During Interim at Wofford College, no two days are alike. January is a month of consideration and decision-making, of classrooms without walls and experiential learning. During January, the focus remains on Wofford’s mission, but the aperture is wider.
Follow a student, the president, a member of the faculty and a member of the staff for four weeks during January. Then enjoy a month of snapshots from Interim 2020.
Bali Channa ’20
Biology and Spanish major
Boiling Springs, S.C.
Oncocyte interns Bali Channa and Dylan Welch in California.
Bali Channa ’20 came to Wofford planning to be a physician. In the past year, however, she has started to consider other paths.
During Interim she did an internship with the molecular diagnostic company Oncocyte at the invitation of the company’s CEO, Wofford trustee Ronnie Andrews ’81. Channa spent time in the company’s offices in both California and India doing market analysis, researching competitors and promoting new diagnostic products.
“When I was in India, I went to five different hospitals and met with thoracic surgeons to explain the benefits of the Oncocyte test,” says Channa. “It was interesting to interact with physicians on the business side of things. It opened up an area of health care that I hadn’t really considered before.”
The internship also gave her the opportunity to attend a family wedding in India and do some sightseeing.
Now in her final semester at Wofford, Channa is taking courses in bio statistics, physics, Spanish and health care administration and policy. She’s also in the Presidential Seminar. Channa remains an active member of Campus Union, Wofford Ambassadors, Zeta Tau Alpha and the College Democrats.
Bali Channa has helped revive the Wofford chapter of College Democrats. This summer to jump start her efforts, she invited all of the Democratic candidates for president to the campus to speak with students. Her efforts led to visits from Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. Kamala Harris also spent time on campus thanks to Wofford trustee Craig Melvin ’00.
- Meet Ronnie Andrews; sit in on team meeting.
- Meet with pathologists and clinical researchers to learn more about the new test.
- Attend marketing meeting; determine ways to promote test.
- Pitch Onocyte test at hospital.
- Do market analysis of new drug scheduled for launch in India.
- Research Oncocyte competitors.
- Stuff Oncocyte swag bags.
- Sit in on international call with diagnostic company.
- Research M.D./MBA or M.D./Ph.D. programs.
- Debrief experience with Ronnie Andrews.
Nayef Samhat
A week with Nayef Samhat, president of the college.
What will Wofford look like in 10 to 15 years? How fiscally strong will it be? How do we need to position ourselves so enrollment remains robust? Will the physical campus meet the needs of the student body?
No week with President Nayef Samhat would be complete without thought, research, study and planning with these questions in mind. Some of the evidence is on his desk — a stack of books, including Nathan Grawe’s “Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education.” Samhat heard Grawe speak during the plenary address at the Council of Independent College Board of Governors meeting in Florida during the first week of January.
“His analysis bodes well for Wofford,” says Samhat, who will begin his seventh year as president of Wofford in July. “The college’s board of trustees continues to discuss Grawe’s research and the college’s value proposition so we can best plan for the future.”
During Samhat’s tenure, the college has completed a strategic visioning process, which led to the current $300 comprehensive campaign. Three new buildings have been completed and three more are under construction, and Samhat enjoys finding time to walk through and monitor progress. The library is in the middle of a major renovation project, and several residence halls have undergone major renovations as well. Enrollment and selectivity have increased as has the endowment. Samhat led the college through an assessment of and recommitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus and the re-evaluation of the general education curriculum to ensure that academic rigor remains a hallmark of the Wofford experience.
To shepherd this progress, Samhat says he relies heavily on a talented faculty and staff. He communicates almost constantly with colleagues, trustees, alumni, parents and donors, and he serves on several national boards. Still, he believes it’s important to always make time for students — from sponsoring a Pizza with the Presidents event with Wofford student-body president Luke Lovell ’20 to attending student research presentations and gallery exhibits to cheering for the Terriers during athletics events.
“I started out in the classroom, and my whole career has been in liberal arts colleges, so I’ve always been close to students,” says Samhat. “Now that I’m no longer in the classroom, there could be a danger in forgetting why I entered academia. That would be tragic.”
Samhat says that he and Prema love living on campus — hearing music from the Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village, walking the dogs and stopping to talk with students, grilling in the backyard.
“There’s so much positive here,” says Samhat. “It’s such a good feeling to work with others to make it happen.”
- Council of Independent College’s Board of Governor’s meeting.
- Annapolis Group conference call.
- Meeting with the college’s director of human resources.
- Meetings with college senior leadership.
- Women’s basketball game.
- Men’s basketball game.
- Review budget and prepare for board of trustees meeting.
- Lunch with alumnus.
- Pizza with the presidents student town-hall event.
- Haircut.
- Approve Mungo Exchange branding.
- Tour new construction.
Lillian González
A week with Lillian González, professor of accounting.
Lillian González, professor of accounting, gets excited talking about past Interim experiences. She loves building relationships with people from other cultures, and she believes that making those opportunities available to Wofford students is her job as a teacher and global citizen.
During January 2020, she and Andrew Green, associate professor of finance, led 20 Wofford students on a 16-day study abroad experience to South Africa.
“Every day we were experiencing something different,” says González. “We learned about AIDS treatment and education, Apartheid and Nelson Mandela, the nation’s history and culture, the people’s commitment to education and our responsibility to animals.”
Interim is a departure for González, who is usually on campus in the classroom or advising students who are considering careers in accounting, business or finance. Teaching students to assess fiscal risk or investigate fraud, however, isn’t so different than leading an Interim in South Africa.
“Whether on campus or abroad during Interim, our students learn to do well and to do good,” says González. “Spending time in South Africa gives our students an appreciation for the diversity of experience — the layers of Africa — and the grace, strength and resilience of the people. Our students are often surprised to discover that Africa is a country of entrepreneurs.”
- Travel from Hermanus to Cape Town.
- Hiking and biking in Fernkloof Nature Reserve to observe biodiversity and sustainability efforts.
- Tour Cape Town, including the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, a traditionally multicultural area.
- Interactive Cape Malay cuisine cooking class.
- Peninsula tour of the Cape of Good Hope and Boulders Beach Penguin Colony to observe penguins in their protected natural environment.
- Visit Robben Island Museum. Experience the traditional South African cooking of Chef Nolu Dube-Cele, owner of The Seven Colours Eatery.
- Visit the classrooms of Manyano High School in Khayelitsha township.
- Drumming lesson at the Gugustheba Community Center in Langa township.
- Walk through the vineyards of Marianne Farm in Stellenbosch.
Chris Gardner
A week with Chris Gardner, chief financial officer.
Chris Gardner, Wofford chief financial officer, doesn’t have a crystal ball, but he does have Synario, an intelligent financial modeling software that has allowed him to plan for Wofford’s growth in ways that protect the college from risk while maximizing reward.
“We have the ability to model an unlimited number of futures for Wofford. We can see how enrollment interacts with staffing and operating dollars,” says Gardner. “When we planned to grow, we went through a process of saying, ‘How much can we grow within the context of our faculty, campus size, current facilities and debt?’ Then we looked at different scenarios to determine the most prudent plan of action.”
During the second week in January, Gardner traveled to Washington, D.C., to share Wofford’s success with Synario and financial modelling via National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) webinar. The rest of the week was filled with meetings, budgeting in preparation for Wofford’s February board of trustees meeting and reviews of Wofford’s ongoing construction projects. Gardner is a familiar figure — suit, tie and hard hat — on the construction sites of Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall, the Chandler Center for Environmental Studies and the Sandor Teszler Library.
“We have a good team that’s consistently worked together since the construction of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts and the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium,” says Gardner. “You can talk about a construction project. You can see pictures, but it helps to understand and appreciate the space when you’re trying to evaluate cost-benefit calculations and make decisions.”
- Tape NACUBO webinar.
- Finalize budget.
- Review budget with President Samhat.
- Walk through Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall.
- Visit site of Chandler Center for Environmental Studies.
- Cabinet meeting.
- Meet with senior staff in the business office.
- OAC (owner/architect/contractor) meeting.
- Lunch with construction crews.
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89