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comes a new Board of Trustees leader, namely Chairman Douglas Gantt.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as board chair for the last three years. I continue to feel likewise serving on the Board of Trustees,” Jenkins said. “Going forward, I offer my support to Chairman Gantt as he transitions into his new role. I truly believe SCSU’s trajectory is headed in the right direction to enhance the university’s mission. Bulldog tenacity rings loud. God bless SCSU.”
Gantt is a resident of North Augusta, South Carolina, and is in leadership at Pfizer Inc., an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation. He has served on the board from the 2nd Congressional District since 2019.
The board also elected Dr. Macie Smith as its vice chair. She succeeded Trustee Donnie Shell in the role. Smith also has served on the board since 2019. She received her bachelor's degree in social work and master's in rehabilitation counseling from SC State. She earned her doctorate in higher education leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She is a licensed gerontology social worker.
Civil engineering degree concentration in fire protection engineering
The Board of Trustees approved the administration’s request to add a fire protection engineering concentration in SC State’s civil engineering program. Few institutions in the nation and none in South Carolina offer bachelor’s degree programs in fire protection engineering. Every year positions in the field go unfilled.
Primarily, SC State would produce graduates qualified to meet the fire protection engineering needs of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SNRS), leaders of which asked SC State to offer this program. Company officials have expressed their readiness to work with SC State in developing the program.
Secondarily, SC State would produce graduates to fill the growing need for fire protection engineers in the state and across the nation.
According to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, fire protection engineering is the application of the principles of engineering and science to protect people and their environment from destructive fire. This includes:
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Analysis of fire hazards; mitigation of fire damage by proper design, construction, arrangement, and the use buildings, materials, structure, industrial processes, and transportation systems.
- The design, installation and maintenance of fire detection and suppression and communication systems.
- Post-fire investigation and analysis.
Department of Educational Leadership
The board also approved the administration’s request to reinstate the Department of Educational Leadership in the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.
The vote allows the college to return to offering three graduate programs:
- Educational Specialist degree (Ed. S.) leading to the principal and superintendency.
- Educational Specialist degree (Ed. S.) leading to the superintendency.
- Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.).
Tenure and promotion
The board also approved the administration’s faculty tenure and promotion recommendations:
Promoted from assistant professor to associate professor were Dr. Biswal Biswajit (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science), Dr. Rashad Anderson (Education), Dr. Jagruti Sahoo (Mathematics and Computer Science), Dr. James Shumpert (Human Sciences) and Mr. Alex Thierry (Visual and Performing Arts). Anderson, Shumpert and Thierry also were awarded tenure.
Promoted from associate professor to full professor were Dr. Rosetta Dingle (Visual and Performing Arts), Dr. Kelli Feng (Business), Dr. Guohua Ma (Business Administration) and Dr. Judith Mwakalonge (Civil and Mechanical Engineering Technology).
South Carolina Senate recognizes SC State Bulldog ROTC Battalion’s 75th Anniversary
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