A Look Back on 2024 at the College of Charleston

It’s been an exciting and momentous year for the College of Charleston. The university formed two new schools, opened the newly renovated Simons Center for the Arts and saw its men’s basketball team head to the NCAA Tournament, among many other milestones.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights of 2024:

The College was granted a charter with the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa Society, joining the ranks of America’s most esteemed colleges and universities.

In addition to introducing meta-majors, a new Executive MBA program, the President’s Leadership Institute and The Sisters of Septima program, the College launched the School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics and the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences to adapt to the needs of students and the regional workforce, with Narayanan Kuthirummal named the interim dean of the former and Seth Pritchard the interim dean of the latter.

Wes Dudgeon was named dean of the School of Health Sciences, and the College welcomed Katarina Fjording, the new senior vice president for innovation and industry engagement and distinguished professor of practice; Trish Priest, the new dean of admissions; and Jayme Host, the new dean of the School of the Arts, who arrived just in time for the reopening of the newly renovated Simons Center for the Arts.

Right around the corner at the Barnard Elliott House, ground was broken for the new Edward J. Tuccio ’91 Student Success Center – and just a block away on George Street, renovations began at the Theodore S. Stern Student Center. The College was busy working on facilities all over campus, including across the Cooper River at the fresh new Turner Tennis Center, which opened in September.

Athletics had a big year, as well, launching the Charleston Edge Collective in October and celebrating two CAA Preseason Players of the Year: Ante Brzovic for men’s basketball and Taryn Barbot for women’s basketball. The men’s basketball went to the NCAA Tournament in March and then welcomed its new head coach, Chris Mack, over the summer. In August, the sailing team also welcomed a new assistant coach, 2024 Olympic medalist Ian Barrows.

Both the soccer team and the volleyball team celebrated their 50 year anniversaries, and the volleyball team won its first CAA Championship since 2013.

Above: Scenes from March Madness 2024. Below: New head coach of men’s basketball, Chris Mack.(Photos by Mike Ledford)

The College also broke records in philanthropy, raising more financial gifts and commitments than ever before. This included a $2 million gift from Mark Buono ’81 and Judy Buono ’22 (M.Ed.), who established the Buono Endowed Professorship in Commercial Real Estate and the Mark and Judy Buono Endowed Scholarship for education students, and a $2.5 million gift from the Zucker family: $2 million in scholarships for the School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics and $500,000 for the Zucker Family Challenge on CofC Day. (This year, the Zucker Family Challenge helped make the fifth annual CofC Day, March 13–14, a success!)

Another successful event that rallied the campus community was the revival of Homecoming in November, a weekend that included the College’s first Homecoming Parade, an oyster roast in the Cistern Yard and the Alumni Awards Ceremony.

Alumni weren’t the only Cougars to receive awards this year. In addition to the CofC employees who received Distinguished Faculty Awards and the Staff Employees of the Year Awards, Julia Eichelberger, English professor, received the 2024 Governor’s Award in the Humanities; Aaisha Haykal, manager of archival services at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, received the Association for the Study of African American Life and History President’s Service Award; Janine McCabe, costume design professor, received the South Carolina Theatre Association’s Excellence in Theatre Design and Technology Award and the University Resident Theatre Association’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Training in Costume Design & Technology; and Beth Sundstrom, communication professor and director of the Women’s Health Research Team, received the Council on Undergraduate Research‘s 2024 Social Sciences Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research Award.

Three College of Charleston faculty members received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards, including associate professor of supply chain and information management Marvin Gonzalez, associate professor of geology Teddy Them and teacher education professor Brian Lanahan, whose 2024–25 Fulbright is his third. Melissa Ochal, director of the College of Charleston Center for International Education, received a Japan Fulbright International Education Administrators award; and Kameelah Martin, professor of African American studies and English, received the 2024-25 US-UK Fulbright Global Challenges Teaching Award in Racial Justice.

Among other faculty and staff awards and recognitions, the South Carolina Research Authority named astrophysics professor Joe Carson Applied Researcher of the Year after he earned a “unicorn score”; the Sociologists for Women in Society Publications Committee named women’s and gender studies professor Kris De Welde the book review editor for its journal, Gender & Society; and the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program named finance professor James Malm one of its selected fellows.

In addition, the Grounds Crew received the Professional Grounds Management Society’s Green Star Honor Award, the Office of Veteran and Military Student Services received South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs Silver Grade Award, and the CofC Energy Team received the Association of South Carolina Energy Managers’ 2024 South Carolina Energy Project of the Year award.

Indeed, the College community was out there getting noticed this year! From the launch of the Teachable Moments South Carolina Public Radio radio segment with management professor Rénard Harris, to the College of Charleston Orchestra’s debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.: The College made some noise!

And, finally, the Class of 2024 headed off to start new journeys, while the newest crop of Cougars joined our ranks, promising many more great years to come!

Happy New Year, Cougars! Here’s to making 2025 our best year yet!