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Volume 10, Issue 2 - February 2018
In This Issue:
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Legislative Update: Ways and Means Committee Continues Work on FY 2018-19 State Budget
COLUMBIA, SC - The second regular session of the 122nd South Carolina General Assembly began on January 9, 2018. One week later, Katie Harrison, executive director of the South Carolina Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission, presented the Commission's budget request for FY 2018-19 to the House Ways and Means Committee's Higher Education subcommittee.
Securing an additional $2.13 million for the Tuition Grants Program is the first legislative priority for both the Tuition Grants Commission and SCICU (
SCICU's 2018 Legislative Strategic Plan and
2018 Legislative Priorities and Quick Facts are available on the
Advocacy page of SCICU's website.). Tuition Grants are need-based grants available to South Carolina residents who attend in-state, private non-profit colleges or universities. The South Carolina Tuition Grants Commission requested an additional $2.13 million from the subcommittee in order to increase the maximum individual student award from $3,200 to $3,350 for the academic year beginning in August 2018.
SCICU's second legislative priority supports full funding for the state's merit-based scholarship programs (Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, and HOPE). This year the state merit-based scholarship programs cost an estimated $300 million. These programs are funded primarily by the Education Lottery. Unless changes are made to the programs' eligibility or award criteria, scholarship funding may have to increase by as much as $20.4 million to accommodate an additional 8,000 students who will qualify under the second year phase-in of the high school grading policy which changed to a 10-point scale from a 7-point scale in 2016.
The Ways and Means Committee has set aside the week of February 20-22 to complete the final committee draft of the FY 2018-19 state budget. A key factor in establishing next year's spending will be the General Revenue Forecast prepared by the State Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, which is due on February 15.
While revenues have generally been up, new revenue will not be enough to cover the growing demand for government services and programs. In addition to outstanding needs identified by state agencies and public colleges and universities, legacy needs like funding for teacher and public employee pay raises, schools in the I-95 corridor, an underfunded state pension system, and the needs of local governments must be addressed. Also outstanding is the potential impact that federal taxes cuts will have on the State's ability to collect revenue.
Additional recent
Advocacy news releases are available on the SCICU website.
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Dr. Luns Richardson, Former Morris
College President, Dies at Age 89
Dr. Luns C. Richardson, former president of Morris College, passed away on January 13 at age 89. Richardson was president of Morris College for 43 years and was the longest-sitting college president in South Carolina. The United Negro College Fund recognized Dr. Richardson as their longest-serving member president.
After 43 years of service as Morris College's president, Richardson retired on June 30, 2017. He was elected as the college's ninth president in 1974. During his tenure, Richardson presided over the construction of 17 buildings on the Morris College campus and was instrumental in growing the institution's endowment from $30,000 to more than $12 million. Under Richardson's leadership, Morris College achieved its initial Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accreditation in December 1978, a full year ahead of schedule. He directed the college's reaffirmation of accreditation in 1983, 1993, 2003, and 2012 with no deficiencies.
In January 1982, Morris College was accepted into the United Negro College Fund as a member institution. In January 2010, the college received its largest and most generous individual gift of $10 million from Dr. Solomon Jackson, Jr.
In addition to serving as Morris College's president, Richardson was pastor of Thankful Baptist Church (Bamberg, SC) for 56 years.
Two services were held for Dr. Richardson. Morris College held the first service on January 19, and the second service was held at Jerusalem Baptist Church (Hartsville, SC) on January 20.
Memorial contributions are requested be sent to Morris College, Office of Church Relations, for the Luns C. Richardson Endowed Scholarship.
For further information, please contact Anika V. Cobb, Morris College Director of Public Relations, at 803-934-3168 or acobb@morris.edu.
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Statewide College Access/Affordability Town Hall Series Continues February 15 in Charleston
Following significant public interest/participation in College Access and Affordability Town Halls in Greenville and Columbia, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) will continue its statewide town hall series with a February 15 event at the Lowcountry Graduate Center in North Charleston. Location and meeting details may be viewed
here.
Town halls in Greenville (January 11) and Columbia (February 1) were both filled to standing-room-only capacity with civic leaders, parents, and other parties interested and concerned with higher education opportunities in South Carolina. CHE Commissioners, CHE staff, and SCICU representatives were in attendance at the Greenville and Columbia town halls. CHE Chair Tim Hofferth presented at both events. Hofferth's presentation from the Columbia town hall may be viewed and downloaded
here.
Per Dr. Karen Woodfaulk, CHE's Director of Student Affairs, members from the community were open and willing to share their experiences and stories at the Greenville and Columbia town halls. Audience participation from families and members of the community is needed at all town hall events. If you know someone who would like to share their experiences with the current higher education system in South Carolina, please have them reach out to Andrew Roof at CHE (email: aroof@che.sc.gov, phone: 803-730-5638). Educational leaders, school guidance counselors, members of county legislative delegations, and business/civic leaders are invited to attend the town halls and hear feedback from students and parents.
After the next College Access and Affordability Town Hall on February 15 in North Charleston, the statewide town hall series will continue as follows:
City |
Date |
Time |
Event
Location |
| Rock Hill |
March 1 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
| Myrtle Beach |
March 15 |
5:30 pm |
TBD
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| Spartanburg |
April 5 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
| Beaufort |
April 19 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
| Florence |
May 3 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
| Aiken |
May 17 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
| Anderson |
June 7 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
| Orangeburg |
June 21 |
5:30 pm |
TBD |
For more information and specific event host locations for upcoming town halls, please contact Andrew Roof, CHE administrative coordinator (email: aroof@che.sc.gov, telephone: 803-730-5638).
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(L-R) Converse President, Krista L. Newkirk; University Center of Greenville CEO and President, David Taylor; Converse Dean of Graduate Studies and Distance Education, Lienne Medford; and Converse Provost, Jeffrey R. Barker.
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Converse Joins SCICU Members Anderson and Furman at University Center of Greenville
GREENVILLE, SC -- Converse College and the University Center of Greenville, Inc. (UCG) announce the addition of Converse College as the University Center's seventh Academic Member. Converse will begin offering its co-educational Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Early Childhood Education degree at the University Center in July 2018, and plans to expand with several additional programs in the near future. Converse's MAT will meet the high demand in the greater Greenville area for college graduates seeking a career in teaching, and will help address teacher shortages at the state and national levels.
Converse anticipates launching its Master of Marriage and Family Therapy degree at UCG in fall 2019, and is actively working on other programs to announce soon.
As an Academic Member of UCG, Converse joins SCICU member institutions Anderson University and Furman University, as well as Clemson University, Greenville Technical College, the University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina Upstate.
"Converse is rapidly growing, with our undergraduate enrollment at a 25-year high and graduate program offerings expanding on campus, online, in 35 school districts across our state, and now also at the University Center in Greenville. Our new presence in Greenville will provide convenient access to students in this area and will help to fill Greenville's workforce development needs," said Converse President Krista Newkirk. "Opening with our graduate programs at UCG - and particularly with our MAT that is in such high demand for career-changers interested in early childhood education - is the perfect launch pad for our continued growth."
David A. Taylor, CEO and President of UCG, welcomed Converse as a member of the University Center, commenting, "The addition of prestigious Converse College to UCG's collaboration of the region's leading universities further strengthens our ability to fulfill UCG's mission of advancing access and attainment of higher education degrees, benefitting the citizens and economic community of greater Greenville, South Carolina."
Please click
here to read more on the SCICU website.
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Benedict, Claflin, and Furman Faculty Researchers Receive EPSCoR/IDeA Funding
This program was developed to strengthen South Carolina's research capacity and research competitiveness and encourage collaboration between comprehensive research universities and predominantly undergraduate institutions in South Carolina.
SC EPSCoR (
Established
Program to
Stimulate
Competitive
Research) receives funding for SRP proposals from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and NASA.
SC EPSCoR's independent evaluators reviewed 29 proposals for SRP funding in late 2017, and announced the four winners in early January 2018. The four proposals are each eligible for up to $300,000 for two years of project team research.
The four projects selected for 2018-2019 funding are as follows:
Data-driven optimization of bioengineered vascular scaffolds as an advanced material for small diameter blood vessel replacement
Primary Investigator: Wayne Carver, USC School of Medicine
Co-PIs: Derrick Swinton, Claflin University; John Eberth, USC; William Richardson, Clemson University; and Matthew Stern, Winthrop University
Anaerobic membrane bioreactors as a next-generation technology to address the food-energy water nexus
Primary Investigator: Scott Husson, Clemson University
Co-PIs: Jessica Ferrer, Benedict College;
Brannon Andersen, Furman University; Nicole Berge, USC; Sudeep Popat, Clemson University; and Gary Amy, Clemson.
High Performance Li-S Batteries
Primary Investigator: Apparao Rao, Clemson University.
Co-PIs:
Marlena Washington, Claflin University; Ramakrishna Podilla, Clemson University; Simona Onori, Clemson University; John Weidner, USC; and Narayanan Kuthirummal, College of Charleston.
Intersection of epigenetic regulation and mitochrondrial function in autism
Primary Investigator: Jeff Twiss, USC
Co-PIs:
Omar Bagasra, Claflin University;
Linnea Freeman, Furman University; Luigi Boccuto, Greenwood Genetic Center; Kevin Champaigne, Clemson University; and Sofia Lizarraga, USC.
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Dr. Elizabeth Davis
President, Furman University
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Furman President Elected to CIC
National Board of Directors
Davis will serve a one-year term from January 2018 to January 2019. The elections were held during a meeting of the Board of Directors on Jan. 4.
"The Council is pleased to have Elizabeth Davis as a Board member," said CIC President Richard Ekman. "CIC continues to implement many new programs, projects and services and needs a strong Board of Directors to oversee their planning and execution. I am certain that Dr. Davis will serve the Council admirably, and I look forward to working with her."
CIC is the only national higher education association that focuses solely on providing services and a broad range of initiatives directly to independent colleges and universities to help improve the quality of education and strengthen institutional resources.
"It is an honor and a privilege to serve on the board of the Council of Independent Colleges," Davis said. "The organization does very important work in higher education, and I'm happy to be a part of that effort. I look forward to being actively involved in addressing the issues that affect institutions like Furman and all of higher education."
Davis became Furman's 12th president on July 1, 2014. Under her leadership, the university has instituted
The Furman Advantage, a distinctive vision for higher education centered on a comprehensive student experience.
She is a member of the Council of Presidents, an advisory group of college and university chief executives who provide guidance to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Davis is a member of the South Carolina Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission and serves on the
SCICU Board of Trustees. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
Before coming to Furman, President Davis spent 22 years at Baylor University in Texas, where she most recently held the position of Executive Vice President and Provost. She is a graduate of Baylor, and earned her Ph.D. from Duke University.
For more information, contact Furman's News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107 or vince.moore@furman.edu.
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Allen University Institute for Civility Hosting Two Workshops February 12
COLUMBIA, SC -- Allen University's Institute for Civility, along with Project South, will be hosting two workshops on February 12. The two events, which are free and open to the public, will be held in the Chapelle Auditorium on the Allen University Campus.
The two February 12 events are as follows:
Movement Lawyering Workshop by Project South
February 12, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Allen University
The Gallery in Chapelle Auditorium
Co-presenters for this workshop will be Project South's Legal and Advocacy Director, Azadeh Shahshahani, and Manzoor Cheema, a Project South Regional Organizer. Shahshahani is an internationally-recognized human rights lawyer. She is a past president of the National Lawyers Guild and a director at the ACLU of Georgia. Cheema has worked in anti-racism and workers' rights movements since 2005. For more background information on these leaders, please see Project South's leadership page.
Imprisoned Justice: Inside Two Immigrant Detention Centers in Georgia
February 12, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Allen University
The Gallery in Chapelle Auditorium
Azadeh Shahshahani, Legal and Advocacy Director for Project South, will lead this event. Shahshahani will talk about immigration detention in the United States and will present the findings of the May 2017 report "Imprisoned Justice Inside Two Georgia Immigrant Detention Centers". Project South and the Penn State Law Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic published this report based on interviews with more than 70 detained immigrants, immigration attorneys, and tours of the Stewart Detention Center and the Irwin County Detention Center.
For customized driving directions to Allen University, please click here.
For more information on these two events at Allen University, please contact Deborah Billings (dbillings08@gmail.com) or Dr. Charlene Spearen (cspearen@allenuniversity.edu).
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Allen University's Historic Chappelle Auditorium
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SCICU Spring
Board of Trustees Meeting
Scheduled for March 14 at Allen University
Allen University will host the next SCICU Board of Trustees meeting on March 14, 2018.
The Spring Board Meeting will be preceded by the Council of College Presidents breakfast and meeting 9:00 - 10:00 am.
Registration for at-large trustees will begin at 9:30. Presidents will join at-large trustees for the business meeting at 10:30 am in historic Chappelle Auditorium.
Links for online registration have been sent to member college/university presidents and all at-large trustees. Additional information regarding the Board meeting will follow at a later date.
Please click here for additional information regarding SCICU's Spring 2018 Board Meeting.
More information regarding the renovation of Allen University's historic Chappelle Auditorium may be read here.
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2017-2018 SCICU Digital College
Guide
Available Online
SCICU's 2017-18 College Guide is now available online! This digital guide to twenty independent colleges and universities in South Carolina is designed for easy viewing on mobile devices (
and it's easy to share with friends, too!).
The guide includes detailed scholarship and financial aid info, and is full of other tips to help parents and students choose the college or university that best suits their higher education needs.
Please click
here to access SCICU's 2017-18 Digital College Guide.
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SCICU curates news from its twenty member colleges and universities. Click
here to read college news on the SCICU website.
The following is a sampling of recent member college news:
Coker College
Furman University
Spartanburg Methodist College
Click below to access important information on each of the SCICU member colleges and universities:
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February 2018
March 2018
April 2018
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The Business Partners program provides a convenient marketplace in which SCICU member colleges and universities can preview offerings tailored to the needs of the higher education community in South Carolina.
SCICU recognizes the following Business Partners for their renewals:
Directory - Click
here
for a complete list of Business Partners, or access information on individual Business Partners via the links shown below.
ABM Building Solutions, LLC |
Acumen IT, LLC |
Affinity LTC, LLC (Genworth Financial) |
Aramark Higher Education |
Blackboard |
Cantey Tech Consulting |
CapinCrouse LLP |
Church Mutual Insurance Company |
Coleman Lew + Associates |
Collegiate Financial Services (IOA) |
Craig Gaulden Davis |
CSI Leasing, Inc. |
Elliott Davis |
Find Great People, LLC |
First American Education Finance |
Gillis Specialty Adverstising |
Giraffe Web Design |
Harper Corporation General Contractors |
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA |
Howard Techonology Solutions |
HRP Associates, Inc. |
Hypersign, LLC |
The LearningHouse, Inc. |
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture |
Met@data IT LLC |
Metz Culinary Management |
Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting |
National Management Resources Corporation |
P2Ops, LLC |
Paymerang (f/k/a AP Advantage) |
Pioneer College Caterers |
Pollock Company |
Purple Briefcase |
S2K Group, Inc. |
SC Student Loan Corporation |
ScholarBuys |
Sodexo |
Spirit Communications |
STEM Premier |
Total Comfort Solutions |
UnitedHealthcare Student Resources |
Vulcan Materials Company |
Walsh Consulting Group LLC |
Wells Fargo Insurance Services |
Wyche, PA |
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SCICU is a member of the Coalition for College Cost Savings (CCCS). This organization, comprised of 33 member organizations in 30 states, serves more than 900 higher education institutions and over 3 million students across the United States. The organization and staff are dedicated to helping private higher education institutions improve processes and reduce costs through collaboration.
All SCICU member colleges and universities have access to CCCS's national contracts and services. More information on this important benefit may be found here.
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News & Notes is published by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. Please send all comments or questions to SCICU President & CEO Mike LeFever at mike@scicu.org or 803-799-7122. Mailing address: PO Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211.
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