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CAMPUS NEWS

Winthrop Emphasizes Importance of Voting; Efforts Recognized for Third-Straight Year

For the third year in a row, Washington Monthly has recognized Winthrop for its success in getting students to vote.

The university is among the top 50 in the Student Voting Category of the 2020 Washington Monthly College Rankings and one of only three institutions listed from South Carolina.

Across the campus, Interim President George Hynd, faculty members, student voting ambassadors and the athletics department urged stu- dents to make their voices heard.

Voting ambassadors made social media pushes on Facebook and Instagram to remind students to register to vote and to either vote early by absentee ballots or to vote in person on Election Day.

Other efforts included:

• Regular emails to students, faculty and staff that explained all aspects of voting and deadlines;

• Posters around campus about how students could file for an absentee ballot;

• Art program print art and voting mural in the breezeway between McLaurin Hall and Rutledge Building;

• Sponsorship of programs presented in the residence halls related to voting and absentee ballots;

• Voting information made available on the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy website and on the voting FAQ page;

• Voting registration materials distributed through ACAD classes; and

• Departmental social media campaigns.

The Winthrop Athletics Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee spearheaded voter registration, education and action efforts for the athletics teams. This included holding a non-partisan virtual workshop entitled “Rock the Hill! Rock the Vote!” and an in-person, team-by- team voter registration and ballot request drive with all 16 of the university’s NCAA teams and Esports. At the drives, the department achieved 100 percent voter registration of student-athletes.

12 Lacrosse student-athletes rocked their vote T-shirts.

In social work, a graduate class created a voter educa- tion/engagement event in conjunction with students’ field placements. They integrated voter registration, education and outreach into their field agencies’ ser- vice delivery/culture during Early Vote Week of Action. Teams worked with Charlotte agencies or partnered with When We All Vote and York County Board of Elections for resources, strategies and best-practices to support their events.

The TRiO Achievers Program, first funded at Winthrop in 2005, is designed to increase the academic performance, retention rates and graduation rates of program participants.

The array of services provided to qualified students are comprehensive and will include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, and help in choosing courses.

TRiO participants have a remarkable success rate: 99 percent of TRiO participants are in academic good standing at the end of the year; 97 percent return for their second year; and more than three-fourths graduate within five years.

13 TRiO Support Grant Re-funded for $1.375 Million

The U.S. Department of Education re-funded a federal Student Support Services (SSS) grant of $1.375 million to help more Winthrop students graduate from college.

Big Stuff hung out at the new voting mural to encourage passersby to vote.

FALL 2020

Winthrop Moves to Highest U.S. News Ranking; Earns Other Third-Party Endorsements

Winthrop continues to round up the accolades. The university was recognized for its strong commitment to undergraduate teaching, its attention to veterans, the social mobility of its graduates and its innovation, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 edition of “Best Colleges.”

Accomplishments included:

• Moved from 17th to 13th place among regional universities in the South, marking its best overall ranking in 26 years.

• Rose from 8th to 7th place among best colleges for veterans.

• Placed 12th for most innovative schools.

• Held on to 11th place for best undergraduate teaching as judged by peers.

• Ranked 23rd for social mobility, a category that measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants.

In addition, this fall, The Princeton Review praised the university for its diverse student body and beautiful campus in its “Best in the Southeast” rankings, and Money Magazine named the university to its “Best Colleges for Your Money 2020.”

CAMPUS NEWS

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