Lots to Share!
I’m beginning this update with some historic news! Winthrop recently received the largest all-cash gift in our institution’s history. The $2.5 million gift was made by the family of the late Virginia Bellune Collier ’30, a retired educator who taught high school biology and chemistry. This incredible gift will fund teacher education scholarships, preferably in STEM disciplines, and a professorship in the College of Arts and Sciences. I encourage you to read more about the gift here.
Also, we welcomed a phenomenal number of admitted students and their families to Winthrop Day this past Saturday! More than 358 students and 694 guests - a total of 1,052 attendees! - joined us for our largest admissions event of the academic year. Thank you to our admissions team and to everyone who had a hand in making this day a success. The weather was great, the energy was high, and we know this incredible day will yield many new Eagles this fall.
As we are finishing out the semester, there are a lot of events and happenings taking place from now through month’s end. The student life awards ceremony is tomorrow night, our music students and faculty are holding recitals and performances and spring sports are in the thick of their seasons. We’re now officially counting down until Commencement (read more about a change to one of the ceremonies below). Let me take just a few minutes to fill you in on some important updates:
24 Hours of Giving
Bleed Garnet Give Gold (or “BG3” as we’re calling it), our annual 24-hour giving event, will kick off at
noon on April 21 and run through noon on April 22. To show our support, I’m declaring Tuesday, April 21, as Garnet and Gold Tuesday! Please wear Winthrop gear or garnet and gold on this day. This is also an opportunity
to show our Winthrop pride – to Bleed Garnet by celebrating everything we love about
Winthrop and to Give Gold by supporting current and future students. Every gift makes
a difference no matter the size. Explore this year's projects and causes to support, and if you have another area in mind to support, just type the fund name
in the designation box. There are some fun and unique challenge opportunities that
unlock additional gifts, and this year’s goal is 1,200 donors. Another fun event is
the Eagle Float Frenzy: Race for Gold. If you missed this last year, I hope you’ll
join me on April 21 at 11 a.m. at the West Center pool to cheer on (very competitive!)
college and divisional representatives who have agreed to race in floats from one
end of the pool to the other. The winners will split $2,500 for their respective departments/colleges.
Other on-campus events and area social gatherings, including one at Slow Play Brewing
from 5-7 p.m. on April 21, are planned to support BG3. Check those out here.
Wings on West
Speaking of the West Center, while you’re checking out the Race for Gold, stop at
the wall facing Scholars and pose for a photo with our new large-scale wings that
capture the energy of our new branding, Bring the You. We are hoping this photo opportunity will appeal to all our Eagles and especially
those here building this campus community as well as those considering joining us
as new students!
Dalton Hall and Sims Science Building Ribbon Cutting
Winthrop and the York County Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the newly renovated
science buildings on Tuesday, April 21, from 3-4:30 p.m. On the green space between
the two buildings there will be a brief program and a ceremonial ribbon cutting before
attendees will tour the updated facilities and engage with students from the science
programs. The $9 million state-funded renovation included replacing the HVAC in both
Sims and Dalton, refreshing the lobby areas, building out new chemistry labs and installing
a new generator for Sims, as well as updating the emergency power for Dalton. Come
join us to celebrate these updated spaces that will support innovative learning, research
and collaboration for students and faculty for years to come.
Come-See-Me Festival
Rock Hill’s annual celebration of spring will be held April 16-25 and features several
events held at Winthrop, including Hops at the Park, Moonlight Jazz & Blues, the finale
Tailgate Party with fireworks, and more. I encourage you to check out the schedule of events and come out and join the fun!
SOURCE Event
Our annual Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE) will be held on April 17 around various areas of campus. This always impressive
event, under the direction of Salvatore Blair, features undergraduates from all disciplines presenting or performing their scholarly
and creative work. I’ve attended past SOURCE events and have been so impressed with
our students. Here at Winthrop we champion our commitment to undergraduate research, and this event showcases that commitment. I encourage you to make time to stop by
SOURCE this year.
Faculty/Staff/Retirees Ceremony
Please join me on Tuesday, April 28, at 9:30 a.m. in Richardson Ballroom to officially
recognize the achievements of our nearly 30 retirees, 35 service award recipients,
and winners of the Award of Excellence, Staff Member of the Year Award, Faculty Student
Life Award and Mary Spann Richardson Award! This is always a great event that allows
us to celebrate, connect and close out the spring semester.
Upcoming Board Meeting
The next meeting of the Winthrop Board of Trustees will be April 29-30. Be on the lookout for the meeting agenda which will be e-mailed
to the campus community closer to those dates. Since the Trustees’ February retreat,
we had a called meeting on April 8 to approve a contract to move our residence hall
construction project forward as well as a mutual aid and law enforcement support agreement;
see the resolutions if interested in details on these. Also since the retreat, the board’s committees have been adjusted to reflect the departure of Ed Driggers ’92 who recently moved
from his Congressional District and resigned from the board.
May Commencements
Finally, there is one Commencement change that I want to share with you: we will not
have a separate Graduate Commencement ceremony this year. Students earning graduate/specialist
degrees will be included in the two Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 9, at
the Coliseum. The 10 a.m. ceremony will celebrate visual and performing arts plus
arts and sciences graduates. The 3 p.m. ceremony will recognize business, education
and Bachelor of Professional Studies graduates. Mike Whitehead ’87, CEO of the Center
for Intentional Leadership and member of the Honors College Leadership Council, will
address the graduates at both ceremonies. We’ll also recognize our spring faculty
award winners and the recipients of the President’s Award for Academic Excellence.
Thank you for all that you do for Winthrop. I look forward to seeing you at some of these events!
Always an Eagle,
Edward A. Serna
President
