ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Winthrop University Board of Trustees’ members held a called meeting on Dec. 9 during which they handled several items of business, including naming an interim athletics director, requesting no tuition increase for the next fiscal year budget, and reviewing and approving Memorandums of Understanding as well as various contracts.
Trustees approved Interim President George Hynd’s recommendation to appoint Volleyball Head Coach Chuck Rey as interim athletics director. A national search for a permanent athletic director will begin in January.
In his new role, Rey’s duties will expand to oversee 16 Division I sports and a department that has set new records for departmental cumulative grade point average (GPA) each year since 2016-17, including a record-high 3.35 mark by the student-athlete population for the 2020-21 academic year.
Rey earned back-to-back Big South Conference Coach of the Year accolades in 2018 and 2019 as he led the Eagles to a 14-0 regular season record (24-5 overall), a Big South Conference Championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
In other action, trustees formally requested of Interim President George W. Hynd that the 2022-23 university be developed with no tuition increase in an effort to keep the Winthrop experience affordable to students and families. Board members also reviewed and approved Memorandums of Understanding and various contracts, a requirement on their part according to the board’s bylaws.
Last month during a Nov. 17 called meeting, trustees approved an insurance settlement for Byrnes Auditorium. Members voted unanimously to accept an offer of $3.9 million for damage incurred by the August 2018 construction fire at Byrnes. The university will add an additional $1.75 million from the unrestricted net position for the remaining costs for renovation and remediation not covered by the settlement.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or longshawj@winthrop.edu.
