For the College of Charleston, 2019 was a year of transformation, determination, milestones and moments filled with pride.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights and memorable events from the past 12 months:

We began planning for the College’s 250th anniversary with a theme of “History.Made.Here.“

โ€ฆsaid farewell to interim President Stephen C. Osborne and officially welcomed President Andrew T. Hsu.

โ€ฆwrapped up the celebration of the centennial of the first admission of female students to the College.

โ€ฆgave a rousing send-off to our graduates at springย andย winter commencements.

โ€ฆflipped for the cheerleading team’s success and cheered for the professional basketball debuts of alums Jarrell Brantley and Joe Chealey.

โ€ฆwere dazzled by the intelligence and creativity of our students, including a record number of Fulbright Scholars,ย a sleuthing marine biology majorย and an education major with Hope for a Future.

…celebrated the giving nature of our students with the annual Pep Supper and Charleston Miracle fundraisers.

โ€ฆchuckled over an outrageous change in tradition.

…welcomed home once and future students, including two who received the Hollywood treatment.

…looked back on the history of the Berlin Wall, marked 10 years of the MBA programย and reflected on the silver anniversary of the Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (SCAMP) program.

…launched the one-year Master of Arts in Teaching, got fired up about a new blacksmithing class and announced a new Systems Engineering Program.

…reveled in the crescendo of some musical alums and the sweet success of another.

โ€ฆprepared for some theatrical changes and applauded an alumnus’ debut Off-Broadway.

โ€ฆrecognized groundbreaking faculty research, including astrophysicist Jon Hakkila‘s exploration of the speed of light, geology professor Barbara Beckingham‘s look at microplastics, biologist Heather Fullerton‘s deep dive to the ocean floor and paleontologist Robert Boessenecker‘s mega discovery on Shark Week.

…earned high marks from U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review.

…relished the success of one alumnus’ laser-focused achievements, one who is a rare species in her field and another rooting out explosives with rats.

…and watched with pride as our next generation of Cougar alumni headed out into the world to make a difference in education, map a new underwater course and pitch a no-hitter.

Happy New Year, Cougars! Here’s to another life-changing year!