University discloses DIGS dedication cost

By Claire Byun

byunc@thejohnsonian.com

Winthrop spent $13,325.12 on a special ceremony to dedicate the new campus center to its namesake: President Anthony DiGiorgio and his wife Gale.  

The ceremony was co-funded by the university and the Winthrop Foundation.

DiGiorgio also personally funded some of the expenses related to the event. 

The total of $13,325.12 spent by Winthrop includes a dinner and reception for 51 people on Sept. 23 at an expense of $1,596.30.

Winthrop also funded a lunch for 300 guests on Sept. 24 at an expense of $7,185.  

Supplies for the dedication included linen rentals and napkins from a Charlotte, N.C. company at a cost of $1,858.07 and invitations, postcards and programs printed using Winthrop’s in-house printing services at a cost of $843.51.

Winthrop also spent $64.20 with Gala Affairs Party Rental of Rock Hill and $151.55 with Campbell’s Greenhouse and Nursery in Charlotte, N.C. 

The university paid $423.61 for flower arrangements from Jane’s Creative Designs in Rock Hill.

The Winthrop Foundation provided the funding for the entertainment and alcohol.

DiGiorgio privately financed six different meals between Sept. 22 and 25, refreshments on Sept. 23 and a rental van.  

DiGiorgio also purchased momentos from the campus bookstore for his guests; those items totaled $273.02.

In total, DiGiorgio contributed $2,043.63 to event-related expenses.  

Private and public recognition events are “standard protocol events for honoring building namesakes,” according to records provided by Winthrop University spokesperson Rebecca Masters following The Johnsonian’s request for financial information related to the campus center ceremony.  

The Lois Rhame West Center dedication, held in 2007, included similar events and meals. For that ceremony, Winthrop spent $11,342.44, according to financial documents.

Only 35 people participated in the family dinner for the West Center opening, and a crowd of 270 ate lunch.

An “inflationary adjustment since that time is approximately 6 percent,” Masters wrote in a response letter to The Johnsonian on Nov. 8.  “The seating capacity of the respective venues involved resulted in a slightly different number of individuals involved in each event.”  

The dedication of the West Center’s “honoree public lunch” was held at a cost of $36.58 per person; the campus center dedication’s public lunch was held at a cost of $36.88 per person.  

Similar to how entertainment and alcohol services were funded for the DiGiorgio Campus Center event, the Winthrop Foundation provided funds for those expenses for the West Center dedication.  

Additional reporting for this story by Anna Douglas