Ainsley McCarthy

The Palmetto Report • 2nd December 2022

WU class focuses on ADA issues on campus

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — One Winthrop University professor is challenging students to analyze the school’s infrastructure and look for spaces that may not be accessible for people with special needs.

Kathryn Nicholson, an assistant professor of interior design, has students in her “Codes and Standards” class looking for spaces that don’t meet the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA is a federal civil rights law that “guarantees that people with disabilities have the sam

My TJ Now • 6th April 2023

Student artists allegedly conned out of opportunity to table at DSU event

Students in the illustration department are alleging that university entertainment organization DSU is intentionally punishing them for commenting on their disappointment that the group used artificial intelligence-generated art for the promotional materials advertising their Fun Stuffed event, which was held on Feb. 14.

DSU made an Instagram post featuring the art in question, whose comment section became a host for conversation–namely among students and community members criticizing the unori

My TJ Now • 8th March 2023

Faust is finished

Kimberly Faust was hired by former president Anthony DiGorgio to be his chief of staff in 2004, and has now ended her employment at Winthrop. During her career she has also served as secretary to the board of trustees. Her background is in sociology, specifically urban sociology, demography and research methods.

The notice comes exactly three years to the day that former President Dan Mahony resigned on March 3, 2020.

President Serna signed the email announcing her departure, which was sent to

My TJ Now • 22nd February 2023

Meet Todd Hagins

Todd Hagins, a former federal prosecutor, joined President Serna’s office on February 16 as the university’s chief legal representative and advisor. From providing legal advice to the university to working closely with the Title IX office and process, the role of General Counsel comes with a number of responsibilities.

According to a press release on Winthrop University’s website, Hagins will give expert advice on matters related to workplace safety and general employment, as well as with Title

My TJ Now • 22nd February 2023

Winthrop professor John Holder on his time as an Eagle: ‘Thanks for having me, Winthrop!’

John Holder, a professor in the department of political science, is retiring in May after 22 consecutive years in the profession. He began teaching at Winthrop in 1995, and left in 2005 to pursue his doctorate in public policy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

He has been back consistently since 2012, and regularly tells students about how he paid for graduate school using the prize money he was awarded when competing on a December 2004 episode of Wheel of Fortune.

He is the fo

My TJ Now • 31st December 2022

Winthrop University’s founding president was disabled

Founding-former president David Bancroft Johnson was coming home from school at nine years old–in 1865–when a railroad handcar crushed his arm.

According to “The Torch is Passed” by Ross Web, a novel chronicling Winthrop University’s history, Johnson’s mother “engaged four of ‘the best surgeons’ in the city who did ‘everything in their power’ to save the arm, but to ‘save his life’ they were forced to amputate.”

The author also noted that Johnson said later in life that “the loss of an arm mad

The Palmetto Report • 9th December 2022

Serna discusses first months as WU president

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Edward Serna celebrated his fifth month as the new Winthrop University president on Dec. 1 and he appeared as the first guest on the Palmetto Report’s new vodcast to discuss his first few months on the job.

Serna, who is a Winthrop graduate, returned to the school after serving as president of the University of Maine at Farmington.

“It has been exciting, it has been overwhelming, it has been wonderful,” said Serna, who was in the studio for the interview on Oct. 24. “It has

My TJ Now • 6th December 2022

Vice President of Student Affairs featured in new anthology honoring women in the workforce

Chronicling one’s triumphs into novel form is triumphant in and of itself, so chronicling other’s triumphs into novel form is surely an ambitious task.

Author Jennifer Pestikas undertook the latter challenge in her book, “Brave Women at Work: Stories of Resilience.”

Vice President of Student Affairs Shelia Burkhalter is one of eight women whose careers are chronicled in the book, which was edited by Hope Mueller.

Burkhalter’s story takes place at Winthrop University in 2018, when she accepted

My TJ Now • 5th November 2022

Winthrop University IT works with WUPD to replace safety lights across campus

Students received an email from Patrice Bruneau, the Assistant Vice President for Computing and Information Technology, notifying them that contractors were to begin replacing broken safety lights on Oct. 4. According to the message, police would be notified of their progress over the course of the project. It is expected to take several weeks to complete. The changes are a result of repeated machine failures, which were highlighted during campus safety walkthroughs in the past academic year.

B

My TJ Now • 30th March 2022

Roddey will lose kitchens, gain exclusive meal plan in fall

Occupants of Roddey Hall will have stoves and ovens removed from their apartments in fall 2022 and are being assigned roommates despite having paid for private rooms.

The Department of Residence Life informed current Roddey residents of upcoming changes in an email sent on March 2.

The email said that “beginning Fall 2022, Roddey residents will be required to purchase a meal plan each semester” and that “all rooms will be double occupancy.”

A follow–up email sent on March 20 explains the chan