{"id":2156,"date":"2026-01-15T14:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/?p=2156"},"modified":"2026-01-15T14:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:34:28","slug":"biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/","title":{"rendered":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\">BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BIIG DOGS celebrated the end of another successful semester with a spirited gingerbread house-building competition. The program, created and led each week by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/engineering\/dean\/\">Dean Andrew Williams<\/a>, is a cornerstone of the first-year engineering experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through BIIG DOGS, first-year engineering students gain hands-on learning opportunities and academic support designed to set them up for success in their chosen majors. Each weekly session introduces different facets of engineering while showcasing the many resources available to help students thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BIIG DOGS is more than academics\u2014it\u2019s about connection and creativity. Students bond with classmates, meet mentors, including BIIG DOGS ambassadors and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/mechanical\/faculty-staff\/dr-bryan-macgavin\/\">Bryan MacGavin, Ph.D.<\/a>, the BIIG DOGS coach, and participate in team-building games and design challenges that spark curiosity. Ever tried building a weight-bearing tower using only dry spaghetti and tape? They have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program also features guest speakers from across campus and industry, offering real-world insights into life as an engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program will continue this spring, offering first-year engineers opportunities for hands-on learning, mentorship and connection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"First-year engineering students engaged in an end-of-the-year gingerbread building contest.\" class=\"wp-image-2122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0489-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"First-year engineering students engaged in an end-of-the-year gingerbread building contest.\" class=\"wp-image-2120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0489-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0489-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0489-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0489-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0489-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community BIIG DOGS celebrated the end of another successful semester with a spirited gingerbread house-building competition. The program, created and led each week by Dean Andrew Williams, is a cornerstone of the first-year engineering experience. Through BIIG DOGS, first-year engineering students gain hands-on learning opportunities and academic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":613,"featured_media":2122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-january-2026"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community - Notes from the Provost<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community BIIG DOGS celebrated the end of another successful semester with a spirited gingerbread house-building competition. The program, created and led each week by Dean Andrew Williams, is a cornerstone of the first-year engineering experience. Through BIIG DOGS, first-year engineering students gain hands-on learning opportunities and academic [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Notes from the Provost\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T19:30:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T19:34:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"wallacej\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"wallacej\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"wallacej\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e38dd5b5368a73beab6a4c2dc42f4b45\"},\"headline\":\"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T19:30:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-15T19:34:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":185,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/179\\\/ninja-forms\\\/2\\\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"January 2026\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/\",\"name\":\"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community - Notes from the Provost\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/179\\\/ninja-forms\\\/2\\\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T19:30:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-15T19:34:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e38dd5b5368a73beab6a4c2dc42f4b45\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/179\\\/ninja-forms\\\/2\\\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/179\\\/ninja-forms\\\/2\\\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920,\"caption\":\"Photo of a gingerbread house built by first-year engineering students.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Notes from the Provost\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e38dd5b5368a73beab6a4c2dc42f4b45\",\"name\":\"wallacej\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.citadel.edu\\\/provost-notes\\\/author\\\/wallacej\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community - Notes from the Provost","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community","og_description":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community BIIG DOGS celebrated the end of another successful semester with a spirited gingerbread house-building competition. The program, created and led each week by Dean Andrew Williams, is a cornerstone of the first-year engineering experience. Through BIIG DOGS, first-year engineering students gain hands-on learning opportunities and academic [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/","og_site_name":"Notes from the Provost","article_published_time":"2026-01-15T19:30:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-15T19:34:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"wallacej","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"wallacej","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/"},"author":{"name":"wallacej","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/#\/schema\/person\/e38dd5b5368a73beab6a4c2dc42f4b45"},"headline":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community","datePublished":"2026-01-15T19:30:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-15T19:34:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/"},"wordCount":185,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["January 2026"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/","url":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/","name":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community - Notes from the Provost","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-15T19:30:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-15T19:34:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/#\/schema\/person\/e38dd5b5368a73beab6a4c2dc42f4b45"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/179\/ninja-forms\/2\/DSCN0491-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1920,"caption":"Photo of a gingerbread house built by first-year engineering students."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/2026\/01\/biig-dogs-end-the-semester-with-creativity-and-community\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BIIG DOGS End the Semester with Creativity and Community"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/","name":"Notes from the Provost","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/#\/schema\/person\/e38dd5b5368a73beab6a4c2dc42f4b45","name":"wallacej","url":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/author\/wallacej\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/613"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2156"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2159,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2156\/revisions\/2159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/provost-notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}