CofC Looks Back on 2022

2022 was a year of progress and forward momentum at the College of Charleston. The university launched three new majors, established the new School of Health Sciences and celebrated the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the Athletics Department, among many other milestones.

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

CofC launched new majors in software engineering, statistics and management as well as a new minor in business applications of weather and climate.

Founders Federal Credit Union made the largest gift in athletics history with $2.1 million to assist with the construction of a baseball performance center at the College’s baseball facilities at Patriots Point Athletics Complex. The Athletics Department also celebrated a $1.5 million gift from Robb and Lydia Turner to fund the renovation and new construction at the tennis facility at Patriots Point.

The John Edwin Mroz Global Leadership Institute held its inaugural convening, welcoming leaders in international diplomacy to campus. And the American Association of Teachers of German designated the College of Charleston German studies program a German Center of Excellence.

Clockwise from top left: Boston Dynamics’ Spot the robot visits CofC; Max Kovalov, director of  the Mroz Global Leadership Institute; and a press conference for the announcement of a $2.1 million gift from Founders Federal Credit Union.

Fans cheered when the men’s basketball team won its first ever Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic.

The new School of Health Sciences officially opened in July, laying the groundwork for new partnerships with the Medical University of South Carolina and other health-related organizations to provide more experiential learning opportunities for students majoring in health science fields.

We welcomed new leaders for the Office of Institutional Diversity, the School of Business, the Center for Sustainable Development, and innovation and industry engagement.

Meanwhile faculty were busy making big discoveries such as geology professor Scott Persons, who published research on a new species of T. rex  and a new type of prehistoric sea monster known as a plesiosaur, and marine biologist Gorka Sancho, who worked on research about the need to expand Marine Protected Areas. CofC faculty members Brian Bossak, Narayanan Kuthirummal and mutindi ndunda were tapped to teach and study abroad for the 2022-23 academic year as Fulbright scholars.

And student success took center stage as plans for the new Edward J. Tuccio ’91 Student Success Center solidified.

Clockwise from top left: Brian Bossak, Narayanan Kuthirummal and mutindi ndunda; Health sciences students; Scott Persons; Chris Matthews and Kathleen Parker; Clint Smith and Kameelah Martin; and student Arman Frison receives a haircut from barber Thaddeus Miller at Cougar Cutz.

Faculty celebrated student research with the inaugural EXPO 2022 where more than 225 students from disciplines across campus shared their mentored research, scholarship, creative inquiry and community service projects. And students embarked on new international adventures as study abroad programs resumed after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The College also celebrated cultural events such as an evening with author Clint Smith, the launch of the College of Charleston Speaker Series on Public Discourse and Civility hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist Kathleen Parker, and the debut of the new opera Omar in Sottile Theatre as part of Spoleto Festival USA.

We celebrated another step toward inclusion with the opening of Cougar Cutz and made a show stopping reveal of a time capsule found during the renovation of the School of the Arts.

The Class of 2022 headed off to start new journeys, while the newest crop of Cougars joined our ranks.

And CofC President Andrew Hsu promised to remain at the helm for another five years.

Happy New Year, Cougars! Here’s to making 2023 our best year yet!