A CELEBRATED OCCASION COMMENCEMENTS HONOR GRADUATES, MARK

The May 7 undergraduate Commencement ceremonies at the Winthrop Coliseum celebrated student success but also signaled President Dan Mahony’s investiture as he was officially recognized as the university’s 11th president. Mahony, who became president on July 1, 2015, chose to combine Commencement and the brief investiture in order to save money and to keep the focus on the university’s accomplished graduates.

Commencement was split into two ceremonies for the first time in order to accommodate Winthrop’s growing class size and the popularity of the event. Seniors from the colleges of Visual and Performing Arts and Arts and Sciences graduated in the morning, while seniors from the College of Business Administration and the Richard W. Riley College of Education received degrees in the afternoon.

At the morning ceremony, then Board of Trustees Vice Chair and now Chair Karl Folkens ’78 and Provost Debra Boyd presented Mahony with a hood, lined in garnet and gold, as a symbol of his responsibilities as Winthrop president. In the afternoon ceremony, Folkens hung the presidential medallion around Mahony’s neck to symbolize that the president speaks for the “whole body of the institution.”

S.C. Sen. Wes Hayes, chair of the York County Delegation, brought greetings from S.C. Governor Nikki Haley, while Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols ’77 said he looks forward to working with Mahony on partnerships in several areas, including public art, the College Town Action plan, pedestrian and cycling improvements, and the Knowledge Park project.

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