News and Events

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Les Robinson, the retiring athletic director at the Citadel, has always loved bringing people together. So, it's no surprise one of Robinson's favorite moments of his long career in athletics came two years ago when he helped reconcile the school with its paralyzed former linebacker, Marc Buoniconti.  There were joyful tears as Buoniconti received his long-sought class ring and had his Citadel jersey retired. ...

Also on July 4, the Maury County Republican Party will host its annual Patriotic Rally at the courthouse steps in downtown Columbia 9-10 a.m. ... The keynote speaker will be Allison Dean Love, a Columbia native who serves on the Board of Visitors of the Citadel and as executive director of South Carolina Insurance News Service. ...

Col. Henry D'Arcy Gerstell Smith (USAR), 92, a retired professor at The Citadel,passed away on Saturday, June 28, 2008.

Sporting notes compiled while counting the toes on Clemson's Tiger paw: 
--What are the odds that the College of Charleston and The Citadel would hire new athletic directors within a year and both came from the University of Maryland?
--Stan Hurteau, after 17 years as the executive director of The Citadel Brigadier Foundation, will retire Monday. 
--Former College of Charleston athletic director Jerry Baker has taken a temporary position with his former archrival, working with The Citadel Foundation on club seating and suites at the revitalized Johnson Hagood Stadium.

Hartsville High School senior Benjamin Huffer has been awarded the Matthew Webb Moore Memorial Scholarsliip. Ben plans to attend Clemson University in the fail. The award was presented by Matt's sister Jordan Moore.  ...Matt graduated from HHS in 1997 and The Citadel 2001. He was employed withSonoco Products Company in Chattanooga, Term. He is the son of Eddie and Susan Moore and brother of Jordan Moore. Matt lost his life in an automobile accident in Dec. 2003, at the age of 25. ...

The Citadel football team, ranked as high as No. 16 in preseason polls, will appear twice in games televised by SportSouth this season.

The White House announced today the President's appointment of 14 White House Fellows, selected by the President's Commission on White House Fellowships, to participate in America's most prestigious fellowship program for leadership development and public service. ... David Rawlinson. Hometown: Rock Hill, South Carolina. David Rawlinson served as the class commencement speaker at his recent graduation from Harvard Business School where he earned his M.B.A. While attending Harvard, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Harbus, the historic Harvard Business School weekly. ...He received his B.A. in Political Science from the Citadel. ...

Charleston City Councilman Wendell Gilliard cruised past Iraq war veteran Clay Middleton by a 5-4 ratio Tuesday to win the Democratic runoff for the District 111 state House seat.  ...

... Gilliard's opponent, Clay Middleton, fell short more than 260 votes. This is the first time the 26-year runs for public office.  "I feel real good to know that people out there are willing to give young leadership a chance and willing to listen to someone that's new," said Middleton, a Citadel Alum and Iraqi War veteran.  ...

ROCK HILL — Creighton Coleman ('79) earned a narrow victory over Leah Moody on Tuesday in a Democratic state Senate runoff that showed the power of hometown loyalty. Moody racked up huge margins around Rock Hill, the place she grew up as the daughter of retiring state Rep. Bessie Moody-Lawrence. But it wasn't enough to offset Fairfield County, where Coleman's father, the late George Coleman Jr., was well known as a judge, prosecutor and legislator. ...

The cutline from the photo reads., ' A disabled resident took this picture at The Citadel as part of the Photovoice project. She was driving the van (at left) and barely could manage to get her wheelchair ramp opened and maneuver out. "A few minutes later he came and moved his truck," Maria Saxon said. "I think he kind of got that visual understanding, like, 'Oh, maybe I'm not supposed to do that.'?" '

The Citadel will test its emergency communications sirens about noon Wednesday. The test is part of the college's BulldogAlert emergency notification system. The sirens will sound for about three minutes and could be heard throughout many areas of the upper peninsula and parts of West Ashley.

Citadel junior baseball player Sonny Meade was named the co-hitter of the week in the Coastal Plain League after batting .526 in five games. Meade hit two doubles and two home runs for the Thomasville Hi-Toms, scoring seven runs and driving in two. He's batting .314 through 19 games with five doubles and three homers in the summer college league. ...

Estevan Llantada marches to a different beat. The La Puente teen has stumbled some along the way, but he's marched himself into the famous Citadel Military School in South Carolina. Llantada is pursuing his dream of becoming a Marine Corps officer. Like any good Marine, he's determined that nothing will stop him, even though the odds have been stacked badly against him. ...

Throughout the month of June, elementary school teachers in Sumter School Districts 2 and 17 are participating in a Teacher's Environmental Workshop, organized through a partnership between the school districts and the Sumter Soil & Water Conservation District.  ... Throughout the multiweek course, teachers receive training in Project WILD, Project WET, Project Learning Tree (all environmentally geared education programs) and ETV StreamlineSC. Participants leave with new science books and classroom materials in hand, as well as three hours of graduate credit through The Citadel or points toward recertification. ...

Florence School District Three Board of Trustees approved Superintendent Beth Wright’s recommendation to name Barbara Woodbury Senior Director of Curriculum and Instruction during their special meeting on June 19.
Woodury previously served as principal of Lake City Elementary school.  ...Woodbury completed certification in elementary school administration and supervision from The Citadel and is a certified TAP (Teacher Advancement Program) teacher evaluator. ...

Charleston, S.C. – Thirteen members of The Citadel’s baseball team are keeping busy on the diamond this summer by honing their skills in summerball leagues across the country. Most of the cadet-student-athletes are spending their summer in the South, playing in either the Coastal Plain League or the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. ...

A test of the campus sirens will take place at approximately noon on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. The test is part of the college’s BulldogAlert emergency notification system. The sirens will sound for approximately three minutes. No action is required from faculty, staff and students.  

Retail -Mindy Fischbein Hawkins and Melanie Floyd have joined Niki Leigh LLC Spa Products & Parties as party coordinators and sales representatives for Gnatster gnat repellent. Hawkins previously taught science at North Charleston High School. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a master's degree from The Citadel. Floyd holds a bachelor's degree from Clemson University and previously was a freelance public relations and sales specialist.

Furman, Davidson and The Citadel have received the Southern Conference's most prestigious academic and sportsmanship awards. ...Citadel was the recipient of the D.S. McAlister Award, presented annually to the conference school judged to have the highest degree of sportsmanship in the conduct of its athletics program. The sportsmanship award, inaugurated in 1980, is named in honor of Col. D.S. McAlister of Citadel. He served as Southern Conference secretary-treasurer for 38 years.

The Commandant's List for the spring 2008 semester has been announced. The following cadets have been made the most positive contributions to their platoon, company, battalion, or staff, the Corps and The Citadel during the spring 2008 semester and are named to the Commandant’s Distinguished Service List. ... 

CHARLESTON -- Thirteen members of The Citadel's baseball team are keeping busy on the diamond this summer by honing their skills in summerball leagues across the country. Most of the cadet-student-athletes are spending their summer in the South, playing in either the Coastal Plain League or the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. ...

... Last year, police curtailed tailgating at Citadel football games. Since then, they have turned the annual downtown art walk into a staggered event — you can't carry your wine from one gallery to the next. And now, police say Dave Matthews fans won't be able to grill out or sit on their cars drinking beer in public parking lots before the band's July Fourth show at Riley Park. Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen has talked to a lot of groups about this in recent months, explaining that it's all about risk management...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Franklin County native Lewis Preston has joined the men's basketball coaching staff at Big Ten Conference member Penn State. ... During the 1992-93 season, he scored in double figures in 23 of 27 games and tallied 20 or more points in seven games. Preston netted a career-best 37 points that year against The Citadel and that performance ranks as the fourth-best individual scoring game in VMI history. ...

Tuition will go up again this year at most of South Carolina’s public universities.

REEVES, JR., William Longtime Dorchester County educator and school board member William M. "Bill" Reeves Jr. died Tuesday following heart surgery last week. He was 69. ...

(EDITOR’S NOTE:  The following was written by Board of Visitors member Tom McQueeney ’74, who chaired the recent Jim ‘N Nick’s Retirement Roast for Les Robinson, held at McAlister Field House on June 12.  The entire Citadel Family thanks Col. McQueeney for his many contributions to his alma mater, and especially for chairing this function that raised money for the Les Robinson Scholarship through The Citadel Brigadier Foundation.)

SPARTANBURG -- Wofford women's soccer team and head coach Amy Kiah announced the Terriers' 2008 schedule today. ...

The two Democratic hopefuls vying for the state House District 111 seat debated Monday about the lack of any debate before their June 24 primary runoff.  Iraq war veteran Clay Middleton accused Charleston City Councilman Wendell Gilliard of ducking a debate invitation from the NAACP and said voters deserve to hear more from both candidates. "In order to speak for the people, an effective member of the state Legislature must meet with the people, particularly when invited," he said. ...

Citadel increases tuition by 9 percent - Cadets attending The Citadel will pay 9 percent more in tuition this fall. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Monday that the military college's board of visitors approved the tuition increase Saturday. The increase means South Carolina residents will pay $8,428 in the 2008-09 school year. Tuition was $7,735 in the 2007-08 year.Out-of-state students will pay $21,031, an increase from $19,291 in 2007-08.

It has been a big month for Timberland baseball and football star Blake Wrenn. In addition to graduating from Timberland High School June 7, Wrenn joined 15 other baseball players from across South Carolina on the South 2A/3A team in this year’s All-Star baseball game this weekend. ...Wrenn’s path will now take him to The Citadel. ...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Cadets attending The Citadel will pay 9 percent more in tuition this fall.  The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Monday that the military college's board of visitors approved the tuition increase Saturday. ...

The Citadel joined the College of Charleston this month in raising tuition. The school’s board of visitors approved a 9% tuition increase this weekend, boosting the annual cost to attend the military school from $7,735 to $8,428 for in-state students; out-of-state cadets will pay $21,031, up from $19,291. The Citadel has about 2,000 cadets. ...

Citadel cadets will pay 9 percent more in tuition this school year after the school's Board of Visitors approved the increase Saturday. Under the plan, tuition for in-state students will be $8,428, up from $7,735 in the 2007-08 school year. ...

The Citadel Board of Visitors has approved an average 8 percent increase in the 2008-2009 comprehensive cost to parents and cadets. The comprehensive, or all-in costs, include tuition and fees, auxiliary fees for room, board, mandatory uniforms and infirmary use. ...

Say goodbye to the standard women's Citadel-do. The school's Board of Visitors Saturday unanimously approved a change that will allow women at the state's military college to grow their hair as long they like, provided it is securely fastened in a bun that doesn't drop below the bottom of their dress uniform collar. ...

Larry Leckonby was named athletic director of The Citadel last week, something that would make his father very proud, even though he wasn't much for moving around. "The first time I called my father and told him I was moving from Boston University to Old Dominion, the phone was silent for a second," Leckonby recalled. "Then he said, 'Why would you want to do that?'

Show me the money."  This familiar catchphrase from "Jerry Maguire," a popular sports movie, applies just as snugly to national political figures immersed in the perpetual campaign, the perpetual pursuit of campaign cash, often to the detriment of the job they were elected to do. But it is only one way in which money, ill-used, exerts a disruptive influence on governance, says former Sen. Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings. ...

Book signing

Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings will sign copies of "Making Government Work" during the Charleston launch of his book from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Old Exchange Building downtown. The event is open to the public. For more information, contact Shannon Ryan at 803-777-5136 or ryanl@gwm.sc.edu.

Female cadets at The Citadel will be allowed to wear their hair longer next year, as long as it's pulled back in a bun.  Officials said the Charleston military school's Board of Visitors on Saturday approved the change in hair regulations. ...

Citadel cadets likely will pay 9 percent more for tuition next year after a Board of Visitors' committee Friday approved the increase. The full board will vote today on the committee's recommendation. Under the plan, tuition for in-state students next year will be $8,428. That's up from $7,735 this year. ...

As new Citadel athletic director Larry Leckonby posed for pictures at Johnson Hagood Stadium on Friday afternoon, scaffolding on the nearly completed renovation on the home side loomed behind him. ...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Maryland athletic administrator Larry Leckonby has been named to lead athletics at The Citadel. ...

...For the Charleston House District 111 Democratic primary, Wendell Gilliard, a sitting Charleston City Councilman, will face Clay Middleton. ('02) ...

In the article on hair length at The Citadel, Provost Sam Hines stated that allowing female cadets to grow hair longer than now allowed would be "important in terms of our ability to recruit women into the corps of cadets." He also said the change could be appealing to potential women faculty members. Perhaps The Citadel should replace Friday parades with tea parties and Saturday inspections with spa treatments. Forget the old corps, it now has no corps.

As a Citadel graduate, I am writing in response to Diane Knich's article titled "Citadel looks at hair length." While The Citadel did a truly admirable job when it came to co-education in the early years, change takes time. And while many aspects of cadet life have been equalized between men and women, hair length and — until more recently the ring — was not one of them. ...

The Citadel's team physician Dr. Kenneth Caldwell will be inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Hall of Fame on June 30 in Tampa, Fla. ...

For five years at the University of Maryland, Joe Hull and Larry Leckonby worked side by side in the Terrapins' athletic department, their offices literally next door to each other's. "If I tapped on my wall, Larry heard it on the other side," Hull said Thursday. ...

Larry Leckonby has no military background, but thinks he's got something in common with those that do, at his new job heading Citadel's sports. "This will be my ninth move," Leckonby says. ...

The Retirement Roast for Les Robinson on Thursday night at The Citadel was a testament to one man's amazing career and the hundreds of friendships he made along the way. As the only man to serve as head basketball coach and athletic director at three colleges — The Citadel, East Tennessee State and N.C. State — Robinson was honored and skewered by some of his biggest admirers in the world of collegiate athletics during a dinner at McAlister Field House. ...

The Citadel will name the University of Maryland's Larry Leckonby as its next athletic director Friday, a source at the military school confirmed Wednesday.

Dr. Kenneth Caldwell (Class of 1979), a gridiron standout who served in the United States Army Reserve for eight years, including a tour of duty in Operation Desert Storm, and has been Citadel’s team physician since 1989 will be inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame® during ceremonies in Tampa, Fla. on Monday, June 30.

Calendar listings of tribute to Les Robinson, retiring AD.

Colonel Richardson (Dick) Hiller Crook (Ret.) of Fredericksburg, Texas, died Monday, June 2nd, 200. He received his BS degree in Business from The Citadel in 1957. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, he became a flight instructor.

He walked into McAlister Field House like any other parent, looking anxiously around for his kids among the horde playing basketball at summer camp. The only difference is he's not exactly your average basketball parent — he's Jerry Stackhouse, the 6-6 all-pro guard for the Dallas Mavericks.

A standout on the football team and a man whose engineering legacy spans the nation recently were honored with The Citadel's Palmetto Medal. This year’s recipients are Cadet Capt. Duran Lavon Lawson, captain of the Bulldog football team, and Maj. Gen. Carroll N. LeTellier, a distinguished military graduate of The Citadel Class of 1949. Not web accessible.

Several prominent NCAA coaches will diliver testimonials at the Jim N' Nick's Retirement Roast for Les Robinson on Thursday at McAlister Field House. Not currently web accessible.

Mike Veeck loves the Lowcountry as much as any time since he arrived more than 10 years ago to run the Charleston RiverDogs. But the wacky funster who uses Riley Park as center stage for "Fun Is Good" marketing schemes that draw national attention is selling his ownership interest in the Class A South Atlantic League team --- Veeck is an adjunct professor in The Citadel Graduate College/HESS

... The intensity of the day did not slow down the midshipmen though, especially the Marine options.  Midshipmen Cory Moyer ('10), a student and Marine option from the Citadel, was motivated by the training and is looking forward to the rest of the week’s activities. ...

The President’s List for the spring 2008 semester has been announced. The President’s List is the most distinguished awards list on which a cadet can be placed. It indicates excellence in academics and military duties. The list is a combination of the Dean’s List for academic achievement and the Commandant’s Distinguished List, which is composed of cadets who contribute the most to their companies and who have excellent military and academic records. ...

Sports: 2008 college football schedules

David G. Allen has been named head of the Department of English at The Citadel.

Suzanne R. Campbell. '04,  has joined the Campbell Law Firm PA of Mount Pleasant as an associate practicing in finance and real estate.

The Unit Accreditation Board for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has granted The Citadel School of Education continuing accreditation, indicating that the school and its programs meet the standards set forth by the professional education community. 

Andy Solomon is associate athletic director/communications for The Citadel, which is only one of many hats he wears around town. The Charleston native is also a public relations consultant for the RiverDogs, an adjunct professor and a representative for NCAA baseball regionals, among other things. In between these gigs, he found time to sit down and go one-on-one with The Post and Courier’s Ken Burger.

Citadel Brigadier Foundation President Tom O’Brien ’78 has announced that a committee has been formed to recommend a new executive director for the organization that raises funds for Citadel cadet-student-athletes.

It's unlikely female cadets at The Citadel will ever be allowed loose, flowing locks. But women enrolled at the state's military college will be able to grow their hair as long as they like next year, provided it's securely fastened in a bun that doesn't drop below the bottom of their dress uniform collar. That's if the school's Board of Visitors approves the change at its June 14 meeting.

CHARLESTON, S.C. --Female cadets at The Citadel may get to wear their hair longer next year. As long as it's pulled back in a bun.

Female cadets at The Citadel may get to wear their hair longer next year. As long as it's pulled back in a bun.

Female cadets at The Citadel may get to wear their hair longer next year. As long as it's pulled back in a bun.

Female cadets at The Citadel may get to wear their hair longer next year. As long as it's pulled back in a bun.

Female cadets at The Citadel may get to wear their hair longer next year.

Chris Swauger, LF The Citadel 26 (785) St. Louis Cardinals

Winfred “Bo” Moore has been named dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at The Citadel. (Schools Plus not web accessible).

In an effort to help preserve one of the Lowcountry’s most visible landmarks, The Citadel and the grassroots organization Save the Light will collaborate to conduct long-term structural monitoring of the Morris Island Lighthouse.

Until one night in Charleston, S.C., 10 months ago, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were just shadowboxing, politely charting separate paths to the Democratic nomination. Clinton was the establishment choice, next in line, the clear favorite. Obama was the political upstart who dared challenge convention. Their worldviews finally clashed in a July 23 debate at the Citadel.

Twelve South Carolina colleges and universities recycled more than 1.3 million pounds of material as part of RecycleMania, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Cecil Rourk Jr., of Goose Creek died June 1, 2008. He attended St. Andrew's Parish High School, The Citadel, and Clemson College.

South Carolina legislators are using some of the state's public universities as funnels, quietly channeling nearly $2 million in tax dollars to their favorite charities during the past three years, a Post and Courier investigation found....Legislators went through all of the schools except the College of Charleston and The Citadel to funnel tax dollars.

S.C. Republicans realized a historic marker Saturday, electing an African-American for the first time to the influential Republican National Committee.....Quotes David Rawlinson, Class of '98.