Coastal Carolina University President Michael Benson has added a fourth “R,” resilience, to his previously named standards of reach, rigor and reputation.
This decision came from a conversation between Benson and the previous Interim Provost Daniel Ennis, and is now supported by the current Interim Provost Sara Hottinger.
There were multiple reasons for the recent addition, including Coastal’s adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic to reflect the Univeristy’s sustainability during such hardships.
“We weathered the storm very well,” Benson said, “And I wasn’t here, so I have to give all the credit to the people who were, my predecessor and all of our staff and faculty that I think responded so well to a health crisis that impacted the entire world.”
Junior political science major Elliot Miller said he noticed resilience at CCU through the problems with Hicks Dining Hall, concerning how it adapted and changed both during and after COVID-19.
“I knew guys, they would go into Hicks, it was empty. You couldn’t sit down. You wanted your meal you wore your mask, you got it to go and you left.” Elliot said. “And now it’s newly upgraded. It’s much nicer than when I was a freshman.”
The history of Coastal Carolina and the changes it has made over the years, the president said, were some other deciding factors to establish a new “R.” He said as CCU comes up on the 75th anniversary in 2029, the community has come a long way.
“We’ve weathered the difficulties that every institution faces,” Benson said. ”But particularly in our setting, a comprehensive University that offers doctorate degrees now, that has grown dramatically from a night junior college in the mid 1950s held at Conway High School, to being a branch of [University of South Carolina] until 1993, to the current day where we have our highest enrollment ever.”
Hottinger said CCU’s history demonstrates the resilience seen in the community, from its independence from USC to the present day.
There were sentiments towards students when implementing the idea, according to Hottinger, as she recalled Ennis suggesting they should consider how to aid students to be resilient when facing challenges.
In relation to the orignal three, Hottinger said resilience plays a major role.
“Resiliency underlies the three ‘R’s, and it underlies everything we do here at Coastal,” Hottinger said, ”And I think there are so many different ways that we can think about resiliency as a source of strength for us.”
Timothy DiNinno, freshman graphic design major, said he did see how resilience, as well as some of the other Rs, could apply broadly to the campus. However, he did not fully agree with the value of representation.
“There’s not much representation here, it’s just another southern school,” DiNinno said. “Well, I mean, it does have a representation for being a party school.”
