It was too quiet. Spring at Wofford College — the green of the grass, the pink of the trees, the golden haze of sunshine and pollen — is usually the backdrop to so much energy and so many events. Not this year. Just as the campus was beginning to explode with color, students were leaving because of COVID-19. In the unfamiliar stillness, Mark Olencki ’75 began cataloging the still spring.
Faculty and staff worked from home or on flexible schedules to continue the essential work of the college.
Temporary closure signs marked college entrances and main roads.
Even the pollen we all love to hate seemed more beautiful this year.
Construction continued on Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall (Left). The 150-bed residence will house first-year students in the fall. Construction crews practiced social distancing and wore masks while working on the Chandler Center for Environmental Studies.
Premium parking spaces between the Olin Building and Shipp Hall were no longer in demand.
Even though Commencement has been postponed until Aug. 21 and 22, a few members of the Class of 2020 — Joshua Adams, Elizabeth Collins and Max Lefebvre — came to campus on Sunday, May 17, the graduation date on their diplomas.
The Career Center and the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation launched a rebranding campaign just before the pandemic. When students return to campus, they will find a new look for the Mungo Exchange, the college’s hub of highimpact programs.
A Wofford student left this art on the window to their residence in the Michael S. Brown Village Center. It was a reminder to all of better days.
Statewide stay-at-home orders meant a change in the way the college operated as evidenced by departmental mail baskets.
Once the stay-at-home orders were lifted, athletics staff who were eager to see colleagues organized socially distanced lunch meetings as a nice break from Zoom calls.
The college’s facilities staff found ways to stay busy and make improvements to the campus while students were away.
The Wofford Wellness Center and others across campus encouraged hand-washing to combat a bad flu season. Handwashing instructions became even more specific with COVID-19.
A sign on the Class of 1956 Terrier sculpture marked each day that students were away from campus.
President Nayef Samhat had a request from a parent asking him to pose in academic regalia so she could create a life-sized cutout for her daughter and their family’s Commencement celebration.
Players Corner is typically packed in the spring with students, faculty and staff who want to enjoy their meals outside.
At 5 p.m., the traffic on Church Street in front of the college is usually bumper-to-bumper. Not after stay-at-home orders were in place.
April was Autism Awareness Month. The community event on campus was canceled, but the college still lit Main Building in blue to raise awareness.
Appropriately, the sculpture of Light continued to stand for all students at the entrance to the Sandor Teszler Library, a place that continued to support student success during COVID-19.
The grass still grew, and mowers still hummed.
The Rev. Dr. Ron Robinson ’78 promised the Class of 2020 four years ago that the college would toll the bell for them upon their Commencement. On May 17, Robinson kept that promise. The Wofford community listened to the bell toll once for each graduate on Instagram and Facebook. Several graduates came to hear the bell live. The bell will toll again for the Class of 2020 during their August Commencement.
Dr. Caleb Arrington, professor of chemistry, continued to hold class online in his empty lab.
By Mark Olencki ’75 and Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89