CSU Magazine - Summer 2022

Building Cloud Storage At the Animal Forest PAGE 10

Alum National Teacher PAGE 24

Bucky’s Big Reveal

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magazine

volume 32

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number 2

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Summer 2022

EDITORIAL STAFF:

CONTRIBUTORS:

Miranda Asson, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communication

CSU Academic Affairs Big South Conference Travis Boyd ’22 Taylor Chitwood Tim Cowie/Big South Conference Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com Phyllis Evans Jim Killian Dr. Yu-Ju Lin Sol Photography Travis Woods

Ty Cornett, Multimedia Producer McKenzie Hagwood, MBA, Digital Content Specialist Jenna Johnson ’21, MBA, Executive Director of Marketing and Communication Jan Joslin ’82, Editorial Director, Editor, CSU Magazine Tyler Stokes, Creative Director, Brand Manager

On the cover: Dr. Todd Heldreth, professor of biology, examines a gopher tortoise, an endangered species in South Carolina.

Heldreth serves as the vet for the Animal Forest at Charles Towne Landing, part of the South Carolina State Park system.

Daniel Taylor ’22, Junior Graphic Designer CSU Magazine is published three times a year by the office of marketing and communication for alumni and friends of Charleston Southern University.

Contact us: magazine@csuniv.edu

© 2022 Charleston Southern University

Address changes: csudevelopment@csuniv.edu

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INTERNS: Hunter Gatling ’24 Kathryn Thorne ’22

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contents LEARNING

3

Smith Wins Excellence in Teaching

4

Commencement ’22

6

How to: Build Free, Secure Personal Cloud

8

Personal Finance Major Offered

9

DPT Opens Doors

10

Caring for Creatures Big & Small

16

Carver Delves into Aeroponics

17

Parsons Exploring World of Mathematics

18 Faculty and Student Research 19

Retirees

20

CSU View: Herbarium Turns 10

LEADING

22

Ashby Honored

23

Dunbar Putting Master’s to Work

24

Baldwin Wins National Award

25

Ring Ceremony

25

BOT Making Headlines

26

Military Friendly

27

Partnering with Seminaries

27

Editing PT Journal

28

Ash Competes in Regionals

28

Tennis Reigns as Champs

29

Men’s Golf Conference Champs

29

Curtin Makes Nationals

SERVING

30

Bringing Artism Camp to Charleston

32

Bucky’s Big Reveal

33

Bucs Impacting Schools

FOREVER CSU

Design and layout by: Bob Durand Design facebook.com/bobduranddesign

Printed by: Knight Printing and Graphics knightpandg.com

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Bucky surprised students on a warm spring day by kayaking across the Reflection Pond.

34

CSU View: Women’s Council

35

Bon Voyage

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Nielsen College Naming

Photo by Ty Cornett

SCHOOL TIES

36

Class Notes

38

Baby Bucs

39

In Memory

40

Ed Alumni Update

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PRESIDENT’s message Life Lessons from Professor Pandemic to make the most of a sad situation. Better yet, we must not miss the chance to wring every ounce of spiritual growth from the wet blanket COVID threw on our party.

Lord willing, this may be our last pandemic, but it will not be our last trial. In the providence of God, Professor Pandemic’s curriculum featured an exhaustive list of lessons learned, but these fundamental five are at the top of my list as I cram for the next exam.

Vickey Costin and Dr. Dondi Costin welcome students back to campus in August 2020. Photo by Richard Esposito

“

W

hen the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

This ancient proverb foreshadows what modern educational theorists call learner readiness, the rather obvious idea that students learn best when their individual maturation and prior learning have prepared the ground for what comes next.

Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. Other times you find that you are not so much in need of learning something new as in being reminded of truths that have slipped your mind. Yet when you finally get around to filling the knowledge gap, the longed-for Aha moment makes all the difference in the world.

Like most trials by fire, the vehicle God uses to build our character and conform us to Christ usually differs from what we would choose if allowed to pick our own poison.

Many of us share this perspective when reflecting on the painful months between March 2020 and today. While we never wished for global contagion to take us to the woodshed (and would never wish for a sequel), we cannot deny that Professor Pandemic has given us the opportunity to move to the head of the class. How comfortable are you in the role of Teacher’s Pet? As we lick our wounds and prepare for life on the other side of this pandemic, we should not waste this once-in-a-century opportunity

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God is always sovereign.

The sovereignty of God leaps off every page of Scripture, so I camped there every time the pandemic tried to elbow me from faith to fear. The Good Book consistently affirms both sides of the coin regarding God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, but Psalm 115:1-3 throws down the gauntlet and removes all doubt as to who is really in charge: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”

Christ-followers are sometimes tempted to let God off the hook for circumstances that don’t mesh with the god our culture has formed in its own image, but a Christian’s ultimate comfort rests in the fact that God is always on the throne and doesn’t need us to protect Him. He never retreats from His responsibility for everything that happens in us, to us, and through us. So when bad things happen, we know for sure that God is always in control. He would have it no other way. Neither should we.

The Lord is forever faithful.

As the pandemic raged, I routinely thanked God for giving us no viable alternative to trusting in Him. Sometimes God puts us in situations that clarify our utter dependence on Him, an undeniable truth that we often take for granted. A global pandemic reminded me second by second that we go to God because there is nowhere else for us to go.

Without a doubt, Professor Pandemic’s syllabus capitalized on the wisdom of James

By Dr. Dondi E. Costin

1:2-4: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance … so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” God’s faithfulness through the pandemic taught us a life lesson Joseph mastered during his extended season of great trial at the hands of his own brothers: even what others intend for harm, we know that God will use for good (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28). Keep tabs on that one; you’re going to see it over and over again.

Life is short. Eternity is long.

Two years ago in this column, I wrote of the “millions infected, 100,000 dead.” In that moment I could not have fathomed that we would have now lost more than 1,000,000 fellow Americans to COVID. Since then some of our closest family and friends have gone to heaven much sooner than we anticipated. Thankfully, they understood that C.T. Studd was right when he poetically opined, “only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

If the pandemic has done nothing else, it has reminded us by way of the daily COVID tracker what the Bible has told us from the beginning—every one of us will become a death statistic someday (Heb. 9:27). How much better for the believer to know that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). For eternity.

When crisis comes and opportunity knocks, be ready to open the door.

The pandemic caught us all by surprise.

In Charleston Southern’s case, that grand surprise happened during Spring Break of 2020. In God’s Providence, as one of the country’s leading universities in providing world-class virtual education, our faculty and staff turned on a dime to make sure more than 700 students graduated and thousands more made progress toward their academic degrees that semester and beyond.

Consistent with the old saying, we learned once again that “success occurs at the point where preparedness and opportunity meet.”

What is true for universities, churches,

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LEARNING

Smith Is Excellence in Teaching Winner

By CSU Academic Affairs / Photos by Ty Cornett

and other organizations is also true for individual Christians. Jesus made it abundantly clear that “in this world you will have trouble,” so nobody should be surprised when trouble comes. Yet the best part comes as Jesus completes His thought: “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Crisis is coming; opportunity is knocking, and trouble is on the way. All the more reason to prepare yourself in advance so Professor Pandemic can award you an A on test day.

This world is not our home. The best is yet to come.

Anytime trouble comes we should be quick to remember that this world is not our home. Too many earth-dwelling minds are captivated by earthly things, but we know that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:20-21). Truly, this world is not our home.

Scripture insists that we help advance God’s kingdom with every fiber of our being between the here-and-now and the not-yet.

God commands us to avoid idleness with as much vigor as we avoid idols (2 Thess.

3:6-15). And we are to live in such a way that even pagans see our good deeds and glorify God as a result (Matt. 5:16). Whether we live in some earthly paradise or in some pandemic, the Christian understands that the best is yet to come.

As this course of study concludes, I join you in praying that we have seen the last of this pandemic. Now that the COVID-19 version of Pomp and Circumstance is underway, check your transcript to see if you’ve learned everything Professor Pandemic had in mind.

The good news is that it is never too late for the student to get ready. The bad news is that your favorite professor has more lesson plans in the hopper when it is time to appear. Something tells me the doctor is not done.

D

r. Carissa Turner Smith is Charleston Southern’s 2022 South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Excellence in Teaching award winner.

A member of the CSU faculty since 2008, Smith is professor of English and serves as the director of the Writing Center. She holds multiple degrees in English - a PhD and an MA, both conferred by Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College.

Smith’s course load features a variety of American literature courses, including Survey of American Literature, Major American Writers to 1865, and Diversity in American Literature. She has also taught the English Capstone course and special topics courses in religion and literature. Smith has served as Writing Center director since 2017 and has worked to offer writing tutoring in flexible formats to undergraduate and graduate students.

American literature and Young Adult literature have significant emphasis in Smith’s scholarly publishing. Her book Cyborg Saints: Religion and Posthumanism in Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction was published

by Routledge in 2020. Smith is the editor of The Science Fiction of Connie Willis: Doomsday Every Day (forthcoming from Routledge).

She serves as associate editor for arts and humanities for the Christian Scholar’s Review

Dr. Carissa Smith

and is vice president of the Conference on Christianity and Literature.

“Students at Charleston Southern recognize Dr. Carissa Smith’s dedication to providing them with world-class learning opportunities,” said Dr. Jacqueline Fish, vice president for academic affairs. “Her lectures are inspiring; her publications are highly distinguished, and she is an extremely approachable mentor and champion for student mastery in her courses. Her talent and love for teaching are evident throughout her interactions across campus.”

President Dondi Costin presents Dr. Carissa Smith with the Excellence in Teaching Award at the annual Awards Day.

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LEARNING

Commencement 2022

By Jan Joslin / Photos by Ty Cornett and Sol Photography

T

he largest Charleston Southern University graduating class ever, with 776 graduates, was recognized Saturday, May 7 at North Charleston Coliseum. Ceremonies for the Classes of 2021 and 2020 were held on Buccaneer Field last spring due to COVID. Legendary Coach Lou Holtz addressed the graduates and received an Honorary Doctor of Public Service from the university.

Holtz recognized Jeff Barber, CSU athletic director, who he worked with at the Uni-

He said, everyone needs four things in their life: • Something to do • Someone to love • Someone to believe in them • Something to hope for Holtz encouraged graduates to do everything to the best of their ability. “You’re either growing or you’re dying,” he said. “If you do what’s right, you build trust. Go do something great with your life.”

The Class of 2022 enters the North Charleston Coliseum.

versity of South Carolina, and CSU Football Head Coach Autry Denson, who he coached at Notre Dame. Holtz called Denson the greatest running back in Notre Dame history. He said, “Players come and go, but teammates last a lifetime.”

Holtz said, “You are fortunate to be at a university where you can express your faith.

Learn to put your faith in God, and great things happen.”

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After his departure from Notre Dame following the 1996 season, he joined CBS Sports’ College Football Today for two seasons as a sports analyst and worked with United States Filter, a global provider of water treatment, as a customer relations spokesman. From there he went on to coach at the University of South Carolina for six seasons from 1999- 2004 where he led the Gamecocks to back-to back January 1 bowl games for the first time in the history of the school

Coach Lou Holtz waves to the crowd after receiving an honorary doctorate.

Despite never inheriting a winning team, Holtz compiled a 243-127-7 career record that ranked him third in victories among active coaches and eighth in winning percentage. He became the 25th head coach of Notre Dame following stints at Minnesota, Arkansas, North Carolina State, and William & Mary. He spent the 1976 season as head coach of the New York Jets of the National Football League.

and defeated Ohio State in consecutive bowl appearances. In 2008, Holtz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and Notre Dame dedicated a statue of him.

He is the author of three books, a U.S. Army veteran, and he and his late wife, Beth, have four children and nine grandchildren.

Also receiving honorary doctorates were Shirley D. Whitfield, Honorary Doctor of Public Service, and The Rev. Rob Dewey, Honorary Doctor of Christian Leadership.

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Whitfield and her late husband, Floyd Whitfield, are longtime donors to Charleston Southern including establishing the Whitfield Endowed Scholarship, and funding for the Whitfield Stadium Center, the Whitfield Center for Christian Leadership, the Singleton Baseball Complex, the Health Science building, and contributions to the future Convocation Center. Owners of The Whitfield Company, they provide commercial real estate services, property development, and investments in the Charleston region.

Shirley Whitfield has played an active role with the service projects of the CSU Women’s Council and is a life member of the President’s Club and a member of the Legacy Society.

Dewey and his wife, Kathy, donated funding to establish The Dewey Center for Chaplaincy at CSU. The center trains and equips people to minister to others from all walks of life. Dewey is a frequent facilitator at center events. The College of Christian Studies

Year in Crises Response in 2016. He also received the Ready Communities Partnership National Service Award in 2017.

The Distinguished Service Award was awarded posthumously to Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas, former chair of the CSU public health department. A prolific author, she advocated for women in the military, moms, and for veterans exposed to toxins while deployed to receive expanded VA coverage. The Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas Service Act S.2102 bill is named in her honor.

She died April 5, 2022, at the age of 42.

Three faculty members received the designation of Faculty Emeritus: • Theodore Blanchard, assistant professor of business administration/accounting, at CSU since 1980 • Dr. Arnold Hite, professor of economics, at CSU since 1990 • Eileen Lutzow, assistant professor of library science and assistant librarian of systems

graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration with majors in accounting and financial management.

• Thomas Wayne Vaughan Jr., a senior elementary education major from Columbia, received the Carolyn Killen Hunter Outstanding Christian Teacher Endowed Scholarship and Award.

Each CSU graduate received a Bible provided by special arrangement between the Frank J. Johnson and Brenda Eve Bowick Johnson Bible Endowment and the Lockman Foundation.

In addition, the CSU Alumni Association presented each graduate with a journal. William Renfrow, a member of the CSU Board of Trustees, donated funds for graduates to have a copy of the new book, Who’s Eating Your Pie? Essential Financial Advice That Will Transform Your Life, by South Carolina author and entrepreneur Erik Weir. Those books were distributed at the graduation luncheon.

Dr. Dondi Costin, Mrs. Shirley Whitfield, and Mr. Tim Whitfield.

Provided by GradImages.

Busola Bamidele Oseni, center, lines up for 2022 Commencement.

offers a major and minor in chaplaincy.

Dewey, an Episcopal priest, started Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy in 1990 to address needs he saw in the Charleston community.

After taking a sabbatical, he started Lowcountry Community Chaplaincy in 2016.

Active in the community, he has served as a chaplain with S.C. Law Enforcement, with the FBI, as the National Disaster Response Coordinator for The Episcopal Church in the USA, and was named Innovator of the

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and electronic resources, at CSU since 1999 Students receiving the highest awards for seniors are: • Bailey Grace Dingler, a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate, with majors in marketing and supply chain management from Lancaster, received The Myrtle E. Hamrick Award and The John A. Barry Award.

• Tiffany Nicole Pyritz, a member of the women’s tennis team from Wake Forest, N.C., received The Hunter Cup. She is

Dr. Dondi Costin, Rev. Rob Dewey, and Mrs. Kathy Dewey.

Provided by GradImages.

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LEARNING

How to: Build a Free, Secure, and Unlimited Personal Cloud

By Dr. Yu-Ju Lin

D

ata is essential in the 21st century. A quarter-century of digital transformation has gotten us here: to the advent of the Data Age. From floppy disk to CDs and hard disk to cloud, storage technologies have come a long way, transforming our memories and experiences from physical devices to virtual spaces. The impact and value of data has never been more profound. With all these advancements, learning how to access data securely from anywhere in the world has become extremely important.

When done effectively, a cloud-based infrastructure can offer advantages over traditional storage technologies in the areas of performance, scalability, and even security.

Most people would choose to use a thirdparty service to host your data, aka cloud storage. Amazon Web Services said a cloud storage is, “a cloud computing model that stores data on the Internet through a cloud computing provider who manages and operates data storage as a service.” Why would you bother spending the time and resources to make your own cloud when so many are already available? Do we really need to reinvent the wheel?

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Unlike public cloud services, personal cloud storage does not charge users monthly subscriptions. Users use their own hardware and free open-source software to host their data. Personal cloud is easy to scale up. If you need more storage, just add another or a bigger hard drive. Most importantly, you own your data. If you rely upon a thirdparty for your cloud, you have little to no control over how that cloud can be used and how it’s deployed. If you build that cloud by yourself, you are in complete control.

No matter how large your cloud, how many users, how strong your security — it’s all in your hands. To most people, building a personal cloud is unreachable due to lack of tools and knowledge. In this article, we are going to introduce an easy way to build a free, secure, and unlimited personal cloud that you will be able to access from any device, anywhere in the world. Here are the parts you will need for this tutorial: 1. An old laptop. Laptop is great in building a cloud storage as it comes with a battery that can serve as a UPS in case of power outage. Alternatively, many would choose to use a Single Board Computer, like Raspberry Pi 4. However, the supply of SBC has been disrupted and it’s very hard to find one with a reasonable price during this pandemic. The price you pay for a Raspberry Pi 4 Kit is al-

most the same as purchasing a low-end laptop from Walmart. A low-end laptop is also much more powerful than a Raspberry Pi 4.

It also comes with built in storage, screen, keyboard, touchpad, and battery. So an old laptop is the recommendation.

2. An operating system (OS). There are many OS available for this purpose. We chose to use a Linux system. We cover how to use Linux in our classroom, so computer science students should not have any problems operating it. But for most people, operating Linux is an adventure. Modern day Linux distributions, like Ubuntu, is a userfriendly OS. Operating it is not much different than operating a Windows or MacOS. It also comes with a lot of free software that you can download from its store. However, setting up services and packages in Linux is a little bit daunting to most people. To quickly build a secure cloud server without going too technical, I am going to use a versatile distribution, Dietpi, for this tutorial.

3. A USB drive at least 4 GB large. Please backup your data before writing the image on it.

4. A portable drive, as large as you want for your cloud. You may want to use a 500GB or larger drive. These are relatively cheap. You can add more storage later.

5. Time: 30-60 minutes.

Steps: 1. Download a proper image from https://dietpi.com

Figure 1 Disc Images on Dietpi website

At the bottom of the download page, you should be able to find a lot of disc images like what is shown in Figure 1. We will use the Native PC disc image. There are two kinds of Native PC disc images. If your lap-

top is more than five years old, you need to download the Native PC (BIOS/CSM) image, otherwise, you should download the Native PC (UEFI) image.

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2. Download the Etcher from: balena.io/ etcher/.

Figure 4 Initial Login Screen

Figure 2 Download links on Balena website

You will find the download link as shown in Figure 2. Once downloaded, run the Etcher and follow the instruction on the screen to write the image to the USB drive.

3. Connect an Ethernet cable to your laptop, restart your laptop, and boot from the USB drive. You may need to consult your laptop manual on how to boot from a USB drive.

7. After logging into the system, you should change your default password as prompted and install Serial driver. Afterwards, you should reach the following screen shown in Figure 5. Notice, this password is the system password, not the password to your cloud.

Choose Browse Software. Use Arrow keys to move from one option to another. Use Enter key to choose an option.

4. Once started, it will show something like what is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Dietpi installation screen

5. Choose the only disk available on the screen and use Tab key to navigate. Press Enter key to move on to the next step. The installer will show a lot of texts on the screen and on the installation progress. Wait for a few minutes to allow it to finish the installation.

6. After the installation, the system will restart. If it does not restart, you can power cycle it. Once it is up, you should be able to see the same screen in Figure 4. You may want to write down important information on the screen: Username, Password, and LAN IP. Use the credential to login to the system for the first time. When typing the password, you will not be able to see what you are typing for security reasons.

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Figure 7 Choose Install to begin the installation

10. The next screen will say Would you like to begin? Select Ok, then Apache, and then Confirm. The installation should start after Confirm. At the end of the installation, it will ask if you want to participate in a survey. After making your own choice, you will be back to the Terminal. If you wrote down your IP address when you first logged into the system, use a device (phone, laptop, PC, or tablet) to open a browser and enter the following address (replace the IP address shown with the one you wrote down when you logged into the system):

Figure 5 Dietpi-Software Installation Screen

Figure 8 URL address you should use for the first time

8. Dietpi will show software on screen as what is shown in Figure 6. Feel free to browse the software offered using up-arrow and down-arrow keys. Use Space key to choose an option. Use Tab key to move between browsing, Ok, and Back options. For this tutorial, we will use Nextcloud and Certbot:

11. You will see the following screen. Use admin as username and dietpi as password.

You will be able to change it later. Notice, this password is your cloud password, not the system password you set-up in Step 7.

Figure 6 Dietpi Software Browsing Screens

9. Once Ok is chosen, it will move back to previous screen. Now we are ready to install the software. Move to Install and then choose Ok.

Figure 9 Nextcloud login page

continued >>

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LEARNING

12. At the upper-right corner, you should be able to create a new user, similar to the following:

\

14. To make your online cloud storage safe, we will use Certbot. It will help you create a certificate for your domain. You must first complete Step 11 and then register a domain name for your website from a Free DNS service before continuing. The service is free of charge. Once a domain is registered, go to your home router’s setting, and then Port Forward to your nextcloud IP address. In my case, I will forward port 80 and port 443 to 192.168.68.117.

15. In Dietpi terminal, type the following command:

Figure 10 Creating a new user in Nextcloud

13. Now, you can download the nextcloud client from Apple Store or Google Play Store and sync your data with your own personal cloud! Alternatively, you can download from Nextcloud website if you cannot access the Apple Store or Google Play Store. You can sync your data from anywhere in the world as long as you know your public IP address.

To make it easier to use, you can bind your Public IP address to a domain name using a dynamic DNS service. However, this is beyond the scope of this tutorial.

16. Enter the following information and then you are done!

Figure 12 Letsencrypt setup screen

Note: You must keep your laptop on and make sure it is connected to the Internet the entire time for this tutorial to complete smoothly.

Dr. Yu-Ju Lin is a professor of computer science and director of the computer science graduate program.

Figure 11 Secure your website by running letsencrypt

NEW PROGRAMS:

CFP Board-Registered Personal Finance Major Now Offered

By Jenna Johnson

C

harleston Southern University has been approved by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. to provide a new financial planning major, the BBA in personal financial management.

“As student interest in financial planning as a career continues to grow, we anticipate that Charleston Southern University’s program will contribute significantly to the number of qualified candidates seeking to attain CFP® certification, the standard of excellence for competent and ethical finan-

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cial planning,” said Kamila Elliott, chair of CFP’s Board.

Students completing the financial planning program at CSU will meet the coursework requirement for CFP® Certification and be eligible to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination administered by CFP Board.

Dr. David Palmer, dean of the Nielsen College of Business, said, “Being approved as a CFP® Registered Program is key to providing the best possible financial train-

ing to future planners and others involved in the financial services industry. This is a growing industry with high demand for new planners. Our goal is to provide the financial services industry with well-trained candidates, ready to take the CFP® Exam. This is a key success factor for our graduates.” Persons interested in the program should send inquiries to Boyce Smith, director of the Center for Personal Financial Management, at bsmith@csuniv.edu.

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LEARNING

NEW PROGRAMS:

Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Opens Doors

By Jan Joslin

A

fter years of planning and preparation, the Charleston Southern Doctor of Physical Therapy program hosted an Open House in the spring and welcomed visitors to tour the classrooms and clinical spaces.

President Dondi Costin welcomed the guests which included clinical partners, advisory board members, and members of the community. Costin said, “It’s a day to celebrate. Dr. Jacob Thorp and his team have assembled an extraordinary faculty.”

Thorp joined the CSU family in 2019 and serves as the director and a professor with the physical therapy department. Thorp assembled an advisory board which provided feedback and direction.

Effective April 26, 2022, Charleston Southern University has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. The first cohort of 48 students began classes May 31 and will graduate in December 2024.

Thorp said the 2.5 year program is the fastest track to a DPT in the state of South

Physical Therapy hosted an open house and tours prior to the first cohort beginning. Photo by Ty Cornett.

Carolina. He said physical therapists are needed, and new students come into the program excited and ready to work. “In designing the fast-track program, we trusted God would provide the right students for the program.”

Other unique aspects of the program include service-learning opportunities where students will meet needs in the community, the state, and internationally, and South Carolina’s only MBA/DPT co-enrollment degree program. Students will have the option to complete a Master of Business Administration in healthcare management as well as a Doctor of Physical Therapy in less time than usual.

Martin Watts, chair of the Physical Therapy Advisory Board, said there are parts of the state where it is difficult to find a physical therapist. He said, “CSU’s unique emphasis on service is going to serve the state.”

The DPT degree culminates in a faculty mentored research project that can be presented at a state or national conference.

ACSES STEM

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The Association of Charleston Southern Engineering Students ran a booth showcasing robotics at Accepted Student Weekend this spring. Photo by Ty Cornett CSU magazine

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LEARNING

CARING FOR CREATURES

&

S M A L L

By Jenna Johnson / Photos by Ty Cornett

When Professor of Biology Dr. Todd Heldreth walks through the Animal Forest at Charles Towne Landing, he wears a smile and carries a bag of treats ready for his furry friends Memphis, Clark, and Darla. Outside of teaching full time in the classroom at Charleston Southern University, he puts on his proverbial veterinarian hat each week to care for wildlife at the popular state historic site— known as the birthplace of South Carolina—within its natural habitat zoo.

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Dr. Todd Heldreth

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Clark, the elk, was brought to the Animal Forest from the upstate because of his wandering into suburban neighborhoods in the Southeast. Though friendly, he was becoming a large nuisance and danger.

He was accurately named Clark after the American explorer.

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LEARNING

River otters are playful and cute, but Heldreth warns they are not pet material. A playful nibble can draw blood.

eldreth knows each animal by name, their unique personalities, and sometimes begs for their forgiveness for the last time he had to give them necessary treatment such as a vaccine, surgery, or beak clipping.

“They remember and can hold a grudge,” he stated, acknowledging that some harbor ill feelings longer than others. Others are easily appeased with treats.

Though Heldreth doesn’t claim favorites, there are some that steal his heart more than others—like Memphis. This large black bear shows off his fun personality when Heldreth stops by for a visit. In true bear fashion, he seeks those special treats from the human who ensures the bear’s health is on the right track.

Then there’s Clark, the majestic elk, who happily trots over to the fence to greet Heldreth seeking a nibble of an apple and a nose rub.

One can almost forget that these creatures were once wild. But due to injury, ailments, and unique situations, they will spend the remainder of their life in the Animal Forest, being cared for in the best possible way by zookeepers and vets. The fences (and Heldreth) serve as a reminder that the beasts (black bear, elk, bison, puma, red fox, etc.) are still, in fact, beasts. And that proper handling and processes are followed for their safety and the

safety of the humans who care for them.

However, some of the Animal Forest’s inhabitants—the white-tailed deer, opossum, goats, pigs, tortoises, otters, and various sea birds—allow some closer handling without the need for tranquilizers or protected vehicles. In fact, Darla—one of the deer on site—gives kisses to her favorite vet. And Madame quite literally hogs the show, oinking away when a human approaches and vacuuming up any treats before other farm animals have a chance at it.

JOURNEY TO THE FOREST Prior to Charleston Southern and the Animal Forest, Heldreth treated, diagnosed, and performed surgeries on countless furry patients in private practice for 18 years. He received his Bachelor of Science in biology from Emory and Henry College in 1984 before going on to Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine where he received his PhD in veterinary medicine.

Serving as a vet was a rewarding experience, but he sought a change of pace. He left private practice to begin teaching biology at CSU in 2006. Heldreth teaches courses in zoology, mammalogy, and parasitology, as

A 2009 alumnus, Jillian Davis now serves as the Animal Forest curator.

well as anatomy and physiology sections for prenursing students.

Many of his students want to go into animal-related fields. And, thanks to the natural bridge in Heldreth’s relationship with the local zoo, they get that opportunity. Each year, as many as 20 students in CSU’s biology program intern or volunteer at Charles Towne Landing’s Animal Forest.

“Even if they don’t stay here long, it looks good on their resumes and it’s also just good animal experience,” Heldreth added. Some of those students have been hired on at the Animal Forest.

In fact, the top dog at the Forest happens to be a CSU alumnus.

Jillian Davis ’09 began volunteering in Charles Towne Landing’s education department at age 15. She discovered her passion at a young age, went on to get her degree from Charleston Southern, and developed her potential by interning and volunteering at the Animal Forest. She never left. Now Davis serves as the head zookeeper aka the Animal Forest curator.

“I’ve basically lived here my entire life, but I love it—it’s a testament to how great it is here,” Davis said of her work home at the Landing. continued >>

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LEARNING

DESIGNING A CAREER PATH

Watch Dr. Heldreth and alumna Jillian Davis talk about their work at Charles Towne Landing’s Animal Forest at bit.ly/csuanimals.

Check out the Pig-Casso Program, where the resident guinea hog, Madame, reveals her artistic side. Charles Towne Landing also offers a free Read to the Hog literacy program for children. For any animal encounter program, be sure to check for times and dates of availability. Many programs were temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 to protect the animals, as many are susceptible to the virus.

Charles Towne Landing park grounds are open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. The Animal Forest is open 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily. Closed Christmas Day. Admission is $12/adult; $7.50/senior; $7/youth ages 6-15; free for children 5 and younger.

Like Davis, fellow CSU wildlife biology alumni have experience working in a variety of areas such as the Department of Natural Resources, labs, and zoos—or even Boeing.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of veterinarians is projected to grow 17% in the next decade— which is much faster than the average for all occupations. With a combination of workers retiring or leaving the field as well as increases in consumer pet-related spending, vets will continue to be in high demand outpacing the 12% increase for other healthcare practitioners.

A prospective veterinary medicine student typically has a bachelor’s in a field like biology before completing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Admission to veterinary programs is competitive and requires at least four years of classroom, lab, and clinical components. Currently, South Carolina ranks 46th out of 50 in the United States for the number of vets per thousand, according to the S.C. Association of Veterinarians—likely due to the lack of an in-state doctoral program.

For animal care and service workers, the BLS projects employment to grow 33% through 2030, nearly double that of veterinarians. Zookeepers like Davis combine skills and knowledge in nutrition, hygiene, and medical care, while also educating the public. Other wildlife biology majors may start in clinics, animal hospitals, and research labs.

“Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer—I can’t stress that enough.” Davis shares advice for any biology student seeking experience and a path forward in animal patient care.

“Most of my zookeepers here started out as a volunteer. Get your foot in the door. Every zoo you apply to looks for that volunteer experience.”

Heldreth encourages biology majors to get postgraduate degrees. “It increases their options and earning capacity throughout their career,” he stated. “I love it when my students move on to master’s and PhD programs.”

Both Davis and Heldreth have combined their passion for animals with a meaningful career. Heldreth’s first job out of school was mixed animal practice, which meant he was treating farm animals any time of day or night. He moved on to small animals—like

dogs and cats—before dealing with the likes of Clark, Memphis, or the Golden Girls (the four female bison) at the Animal Forest.

“As far as veterinary medicine, you’ll want to treat it like human premed. The competition is so fierce and there are so few vet schools,” Heldreth explained. “Get really good at chemistry, math, and biology. Make good grades and get animal experience, and you’ll be set up really well.”

He added, “Anyone can do it, you just have to want it bad enough.”

Davis said working so closely with the large animals at Charles Towne Landing is rewarding, but as with any career working directly with human or animal patients, it’s hard on the heart. “The losses hurt. That’s the biggest heartache—but it’s worthwhile.

Especially when you educate the public on, say, the red wolves that are in the endangered species, and we’re helping with that.”

Working with animals isn’t always cutesy stuff. “Keep that in mind,” Davis said. “It’s not always petting the animals and having fun, it is hard work.”

For those interested in checking out the Animal Forest and learning more about wildlife or veterinary care, Charles Towne Landing offers the “Interview with a Veterinarian” program. Check out their website to see these and other events at southcarolinaparks.com/charles-towne-landing/ programs-and-events.

Pelican enjoying a sunny day.

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The four bison at the zoo are named for the Golden Girls: Blanche, Dorothy, Sophia, and Rose.

The zoo also has smaller animals such as this opossum.

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Memphis loves when Dr. Heldreth comes by with treats.

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LEARNING

FACULTY/STUDENT RESEARCH:

Carver Delves Into Aeroponics Compiled by Jan Joslin / Photos by Ty Cornett

H

eather Carver, a senior biology major from Waynesville, North Carolina, discovered a love for aeroponics in a class in 2021.

Aeroponics is a system of growing plants in air, without soil. Carver has finished her biology major requirements and will be studying abroad in Ecuador in fall 2022 to finish up minors in Spanish and criminal justice. Upon graduation, she will be studying for the LSAT with plans to attend law school.

Aeroponics Internship I had taken Dr. Thomas Gurley’s aeroponic class in the fall of 2021 not knowing anything about aeroponics when registering.

I had hoped it would be interesting but did not think there would be any spark of interest in the field. Come to find out I really enjoyed learning this all-new material throughout the semester that was unlike any of my previous science classes. Dr. Gurley was extremely passionate about aeroponics, and this made learning from him easy. After the class and the lab, I wanted to continue

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learning and do a project on my own, so I spoke with Dr. Gurley, and he made the idea reality. I learned what true research was because not everything worked as I thought it would and there were a lot of trial and error moments.

Why Radishes?

Radishes were used due to their quick germination and growing period. In the research experiment, Vitamin C content was measured, and radishes are known for their high vitamin C content as well.

Lessons Learned I learned to pay more attention to the food that I am eating and where is it coming from. This class showed me there is a way to have fresh foods during all seasons of the year and in any area as long as there is a functioning system and electricity. I would like to eventually buy a system of my own for my home.

Heather Carver shows the different aspects of aeroponics equipment.

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LEARNING

FACULTY/STUDENT RESEARCH:

Parsons Exploring World of Mathematics

By Jan Joslin / Photos by Ty Cornett

A

s a Campus Ambassador, Maddy Parsons gives tours to prospective students and their families. She is honest and tells her tour groups she had a hard time deciding where to go to college.

She said, “I tell them CSU is the best thing that ever happened to me. It’s my job to share what I love about CSU, and I let God do the rest.”

Parsons confesses she is a planner, planning everything down to the smallest detail.

Having no idea her senior year of high school what she wanted to do made her uneasy.

Her three older siblings had all attended different colleges and wanted her to follow in their footsteps. Her youth minister advised her to pray and let the financial aid process choose her opportunities.

In a scholarship interview at Charleston Southern, she was asked, why should we choose you for this scholarship? Parsons answered, “Let God lead you to who you should give the scholarship to.”

She received a call two weeks later that she had won the scholarship and came to CSU in fall 2020.

Fascinated with hurricanes, Parsons thought she might want to be a meteorologist, but she admits she had no idea what she wanted to do. Her fascination with weather led to joining a South Carolina Independent College and Universities-funded research project with Dr. Ryan Thomas, her Calculus 3 professor.

Their project in fall 2021, An Analysis of Numerical Weather Prediction and Methods for Decreasing Error, led them to conclude that more sophisticated computing would be required to predict the weather with any accuracy. “Meteorologists rely on computers using seven partial differential equations,” said Parsons. “All of the seven are interconnected, and it is impossible to solve analytically.”

In the summer of 2021, Parsons was selected for another research project, On the Rate of Polarization of Decreasing Monomial Codes Beyond the Binary Field, conducted with Clemson University and funded by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Denise Dawson, department chair of CSU math,

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Dr. Ryan Thomas, Maddy Parsons, and Dr. Emily Thomas are working on another SCICU-funded research project this summer.

encouraged Parsons to apply.

The project, geared to students early in their math career, was conducted completely through Zoom due to COVID. It was an eight-hour a day job. Parsons’s research group included two students from the West Coast, so the group worked each day from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. EDT. Through her research projects and interactions with her professors, Parsons has found her niche as a math major. One particular interaction solidified her future.

When Parsons uncharacteristically didn’t finish a calculus assignment, her professor emailed asking if everything was ok and wanting to know how he could pray for her.

Parsons told Thomas she was struggling because she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life.

Ryan Thomas wrote back, quoting Psalm 90:17, “establish for us the work of our hands.” Thomas wrote doing and teaching math is the work he is supposed to do in life.

However, he said that wasn’t the real work.

“Most of you won’t remember anything

about multivariable calculus in 10 years, but hopefully something that’s more meaningful will stick with you,” wrote Thomas.

The quote resonated with Parsons, and she came to believe she wasn’t at CSU by accident. She said, “I couldn’t have gotten myself here, but God gave me more than I could ever imagine.”

Parsons is working on another SCICUfunded research project, this time with the Drs. Thomases: Ryan Thomas, associate professor of mathematics, and Emily Thomas, associate professor of mathematics. Parsons affectionately calls them Mr. Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Dr. Thomas. They will present their research at SCICU in February 2023.

This summer and fall, the Thomases and Parsons are studying a developmental analysis of problem solving skills in an introduction to proof course. This course is a study of discrete mathematics, in which students write their first proofs and get their first taste of real math. Parsons says they are looking at how to introduce more creativity. “The earlier you can do that, the better,” she said.

“What would that mean for students? How can we help students in that?”

Parsons is absorbing everything she can to help her in her career as a math educator.

She’s also working this summer with Campus Ambassadors, giving families tours of the campus and continuing to share her love of CSU.

Maddy Parsons writes a matrix used for proof of theorems.

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LEARNING

FACULTY/STUDENT RESEARCH:

Students Receive Funding for Research

By Jan Joslin

T

hree Charleston Southern students were among the 21 student presenters at the 2022 Research Symposium of the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities. The 21 students represented 18 research projects from eight of the SCICU’s 21 institutions.

The research grants were awarded in 2021, and students presented their findings in February 2022.

Amber Alliston and Colton Huber, under the sponsorship of Dr. Joshua Wofford, assistant professor of chemistry, presented Experimental and Computational Methods for Understanding Copper Import, Trafficking, and Regulation as a Systems Level Model in S.cerevisiae.

Wofford said, “We started a project where we are studying copper intake and use in S. cerevisiae (baker’s yeast). We hope that insights gained from this and future research will be useful in understanding and treating Wilson’s disease and Menke’s disease.”

Amber Alliston, a senior biology major, has dreamed of doing scientific research since she was in middle school and studying the anatomy of animals. “The SCICU grant allowed me to research something that is not well known,” said Alliston.

Both Wilson’s and Menke’ diseases are inherited. In Wilson’s disease, copper accumulates in some of the body’s organs, and with Menke’s disease, the body doesn’t absorb copper. Alliston plans to research copper trafficking in a pharmaceutical aspect. She said, “I didn’t know much about these diseases before researching with Dr. Wofford, but now I have a drive for knowing more about them and helping people affected by them.”

The SCICU-funded research project has helped Alliston in her understanding in science classes and communicating with her peers more effectively. She said, “The summer after we were accepted to receive the grant, I was blessed with an offer as an intern in pharmaceutical validations. Since then, I have been offered a permanent position upon graduation. I plan to work my way to research and development to continue the research that I began here and apply

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All the research grant recipients and their faculty sponsors at the SCICU Research Symposium. Photo provided by SCICU.

it to the treatment of diseases.”

Alliston took a leap of faith moving to Charleston and attending CSU. “I came from a small town where the last focus was God and education,” she said. “I thank God that he put me on this path and gave me blinders as a child. This allowed me to develop the love for research that I have today.”

Colton Huber is a junior planning to go to medical school and eventually become a physician-scientist.

Huber said, “I would like to do clinical research in genetics when I graduate and maybe one day apply what we learned from doing our copper project to further advance the field of medicine.”

He said, “I would just like to thank Dr. Wofford for providing me with an opportunity to do research under him for the last two years.”

Busola Bamidele Oseni, under the sponsorship of Dr. Aiye Liang, professor of chemistry, presented Investigation of ProteinGlycosaminoglycan Interactions by Capillary Electrophoresis.

Liang said, “It is known that the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global crisis, which has resulted in a rush to find effective treatments for COVID-19. One of the targets is the viral spike protein (S-protein), which plays critical role in viral infection by recognizing host cell receptors and mediating fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. One of the interventions is to block the interaction between the host cell receptors and the S-protein with antibodies or small molecules. We chose heparin and

the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 S-protein RBD in this project. The analysis of the S-protein along with its interaction with heparin, a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan, were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis. We found out that heparin has strong interaction with the S-protein. Further investigation will focus on finding the binding constants and investigate the interaction of other glycosaminoglycans to the S-protein.”

Oseni, a senior biochemistry major, said receiving the research grant meant she could explore her passion for scientific research on a bigger scale and challenged her to learn more research-based writing and public speaking skills as well as the hands-on experience of working in the lab with Liang.

She hopes to attend graduate school and continue scientific research. Oseni said, “Working through this SCICU research project has given me so much more perspective into what research entails, such as the level of time, persistence and detail that a research project requires. Working alongside my professor provided me with so much knowledge in the field of chemistry. I got to apply the concepts I learned in my chemistry classes and also know how to write scholarly abstracts for a research paper.”

Oseni thinks other students should apply for an SCICU research grant for the broader perspective of what research entails. She said, “A huge bonus for me was getting to hear other students from different colleges present their projects and network with fellow students interested in research.”

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LEARNING

FACULTY/STUDENT RESEARCH:

Spring Symposium Highlights Research

T

he 2022 Spring Symposium traveled from Tolkein’s Middle-Earth to psychology, biology, biochemistry, nursing, and mathematics research, and more. Presentations and posters highlighted faculty and student research and featured students reading original poetry and a paper on the Triune God. Psychology students studied the effects of bullying behavior and the correlation of

forgiveness to victimization outcomes and COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and the relationship with religious denominations.

The annual symposium is coordinated by the faculty Publications Committee to showcase the research and work of students and faculty. Committee members for 2021-2022 are: Joshua Wofford, chair; Kristen Hixon, Cole Jeffrey, Charles Smedley, Timothy Banks, and Jan Joslin.

Micah Carnes presents a paper at the annual Spring Symposium, showcasing student and faculty research. Photo by Dr. Joshua Wofford

Retirees Have Combined 116 Years of Service

By Jan Joslin / Photos by Ty Cornett

Jeff Babetz

T

hree faculty members and one staff member received the Emeritus title at the annual employee luncheon May 5, and the faculty were recognized at the May 7 Commencement.

President Dondi Costin said, “Imagine how many students’ lives were impacted by this group.”

Dr. Arnold Hite, emeritus professor of business, served CSU for 32 years. During that time he held multiple leadership positions including dean of the College of Business, department chair, faculty senate chair, and more. He is best known for his love for and service to students and faculty colleagues. He sponsored the student Outdoor Adventure Club, founded the CSU Polar

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Dr. Arnold Hite

Teddy Blanchard

Plunge, and was involved with international student activities. Hite said teaching is explaining with patience, to advance understanding, and convey mastery. “I have great confidence about CSU’s path,” said Hite.

Professor Teddy Blanchard, emeritus professor of business, served CSU for 42 years.

A dedicated teacher, he impacted many students through his expertise in accounting. Known as an excellent colleague, he mentored many young faculty members. At best estimate, he has taught nearly 10,000 students in his CSU career. Blanchard said he had worked with great faculty and students over the years.

Professor Eileen Lutzow, emeritus professor of library science, served CSU for

23 years. She navigated the Rivers Library through two library system migrations – the second one during a pandemic. She earned the love and friendship of those who worked with her. Costin said, “Her dedication, experience, and deep knowledge of the library are irreplaceable.”

Jeff Babetz, emeritus director of institutional effectiveness, served CSU for 19 years. Costin said Babetz was one of the employees who works behind the scenes to keep the university functioning. Babetz said, “As He always does, God provided a way to make it happen.”

Emeritus is an honorary title given to retirees who have met qualifications of longevity and excellence in the workplace.

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CSU View:

By Jan Joslin / Photos by Ty Cornett

I

t’s been 10 years since the Charleston Southern Herbarium was registered with the New York Botanical Garden.

Curator Kevin Jones says the herbarium started as a project of Dr. Jim Barrier and Professor Steve Best in 1994. In recent years, Jones has worked with students and research assistants in his Plant Taxonomy class to expand the collection, focusing in the past 10 years on the undeveloped parts of the campus.

Housing approximately 3,000 specimens today, the collection includes some unusual mosses, orchid species, some invasive species, a parasitic plant which grows on the roots of trees and can only be seen while blooming, and much more. Jones said it has been a few semesters since students have found something the collection didn’t already have.

The CSU Herbarium is housed in Jones’s office in specially designed storage in the Science building.

CSU Herbarium Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

Perilla, belongs to the mint family

Dendrobium, a fairly common orchid

Cape Sundew

Venus flytrap

Popcorn tree or Chinese tallow tree

Fun Fact: Professor Kevin Jones in the CSU greenhouse

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Professor Jones has hosted the Coastal Carolina Orchid Society meetings at CSU since 2011.

Spathyglottis, or bog orchid

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LEADING

Women in Industry Honor CSU’s Dr. Todd Ashby

By Jan Joslin

T

he recent Charleston Women in Industry Conference included a panel of men who were nominated and chosen based on their record of supporting and empowering women in the workplace.

Dr. Todd Ashby, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, joined three men from Boeing and Volvo to discuss how they empower women in the workplace.

Ashby brought the house down when the panel was asked to name some women who had influenced them. The other panelists named prominent CEOs, several nationally known. Ashby named his maternal grandmother. A single mother with an 8th grade education, Ashby’s grandmother loved numbers and taught Ashby fractions when he was 5. “I became a PhD in mathematics and have influenced thousands because of her,” he said.

Ashby said he learned his respect for people and women early in life because of his strong grandmother and mother. Ashby said he focuses on hiring the best. He pointed out the best math and engineering majors at CSU are currently female, and three of the six chairs in the College of Science and Mathematics are female.

He said people want to be treated in an equal fashion. “People respond to humility much more than arrogance,” said Ashby.

“When we disagree, we need to decide how we are going to move forward together.”

The panelists agreed there was much that could be done to impact women in the workplace. They encouraged women to apply when there were openings at the leadership level.

Dr. Todd Ashby and Dr. Valerie Sessions, CSU affiliate professor of computer science, at the Charleston Women in Industry Conference. Provided

“People respond to humility much more than arrogance.

When we disagree, we need to decide how we are going to move forward together.”

– Todd Ashby Women in Industry panelists: Rocco Tomasso, senior structural design engineer, Boeing; Ashby; Dr. Nelson Akwari, director, Interiors Responsibility Center South Carolina, Boeing; and Kevin Graham, director of plant engineering, Volvo. Photo by Jan Joslin

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LEADING

Dunbar ’17 Putting Computer Science Master’s Degree to Work Compiled by Jan Joslin / Photo by Ty Cornett

cused on theory; however, some projects in school allowed me to learn some new frameworks I haven’t used before like ASP.NET MVC. There is a section of developers at my job that code in C# and ASP.NET MVC, so it gave me the tools already needed if I ever got involved with another team using those techniques. With my current job, we use a testing framework called Jest, which is something I learned during my Software Testing and Maintenance class.

Daily Duties I have moved to a new position where we use a front-end web framework known as REACTJS to design websites for our customers. For three years I was the subject matter expert of a laboratory information management system known as LABWARE which was used by chemists to track their sample data and results.

Working at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions SRNS is near where I live, has a stable history of work excellence, offers nice retirement benefits, and nice pay increase incentives based on performance, length of time employed, and market competitive rates. The combination of these factors makes it a great place to work in South Carolina.

Dr. Yu-Ju Lin presents DeJean Dunbar the Outstanding Graduate in the Master of Science in computer science award at the annual Award’s Day in April.

D

eJean Dunbar is currently completing a Master of Science in computer science at CSU and is a 2017 BS graduate. He has worked at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions in Aiken for the last five years. As an undergrad Dunbar won a mobile app competition sponsored by Charleston Defense Contractors Association. He also volunteered with CodeON, Coding in Our Neighborhoods, a free coding lab program for children in underserved neighborhoods, coordinated by Charleston Women in Tech.

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Pursuing a Master’s Degree When I first got my full-time position at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, I was told of a program they had that paid for school expenses with the condition of receiving a B or higher.

Finances were the only concern for me when going back to graduate school, so the fact that my job offered this program solidified my decision to go back to CSU for graduate study.

Master’s Program Impacting Career Most of the material I learned in college fo-

Community Service I am heavily involved with my church, New Beginning Ministries, where I am a part of the media team, so I am able to use some of my computer science skills in that role. I also assist in plays done by a local group called READY OR NOT PRODUCTIONS where they bring out a combination of comedy, tragic events, and Christianity to change the audience lives for the better and promote the desire to establish a relationship with Jesus.

Family Fun During Spring break, my family had the opportunity to take my five-year-old niece to Disney World. I have not been there since I was five, so it was an awesome experience seeing all the attractions again.

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LEADING

BALDWIN WINS NATIONAL AWARD

By Jan Joslin / Photos by Oakbrook Middle School yearbook

A

my Britt Baldwin ’00 describes seventh grade, especially math, as her worst year in school growing up. Ironically, she spent 13 years teaching seventh grade mathematics and a few years in seventh grade science at Oakbrook Middle School before assuming the Gateway to Technology position in 2013.

Baldwin said, “It was one of the hardest decisions I made to move positions, but it helped renew my passion for teaching.”

Baldwin’s passion for teaching is evident just based on her recent accolades. She was South Carolina STEM Educator of the Year in 2021. This year she was recognized nationally as the Robert and Patricia Kern Teacher of the Year by Project Lead the Way. She readily acknowledges she was the kid wanting to know the why to everything. She also liked finding different ways to solve a problem. “The journey was as important to me as the solution,” said Baldwin. “I think that is why I am so passionate about teaching STEM.” Baldwin believes STEM allows every student to find something they are good at and excel. “I have watched students realize that

Baldwin’s family members and school family celebrate her national award.

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Amy Baldwin speaks after receiving the national Robert and Patricia Kern Teacher of the Year award.

they have the skills to be a computer programmer or a mechanic,” said Baldwin. “Many of these students find their safe place or comfort zone in my classroom, because in my room you can be yourself. My STEM classroom is the place to explore and find your why.”

As a Gateway to Technology teacher, Baldwin exposes students to STEM concepts and

careers. She said STEM careers are some of the fastest growing in the Charleston metro region and will be some of the main jobs available during her students’ lifetime.

“Through our hands-on lessons and career explorations, I hope that students gain the knowledge that allows them to explore their areas of interest and unlock their strengths,” said Baldwin.

The sixth grade GTT curriculum gets students interested in STEM concepts such as engineering, the design process and coding.

Students explore coding through CS First Music and Sound to create music videos. The seventh grade curriculum includes 3D modeling and production, focuses on design for production, and students complete projects such as making foot orthosis for students with Cerebral Palsy, design puzzle cubes modified for special needs, and design solutions to their own problems. Careers such as auto and plane manufacturing are explored.

In the eighth grade, GTT students learn to create and program robots, to build mechanical gears, and about the medical and forensic field in real-world scenarios. “Students are challenged to create a build without a defined solution or instructions,” said Baldwin.

When Baldwin became a GTT teacher in 2013, she was the only female GTT teacher in her district. Most of the other teachers had an industrial technology or business background. Baldwin believes boys are pushed toward STEM more often than females. She observed that boys tended to lean toward robotics and building. Baldwin said, “I often heard girls say that they did not like build activities because the boys would take over.”

She started making an effort to bring more females into her STEM classes. “My all girls robotics teams and Girl Power camp helped the young ladies in the community feel more confident in their STEM abilities,” she said.

Bladwin encourages students interested in

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LEADING

Photo by Ty Cornett

Historic Ring Ceremony

By Jenna Johnson Photo by Hunter Gatling ’24

T

hey put a ring on it. For the first time in Charleston Southern history, Bucs walked the brick pathway this spring to celebrate their collegiate accomplishments with a tangible treasure – their CSU ring.

The university chose Jostens to enhance

the official CSU class ring tradition.

The redesigned ring showcases the CSU official academic icon signifying Scripture at its very foundation, and Charleston Southern University – 1964 wrapping around the perimeter of the ring’s face.

Photo by Ty Cornett

<< Baldwin from page 24.

the field of education to get in the classroom and experience everything they can. “My CSU experience prepared me for my career better than many of my colleagues,” she said.

“CSU pushed us to get out in the classroom, and that classroom exposure helped so much. When I was in college, I was encouraged to become a substitute teacher during off months and to volunteer in classrooms even when not required. I was a sub and that helped me determine I looked too young to teach high school. I worked as an adult support one semester which helped me get experience working with special needs students.

I taught first grade Sunday school at my church which helped me begin to learn about planning and meeting the needs of others.”

Baldwin emphasizes that things have changed in the classroom over her 22-year career. “The immersion of technology in our daily lives has changed the way the world views everything,” she said. She encourages those who want to support educators to get in the classroom. She advises signing up to be a substitute teacher (walk a day in their shoes), volunteering in a school (there are

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so many opportunities), or just taking the time to bring lunch/breakfast to a school and sit and talk with teachers. She said, “Taking time to see how different school is will help the public find ways to help and support.”

One unique experience Baldwin had was teaching with her mother, Janice Wolfe, for the first 19 years of her career at Oakbrook Middle. Wolfe graduated from CSU in 1998.

Baldwin said, “This was one of the best experiences of my life.” Sadly, her mother died of lung cancer in April.

Baldwin is moving to East Edisto Middle School for the 2022-23 academic year to launch the GTT program at DD2’s newest middle school.

Baldwin is married to Carter Baldwin, a 1999 CSU alum. They met while at CSU, reconnected in 2005 and were married in 2007. They have an 11-year-old son, Ethan, who is active in Boy Scouts. They live in Summerville and have a rescue dog, Hank.

The Baldwins organize fundraiser efforts each year for the March of Dimes and are avid supporters of the Medical University of South Carolina’s NNICU.

CSU BOT Making Headlines

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everal other boards and groups have recently elected three CSU Board of Trustees members to serve in prominent roles.

• Mrs. Missie Branch is the new trustee chair of Lifeway Christian Resources. She is the first African American woman to serve in this role. Branch is assistant dean of students to women and director of graduate life at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. • Dr. D.J. Horton is chair of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force. Horton is senior pastor of Church at The Mill in Moore.

• Pastor Alex Sands is the second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Sands is pastor of Kingdom Life Church in Simpsonville.

CSU magazine 25 7/7/22 10:35 AM

LEADING

News: CSU Named Silver-level Military Friendly School

By Jenna Johnson / Photo by Ty Cornett

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harleston Southern University announced in April that it earned the 2022-2023 Military Friendly® School designation—Silver level. CSU is currently educating 248 veterans and 159 veteran dependents.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey with 665 earning special awards for going above the standard.

“This designation signifies CSU’s contin-

ued commitment in providing the best educational experience and service to those who have served,” said Paula Charls, VA school certifying official for Charleston Southern and a U.S. Air Force veteran.

CSU veteran-specific services include: a dedicated lounge that allows veteran students a space to relax and study, a Student Veterans Association, and free veteran counseling services.

Ranked in the top 30 in U.S. News & World Report five years in a row, CSU is currently ranked #21 in the nation for Best On-

line Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans.

For more information about CSU’s student veteran programs, visit charlestonsouthern. edu/veterans.

AFROTC Detachment 772 cadets at Charleston Southern University.

Ott Fellowship Enhances Faculty Research

By Travis Boyd ’22 / Photos by Ty Cornett

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rofessors within the College of Christian Studies have participated in a fellowship the last few years that has enhanced faculty research beyond the scope of a normal classroom setting.

The Ott Fellowship was generated by a donation from the late Gene and Freda Ott and supports a professor over a three-year term to focus less on teaching and more on Christian research. The initial donation remains in a trust while the interest generated from the donation goes to fund the research led by the fellowship chair.

The first professor to serve as the fellowship chair was Dr. Peter Beck, a professor of Christian studies and chair of the Honors Program. Serving as chair during the COVID-19 pandemic, Beck endured many challenges as mission trips were canceled and forums were not held.

Beck did find a way to get the most out of his time. “While COVID-19 had a negative impact on my time serving on the chair, it allowed me to focus on literature and adding to the campus library inventory of materials related to Christian studies,” said Beck.

26 CSU magazine CSU v32 n2.indd 26

Christians and encourage them in their faith.

Literature, missions, and forums are going to give the Charleston Southern community ways to enhance their growth and strengthen their faith.

Taking his place as chair is Dr. Edward Gravely, professor of Christian studies. Gravely has plans to visit the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., during his term and plans to write an introduction to his book for the purpose of enhancing understanding and knowledge on the Bible courses offered at CSU. CSU students will benefit from the Ott Fellowship endowment as guest speakers will be brought in to discuss various issues affecting

William Travis Boyd is a 2022 Master of Arts graduate and was a brand ambassador for the Office of Marketing & Communication during his graduate studies.

Dr. Peter Beck

Dr. Edward Gravely

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LEADING

News: CSU Partners with Six Seminaries to Offer Accelerated Track

By Jenna Johnson / Photo by Ty Cornett

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ew partnerships with six seminaries nationwide will give CSU prospective and current students an accelerated and affordable track to advanced theological and ministerial training.

The agreement with Gateway Baptist Theological Seminary (Los Angeles, Calif.), Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas

City, Mo.), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (New Orleans, La.), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Forest, N.C.), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, Texas), and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.) offers Christian studies majors the opportunity to complete both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in under six years.

Dr. Ben Phillips, dean of CSU’s College of Christian Studies, said that many Christian studies graduates go directly into the ministry within the local church, parachurch, or mission field; however, many of those ministries prefer or even require advanced seminary degrees. These degrees are typically constructed for students who have no formal training in Bible, theology, or ministry. The standard seminary degree—the MDiv—usually re-

quires at least three years to complete, so the time and associated costs are often a deterrent to majors investing in advanced education.

“This agreement allows graduates who have earned their bachelor’s from CSU’s College of Christian Studies to enter an advanced-standing program at one of our partnered seminaries, cutting a full year off of their seminary degree,” Phillips said.

Students at CSU may reduce their seminary degree courses by as many as 33 hours and save anywhere from $8,700 to $17,400 in tuition and fees.

SEBTS Provost Keith Whitfield said Southeastern is grateful to partner with CSU. “As Baptists, cooperation is in our DNA,” he said. “[CSU and Southeastern share] the same passion for equipping students for vocational and marketplace ministry for the 21st century.”

Students had a chance to meet seminary reps in person.

Brueilly Named Editor of International PT Journal

By Jenna Johnson / Photo by Ty Cornett

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r. Kevin Brueilly, professor of physical therapy, has been named as the Editorin-Chief of the Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy, the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated specifically to acute care physical therapy. JACPT is the official journal of the Academy of Acute Care Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association. The international journal is published quarterly.

Brueilly is professor and associate program director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and serves as a leader in faculty development. His experiences include a 25-year career as a licensed physical therapist, as well as an 18-year career in academic faculty and leadership roles.

He is a fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Education Leadership Fellowship (2012) and holds degrees in education and physical therapy at the bachelor, mas-

ter, and doctoral levels. Most recently, Brueilly served as a co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Physical Therapy Education (2017-2020).

“This allows CSU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program to be recognized as an international leader in the science of advancing the practice of physical therapy,” said Dr. Jacob Thorp, director of the PT department.

According to Brueilly, joining the DPT program has opened an exciting door of opportunity. “The two things that I most enjoy are being able to have time to assist others in our department and the university in their development as an effective academician, and I also very much enjoy the opportunity to shape the new program into a world-class training program for physical therapists,” he said. “The administrative and community support for the program has been refreshing and makes it a joy to come to work each day.”

Dr. Kevin Brueilly

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CSU magazine 27 7/7/22 10:35 AM

LEADING

Athletics: Jewel Ash Competes in NCAA Regional

By Travis Woods

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ewel Ash wrapped up the Charleston Southern women’s outdoor track & field campaign by running in the quarterfinals of the 400-meter hurdles at the Hauge Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Indiana, May 28.

Ash was slotted into the second of three heats, needing a top-three spot or as one of the next-three fastest times overall to advance to the NCAA National Championships in June in Eugene, Oregon. She fell shy of that goal, clocking a 59.64 to place 24th.

The Big South champion advanced to the quarterfinal round after registering a qualifying time of 58.29 in the first round, as one of 48 at the NCAA East Preliminary. That performance stood as 11th leading into the quarterfinals.

Photo by Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com

Back-to-Back: Tennis Repeats as Champions

By Taylor Chitwood

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op-seeded Charleston Southern tennis took down third-seeded Gardner-Webb 4-0 in the Big South women’s tennis finals, completing a perfect Big South season and repeating as Big South Champions.

CSU got out to a 1-0 lead with wins on doubles courts one and three as Luiza Fullana and Laura Marti joined Noa Boyd and Amila Jusufbegovic to clinch the point.

Charleston Southern again proved to be too much for the rest of the conference, much like the regular season. Boyd was the first to finish on court four, with a quick 6-0, 6-3 decision. Marti was not far behind at the third flight, bringing the Bucs within one point of clinching the Championship Match with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

Mandalina Man would be the one to clinch the fourth and final point for the top-seeded Bucs, using a tiebreak decision to take the second flight in straight sets to clinch the title for CSU. It was the second-straight match that Man earned the clinching point, finishing in

straight sets the previous day to put CSU in the title match.

The win gave the Bucs the Big South automatic berth into an NCAA Regional.

The Bucs fell 4-0 to the No. 14 national seed Georgia in first round action of the 2022 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships, ending their historic 2022 season.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranked CSU women’s tennis No. 9 in the Carolina region. Photo by Big South Conference.

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LEADING

Athletics: Men’s Golf Big South Champs

By Travis Woods

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historic season for the Charleston Southern men’s golf program came to a close in May as the Buccaneers completed the third and final round of the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The Buccaneers placed 13th out of the 14 schools in the event, their fifth trip to the NCAA Regional in program history.

The Buccaneers won the Big South Championships in April, earning them an automatic berth into the postseason. CSU carded an 8-under 856 as a team to claim the top seed after match play before dispatching No. 4 seed Winthrop 3-2 and No. 2 seed Gardner-Webb 4-1 in the semifinals and finals, respectively, to take home the trophy.

The conference crown is the fourth in school history, as the Buccaneers also were champions in 2001, 2003, and 2015. This year’s title comes under the direction of firstyear head coach Jordan Jeffers and assistant coach Cory Donnell, while the previous three happened under coaches who had been with the program longer. Only four other schools in league history have earned more championships and one of those, Campbell, is still an active member.

Charleston Southern’s five-man lineup had a familiar look to it, as it was the same quintet over the last-four tournaments. Suiting up for the Bucs were Ben Carroll, Caleb

Photo by Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com. Photo by Big South Conference.

Loudin, Alan Smith, Griffin Tarver and Ethan Willis.

Carroll, an All-Big South Honorable Mention selection, led the way with a 73.04 stroke average, edging out the 73.26 by Willis and 73.42 by Smith, also an All-Big South

Honorable Mention pick as well as a member of the All-Big South Academic Team.

The tightly contested group does not have much drop-off, as Tarver, an All-Big South Freshman Team choice, is next at 74.92 and Loudin follows at 75.86.

Curtin Makes Nationals in 10,000 Meters

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aving already secured an NCAA Championships berth in the 10,000 meters, Charleston Southern’s Fearghal Curtin gave himself a chance at another spot in the 5000 meters but fell just shy of the double qualification at the NCAA East Preliminary at the Hauge Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Indiana.

Needing to finish among the Top 12 to reach nationals, Curtin came in 21st with

By Travis Woods

a time of 13:55.45. It’s the second-fastest performance by any CSU runner, this season and in program history, trailing only his school-record 13:35.06 set April 14 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.

Curtin placed at No. 20 in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Oregon, in June. He garnered All-America Third Team honors at the event.

Photo by Tim Cowie/Big South Conference

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CSU magazine 29 7/7/22 10:35 AM

SERVING

ALUM BRINGS AUTISM ARTS CAMP TO CHARLESTON

By Jan Joslin / Photos provided by Ashley Drayton

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bservations made while working summer camps for Parks and Recreation in Columbia during Ashley Drayton’s high school and college years laid the groundwork for the creation of Camp Artism.

Drayton, a 2010 communication with theatre emphasis graduate, observed during her years with Parks and Rec that those with special needs were not championed in the camp environment.

Ashley Drayton

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Drayton, an actress, model, and philanthropist, established the House of Artists Foundation in 2017. The Atlanta-based nonprofit offers vocational training programs, independent living skills, and creative arts events such as Camp Artism, for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Camp Artism was offered in Charleston for the first time April 11-16 and partnered with Charleston Southern to use university facili-

ties for some of the camp activities for up to 20 artists age 12 and above.

Drayton credits some of her CSU peers with pointing her to resources in Charleston that aligned with the foundation’s mission, and with resources for providing artist scholarships. Drayton’s former theatre professor, Thomas Keating, served as the camp’s liaison at Charleston Southern.

Some of the activities on Charleston Southern’s campus included underwater photography in the campus pool, video editing, and North Charleston Police and Fire departments provided interactive activities and a driver education course using golf carts.

Drayton has witnessed Camp Artism artists experience personal breakthroughs during the peer-focused art environment. Parents have breakthroughs as well when they see how their children are thriving.

Camp Artism is run like a production set.

“Everyone works together, and the artists love it,” said Drayton.

Drayton says she learned along the way to be more self-aware and more aware of others. She said, “I can only do the best work outside of me when the work has been done inside of me. I made a conscious effort in 2017 to really focus on my relationship with God and my relationship with myself so that all parts would thrive together from a very authentic space.”

Drayton earned a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles location. She also founded House of Artists, which offers housing to artists working on location in Atlanta and services such as audition taping and a photography studio. She received the Rising In Community Excellence Music and Arts Award in 2019.

To learn more about Camp Artism and the House of Artists Foundation, visit houseofartistsfoundation.org.

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Ashley Drayton serves as a model for underwater photographers.

One skill artists at Camp Artism learn is underwater photography.

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Some of the participants in the April camp at CSU with President Dondi Costin and Professor Thomas Keating.

Ashley Drayton

Ashley Drayton assists an artist at Camp Artism with videography.

Campers learn practical skills such as CPR training.

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SERVING

Bucky’s Big Reveal

By Jan Joslin / Photos by Ty Cornett

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ylan Margolis crossed the graduation stage May 7 wearing the big blue and white shoes of CSU’s beloved mascot, Bucky. It was the first time his identity was revealed.

Margolis, one of the first to serve under the new mascot program, donned the Bucky costume for two years under a new program designed by the Student Life division to instill campus pride and bring some stability to the character of Bucky. One of the stipulations of the scholarship was maintaining the secrecy of Bucky’s identity.

Chad Burn, a 2002 CSU alumnus and general manager and owner of the Chickfil-A on Rivers Avenue, generously supplied the funds for the Buccaneer Mascot Program Scholarship.

Margolis took the program seriously and attended Sweet 16 events, roamed the campus on a regular basis, rode a hoover board, kayaked in the Reflection Pond, gave out roses on Valentine’s Day, and much more.

He said, “It was my goal to show you how important you are, even if the world didn’t see you. It was really easy to be Bucky with all of you supporting him so much.”

In a video shared at commencement, he encouraged his fellow graduates to let people know how important they are. He said, “Love others how you love Bucky, with joy, passion, grace, and encouragement.”

Margolis also had the distinction of being the first student to graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration in global marketplace degree. The global marketplace major combines 40 hours of traditional business courses and 30 hours of Christian studies courses.

Morgan Acord, who plans to graduate in December, also served as Bucky the last two years. She is a communication studies major from Warrenville.

Dylan Margolis and Morgan Acord were the first students to receive the Bucky Scholarship and spent many hours entertaining the campus and attending special events.

“It was my goal to show you how important you are, even if the world didn’t see you. It was really easy to be Bucky with all of you supporting him so much.”

– Dylan Margolis Dylan Margolis wore Bucky’s blue and white shoes across the stage at graduation.

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President Dondi Costin congratulates Dylan Margolis for his service as Bucky as Margolis is revealed for the first time.

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SERVING

CSU Students Teach Financial Literacy in Low-Income Afterschool Program

By Jenna Johnson / Photo by Ty Cornett

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ast semester the Nielsen College of Business’s Center for Personal Financial Management began a partnership with local nonprofit Beyond Our Walls, which provides free afterschool and summer programs for low-income elementary and middle school students.

CSU students like Justin Kizer serve as peer-to-peer coaches where they teach budgeting and goal setting to improve financial positioning. “I love having the opportunity to help people in need and becoming a peer coach is a great avenue for doing that,” said Kizer, a senior financial management major.

He and other students got to apply their skills with kids in North Charleston.

After seeing how high school students and their parents struggled with basic financial literacy, Joyce Maybin Nesmith of Charleston County District 4 knew it was vital to teach them where they are and at a young age. “We have to help families in that poverty bubble to get them in a better place financially,” she said. “We constantly hear about black and brown children and the achievement gap.

We need to start addressing the achievement gap and come up with resources out in the

neighborhood to do that.” Curriculum in the BOWS program consists of math, reading, and financial literacy concepts.

Nesmith said she most appreciates when people put action with words. “It’s one thing for people to talk about the needs of the community, and it’s another thing when they actually come and get involved. I commend Charleston Southern University in coming out to the neighborhood,” she said. “The [kids at BOWS] will be inspired by students who are closer to their age. It’s going to be done in a nice, impactful way and done right there in their community.”

The partnership between CSU and BOWS was God-orchestrated, according to Dr. Heather Chadwick, assistant professor of economics. Chadwick met Nesmith through a mutual friend on BOWS board of directors. Chadwick shared with a friend about the peer-to-peer student coaches within the new Center for Personal Financial Management at CSU. Her friend sits on the BOWS Board of Directors. After months of planning, Chadwick launched the students to BOWS for bi-weekly sessions. “They are excited to teach what they know about finance and literacy

and work with the kids and the community,” she added.

After a couple of sessions, Kizer and CSU students are already forming bonds. “The moment I walked in the door, most of the kids got really excited and almost all of them remembered my name. We really are able to make an impact on these kids,” Kizer said.

“Going to BOWS has already become a wonderful experience, and it’s a relationship that I hope continues for a long time.

Justin Kizer and other CSU students volunteer as peer-to-peer coaches within the Center for Personal Financial Management.

Tutoring Elementary Students with Heart Math

By Kathryn Thorne ’22

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harleston Southern students volunteered with Heart Math Tutoring in an effort to give back and provide academic assistance to students in need.

Since 2013, the program has grown from two to 24 school sites providing individualized, volunteer-delivered math tutoring to over 4,500 elementary students to date.

Dr. Karen Fonkert, professor of mathematics education, said the program is well-scripted and not that time intensive with an hour here and there each week. “The volunteers don’t have to have any math background or

math teaching experiences because the tutoring is set up so nicely.”

Junior elementary education major Sarah Riddle said, “It’s definitely rewarding to see them get something and see them gain confidence in themselves.” Riddle volunteered on Mondays at Ladson Elementary. She said the opportunity helped her develop classroom experience.

Kathryn Thorne graduated in May 2022 and served as an intern in the Marketing & Communication office.

CSU student Caroline Smith with Ladson elementary student.

Photo provided

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CSU magazine 33 7/7/22 10:36 AM

FOREVER CSU

CSU View:

By Phyllis Evans

A Brief History of the CSU Women’s Council

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n 1966 there was a group called Baptist College at Charleston Women’s Club. The founding members were: Charlene Kirk, chairman; Mary Dobbins, Mattie Leigh Francese, Faye Hester, Margaret Mack, Epsie Reeves, Judy Stewart, and Marcia Wilson.

Those eight women had concern for scholarships for students in need as well as beautification projects for the university property. Mattie Leigh Francese’s daughter Martha Tallon is on our Council today and has written a wonderful remembrance of her mother who died in an automobile accident.

The first scholarship was started in 1985 by the group and is named the Mattie Leigh Francese Scholarship. It is still being funded by projects that the group sponsors.

I had the pleasure of serving with Charlene Kirk, the first chairman. She was a lovely woman who cared about CSU and the students and was an eager participant in all the projects to raise money for scholarships and beautification of the university. Another of our scholarships is named in her honor – the Charlene Kirk Scholarship.

The group became the Women’s Auxiliary Advisory Council in 1983 and was often referred to as WAAC. How did this small group of women raise money? Many ways! The biggest moneymaker was a dinner each spring that was planned by the Council and hosted by the university in the Dining Hall. Each member of the Council was responsible for selling 10 tickets at $10 per ticket. Early on they

The Gilmore Garden was built with funds raised by the Women’s Council to honor longtime CSU employee Margaret Gilmore.

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Charlene Kirk served as the Council’s first chairperson.

would have a fashion show featuring one of our Charleston stores. Members of the Council and their spouses, children, and friends were models for the show. As time went on instead of fashion shows we enjoyed special presentations by the Horton School of Music. It was a lot of work, and the most money we could make was $2,500, but it was $2,500 more for scholarships.

About 16 years ago the Council began to examine other, more lucrative ways of sponsoring scholarships. After much discussion we decided to try an auction – where our members would solicit items from local businesses to be auctioned on a Saturday morning in November and all proceeds would go to scholarships. (We also did beautification projects like the Gilmore Garden at the entrance to the university, and we raised money among ourselves and asked for donations from nurseries). Our first auctioneer was the sister of one of our members, and we raised $10,000 at our first auction!

Now we had a means to grow our scholarships, and we eventually began the Women’s Council Scholarship in 2013, that we hope will someday provide a full-ride for a CSU student. We have also done other smaller projects including buying lockers for the baseball team a few years ago.

In 2007 the Council members realized our name no longer related to what we did.

We didn’t advise anyone, and auxiliary was a word that wasn’t well known any longer.

We had many discussions and finally decided that rather than re-invent the wheel we would just call ourselves the Women’s Council. We presented our desire to the president and the trustees and they agreed to our name change.

The Women’s Council is sanctioned by the CSU Board of Trustees, and any changes we want to make to our bylaws or structure must be approved by them. In the beginning our CSU advisor was a person in the president’s office, but as time went on we became fundraisers, and we now have Jenny Rose of the development office as our advisor and helper. The CSU president’s wife is an ex officio member of the Women’s Council and is so important since she has the ear of the president and can make sure we don’t go beyond what is appropriate for the university.

In the last three years (two of which were closed for Covid) we have raised over $50,000 a year for scholarships. I believe that can grow as we seek God’s wisdom for our Council and Charleston Southern University and its students.

There have been many who have gone before who are no longer with us, but each one has contributed to the success we are now building on.

Phyllis Evans has been a member of the Women’s Council since 2000.

Members through the years.

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FOREVER CSU

Bucky’s Bon Voyage Celebrates Grads

Photos by Ty Cornett

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he annual Graduation Luncheon sponsored by the CSU Alumni Association took a new direction this year as a drop-in luncheon called Bucky’s Bon Voyage. Bucky was on hand for photos, games such as corn hole were available, and the event included a special time of prayer for the graduates.

Families prayed for graduates the day before Commencement.

Graduates were asked to place a pin on a world map indicating where their next step will be.

Families took pics with Bucky, CSU’s beloved mascot.

Hans A. Nielsen College of Business Naming Luncheon

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r. Kristen Nielsen Donnelly, granddaughter of Hans A. Nielsen, spoke at the luncheon on behalf of the family. The Nielsen family, Brian Nielsen, Donnelly, Joyce Nielsen, and Roger Nielsen ’74, donated funding to name the College of Business.

“Our challenge to students, faculty, and staff is we named it after our master carpenter [Hans A. Nielsen] who lived with a steadfast knowledge of his calling and his role in the kingdom. We challenge you to do the same for The Carpenter.”

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CSU magazine 35 7/7/22 10:36 AM

SCHOOL TIES

Class notes 1960s

1970s

Dr. Clyde J. Smith ’69 has concluded a career as a full-time physics teacher with 30 years at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics after teaching in higher education. His career has always been teaching physics full-time. “My Baptist College at Charleston teachers contributed greatly to both my teaching skills and my understanding of physics,” said Smith. I will forever be indebted to Dr. Robert Carroll, Mr. Fred Worthy, and Mr. Steve Nemeth. My wife, Vicki, and I are now enjoying retirement; we have no children. However, I still teach two weekly Bible studies in our church, Lakeview Baptist in Hartsville. Walking barefoot on broken glass is a marvelous object lesson on faith in the Lord Jesus! I also teach chess online for the SC4H chess club. It was my pleasure to sponsor the SCGSSM chess club, and our students won 14 state scholastic chess championships.”

Smith earned an MA at Wake Forest University and a PhD at the University of South Carolina, both in physics. Before joining the faculty at SCGSSM, he taught 10 years in higher education, specifically at Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University, and at Centenary College of Louisiana.

Lynda Wyman ’71 has worked for the University of South Carolina since 1972. She began in McKissick Library typing cards for the card catalog. She became a staff cataloger and moved to the Thomas Cooper Library. She retired from full-time work in 2010, and has worked part-time in the library development office for the past 12 years.

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COMPILED BY JAN JOSLIN

1990s

2000s Bonnie Fitz ’00 is the new Parks and Recreation Director for Warren County, in Warrenton, North Carolina. She is also assistant director of community services.

Previously she was Parks and Recreation Manager for York County, Virginia.

Jerry Thorsell ’02 is the manager of information technology infrastructure and security at JW Aluminum. He holds a master’s degree Dr. Kimberly Britt ’94 has been in cybersecurity from EC-Council selected the next president of 1980s University. He is married to Lynn Phoenix College in Phoenix, AriBeverly Jefferson ’89 is retired zona, of the Maricopa Community Thorsell ’02 who is the executive from Blue Cross Blue Shield of assistant to the dean of the ColColleges. She has 25 years of exSouth Carolina. She works as perience in higher education. Most lege of Science and Mathematics needed for BCBSSC, and is currecently she was vice president of at CSU. rently working with Commuacademic affairs and the accreditanity FaithWorks nonprofit, an FB tion liaison officer at Phoenix Col- Roger Simpson ’04 was recently Foundation Initiative. She lives in lege. Recently, she reconnected at hired by the South Carolina DeSt. Stephen. a conference with Dr. Jairy Hunter, partment of Education to serve as president emeritus, who served as Education Associate for the Visual Dr. Kenneth R. Pruitt ’89 is the president when she was a student and Performing Arts. His role new president of the John Leland primarily consists of overseeing at CSU. Center for Theological Studies. the South Carolina College- and Also known as Leland Seminary, Career-Ready Standards for Visual Richard V. Waring ‘99 is the new the school is located in Arlington, vice president of diversity, equity, and Performing Arts Proficiency, Virginia. Previously he was pastor and inclusion for the Charleston the Arts Curricular Innovation of King’s Grant Baptist Church in Metro Chamber of Commerce. He Grants Program, the Archibald Virginia Beach, Virginia. He has holds a Master of Business Admin- Rutledge Scholarship Program, served on the board of trustees and the development of profesistration from New York Institute and been an adjunct professor for of Technology and a law degree sional learning opportunities for the school. Pruitt holds a doctor of from Charleston School of Law. arts teachers and administrators. ministry in preaching and theolHe previously served as student ogy from Truett Seminary at Baylor services chief of staff at Trident University and a master of divinTechnical College. ity with biblical languages from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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Jessica L. Keisler ’06 is the new principal of Pelion Middle School in Lexington County School District One in Lexington. She has been assistant principal at Pelion Middle. She has taught English language arts and math in her career as well as coaching middle school and junior varsity girls’ baskeball. She is a former Teacher of the Year at Pelion Middle and won the Michelin Golden Apple Award in 2018. She holds Master of Education in teaching and Master of Education in administration from the University of South Carolina.

Rhonda E. Anderson ’17 recently moved from Greenville to Beaufort and is the Allied Health Program Administrator with Technical College of the Lowcountry. She completed a Master of Education in allied health education at Widener University in May 2021 and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society in March 2021. She previously worked at Greenville Technical College. She has experience teaching phlebotomy and managing continuing education healthcare programs.

Stevi Johnson ’17 is head softball coach at Redwood High School in Ashley Williams Adams ’08 is the Visalia, California. She previously new youth director and missions was assistant softball coach at CSU coordinator at First Baptist Church and was a member of the CSU in Florence. softball team as a student.

Brittany Bolick ’09 was named teacher of the year at Valmead Elementary School in Lenoir, North Carolina, for 2022. She has six years of physical education experience. She previously was assistant women’s soccer coach at Appalachian State University. She was on the CSU soccer team and holds a Master’s in sports management and parks and recreation from North Carolina State University.

2010s Dr. Alyssa Clay-Gilmour ’10 announces the birth of a daughter, Cora Gilmour, born Nov. 29, 2021. Alyssa is assistant professor at the University of South Carolina in epidemiology and biostatistics.

Nicholas Lee ’16 is Pee Dee foster care director for Epworth Children’s Home. His offices are located in Florence. He holds a Master of Arts and is a licensed professional counselor.

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Raymond Robinson ’17 works for the Navy and plays for the Military Basketball Association, a 54-team league for active duty military and government employees.

Arthur Griffin ’19 is playing in the PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2022. He was a member of men’s golf team at CSU. Melanie Tipton ’19 and her husband Matthew Tipton, a current CSU student, announce the birth of a daughter, Lucy Rae Tipton, born a year ago. The Tiptons are expecting a second child this summer.

2020s

STAY CONNECTED! Send us news about family additions, job changes, community involvement, etc. To include a photo, email a high resolution jpg - 800kb or larger. (If you send a professional photograph, please include permission to print from the photographer.)

Class Notes: magazine@csuniv.edu Address change: csudevelopment@csuniv.edu Name change: register@csuniv.edu Follow the Alumni Association on Social Media: alumni_csu

Chris Makowski ’20, is the communications manager for the Town of Kiawah Island. He previously worked for Berkeley Electric Cooperation as a social media specialist.

Madeline Krigbaum ’22 is the new chorus teacher at Carolina High School in Greenville County.

Daniel Taylor ’22 is the junior Zachery Evans ’20 is a fifth grade graphic designer in CSU’s Marketteacher at Hanahan Elementary ing and Communication office.

School in Hanahan. He holds a master’s degree in management and is currently working on an educational specialist degree. A member of the CSU football team when he was at CSU, Evans was Rookie Teacher of the Year at Hanahan in 2021. He and Grace Clark Evans ’19 were recently married. She teaches at Daniel Island School.

alumni_csu

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE FALL ACTIVITY AT BCC/CSU? Tell us at magazine@ csuniv.edu by Sept.

16, 2022, and we will include a selection of them in the fall CSU Magazine issue.

Bonus points if you send a photo!

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SCHOOL TIES

TO SUBMIT YOUR BABY BUCS PHOTO: Email a picture of your Baby Buc wearing the shirt to alumni@csuniv.edu. Pictures should be 800 kb or larger in size, jpg format.

Baby Bucs 1

TO ORDER A SHIRT CSU graduates, if you have a child under the age of 2, let us know at alumni@csuniv.edu, and we will send a CSU onesie for your Baby Buc. The shirt is free; all we ask in return is a photo of your Baby Buc for the magazine.

2

3

4

1. Cora Gilmour, daughter of Dr. Alyssa I. Clay-Gilmour ’10 2. Naomi Harris, daughter of Michele Bacon Harris ’06

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3. Lucy Rae Tipton, daughter of Melanie Tipton ’19 and current student Matthew Tipton 4. Ariana Brielle Dickson, daughter of Brittany Bostic Dickson ’13 and Ashton Dickson

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SCHOOL TIES

in memory Lisa Bell Boyd ’92, age 70, died Feb. 4 in Summerville. She had been a school teacher and had worked at the Coastal Center for the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs.

Royce Breland Jr., age 90, died Feb. 3 in Mount Pleasant. He was professor emeritus of business and taught at CSU for 46 years.

Mickey Roy Blancett ’75, age 81, died May 23 in Edisto Beach. He was active in his church and community.

The Rev. Robert Edward Byrd ’80, age 70, died Feb. 20 in Florence. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a retired minister, most recently serving as pastor of Brownsville Baptist Church in Blenheim. He had served as director of missions for Carolina Baptist Association. He held a Master of Divinity from Andersonville Seminary and was working on a doctorate.

Aaron G. Clark ’68, age 86, died April 7 in Hollywood. He held a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina. He had worked for the News and Courier, Medical University of South Carolina, and had been a contractor and restauranteur.

Rona Duncan ’90, age 53, died Oct. 25, 2021, in Harrisburg, Missouri. She had worked for Cerner as senior support manager for the University of Missouri.

Thomas Edward Garbett ‘74, age 73, died April 11 in Mount Pleasant. He was a CPA and was a partner at Hyland, Ruddy, and Garbett.

Kathleen “Kathy” Borom Gillespie ’73, age 70, died May 6 in Charleston. She was a retired teacher and had taught at Fishburne Elementary and Springfield Elementary schools. She was a National Board Certified teacher and held a Master of Elementary Education from the College of Charleston.

Alfred Lapolla Jr. ’82, age 81, died March 15 in Summerville. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran. He served with the Summerville Police Department, the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department and the Town of Harleyville Police Department, retiring as the chief of police.

Sharon Smith Leviner, age 74, died Feb. 4 in Summerville. She was retired and had served as a secretary at Charleston Southern University during her career.

John DeLeon Matthews III ’78, age 66, died April 6 in Chapin. He was a retired English teacher from Midlands Technical College, and later taught at Newberry College, South University, and Piedmont Technical College.

He held a Master’s in English from the University of South Carolina.

Summer means lazy days around the Reflection Pond.

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Lester McCurry ’74, age 90, died May 24 in Dorchester. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran.

He held a Master of Arts in Teaching and a specialist in education from The Citadel. He was a teacher in Dorchester County School District 2 and 4 and taught at Dorchester Academy.

Arthur Neal Morrow Jr. ’75, age 73, died Jan. 21 on Johns Island after a battle with cancer.

He was retired.

Henry Marvin Proveaux ’68, age 81, died March 21 in North Charleston. He was a retired nuclear engineer from the Charleston Naval Shipyard and had served as an aerospace engineer at Kennedy Space Center.

Janice S. “Ninja” Ritter ’91, age 78, died Feb. 7 in Summerville.

Larry Tran ’08, age 36, died May 13 in Charleston after a long illness with COVID. Known for his quick wit and musical talent, he played multiple instruments and had served at several churches as a music minister.

Arien Marcello Truesdale ’03, age 40, died Feb. 16 in Lancaster.

Janice Mary Wolfe ’98, age 68, died April 21 in Summerville after a battle with cancer.

She was a retired school teacher and taught at Oakbrook Middle School for 28 years.

Photo by Ty Cornett

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SCHOOL TIES

Congrats to College of Education Alumni!

2022 Teachers of the Year Jennifer Paulhamus ’06 BA, Berkeley High, Moncks Corner Marcy Gasperson ’07 BS, Hanahan Elementary, Hanahan Heide Wittchow ’01 BS, ’06 MEd, ’10 MED, Marrington Elementary, Goose Creek Kadijah Walker ’17 BS, St. Stephen Elementary, St. Stephen Gary Seaboldt ’14 MEd, ’21 EdD, Alston-Bailey Elementary, Summerville Katherine Lee ’20 MEd, Oakbrook Middle, Ladson Angelica Chavez ’17 BS, Midland Park Primary, Charleston John Farrelly ’97 BA, Dunston Elementary, North Charleston Debbie Maningding-current EdD student, College Park Elementary, Ladson Sarah Collins Moser ’10 BS, Flowertown Elementary, Summerville Dawn Murdaugh ’03 BS, Ladson Elementary, Ladson Ginny Boyette Stone ’08 BS, ’11 MEd, Alston Middle, Summerville Brittany Bolick ’09 BS, Valmead Elementary, Lenoir, North Carolina

DID YOU KNOW? You can view digital issues of CSU Magazine at charlestonsouthern.edu/magazine.

Current and past issues are available from issuu.com.

2022 Rookie Teachers of the Year Laura McGrew Bense ’21, DuBose Middle, Summerville Theresa Bilsback ’21, Beech Hill Elementary, Summerville Ciana Clayton ’21, Spann Elementary, Summerville Samantha Madak Davis ’21, College Park Elementary, Ladson Cheley Elliott Hughes ’21, Knightsville Elementary, Summerville Kaitlyn Lee ’21, Sangaree Elementary, Summerville Noah Miller ’21, Rosemary Middle, Andrews Natalie Reynolds ’21, Stratford High, Goose Creek Shawn Lindsey ’21-Finalist for Rookie Teacher of the Year-Ashley Ridge High School, Summerville

Star Teacher Roxanna Venable Chester ’21, Randleman High, Randleman, N.C. - Star Teacher Spring Semester

Dorchester School District II School Counselor of the Year Arthea Simmons ’21 EdD, Spann Elementary, Summerville

Principal Appointments for 2022-23

Faith and Learning Institute Impacting Campus - PAGE 4 Faculty How-To Series Debuts - PAGES 6, 15 Meet Bucky!

Paul Pallagi ’09 BS, ’13 MEd, Principal, Pinehurst Elementary School, North Charleston Priscilla Johnson ’06 BS, ’21 EdD, Principal, Joseph R. Pye Elementary, Ladson Christin Donnelly Rogers ’09 BS, Assistant Principal, Bowen’s Corner Elementary, Hanahan Jessica L. Keisler ’06 BS, Principal, Pelion Middle School, Lexington County School District One, Lexington

- PAGE 24

Aeronautics Program Flying High - PAGE 21

If we missed your news about Teacher of the Year, Rookie Teacher, or a new principal position, email magazine@csuniv.edu, and we will include in the fall issue.

40 CSU magazine CSU v32 n2.indd 40

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CSU Makes Giving Day History with More Than

$1 MILLION Raised

By Jenna Johnson

H

istory was made April 13 for Charleston Southern University when the college raised more than $1 million in 24 hours during its annual Giving Day. Gifts from over 400 alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Charleston Southern totaled an extraordinary $1,003,632.05.

Previously, the highest amount raised in 24 hours was in 2021 with $238,000.

“CSU Giving Day was an exciting day full of divine surprises and special support from

the CSU community,” said Dr. Dondi Costin, president. “The monetary gifts have real and lasting impact on CSU students and prepare them in their pursuit of significant lives.”

Donors had the option to support several areas of need for CSU, including the CSU Annual Scholarship Fund, Athletics, Academic Programs, and Special Projects as part of the Limitless Campaign such as the Convocation Center and the Dewey Center for Chaplaincy. Several supporters inspired oth-

ers to give through special donor challenges as well. The Whitfield Family matched all gifts made up to $100,000; Mr. and Mrs. Ron Brantley matched new Board of Visitors Scholarship Program gifts up to $10,000, while faculty and staff encouraged departments to give through various initiatives.

Those interested in making Every Buc Count may contribute at charlestonsouthern.edu/giving.

Students take a moment to thank donors for their contributions. Photos by Ty Cornett

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Charleston SC Permit #1202

Charleston Southern University P.O. Box 118087 Charleston, SC 29423-8087

INTEGRATING FAITH IN LEARNING, LEADING, AND SERVING OCT

SAVE THE DATE 22

Homecoming 2022 Including the Class of 1972’s 50th anniversary.

Watch your mail for details!

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