CSU named 2020 Large Business of the Year by Summerville Chamber

The Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce announced Charleston Southern University as the 2020 Large Business of the Year. This award program is designed to recognize the dedication, achievement and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by exceptional local businesses, nonprofits and individuals.

Long recognized for delivering a world-class education grounded in a biblical worldview and rooted in the liberal arts, CSU is a place where students learn to think broadly and deeply about ideas, engage biblical truths that ignite their curiosity, and ask questions of the world and themselves—so that each of them can discover their purpose and achieve success living it out.

Most recently, like all businesses, Charleston Southern overcame many obstacles to safely retain over 2,000 individuals on campus during the pandemic. During the beginning of COVID-19 in March, CSU quickly transitioned all classes online and launched a COVID-19 Student Emergency Care Fund, directly helping over 200 students. To return safely in August, the University Pandemic Task Force was developed, being led by academic healthcare experts. This team implemented a robust plan which was coined the BUCSAFE campaign. 

The BUCSAFE campaign considered all aspects of the university and how to quickly implement safety, including: purchasing PPE equipment, installing plexiglass into each classroom, re-arranging all spaces to ensure six feet of physical distancing, implementing the LiveSafe app for individuals on campus, cancelation of third party events, setting aside specific residence hall rooms for students in quarantine and isolation, pivoting student life events to virtual, offering virtual campus tours, and rescheduling fall athletic events.  

Charleston Southern’s bottom line is to prepare servant leaders to pursue significant lives. 

President Dondi Costin said, “CSU issues a Passport to Purpose to every student who graces our campus. Prepared people are our products, and the return on investment for the kind of Christ-centered education CSU provides is incalculable. Helping our graduates pursue significance is why we are so passionate about student success, and why we are so excited about the university’s future. We are humbled and honored to have been named Large Business of the Year, and we are more confident than ever that the best is yet to come.”

CSU offers more than 60 undergraduate programs and more than 15 graduate and doctoral programs; a 13:1 student to faculty ratio; a top 25 national rank by U.S. News & World Report for its online bachelor’s programs; 16 NCAA Division I teams that compete in the Big South Conference; an average nursing graduate NCLEX pass rate of 94% over the last decade; one of only 14 cybersecurity accredited programs (ABET) in the world and the only one in the South; and the only collegiate aviation program in South Carolina.

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