Volume 12 | Issue 7
September 21, 2020
September 2020 News and Notes
News highlights include:

  • How are SCICU campuses doing this fall? - Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez
  • S. C. General Assembly update - COVID-19 funding, state budget, and COVID-19 liability protection
  • Federal update - All eyes return to D.C. for Supreme Court nomination
  • Fall campus operations/response to COVID-19 at SCICU colleges and universities
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of S.C. makes multi-year donations to SCICU HBCUs
  • SCICU campus admissions pivot to month-long virtual college fair
  • Seven SCICU schools participating in SCINBRE - statewide biomedical research program
  • SCICU to hold first-ever virtual board of trustees meeting Oct. 7
  • SCICU college/university campus news
  • 2020 upcoming SCICU events
  • Business partners
SCICU COVID-19 resources - updated September 21

Click here for a curated list of COVID-19 advisories for colleges and universities, including updates and resources for South Carolina and the United States.
How are SCICU campuses doing this fall?
Message from Jeff Perez
Jeff Perez, Ph.D.
SCICU President and CEO
I continue to be impressed and humbled by the leadership demonstrated by our campus presidents and their teams in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are to be commended for the depth and breadth of the COVID-19 planning for the fall semester.
S.C. General Assembly Update
COVID-19 funding - Both chambers are debating allocation of federal CARES Act funds.

State budget - Will there be a budget this year?

COVID-19 liability protection - COVID-19 Liability Safe Harbor Act legislation is introduced in the Senate.

Federal Update

All eyes return to D.C. for Supreme Court nomination.




Fall campus operations/response to COVID-19 pandemic at SCICU colleges and universities
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina makes $8 million multi-year donation to SCICU HBCUs

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is committing $8 million in multi-year support to Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, and Voorhees College. These funds will help with immediate financial needs to ensure sustainability and assist in getting as many students as possible to begin or continue their education with these institutions.

SCICU campus admissions pivot to fall 2020 virtual month-long college fair

COVID-19 has left nothing untouched, including college fairs, the long-time rite of passage for high schoolers in the college selection process.

SCICU colleges and universities are embracing the pivot to virtual and online events through their participation in the four-week Virtual College Exploration sponsored by the Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (CACRAO). In its 50 years of operations, CACRAO has managed and hosted many college fairs throughout South Carolina and North Carolina.

Seven SCICU schools participating in SC INBRE statewide biomedical research programs
Seven SCICU member institutions are joining 11 other colleges and universities in the National Institutes of Health-funded biomedical college research network in South Carolina. SC INBRE (SC IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) promotes research collaboration among South Carolina’s comprehensive research universities (Clemson, USC, and MUSC) and predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs).
SCICU to hold first-ever virtual board of trustees meeting Oct. 7
Just as its 20 member colleges and universities have increased remote learning capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, SCICU is also responding with moving its fall board meeting to a virtual session on Oct. 7. Normally hosted on the campus of a member college or university campus, SCICU's fall board meeting typically gathers 80+ trustees, presidents, and business partners.



SCICU College/University Campus News 

SCICU curates news from its twenty 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 and Benedict College

Anderson University

Charleston Southern University

Claflin University

Coker University

Columbia College

Columbia International University

Converse College

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:
2020 Upcoming 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 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 | Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC | CampusLogic | Cantey Tech Consulting | CapinCrouse LLP | Cherry Bekaert, LLC | Coleman Lew Canny Brown | Colonial Life | Craig Gaulden Davis | 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 | Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA | Hallmark Management Service | HRP Associates, Inc. | Hypersign, LLC | Immedion LLC | Jenzabar | Lockstep Technology Group | MB Kahn Construction Company, Inc. | McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture | Metz Culinary Management | Nephron Pharmaceuticals | P2Ops, LLC | Paymerang (fka AP Advantage) | Pioneer College Caterers | Pollock Company | Purple Briefcase | PVC Fittings Online | Regions Bank | Resource Financial Services | S2K Group, Inc. | SC Student Loan Corporation | ScholarBuys | SEGRA (formerly Spirit Communications | Sodexo | Spinx Company | Tallo (formerly STEM Premier) | Timely MD | Total Comfort Solutions | UnitedHealthcare Student Resources | VEMO Education | Victor Shoreline | 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 33 member organizations in 32 states, serves close to 900 higher education institutions and 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 jeff@scicu.org or 803-799-7122. Mailing address: PO Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211.