What a month!
I want to start by saying I am always amazed at the esprit de corps this campus community exhibits when we are faced with challenges like we had recently with Hurricane Helene. Thank you! A special shoutout to our facilities staff who worked long hours to clean up storm debris both on main campus and at the Farm to help get our grounds back in shape for our students’ return and last week’s U.S. Disc Golf Championship. Also, I want to thank Provost Sebastian van Delden and his band of volunteers who spread mulch and performed other tasks last Friday in preparation for this Saturday’s Fall Admissions Open House. It’s truly been a campus-wide effort to get back on track.
But let’s now look ahead to some events and news that I’d like to share with you:
State Budget Request
Tomorrow, some members of our leadership team will travel to Columbia to begin our
state budget request process. I’ll provide a more detailed breakdown of our request
as we move along in the process, but we will be requesting financial support for the
following: tuition mitigation, Tillman Hall renovation, Rutledge HVAC replacement,
continued campus WiFi upgrades and classroom A/V enhancements, strategic academic
program support, deferred maintenance, and more. Thanks to our finance and business
team for preparing our request.
Esports Undefeated
I’m happy to report that our esports team is currently undefeated. Their most recent
competition, held Oct. 4-6 in Atlanta, saw both our Valorant and Overwatch teams bring
home championships. They have participated in four major national tournaments this
year and won each time. Talk about impressive! Huge congrats go out to Head Coach
Josh Sides and our players. You can learn more about esports here. It’s exciting to see the attention and publicity that esports has brought to Winthrop.
Winthrop Trailblazers
I hope you will come out for Winthrop Trailblazers, a panel discussion commemorating
the university’s 60th anniversary of integration, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 11 a.m.
in Plowden Auditorium. Sebastian and I will be moderating, and we are welcoming to
campus three of our first Black students, Dr. Cynthia Plair Roddey, Delores Johnson
Hurt, and Sue Frances Meriwether Steed, as well as Shelia Burkhalter, first Black
VP and member of Cabinet. Great history lessons and relevant insights promised!
Board of Trustees Meeting
The Board of Trustees will hold its quarterly meeting Oct. 23-24. We will be discussing a variety of topics from across the university
during committee meetings as well as at the full board meeting. Agendas will be sent
closer to the meeting dates. At a recently called special meeting, the board approved
a multi-year athletics sponsorship and naming opportunity that will be announced at a later date.
Fresh Check Day
Winthrop will hold its Fresh Check Day on Thursday, Oct. 24, 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.
Halloween
I hope you’ve come up with your Halloween costume idea! If not, there’s still time
to put something together for Thursday, Oct. 31. The president’s office is coordinating
a group costume based on a cartoon many of us grew up watching…here’s a couple hints:
a dog is involved and I may be saying “zoinks!” throughout the day. Stay tuned as
the mystery will be solved in a few weeks. Also, if you’re looking for a fun pre-Halloween
option for the kiddos, drop by the Coliseum’s South parking lot on Saturday, Oct.
26, from 4:30-6 p.m. as our student-athletes will be holding a Trunk or Treat with
the Eagles.
S.C. CHE Meeting on Campus
The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education will hold its monthly meeting at
Winthrop on Thursday, Nov. 7. As many of you know, Dr. Jeff Perez, who previously
served as vice president for university relations at Winthrop, was this summer named
president and executive director of the organization. This will be a homecoming for
Jeff, and we will have a meet and greet from 9:30-10 a.m. in DiGs 114 before the commission’s
meeting officially begins. Let’s extend to him our congratulations and a warm Winthrop
welcome back! An agenda for the meeting will be posted here later this month.
Nov. 4-9 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. 8 ahead of the
men’s basketball game, please check out tailgating information online and purchase your spot by Nov. 3 if needed. Let’s get ready to have a great time!
Faculty/Staff Town Hall
We will be holding a Nov. 14 town hall that will take place at 11 a.m. in Richardson
Ballroom. This town hall, similar to the one we held in the spring, will be an opportunity
to learn more about what’s happening at the university by asking questions of me and
the vice presidents. You may submit questions in advance by sending an e-mail to townhalls@winthrop.edu. In case you cannot attend, the town hall will be recorded and a viewing link will
be shared afterwards. Look for a reminder on the morning of the town hall with details
for the virtual option.
As always, thank you for everything that you do for Winthrop. Please know that your work is appreciated.
Edward
Edward Serna '02
