October is nearly over!
I want to start by saying that we have had a fantastic month, and I can’t believe it’s almost over. We had an incredible turnout for this past Saturday’s Fall Admissions Open House, huge participation with Team Winthrop at the Oct. 4 NAMIWalk followed by a great Family Day, and I also heard positive feedback from the U.S. Disc Golf Championship. Did you know that for the first time in the tournament’s nearly 30-year history, a Winthrop student – freshman Kyle Krieckhaus – qualified for the event? How impressive is that? Lastly, I’ve enjoyed participating in Walktober! These guided walks around campus are happening every Tuesday and Thursday this month, and it’s been fun to walk and talk with others and see the campus while also getting in some steps. Come join in before the end of the month. Now, let’s take a look below at some items I’d like to share with you:
State Budget Request
On Oct. 28, some members of our leadership team will travel to Columbia to begin our
state budget request process. Here’s a detailed breakdown in priority order of our
request: $2.3 million for tuition mitigation; $10 million for Tillman renovations;
$10 million for new strategic academic programs and renovations; $750,000 for new
academic programs; $7.5 million for deferred maintenance and capital renewal; and
$2.5 million for the Winthrop Lake dam renovation. Thanks to our finance and business
team for preparing our request, and I’ll keep you updated as we make our way through
the process.
Final Enrollment Numbers
Our enrollment numbers were officially locked in on Oct. 1, and I’m thrilled to say that we brought in the highest enrollment this fall since before the pandemic with a total count of nearly 5,300 students. Here’s a detailed breakdown of our final enrollment figures. We saw:
*A 13 percent increase in new freshmen from fall 2024 to this fall, from 901 to 1,014.
*An 11 percent increase in new transfers in the past year from 315 to 350.
*A 12 percent increase in total enrollment over the last three years, from fall 2022 to fall 2025, from 4,712 to 5,287 students, putting Winthrop over the 5,000 total enrollment threshold for the first time in years.
Thanks to everyone who had a hand in getting these students to campus, but a special shout out goes to Joseph Miller, vice president for enrollment management and marketing, and the entire admissions team for their hard work in leading this effort.
Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon
The men’s basketball team will play in the nation’s first college basketball game of the 2025-26 season! The team is participating in the Nov. 3 Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. Three games will tip off at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center, and Winthrop’s 8 a.m. game (yes, that’s right!) versus Queens will be the first game in the country. Two other games will take place throughout the day: Bradley vs. St. Bonaventure at 11 a.m. and High Point vs. Furman at 6:30 p.m. A limited number of free tickets may be available for faculty and staff. Watch the Daily Digest for ticket details. The game also will be broadcast on The Field of 68’s YouTube Channel and X feed, and the network’s popular After Dark show will be broadcast live from the venue. Go, Eagles!
Employee Engagement Survey
This is a reminder that the “Let Your Voice Be Heard” employee engagement survey is currently live and available through Oct. 31. You should have received an e-mail from Korn Ferry asking you to participate in the survey. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and help us make Winthrop a better place to live, learn, and work. Survey results will be shared with the campus community once Korn Ferry has had an opportunity to analyze the data and provide results to us (likely after we return from the December holiday break).
Fresh Check Day
Winthrop will hold its Fresh Check Day on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in
the Richardson Ballroom. Fresh Check Day, the signature program of the Jordan Porco
Foundation, is an uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention event that
is designed to “check in” on the mental health of our campus community members. The
free event will offer interactive booths. I encourage you to stop by as well as promote
the event to students.
Board of Trustees Meeting
The Board of Trustees will hold its quarterly meeting Oct. 29-30. We will be discussing a variety of topics from across the university
during committee meetings as well as at the full board meeting. Be on the lookout
for agendas that will be e-mailed closer to the meeting dates.
Halloween
I hope you’ve come up with your Halloween costume idea! If not, there’s still time
to put something together for Friday, Oct. 31. There’s a lot of Halloween and fall
events coming up, so to keep from excluding any by listing them here, I encourage
you to read the Daily Digest where a lot of these events are promoted each morning.
Nov. 10-15 Homecoming and Reunion Week
Lauren, the girls and I are looking forward to attending next month’s Homecoming and
Reunion activities, and I hope you are as well. Please visit the Homecoming website to see the full schedule of events. If you plan to tailgate on Nov. 15 ahead of the
men’s and women’s basketball games, please check out tailgating information online and purchase your spot by Nov. 2 if needed. You can also read about the five alumni award winners who will be recognized during the week’s festivities. Let’s get ready to have a great
time!
As always, thank you for everything that you do for Winthrop. Please know that your work is appreciated.
Edward
Edward A. Serna
President
