Presbyterian College Giving Day 2025: Powering Research Excellence Through CIRAS
Your support of Presbyterian College will help continue to support future researchers, innovators, and scholars.
Presbyterian College 2025 Giving Day: Powering Research Excellence Through CIRAS
Dear PC Community,
I know it’s been a minute since I’ve posted on this Substack. Trust me, you will be getting several more posts during the summer months when I research efforts hit a higher gear for our faculty students!
Until then, I wanted to highlight an opportunity to give today during our annual Presbyterian College Giving Day. Your support in joining PC in championing academic excellence and student discovery through initiatives like our Center for Inquiry, Research, and Scholarship (CIRAS) would mean a great deal to the mission of the college. It’s your support that directly can empower the next generation of Blue Hose researchers and innovators right here in Clinton, South Carolina.
Your Impact: A Year of Remarkable Achievements
Through, PC students have accomplished some amazing over the past year. Just to highlight a few of many accomplishments.
Biochemistry research: Amanda Bailey '25 collaborated with Dr. Kimberly De La Cruz on synthesizing Carbon Monoxide prodrugs, vital work with potential medical applications for areas of inflammation. This amazing work was able to be presented by Amanda at the American Chemical Society Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. We’re excited to see how Amanda will continue her scientific career as she heads to Duke University next year to pursue her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry.
Physics innovation: Jacob Clerc ‘25 and MacKenzie Partsch ’25 worked with physics professor Dr. Eli Owens to develop a prosthetic gripper using iron filings that transitions from liquid to solid phase, with promising applications in robotics and prosthetics. Both are heading off to PhDs next year with Jacob heading to Vanderbilt and MacKenzie heading to Clemson.
Historical scholarship: Patrick Buchanan '25, a Griffith Scholar and first-generation student, published his first academic article, presented at multiple symposiums, and secured a prestigious fellowship at the University of Chicago researching historical Brazilian social relations. Patrick is a semifinalist for a Fullbright Scholarship this year.
Psychology research: Caroline Rairigh ‘25, a senior student-athlete on PC's cross country team, collaborated with Dr. Drew Brandel from the Psychology Department and presented their research findings at the Southeastern Psychological Association's annual conference in Atlanta, GA.
Cancer research: Abbi Weatherford ‘25 worked with me for the past two years studying specific vulnerabilities of aggressive breast cancer cells and how to exploit these vulnerabilities. This work will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois and will be soon written as a publication. Abbi will be attending the Medical University of South Carolina to pursue her PhD in Cancer Biology this coming year.
Throughout the year, these accomplishments were showcased during our Summer Research Symposium and will be showcased during our Honors Day Symposium happening tomorrow, April 24th, 2025, here at Presbyterian College.
Supporting CIRAS Through Giving Day
Your support to Presbyterian helps the CIRAS program to support specific initiatives like:
Summer research stipends: Supporting programs like PC Summer Fellows Program, which provides students with 8-week intensive research experiences.
Research equipment and supplies: Providing the tools needed for cutting-edge investigations across disciplines.
Conference travel: Enabling students to present at prestigious events at national academic conferences.
Grant development: Supporting faculty as they work on obtaining data needed for external funding from organizations like NIH, NSF, and NASA to expand research opportunities for students.
Application support: Assisting students applying for prestigious scholarships like Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, Goldwater, and Fulbright.
Join Us Today in Giving Today: PC Giving 2025
Every gift, regardless of size, fuels the spirit of inquiry that defines the PC experience. When students engage in genuine research alongside dedicated faculty mentors, they develop skills and confidence that extend far beyond graduation.
Together, we'll ensure Presbyterian College continues to nurture the next generation of thoughtful, engaged scholars ready to serve and lead.
With Blue Hose pride,
-Austin Shull ’11, PhD
Director | Center for Inquiry, Research, & Scholarship (CIRAS)
What a statement of the impact, the influence, and the commitment that PC has on and for her students, the science community, and beyond! Thank you, Austin and thank you Presbyterian College!