May 8, 2020 | The Graduate School

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that thirteen graduate students representing seven colleges have been chosen as 2020-2021 Graduate Civic Scholars. Coming from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, the Scholars include two master’s and eleven doctoral students. The Graduate Civic Scholars Program (GCSP)unievsrity of sout, an innovative professional development opportunity, provides graduate students interested in community and public engagement, action-based research, and social justice with an enhanced understanding of the role of scholarship in these endeavors. The GCSP started in 2015 and is organized by the Graduate School in cooperation with the Career Center, Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of Student Engagement, Graduate Student Association, and Center for Teaching Excellence. Professors Allison Marsh (history) and Breanne Grace (social work) serve as Faculty Directors.  Dr. Marsh discussed the program in the context of our current conditions, 

“The current pandemic brings into sharp focus the importance and value of ‘community.’ As we try to maintain physical distance from others to reduce the spread of disease, we do not want to socially isolate. Thankfully, technology is helping us stay connected. For the first time ever, GCSP will start off entirely online. As one of the program directors, I am excited about the incoming cohort of students and looking forward to seeing how we form a community through virtual interactions.”

― Allison Marsh, GCSP Co-director

The Graduate Civic Scholars for 2020-2021 are:

• Brandi Anderson, College of Social Work (doctoral student)
• Ellie Cooper, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Arnold School of Public Health (doctoral student)
• Quintavis Cureton, Educational Leadership and Policies, College of Education (doctoral student)
• Jingtong Dou, Educational Leadership and Policies, College of Education (doctoral student)
• Wenyu Guo, Instruction and Teacher Education, College of Education (doctoral student)
• Bryan Holloman, Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, College of Medicine (doctoral student)
• Anna Howard, Language and Literacy, College of Education (doctoral student)
• Shudan Huang, Journalism and Mass Communication, College of Information and Communications (doctoral student)
• Frances Hutchful, Journalism and Mass Communication, College of Information and Communications (master’s student)
• Sara Pound, Educational Studies – Special Education, College of Education (doctoral student)
• Hannah Quire, Educational Leadership and Policies, College of Education (master’s student)
• Clint Saidy, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (doctoral student)
• Steve Wahle, College of Social Work (doctoral student)

The Scholars represent seven UofSC colleges: Arts and Sciences; Education; Engineering and Computing; Information and Communications; Medicine; Public Health; and Social Work.

The Graduate Civic Scholars Program emphasizes the importance of collaboration between university and community partners and cohort-based professional development. Scholars in this interdisciplinary program will present their findings at Discover USC in April 2021 and receive a transcript notation upon completion of the program.

In closing, Dr. Grace stated, “As our classes, meetings, and social events have moved online, we are actively redefining the boundaries and definition of community. This transition has highlighted our strengths and inequities. It has forced us to grapple with the realities of the communities we currently inhabit and imagine new opportunities. This summer, Graduate Civic Scholars will move online. I look forward to being part of an interdisciplinary group of scholars considering big questions about communities and research in this moment where such questions are central to our daily lives.”

Contact Dr. Allison Marsh at marsha@mailbox.sc.edu with any questions.