Lucy Quinn ’83, registrar emerita, came to Wofford in 1963 as the secretary to thenregistrar Bates L. Scoggins ’30. When he retired, she assisted Ned Sydnor. All the while she took courses, usually one per term, and in 1983 she had earned enough credits to receive her bachelor’s degree in English, magna cum laude.
She died Feb. 17, 2024, at her home in Spartanburg.
During her 24 years as the secretary to the registrar, she learned how the office worked, and when Sydnor retired in 1987, she was the obvious choice to fill the position. She later earned her master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of South Carolina and led the registrar’s office until 2008.
Quinn loved helping others succeed and those closest to her remember how she always had time for a student in need.
“Lucy was a dear friend and colleague,” says David Beacham ’77, retired senior vice president for administration and secretary to Wofford’s board of trustees. “She had a wonderful knack for nurturing students who were struggling. She was especially good with transfer students.
Lucy had wonderful instincts. She could read whatever the issue was with a student.” In 1988, Quinn hired Tammie Burgess, now assistant registrar. They became close friends.
“Her door was always open,” says Burgess. “Lucy was patient, kind, compassionate and giving. She loved learning. She loved Wofford. This became her whole life.”
“Lucy is the sole reason I graduated from Wofford College,” says Nick Wildrick ’90. “She had an eye for students who, like me, were struggling academically… Lucy was able to see the potential in people that no one else saw.”
Dr. Phillip Stone ’94, college archivist, shared his own experience with Quinn in a blog post following her death.
“When I came back to work here in 1999, she was a generous mentor, inviting me to lunch with a group of staff from around campus on Fridays where I soon realized some of the real business of running the college took place,” says Stone. “She showed me the importance of having a network of friends. … Her close friends were like an additional layer of family for her.
Quinn was one of the few women in administration when she became registrar. She witnessed and supported Wofford’s first Black students during desegregation in the 1960s as well as the first women who came to the college in the 1970s as day and residental students.
Quinn loved to travel and became an avid painter after she retired from Wofford in 2009. She also enjoyed serving with her church, East Spartanburg Wesleyan Church, and with the Altrusa Club.