The College of Charleston had another amazing year of breakthroughs, discoveries, milestones and celebrations in 2017.

Here, in no particular order, are but a few of the high points and special moments from the past year:

We watched the heavens put on a show with a coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on the same day that we welcomed the Class of 2021.

…mourned the loss of two members of our Cougar family – Dr. Todd Crowe ’86 and George Rabb ’51.

…wished farewell to our graduates at spring and winter commencement.

…highlighted the professional achievements of our alumni, including the 2017 Alumni Award recipients, a musician who created an app aimed at connecting venues and artists, an eco-friendly businessman who sees aquaculture as the solution to a hungry planet and a globe-trotting alumna studying in Germany through a prestigious fellowship.

…celebrated the cutting-edge research our faculty are conducting in areas such as marine fossils, the star-forming role of black holes and genomic science.

…cracked a few jokes, hosted some celebrities and partied together.

…cheered on the men’s basketball team as they made their first National Invitation Tournament appearance in six years and cheered the CofC volleyball team when they made history by earning the first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

…welcomed visionaries in the subjects of race and social justice and environmental challenges.

…were recognized nationally for the exceptional quality of our academic programs and the study-abroad opportunities offered to our students.

…watched “Bucky” the T. rex make his move to Addlestone Library and got funky with Wale.

…recognized talented faculty, including Quentin Baxter ’98, Cass Runyon and Gibbs Knotts.

…highlighted the smarts and creativity of our students, including a math major who already has a job thanks to a scholarship through the Department of Defense, a talented student-composer and an astrophysics major who’s reaching for the stars.

…welcomed new student groups to campus, including Collegiate Curls, Lambda Theta Phi and Zeta Beta Tau.

…smiled when Travel + Leisure confirmed what we already knew, that CofC is the country’s most beautiful campus.

…accepted generous acts of philanthropy for the School of Business and the International Piano Series.

…marked milestone anniversaries at the Honors College, the Sottile Theatre and Women’s and Gender Studies.

…expanded west, added a touch of innovation and added some street cred.

…and we sprinkled a little holiday magic over Cistern Yard.

Here’s to all we will accomplish together in 2018. Cheers!