The deans of Coastal Carolina University, five out of seven being women, created a collaborative, supportive environment to foster student success.
With the female dean’s accomplishments, CCU’s size has grown exponentially in the last few years. Their contributions helped to shape the university into what it is today.
At Coastal, there are seven colleges: Wall College of Business, Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Conway Medical Center College of Health and Human Performance, Gupta College of Science, HTC Honors College, Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences and the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies.
Sara Hottinger, dean of HTC Honors College, has been at CCU since 2017. She co-founded the college in 2018 and aided in the development of two majors: women and gender studies, and sustainability and coastal resilience. With a focus on interdisciplinary studies, Hottinger oversees the teaching, learning and activities of honors students.
When Hottinger first arrived at Coastal, she said the dean’s environment felt more competitive in whose college was better. However, she said she and her fellow deans have since created a supportive group dynamic.
Collaboration is imperative because of the student overlap between colleges, she said.
“Our students in the Honors College are also students of all [the dean’s] colleges. And so, I think when you run an Honors College, you have to try and be as collaborative as possible. And, you know, try and work across those college boundaries,” Hottinger said.
Jamia Richmond, dean of Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences, has been at CCU since 2010. Richmond is also the second Black woman in history to serve as a dean at CCU.
She played a role in creating the Master of Education in Counseling degree program, which is anticipated to be approved next month. Richmond said she appreciates the strong sense of collaboration among the deans and the supportive environment at CCU.
“I think it’s a very collaborative group, like I work with Edwards,” Richmond said. “We have some majors that cross with Gupta, with biology education. We work across colleges, and so collaboration is essential to what we do.”
Richmond also believes that institutions should consider women in a variety of roles, not just leadership positions. Recognizing and valuing women across all faculty roles is essential.
“I do think it’s important for institutions overall to think about some of the other roles that women often play, and not just think about it in terms of ‘oh you’re a mom’ you know, a wife or whatever,” Richmond said. “But sometimes that might mean building in some supports to allow them to continue to be effective at those roles, while also being effective in the workplace.”
Claudia Bornholdt came to CCU in 2019 as the new dean of the Edwards Humanities and Fine Arts College. One of Bornholdt’s goals when arriving was to help create more scholarship and fundraising opportunities for students.
Bornholdt believes that giving back to the students will inspire more individuals to want to become a part of CCU.
“What we are proud of, in my case, [is] having this interdisciplinary spirit of the college where people collaborate and we give students opportunities to really build interdisciplinary programs for themselves,” Bornholdt said.
Bornholdt believes that having a collaborative environment among the deans is crucial, as it encourages everyone to seek help when needed. Asking for support She’s never has never experienced a sense of hesitation when it comes to asking for support.
“It’s a group of collaborative colleagues where you’re not afraid of, say, asking for help. Because I think often it’s this fear of if you ask for help, it seems like you don’t know what you’re doing,” Bornholdt said. “I think that’s the sense of community, and we’re a close group and we’re not judging each other.”
Dean of the Wall College Erika Small began her journey at CCU in 2007 as an assistant professor. She became the dean in the summer of 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic. She takes great pride in the culture that she cultivated in the wake of those challenging times.
“What I am proud of is the culture built coming out of that. When I see new faculty coming in and how excited they are and the student programs that our faculty are creating– mentorship programs, student organizations and clubs– and how engaged they are,” Small said.
Colleen McGlone is the fifth notable female dean but was unavailable for an interview. She is the founding dean of the CMC College. She also serves as the chief academic administrator for the college, its personnel, programs and administration.
