47& 803% (6&44 8)5 47& %5&...descendants in coastal georgia, north carolina and...

but the College of Charleston was a regular globetrotter. Just in case you didn’t get a postcard, here is a sampling of some of our faculty and staff’s summer research abroad, group trips and leisure travel. , assistant director for the Center for International Education, accompanied two students on the first leg of their Summer Voyage with Semester at Sea. In an effort to understand the program first hand and thereby better advise students about the experience, she joined the ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the faculty/staff orientation, and sailed for eight days to Bergen, Norway. , administrative assistant in the sociology and anthropology department, traveled the Country Music Highway after doing some missionary work in Kentucky as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She also stopped in the Jenny Wiley State Resort Park for a week. , art history professor, spent the summer in South America, where he co-directed a study-abroad trip to Peru and, previous to that, traveled over 6,000 miles through Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil to places that were accessible only by local chicken buses or by foot (and sometimes not at all) to research the Jesuit-sponsored reducciones (village enclaves) of 16th–18th century “greater Paraguay.” , administrative assistant in the Nathan E. Miles Early Childhood Development Center, celebrated her birthday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she went horseback riding for the first time and hiked through a rainforest to the bottom of a waterfall. , student life advisor in Jewish studies, accompanied students on the College’s first Birthright Israel trip. The group rafted in the Jordan River, learned how to make Kosher wine, rode camels in a Bedouin camp, helped children at an Ethiopian school, hiked in the Golan Heights and through Nachal David and reconnected with their Jewish heritage, religion and culture.

, assistant for administration and public relations in the Office of Professional Development in Education, went to the top of the Gateway Arch – the Gateway to the West – in St. Louis. Grantham, who is South Carolina’s 2007–2008 district president for the National Exchange Club, was honored with the Presidential Award at the St. Louis convention. , political science professor, lead a study-abroad program to China in June and remained in China for the summer to do research for the Chinese politics course he is teaching this semester and to attend a volleyball game and a soccer game at the Beijing Olympics. , project manager in information technology, took two weeks to drive home from San Diego, where she was visiting family. Over the 3,100 miles between there and here, she took a helicopter ride from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, where she stopped to have a champagne picnic; golfed in Sedona; admired the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert; and gathered crystals from quartz mines in Arkansas. , exhibition coordinator at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, spent a month in Sierra Leone and Guinea, West Africa, with a group of South Carolina educators interested in teaching students about the unique historical and cultural connections between the people of that region and their descendants in coastal Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. He enjoyed long, solitary walks in the early morning hours. , associate dean of the Honors College, visited Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where she worked with the LAMB Institute, a Christian organization that was founded by a College of Charleston alumna to serve the children and families of Honduras. She spent her time building a dining hall, a playground and cottages at a residential children’s home and visiting the homes of families in LAMB’s community assistance program.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the last photo quiz, and congratulations to Michael

Haga, program coordinator for the School of the Arts, who was the first to guess that the

object in question was Richard McMahan’s replica of Robert Rauschenberg’s Monogram,

just one of McMahan’s 1,100+ pieces in his Minimuseum, which was displayed in the

rotunda of the Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library from May 16 to June 30. Each wall

of the exhibition constituted a separate museum wing, and each was lined with miniature

versions of the world’s greatest historical relics and works of art – from 18th dynasty

Egyptian tombs to art nouveau furniture, from cave paintings

to pop art, from Mayan burial urns to the

Titanic’s ruins.

Take a look at the picture above. The object

can be found on campus. Do you know

what it is? The first person to submit the

correct answer will win a tasty lunch for

two at Liberty Street Fresh Food Company,

compliments of ARAMARK. Good luck!

Send your submission to [email protected] by

Friday, September 12, 2008. The contest

is open to all College faculty and staff. One

submission per person, please.

Kate Arnold, Director of Stewardship, Development

“I love when new students come onto campus in the fall. You kind of live vicariously through them. It really helps you rejuvenate, and it gives the campus an air of excitement.”

BACK-TO-SCHOOL PICNICSit back, relax and enjoy a great meal

at this annual event honoring the

employees of the College.

WHEN: Wednesday, August 20,

12 p.m.

WHERE: F. Mitchell Johnson Physical

Education Center, recreational gym

FEE: None

CONTACT: Alexa Thacker, 953.6673

or [email protected]

BATTERY PROJECT KICK-OFF CELEBRATIONEnjoy refreshments, door prizes and

special giveaways in celebration of

The BATTERY Project kickoff.

WHEN: Monday, August 25, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Stern Center Ballroom

FEE: None

CONTACT: Priscilla Burbage,

953.5578 or [email protected]

CONSTITUTION DAY PANELLearn about your rights,

responsibilities and challenges as an

American voter.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 16,

7–8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Tate Center for

Entrepreneurship

FEE: None

CONTACT: Jeri Cabot, 953.5522 or

[email protected]

All information is subject to change.

Please verify times, places and

registration requirements with

listed contact.–

Clearly someone was out painting the town red this summer. But, by all accounts,

the College was hard at work. The fresh coat of Charleston Green that James

Rourk, assistant supervisor of grounds, painted over the red anti-rust primer on

the fountain behind Randolph Hall was just one of the touch-ups and upgrades

made on campus over the summer. Others include the new interior paint, flooring,

upholstery and full-spectrum compact fluorescent lighting at the Kelly House and

20 Warren Street; the new exterior paint and comprehensive wood and stucco

repairs at the Knox-Lesesne House, 8 Kirkland Lane and 40, 70 and 72 Coming

Street; and the new energy-efficient windows installed at McConnell Hall and

at Rutledge Rivers and Buist Rivers Residence Halls, where the lobby floor and

ceiling were also replaced and the Hawkins Lounge was converted into a “smart”

classroom. And, considering this isn’t even half of what was accomplished around

here over the past three months, it’s safe to say that the College’s lazy days of

summer were pretty darn productive.

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The Portico Vol. 2, Issue 6

October Deadline: Sept. 12, 2008cofc.edu/theportico

Kelly Lee, Business Manager, Athletics

“What I am looking forward to most about the coming semester is moving into my new office in the new Carolina First Center and all the great basketball games we are going to play in there this year.”

The Princeton Review named the College one of the nation’s best

institutions for undergraduate education in the 2009 edition of The Best

368 Colleges.

Joyce Barrett, adjunct faculty member in the communication department, received

a U.S. Embassy Policy Specialist grant to study the relationship between the

government and media in the Republic of Georgia over the summer.

Shirley Hinson, director of government relations, was awarded the Callen-Lacey

Center Award for Outstanding Support for her help in securing funding for the

annual operations of the Callen-Lacey Center for Children, an emergency shelter

for abused and abandoned children.

Employees can now view their Cougar Card Mini-Statement, including their 60-

day transaction history and current Cougar Cash and Dining Dollars balances, by

logging onto CougarTrail and selecting Cougar Card Mini-Statement under Personal

Information. Complete statements are available through the Office of Cougar Card

Services, 953.1100 or [email protected].

Employees accompanying students in study-abroad programs should schedule

travel consultations with health services two to three months before traveling.

This new service includes immunizations, preventative treatments and health-risk

education. Group sessions are available. For more information, contact Jane Reno-

Munro at 953.5520 or [email protected].

Conseula Francis, Associate Professor

of English

“I have to say, this semester, I’m especially looking forward to

the results of the presidential election.”












Titanic’s ruins.

















12 p.m.



FEE: None








FEE: None





American voter.


7–8:30 p.m.


Entrepreneurship

FEE: None


[email protected]




listed contact.–















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tell you it’s hot and oppressively humid. Ask Linda McClenaghan and Jared Smith, however, and they’ll tell you it’s commanding, intriguing and surprisingly erratic. “When you’re really paying attention to the weather, you get a whole different perspective,” says McClenaghan, perched on the roof of her Isle of Palms home, where her personal weather station measures the temperature, wind, humidity, barometric pressure, rain and other data – all of which is automatically uploaded and broadcast online. “You can get really into it.” Just ask Smith, who operated downtown’s first weather station for two years before his recent move, and who continues to blog about the weather and broadcasted weather updates online. “Weather became a big part of my life when I installed the station,” says the webmaster in IT, although he admits that it’s always interested him. “It started with the Weather Channel when I was 5.” And it didn’t stop there. At age 6, Smith won a costume contest when he entered as a cumulonimbus cloud. And then, in elementary school, he reported the weather in his school’s weekly student-run television news show. “I was so into it,” he smiles. And, to be fair, he still is. “Weather’s raw power just blows me away – it can ruin or make a person’s day,” says Smith. “And I like how it can still be unpredictable, despite all we do to try to figure it out.” It’s that unpredictability that both Smith and McClenaghan attempt to diminish by monitoring and broadcasting the weather from their homes.

“I always check it right before I leave work so I know what I’m coming home to. You never know what the weather’s going to be doing out here,” says McClenaghan, who installed her first personal weather station about 12 years ago and has since become known among her neighbors as the Weather Witch. “My weather station is just kind of part of my life now.” It’s also part of the lives of others. “My station is the only one on the islands,” says the training specialist in HR, “so this is really the only way people can find out exactly what’s going on out here whenever they want.” And that, says Smith, is what it’s all about. “The coolest part is that we’re providing a service,” he says, noting that his weather blog and

weather broadcasts have gained the attention not only of loyal weather nuts and the media, but also of regular people who are just looking for information. “That’s the great thing about the weather – it’s the one thing we all have in common, the one thread that ties us all together,” says Smith. “We all talk about the weather … I just talk about it in more detail.” That’s because, for Smith and McClenaghan both, the weather is anything but small talk.

Over the summer, Jared Smith and Jim Neff in the astronomy and physics department configured the weather station at the College’s observatory to report data to Weather Underground. Visit wunderground.com and enter the 29424 zip code.

Charleston Place. With around 4,750 visitors over the course of each summer, the College’s residence halls and historic houses together make up one of the best-run lodges in town. And, behind the scenes of it all, John Campbell might just be Charleston’s busiest innkeeper. “Summers are high intensity around here,” says the dean of residence life and housing, noting that 165 conference and camp groups stayed at the College between May 12 and August 1 this year. “We’re filling rooms on a larger scale, cleaning the rooms around the conference schedule, trying to do repairs and maintenance for the fall. It’s a lot at one time – it gets pretty hectic.” It requires the entire staff to jump into action – coordinating room assignments and group amenities (linens, meals/catering, fitness facilities, camp store/storage, telephones and meeting space), operating the check-in desk and carrying out the housekeeping and maintenance. And Campbell’s job? To make sure it all goes smoothly. “I try to stay on top of it all,” says Campbell, who spends much of his time checking in with the conference staff, giving the go-ahead on various projects and expenditures and resolving any issue that arises with facilities, room assignments or guests. “I’m never sad to see the end of summer. I don’t think any of us are.” Not that his job gets a whole lot easier in the fall, when 3,400 students move onto campus –

many with roommate issues or homesickness. Still, things do become a little more predictable. “At the beginning of the school year, we’re mostly trying to accommodate the students – helping ease their transition as much as possible,” says Campbell. “It’s our job to provide an environment that supports the success of our students and helps them feel comfortable and connected to the College.” Living on campus plays a big role in that connection. And, according to departmental studies, students who stay on campus for their entire freshman year maintain higher grade point averages and are 10–15 percent more likely to graduate than those who commute. “There are so many advantages to living on campus,” says Campbell, who began his career as a hall director in graduate school, eventually launching his professional career in higher-education housing in 1979. After serving in the

residence life departments at several large universities, and most recently leading those at Old Dominion University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he ended up at the College in 2005. “This is a friendly place,” he says. “The students are very engaged, and I think that’s a testament to the supportiveness of the faculty and staff. Plus, the campus’ location in the middle of the city gives students a lot of opportunities to get involved. Location is one thing that’s so unique about the College.” Still, some things never change. “It’s amazing to me that – as long as I’ve been doing this – nothing fundamentally changes except the faces,” says Campbell. “Students leave and new ones arrive. And what they all really want of us is a safe, supportive and comfortable place to stay as they figure out where they’ll go next.” Spoken like a true hotelier.

been poured and the roof trusses will

start being set at the end of August.

pavers outside of the Addlestone Library

have been replaced and the third-floor

concrete slab has been poured. Half of

the structural steel will be erected by

the end of this month, and all underground work will be

completed by the first week in September.

an entertainment area, which should be completed by the

end of September/beginning of October.

At the Carolina First Center/John Kresse Arena, all

overhead inspections were completed during the summer,

and arena seating installation began. Wood flooring will

begin to be installed at the end of September.

wheel, plodding away among the scraps of clay littering his studio floor, John Davis is completely in his element. “I like the elasticity of clay. You can do virtually anything with it – that’s why it’s so prevalent throughout history,” says the campus arborist, who is also a painter with works hanging in the second-, third- and fourth-floor lounges of the Stern Student Center. “Plus, there’s an endless supply of it in most places, since, when you think about it, you’re transforming dirt into art.” It should come as no surprise that Davis – who has been creating art out of dirt in the gardens and flower beds across campus since he came to the College right after Hurricane Hugo – doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty for the sake of aesthetics. Still, for Davis, it’s not just about beauty. “Clay is man’s first high-tech medium,” he says. “Where would we be without pottery? No stew! No lobster bisque! Not to mention history: Civilizations for a long time have been judged by the quality of their pottery and identified by the design of their pottery.” Davis’ appreciation for clay and pottery started at the University of South Carolina, where, as an art major, he took the school’s first ceramics course and quickly learned that pottery was about more than just technique and training.

“You can get the technique down, but if you can’t visualize the form – if you can’t feel the center of mass and see its beginning and its end – your pot will never mean anything,” says Davis, who went on to teach ceramics at USC and the Richland Arts School while curating at the Columbia Museum of Art in the 1970s. “It’s very difficult to teach. People who can see the form in clay – you don’t have to tell them – they can just visualize it. That gives them a big leg up.” As it turns out, an eye for form might just give you a leg up in landscaping, as well. At least that’s how it worked out for Davis, whose creative focus eventually moved outside. “As a landscape designer, I visualize things from overhead, and I’ve found that if it looks good in the drawing, it’ll look good in the garden,” he says. “The colors, the mass, the texture, the lines: It helps to have an eye for these things.” Whether he’s working in a flower bed, at the potter’s wheel or at his easel, for Davis, it’s all about letting the unique properties of his medium speak for itself. “I get a great joy of manipulating paint and color and I try to let the color take on movement in my paintings,” says Davis, who primarily uses acrylics. “There’s no message there except color. I’d like people to say,

‘Oh, what nice color.’ Maybe it’ll brighten up their day a bit. But color is always the big message.” The “big message” in his pottery may not be quite as vibrant, but it is just as straightforward, subtle and striking. “The two things I like about how I do clay are: One, I like the material to show through, and two, I want the process to show through,” says Davis. “That’s what I want people to see when they look at my pottery: material and process.” In other words, Davis wants us to see the organic art within the elements and the creative potential that emerges at the hands of man. And, while we can’t all have an eye for these things, we can all recognize talent when we see it.

John Davis’ goblets, vases, platters and other pottery and sculpture are on display at Sparks Studios, 12 Hagood Ave. For more information, visit sparkstudiosandgallery.com.

has moved into 7 and 9 College Way.

All contact information is the same.

Program has moved to 7 College

Way, rooms 100 and 101. All contact

information remains the same.

program staff has moved into 14

Coming Street. The new phone

number is 953.6690; the new fax

number is 953.6694.

AKA: Crinum asiaticum, grand crinum,

giant lily, spider lily, St. John’s lily.

ON CAMPUS: Found in the Lauretta

Goodall-Guenveur Garden, 57 Coming

Street, both now and in the early 1930s

DESCRIPTION: This hardy, carefree

plant blooms repeatedly throughout

the year, producing dramatic, fragrant

flowers that attract bees, butterflies,

birds and florists. Its thick, fleshy

leaves usually stay green year round.WHERE TO PLANT: Plant bulbs in full

sun or partial shade.

The Division of Marketing and

Communications will soon distribute

the College’s first brand manual, which

includes guidelines governing the proper and consistent use of the

College’s brand story, key messages, visual identity, wordmark,

colors and typefaces. The manual will explain how to apply these

guidelines to print materials, websites, signage, stationery and

other communications materials. It also includes a comprehensive

style guide to ensure that written materials are accurate and

consistent. The manual is designed to be a toolkit for departments,

offices and programs to use to achieve their communications and

marketing goals while, at the same time, clearly communicating

that each unit of the College is part of a strong, cohesive, first-

class institution of higher learning.

Once the brand manual is released, campuswide branding

and marketing seminars will be offered to assist with the

implementation of the brand and visual identity standards. Watch

for more information about these seminars in the coming weeks.












Titanic’s ruins.

















12 p.m.



FEE: None








FEE: None





American voter.


7–8:30 p.m.


Entrepreneurship

FEE: None


[email protected]




listed contact.–















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to show for it, but the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services are doing their part to ensure that at least some of us are getting the recognition we deserve. The annual ExCEL Awards program this year honored the following 13 staff and faculty members – along with 17 other members of the College community – for their excellence in spreading the benefits of diversity and for enhancing multiculturalism on campus, in the community and in their everyday lives. These employees, listed in the order they appear above (top to bottom, left to right), represent all those things that make the College community something to celebrate.

Outstanding Faculty of the Year for the School of Sciences and Mathematics – Langville and her mathematical research has impressed not only the American Mathematical Society and the National Science Foundation, but also her own students, who’ve been encouraged that the world of mathematics may indeed be a place for women.

Outstanding Faculty of the Year for the School of Sciences and Mathematics – Agrest is one of the driving forces behind the South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (SCAMP) program, a summer bridge program for minority incoming freshmen interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Eddie Ganaway Distinguished Alumni Award – Ever since Baxter graduated in 1998, he has been performing all over the world and with many musicians, making a name for himself

among jazz aficionados and maintaining a close relationship with the College all the while.

Outstanding Faculty of the Year for the School of Education, Health and Human Performance – ndunda led 23 students to her native country of Kenya last December to build a clinic in an orphanage serving children who had lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic. The effort, “Project Harambee,” has become a campus movement, and plans are under way for future trips.

Outstanding Faculty of the Year for the School of Business and Economics – Blockson is actively involved in minority business development, and her research on the economic and sociological factors accounting for the viability, growth and sustainability of female African American entrepreneurs has the potential to influence policymakers and practitioners to better serve this population across the country.

Outstanding Staff Member of the Year– During the 37+ years she has dedicated to the College, Craig has ensured a high level of continuity in support of the President’s Office and has provided direction and development for many student workers.

Outstanding Faculty of the Year for the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs – Morris advocates for diversity on campus, works with student and community groups fighting for full acceptance of all people and has long been a supporter

Thanks to everyone who participated in last month’s photo quiz, and congratulations to

Susan Fox, administrative assistant for the Teaching Fellows Program in the Department

of Foundations, Secondary and Special Education. Fox was the first to guess that the

object in question was the top of the sculpture in the St. Philip Courtyard in front of the

Simons Center. The steel sculpture, titled Carapace, is the work of Jonathan Hills, a

sculpture instructor and studio technician at the College from 1999 to 2002.

After it was featured in the 2002 Halsey Gallery exhibit,

Supernatural, Hills gave the piece to Halsey

Gallery Director Mark Sloan, who in turn loaned

it to the College.


can be found on campus. Do you know what

it is? The first person to submit the correct

answer will win a tasty lunch for two at Liberty

Street Fresh Food Company, compliments of

ARAMARK. Good luck!

Send your submission to [email protected] by Friday,

May 16, 2008. The contest is open to all College

faculty and staff. One submission per person,

please.

Ryan Holmes, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations

“Since I live close to campus, I typically go home for lunch. Every now and then I’ll do some shopping on King Street.”

LEADERSHIP DEFINED AND EXPLOREDDetermine your leadership style and

learn how to become a more

effective leader.

When: Tuesday, May 6, 9:30–11 a.m.

Where: Human Resources conference

room, Lightsey Center basement

Fee: None

Contact: Please RSVP to Linda

McClenaghan, 953.8238 or

[email protected]

SPOLETO SNEAK PREVIEWGet the insider’s guide to the must-

see events at this year’s Spoleto

USA Festival and Piccolo Spoleto.

Reception to follow.

When: Monday, May 12, 6 p.m.

Where: Simons Center Recital Hall

Fee: None

Contact: Please RSVP to Jenny

Fowler, 953.5530 or

[email protected]

TIAA-CREF ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONSGet help making informed decisions

and setting up your long-term financial

plan in an hour-long session with a

TIAA-CREF financial consultant.

When: Thursday, May 29

Where: Human Resources room B36,

Lightsey Center basement

Fee: None

Contact: Please enroll at

tiaa-cref.org/moc or contact Sandy

Butler, 953.5709 or [email protected]




listed contact.

Every May, Charleston locals pack their bags, load up their cars and get the

heck out of dodge in what is an inconvenient yet understandable reaction to

the invasion of over 125,000 tourists here for Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo

Spoleto. But, with gas prices what they are, it might just be time to surrender.

And, with dozens of College staff, faculty and students participating, you won’t

feel outnumbered. “Almost everywhere you go, you’ll see someone from the

College,” says Valerie Morris, dean of the School of the Arts. “We’re all over the

place – we’re performing, we’re backstage, we’re everywhere.” So, instead of

heading for the hills this year, come out and support your colleagues and your

students. You won’t be alone.

Shown above: Richard Marcus, administrative assistant and adjunct faculty member in the music department, is helping to coordinate the Youth Music Festival at this year’s Piccolo Spoleto. He will also be conducting the Lowcountry Youth Orchestra in several performances, including one at 3 p.m. on May 25 at Citadel Square Baptist Church. Admission is free.

Monica Pawlowski, Executive Director of the Cougar Club

“What break? I try to schedule the lunches I do take for business. I used to go for a run during that time of day. Thinking about it, I might start that

again, thanks ‘Word on the Bricks’!”

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June Deadline: May 16, 2008cofc.edu/theportico

Robby Brand, Director of Mail Services

“My typical lunch break consists of playing basketball at the gym with the young guys – trying to maintain my youth.”

The College has received official reaffirmation of accreditation

through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of

Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Steve Litvin, professor of hospitality and tourism, received a Fulbright Scholarship

to study sustainable tourism development a the University of Guelph in Canada.

At last month’s faculty meeting, the following faculty were recognized: Brad Huber,

sociology and anthropology, Distinguished Teaching Award; George Dickinson,

sociology and anthropology, Distinguished Research Award; Hugh Wilder,

philosophy, Distinguished Service Award; Carol Ann Davis, English, Distinguished

Advising Award; Brenda Sanders, sociology and anthropology, Distinguished

Advising Award; Angela Halfacre, political science, Distinguished Teacher/

Scholar Award.

The deadline for employee parking applications for next year is June 2. To apply,

log onto Cougar Trail, select “Parking Account,” follow the “Request Permits” link

and select four unique locations. For more information, contact parking services at

953.7834 or [email protected].

Wild Dunes Resort offers College employees 20–30% off of near-ocean and

resort-view accommodations now until August 31. To access this promotion

online, use promo code VCELWD. For more information, contact Matt Marcino at

886.2216 or [email protected]. CONTINUED INSIDE

47& 803% (6&44 8)5 47& %5&...descendants in coastal georgia, north carolina and...

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