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Volume 8, Issue 3 

 

In This Issue:  (click links to jump to individual articles)



 

 

Budget
Budget Committee Strong on Need-Based Aid

The need-based Tuition Grants program would receive an additional $2.53 million in state general fund appropriations if the recommendations of the House Ways and Means Committee hold throughout the lengthy budget process. The additional funds would allow the Tuition Grants Commission to increase the maximum award for the 2016-17 academic year from $3,100 to $3,200.
 
The budget committee also recommended that the Higher Education Commission's need-based grant program receive an increase of $4.54 million. The Tuition Grants Commission receives between 16%-17% of the total need-based appropriation--$29.5 million estimated for FY 2016-17-based on the percentage of students attending independent colleges and universities.
 
The Ways and Means Committee funded the anticipated growth in the Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE, and Tuition Assistance scholarships to fully fund the merit-based student financial aid programs.
 
With the exception of additional funding for the academic library consortium PASCAL, SCICU was successful in achieving 100% of its legislative priorities before the Ways and Means Committee. The Higher Education subcommittee of Rep. Jim Merrill (Daniel Island), Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (Orangeburg), and Rep. Phillip Lowe (Florence) was very strong in its support of need-based grants and worked hard to advocate for more funding among the many competing interests before the Ways and Means Committee.
 
The recommendations of the Ways and Means Committee will be deliberated by the House during the week of March 21-24 before moving to the Senate. Friends of independent higher education should use every opportunity to encourage members of the House and Senate to concur with the recommendations of the Ways and Means Committee.

 

 

Fleming
Converse President Fleming Honored for Service

At the end of the 2015-16 academic year, Converse College President Dr. Betsy Fleming will retire after 11 years of distinguished service. During her final months on campus, Dr. Fleming's many friends and colleagues are taking the opportunity to recognize her remarkable accomplishments and the contributions that she has made to Converse College, the greater Spartanburg community, and to her state and nation.
 
On February 11, a delegation from the SCICU Board of Trustees joined with members of the Converse College Board of Trustees, college faculty and staff, and local leaders to celebrate and memorialize Dr. Fleming's decade of achievements.
 
On behalf on the SCICU Board of Trustees, Wofford College President Dr. Nayef Samhat, Spartanburg Methodist College President Scott Cochran, Trustee Kin Britton, and SCICU President Mike LeFever presented Dr. Fleming with a framed Resolution which recognized Dr. Fleming's leadership and the many ways that she contributed to the success of Converse College and the advancement of independent higher education.
 
As stated in the Resolution, SCICU "will miss the advice and counsel of a respected fellow Board member, colleague, mentor, and friend," and upon her retirement, the Board wishes Betsy Fleming "great success, good health, happiness, and personal and professional fulfillment."
 

 
Gainey
Limestone EVP Receives 
State-Wide Higher Ed Award

Limestone College Executive Vice President Dr. Karen Gainey was recently recognized with a prestigious award from the South Carolina Women In Higher Education.

Dr. Gainey received the 2016 Martha Kime Piper Award during a dinner and reception in her honor on Thursday, Feb. 25, in Charleston, as part of the SCWHE Annual Conference.

The Martha Kime Piper Award, named for the first female President of a public higher education institution in the state, is given annually to recognize a woman with a record of advancing and supporting women in higher education and the education of women in South Carolina.  Dr. Piper became Winthrop College's first female President in 1986. At that time, Winthrop had not yet gained university status.

Presidents of higher education institutions across South Carolina are contacted annually to nominate a qualified candidate from their institution. A Committee of the Executive Board of South Carolina Women in Higher Education selects the Piper Award Winner from among the nominees.

Dr. Gainey became Limestone's Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2005, and was also named Executive Vice President in 2008. She came to Limestone in 1994 as Associate Professor of English.

She has served as Chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages, as Chair of the Division of Arts and Letters, as Associate Dean, and as Academic Dean. Since 2001, she has been Montague McMillan Professor of English.

Dr. Gainey earned a B. A. from Clemson University; an M. A. from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; and a Ph.D. from the University of Tulsa.








SCICU Trustees Approve EOY Financial Statements At February 23 Board Meeting

In its spring board meeting held on February 23, 2016 at Newberry College, the SCICU Board of Trustees ratified the end-of-year financial statements for the 2014-2015 fiscal year (September 1, 2014-August 31, 2015).

These statements include SCICU's audited financial statement and its IRS Form 990. Both of these documents may be viewed on the SCICU website.


CIC
SCICU Honors CIC's Ned Moore
At Feb. 23 Board Meeting

In the February 23, 2016 SCICU board meeting, Eddie Shannon, SCICU Executive Vice President, recognized the leadership and higher education advocacy of Ned Moore, Vice President of the Council of Independent Colleges and Executive Director of CIC State Fund Programs.
 
Moore has been a valuable, long-time resource in assisting SCICU with scholarship programs and fundraising initiatives to support SCICU member colleges and universities. In his CIC responsibilities, Moore directs a $39 million endowment that supports scholarships and multi-college collaborations through the CIC State Funds.

Prior to joining the Council of Independent Colleges, Moore's previous leadership responsibilities included serving as president of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and Vice President of institutional advancement at Randolph-Macon College.

Moore is retiring from the Council of Independent Colleges later in 2016.


Sponsors
SCICU Recognizes February 23 Board
Meeting Luncheon Sponsors

SCICU is grateful to Dr. Maurice Scherrens and Newberry College for hosting SCICU's Spring 2016 Board Meeting. Newberry College was originally preparing to host the Fall 2015 Board Meeting, which was cancelled due to historic flooding in South Carolina.
 
SCICU's Board also recognized the following businesses for sponsoring the Board's luncheon:
ABM Business Solutions
American Student Assistance
Aramark Higher Education
Elliott Davis Decosimo
Find Great People
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
Sodexo
SC Student Loan Corporation
TIAA-CREF
Total Comfort Solutions
Wyche Law Firm



Symposium


Milliken & Co. Hosts 2016 Student Research Symposium

Students and faculty from SCICU member colleges and universities gathered at Milliken & Company headquarters in Spartanburg for the 2016 Research Symposium on February 18.

During this annual event, students presented the results from 30 research projects conducted under faculty guidance during 2015.  Twenty-one (21) projects were presented through oral presentations, while the poster session featured the results and findings from 9 research projects.

A list of the research projects funded in the 2015 Student/Faculty Research Program and presented at the 2016 Research Symposium may be viewed here.

SCICU donors graciously provided over $98,000 in funding for these research projects during 2015.  The research donors include the following:
 
Belle W. Baruch Foundation
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Joan S. Coker
The Daniel-Mickel Foundation
Milliken Foundation
Mills B. Lane Memorial Foundation
Debbie S. Nelson
 
With the 2015 projects now completed and in the books, the view turns toward student proposals and submissions for the 2016 Student/Faculty Research program.  The submission deadline for the 2016 program was February 29, 2016.
 
The research evaluation team will convene in March to select projects for 2016 funding.  In late March, students and faculty will be notified and awarded funding.  After funding is awarded and distributed, research for the 2016 program may begin, and will conclude in early December 2016.
 
Research findings and results from the 2016 projects will be presented in the 2017 Research Symposium, which will be held in February 2017.

SCICUGives
SCICU Gives Back to the Community

At a recent awards celebration, the United Way of the Midlands recognized the employees of SCICU with a Gold Award for per capita giving during the 2015-16 Campaign. SCICU's 100% employee participation helped SCICU earn its second consecutive Gold Award.
 
Brenda Torrence, vice president for business affairs, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
 
SCICU also earned recognition as a 2015 Pacesetter, a select group of companies and organizations that choose to complete United Way campaigns before the official launch of campaign season and "set the pace" for the upcoming campaign.


CollegeNews
Member College News

SCICU curates news from its twenty member colleges and universities.  Click here to access college news on the SCICU website.

The following is a sampling of recent member college news:




UpcomingEvents

March

April

June

BusinessPartners

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.

Directory - Click  here  for a complete list of Business Partners.

New Business Partners

SCICU is pleased to announce the following new business partners:


Renewing Business Partners

SCICU is also pleased to announce renewals by the following business partners:

Directory - Click here for a complete list of Business Partners.

ABM Building Solutions, LLC  | American Student Assistance Aramark Higher Education | Blackboard Inc.  | CapinCrouse LLP Coleman Lew + Associates | Craig Gaulden Davis | CSI Leasing, Inc. e-Procurement Services, LLC | e2Campus |   eBridge Business Solutions LLC | eDocHome.com | Elliott Davis Decosimo | Find Great People, LLC | First American Education Finance | Genworth Financial | Gillis Specialty Adverstising | Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA | HRP Associates, Inc.  | INSITE |   McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture | Metz Culinary Management | Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting | Pollock Company | Professional Insurance & Investment Associates | Purple Briefcase | SC Student Loan Corporation | ScholarBuys | Sodexo | Stalwart Systems Group | STEM Premier | Total Comfort Solutions | UnitedHealthcare Student Resources | Verizon | Vulcan Materials Company | Walsh Consulting Group LLC | Winthrop Resources IT Leasing | Wyche, PA







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.




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.