Elizabeth Davis, Ph.D., became Furman University's 12th President on July 1, 2014. 

Dr. Davis previously served as Executive Vice President and Provost of Baylor University in Texas, where she oversaw the university's 11 schools and colleges as well as more than a dozen research centers and institutes. Her responsibilities at Baylor included leading the university's most recent strategic visioning process, managing a $235 million Academic Affairs annual budget, and overseeing a faculty of more than 935 members. She was also a Professor of Accounting and member of the Baylor faculty since 1992.

Her other administrative roles at Baylor included serving as Vice Provost for Financial and Academic Administration (2004-2008), Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs (2003-04), and Acting Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law (2000-2001). She also served two years as Interim Provost (2008-2010) and, in 2012, assumed interim leadership of Baylor's Development office while the university was searching for a new vice president.

During her time at Baylor, her teaching honors include receiving the Hankamer School of Business Teaching Excellence Award and the Mortar Board Circle of Achievement Award. Davis' scholarly work has appeared in leading journals, and she most recently co-authored the textbook Managerial Accounting with her husband Charles Davis. She is a recipient of the Lybrand Gold Medal awarded by Management Accounting. Before joining Baylor, she spent three years at Arthur Anderson & Co. in New Orleans.

Davis received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor in 1984 and earned her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1992. She has delivered hundreds of addresses throughout the U.S. on issues involving higher education, university leadership, and financial management.
She and her husband, Charles, have two children, Chad and Claire. 

 

You may send your congratulations to her via Twitter @ebeth930 with #WelcomeFurmanPres 

After months of budget hearings, committee meetings, floor debates, and vetoes, the $7 billion general fund budget became law on July 1.

 

For programs of interest to the independent higher education community, the final version of the budget adds $258,784 in lottery funds to the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission. The additional funds, along with an increased share of state need-based grants, will allow the agency to increase the maximum Tuition Grant from $2,900 to $3,000 for academic year beginning this fall.  

 

The Tuition Grants Commission will receive more than $36 million in general and lottery appropriations during FY 2014-15. Thanks to the committed efforts of the Governor and General Assembly over 13,500 South Carolina residents will receive financial assistance to attend one of the state's 21 private non-profit colleges or universities.  

 

This year's budget fully funds the state's merit scholarship programs and directs an additional $2.6 million in nonrecurring state appropriations to the need-based grants program at the Commission on Higher Education. The Tuition Grants Commission will receive a proportionate share-approximately $400,000-of the new money allocated to CHE's need-based grants.  

 

PASCAL, the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries, was given #1 priority consideration for up to $1.5 million in excess unclaimed lottery prize money above the $8.0 million certified level. 

 

For 38 high school counselors, teachers, and coaches, their summer vacations were spent touring unique and varied independent colleges and universities in South Carolina. Each year since 1994, SCICU and its member institutions have sponsored a week-long tour of 10 campuses in order to introduce high school professionals to the outstanding educational opportunities at private non-profit colleges and universities.

 

Under the auspices of the South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Counseling Association, participants in the SCICU Campus Tour program qualify for renewal credits or recertification hours upon completion of the tour and a media-based project that can be used in the workplace to improve students' understanding and knowledge of the academic, extracurricular, and personal growth opportunities at any one of the state's independent liberal arts colleges or universities.

 

This year's program started on June 16 with a general orientation on the campus of Columbia International University which was followed by a tour of CIU before a visit to Morris College in Sumter and dinner at Coker College in Hartsville. The next day, the participants completed their tour of Coker College before travelling to Allen University in Columbia and Newberry College in Newberry. On Wednesday, the group was introduced to Anderson University in Anderson, Limestone College in Gaffney, and Spartanburg Methodist College in Spartanburg. On the last day of the program, the educators visited Wofford College and Converse College before leaving Spartanburg to return to Columbia International University.

 

Transportation, rooms, and meals were provided by SCICU and the host colleges and universities. SCICU is grateful for additional financial support from Mrs. Joan Coker and Mr. and Mrs. James C. Fort of Hartsville and the Spinx Company in Greenville. Bill Brown of Columbia International University and Sami Baird of Newberry College served as guides for the group's whirlwind tour of the state.

 

 

In preparation for the SCICU Board of Trustees Annual Meeting on September 24, SCICU's standing committees have scheduled their summer meetings and are preparing their year-end reports. SCICU's fiscal year runs from September 1 to August 31 of each year.

 

The Nominating Committee will meet on July 9 as the members continue to consider candidates for 8 open positions on the Board of Trustees.

           

On August 7, the Development Committee will meet to evaluate the results of this year's scholarship and fundraising campaigns and recommend goals for FY 2014-15.

 

The Finance Committee will review the current year's budget on August 20 and recommend a new budget for the fiscal year beginning September 1. They also will consider reports on SCICU's two endowment funds and from the recently organized Retirement Plans Advisory Committee.

 

The Public Policy Committee held their summer meeting July 24. At the annual meeting, Chairman Terence Roberts will report on the results of the 2014 legislative campaign.

 

Finally, the Executive Committee will meet on September 3 to consider the reports and recommendations from all the committees.

 

The September 24th board meeting will take place at Wofford College beginning with the business meeting at 10:30 a.m. The presentation of the J. Lacy McLean Independent College Student of the Year and the Sterling L. Smith Scholarship awards will take place during the luncheon. 

 

 

At the Board of Trustees meeting in September, the Development Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Lonnie Emard, will report on its efforts to raise money to fund scholarships at SCICU's 20 member institutions. A key component of the committee's campaign is the strong and unselfish support of SCICU's trustees. Each year, the Development Committee looks forward to receiving 100% support from fellow board members and from the SCICU staff.

 

Individual, corporate, or directed gifts need to be received at the SCICU office by the end of the fiscal year on August 31 to be included in the annual report. For more information, please contact SCICU Executive Vice President Eddie Shannon at eddie@scicu.org. 

We love to post accomplishments of our members on our Member College News section of our website and feature a few of the outstanding links in our monthly newsletter.

 

Here are some of the articles we featured this month:

•  ANDERSON NAMES JOHNNY MANN CENTER FOR COMMERCIAL MUSIC 
• SWU: Baptist Easley Hospital sign agreement
•  Benedict College Social Work Professor Travels to Cuba 

Let us share your news and celebrate your successes. Send your releases to Stephenie Helland at Stephenie@scicu.org.  

 

To see all of our Member College News, please click here. 

SCICU's on-line network of providers offers goods and services to the independent higher education community in South Carolina. The Business Partners program provides a convenient marketplace where SCICU member colleges and universities can preview offerings from some of the top companies in the country. 

We are pleased to announce that the following company has joined as a new business partner:

e-Procurement Services, LLC