Wofford College

Five Wofford College students are spending the summer filling a void in the college's recorded history, and their research will contribute to ongoing campus conversations. The students will collect stories from Black alumni, primarily from the late 1960s through the late 1980s, as the first part of a research project organized by the college's Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

In early May, 18 Wofford College students discussed their work in the Spartanburg community with hopes of winning funding to continue supporting the growth and development of 10 community-based programs. Each of the 10 projects discussed walked away with at least $250 and the grand prize winner, Determined Minds, which serves Camp Croft Courts and Prince Hall Apartments, earned $1,250.

Dr. Timothy Schmitz, provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the spring 2023 semester.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 19, 2023. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Dozens of Wofford College students were recognized for academic excellence, leadership and citizenship on Friday, May 19, at the college's annual Honors Convocation held in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. President Nayef Samhat named Josh Lipscomb '24, a philosophy and Spanish double major from Travelers Rest, South Carolina as Wofford's Presidential International Scholar for the 2023-24 academic year. Academic departments also recognized their outstanding students, and a variety of other leadership and citizenship awards were presented during the event.

Wofford College's Class of 2023 received words of wisdom from a Tony, Grammy and James Beard award winner, and they were all one person. Alexander Smalls, a renowned opera singer, chef and author who attended Wofford in the early 1970s, delivered the keynote address during the college's 169th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 21, 2023. The college awarded 384 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to 369 graduates. The college also conferred honorary degrees on three individuals: Patricia Gainey, Brenda Lee Pryce and Smalls.

Josh Lipscomb '24 has spent this year rehearsing for next year. Lipscomb, a philosophy and Spanish double major from Travelers Rest, South Carolina, has been studying in Spain since August. Next year he'll travel to Mexico and Peru as Wofford's 2023-24 Presidential International Scholar.

Early in his sophomore year at Wofford, Thomas Rowland IV '23 wrote a song about a woman and the trials of their relationship. He called the anthem "Ragdoll," and it became the first original song he performed for an audience. On April 13, Rowland will have the opportunity to perform the song for the largest crowd of his budding career when he opens for Old Crow Medicine Show at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. While he's played at colleges and bars throughout the Carolinas, this will be his first ticketed gig.

No matter what happens at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships on Thursday, May 4, Remington Linker '25 has already won. After what she went through to get there, it's just that simple.

A pair of first-year students will represent Wofford College in the SoCon Entrepreneurship Challenge on March 31 at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Zion Sampson '26, an undeclared major from Aiken, South Carolina, will present a nonprofit business that provides dental care to underserved communities. Tommy Tessien '26, an undeclared major from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will present a for-profit business called Perfect Curb.

The Wofford College Theatre Department's spring production of "Equus" hits the stage beginning April 20. Alex Malvern '23, an English major from Greenville, South Carolina, plays one of the main characters, Alan Strang, and describes "Equus" as a show that is about belief and understanding one another, and making one's pain mean something.

Emily Lang '23 recently presented her summer research on the science of aging at Harvard University. The research involved Lang, a psychology major from Lexington, South Carolina, working with Dr. Kara Bopp, professor of psychology, to look at resources available to seniors in Spartanburg County while conducting interviews and creating a definition of successful aging.

Mina Gencoguz '26 often wakes up before her roommate, but on Feb. 6 her roommate was up first and asked if she knew about the earthquake in Turkey. Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is her home.

Wofford College's Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts served as a courthouse in February as 300 students from 13 colleges and universities competed in an American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament. Wofford, which had two teams participating in the tournament, fielded its first mock trial team in 2022, and now the college hosted a regional tournament.

Dr. Timothy Schmitz, provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the fall 2022 semester.

Messiah Jones '23 surprised himself while teaching at Meeting Street Academy during the fall semester. Jones, a sociology and anthropology major from Chicago, Illinois, discovered that he enjoyed teaching. Jones' time in the classroom was made possible by a new partnership between Wofford College and Meeting Street, a public school of innovation in Spartanburg School District 7.

A record number of Wofford College students are receiving Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to study abroad. Seven students were awarded scholarships that will be used for Interim 2023 and the spring 2023 semester. The scholarships are given by the U.S. Department of State to support students studying and interning abroad while gaining skills that are critical to the United States' national security and economy. The scholarships are for up to $5,000.

The names of students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of the college who have died during the past year are read each year on Nov. 1, and the bell in Main Building tolls for each of them. It tolled 177 times this year.

Deuce Miller '26 is the oldest of three children, and receiving Wofford College's 2022 Richardson Family Scholarship has allowed him to show his younger sisters the value of hard work.

A group of Wofford students spent the summer looking for something they hoped they wouldn't find. They got their wish, and that's good news for Spartanburg children who frequent the playgrounds at 18 parks in the city.

Three Wofford College seniors have contributed to telling the story of Anne Frank in a traveling exhibit that will be on campus until Nov. 19.

Dr. Timothy Schmitz, interim provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the spring 2022 semester. Students achieving a 3.60 grade-point average or higher after earning at least 12 academic hours qualify for the Dean's List.

Wofford College awarded 374 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to 357 graduates during the college's 168th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 22.

Wofford College awarded 374 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to 357 graduates during the college's 168th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 22.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 20, 2022. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Dozens of Wofford College students were recognized for academic excellence, leadership and citizenship on Friday, May 20, at the college's annual Honors Convocation held in the Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts.

Wofford College awarded 374 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to 357 graduates during the college's 168th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 22.

Tiwandi Jones always kept her son, Quashon Greenlee '22, focused on two things when he was growing up in Anderson, South Carolina: education and football. Education was the key to a better life. Football was the vehicle that would get him the education she wanted him to have. And then, when Greenlee was 16, his mother died of complications from congestive heart failure.

Paola Cruz '23 understands the healing and therapeutic benefits of writing. Her smartphone has more than 800 notes that capture the moments she's needed to record thoughts and feelings. "My mom passed when I was 14," says Cruz, a double major in sociology and anthropology and Spanish from Charlotte, North Carolina. "The only way I could grieve was by writing. It turned my life around. The social worker told me every time I had a dream about my mom to just write it down." Cruz's mother died from gastric cancer. Her journal entries eventually turned into poems and songs. The writing is inspiring her research as Wofford College's Presidential International Scholar for the 2022-23 academic year.

Wofford College's fraternities and sororities held their annual Greek Week the week of April 25 and concluded it with the annual Greek Awards that recognized both organizations and individual achievements of members. Additionally, organizations raised $27,051 for the Grateful Hearts Project, started by Cate Whitlatch '24, a psychology major from Greensboro, North Carolina. The project creates themed boxes of decorations for kids admitted to the hospital.