CofC Looks Back on 2018

The year 2018 was one of scholarship, change, excitement and celebration at the College of Charleston.

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

We saw campus transformed into a rare winter wonderland.

…said goodbye to one leader and welcomed another to the helm.

…delighted in the success of some of our musical alums.

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

…cheered on the men’s basketball team as they clinched the conference title and went dancing for the first time in 19 years, and reveled in the sailing team’s big win.

…highlighted the intelligence and creativity of our students, including a recent alumna who quadruple-majored in dance, arts management, business administration and hospitality and tourism management; an inspired student-scientist tracing the lineage of African-American Charlestonians; and a talented student-athlete who knows how to shoot both on and off the court.

…dreamed up a good laugh.

…welcomed new coaches for the sailing and equestrian teams, and celebrated a five-year contract extension for men’s basketball Head Coach Earl Grant.

…marked an important milestone with the Year of Women celebration.

…championed students with a vision, including one who made a home run with the launch of a new club baseball team, a young woman who effortlessly remains focused on both her studies and her philanthropic endeavors, the successful relaunch of a student organization worth dancing about, and one student who led the initiative to open the College’s first student food pantry.

…looked to the future with President-elect Andrew T. Hsu.

…honored a Cougar alumnus with his own scholarship, paid homage to those who have served our country with the College’s first endowed scholarship for veterans, and noted a decade of creating leaders.

…launched the new Bachelor of General Studies program and began enrolling for the new Master of Data Science and Analytics.

…got some life advice from a star alum, watched a few stars atop the new science center, and applauded a biology professor’s success on the silver screen.

…recognized groundbreaking faculty research, including geology professor Leslie Sautter‘s jaunt into the deep, blue sea; public health professor Leslie Hart‘s research into the impact of man-made chemical additives on one of our favorite marine mammals; arts management professor Jason White‘s raw look at racial stereotypes in America; astrophysics professor Chris Fragile‘s investigation of zombie stars; and astrophysics professor Jon Hakkila‘s exploration of gamma-ray bursts.

..celebrated a change in leadership as classics professor Timothy Johnson was named dean of the School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs.