President Hsu Thanks Faculty, Staff for Another Successful Year

Dear Campus Community,

As we head into the summer months, I want to share my appreciation for all of the great things we accomplished together this past academic year. I am very proud of what we achieved, and want to call out a few highlights.

For this admissions cycle, we again received record applications, and we are currently preparing for one of our largest first-year classes in school history. That momentum speaks both to the strength of our academic programs and our growing national reputation as well as to the dedication each of you brings to this campus every single day.

With so many colleges and universities in flux due to declining enrollments, this is not a time to take our foot off the gas, so to speak. In fact, we must double down on our efforts, from marketing to student services support to facilities upgrades and beautifications, in order to ensure that we continue in our current position of strength. I am confident that, together, we can weather, even thrive, during these uncertain times.

This past year, we also experienced a record in philanthropic giving, driven in part by the extraordinary generosity of Michael Bennett and the Bennett family, whose support will help shape the future of our institution for generations to come. Through their gift, we created the Michael and Amy Bennett School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, the first named school at our university. Also, Ben and Kelly Navarro, through their family office, have given the College the site where the Carroll Building now stands, at the corner of East Bay and North Market streets (a prime location serving as the gateway to the planned Union Pier development). This property will be the future home of the School of Business.

For 2026–27, our faculty continued to lead with compassion, vision and innovation, both inside and outside of the classroom. From a curricular standpoint, this year saw the approval of important new academic programs, including undergraduate majors in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, a new joint nursing degree program with MUSC, and several graduate certificates in areas like accounting data analytics and forensic accounting. These additions reflect our commitment to preparing students for the opportunities and challenges of a fast-changing world as well as our focus on workforce development and fulfilling the critical needs of our city, region and state.

The College of Charleston continues to earn national recognition, from being named among Southern Living magazine’s top college towns to recognition by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s most beautiful campuses, to being named again as a top producer of Fulbright students. These accolades reaffirm what we already know: There is something truly special about our city, our campus and our campus community.

The progress we have made did not happen by accident. There is a lot of sweat, care and imagination that have pushed us forward. Our current success has happened because of your talent, your commitment and your belief in the mission and shared vision of our university.

Thank you for another extraordinary year! Go Cougars!

Sincerely,

Andrew

Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D.
President
College of Charleston