Students honor President and Mrs. Sorensen at farewell celebration

University of South Carolina students, many of them clad in T-shirts saying, “Andy is my homeboy,” gathered Tuesday (April 22) to thank outgoing President Andrew Sorensen and his wife, Donna, for their leadership during the past six years at the university.

The farewell celebration, held in the Russell House University Union, was organized by current and past student-body presidents.

Current student-body president Andrew Gaeckle, along with former presidents Katie Dreiling, Jay Laura, Nick Payne and Tommy Preston and current vice president Meredith Ross, presented the Sorensens with a resolution passed unanimously by the Student Senate thanking them for their service and wishing them well on their future pursuits.

Gaeckle, of Parker, Colo., said Sorensen’s guidance and support have benefitted the university in countless ways.

“Through this event, we just wanted to thank him for everything that he has done for us, Gaeckle said. “For the past six years, President Sorensen’s contributions have been at the core of our university’s success. New university initiatives, including the establishment of the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Capstone Scholars Program and the Gamecock Guarantee have been implemented under his term. While we are sad to see him leave, we can truly say that our university is a better place because of his leadership.”

Sorensen said his guiding philosophy as president has been that what is good for the students and the faculty is good for the university.

“I am very grateful and personally dedicated to the idea that we are all in this together,” he said. “We are the University of South Carolina.”

Preston, who is Sorensen’s coordinator of government and community relations, said the students were eager to show their appreciation for Sorensen, who will become distinguished university professor at the School of Medicine and distinguished president emeritus after a successor is named.

“The Sorensens have devoted the last six years of their lives to creating an outstanding living and learning environment for the students and to making the state a better place to live and work once we graduate,” Preston said. “We thought it was only fitting to pay tribute to them for their many contributions.”

Sorensen concluded the event with a Gamecock cheer.