March 2026

The Gold Star Journal Celebrates 30 Years Celebrating student scholarship and creativity, The Citadel hosted the annual Gold Star Journal Academic Conference to mark the 30th anniversary of The Gold Star Journal. This year’s edition was dedicated… Read more: The Gold Star Journal Celebrates 30 Years

Retired Army Reserve General Meets with Cadets When retired Maj. Gen. Jami C. Shawley, U.S. Army Reserve, came to Charleston for a speaking engagement with the World Affairs Council of Charleston, she asked to meet with… Read more: Retired Army Reserve General Meets with Cadets

Political Science Hosts Biennial Symposium on Southern Politics The Department of Political Science hosted the biennial Citadel Symposium on Southern Politics on March 6-7. This year’s program welcomed more than 70 scholars from across the country… Read more: Political Science Hosts Biennial Symposium on Southern Politics

ZFSOE Hosts Leadership Development for Charleston County’s LIFT Cohort The Zucker Family School of Education recently welcomed aspiring school leaders from Charleston County School District’s LIFT cohort to campus for a day of professional learning and… Read more: ZFSOE Hosts Leadership Development for Charleston County’s LIFT Cohort

BSB Innovation and Entrepreneurship Speaker Series The Baker School of Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship Speaker Series featured a conversation with Isaac Morton, founder and CEO of Smithey Ironware. Dean Michael R. Weeks, Ph.D., facilitated the discussion,… Read more: BSB Innovation and Entrepreneurship Speaker Series

McKinney Concludes Term as National Engineering Association President Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Head Mark McKinney, Ph.D., recently attended the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association annual conference in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, as… Read more: McKinney Concludes Term as National Engineering Association President

March New Faculty Spotlight Samantha Williams joins the Swain Department of Nursing as lead instructor for maternal and newborn nursing. Williams grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire, before moving to Charleston in 2019. She worked as… Read more: March New Faculty Spotlight

Baker School of Business Supports Veteran Entrepreneurs Leaders from the Baker School of Business and the South Carolina Veterans Business Outreach Center recently joined entrepreneurs at the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs Entrepreneurship Forum aboard… Read more: Baker School of Business Supports Veteran Entrepreneurs

Zucker Family School of Education Hosts Annual Innovation Forum The Zucker Family School of Education hosted its annual Innovation Forum on Feb. 11 at the Holliday Alumni Center, bringing together education, military and leadership experts for… Read more: Zucker Family School of Education Hosts Annual Innovation Forum

Intelligence in the News The Department of Intelligence and Security Studies hosted a panel featuring three former CIA chiefs of station—Glen Corn, Kevin Higgins and Ted Singer—followed by a question-and-answer session with students. Bloody Crowns: A… Read more: Intelligence in the News

Guest Lectures on AI and Robotics The School of Engineering and the Provost’s Office co-hosted two more installments of the AI Action Plan Speaker Series in February. On Feb. 12, Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, Ph.D., University of… Read more: Guest Lectures on AI and Robotics

Four Finalists Identified in Presidential Search The Citadel’s presidential search committee has announced four finalists being considered for the role of the 21st president. In alphabetical order, the finalists are: Lt. Gen. E. Miles Brown, USA,… Read more: Four Finalists Identified in Presidential Search

Cadets Earn National Impact Award Cadets McKenna Magin, Banks Scarpa and Dylan Horne represented South Carolina Theta at the Alpha Epsilon Delta Centennial National Convention in Birmingham, Alabama. Alpha Epsilon Delta is the national honorary society… Read more: Cadets Earn National Impact Award

The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures has announced that Amy Emm, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the German Program, will serve as its new department head beginning in July.

Four teams of students participated in the University Physics Competition, an international contest for undergraduate students. The 48-hour competition took place November 7–9 and drew more than 800 teams, each tasked with analyzing a scenario using physics principles and submitting a formal paper detailing their work.

The Baker School of Business has announced the promotion of James Bezjian, Ph.D., to department head of management and entrepreneurship.

The Citadel is among the more than 230 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement (CE) Classification, an elective designation awarded by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that highlights an institution’s commitment to community engagement.

This spring, the Zucker Family School of Education is supporting student teachers as they begin their clinical placements in classrooms across South Carolina. A recent collaborative orientation brought together student teachers, faculty, mentor teachers and school partners to establish strong mentorship relationships, clarify expectations and lay the foundation for a successful semester.

February New Faculty Spotlight: Hope LaFreniere, Ph.D. and Mark Newton, Ph.D.

As part of the AI Action Plan Speaker Series, the Provost’s Office and the School of Engineering co-hosted Jose Bowen, Ph.D., co-author of Teaching With AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning. Bowen led two workshops and a noon lecture for more than 40 faculty members across campus on January 21.

Professor of criminal justice Sean Patrick Griffin recently appeared on CBS News as an expert commentator in a sports betting scandal involving a college basketball game-rigging scheme.

BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community BIIG DOGS celebrated the end of another successful semester with a spirited gingerbread house-building competition. The program, created and led each week by Dean Andrew Williams, is… Read more: BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community

Dremann, ’94, Named Director of Krause Center The Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics, the hub of leadership development curriculum at The Citadel, reopened after the winter furlough with a new director. Retired Col. Rich Dremann,… Read more: Dremann, ’94, Named Director of Krause Center

January New Faculty Spotlight Before joining The Citadel, Lindsay Harman, Ph.D., worked at the University of Denver as a counselor educator. She has 14 years of experience as a school counselor in a range of pre-K-12… Read more: January New Faculty Spotlight

Fall 2025 in D.C. Seven cadets spent the fall semester in Washington, D.C., taking full advantage of the city as a classroom. Through meetings, site visits and firsthand observation, they explored how government works. Even the… Read more: Fall 2025 in D.C.

BSB Faculty Serves at Ronald McDonald House Members of the Baker School of Business got into the holiday spirit of giving at the end of the semester. They spent an evening cooking dinner at the Ronald… Read more: BSB Faculty Serves at Ronald McDonald House

Strategic Management Students Gain Real-World Insights at Boardroom Lunch At the end of November, students in strategic management classes took part in the new Boardroom Lunch initiative, featuring guest speaker Cody Baker, ’96, vice president of… Read more: Strategic Management Students Gain Real-World Insights at Boardroom Lunch

December Faculty Spotlight Before enrolling at the University of Mississippi in 2017, Shailee Yagnik, Ph.D., competed in high-level table tennis in her native India. At Ole Miss, she earned a master’s degree in telecommunications engineering and… Read more: December Faculty Spotlight

Where stories of leadership and learning come to life The new issue of The Citadel magazine is now live. From Vlasta Zekulic, ’02, a senior official at NATO, to the untamed Lowcountry classroom where young biologists… Read more: Where stories of leadership and learning come to life

Four-star insights: an alumnus’ new leadership book Tom Collins, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist and a 2022 graduate of Master’s in Leadership program, has published a book titled The Four Stars of Leadership. Collins developed key lessons… Read more: Four-star insights: an alumnus’ new leadership book

Exercise Science leads to EMS career When Samuel Hymes, ’25, switched his major to exercise science and began working as a student athletic trainer, everything clicked into place. His academic performance improved and new opportunities followed.… Read more: Exercise Science leads to EMS career

Faculty and cadet duo present research at annual ASC meeting Kristen Hefner, Ph.D., and Cadet Olivia Liquori presented their co-authored paper, “The Impact of Societal Norms on Domestic Violence Community Outreach and Education” at the 80th… Read more: Faculty and cadet duo present research at annual ASC meeting

Aspiring educators form new club For students preparing for careers in teaching and related fields, the Zucker School of Education’s Aspiring Educators Club offers a new collaborative community for education majors and minors who value connection,… Read more: Aspiring educators form new club

Moody scholars announced The Baker School of Business is proud to announce 28 new recipients of the Moody Professional Development Grant, bringing the total number of scholars to 46. These students are chosen for their academic… Read more: Moody scholars announced

In our November New Faculty spotlight, we introduce you to Behshad Pournasr and Anthony Guillory.

Future teachers in Christopher Dague’s class participated in a learning experience led by Jerry Francis, statewide coordinator for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services.

The School of Engineering hosted 76 employers at its annual fall career fair on Oct. 6. The fair was followed by Evening with Industry, a networking event for engineering students to engage with the top-tier sponsors of the career fair.

Ananda B. Amstadter, Ph.D., discussed the genetics of post-traumatic stress and substance use disorders during the Department of Psychology’s Leverett Lecture on Oct. 16 in Daniel Library.

This fall, cadets from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences are participating in a study abroad program in Aberystwyth, Wales.

Biology Professor John Zardus, Ph.D., traveled to the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, where he conducted research funded by the NSF to study the genetics of barnacles from sea turtles.

To celebrate the upcoming Krause School of Leadership and Ethics, which will launch in 2026, a groundbreaking ceremony was held Oct. 16.

Intelligence and Security Studies and Political Science hosted an Open-Source Intelligence Conference. Participants discussed artificial intelligence, open-source intelligence and its use in addressing national security challenges facing the United States.

Baker School of Business faculty members Michael Chitavi, Kirsten Passyn, Will Money, Kevin Lim and Arpit Sharma recently attended the Teaching with GenAI seminar at Harvard Business School.

October’s Faculty Spotlight features Michaela Schuler, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, who joined The Citadel to help strengthen the construction engineering curriculum, and Myungwoo Lee, sport management professor researching climate change’s impact on sports and fan behavior. Both recently joined the faculty and bring deep passion for teaching, research, and community engagement.

Batouli Receives ASCE LeTellier Cup Mostafa Batouli, Ph.D., assistant professor of construction engineering, received the LeTellier Cup from the American Society of Civil Engineers South Carolina Section in September, recognizing his lifetime contributions to the civil… Read more: Batouli Receives ASCE LeTellier Cup

STEM Director Jen Albert, Ph.D., and Computer Science Professor Deepti Joshi, Ph.D., have earned a $1.87 million National Science Foundation grant as part of a $2.5 million project to advance STEM teaching and learning. The Citadel will lead the four-year collaboration with several universities to develop teacher professional development models that integrate artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in alignment with national STEM education goals.

Faculty and students from The Citadel’s Zucker Family School of Education led a suicide assessment and safety planning workshop for local clinicians on Sept. 12 at the Francis Marion Hotel. Additionally, cadets visited Simmons Pinckney Middle School for hands-on learning about school leadership and classroom practices, strengthening their preparation as future educators.

In September, The Citadel honored service and sacrifice through two campus events. The Winfred B. Moore Jr. Art Gallery opened From Space to Sea, featuring Navy Art Collection works on the Navy’s role in space exploration. On Sept. 11, a memorial wreath ceremony paid tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11.

To celebrate Constitution Day, students, faculty, and community members gathered at The Citadel to read the Constitution and Bill of Rights, followed by a discussion. Yuval Levin, Ph.D., director at the American Enterprise Institute and author of American Covenant, delivered the annual Constitution Day lecture in Capers Hall.

Senior Cadet Jasmine Franklin of Belton, South Carolina, has been named The Citadel’s first Astronaut Foundation Scholarship scholar. A chemistry and modern languages major with a fine arts minor, Franklin holds leadership roles in the 1842 Scholars Program, Fine Arts Club, and Women’s Rugby Team. She researches green synthesis of heterocyclic molecules with Assistant Professor Dung Do, Ph.D., and has earned numerous academic and leadership honors during her cadet career.

In our September spotlight, we introduce you to Emily Rooney and Dr. Ryan Lynch.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Tom Clark, Ph.D., director of the Krause Center, worked with Visiting Professor of Management Richard Savior, Ed.D., and Zane Segle, Ph.D., director of the Center for International and Special Programs, on a Cross-Cultural Competence (C3) Initiative in partnership with the Office of the Commandant.

Marketing professor Mark Rosenbaum, Ph.D., led a study abroad class to Poland titled Dark Tourism in Poland. Cadets Oliver Graham, Brady Wright and Zakary Dukette traveled with Rosenbaum to Warsaw and Krakow, where they visited several World War II sites, including Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Schindler’s Factory, Polin Museum, Warsaw Ghetto and Nowa Huta. 

Over the past year, evening student Natalie Mueller has worked with Associate Engineering Professor Tess Doeffinger, Ph.D., to translate research findings into a usable format. Mueller created an ArcGIS StoryMap that will soon be shared with the city of Folly Beach, giving residents a look at how adaptations to water-related risks have changed.

Over the summer, Cadet Harrison Bishop served as a research assistant on the Risks, Impacts, and Strategies for Coastal Communities grant, a multi-institutional project involving the University of Rhode Island, the University of Delaware, the College of Charleston, the University of South Carolina, and the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

Three Citadel students have been accepted into the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences medical school. With an acceptance rate lower than many Ivy League institutions, admission to USUHS is a significant accomplishment. The acceptance of three students is a milestone and reflects the strength of the Pre-Health program across a variety of disciplines.

The Citadel has been awarded a five-year, $1.6 million Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant to strengthen computer science education in rural schools. Led by STEM Director Jen Albert, Ph.D., and Professor of Computer Science Deepti Joshi, Ph.D., the project will recruit 15 teachers this fall who will begin coursework in the spring.

Electrical engineering professor and department head Mark McKinney, Ph.D. has been named the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association’s newest president. ECEDHA encompasses all major electrical engineering and computer engineering programs at universities across North America.

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences is celebrating faculty achievements, including a forthcoming book by Professor Emeritus Terry Mays, Ph.D., on the Arab League’s first peacekeeping operation, and the appointment of Associate Professor Vicente Gomis-Izquierdo, Ph.D., as interim head of Modern Languages.

As we dive into August and the start of the academic year, here are important matriculation events and details to add to your calendar. With the exception of Convocation, the uniform is duty.

June was a busy month in the STEM Center. Computer Science Professional Development Week was hosted in partnership with the national Computer Science Teachers Association, the South Carolina CSTA chapter, and the South Carolina Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education program.

In July, the Department of Mathematical Sciences hosted the fourth annual Math Research Camp for high school students and teachers. The weeklong program was funded in part by the Mathematical Association of America.

Distinguished Professor Michael Livingston spent the summer abroad. After a week studying Cathar castles in southern France, he traveled to the British Isles to film three documentaries. The first, on William Wallace, will air on History Hit in September.

The School of Engineering hosted an AI Robotics Camp for 26 elementary and middle school students in North Charleston in late July. The camp was part of a National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research grant in partnership with Clemson University, aimed at broadening participation in engineering and computing across South Carolina.

The Citadel School of Engineering celebrated major spring achievements, including faculty awards, student competition wins, and national recognition. Highlights include Baker Business Bowl victories, top honors at Academic Excellence Day, and Dr. Mark McKinney’s national appointment.

This spring, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences celebrated new books by faculty, national lectures, and honored standout professors for service and teaching excellence across diverse disciplines.

Assistant Professor Howard Huynh’s Mammalogy course gave students hands-on research experience, culminating in a coauthored scientific paper and expanded museum collection through interactive, field-based learning.

Former Cadet’s Research Revives the Memory of Forgotten Fifer Five years ago, Cadet Taylor Diggs approached Felice F. Knight, Ph.D., then an assistant professor of African American history, with an idea for a Summer Undergraduate Research… Read more: Former Cadet’s Research Revives the Memory of Forgotten Fifer

This spring, the Zucker Family School of Education hosted leadership forums, partnered on suicide prevention training, and gave cadets hands-on literacy and community-building experiences in local schools.

Three Leadership Studies faculty are analyzing interviews from Citadel affiliates to explore leadership development, alumni career impact, and definitions of principled leadership across three research papers.

Professor Emeritus Bill Trumbull led a spring break trip to Cuba, giving cadets in Econ 402 firsthand insight into socialism, complementing their classroom study of economic systems.

The Citadel welcomes two new faculty—Greg Harrison in Education and Howie Huynh in Biology—who bring rich experience, innovative teaching, and a passion for student success and research.

In our April spotlight, we introduce you to Mark Rosenbaum, professor of marketing, and Francisco Morales Garcia, assistant professor of Spanish.

On Monday, March 24, Vlasta Zekulic, Ph.D., ’02, returned to campus and shared her insights with an audience of students, faculty and staff in Capers Hall with her talk on the challenges of living in a complex and uncertain world.

Assistant Professor James Righter, Assistant Professor Gafar Elamin, and Assistant Professor Oguzhan Oruc presented papers at the Southeast American Society for Engineering Education conference in Starkville, Mississippi, from March 9-11.

The Zucker Family School of Education hosted the annual Wall of Fame Banquet where several educators were honored.

The Baker School of Business hosted the Spring Research Roundtable on March 25.

The Palmetto Medal recognizes exceptional performance reflecting great credit on The Citadel and the state of South Carolina.

As the Class of 2025 prepares to join the Long Gray Line, the newest cadet leadership for the South Carolina Corps of Cadets is preparing to take over.

In our March spotlight, we introduce you to Shobhit Aggarwal, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Kiersten Garcia, assistant professor of biochemistry.

Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance Sarah Imam, M.D., attended the Medical and Health Humanities: Global Perspective 2025 conference at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar in Doha, Qatar.

Storm The Citadel, one of the Lowcountry’s largest STEM events, took place on February 8 and brought together more than 400 students from 26 South Carolina schools.

Associate Professor, Program Coordinator of Educational Leadership and Director of the Anita Zucker Institute for Entrepreneurial Educational Leadership Lee Westberry was recently inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

On February 7, The Citadel recognized Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ron Hayne with the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.

The Citadel Fine Arts Program is hosting a temporary exhibit, on loan from the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

In our February spotlight, we introduce you to Colleen Quaas, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, and Bryan MacGavin, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

Several students majoring in mathematics, including Manning Hitt, Garner Page, Stratton Knuth, Wei Shan Lu, Aiden Raab and Matthew Varney, solved four open problems from journals as part of their introductory MATH 121 in the fall of 2023.

BB&T Distinguished Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship Russell Sobel spoke about his new book, The Essential Joseph Schumpeter, at an event in the BB&T Moral Foundations of Capitalism Speaker Series.

Lt. Matthew Fann, ’12, head of the facilities engineering department at Base Charleston, was recognized with the 2024 Coast Guard Engineer of the Year Award.

Visiting Professor of Marketing and Director of Communications and Marketing Maria Aselage and Department Head of Accounting and Finance Cynthia Bolt spent their holiday break broadening their horizons on a weeklong trip to Antarctica.

Cadet Lydia Larson, a junior majoring in political science and a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary University Program, completed 11 days of unscripted job-shadowing at Coast Guard Station Charleston following the end of her fall semester exams.

Col. Robert Pickering, who serves as Chief Officer of Ethical Leadership, gave a presentation to Charleston County School District Aspiring Principals.

Biology major Cole Christopher England, ’24, a native of Laurens, S.C., and former member of the football team, has his sights on a career in dentistry.

In November, a group of engineering faculty and Dean Andrew Williams traveled to the Bosch Mobility plant in Charleston for a site visit to discuss the possibility of partnering for student and faculty collaboration.

In our December spotlight, we introduce you to Bryan Terlizzi, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health and human performance, and Roger Bailey, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of History.

CEITL&DE demystifies AI in a series of workshops designed to explain to the campus community what generative AI is and what it is not.

Read about the political science podcast being produced by Frank Emerson, J.D., the Gov. John C. chair of international politics and American government.

Two new labs, funded by a National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence Grant and Senior Military College Cyber Institute Grant, are providing students with state-of-the-art resources and a space for conducting education and research.

In the Baker School of Business, finance leader June-Yon Kim spoke about international investment markets, business majors attended the College of Charleston Investment Symposium, and dozens of students attended the Supply Chain Management Career Fair.

From an advisory board meeting to a STEM ALERT Program exploring artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics, the School of Engineering has been on the go.