Stories for Faculty and Staff

Graduation cap decorated with a Block C.

Class of 2023 December graduates

December 07, 2023, Megan Sexton

As the December Class of 2023 prepares to walk across the commencement stage, graduates leave the University of South Carolina with memories of enduring friendships, newfound passions, supportive mentors and life-changing experiences.

Smokestacks by Thomas Cooper Library

Graduation with Leadership Distinction alumni look back on pathways to success

April 21, 2023, Hannah Cambre

The Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning is celebrating the Graduation with Leadership Distinction Program's tenth anniversary. Take a look at some of the earliest graduates with leadership distinction.

Honoree Amber Guyton kneels over her brick and smiles

Meet the Black alumnae whose contributions are commemorated on the Horseshoe

March 14, 2023, Rebekah Friedman

As a tribute to the Black alumnae featured in the student-produced documentary The Backbone, USC’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion installed 18 personalized bricks on the Horseshoe. The honorees' stories span seven decades of university history.

UofSC home to 60 ranked programs

UofSC med school leads nation for grads practicing in underserved areas

March 29, 2021, Megan Sexton

The School of Medicine Columbia is the top medical program in the country for graduates who are practicing in areas where there is a shortage of health care professionals, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings. The rankings also show that UofSC is now home to more than 60 nationally ranked programs.

Maxcy Monument on the Historic Horseshoe with sunlight streaming through the trees.
libby foreman

The Long Run: Libby Foreman

May 20, 2019, Page Ivey

They arrived in the 1970s, some after serving in Vietnam, some fresh out of high school or college. More than 40 years later, they still come to work at the University of South Carolina — some after officially “retiring.” TIMES spoke with a few of these long-term employees to see what keeps them coming back to work on campus, long after they could have settled into that place in the mountains or that home by the sea.

Mr. Gibson's fifth grade class

Culturally relevant teaching changes the game for students

May 13, 2019, Kathryn McPhail

Jackson Creek Elementary School, in Columbia, is committed to improving the way its teachers are educating students — both academically and socially. The school is collaborating with College of Education professors to offer all teachers and support staff ongoing professional development in culturally relevant teaching.

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.

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.

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.

beasley

Planting a love of learning

March 27, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

A self-proclaimed “outdoorsy” person, Todd Beasley started his own small business at just 10 years old gardening for other families in his neighborhood. Now three decades later, the College of Education alumnus is the new director of programs at one of the largest botanical gardens in the country — the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

Year end review

Twenty-Sixteen: By the Letters

December 15, 2016, USC Times

A is for alphabet, at least according to USC Times. To help close out 2016, the University of South Carolina’s monthly magazine for faculty and staff devoted its entire December issue to the ABCs of 2016 — with each letter representing a different accomplishment, announcement or notable arrival from the past year.