Time capsule to be placed in cornerstone of renovated building at College of Charleston

It’s a look back and a look forward as the College of Charleston celebrates the renovation of the Stern Center with a special moment on Monday, April 6, 2026.

College leadership will honor the building’s namesake and dedicate a 2026 Time Capsule in a ceremony featuring remarks from President Andrew T. Hsu, Executive Vice President for Student Affairs Alicia Caudill, Board of Trustees Chair Renee Romberger, Board of Trustees Emeritus Demetria Clemons, student leaders and leadership at Hood Construction, Inc., and Little Diversified Architectural Consulting.

The event starts at 3 p.m. at the Stern Center, 71 George St, Charleston, SC 29401.

Both modern-day items and artifacts recently discovered in a 1974 Stern Center Time Capsule will be placed side-by-side in the cornerstone of the Stern Center.

The College of Charleston community received several submissions to include in the new time capsule. Among the treasured items submitted are:

• Favorite photos and memories shared from current undergraduate and graduate students.

• Artwork from the preschoolers at the College’s N.E. Miles Early Childhood Development Center.

• The book “What is Your Heritage and the State of Its Preservation? Volume 5: Connections to Place,” authored by College of Charleston students and edited by Barry Stiefel, a faculty member in the Historic Preservation and Community Planning Program.

• A recent article, “Addlestone’s Ann Baldwin Charts Library’s Past, Future” from Ann Baldwin, a staff member at the College and ’90 alumna whose family shares a special connection to the institution: 3 members of her family are also alumni (her mom, Betty Quesenbery ’80; her son, Cullen Baldwin ’17; and her daughter, Anna Katherine Baldwin Malone ’20.

• A letter from a staff member who shares what life is like in 2026, as well as her hope for what life may look like when this Time Capsule is opened: “It is one of my deepest wishes that students and alumni of the future are responsible stewards of the foggy abyss of artificial intelligence.”