Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences

Hello EESS Students and Alumni and !

I wanted to give you a quick update on our fundraiser for Ms. Nina Anthony's Retirement fund.

To date we have raised $3,223 of our $5,000 goal for Nina.
If you would like to contribute, there is still time! Dr. Andersen has requested that all donations be made no later than **Wed July 15, 2026.**

You can Venmo your gift to Dr. Brannon Andersen, -Andersen. (Be sure to use an e instead of an o in the last name.).

Thank you!
~Dr. Ranhofer

Good morning everyone!
I have half a page left to fill in Nina's Memory book, I will send the book off to be printed tomorrow (June 30th). If you have any well wishes (or photos) you would like for me to include on your behalf please send them to me no later than noon tomorrow (June 30th).... Your message can be as long or as short as you would like (I am always happy to add more pages because I know Nina meant a lot to many of us!) They can be emailed to me at [email protected].

Dr. Andersen is still collecting donations for Nina's retirement fundraiser, you can Venmo your gift to Dr. Brannon Andersen, -Andersen. (Be sure to use an e instead of an o in the last name.). I'll try to get an update on our progress from sometime this week!

~Dr. Melissa Ranhofer

Good afternoon EESS Students and Alumni!
In less than 24 hours, we are almost at 25% of the $5,000 goal Rory McIlmoil (EES 2002) set for us to raise for Nina for her retirement! Y'all are absolutely amazing, let's keep it up!

If you would like to contribute, you can Venmo your gift to Dr. Brannon Andersen, -Andersen. (Be sure to use an e instead of an o in the last name.)

~Dr. Melissa Ranhofer

A message from Rory McIlmoil (EES 2002)

"Dear EES(S) alumni and friends,

Like I assume was true for all of you, Nina's smiles, encouragement, advice, congratulations, conversation and hugs when I needed them were essential to my success. She was my second Mom during my time at Furman, and it was one of the greatest honors of my life when I introduced Nina to my firstborn.

Equally important was everything Nina did behind the scenes to keep EESS running and support our amazing professors, and by extension our own education and success. While I hope her salary was equivalent to the value of her invaluable contributions, we all know that her commitment to us wasn't for money or fame, but because she is one of the most caring and kind people we've ever known.

I'm asking you to send Nina off with not only a note and picture (do that too!), but a cash gift to help Nina visit someplace she's never been, buy herself something she's always wanted, or start a business selling off the department's surplus rock collection. Whatever her big heart desires.

Let's set a goal of at least $5,000 to send Nina off with. You can Venmo your gift to Brannon Andersen, -Andersen. (Be sure to use an e instead of an o in the last name.)

Thank you, and an eternal gratitude for Nina.

Rory McIlmoil
Class of 2002"

Dear Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Science Alumni and Current Students,

The EESS Department announces that Mrs. Nina Anthony will be retiring on June 30, 2026, after working at Furman University for 36 years. One of the things that makes our department so special is the close family feel that it has. As with every family, there is always one individual who is the glue to keep the family together…for our department that is Nina.

Over the past 25+ years, Nina has been the face that greeted everyone the moment they walked into the department. She was always there to congratulate a student on their achievements, to offer a hug (or pep talk) when a student needed encouragement, and to make sure the candy bowl was full to help students with that little extra bit of energy they needed to get through their class.

Nina was often seen working late into the evenings and on weekends printing out student posters, working on travel arrangements, and doing numerous other things to ensure that the day-to-day operation of our department ran smoothly and that the students’ experience was an amazing one.

Nina received a University Service award in 2025 for 35 years of service and in 2019 she was named Furman University’s Staff Member of the Year.
Her presence will be deeply missed not only in our department, but across campus.

If you would like to contribute a photo and best wishes message, I am collecting materials to include in a memory book that will be presented to Nina. Please email items to me no later than this Friday (June 26th). My email is: [email protected]

Sincerely,
Dr. Melissa L. Ranhofer
Lecturer, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences
EESS Alumni Liaison

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