Edward Serna is now the official 12th president of Winthrop University, joining a line of notable leaders such as David Bancroft Johnson, Martha Kime Piper, Anthony DiGiorgio and Dan Manhony.
The ceremony occurred last Friday, April 14 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Winthrop Coliseum.
Serna makes university history by being the first Winthrop alumnus to be selected as president. He graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s of science in business administration.
He has also received two masters degrees; one in industrial management from Clemson University and one in management information systems for Auburn University. He later received a doctoral degree in higher education from the University of Alabama.
The ceremony began with a processional that had representatives from the Council of Student Leaders, Winthrop faculty from all four colleges, upper administration, the Rock Hill community and the Board of Trustees.
Greetings were then given to Serna from Glenn McCall, board of trustees chairman, John Gettys, mayor of Rock Hill, Christi Cox, chair of the York County Council, State Senator Wes Climer, Byron Putman, president of the Winthrop Alumni Association, Sue Rex, secretary of the Winthrop Foundation, Miguel Caldwell, chair of the Council of Student Leaders, Debbie Garrick, chair of the staff conference and Alice McLaine, chair of the faculty conference.
Those who gave greetings represented the university as well as Rock Hill, York County and South Carolina.
The keynote speaker was Serna’s mentor, Paul Beran, who is currently the interim president of Western Connecticut State University. Beran originally met Serna when he was hired as a grant writer while Beran was chancellor at the University of Arkansas- Fort Smith.
Beran spoke fondly about his time with Serna, focusing on his hard work, perseverance and drive to want to succeed.
He also focused on their relationship after Serna left the University of Arkansas- Fort Smith to become the president of the University of Maine- Farmington. Beran noted how Serna grew into his new role with positivity and always was willing to change to help the university succeed.
Following Beran’s remarks, Glenn McCall and Kathy Bigham, vice chair of the Board of Trustees, invited Serna’s family onto the stage to look on as he was officially invested with the presidential seal of Winthrop University.
After the investiture, Serna gave remarks about his beliefs on the future of the university.
“If you have any doubts about the future of Winthrop, toss it out the window. Our students are amazing. Our future is bright,” he said.
“I’m excited for the future and about what new things Winthrop can do that are true to who we are as an institution but also maybe stretch those boundaries a little bit for us.”
He envisions Winthrop as a “place where all prospective students can see themselves belonging, thriving and being transformed for success today and beyond.”
Serna ended his remarks with a thank you to the Winthrop and surrounding communities.
“Thank you for being on this journey with me. We will get to our destination and we will do it together.”
The ceremony then ended with a recessional led by Chief Faculty Marshal, Shelley Hamill and followed by newly invested President Edward Serna.
Attendees were then invited to a picnic inside the West Center immediately following the ceremony and then to attend the interdisciplinary research SOURCE conference.
Music was provided by the Winthrop Faculty Brass Quintet and the Winthrop Chorale directed by Elisa Kohler.
