Dr. Georgia Nugent will give the keynote address at SCICU's Board of Trustees Biennial Retreat. The Retreat will begin with a reception and dinner on March 5, 2015, and conclude with a luncheon the next day. The Westin Poinsett Hotel in downtown Greenville will serve as the Retreat's venue.

 

Georgia Nugent, Senior Fellow at the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), served as the president of Kenyon College from 2003-2013.  Before Kenyon's presidency, she held several administrative roles at Princeton University, including assistant to the president.  Prior to her administrative roles, Nugent was a professor of Classics on the faculties of Swarthmore College, Princeton University, and Brown University.  A member of the first class of women to graduate from Princeton, she later became the first alumna appointed to Princeton's faculty. She took her Ph.D. in Classics at Cornell University.  Nugent has received numerous teaching awards and was among the earliest lecturers included in the nationally distributed "Superstar Teachers" series of audio and videotapes. 

 

Dr. Nugent leads the Council on Independent Colleges' Securing America's Future: The Power of Liberal Arts Education campaign.   

Since its launch last month, the number of visitors accessing the digital edition of the 2014 SCICU College Guide has exceeded all previous efforts. Hits in all categories have spiked in recent weeks indicating that the Guide is fast becoming the "go to" media for information about South Carolina's independent colleges and universities.

 

This year's edition features walk-on actor, Jed, who introduces the Guide with a concise statement on the benefits of a liberal arts education and the cost of attendance as a real value proposition. The publication features 2-page profiles of the member colleges and universities, a list of visitation days, and detailed information on federal and state student financial assistance. To emphasize the core principles of teaching and learning on our members' wonderfully diverse campuses, the Guide features the 20 recipients of SCICU's 2014 Excellent in Teaching Award.

 

In addition to hot links, page-flippers, enhanced navigation tools, and campus videos, the new digital edition is formatted for iPhones, iPads, Androids, and other Smart (HTML5) platforms-the social media world of today's students and a growing number of their parents.  

 

SCICU is grateful for this year's sponsors: American Student Assistance, Slice Media, and Wells Fargo.

 

SCICU Board of Trustees Chair Kathy McKinney named Jim Reynolds as the organization's chief integrity officer. This position was created when the Board adopted a Policy for Reporting Improper Conduct in 2010. Mr. Reynolds, CEO and Partner with Total Comfort Solutions in Columbia, is the chair-elect of the SCICU Board of Trustees.

 

According to the policy, the chief integrity officer is a person appointed by the chair of the SCICU Board of Trustees who can assure that there will be a fair and impartial investigation of any allegation of improper conduct and that the outcome of the investigation will be based on the merits. The chief integrity officer reports directly to the Board of Trustees. Allegations of improper conduct may be reported to the CIO at [email protected]. 

 

SCICU's Conflict of Interest Policy requires that all members of the Board of Trustees file a Conflict of Interest Statement annually. The COI statement and accompanying policy were sent to all current trustees last month. Trustees may scan and e-mail the signed form to Stephenie Helland at [email protected], fax the signed form to 803-254-7504, or mail it to P.O. Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211.  

 

Questions with respect to understanding the policy or determining potential conflicts may be addressed to Mike LeFever. 

Five candidates for South Carolina Governor participated in two televised debates leading up to the November 4 general election. And both debates took place on the campuses of SCICU members.

 

The October 14 debate took place on the campus of Charleston Southern University in North Charleston while the October 21 debate was held on the campus of Furman University in Greenville. These were the only debates involving all the candidates for governor held during the 2014 campaign.

 

Participating in the debates were incumbent Governor Nikki Haley (R), State Senator Vincent Sheheen (D), Tom Ervin (I), Steve French (L), and Morgan Reeves (UC). 

 

Mike Wilson, Duke Energy's District Manager, Government and Community Relations, is leaving his corporate position to become the Executive Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement at Furman University. Mike has been a member of the SCICU Board of Trustees and Public Policy Committee since 2009. During that time, Duke Energy increased its support for South Carolina's independent colleges and universities to become one of SCICU's most prominent corporate sponsors.

              

A native of Iva, Mike attended Furman on a football scholarship and graduated with a BA in political science in 1988. He also holds an MBA from Winthrop University. SCICU will miss Mike's contributions as a member of the Board, but is pleased that he will be staying in the family. 

Member College News

 

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.