USC’s Board of Trustees advanced a few key projects and approved several contracts during its meeting Friday (Sept. 27) at USC Beaufort’s Hilton Head location.
Three USC Next projects approved include:
- Full approval for improvements to the Russell House University Union and bookstore relocation.
- Phase I approval for renovations to the McKissick Building.
- Phase I approvals for renovations to Barnwell College.
In partnership with Aramark, the Russell House project will create more space for dining services — food preparation, food serving and seating — for students, faculty and staff. A reduced retail-focused portion of the bookstore will remain at Russell House while the textbook distribution function will be relocated to the first floor of the Byrnes Building, across from the Horseshoe.
There will be minimal interior renovations to the existing bookstore, while approximately 15,000 square feet of new dining seating and a renovated kitchen area will be added.
Phase I approvals to McKissick and Barnwell College allow USC to begin schematic designs and cost estimations for both projects.
- The McKissick renovations are designed to enhance the Gibbes Green side of the building by creating patios and accessible entrances. There are also plans for a rooftop event space, study lounges, a two-story lobby with a café and a renovated classroom.
- Plans for Barnwell College include comprehensively renovating and modernizing the interior while installing new mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems. Plans also include adding classrooms and workspaces for 60 to 70 Department of Psychology faculty, administrative staff and graduate students.
The Board of Trustees approved seven contracts during its meeting Friday, including:
- An enrollment agreement between USC Finance and Administration and the CBORD Group Inc.
- An academic collaboration agreement between the USC Arnold School of Public Health and Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
- An employment agreement for USC Upstate head men’s basketball coach Martin Richter.
- A naming rights deal between USC athletics and Founders Federal Credit Union. Under the deal, South Carolina’s baseball stadium will remain Founders Park through at least 2035.
- An addendum to a master memorandum of understanding for cooperation of services exchange between USC School of Medicine Greenville and Prisma Health.
- Two memorandums of agreement between USC Schools of Medicine and Prisma Health: one regarding participation in the South Carolina a Medicaid Supplemental Teaching Physician Payment Program and another for Funding to Support Physician Education, Training, and Workforce Development.
The Board of Trustees also approved a revised executive budget request for the 2025-26 fiscal year as well as a candidate for the Board of Visitors.