College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management
Faculty and Staff
Kate Blanton, Ph.D.
| Title: | Academic Advisor |
| Department: | Office of Student Services College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management |
| Email: | blanton2@mailbox.sc.edu |
| Phone: | 803-777-9554 |
| Fax: | 803-777-6778 |
| Office: | Close-Hipp 676 |
Background
Ph.D., Foundations in Education, University of South Carolina
M.E., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Cincinnati
B.S., Secondary Education, Integrated Language Arts, Bowling Green State University
Kate Blanton is an academic advisor in the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina. She advises more than 300 sport and entertainment management undergraduate students, with particular expertise in transfer student support, degree planning and student success and retention initiatives.
Blanton began her career as a high school English teacher in Ohio before transitioning into higher education as both faculty member and academic advisor at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Her professional philosophy centers on relationship-building, student empowerment and helping students connect their academic experiences to meaningful professional pathways.
Blanton earned her Ph.D. in education (foundations in education) from the University of South Carolina in 2025. Her scholarship focuses on African American educational advocacy, educational equity and the history of school desegregation in the American South. Her doctoral research examined African American community advocacy and educational equity efforts in Botetourt County, Virginia. She has presented her research at national and regional conferences, including the History of Education Society, the Southern History of Education Society and the American Educational Studies Association.
In addition to advising, Blanton serves as an adjunct instructor, having taught courses across HRSM and the College of Education, including ethics in sport and entertainment management, professional communications, schools in communities, antiracist education and university 101. Her teaching emphasizes ethical leadership, social responsibility and the role of education in shaping communities.
She is the recipient of the 2024 Ada B. Thomas Outstanding Advisor Award and has twice received the M. Stuart Hunter Award for Outstanding Teaching in university 101.
In the Media
- USC to offer course on Taylor Swift. Are you ready for it?: Post & Courier
- USC entering its Taylor era, offering class on pop icon Swift: ABC Columbia
- Gamecocks (Taylor’s Version): USC adds Taylor Swift business, entertainment course: WSOC
- Have a Blank Space in your schedule? USC is offering a new Taylor Swift course: The State
- It's a college class at USC (Taylor's Version): WLTX
Teaching
- University 101
- EDFI 300 – Schools in Communities
- EDFI 350 – Antiracist Education
- SPTE 385 – Ethics in SPTE
- RETL 242 – Professional Communication
- SPTE 490 – Life is Just a Classroom (Taylor’s Version)
Professional affiliations
- NACADA – National Academic Advising Association
- AERA – American Educational Research Association
- AESA – American Educational Studies Association
- HES – History of Education Society