Volume 13 | Issue 8
October 18, 2021
October 2021 News and Notes
Claflin senior business major named 2021 McLean-Smith SCICU Student of the Year
Claflin President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack (R) presents Quentin Seegars (L) with the 2021 McLean-Smith SCICU Student of the Year award.
Quentin Seegars, a senior business major at Claflin University, was announced as the 2021 McLean-Smith SCICU Student of the Year at SCICU's board meeting on Sept. 28.

Honoring the combined legacies of leadership at SCICU and the S.C. Tuition Grants Commission, the award recognizes academic achievement and campus/community involvement made by S.C. Tuition Grants recipients. The award includes a $3,000 scholarship.
Washington update - Playing "Chicken"

Lately, Washington D.C. is littered with steering wheels.

Is "free" really free?
Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez
Jeff Perez, Ph.D.
SCICU President and CEO

Are “free” tuition and fees at two-year colleges really free for South Carolinians?
Click here for a super quick and easy way to send a
message or Tweet to your U.S. Representative and Senators and say "It's time to #DoublePell!"
Please click the photo to watch NAICU's national #DoublePell video.

SCICU and the 21 member campuses will be using Pell Grant student stories and this video beginning this week for a coordinated #DoublePell campaign. If you're on Twitter, please join in and retweet our messages!
Senator Tim Scott addresses SCICU Board of Trustees Sept. 28
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) briefly addressed attendees at the Sept. 28 SCICU Board of Trustees meeting, telling college presidents and trustees that "Pell Grants were important to me during my education at Charleston Southern University."

"We were fortunate that Sen. Scott was able to join us briefly for SCICU's fall board meeting," said Jeff Perez, SCICU president and CEO. "We are thankful for his continued support of the Pell Grant program. Nearly half of the undergraduates at SCICU member institutions rely on Pell Grants to help them attend the college or university of their choice in South Carolina."
South Carolina update - Wait and see

While the Senate has announced no plans, the media is reporting House Judiciary Chairman Chris Murphy (R-Dorchester) expects the House will return to address redistricting by the first week of December.
SCICU board elects new leadership and new trustees

The election of a new board chair, a new Council of College Presidents chair, and seven new trustees highlighted the Sept. 28 virtual business meeting of the SCICU Board of Trustees.

Lucy Grey McIver, deputy general counsel for BlueCross Blue Shield of South Carolina, was elected to a two-year term as chair of the SCICU Board of Trustees. McIver joined the SCICU board in 2014 and has been active on the board’s Public Policy committee. The board named McIver chair-elect in 2019.

SCICU College/University Campus News 

SCICU presents news from its 21 member colleges and universities. Click here to read college news in the newsroom on the SCICU website.

The following is a sampling of recent news from SCICU campuses:

Allen University

Anderson University

Benedict College

Bob Jones University

Charleston Southern University

Claflin University

Coker University

Columbia College

Columbia International University

Converse University

Erskine College

Furman University

Limestone University

Morris College

Newberry College

North Greenville University

Presbyterian College

Southern Wesleyan University

Spartanburg Methodist College

Voorhees College

Wofford College

Click below to access important information from each of the SCICU member colleges and universities:
SCICU Calendar of Events

The SCICU 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 welcomes the following new business partners:


SCICU thanks 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 | Affinity LTC, LLC (Genworth Financial) | Aramark Higher Education | Blackbaud | Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC | Brown Edwards CPA | Brown & Brown South Carolina | Buffkin Baker | CampusLogic | Cantey Tech Consulting | CapinCrouse LLP | CBIZ | Cherry Bekaert, LLC | CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP |Coleman Lew Canny Brown | Colonial Life | Coursedog | Craig Gaulden Davis | Design Collaborative | Diligence, LLC | Dominion Energy | Duke Energy | Elliott Davis | Enterprise Holdings | Find Great People, LLC | First American Education Finance | Gillis Specialty Advertising | Giraffe Web Design | GMK Associates | Gravity Diagnostics LLC | Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA | Hallmark Management Service | HRP Associates, Inc. | Hypersign, LLC | Immedion LLC | Jenzabar | Kognito | Lower Cost Models Consortium | Lockstep Technology Group | MB Kahn Construction Company, Inc. | McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture | Metz Culinary Management | Mindstream | Nephron Pharmaceuticals | P2Ops, LLC | Paymerang (fka AP Advantage) | Pharos Resources, LLC Pioneer College Caterers | Pollock Company | Purple Briefcase | PVC Fittings Online | Regions Bank | Resource Financial Services | S2K Group, Inc. | Schneider Electric | Schooley Mitchell | SC Student Loan Corporation | ScholarBuys | SEGRA (formerly Spirit Communications | SeKON | Sodexo | Spinx Company | Synergi Partners | Tallo (formerly STEM Premier) | Timely MD | TKC Management Services | Total Comfort Solutions | Transact Campus | UnitedHealthcare Student Resources | VEMO Education | Varsity Health | Victor Shoreline | The Virtual Care Group | Vulcan Materials Company | Walsh Consulting Group LLC | Williams & Fudge | Wyche, PA | 


SCICU is a member of the Coalition for College Cost Savings (CCCS). This organization, comprised of 35 member organizations in 33 states, serves more than 1,000 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 Jeff Perez at [email protected] or 803-799-7122. Mailing address: PO Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211.