As flags placed by members of the cadet Republican society fluttered in the breeze along the Avenue of Remembrance, The Citadel paid homage to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Flanked by a cadet honor guard, a steel fragment from the World Trade Center was displayed between Mark Clark Hall and the War Memorial for The Citadel community and alumni on campus during Homecoming. The exhibit was sponsored by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences with support from the Fine Arts program.

Michael Varnadore, the campus carillonist, performed “In Memoriam” by John Courter on the Thomas Dry Howie Carillon, and on Daniel Island, a group of 50 cadets from Fourth Battalion waved flags as they ran the 9/11 Heroes Run.

Approximately 700 cadet recruits came from around the U.S. and several foreign countries to matriculate on Saturday, August 14.

The majority of the freshmen were born in 2003, the year the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began operating, Saddam Hussein was captured and Apple launched iTunes.

After completing their rigorous fourth-class training in the spring, the freshmen will be formally recognized as cadets at the Oath Renewal Ceremony in Marion Square in downtown Charleston.

Forget the dusty plastic leg, torso and skeleton models clattering around from hooks in the back of the labs. Their usefulness in the anatomy lab is coming to a close. Instead, turn down the lights and illuminate the beating heart, manipulate the moving circulatory system, or bring the cadaver of a man who died of cancer back to digital life and watch his tumors grow.

The Swain Family School of Science and Mathematics is now using an Anatomage table and learning system that enables cadets and students to examine real medical case studies with a technology that transforms cadavers into digital living bodies that function and respond as a real patient would.

“The virtual dissection table unscrambles the complex layers of the human body for cadets and students getting degrees in biology, nursing, or health and human performance,” said Physiology Professor Clinton Moran, Ph.D. “The potential for cross-disciplinary learning through our new Anatomage technology is also expansive.”

In addition to the dissection table, a large wall screen shows the entire class what those at the table are doing. Moran’s class was one of the first to use the Anatomage table in the college’s new Anatomy and Physiology Lab this fall.

Former Georgia assistant solicitor and Fortune 500 CEO and attorney Bill Endictor, ’59, has bequeathed his entire estate—currently valued at approximately $20 million—to his alma mater, becoming one of only a handful of donors who have done so.

Endictor is passionate about his alma mater and credits much of his success to his Citadel experience.  He has served on both the President’s Advisory Committee and The Citadel Foundation Board of Directors.

“The Citadel Foundation is the lifeblood of The Citadel. Without the foundation, Lesesne Gate would have closed decades ago,” said Endictor. “The leadership of The Citadel is outstanding. I have always said that the smartest thing anyone can do is to hire the right people and then get out of their way.”

After a year like no other and a successful return to campus, more than 560 members of the Corps of Cadets were awarded diplomas during the May 8 commencement ceremonies in McAlister Field House.

About 27% of the class accepted commissions as U.S. military officers prior to graduation.

As one of his last official acts, the outgoing commandant of cadets, retired Navy Capt. Eugene Paluso, ’89, served as the 2021 commencement speaker for both morning and afternoon undergraduate ceremonies.

The academic programs with the highest number of graduates from the Class of 2021 included business administration, criminal justice, intelligence and security studies, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and political science.

Raven Saunders, a Burke High School graduate who won the silver medal in shot put at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, paid a visit to The Citadel in August for a photo shoot. While she was on campus, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Glenn Walters, ’79, presented her with two challenges coins—a four-star coin from his time as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps and one from his position as president of The Citadel.

“I’m proud of all of our athletes who represent our country in the Olympics, and I wanted to tell her I’m proud of her,” Walters said.

This was not Saunders’s first time on campus. The Olympic athlete used to practice shot put on campus while she was in high school. “The Citadel was like home,” she said. “I was a Burke Bulldog; you guys are The Citadel Bulldogs, so it’s like family.”

The Citadel is the U.S. News and World Report #1 Top Public College in the South for the 11th successive year.

“This is not an easy feat,” said retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Glenn M. Walters, ’79, president of the college. “Earning the ranking of #1 Top Public College in the South from U.S. News & World Report one time, let alone 11 times, is only possible because of the passion and commitment of everyone on campus and our steadfast alumni.”

The Citadel’s most prominent rankings on the U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Colleges lists include:

• #1 Top Public College, Regional Universities (South)
• #1 Best College for Veterans, Regional Universities (South)
• #6 Best Undergraduate Teaching, Regional Universities (South)
• #10 Most Innovative Schools, Regional Universities (South)
• #16 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, nationwide (non-doctoral)
• #21 Best Value, Regional Universities (South)

Bastin Hall, The Citadel’s first academic building to be constructed in three decades, is the gleaming new home for the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business.

A state-of-the-art academic facility, Bastin Hall was made possible thanks to a $6 million gift from Rick Bastin, ’65, and his wife Mary Lee through The Citadel Foundation. In addition to the Bastins, more than 50 other individuals, families, businesses and alumni classes stepped forward to name spaces within the building.

Some of the building’s other notable features include an advising center, a financial services center, an entrepreneurship innovation lab and a student success suite as well as technology-equipped classrooms, gathering spaces and breakout rooms.

Located on Hagood Avenue near the football stadium, the 44,000-square-foot building officially opened for classes in January.

After 69 years, Capers Hall has come down. The 75,000-square-foot building was demolished to make room for a modern academic building to house the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in two years.

The 108,000-square-foot replacement will house classrooms, a performing arts auditorium, an art gallery and a computer lab for the Center for Cyber, Intelligence and Security Studies.

The Capers Hall Replacement Project comes with a price tag of $67 million.
The South Carolina General Assembly provided $15 million to assist with the project, and several donors have stepped forward with generous gifts.

The architectural design will align with the iconic design elements of other campus structures, incorporating both traditional and transitional elements in the three-story facility.

 “We are having the concrete, masonry and stucco material, recovered from the demolition, crushed and recycled so that we can use it to build the new site foundation and parking area,” said retired U.S. Navy Commander Jeff Lamberson, ’85, vice president for facilities and engineering. “The metal from the old facility will be recycled. There are also some distinctive lighting and ironwork features that will be repurposed.”