A Celebration of Dawn Staley featuring Robin Roberts – April 27, 2023

The University of South Carolina values educational access and affordability, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion. One of our biggest champions of these efforts is women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley. The April 27, 2023 fundraising event will include a fireside chat between Dawn Staley and special guest Robin Roberts, ABC’s “Good Morning America” co-anchor.

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  About Dawn Staley

  Dawn Staley’s life and career tell a story of grit and determination, overcoming the odds to achieve extraordinary success as a basketball player and coach. Since taking over the struggling South Carolina women’s basketball team in 2008, she has brought home two national championships (2017, 2022) and taken the team to the NCAA tournament 10 times. In 2021, she led the U.S. women’s basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.

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  About Robin Roberts

  An award-winning broadcaster and co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Robin Roberts has traveled the world as an interviewer and reporter. She founded Rock’n Robin Productions, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast and digital production company, and is an author, cancer survivor and MDS survivor. Roberts earned a communications degree and played basketball at Southeastern Louisiana University and was inducted to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. 

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Supported Education Initiatives

The event will highlight three key education initiatives supported through the Dawn Staley Champions Fund: Gamecock Guarantee, the Richard T. Greener Scholarship and the Women’s Basketball Leadership Fund.

Gamecock Guarantee

The Gamecock Guarantee is a need-based financial and academic support program for academically talented first-generation students from South Carolina. The program offers students $4,500 of support per year, additional assistance such as scholarships, as well as access to programs and services that bolster their academic achievement and further enrich their undergraduate experiences.

Richard T. Greener Scholarship

Named in honor of the first Black faculty member at the university, the Richard T. Greener Scholarship is a $2,000, four-year scholarship awarded to incoming minority freshmen based on academic achievement, leadership ability, community service and financial need.

Women’s Basketball Leadership Fund

The Women’s Basketball Leadership Fund improves the overall student-athlete experience by providing resources to foster success on campus and throughout life. Focus areas include leadership training, career resourcing and life skills development.