After an unsuccessful search back in March, a candidate has now been. His first day will be on Jan. 18, 2024
As interim provost for academic affairs provost for academic affairs Peter Judge readies for retirement, the university has selected Sebastian van Delden to supersede him. Winthrop’s website detailed his responsibilities as such: “As the chief academic officer, the provost guides the academic direction of Winthrop and fosters a cohesive leadership team across all academic and administrative support units that reflects the university’s commitment to academic excellence, teaching, and research. The provost reports directly to the president and serves on the president ‘s Senior Leadership Team”.
Van Delden was on of four candidates to deliver a presentation in Dina’s Place last month and was the first to do so, showcasing the and plans he will bring with him to Winthrop as the university transitions to a Regional Comprehensive Institution.
Feedback was gathered after the finalist’s presentations via virtual surveys and emails, as well as with interviews. According to President Serna, his thoughts were well-received by participants.
“I am pleased to inform you that Dr. van Delden was the preferred finalist among all Winthrop constituencies,” President Serna said in a press release on Dec. 5.
“Dr. van Delden recognizes that Winthrop has turned a corner and that our future is bright. As a change agent, he will come into the Division of Academic Affairs and help make changes that will ensure this university’s long-term success. He’s aware of the hard work ahead of him that is outlined in our new strategic plan, and he’s up for it. In addition, he has worked his way through the academic ranks, coming to us as a tenured computer science faculty member, while successfully demonstrating his strong leadership skills and his willingness to collaborate with faculty and academic leaders on key institutional initiatives. I feel like he will be a good fit for our university and our academic affairs division. I look forward to working with him,” Serna said.
The same press release also said that van Delden initiated the first engineering programs at College of Charleston, as well as its first doctoral program in his former position.
According to Provost Judge’s updates in a Board of Trustees meeting on November 20 of this year, faculty in the College of Education are revising a program proposal for Winthrop’s first doctoral program in Learning, Leadership and Organizational Change. It is expected to win approval from the faculty governing body in either April or September of next year, and will be up for Board approval at their meeting in October of next year.
Their last meeting also featured a discussion about partnering with Clemson University for a dual education program in engineering, where students would be able to earn a bachelor’s degree from Winthrop in three years, then go on to study engineering at Clemson for a second bachelor’s degree, where the credits they’ve already earned will transfer.
Van Delden also set record highs in philanthropic giving and enrollment in STEM programs at CofC.
Enrollment and retention has been a recurring issue with its steady decline since 2018, but that drop is now leveling off. Van Delden empathized with this strain in his presentation, and offered some preliminary remedies.
To mend the dip in enrollment, he says Winthrop should focus on attracting prospective students from Greenville, Columbia and Charleston, the three most populous cities in SC. Some of the efforts he wants to focus on to do this are social media and marketing campaigns, scholarships, new programs, and collecting Return on Investment (ROI) data to measure the effectiveness of these initiatives over time.
However, he reiterated that Winthrop’s best hope for attracting new students and faculty is to reinvigorate the culture at home.
His strategy to improve internal morale broadly covers merit-based raises for faculty, faculty award systems, professional development support, and exit surveys, among other factors. He also had a number of suggestions for the student experience including micro-certifications, dual enrollment programs, more diverse study abroad opportunities and more.
He said not all of his proposals are costly, and that maximizing low-cost solutions will be key in balancing the budget as Winthrop recovers from an $8 million deficit.
“I promise to be as transparent as I can be. A lot of times when you make decisions with the president, the dean, the chair–the provost has to make decisions, and if you’re not transparent, then folks are confused and they don’t understand why you’re making that decision,” he said. “Even if you disagree with me, if I can just open up the books as best I can and explain to you the numbers and the rationale, we’ll still probably disagree, but at least you may all be a little more receptive that this was for the greater good of the bigger decision making.”
