LETTER: “PC is grateful for all of you, and we look forward to being your faithful partners in progress.”
Letter to the Editor
Clinton Chronicle
August 30, 2021
Dear Editor:
The “Welcome Home PC” event on Thursday, August 27, hosted by Main Street Clinton, was a smashing success and a left a positive, lasting impression on the Presbyterian College community. I was especially impressed by the turnout of vendors and businesses from Clinton and around Laurens County. Thank you to everyone who welcomed our campus community members and made them feel at home. Countless students, faculty, and staff – along with their family members – have told me about their appreciation for the event, and I can attest to the fact that their warm feelings and sense of pride are still clearly resonating on campus. Melissa, Jackson, Sylvia, and I share these positive sentiments.
As I mentioned in my remarks at the event, PC is passionate about – and deeply committed to – growing and strengthening our relationship with our host city of Clinton, as well our broader Laurens County community. Challenges between colleges and communities are hardly new or rare; they actually date back to the Middle Ages. For most of the 20th century, colleges have tended to build themselves into self-contained cities and taken their host communities for granted, and that trend has continued into the new millennium in far too many communities across the nation.
I believe Clinton, Laurens County, and Presbyterian College can – and must – buck these trends. Put simply, our fates are intertwined. Collectively, we are one tide that rises and falls together. As tantalizing signs of progress and development swirl around us, we have an unprecedented opportunity to work together for mutual benefit. We are proud to be your college, and you can safely and reasonably expect tremendous energy and commitment from us toward the task of supporting, lifting up, and advancing our community.
My numerous conversations thus far with municipal, economic development, school district, and business leaders across Laurens County lead me to believe that the spirit of cooperation and teamwork among us is not only alive, but growing stronger. PC is grateful for all of you, and we look forward to being your faithful partners in progress. Our best days are ahead of us.
Sincerely,
Matthew P. vandenBerg, EdD, CFRE
President
Presbyterian College
