We’re stacking wins on top of wins!
This is how I described our work at Winthrop to the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee during our budget request presentation last month. See the attached for our prioritized requests. I shared with them our enrollment growth, new academic program offerings, the more than 150 partnerships established across K-12, technical colleges, nonprofits, businesses and more, the millions in external funding we’ve received lately and our aggressive investment in our campus facilities. I’m happy to say that they were impressed, and Kevin, Joe and I will travel back to Columbia on March 6 to present to the Higher Education Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee. As always, I’ll keep you updated on the process.
Now, I’d like to share with you below a few of our recent wins and other items that may interest you:
Strategic Plan Progress Dashboards
You may recall that in my January Update, I noted that our strategic plan dashboards had been updated to show our progress to date on each phase I initiative. Since that message, the dashboards have again been updated to reflect our most recent work, and I encourage you to take a look. Please reach out to the respective vice presidents with any questions.
Founders’ Expanded Partnership
On Jan. 31, Winthrop Athletics and Founders Federal Credit Union announced an expanded integrated partnership that includes Founders investing $1.5 million over five years. The agreement includes the naming rights of the Winthrop Ballpark to Founders Field and $500,000 is earmarked for turfing the baseball field, among other details. This is an exciting investment in our student-athletes and Winthrop. I’d like to thank Athletic Director Chuck Rey for leading this effort along with Founders President Keith Wilson, who is a 1994 Winthrop alumnus.
Seventh-Straight Year at #1!
I am very pleased to share with you that for the seventh-straight year Winthrop has secured the top spot among South Carolina’s four-year state universities in meeting goals for recruiting, retaining and promoting minorities and women, according to the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. This is evidence that Winthrop continues to value and prioritize the diversity of its faculty and staff. To see how other schools compare to Winthrop, view the S.C. Human Affairs Commission report.
Winthrop Day at the State House/Garnet & Gold Tuesday – February 25
A group of students and alumni will travel to Columbia on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for Winthrop Day at the State House. This annual event is an opportunity to advocate for Winthrop to our legislators. To support our efforts in Columbia on that day, I am declaring Tuesday, Feb. 25, as Garnet & Gold Tuesday! Please show your support by wearing Winthrop gear or garnet and gold. We also will be encouraging our alumni and supporters to participate as well via social media. We hope we will have a sea of garnet and gold across the state so that our legislators know what a profound impact Winthrop has on South Carolina.
Board of Trustees Retreat
The Winthrop Board of Trustees will hold its annual two-day retreat Feb. 26-27. Members of the cabinet and I will share updates from some of the major divisions of the university. A detailed agenda will be sent via e-mail in the days leading up to the retreat.
Spring Sports Underway
Finally, I encourage you to support our spring sports teams – baseball, softball, lacrosse – at some games this season. Even more of an incentive to attend is that the athletic department offers free admission to employees and their immediate family members to all regular season home events! Check out the teams’ schedules, and best of luck on successful seasons. Go Eagles!
As always, thank you for your efforts and contributions to the outstanding work that is happening here.
Edward
Edward A. Serna
President
