2017 Archive

Exercise science in action

No. 1! UofSC sport science programs top national rankings

December 20, 2017, Allen Wallace

The University of South Carolina’s sport science programs are ranked No. 1 in the United States for the second year in a row, and No. 4 in the world by ShanghaiRanking's 2017 Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments.

Capstone adulting series

Adulting 101

December 13, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

This semester, Capstone Scholars were offered an array of workshops that taught them valuable skills that are not offered in the typical classroom environment.

Billy Buckner

Comeback win

December 12, 2017, Chris Horn

It’s been 13 years since Billy Buckner played baseball for the University of South Carolina, memorably striking out 16 batters one afternoon against Clemson and winning seven games in the 2004 season. Now, after taking several online classes and on campus, he has a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies from the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.

capstone scholars

Gateway to adventure

November 30, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

Whether heights, spiders or dark corners, we all have fears that need facing. Students in the Capstone Scholars program are encouraged to address their fears head-on and realize their potential through the Personal Challenge — a pillar of the Capstone experience that requires students to step out of their comfort zones and try something new.

Kathleen Parker

Washington Post columnist gives personal archive to UofSC

November 20, 2017, Peggy Binette

Students and scholars will have a richer understanding of contemporary politics and culture thanks to Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker. The 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner who lives in Camden, South Carolina, and writes the nation’s most widely syndicated column, has given her personal archive to the University of South Carolina Libraries’ South Carolina Political Collections.

President Pastides

Think Twice UofSC

November 17, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

On a campus with almost 1,800 international students from 95 different counties, the University of South Carolina has supreme rankings when it comes to accommodating those from various backgrounds. While the environment is welcoming to all, a few students are taking the initiative to stop subtle acts of discrimination that often go unnoticed.

Dr. Grady

Doing big things together

November 13, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

It’s not every day that a simple interaction with a professor leads you to the Olympics, or even to finding a trusted mentor, but it is for students who are lucky enough to interact with John Grady. After 13 years at the University of South Carolina, these inspiring interactions have resulted in Grady being honored with the 2017 Outstanding Advocate for First-Year Students Award.

Students ride the shuttle.

Crosstown Traffic

November 09, 2017, Craig Brandhorst

Life on an urban campus comes with lots of traffic. But it’s not just car traffic, especially these days, and it’s not all bad. With the surge in private and public-private student housing downtown, and improvements to bike lanes and shuttle service, the campus commute doesn’t have to be a headache. In fact, for many students, ditching the drive provides a welcome improvement to quality of life.

Dance preview

Creating the dancer

November 09, 2017, Page Ivey

Stacey Calvert has been a devotee of choreographer George Balanchine since she was a young dancer. “The choreography is brilliant; it’s beyond brilliant,” she says. "It’s super organic to dance. As a dancer, it makes perfect sense.” That is why Calvert has staged a Balanchine program every spring for the past 14 years as a dance professor at the University of South Carolina.

Karlye Denner

Undergraduate research opens door to opportunity

November 03, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

Pre-med sophomore Karlye Denner was working at a Columbia health clinic when she began to notice the high number of Latino patients who seemed at risk for diabetes. Intrigued, the Capstone Scholar from Closter, New Jersey, applied for a Magellan Apprentice Undergraduate Research Grant to conduct independent research on the issue.

Dr. Ross

A thousand passions, 1 heartbeat

October 20, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

University of South Carolina College of Education alumnus and Chapin High School principal, Akil Ross, was named the 2018 National Principal of the Year on Friday, October 20. The honor is the culmination of a passionate career as an educator that began just a few miles away from our campus 16 years ago.

Lava flows in the Galapagos

Gamecocks in the Galápagos

October 16, 2017, Allen Wallace

For the second year in a row, UofSC is taking students to one of the rarest classrooms in the world: the Galapagos Islands. The cross-disciplinary study abroad program offers diverse lessons, but the overarching theme is sustainability.

Brandon Harrison in class

Advancing educational equity for African-American children

October 11, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

Rapping the words to the U.S. Constitution might seem odd — unless you’re a student in one of Brandon Harrison’s classes. Harrison, and other public school teachers, are collaborating with education professors here at Carolina to identify which methods work best when teaching African-American students.

Choosing right, when all the choices are correct

September 25, 2017, John Brunelli

May 2017 graduates of the University of South Carolina College of Nursing set a new record on the National Council Licensure Examination, the standardized test used for the licensing of nurses in the U.S. The cohort of 158 nursing students earned a pass rate of 99.3 percent. The year-to-date average for the college is 98.3 percent. The national average is approximately 83.6 percent.

Smart Start Nursing Program

A Smart Start to a nursing career

September 25, 2017, Megan Sexton

Starting this fall, a cohort of nursing majors in the South Carolina Honors College will start on the path to a career that might include research and academia — along with clinical nursing practice. The Smart Start Nursing Program allows Honors College students to be automatically accepted into the upper division of the College of Nursing.

Binda in Senegal

From refugee to global education advocate

September 22, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

At just 6 years old, Noella “Binda” Niati was forced to flee her home in the Democratic Republic of Congo, amid intense violence and political upheaval. More than two decades later, she is headed back to Africa to study ways to encourage children, especially girls, to stay in school longer.

Emily Suski and Lisa Martin

Clinical approach

September 19, 2017, Chris Horn

The School of Law is launching two new legal clinics this academic year. A medicolegal clinic will team law students with medical students, medical residents and physicians to improve health outcomes for pediatric patients, while a domestic violence clinic will focus on protection, advocacy and community education.

Call it a calling

September 18, 2017, Megan Sexton

Many instructors in University 101, Carolina’s seminar for incoming freshmen, are using the First-Year Reading Experience book in their classrooms this semester. “Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work,” by StoryCorps founder Dave Isay, is filled with stories of people who have found their path to doing what they believe they were meant to do.

Cocky statue on campus

Get ready for a Cocky weekend

September 07, 2017, Megan Sexton

On Sept. 15, a 6-foot-5, 773-pound bronze statue of the beloved mascot will be dedicated in front of Davis College, just off Greene Street next to the Melton Observatory. Cocky is seated on a bench, with one hand raised high with a spurs-up sign. His other hand rests on a stack of books, a nod to Cocky’s role as a literacy leader around the state.

Revamping a campus tradition

August 30, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

The introduction of Carolina Food Co., the new food service contractor, left many students wondering about the new changes to the dining halls on campus. Carolina Food Co. has rebranded many favorites, but the most striking is what they've done to Chicken Finger Wednesday.

Aramark food services

Bon appétit!

August 29, 2017, Chris Horn

USC’s new food service contract with Aramark promises to bring big changes to the campus dining scene, both in restaurant options and dining facilities.One of the highlights of the 15-year contract is $79 million in dining facility improvements and new construction

health center

Wellness revealed

August 01, 2017, Chris Horn

With its soothing interior colors, lush plants, comfy seating and walls of windows, the new student health center might become the next cool place for students to hang out. And if that happens, executive director of student health services Debbie Beck will be more than a little pleased.

D.J. Bron

From trooper to magistrate, with help from Palmetto College

July 25, 2017, Megan Sexton

With his newly earned degree from the University of South Carolina Upstate, D.J. Bron traded in his S.C. Highway Patrol uniform for a magistrate’s robe this summer. It's a position he couldn't have imagined without Palmetto College, part of the university system that offers online bachelor’s degree completion programs.

jeffries

When tracking math students doesn't add up

July 21, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

Education professor Rhonda Jeffries and graduate student Hope Reed wanted to close the achievement gap for underrepresented students, specifically those tracked to be in remedial classes. So, they took a risk with a group of freshman students at Blythewood High School and conducted a secret experiment of sorts that proved to be powerful.

stamps scholars

UofSC doubles number of Stamps Scholars, its highest scholarship award

July 14, 2017, Peggy Binette

The University of South Carolina has a long history of attracting the best and brightest students to the university and its top-ranked South Carolina Honors College with significant funded scholarships. Five exemplary out-of-state students will join those ranks with the help of a gift from the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation, founded by Penny and E. Roe Stamps IV of Miami.

erin holmes

A hand up

July 06, 2017, Melinda Waldrop

After a year-and-a-half of work, Carolina graduate student Derek Bedenbaugh is a chapter away from finishing his dissertation examining disability and gender roles in 19th century British literature. Bedenbaugh’s journey to that momentous occasion has been made smoother thanks to the Bilinski Educational Foundation.

Student works on reading

The hidden parents of South Carolina

June 26, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

Raised by a Cuban father and Colombian mother in Boston, Massachusetts, Julia López-Robertson experienced first-hand the challenges that come with being a member of an underrepresented population in America. Now as a professor in the College of Education, she is helping other Latino families through her research and outreach.

Intramural sports team

Columbia Summer Challenge

June 01, 2017, Jalesa Cooley and Abby Webb

Summer is in and classes are out, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend your days lounging on the couch. The University offers many free events throughout the summer, and Columbia is a beacon of entertainment, filled with pastimes that you can enjoy by yourself or with a group of friends.

brandon johnson

Reaching new heights

May 31, 2017, Jalesa Cooley

Brandon Johnson decided he would study law and work to help young people in his community the day his older brother went to prison in 2009. His desire to fully understand what his family was dealing with during the time sparked a passion in his mind to dig deeper and begin understanding the legal system. Eight years later, Johnson is well on his way to that goal thanks to the Council on Legal Education Opportunity.

Senior Ben Youngblood

Senior wisdom

May 22, 2017, Megan Sexton

Freshmen arrive on campus each fall curious, excited and sometimes a little nervous about the road ahead. By graduation, they’re often completely different people. We asked four seniors at the end of their college careers about how the college experience had changed them and what it has meant to have that experience at Carolina

University High collection

Collecting memories with a microphone

May 18, 2017, Kathy Henry Dowell, University Libraries

Rebecca Borovsky was a student in Evolution of American Higher Education assigned to do something she had never done before: interview, record, transcribe and make available the memories of a University High graduate, a high school previously held in the Wardlaw College as a laboratory school and training ground for teachers.

Give It Up For Good yard sale

Bargains are plenty at UofSC annual yard sale

May 15, 2017, Megan Sexton

Each year, as students move out of their residence halls, they leave behind thousands of pounds of unwanted items — from futons to lamps to clothing. These donated items will be up for grabs Friday and Saturday (May 19-20) at the Give It Up For Good yard sale sponsored by University Housing.

Student Joe Toomb in the Miao minority village of Guiyang, China

From Carolina to ... anywhere

April 21, 2017, Dan Cook

Last year, some 1,700 undergraduates studied abroad — a 15 percent increase. The quick jump is just one aspect of the increasing internationalization of the University of South Carolina, a coordinated effort led by Global Carolina, a strategic initiative launched two years ago.

awards day

Top students honored at annual Awards Day ceremony

April 20, 2017, Mary-Kathryn Craft

Three graduating seniors received the university's highest honors at the annual Awards Day ceremony. Jory Mackenzie Fleming and Megan Patricia O’Brien received Algernon Sydney Sullivan awards, the university’s top honor for undergraduates, and Cory Cambridge Alpert received the Steven N. Swanger award, the university’s second-highest undergraduate honor.

Michael Senatore

Michael Senatore bottle flips into TEDx Carnegie Mellon

March 30, 2017, Abigayle Morrison

While some Gamecocks played on the national stage for basketball this weekend for the Final Four in Phoenix and Dallas, freshman political science major Michael Senatore stepped on a stage of a different sort. On Saturday (April 1), Senatore gave a TEDx talk at Carnegie Mellon University on how he made the science of flipping a water bottle a national phenomenon.

It's time to apply (yourself and for a job)

March 24, 2017, Lauren McCarthy

It’s job-hunting season for students in search of internships, part-time gigs and first jobs after graduation. What’s New @UofSC sat down with Mark Anthony, associate director for career development and experiential education, to get some tips on a successful search.

1801 Grille

The transformation of Lincoln and Greene

March 07, 2017, Megan Sexton

If you haven’t walked around the intersection of Greene and Lincoln streets lately, you’re in for a surprise. It’s Foundation Square, the latest gem of the Greene Street corridor, a pedestrian- and bike-friendly gateway that eventually will connect the university with the Congaree River in Columbia’s Vista.

chelsea evans

South Carolina Law Review elects first black woman editor-in-chief

March 01, 2017, Peggy Binette

For the first time in its 69-year history the South Carolina Law Review has elected an African American to serve as its editor-in-chief. Chelsea Evans, a second-year law student from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was elected by peers to lead the esteemed University of South Carolina School of Law publication.  

dance marathon

Students to dance for children fighting health battles

February 16, 2017, Abigayle Morrison

“For the kids!” or “FTK!” will be a rallying cry for more than 1,237 University of South Carolina students at this year’s Dance Marathon’s main event Feb. 25. Dance Marathon raises money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH), a nonprofit organization that raises funds and awareness for more than 170 pediatric hospitals across the nation.

Outdoor Recreation adventure trips return

February 02, 2017, Madeline Thorn

Looking to explore the natural wonders of South Carolina and meet new people? Look no further than UofSC’s Outdoor Recreation team (ORec), which will be starting their adventure trips back up this February after almost a yearlong hiatus.

Carolina Day at the Statehouse

Say yes to Carolina Day at the Statehouse

January 19, 2017, Peggy Binette

Inspired by his rural roots, Dr. Caughman Taylor believes in the power and purpose of advocacy. On Wednesday he'll join Carolina alumni, faculty, staff and students for Carolina Day at the Statehouse. That's when he and others will meet with legislators to share their stories in support of higher education as being vital to the economic health of the state and lives of its residents.

Living and experiencing the world leads to international award

January 11, 2017, Adena Rice

Living and experiencing different parts of the world gave Stefanie Feltwell, an international business and economics senior, a competitive edge to receive one of just 12 Women in Business scholarships from the Zonta International Foundation. Feltwell has used the global and leadership experience she gained at the University of South Carolina to develop her passion for helping others into a future career in international policy and global development.

heidi brooks

DC at 25: Heidi Brooks, alumna

January 10, 2017, Craig Brandhorst

The Washington Semester Program celebrates its 25th anniversary of providing full-time, semester-long internships at congressional offices, federal agencies, nonprofits and other D.C.-based organizations. In the last of our series of stories talking to alumni and current participants in the program, we talk to alumna Heidi Brooks, chief operating offering of the Schott Foundation for Public Education.

medina

DC at 25: Kimberly Medina, senior

January 02, 2017, Craig Brandhorst

The Washington Semester Program celebrates its 25th anniversary of providing full-time, semester-long internships at congressional offices, federal agencies, nonprofits and other D.C.-based organizations. In our series of stories talking to alumni and current participants in the program, we talk to Kimberly Medina, a senior political science and international studies major.