention medications and information about destination-specific health issues and first-aid needs. 

Post Office

The university maintains a mail service with daily pickup and delivery. The Post Office is located in DiGiorgio Campus Center. Intra-campus mail, U.S. mail, and intra-agency mail for professional use may be sent and received through the campus mail services.

Preschool and Kindergarten Program

Winthrop is home to Macfeat Early Childhood Laboratory School, founded in 1892. Macfeat enrolls approximately 60 three, four and five-year old children in full and half-day programs.  The school serves as a research and demonstration site for the preparation of future teachers in areas such as early childhood and elementary education.  Staffed by professional educators and graduate and undergraduate students, Macfeat offers a child-centered program that fosters exploration, creativity, collaboration and independence.  The school is fully accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Accreditation for the Education of Young Children. 

Professional and Personal Development Programs

• An eclectic array of presentations and workshops for and by members of the Winthrop learning community are made available through the The Center for Professional Excellence.  Program topics reflect a diversity of interests and needs and range from professional to more personal aspects of self-development.
• On-campus technology classes are offered throughout the year to employees through Winthrop's Information Technology Department.  The Birdnest Web page provides space on the Winthrop server for individual Web sites. 
• Research and travel opportunities are available for faculty and staff for professional development purposes.
• The Outdoor Education Center (OEC) offers specialized group learning experiences in an effective non-traditional setting.  Located at the university's athletic, recreational and research complex, OEC staff use creative games, warm-ups and a high rope course to teach skills in team building, self-confidence and more for campus departments and student groups.

Recreation and Wellness Opportunities

• Winthrop's athletic department offers free admission to employees and their immediate family members to all regular season home athletic events.  Winthrop athletes compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Big South Conference. Varsity sports include men's and women's basketball, indoor and outdoor track, cross country, tennis, soccer, and golf; women's volleyball and softball; and men's baseball.
• Winthrop's Office of Recreational Services, the Physical Education, Sport and Human Performance Department (PESH), and the Athletics Department offer a vast array of opportunities for employees to pursue a healthy lifestyle such as:
  • health fairs and wellness screenings
  • 9-hole golf course
  • tennis courts
  • racquetball courts
  • disc golf course
  • weight room
  • fitness classes
  • basketball courts
  • indoor swimming pool
  • intramural sports and tournaments
  • climbing wall
  • indoor track
  • personal training

In addition, the PESH Department sponsors the Outdoor Education Center, which offers team-building activities at the Ropes Course and rental camping and kayaking equipment for use through Winthrop's Headquarter for Outdoor Adventure (WHOA!).

Learn how to become a member of the Lois Rhame West Health, Physical Education and Wellness Center.  Faculty and staff who are not members of the West Center may sign up for a two week free trial membership to experience everything the West Center has to offer including the track, cardio equipment, weight room, racquetball courts, pool, climbing wall, group fitness classes and more.

Research Activities

The Sponsored Programs and Research Office provides assistance in finding external sponsors, applying for funds and in administering the grant program.  The university subscribes to InfoEd, an Internet-based funding search program and sponsors an internally funded grant program, with an annual competition for funds to support summer and academic-year research activities and curriculum development.

Volunteer Opportunities

Winthrop's Center for Career Development and Internships encourages civic responsibility and service by matching students' and employees' specific volunteer interests/goals with needs of the local community.  /cdi/

Academic Affairs recruits volunteers for the on-campus W.I.L.L. program (Winthrop Invests in Lifelong Learning), an ongoing reading and computer skills program for staff.

In addition, the university teams with community members and organizations to promote a variety of fundraising activities including:

• Crop Walk - Church World Service; an organization of 36 denominations united to relieve poverty, aid in development and provide disaster and refugee assistance worldwide
• Light the Night — a fundraising walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Relay for Life — a fundraising walk for the American Cancer Society
• Winthrop Campus Ministries
• United Way Campaign

Wireless Internet Access

Wireless Internet access is currently available in many campus locations.  Wireless access allows laptop computer users (with appropriate software) to surf the Internet or check e-mail without plugging into a network outlet. 

Youth Summer Programs

Sports and performing arts summer camps and programs are available to children of university employees.

*The above services are subject to change at any time and should not be considered a contract between the employee and Winthrop University.