What did you do during your first day as president?

I walked to work for the first time in my career! I started my day by establishing an endowed scholarship in memory of a dear friend. I met with the Council of Student Leaders’ leadership, and members of the media, got to know Office of the President staff members, spoke to incoming freshmen at Orientation, had lunch with parents who were attending Orientation, met with Debra Boyd, who provided steady and exemplary leadership during her year as acting president, made some phone calls to key constituents, and enjoyed time with faculty and staff during an afternoon ice cream social attended by my wife, Laura, and our children, Gavin and Elena. It was a busy day but definitely productive and satisfying for me personally.

What have been your first steps at Winthrop?

I’m listening and learning all I can about Winthrop. I have been working with the university’s academic, enrollment, student life, fundraising and athletic leaders since this spring, and, together, we’re prioritizing short- and long-term goals as we begin work toward a strategic plan and determine how to best allocate our resources to support Winthrop’s priorities for the future. I’m also hitting the road to visit our alumni and friends in cities throughout the state and beyond. I’m enjoying meeting those who love and support Winthrop.

What are the biggest challenges facing the university?

Winthrop does a lot of things right in offering students a great education in a place where they can grow intellectually,

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socially and globally. What we need to improve are our numbers—enrollment and fundraising in particular. We know that we have to recruit more new students— across all segments of our population, from traditional students to grad students to online learners. And we must keep students we’ve invested in—and who have invested in us—on the path to degree completion.

How do you plan to improve these areas and move Winthrop forward?

The strategic planning process will help us chart a course for how Winthrop will

On his first day as president, Mahony met with Debra Boyd, who served as acting president for the 2014-15 academic year, and continues to serve as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

accomplish these and other important goals, and I’m committed to leading this effort. We are working this fall on the strategic plan that will help us determine where we want the university to be in five to 10 years. This process will be inclusive with faculty, staff and student voices being heard, and will include measurable goals so that we can assess what we’ve done right and what still could use improvement. We also will use the strategic plan to drive resource allocation. The university has always found ways to