March 3, 2015: Rotarians were honored and delighted to have the College of Charleston’s 22nd President, Glenn F. McConnell, speak at our March 3rd meeting. Well-known in South Carolina as a 30 year veteran of the Senate, former Senate President pro tempore of the state legislature and Lt. Governor of South Carolina, President McConnell left no doubt about his love, dedication and passion for the financial health, stability and vibrant future of Charleston’s marquee undergraduate educational institution.
President McConnell began his remarks noting that a recent report from the Bill Gates Foundation predicts that over the next 15 years, 40% of 4-year colleges will be absorbed by larger institutions or will be “out of business.” Spiraling costs, inept management and the refusal of the public sector to support these important hubs of student learning and preparation for life success have left colleges nationwide struggling to meet huge operating and capital fiscal demands. Expenses associated with up to date technology, relevant and robust avenues of study and necessary campus infrastructure investment are saddling graduates with untenable levels of higher education debt.
Above all things, said President McConnell, an education at the College of Charleston must be “accessible and affordable.” This is clearly one of his primary challenges. With only 9% of campus expenses supported by the state, tuition has necessarily increased, thereby making higher education difficult or unobtainable for many. For President McConnell, this is flatly unacceptable. The answer, he fervently believes, to make the College of Charleston accessible and affordable is the availability of more and larger student scholarships.
To address the need for programmatic and infrastructure creation and improvement, a $125 million campaign is underway. Focusing on private donations, bequests and partnerships with public organizations and institutions, the funds raised will be used to enrich and enhance the following priorities:
1. Scholarships
2. World-class Faculty
3. Academics and Campus Life Programs
4. State of the Art Facilities
5. Annual Giving
President McConnell urged the audience to consider giving to the College through an Annual Giving Program, Endowments and Major Gifts and/or Planned Giving. All avenues of providing donations are easily accessed on the College of Charleston website.
In addition to fund-raising, President McConnell noted that multiple higher education partnerships and shared programs are in effect and being developed to take advantage of the assets and strengths of all of South Carolina’s participating colleges and universities. The future of higher education, he said, is no longer “competition” but rather “collaboration” which will provide students with new and expanded learning opportunities. A totally novel proposed platform to provide research opportunities within the College involves an evolving relationship between the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina. The arrangement would require that the Mission Statement of the College be amended to allow it to have a research university component that would have to be considered and approved by the state legislature. If approved, it would be the only example in the country where targeted university research is a part of a college.
In his closing remarks, President McConnell again stressed the critical importance of private, individual support for the College of Charleston, invoking Winston Churchill’s statement: “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”
– Cheryl Kaynard