In an era of revolving doors to corporate and other chief executive offices, it may seem remarkable that James Winebrake will be only the fourth president of Coastal Carolina University as he replaces Michael T. Benson.
Our regional university was founded as a junior college in 1954, then was part of the University of South Carolina, and became an independent public university in 1993. To have had three presidents in 32 years 鈥 Ronald R. Ingle, David DeCenzo and Benson 鈥 is perhaps more typical for academic institutions.
Benson is the new president of West Virginia University, one of the nation鈥檚 oldest land-grant institutions. These universities date to Lincoln鈥檚 presidency and the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, and include Clemson University, Cornell in New York and Purdue in Indiana.
S.C. State University in Orangeburg also is a land grant institution by the second Morrill Act.
West Virginia University is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which includes well-known universities such as Colorado, Kansas, K-State and Oklahoma State. The selection of Benson as president of West Virginia University is a credit to Coastal Carolina as well as to its departing president.
When Benson was named WVU鈥檚 next president in February, he described his new job as a 鈥渟ingular opportunity鈥 for which his 30 years in public higher education prepared him. Prior to CCU, Benson was president of Snow College, Southern Utah and Eastern Kentucky universities.
At Coastal, Benson鈥檚 presidency saw continued overall growth in enrollment and strides in university athletic support and exposure, including the baseball program鈥檚 advancement to the College World Series in Omaha. Benson helped secure a $10 million gift from Conway Medical Center, the largest ever for CCU. He also presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for Thompson Library. This week, he's also seeing the unveiling of the new indoor athletic complex.
CCU board chairman H. Delan Stevens recognized the institutional recognition of Benson鈥檚 new position and the trustees immediately named a committee to begin a national search for a replacement, well before Benson鈥檚 move from Horry County to Morgantown and the main campus of WVU.
The 22-member Presidential Advisory Committee involved faculty, staff, students and members of the public, as well as a search firm, Funk and Associates.
Earlier this month, Winebrake was announced as CCU鈥檚 next president, effective July 7. Since 2020, Winebrake has been provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Winebrake鈥檚 doctorate is in energy management from the University of Pennsylvania, and his M.S. in technology and policy is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He has academic experience at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and James Madison University in Virginia and with the U.S. Department of Energy.
鈥淭he foundation of Teal Nation is strong, and I am eager to reach new heights as we build on the progress already made,鈥 Winebrake said in a statement. 鈥淲ith remarkable academic achievements, it is an exciting time to be a Chanticleer.鈥
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