Our Third Era - president.cofc.edu
1
THERE’S SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL about the College of Charleston. We all know it. We all feel it. It’s nearly impossible to walk around this campus and not become an immediate student of its history and an admirer of its beauty. One history lesson that even the casual observer comes away with is that the College is a survivor. Wars, financial crises, political upheavals, storms and earthquakes took their toll. But in each case, the College found a way to pick itself up and remake itself into something stronger, something greater than before. We’re at a crossroads now – about to embark upon what I believe will be the third significant era in our history. There have been two distinct periods in the College’s history, one from 1770 to 1970, and the other from 1970 to the present. Over the first 200 years, the College’s foundation was built and solidified around a strong emphasis on traditional liberal arts and sciences education. Decade by decade, the College became an integral and beloved part of the Charleston community. But throughout that era, the College remained very small and served almost exclusively Charleston and her citizens. The College enrolled only a handful of students outside of the Lowcountry and was little known beyond the borders of South Carolina. By 1970, the College had just 500 students. But this was a significant turning point, the beginning of the second era. We joined the state higher education system; we grew our programs; we grew our faculty and facilities; we added a graduate school. And we prospered, both in reputation and enrollment. We became a nationally known, highly regarded regional liberal arts and sciences university. During this era, much of our progress was fueled by the rising tide of new tuition dollars generated by enrollment growth. With the capping of our undergraduate enrollment at 10,000 students several years ago and the decline in state support for higher education in South Carolina, we have entered a new era in the College’s history. Going forward we must develop a new approach for revenue generation and a new, more stable financial model. Once achieved, we must set our sights on becoming a first-class national university. But what does that mean? Simply put, it means that the College is a leading economic and social force in the state and on the East Coast. It means that our faculty are intellectual and entrepreneurial thought leaders – locally, regionally and globally. It means that our faculty and staff are committed to developing several key areas of excellence that complement and draw upon our location in ways that allow the College to do things that other universities can’t do. And it means that we aren’t just a teaching institution, but a university that excels in both teaching and scholarship, offering our students the research opportunities of a flagship research university and the personalized education of a top teaching institution. So how do we achieve this envisioned future? We create a strategic plan that builds on our current strengths, connects and integrates us with our local environment, and takes advantage of the unique opportunities of our location. A critical part of the plan is a new financial model for the College that provides a stable and growing base of resources – not for the next decade, but for the next century. This planning initiative is well under way and should be completed by next fall. What else do we do? We focus our resources in order to cultivate a few strong areas of research and creativity that contribute to our academic excellence and that shape an identity for the College that says we’re the best at what we do. These are the areas that will generate most of our economic and social gifts to the world. We also develop a branch campus at our 862-acre Dixie Plantation on the Intracoastal Waterway, southwest of Charleston, to give us flexibility, room for growth and a location for new and innovative programs. And we market and brand the College on a national level with the goal of attracting and retaining the best and brightest – both faculty and students. It will take the collective efforts of every one of us to realize our envisioned future. It will take creativity, innovation and courage. These are attributes the College has turned to repeatedly and successfully over its long history. It’s time once again to come together and shape the future of this beloved institution. – President P. George Benson Our Third Era | 6 | COLLEGE of CHARLESTON magazine [ from the president ]
Transcript of Our Third Era - president.cofc.edu
there’s something very speCiAl about the College of Charleston. We all know it. We all feel it. It’s nearly impossible to walk around this campus and not become an immediate student of its history and an admirer of its beauty. One history lesson that even the casual observer comes away with is that the College is a survivor. Wars, financial crises, political upheavals, storms and earthquakes took their toll. But in each case, the College found a way to pick itself up and remake itself into something stronger, something greater than before. We’re at a crossroads now – about to embark upon what I believe will be the third significant era in our history. There have been two distinct periods in the College’s history, one from 1770 to 1970, and the other from 1970 to the present. Over the first 200 years, the College’s foundation was built and solidified around a strong emphasis on traditional liberal arts and sciences education. Decade by decade, the College became an integral and beloved part of the Charleston community. But throughout that era, the College remained very small and served almost
exclusively Charleston and her citizens. The College enrolled only a handful of students outside of the Lowcountry and was little known beyond the borders of South Carolina. By 1970, the College had just 500 students. But this was a significant turning point, the beginning of the second era. We joined the state higher education system; we grew our programs; we grew our faculty and facilities; we added a graduate school. And we prospered, both in reputation and enrollment. We became a nationally known, highly regarded regional liberal arts and sciences university. During this era, much of our progress was fueled by the rising tide of new tuition dollars generated by enrollment growth. With the capping of our undergraduate enrollment at 10,000 students several years ago and the decline in state support for higher education in South Carolina, we have entered a new era in the College’s history. Going forward we must develop a new approach for revenue generation and a new, more stable financial model. Once achieved, we must set our sights on becoming a first-class national university.
But what does that mean? Simply put, it means that the College is a leading economic and social force in the state and on the East Coast. It means that our faculty are intellectual and entrepreneurial thought leaders – locally, regionally and globally. It means that our faculty and staff are committed to developing several key areas of excellence that complement and draw upon our location in ways that allow the College to do things that other universities can’t do. And it means that we aren’t just a teaching institution, but a university that excels in both teaching and scholarship, offering our students the research opportunities of a flagship research university and the personalized education of a top teaching institution. So how do we achieve this envisioned future? We create a strategic plan that builds on our current strengths, connects and integrates us with our local environment, and takes advantage of the unique opportunities of our location. A critical part of the plan is a new financial model for the College that provides a stable and growing base of resources – not for the next decade, but for the next century. This planning initiative is well under way and should be completed by next fall. What else do we do? We focus our resources in order to cultivate a few strong areas of research and creativity that contribute to our academic excellence and that shape an identity for the College that says we’re the best at what we do. These are the areas that will generate most of our economic and social gifts to the world. We also develop a branch campus at our 862-acre Dixie Plantation on the Intracoastal Waterway, southwest of Charleston, to give us flexibility, room for growth and a location for new and innovative programs. And we market and brand the College on a national level with the goal of attracting and retaining the best and brightest – both faculty and students. It will take the collective efforts of every one of us to realize our envisioned future. It will take creativity, innovation and courage. These are attributes the College has turned to repeatedly and successfully over its long history. It’s time once again to come together and shape the future of this beloved institution.
– President P. George Benson
Our Third Era
| 6 | Co l l e g e o f Ch a r l e s t o n magazine
[ from the president ]
ATC Spring09.indd 6 2/20/09 2:39:17 PM
