ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Winthrop University will receive a $1.2 million grant for electrical upgrades to reinforce the campus’ infrastructure to prepare for extreme hazardous weather.
The university’s grant was one of two S.C. awards recently announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce as part of a congressional appropriation for disaster relief and recovery.
President Dan Mahony said the improvements will help make the campus more resilient, especially in regard to disaster-related events. “In the past two years, South Carolina has endured hurricanes that caused crippling flooding and damage across the state. Thankfully Winthrop was spared a lot of the storm damage, and now with the assistance of this federal grant, we will be able to improve our infrastructure to prepare for future storms,” Mahony said.
Fifth District U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-South Carolina, said the grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration will help ensure the university’s electrical infrastructure can meet its current and future needs.
“Winthrop is an invaluable part of our community, and provides much more than an excellent education to thousands of students,” Norman said. “The university is also responsible for hundreds of jobs, well-regarded research, and numerous economic and cultural initiatives throughout our area. Its value cannot be understated.”
The project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Catawba Regional Economic Development District. EDA funds the Catawba Regional Economic Development District to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.
These projects are funded under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (PL 115-123)(PDF), in which Congress appropriated to the Economic Development Administration $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program(PDF) funds for disaster relief and recovery as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, wildfires and other 2017 natural disasters under the Stafford Act.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu or at 803/323-2404.
