As a premier liberal arts college, Wofford remains dedicated to providing students with an education that is both forwardlooking and deeply rooted in the traditions linking Wofford’s curriculum with the curricula of the great universities that proliferated in Europe centuries ago. Our general education program, like the curricula of the humanistic universities of the Renaissance, continues to offer a wide range of subjects while also focusing on the fundamental skills of close reading, clear writing and critical reasoning — skills that remain highly valued in the job market today. At the same time, our curriculum prepares students for the pluralistic society they will encounter upon graduation. Our academic majors, programs and concentrations offer students the chance to explore topics in depth, engage in research projects or develop skills tailored for specific professions. Increasingly, students, their parents, prospective employers and graduate school admissions officers expect alumni from top colleges like Wofford to have engaged in a variety of important co-curricular activities. For example, study abroad, a longstanding point of pride at Wofford, remains a vital opportunity for many students. More recently, undergraduate research, internships and community engagement have all gained popularity, and Wofford has expanded its offerings to meet these needs.
What follows is a short summary of some of the highlights and changes that have taken place within academic affairs at Wofford in recent years. Although colleges are often viewed as unchanging, static institutions, higher education does evolve and adapt. Wofford College has certainly transformed over the 24 years I have been here. Nonetheless, the institution remains committed to its core mission: “to provide superior liberal arts education that prepares its students for extraordinary and positive contributions in a global society.” Every metric, from retention and graduation rates to medical-school acceptance rates and employment data, supports this claim. I am proud of the work that Wofford’s dedicated faculty and staff do on behalf of our students. A Wofford education remains an outstanding pursuit and an outstanding value, and it improves every year.
THE CURRICULUM
Wofford’s curriculum has undergone significant changes over the past 20 years while staying true to its core principles and content. For example, the general education curriculum, which requires students to take courses across various disciplines, has seen notable modifications. Several years ago, the Humanities 101 seminar was replaced by a Liberal Arts Seminar (LIBA 101), which places a greater emphasis on writing, reasoning, growth mindset and understanding one’s perspective in relation to others. Additionally, we have introduced new requirements in the category of civic consciousness, added a social science requirement, changed the sciences requirement and have identified learning outcomes for our general education courses, allowing us to assess their success more effectively.
Departments also continually revise their major curricula, and faculty regularly create new programs or course offerings in the efforts to meet the changing needs of our students and respond to new trends in both our academic fields and the wider world. In the past two years, the departments of biology, psychology, government, English, philosophy, mathematics and religious studies have significantly altered their courses and requirements. In some cases, majors have been streamlined, while in others, new courses have been added or removed, or the major has been restructured.
Regarding new programs, the Middle Eastern and North African Studies program emerged after the establishment of a minor in Arabic language some years ago. More recently, the music department introduced a minor with tracks in performance and non-performance, providing a credential in music for the first time in Wofford’s history. This minor now complements the relatively new major in studio arts and the long-standing major in theatre, creating the fine arts offerings expected of a top-tier liberal arts college. Additionally, a new minor in education was developed to complete the reconsideration of the education program that began in 2020, when the college discontinued the certification of new teachers. The new minor, in conjunction with Wofford’s articulation agreement with Converse University’s Master of Arts in Teaching program, enables education students to earn a graduate credential within one calendar year of graduating from Wofford, and there are financial incentives to do so.
Beyond its new minors, the college has introduced a number of innovative interdisciplinary programs that showcase the faculty’s ability to collaborate and create thoughtful new opportunities for students. A new Ancient World Studies program combines courses in art history, history and religious studies. Alongside the popular Medicine and the Liberal Arts program and the equally popular data science program is a newly approved program in medical physics. These complement longstanding programs in areas such as gender studies, neuroscience, African/African American studies and creative writing. These programs, combined with academic majors, thoughtful Interim projects and co-curricular opportunities, allow Wofford students to craft unique college careers.
RESEARCH WITH FACULTY MENTORS
In addition to regular courses, our students increasingly seek opportunities to work more intensively with faculty on research projects. While research courses have been offered in some departments for many years and qualified students have had the opportunity to write senior honors theses for decades, Wofford faculty are now engaging students more broadly in their research activities as part of the Student-Faculty Collaborative Research program, in which teams of students and faculty participate in focused inquiry throughout the summer. Under the leadership of Dr. Ramón Galiñanes, 59 students and 31 members of the faculty participated in this impressive program during this past summer. Moreover, outside grants obtained by faculty have provided additional research opportunities for students during the summer. A recent success in this area is the research of Dr. Matt Cathey, professor of mathematics, and Chanson Bullard ’26, a biology and psychology double major from Sumter, S.C. They have been invited to present their research at the British Society for Eighteenth- Century Studies Annual Conference held at Pembroke College, Oxford. Cathey and Bullard worked together to investigate the course of King George III’s cognitive decline. They read and transcribed the royal physician’s daily journal entries, compiling and quantifying aspects of the king’s treatments and symptoms to potentially reach a more definite diagnosis.
STUDY ABROAD
Beyond recent additions to the college’s lists of majors, minors and programs and increased opportunities for undergraduate research, significant improvements have also been made to our co-curricular efforts. In fall 2024, 122 students will study abroad, setting a record for semester-long programs. While to some extent this figure reflects the growth of the student body, it is notable that it comes at a time when the national trend shows a sharp decline in longterm study abroad participation in favor of shorter-term experiences. At Wofford, however, there is an increase in participation in both semester-long study abroad in the fall or spring and in the short-term study abroad programs with partner organizations during the January Interim. Faculty-led programs remain popular as well. Wofford also continues to create new opportunities abroad for students. In spring 2024, the Wofford in Milan program was launched with IES, one of our study-abroad partners. This cohort-based model provides students with a shared Wofford experience in a foreign city. The program will be offered again in spring 2025.
THE CAREER CENTER
Over the past several years, the Career Center, under the leadership of Curt McPhail ’96, executive director, has been restructured to better connect with all Wofford students. The center focuses on helping students translate their classroom experiences into descriptions of résumé-worthy skills. Increasingly, the Career Center is engaging Wofford alumni to provide greater internship opportunities. (See stories from student summer internship experiences with alumni on pages 28-33.) These efforts require a close relationship between the Career Center and Wofford faculty as we seek to integrate co-curricular learning with the curricular. To that end, the Career Center partnered with the Rev. Dr. Ron Robinson ’78, Perkins- Prothro Chaplain and Professor of Religion, and faculty members on a three-year Vocation Across the Academy Grant from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education, which focuses on integrating vocational discernment into an undergraduate education. Additionally, the Career Center has dedicated itself to supporting student internships through credit-bearing options and limited financial support for students with internship placements. In 2023, for example, the Career Center provided 25 stipends totaling $60,000 to support internships. In 2024, that amount nearly doubled — to $110,000 distributed over 55 stipends.
COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING
Community-based learning serves as another crucial co-curricular touch point for Wofford students. The college’s Center for Community- Based Learning has long operated a well-structured Bonner Scholars program and partnered on a VITA tax-preparation program, in addition to other initiatives. Additionally, individual faculty have been creating their own community-engagement programs for years. However, two relatively recent developments have catalyzed a transformation in the college’s relationship with the Northside neighborhood and Spartanburg as a whole: the $4.25 million Milliken Sustainability Initiative in 2015 and the arrival of a new generation of faculty committed to community engagement. The Milliken grant provided resources for Wofford students to live in the Northside and supported the hiring of Dr. Amy Telligman, associate professor of environmental studies, and Dr. Alysa Handelsman, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, to focus on environmental and community sustainability, respectively. Both teach classes to the cohort of Wofford students living in Milliken House in the Northside. Telligman’s work centers on food-related issues, while Handelsman’s classes, including her course in the Northside, have become crucibles for community engagement. Her students have partnered with local nonprofits and community organizations, as well as city and school officials. This work has resulted in numerous new community programs and accelerated the college’s expanding relationship with Spartanburg. It is now common to see Wofford students at neighborhood association or city council meetings. The result is a seamless connection between realworld experiences and classroom learning. Many other faculty and staff are similarly engaged in community sustainability. Whether testing playgrounds for lead contamination, mapping abandoned properties across the county or creating arts enrichment programming for youth organizations and local schools, Wofford students, faculty and staff are actively engaged across the community.
DID YOU KNOW?
Wofford College is nationally known for the strength of its academic program, outstanding faculty, study abroad participation and successful graduates. Recent rankings include:
completed majors
| Full time | Part time | Total | |
| Total number of instructional faculty |
147 | 32 | 179 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number who are women |
77 | 14 | 91 |
| Total number who are men |
70 | 18 | 88 |
| Total number with doctorate or other terminal degrees |
135 | 22 | 157 |
| Class enrollment | Number of course sections |
| 2 - 9 | 69 |
|---|---|
| 10 - 19 | 186 |
| 20 - 29 | 242 |
| 30 - 39 | 2 |
| Total | 499 |
| Entry year | 6-year grad rate |
| Fall 2013 | 85.47% |
|---|---|
| Fall 2014 | 80.49% |
| Fall 2015 | 80.27% |
| Fall 2016 | 82.27% |
| Fall 2017 | 80.75% |
| Cumulative | 81.33% |
ACADEMIC SUPPORT SERVICES
Because student success is foundational to the academic program, the college also has added resources in the area of academic support. The Sandor Teszler Library, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, a new Office of Academic Advising, an Office of Sponsored Faculty Research and the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, as well as the Office of Student Success, are all staffed with individuals dedicated to supporting teachers and learners.
FACULTY STRUCTURE
As provost of Wofford College, I have the privilege of serving as the college’s chief academic officer. I work closely with the president of the college and the senior leadership team, made up of vice presidents across campus and three associate provosts: Dr. Anne Catllá, associate professor of mathematics and associate provost of curriculum and co-curriculum; Dr. Jameica Byers Hill ’88, professor of chemistry and associate provost for administration; and Dr. Dan Mathewson, professor of religious studies and associate provost for faculty development. The faculty of Wofford College are first and foremost dedicated and effective teachers who are simultaneously engaged in active scholarship. As stakeholders, the faculty determine the curriculum and govern the college. They also provide service to the college in the form of committee work and academic advising. The faculty’s commitment to Wofford students and this institution is the backbone of Wofford College.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The academic affairs team, the faculty and I have all been striving to continually improve our academic program. During this academic year we will rewrite the faculty handbook. Last year, Associate Provost Jameica Hill led an exhaustive faculty compensation study that led to the implementation of a transparent and equitable compensation structure. As we look to the future and the changing needs of our faculty and students, we have created two new full-time offices: the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, led by Dr. Justin Bailey, and a new Office of Academic Advising, directed by Dr. Cynthia Curry. Finally, as higher education wrestles with the uses and challenges created by generative AI, Dr. Kimberly Hall, associate professor of English, has led an artificial intelligence task force that has worked to educate the campus and recommend courses of action.