Did You Know?

Convocation speaker Willie Lyles ‘06, a staff member for U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., encouraged freshmen on Aug. 24 to match their conduct with their commitment. “Good conduct means going to class, it means getting involved and it means planning preparing and executing. You all are very capable; otherwise, you wouldn’t be at Winthrop. If you follow the advice I have given today, you will truly be able to uphold the Winthrop mantra: Live. Learn. Lead.”

• Folding origami involves complicated geometry. Senior Patrick Dukes, who has been working with Joe Rusinko of the math department on independent study, spent time this summer at the University of Georgia making paper models. Students made animals and fruits but also interlocking tetrahedrons, tessellated surfaces, life-size models of pineapples and cuckoo clocks with moving parts as they learned to follow the complicated rules of paper folding. Read more and watch a video.

• Eagles in action. Through an initiative called “Eagles in Action: Goals for Leadership, Education, and Service,” Winthrop’s 250 student-athletes have been recognized for their volunteer efforts. The Big South Conference awarded Winthrop’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council with the Kallander Cup, named for conference commissioner Kyle Kallander. The group worked on the Blackmon Road community project and participated in reading programs, Habitat for Humanity building projects, school carnivals and sports clinics. The Rock Hill school district also gave the Finley Road Elementary School Volunteer Award to the athletics department for the service of its student-athletes throughout the past school year.

• Grant will help groom promising undergraduates. Winthrop received grant money to support upcoming work under the prestigious federal Ronald McNair Post-baccalaureate Degree Program. This highly selective program is named for the late astronaut Ronald McNair, a South Carolina native who went on to explore the cosmos as a scientist and NASA astronaut. The grant will provide $220,000 in federal funding each year to help 25 first-generation, low-income and/or under-represented undergraduates to prepare for and succeed in graduate school. Read more about this grant.

• Winthrop singled out in the 2010 “America’s Best Colleges.” The university is listed as one of 16 institutions in the South that convey bachelor’s and master’s degrees that are leading the pack in improvements and progressive changes in academics, faculty, students, campus and facilities. Winthrop also retained its ranking among the South’s top 10 public universities that convey master’s degrees. This is the 18th time the Rock Hill campus has received a mention in the prestigious newsmagazine for U.S. News & World Report. Click here to learn more.

• Impressions of Winthrop. Wonder what visitors to campus last year had to say about Winthrop? What do students say about their alma mater, or professors who put in time inside the classroom, in the community and overseas in foreign lands? Their consensus is that Winthrop is making a big impact on the world. Read more about their stories later this month when the 2008-09 annual report is posted online.

• Thinking of Winthrop as a business. Winthrop has a $104 million annual budget, $49 million annual payroll and $349,839,276 million insurance replacement value for physical plant, not including land. Winthrop buys electrical power in bulk wholesale and distributes it over its own network. It also operates its own water, sewer and telephone systems and has a campus police department.

• Welcome Week Around the World. Step Afrika! was one of several international acts featured during Welcome Week. They are the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping and are acclaimed for their efforts to promote an understanding of and appreciation for stepping and dance traditions. Check out the group’s message.

• Check out Red Bull Art of Can exhibit and look for Winthrop alum. A Red Bull Art of Can exhibition of recycled materials opens Oct. 8-19 at Union Station in Washington, D.C., where a collection of 56 pieces will be on display. Click here to find the work of freelance artist Nichole Smith ‘06 of Fairfax, Va. You also can vote for your favorite art.