Winthrop University Honors Three Faculty Members at May 9 Commencement (04/23/26)

HIGHLIGHTS

• During the 3 p.m. May 9 graduation ceremony, President Edward Serna '02 will honor three faculty members: Andrew Besmer, Amy Clausen and Charles Randle.
• President Edward Serna `02 will preside at two ceremonies on May 9, one at 10 a.m. for the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Visual and Performing Arts and the other at 3 p.m. for the College of Business and Technology, the Richard W. Riley College of Education, Sport and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Professional Studies and WinthropLIFE.

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Three outstanding Winthrop University faculty members will receive recognition May 9 during Commencement ceremonies at the Winthrop Coliseum.

During the 3 p.m. May 9 graduation ceremony, President Edward Serna '02 will honor three faculty members. Associate Professor of Computer Science Andrew Besmer will be presented with the Distinguished Professor Award. Assistant Professor of Special Education Amy Clausen will receive the Outstanding Junior Professor Award. A third faculty award - the Jane LaRoche Graduate Faculty Award - will be bestowed upon Charles Randle, an associate professor of accounting.

Commencement represents the end of the academic year, as well as the end of a chapter for hundreds of Winthrop students finishing their degrees. Serna will preside at two ceremonies on May 9, one at 10 a.m. for the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Visual and Performing Arts and the other at 3 p.m. for the College of Business and Technology, the Richard W. Riley College of Education, Sport and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Professional Studies and WinthropLIFE.

Read more about the faculty recipients:

Andrew Besmer - Distinguished Professor

Andrew Besmer is the 2026 Distinguished Professor. This is the highest honor given to Winthrop faculty members and is awarded to educators who demonstrate exceptional teaching skills, undergo significant research or creative efforts, hold a high standing among professional colleagues and provide general service to the university.

A computer science associate professor within the College of Business and Technology, Besmer is a transformative teacher who continually looks for ways to connect academic work to professional practice. For instance, he integrated an industry-recognized certification in his Cloud Computing course, enabling students to graduate with their first professional credential and giving them a competitive edge in the job market.

Besmer joined the Winthrop faculty in 2013 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2020.

His institutional impact has been substantial. He led Winthrop's transition to become a laptop campus and co-chaired the committee that was responsible for more than $2.8 million in classroom technology upgrades. He also designed one of the university's fastest growing majors, a new cybersecurity degree. After consulting with his colleagues and industry partners, he designed the curriculum framework, led program approval efforts, hired its first faculty member and helped define the scope and responsibilities of that leadership role.

The recipient of two other Winthrop faculty awards, Besmer was selected as the 2018 Outstanding Junior Professor and the 2022-23 Thompson Scholar. His Thompson project involved restarting the hackathon computing competitions that he coordinated before the COVID pandemic. He has since organized multiple events to date under the WiredHack banner and is currently organizing a hackathon designed to engage students beyond computer science.

Besmer holds a Ph.D. in information technology and a bachelor's degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics, both from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Amy Clausen - Outstanding Junior Professor

Amy Clausen, assistant professor of special education in the Department of Counseling, Leadership and Educational Studies, is the university's 2026 Outstanding Junior Professor. This award recognizes excellence among assistant professors for inspired teaching, research or creative excellence, and for dedication to the welfare of students.

She joined the Winthrop faculty in 2022 in a temporary appointment but moved into tenure track in 2023. In a remarkably short period of time, she has established a reputation as an exceptional educator, a highly productive scholar and a faculty member whose commitment to students extends well beyond the classroom.

Her scholarship is both prolific and impactful, appearing in peer-reviewed publications in highly regarded disciplinary journals, with authored book chapters or as technical reports that inform inclusive educational practice. Her scholarship has received national recognition, including the designation of a co-authored article as the Journal of Special Education Technology's Research Article of the Year.

Equally significant is Clausen's commitment to involving students in research. She has made undergraduate and graduate research mentorship a defining feature of her faculty role, guiding students through independent studies, honors projects, conference presentations and professional dissemination.

Early in her time at Winthrop, Clausen assumed responsibility as faculty director of WinthropLIFE, an inclusive postsecondary education program serving students with intellectual and developmental abilities. During a period of significant transition, Clausen maintained daily operations, supported students and families, coordinated personnel and ensured program continuity, all while simultaneously fulfilling her responsibilities as a full-time faculty member.

Clausen holds a Ph.D. in special education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a Master of Education in foundations of behavior analysis from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Science in special education from Morehead State University.

Charles Randle - Jane LaRoche Graduate Faculty Award

Charles Randle, an associate professor of accounting in the College of Business and Technology, is the 2026 Jane LaRoche Graduate Faculty Award recipient. The award, which was established in 2008 by former Board of Trustees member Jane LaRoche '69, '70, recognizes outstanding teaching at the graduate level and significant contributions to graduate education at Winthrop.

Randle has been an exemplary graduate faculty member whose dedication to student success, scholarly pursuits, professional development and service activities have had a significant impact on his student and graduate education at Winthrop.

He first joined the Winthrop faculty in 2018 as an assistant professor of accounting, served as director of accounting mentorship and professional development in 2024-25 and was promoted to associate professor of accounting in 2024.

Randle's extensive industry experience and keen interest in the accounting profession, and his leadership in service roles, most recently as chair of the Winthrop Graduate Council, have distinguished his service across the campus. He is a sought-after resource by his colleagues in the ever-evolving field of accounting, which has experienced significant changes in recent years due to advances in technology and analytics, including a recent overhaul of the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) examination.

Drawing on his 14 years of industry experience and his status as an active CPA, Randle bridges the gap between theory and practice. He integrates professional tools such as Microsoft Excel, Tableau and Power BI into his instruction so that students graduate with conceptional knowledge and marketable data analytical skills.

He has been on the vanguard of new graduate education initiatives, such as his creation of a fully online seven-week upper-level course. He was among the first to develop a course with respect to the Competency-based Education (CBE) modality, and because of its quality, it is now a model for future CBE courses to be developed within the college.

Randle received his Ph.D. in accounting and his Master of Business Administration, both from Jackson State University. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Mississippi State University.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at [email protected].