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EspañolUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
:''This article is about the University of South Carolina in Columbia. You may be looking for a University of South Carolina satellite campus.
The 'University of South Carolina, Columbia' ('USC' or 'Carolina') is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia and is less than one city block away from the South Carolina State House.
The University of South Carolina, Columbia, with approximately 27,000 students, is the flagship institution of the University of South Carolina System and offers more than 350 programs of study leading to bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from fifteen degree-granting colleges and schools.[1] Professional schools on the Columbia campus include law, medicine, and pharmacy.
Main Article History of the University of South Carolina
The University was founded as 'South Carolina College' on December 19, 1801 by an act of the General Assembly after Governor John Drayton pushed for its foundation on November 23, 1801. The establishment of a publicly funded college at the capital was intended to unite and promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry. On January 10, 1805, having an initial enrollment of nine students, the college commenced classes with a traditional classical curriculum.
With the generous support of the General Assembly, South Carolina College acquired a reputation as the leading institution of the South and attracted several noteworthy scholars, including Francis Lieber, Thomas Cooper, and Joseph LeConte. However, the college suffered greatly and lost most of its prestige when it closed during the American Civil War.
The students formed a cadet company in December of 1860 to aid the Southern cause, but an order by Governor Pickens prevented them from leaving Columbia. Undeterred, the students disbanded their company on April 12 and formed a new company while en route to Charleston so that the governor's previous holding orders would be invalid. Once in Charleston, General Beauregard assigned the company to guard Sullivan's Island, much to the dismay of the students who greatly desired to be a part of the Battle of Fort Sumter. After three weeks of guard duty, the student cadet company returned to Columbia to a hero's welcome.
Later in June of 1861, the students reformed the company and requested to be accepted for service. Governor Pickens accepted their request provided that the faculty also approved the venture, but the faculty did not give its consent because they did not want the college to needlessly be closed. The frustrated students even went as far as negotiating service of their unit with President Jefferson Davis, who agreed, but again Governor Pickens denied their use because the faculty was not willing to let them go.
When the students returned in October, they reorganized their military unit as the "third company." The Union attack of the South Carolina coast in November at the Battle of Port Royal led Governor Pickens to agree to their request to be mustered for active duty, but President Longstreet and the faculty steadfastly maintained their opposition to the students leaving for service. However, with the support of the governor the students ignored the protests of the faculty and departed for the Lowcountry. Governor Pickens kept the student company in Charleston to serve as his bodyguard and because the Union forces at Port Royal did not press their advantage, he released the students from military service on December 10.
Seventy-two students were present for classes in January of 1862 and the college functioned as best it could until a call by the Confederate government for South Carolina to fill its quota of 18,000 soldiers. A system of conscription would begin on March 20 for all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, so on March 8 all of the students at the college volunteered for service in order to avoid the dishonor of having been conscripted. Despite the depletion of students, the professors issued a notice that the college would temporarily close and would reopen to those under eighteen. When the college reopened on March 17, only nine students showed up for classes and it became quite apparent to all that the college would not last past the end of the term in June.
On June 25 with the consent of the state government, the Confederate authorities took possession of the college buildings and converted them into a hospital. After many unsuccessful attempts to reopen the college, the trustees passed a resolution on December 2, 1863 that officially closed the college. By February of 1865, Sherman's army had reached the outskirts of Columbia and the college was spared from destruction by the Union forces because of its use as a hospital. In addition, a company of the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment was stationed at the campus on February 17 to protect it from harm and to thwart off pillaging Yankee soldiers.
The Union army took possession of the college on May 24, 1865 and although the future for the college appeared bleak with it under military control, General John Porter Hatch sent a letter on June 19 to the remaining professors at the college that it should reopen as soon as possible. The appointment of Benjamin Franklin Perry as provisional governor of South Carolina on June 30 by President Andrew Johnson restored civilian rule to the state. Perry reinstated the trustees to their positions and the board met on September 20 to authorize the college to reopen on the first Monday of January in 1866.
In a message to the legislature in October, Perry sought to convert the college into a university because with the state in an impoverished situation, it would provide a more practical education. The model that he wished to follow was the elective system used by the University of Virginia. Perry was succeeded in November as governor by James Lawrence Orr, a graduate of the University of Virginia, who also wished to see the college adopt the curriculum of his alma mater. Little opposition developed to change the College into a university and bill to establish the 'University of South Carolina' was passed by the General Assembly on December 19, 1865, sixty-four years after the institution's foundation.
The schools of the university remained largely the same as they were in the College, the difference was the addition of a school of engineering and mathematics. For the students, the difference was great because they were given much more freedom than afforded in the College and they were given the ability to choose their classes rather than having to submit to a compulsory curriculum identical for all. It was expected by Perry and Orr that the relaxed atmosphere at the University would allow for it to prosper and reach three or four hundred students in a few years.[3]
The reopening of the University was pushed back to January 10 due to the dilapidated condition of the buildings on the campus and also because of sentimental emotions attached to the date as the original opening of South Carolina College. Less than fifty students were present for the first term and the lack of students at the University alarmed Governor Orr. He recommended to the General Assembly that schools of law and medicine be added and the legislature followed through by establishing schools of law and medicine in 1866. Despite this step, the University faced an ominous future as the state was beginning to undergo Reconstruction.
After Radical Republicans gained control of the state government in 1868, they sought to remake the University to more of their liking. The intentions of the Radical Republicans had been quite clear when they added a section in the state constitution of 1868 stating that all universities of the state should be "free and open to all the children and youths of the State, without regard to race and color."[3] Former Governor Orr urged the legislature to preserve the University as an institution for the whites and to convert the dormant campus of The Citadel into a college for the blacks. Governor Robert Kingston Scott ignored this request and instead recommended the legislature to make the University comply with the Morrill Act, thus removing race as an admissions criteria.
The University Act of 1869 reorganized the University and provided it with generous financial support. An amendment was added to the act by W. J. Whipper, a black representative from Beaufort, that would prevent racial discrimination from the admissions policy of the University. The legislature further proved its seriousness towards racial equality by electing two black trustees to the governing board of the University on March 9, 1869. Nevertheless, blacks were not admitted until 1873 and faculty appointments were made to appeal to the sensibilities of both the Republicans and the conservatives.
However, the admission of black students to the University was inevitable and three factors brought about its occurrence. First, the University never achieved a level of enrollment that was commensurate to its financial backing by the legislature. Enrollment never exceeded one hundred students whereas the enrollment at Wofford College exceeded that mark in 1870. Students largely stayed away from the University because of the constant fear that blacks would be admitted. The second reason was the failure of the state to provide an adequate public university for the education of blacks. In 1872, funds were allocated for the Agricultural and Mechanical Institute at Orangeburg, but they were badly mismanaged and as a result the black legislators called for the opening of the University to black students. Finally, the state Republican party split for the election of 1872 between Radical and moderate factions. The Radicals won and pressed their advantage by electing four blacks to the Board of Trustees, thus constituting a majority.
A normal school was established by the legislature on the campus of the University as well as a preparatory school since most of the black students of the state were ill prepared for the academic work required at a university. In addition, to encourage enrollment by blacks, tuition and other fees were abolished. On October 7, 1873, Henry E. Hayne, the Secretary of State of South Carolina, became the first black student when he registered for the fall session in the medical college of the University.[5][3] As a result of his enrollment, three professors resigned and the University was largely devoid of students.
On October 8, enrollment stood at eight students, seven of whom were the sons of the professors. The number increased to twenty-two students after many politicians registered with the University to show that it was open for both races, yet few of the politicians attended classes. Troubled by the low enrollment, State Treasurer of South Carolina, Francis L. Cardozo went to Washington and persuaded a handful of students at Howard University to transfer to the University. Drastic measures were required to increase the number of students and the legislature passed an act in February of 1874 to provide for 124 scholarships of $200. The conservative press denounced this move because with the absence of tuition, it meant that students were effectively being paid to attend the University.[3] Many of the scholarship students could not meet the entrance requirements into the freshman class so the faculty assembled them into a sub-freshman class, although it was abolished in 1875.
The scholarships achieved their desired effect in increasing enrollment and by 1875, 90% of the student body was black.[8] The University of South Carolina holds the distinction of being the only state university in the South to admit and grant degrees to black students during Reconstruction. Yet it was because of its black matriculates, its Republican faculty, and its lavish support that the University became a symbol the Redeemers sought to destroy. After the Democratic victory in the election of 1876, the University was closed on June 7, 1877 by a joint resolution of the General Assembly.
It was far from certain that the University would be reopened and debate ensued in the General Assembly over the necessity of the University. Many legislators led by Martin Witherspoon Gary felt that the state had other obligations and it was not practical for the state to spend money on the University. In addition, these legislators were from the Upstate and had no attachment to the University since they had attended other schools as a result of the University being essentially closed to whites during Reconstruction. An act to reorganize the University was passed by the state Senate by just two votes on March 2, 1878, but it did not provide for the appropriation of funds to the reopening. The act specified that the University was to consist of two branches, one styled as the South Carolina College in Columbia for the whites and Claflin College in Orangeburg for the blacks. In order to mollify agitation by the farming interests, a section of the act specified that an agricultural department was to be established with the University.
On October 5, 1880 the institution was reopened as the 'South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts' and largely derived its funding from the Morrill Act. Despite its name as an agriculture and mechanical college, few students showed an interest in either area. Only nine students worked the twenty acre college farm for the first session and just twenty-one attended the mechanical shop. It was simply that the state could not afford a University offering a broad and comprehensive curriculum that it had to offer a semblance of an agriculture program to comply with the Morrill Act in order to receive its funds.
By 1881, the state's financial situation was markedly improved and Governor Johnson Hagood called for greater expenditures on higher education. With a much higher appropriation, the trustees abolished the farming and mechanical foreman positions and proceeded to restore the institution to its antebellum status as the South Carolina College in 1882. An agriculture department remained, but little of the curriculum was agricultural and it was essentially identical to the general science program. Furthermore, the department suffered from neglect because its professor, John McLauren McBryde, was also the President of the institution and in that position he focused most of his energies.
In the latter years of the 1880's, the College increasingly came under attack from the sectarian forces and the agricultural interests. The denominational colleges, struggling to rebuild from the Civil War, demanded that free tuition be dropped at the college and the General Assembly capitulated in 1887 by fixing tuition rates at $40 per year. Led by Ben Tillman, the agrarians pushed to establish a separate agriculture college because they felt that the College was not providing an adequate education in agriculture. Despite Tillman's rhetoric, a majority of the students were sons of farmers and the most advanced agricultural research was being conducted at Cornell and the University of California, both liberal arts colleges.[3]
To take advantage of the Hatch Act and to assuage the concerns of the farmers, the legislature passed an act in 1887 to reorganize the college as the University of South Carolina with six schools and colleges. An agricultural experiment station was set up, the college farm was expanded by , and a well developed agriculture program was initiated. The University was so successful that Ben Tillman announced his retirement from public life.
The death of Thomas Green Clemson in 1888 breathed new life into the establishment of a separate agriculture college because his will stipulated that his estate was to be left to the state for that purpose. Ben Tillman reemerged to carry the cause to the legislature and in 1889, Governor Richardson signed the bill accepting the bequest. The Morrill and Hatch funds were transferred to the new agriculture college in June of 1890 and the University's agricultural department ceased to exist. The vitality of the University itself was threatened during the 1890 campaign when Ben Tillman advocated its closing. Although he won the election, he only succeeded in reorganizing it as a liberal arts college while in office.[10]
The University was reorganized once more as the South Carolina College in 1891 and it struggled to remain relevant through the rest of the decade. It was restricted to teaching the subjects of law, literature, classics, and theoretical science.[3] The prestige of the College had fallen such that in 1893 a proposal was offered in the legislature to close the campus and provide homes for Confederate veterans on it instead.[3] Nonetheless, with enrollment lagging and the lack of a liberal arts school for women, the legislature passed a bill in 1893 that mandated the College to admit women. On September 24, 1895, Frances Guignard Gibbes was the first woman to be admitted to the College and Mattie Jean Adams was the first to graduate in 1898.[3]
Although Tillman had crippled the institution when he became governor, he also did not let it die. The number of students steadily declined from a high of 235 in 1889 to a low of 68 in 1894 and despite the urging of legislators to close it, Tillman maintained through his governorship that the College receive an adequate level of funding. Tillman also led the charge to reestablish the normal school at the College, long dormant since the end of Reconstruction. In addition, engineering was permitted to be added to the College in 1894 despite a previous prohibition from the act of 1890.
The victory by Duncan Clinch Heyward in the gubernatorial election of 1902 marked the end of Tillmanism and the return of a friendly figure in the governor's office for the institution. Heyward pushed the legislature to convert the College into a University in 1905 to mark the centennial by providing the state with a capstone for its educational system. The effort failed when legislators feared that The Citadel was to be absorbed into the University, but the measure was reintroduced in 1906 and passed on February 17 to charter the institution for the last time as the 'University of South Carolina'.
Yet for the next forty years, the institution would struggle to find its identity as it cycled through periods of achieving popularity versus academic excellence. Under the vigorous leadership of President Samuel Chiles Mitchell from 1909 to 1913, enrollment at the University doubled and he brought the University to the state by setting up extension courses in 1910. Incessant criticism by Governor Coleman Livingston Blease over Mitchell's handling of University affairs led to his resignation and the trustees elected William Spenser Currell with the intention of raising the level of scholarship at the University. Entrance requirements were made more stringent and Currell's efforts were rewarded when the University became the first state-supported college or university in South Carolina to earn accreditation by the Southern Association in 1917.[3]
The entrance of America into World War I was enthusiastically supported by the student body and the vast majority participated in the ROTC unit at the University. To compensate for the loss of enrollment because of conscription, the war department replaced the ROTC program with the Student Army Training Corps. After the war, the SATC was disbanded and military training was made compulsory for freshman and sophomore students in the ROTC program. The students wished a return to normalcy and the ROTC program was scrapped in 1921 due to lack of interest.
An aura of stagnation existed at the University in the early 1920's and the trustees elected William Davis Melton in 1922 to revive its fortunes. Melton launched a campaign to popularize the institution by convincing the people of the state that it was not exclusively for the elite or a special interest group, but rather for the masses. He achieved phenomenal results as the appropriation by the legislature for the University was greatly increased and student enrollment surpassed that of Clemson in 1924 for the first time. Following Melton's death in 1926, Davison McDowell Douglas was elected President to consolidate the gains by Melton and tighten academic standards. However, the board of trustees called upon James Rion McKissick in 1936 to return to Melton's policies of popularizing the University.
McKissick established the University News Service to combat perceived misconceptions of the University and to promote the high moral character of the students. Due in large part to his efforts, enrollment reached record numbers and the University entered the 1940's with a renewed sense of optimism. Yet, the world soon became engulfed by World War II and to help with the loss of enrollment because of mobilization, the University received a Naval ROTC detachment. The University was quickly transformed into a Naval school when the Navy set up a V-5 Navy Flight Preparatory School, a Civil Aeronautics Administration-War Training Service program, and a V-12 Navy College Training Program. The V-12 program was the most important to the University because the trainees were enrolled in classes and they became an active participant in student life and extracurricular activities.
By November of 1944 it was clear that World War II would soon be coming to a close and the serviceman would return to enroll in the university in massive numbers due in large part because of the passage of the G.I. Bill. Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives and trustee of the University, Solomon Blatt, unveiled a proposal called the "new and greater university" plan that would move the University from its present site to a site just outside of Columbia. At the time, the University was the smallest state university in the South and a larger campus would more easily allow for expansion at much less cost. The idea of a move came from that of the relocation of Louisiana State University in 1925 and it was envisioned that a new campus would provided the impetus for the University of South Carolina "to establish itself as a great American state university."[15]
Blatt obtained support from all the key players in the politics of South Carolina to facilitate such a visionary proposal. He received support Governor Olin D. Johnston, Governor-elect Ransome Judson Williams, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Edgar Allan Brown, and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Morris Tuten. The Board of Trustees approved the plan in December of 1944 by a vote of 17-2, although complaints were issued from the dissenting voters that the decision was made with too much haste and without any input from the public. In addition, Blatt chose Navy Rear Admiral Norman Murray Smith as the President of the University in large part because he held connections in the political establishments of South Carolina and the federal government necessary to secure funds for the relocation of the University.
However, Blatt's proposal caused an intense out roar in the state because alumni and students felt that it would needlessly severe the University from its antebellum tradition. Other complaints arose that the process itself did not allow for public input and it was detested as a product of the Barnwell Ring. Even with the outpouring of condemnation, municipalities lobbied to have the University moved to their locale such as Camden, Cheraw, Georgetown, Manning, Spartanburg, Sumter, Kershaw County and Oconee County.[15] Blatt realized that his proposal in February of 1945 would not receive the necessary support in the legislature and he modified it so that the University would expand upon its existing area. This idea was warmly received by the alumni and students, but it died in the Finance Committee after Senator Edgar Brown declined to take up the matter.
Following World War II, enrollment at the University swelled from the influx of veterans. They were wholeheartedly welcomed by President Smith who actively campaigned for their attendance and he announced that every qualified veteran would be admitted to the University. The vast majority of South Carolina veterans chose to attend the University because of its hospitable atmosphere, but also for other reasons. They did not want to attend Clemson or The Citadel because "the prospect of returning home to attend a military college was distasteful for the older men leaving the military after fighting the largest war in world history."[15] In addition, Clemson's rural location and its self imposed restriction on the number of students made it inaccessible for a large number of veterans. The University offered several special programs to meet the needs of the veterans and it continued an accelerated calendar until 1949.
On September 11, 1963 the University of South Carolina became the university of all the people of South Carolina. As the result of a federal court order, Henrie D. Monteith, Robert Anderson, and James Solomon became the first of an increasing number of African-American students to enroll at the University in the 20th century. In the ensuing years, Carolina underwent explosive growth as the "baby boom" generation entered college. Enrollment stood at 5,660 in 1960, but by 1979 had reached nearly 26,000 students on the Columbia campus alone. To meet the needs of these students and South Carolina's changing economy, the University put new emphasis on research and introduced innovative degree programs as well as a number of new schools and colleges. Carolina had become a true research university.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the University of South Carolina continued to develop its resources to better serve the Palmetto State. A concerted drive to achieve national recognition brought Carolina into the 21st century. In 2001, the University of South Carolina celebrated a legacy of 200 years of educating leaders for the future of South Carolina, the nation, and the world. [18]
Student literary societies were an important part of student life at Carolina for the first 150 or so years of its existence. Philomathic was the first such society and was formed within weeks of the opening of SCC in 1805 and included practically the whole student body. In 1806 it was split into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies.[19]
After the university admitted women students, the Hypatian Society was founded in 1915 for women, followed by the Euphrosynean Society in 1924.[20]
Classified as ''more selective'',[21] USC admitted less than 68% of those who applied to be Freshmen in 2005.[22] When admitting Freshmen, the university puts emphases on the rigor of high school study and scores on standardized test, SAT or ACT. It also considers class rank, extracurricular activities, and an optional personal statement. The average incoming freshman has a combined SAT score of 1166 and has a high school GPA of 3.82.[23][24]
Carolina is home to the nationally recognized South Carolina Honors College, which is designed to offer academically gifted undergraduates the advantages of a small college in the setting of a large metropolitan university. After gaining acceptance to the University, students must apply separately to the Honors College and demonstrate significant academic achievement to be accepted. Entering freshman in the program have an average weighted GPA of over 4.4 and an SAT score of 1410.
The Honors College offers housing for freshman in Maxcy College, located on the University's historic Horseshoe. Additional Horseshoe housing in apartment-style residents are available to upperclassman Honors student in various buildings. Current development plans call for a new Honors College residence to be built on the site of the University's "Towers" dormitories.
There are over 120 courses offered exclusively to Honors College students. Students are required to complete a Senior Thesis under the direction of a faculty member in order to graduate from the College with Honors.
Carolina is the only university in South Carolina to be designated a research institution of "very high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This classification is the foundation's highest, given to 62 public and 32 private research institutions in the United States.[25][26]
During his tenure, former Carolina president John Palms articulated a "Cathedrals of Excellence" budgeting philosophy. Palms was an expert fundraiser who advocated that the money be channeled into USC's best programs, rather than spread the funds evenly. The strategy would pay off in the long term when these programs became nationally prominent, making a name for USC and attracting grant money. The board of directors has since used his notion to shield certain colleges from budget cuts at the expense of others.
Current USC president Andrew Sorensen raised even larger sums for research, including a $300 million grant for colorectal cancer. In the spirit of Palms' budget, the board of directors moved to transform university land on Assembly Street into an "innovation district" called Innovista that will develop four strengths: biomedicine, nanotechnology, environmental science and alternative fuels.
Innovista is a partnered development with the City of Columbia and will form an ecosystem of sorts. The campus will house offices and private research firms among the university offices and labs, as well as hold residences and retail. Those who live and work in the Innovista will have easy access to the Congaree Vista and a Publix, as well as being within walking distance of the Five Points bar and shopping district. All told, Innovista will add five million square feet of floor space to the metro area and could set Columbia on a more urban path.[27]
The Board of Trustees is a body created by the state of South Carolina responsible for the maintenance and operation of the university, including the University of South Carolina System. Its primary focus is to set the mission for the University system and to approve all financial decisions.
The board was established in the legislation passed by the General Assembly on December 19, 1801 for the foundation of South Carolina College. The original board was composed of twenty-five members, twelve of whom were ''ex officio'' and thirteen were elected. They first met on February 12, 1802 at the home of Governor John Drayton. A quorum was not present so they met again on February 14 when they did have the necessary numbers for a quorum.
On May 7, 1970 about 500 students marched to the flagpole on the Horseshoe and demanded that the US Flag be lowered to half staff to honor those who had died in the Kent State shootings. An equal size counter-protest gathered at the flagpole and demanded that flag remain hoisted at the top of the pole. To thwart off any potential bloodshed, President Tom Jones ordered that the flag be lowered. However, the protesters felt emboldened and took over the Russell House. The National Guard had to be called in to dislodge the students from the building and 42 students were arrested.
The board acted to discipline the students on May 11. A crowd of 300 students formed, marched on the administrative building where the trustees were meeting, and demanded amnesty for the students. The board refused and the protesters responded by vandalizing cars parked at the building. One car that was flipped over was bought the same day by a trustee. The protesters occupied the first floor of the building causing the trustees to huddle in a room on the second floor. After waiting a few hours in the room, Hugh Willcox, a trustee in his 70's, simply left the room, walked past the students, and sped away in his car. Sol Blatt, Jr. commented that he would not have done that for $100,000.[15] The National Guard arrived later that night and the protesters dispersed at their sight. The inability of President Tom Jones to control the actions of the students led to the loss of support by the trustees and his eventual resignation in 1974.
The Board of Trustees is composed of the following twenty members:
★ Governor of South Carolina, ''ex officio'' Chairman of the Board; may appoint a designee in his stead
★ South Carolina State Superintendent of Education, ''ex officio''
★ President of the Greater University of South Carolina Alumni Association, ''ex officio''
★ One member elected by the General Assembly from each of the sixteen judicial circuits
★ One member appointed by the governor
The governor's appointee and those elected by the General Assembly serve for a term of four years.
Seven standing committees have been set up to streamline the business of the board of trustees. A special or ad hoc committee can be formed by the Chairman of the Board should a need arise. The following are the seven standing committees:
★ Executive Committee
★ Buildings and Grounds Committee
★ Intercollegiate Activities Committee
★ Academic Affairs and Faculty-Liaison Committee
★ Student-Trustee Liaison Committee
★ Health Affairs Committee
★ Fiscal Policy Committee
Up until 1981, the positions of head football coach and athletic director were combined. Despite being the athletic director, the head football coach held little sway over the hiring and firing of the coaches for the other athletic programs. The true power lay with the chairman of the athletic committee and the position was dominated from the 1930's to the 1970's by Solomon Blatt, Sr. and his son Solomon Blatt, Jr. Yet in 1966 Blatt, Jr. was trumped when he had lined up Bill Murray to become the head football coach and Governor Robert Evander McNair had instead convinced Paul Dietzel to accept the position.
The trustees have the final say on all affairs that are pertinent to the University. Their powers include:
★ Awarding of honorary degrees
★ Purchasing, leasing and selling property of the University
★ Setting tuition fees
★ Hiring and firing faculty and personnel
Additionally, according to the Code of Laws of South Carolina (1976), Section 59-117-100, the board of trustees are tasked with ensuring that the President of the University is not an atheist or an infidel.
Approximately 27,000 students attend the Columbia campus of the University of South Carolina, coming from all 46 South Carolina counties. In addition, students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries are represented. (Another 13,000 students study at the regional campuses of the University of South Carolina System.) Enrollment statistics for the Fall 2005 indicate the following:
★ Undergraduates 77%, Graduates 19%, Professionals 4%
★ Males 40%, Females 60%
★ Full-time 75%, Part-time 25%
★ Residents 83%, Non-residents 17%
★ Minorities 21.51%
The University of South Carolina campus is currently home to twenty-five residence halls, the last of which opened in of the fall of 2004. The housing on campus is under the supervision of Department of Student Housing, and quality of life is enhanced through the Resident Hall Association.
On-campus housing currently provides over 6,200 housing units on campus. Patterson Hall, with a housing capacity of approximately 600 freshmen females, is Carolina’s largest residence hall. The tallest and most notable landmark on the Columbia campus is the 18-story Capstone House. Top of Carolina Dining Room is on the 18th floor and was the only revolving restaurant on an American college campus. In the fall of 2004, the West Quad was the last residence hall opened on campus and is one of only four in the world to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Since campus academic enrollment exceeds the capacity of on-campus housing, the University is in the process of adding more resident halls, most of which will be suite-style. Some students as a result live in popular off-campus housing, including apartments at College Suites, University Commons, The Wilshire House at Union Station, Whaley's Mill, and Sterling University; houses in the Shandon, Rosewood, and Olympia areas of Columbia; and off-campus housing provided by Greek organizations.[30]
Students may participate in any of the 300 registered student organizations and can have a voice in the University's administration by election to and service in student government and student judicial council.
Carolina Productions is a student organization responsible for providing diverse educational programs, entertainment, and special events for the University. It is composed of seven commissions, each of which concentrates on separate programming.
'Honor societies' include Alpha Epsilon Delta, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Phi Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi, Carolina Scholars Association, Chi Sigma Iota, Eta Sigma Delta, Gamma Beta Phi, Golden Key, Kappa Delta Epsilon, McNair Scholars Association, Mortar Board, Mu Sigma Rho, National Residence Hall Honorary, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Omicron Delta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Lambda Sigma, Phi Sigma Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, Psi Chi, Rho Chi, Sigma Alpha Lambda, Sigma Delta Pi, Sigma Iota Rho, and Tau Beta Pi.
'Professional organizations' include Academy of Student Pharmacists, Alpha Kappa Psi, American Marketing Association, Delta Sigma Pi, Gamecock Pre-Veterinary Association, Library and Information Science Student Association, Phi Alpha Delta, Public Relations Student Society of America, Social Work Student Association, Student Nurses Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, among others.
'Religious organizations' include Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chi Alpha (Assemblies of God), Christ's Student Church (Church of Christ), Hillel (Jewish), Lutheran Campus Ministry, Methodist Student Network, Presbyterian (USA) Student Association, Reformed University Fellowship (Presbyterian Church in America), and St. Thomas More Catholic Community.
'Minority and international student organizations' include Association of African American Students, Students Allied for Latin America, Black Graduate Student Association, Hellenic Student Organization, NAACP, Brothers of Nubian Descent, Ethnic Student Ministries, Indian Student Association, International Student Association, Nihon Club, Fellowship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, Thai Students Association, Turkish Student Association, Filipino-American Student Association, SEED, SALA, Society of Black Engineers, and Hindu Students Council.
Other organizations include choral groups, concert band, dance, drama/theater, jazz band, marching band, music ensembles, musical theater, opera, pep band, symphony orchestra, and the campus radio station.
Students can also join the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) or participate in any of the local projects sponsored by Habitat for Humanity.
There is an editorially independent student newspaper, ''The Daily Gamecock'', which is is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters. The Daily Gamecock has a readership of more than 30,000
In the Fall 2006 USC established its first television station SGTV (Student Government Television). It was funded by Student Government until April 2007 when SG released SGTV to the department of Student Media which operates Garnet & Black, The Daily Gamecock and WUSC.
SGTV airs Monday through Thursdays from 6pm-10pm and all weekend long. We are on Gamecock (campus) Cable channel 4. SGTV provides original informative and entertaining programming as well as an outlet for student work.
The student run radio station WUSC began broadcasting on the AM dial in 1947. In January of 1977 WUSC began broadcasting on the FM dial and in 1982 the station found its current home at 90.5 FM. In June of 2006 WUSC upgraded to a current digital transmitter and are now broadcasting in HD radio. WUSC-FM was one of the first stations in the state to broadcast in HD and recently made history by being the first station in the state to broadcast in HD2
Students also publish a literary magazine the Garnet & Black magazine. Garnet & Black is Student Media's newest print publication, formed in 1994 as a consolidation of the University's former yearbook and literary magazine. This student magazine focuses on the issues of general interest to the Carolina community and includes a literary section featuring student literary and other creative work.
The Greek system has been slightly less popular at USC than at other large universities in the southern states. Currently, about 16% of students participate in Greek organizations. However, a significant increase in interest has already been experienced with the addition of the Greek Village, where currently nineteen houses (construction started in 2002 and continues to develop) are owned and managed by individual Greek organizations. All students who live in these buildings are members of a sorority or fraternity.[31]
★ Number of fraternities: 19
★ Fraternities with chapter houses: 11
★ Fraternities and Sororities with Houses
★
★ Gamma Phi Beta
★
★ Chi Omega
★
★ Chi Psi
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★ Kappa Kappa Gamma
★
★ Delta Zeta
★
★ Lambda Chi
★
★ Alpha Chi Omega
★
★ Alpha Delta Phi
★
★ Delta Delta Delta
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★ Kappa Delta
★
★ Sigma Alpha Epsilon
★
★ Sigma Nu
★
★ Pi Kappa Phi
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★ Sigma Chi
★
★ Zeta Tau Alpha
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★ Kappa Sigma
★
★ Alpha Tau Omega
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★ Kappa Alpha Order
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★ Phi Sigma Pi
★ Fraternity members: 15%
★ Number of sororities: 14
★ Sororities with chapter houses: 9
★ Sorority members: 16%
The University offers club, intramural, and varsity sports. Its 18 varsity sports teams compete in the Southeastern Conference and are known as the 'Gamecocks'. The Gamecocks have won six national team championships: 2002 NCAA championship in women's track & field, 2005 & 2007 National Championship in women's equestrian, and 2005-2007 Hunt Seat National Championships in women's equestrian. Also, the men's and women's track & field teams have produced ''many'' NCAA individual champions, world championship medalists, and Olympic medalists. The men's baseball and basketball teams have also produced Olympic medalists. Other significant accomplishments include: 2005 NCAA runner-up in women's track & field; NCAA runner-up three times in baseball (2002, 1977, 1975); 1993 NCAA runner-up in men's soccer; and 2005 & 2006 NIT championships in men's basketball. See grid at the following article for other championships.
Main articles: South Carolina Gamecocks
Students tend to socialize off campus in Five Points and the Congaree Vista. Both of these areas are within walking distance of campus and offer restaurants, bars, cafés, and a variety of local entertainment.
Lake Murray and the three rivers (Saluda River, Broad River, and Congaree River) around Columbia offer students many recreational activities.
★ Since 1994 students have won 313 national fellowship and scholarship competitions totaling more than $9 million dollars for advanced academic study. Included are Marshall, Rhodes, Truman, National Science Foundation, Fulbright, Goldwater, Madison, Cooke, and Javits Scholars, among others[32]
★ Two more public relations teams from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications won national titles at the 2006 Bateman Competition sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America. Teams were challenged to design campaigns that would increase awareness and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, and of the more than ninety universities that started, sixty-two actually submitted entries. USC's Keystone Group won the international campaign division, and the University's Merlin Group won the regional campaign division. In 2004, USC won a national title while another USC team placed third. USC also won the 2002 competition.[33]
★ USC-affiliated athletes won seven medals at the 2004 Olympic Games.[34]
When South Carolina College opened its doors in 1805, the building now known as Rutledge College was the only building on campus. Located one block southeast of the State Capitol, it served as an administrative office, academic building, residence hall, and chapel. However, the master plan for the original campus called for a total of eleven buildings, all facing a large lush gathering area. Therefore, in 1807, the original President's House was the next building to be erected. The building now known as DeSaussure College followed shortly thereafter, and the remaining eight buildings were constructed over the next several decades. When completed, all eleven buildings formed a U-shape open to Sumter Street. This modified quadrangle is known as the Horseshoe.
The Horseshoe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and most of its buildings reflect the federal style of architecture in vogue in the early days of the nation. Among them is the Caroliniana Library, which was designed by Robert Mills and is the first freestanding academic library in the United States.[35]
Over the years the eleven original buildings on the Horseshoe survived a fire, an earthquake, and the Civil War, but in 1940 McKissick Museum replaced the original President's House. The President's House would eventually return to the Horseshoe after extensive remodeling of one of its original buildings, which was dedicated as such in 1952.
During the 20th century, the campus began to spread out dramatically from the Horseshoe. Today it includes the student union, 21 residence halls, numerous academic buildings, Longstreet Theatre, the Koger Center for the Arts, the Carolina Coliseum, the Colonial Center, Sarge Frye Field, and various facilities for Olympic sports. (Williams-Brice Stadium is located approximately one mile off campus.)
Recent additions to the campus are the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center (the largest facility of its kind on a college campus in the United States) , the Greek village, and the West Quad.
The West Quad was opened in the fall of 2004 as a residence hall and is one of only four in the world to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
The campus continues to expand west toward the Congaree River in support of its research initiatives (see below). Three separate sites, each specializing in its own research area, will initially cover spread over six city blocks and will eventually grow to . This new district of campus, named Innovista,[36] will mix university and private research buildings, parking garages, and commercial and residential units. At the center will be a public plaza called Foundation Square.
Future plans also include a new home for the Arnold School of Public Health and a new baseball stadium along the Congaree River.[37]
The University has over 250,000 living alumni.[1]
Main articles: List of University of South Carolina people
During its more than two hundred year history, the University has had over 30 presidents.
Main articles: Presidents of the University of South Carolina
Since its charter in 1801, the University has been governed by a board of trustees.
Main articles: University of South Carolina Board of Trustees
★ W. Gordon Belser Arboretum
★ The Capstone
★ Gibbes Green
★ The Horseshoe
★ Longstreet Theatre
★ McKissick Museum
★ National Advocacy Center
{{FootnotesSmall|resize=
★ 1. Hollis, Daniel Walker, (1951) ''University of South Carolina'' Volume I ''South Carolina College'', Columbia: University of South Carolina Press
★ 2. Hollis, Daniel Walker, (1956) ''University of South Carolina'' Volume II ''College to University'' Columbia: University of South Carolina Press
★ University of South Carolina
★ Official University of South Carolina Athletics Site
★ Editorially independent student newspaper, The Gamecock
★ University of South Carolina Board of Trustees
★ Student Programming Board, Carolina Productions
★ USNews School Brief - USNews school profile
★ WUSC 90.5FM Columbia The commercial-free, free-format, non-top 40 Student run radio station of USC @ Columbia
★ International MBA (IMBA)
★ Campus Maps:
★
★ Official Campus Map
★
★ Google Map
★
★ WikiMapia
★ Historical Photos of USC Buildings and Grounds at the University of South Carolina Library's Digital Collections Page
The 'University of South Carolina, Columbia' ('USC' or 'Carolina') is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia and is less than one city block away from the South Carolina State House.
The University of South Carolina, Columbia, with approximately 27,000 students, is the flagship institution of the University of South Carolina System and offers more than 350 programs of study leading to bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from fifteen degree-granting colleges and schools.[1] Professional schools on the Columbia campus include law, medicine, and pharmacy.
History
Main Article History of the University of South Carolina
An 1872 illustration of the Horseshoe, USC's original campus.
South Carolina College, 1805 – 1860
The University was founded as 'South Carolina College' on December 19, 1801 by an act of the General Assembly after Governor John Drayton pushed for its foundation on November 23, 1801. The establishment of a publicly funded college at the capital was intended to unite and promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry. On January 10, 1805, having an initial enrollment of nine students, the college commenced classes with a traditional classical curriculum.
With the generous support of the General Assembly, South Carolina College acquired a reputation as the leading institution of the South and attracted several noteworthy scholars, including Francis Lieber, Thomas Cooper, and Joseph LeConte. However, the college suffered greatly and lost most of its prestige when it closed during the American Civil War.
Civil War, 1860 – 1865
The students formed a cadet company in December of 1860 to aid the Southern cause, but an order by Governor Pickens prevented them from leaving Columbia. Undeterred, the students disbanded their company on April 12 and formed a new company while en route to Charleston so that the governor's previous holding orders would be invalid. Once in Charleston, General Beauregard assigned the company to guard Sullivan's Island, much to the dismay of the students who greatly desired to be a part of the Battle of Fort Sumter. After three weeks of guard duty, the student cadet company returned to Columbia to a hero's welcome.
Later in June of 1861, the students reformed the company and requested to be accepted for service. Governor Pickens accepted their request provided that the faculty also approved the venture, but the faculty did not give its consent because they did not want the college to needlessly be closed. The frustrated students even went as far as negotiating service of their unit with President Jefferson Davis, who agreed, but again Governor Pickens denied their use because the faculty was not willing to let them go.
When the students returned in October, they reorganized their military unit as the "third company." The Union attack of the South Carolina coast in November at the Battle of Port Royal led Governor Pickens to agree to their request to be mustered for active duty, but President Longstreet and the faculty steadfastly maintained their opposition to the students leaving for service. However, with the support of the governor the students ignored the protests of the faculty and departed for the Lowcountry. Governor Pickens kept the student company in Charleston to serve as his bodyguard and because the Union forces at Port Royal did not press their advantage, he released the students from military service on December 10.
Seventy-two students were present for classes in January of 1862 and the college functioned as best it could until a call by the Confederate government for South Carolina to fill its quota of 18,000 soldiers. A system of conscription would begin on March 20 for all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, so on March 8 all of the students at the college volunteered for service in order to avoid the dishonor of having been conscripted. Despite the depletion of students, the professors issued a notice that the college would temporarily close and would reopen to those under eighteen. When the college reopened on March 17, only nine students showed up for classes and it became quite apparent to all that the college would not last past the end of the term in June.
On June 25 with the consent of the state government, the Confederate authorities took possession of the college buildings and converted them into a hospital. After many unsuccessful attempts to reopen the college, the trustees passed a resolution on December 2, 1863 that officially closed the college. By February of 1865, Sherman's army had reached the outskirts of Columbia and the college was spared from destruction by the Union forces because of its use as a hospital. In addition, a company of the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment was stationed at the campus on February 17 to protect it from harm and to thwart off pillaging Yankee soldiers.
Reorganization, 1865 – 1906
The Union army took possession of the college on May 24, 1865 and although the future for the college appeared bleak with it under military control, General John Porter Hatch sent a letter on June 19 to the remaining professors at the college that it should reopen as soon as possible. The appointment of Benjamin Franklin Perry as provisional governor of South Carolina on June 30 by President Andrew Johnson restored civilian rule to the state. Perry reinstated the trustees to their positions and the board met on September 20 to authorize the college to reopen on the first Monday of January in 1866.
In a message to the legislature in October, Perry sought to convert the college into a university because with the state in an impoverished situation, it would provide a more practical education. The model that he wished to follow was the elective system used by the University of Virginia. Perry was succeeded in November as governor by James Lawrence Orr, a graduate of the University of Virginia, who also wished to see the college adopt the curriculum of his alma mater. Little opposition developed to change the College into a university and bill to establish the 'University of South Carolina' was passed by the General Assembly on December 19, 1865, sixty-four years after the institution's foundation.
The schools of the university remained largely the same as they were in the College, the difference was the addition of a school of engineering and mathematics. For the students, the difference was great because they were given much more freedom than afforded in the College and they were given the ability to choose their classes rather than having to submit to a compulsory curriculum identical for all. It was expected by Perry and Orr that the relaxed atmosphere at the University would allow for it to prosper and reach three or four hundred students in a few years.[3]
The reopening of the University was pushed back to January 10 due to the dilapidated condition of the buildings on the campus and also because of sentimental emotions attached to the date as the original opening of South Carolina College. Less than fifty students were present for the first term and the lack of students at the University alarmed Governor Orr. He recommended to the General Assembly that schools of law and medicine be added and the legislature followed through by establishing schools of law and medicine in 1866. Despite this step, the University faced an ominous future as the state was beginning to undergo Reconstruction.
After Radical Republicans gained control of the state government in 1868, they sought to remake the University to more of their liking. The intentions of the Radical Republicans had been quite clear when they added a section in the state constitution of 1868 stating that all universities of the state should be "free and open to all the children and youths of the State, without regard to race and color."[3] Former Governor Orr urged the legislature to preserve the University as an institution for the whites and to convert the dormant campus of The Citadel into a college for the blacks. Governor Robert Kingston Scott ignored this request and instead recommended the legislature to make the University comply with the Morrill Act, thus removing race as an admissions criteria.
The University Act of 1869 reorganized the University and provided it with generous financial support. An amendment was added to the act by W. J. Whipper, a black representative from Beaufort, that would prevent racial discrimination from the admissions policy of the University. The legislature further proved its seriousness towards racial equality by electing two black trustees to the governing board of the University on March 9, 1869. Nevertheless, blacks were not admitted until 1873 and faculty appointments were made to appeal to the sensibilities of both the Republicans and the conservatives.
However, the admission of black students to the University was inevitable and three factors brought about its occurrence. First, the University never achieved a level of enrollment that was commensurate to its financial backing by the legislature. Enrollment never exceeded one hundred students whereas the enrollment at Wofford College exceeded that mark in 1870. Students largely stayed away from the University because of the constant fear that blacks would be admitted. The second reason was the failure of the state to provide an adequate public university for the education of blacks. In 1872, funds were allocated for the Agricultural and Mechanical Institute at Orangeburg, but they were badly mismanaged and as a result the black legislators called for the opening of the University to black students. Finally, the state Republican party split for the election of 1872 between Radical and moderate factions. The Radicals won and pressed their advantage by electing four blacks to the Board of Trustees, thus constituting a majority.
A normal school was established by the legislature on the campus of the University as well as a preparatory school since most of the black students of the state were ill prepared for the academic work required at a university. In addition, to encourage enrollment by blacks, tuition and other fees were abolished. On October 7, 1873, Henry E. Hayne, the Secretary of State of South Carolina, became the first black student when he registered for the fall session in the medical college of the University.[5][3] As a result of his enrollment, three professors resigned and the University was largely devoid of students.
On October 8, enrollment stood at eight students, seven of whom were the sons of the professors. The number increased to twenty-two students after many politicians registered with the University to show that it was open for both races, yet few of the politicians attended classes. Troubled by the low enrollment, State Treasurer of South Carolina, Francis L. Cardozo went to Washington and persuaded a handful of students at Howard University to transfer to the University. Drastic measures were required to increase the number of students and the legislature passed an act in February of 1874 to provide for 124 scholarships of $200. The conservative press denounced this move because with the absence of tuition, it meant that students were effectively being paid to attend the University.[3] Many of the scholarship students could not meet the entrance requirements into the freshman class so the faculty assembled them into a sub-freshman class, although it was abolished in 1875.
The scholarships achieved their desired effect in increasing enrollment and by 1875, 90% of the student body was black.[8] The University of South Carolina holds the distinction of being the only state university in the South to admit and grant degrees to black students during Reconstruction. Yet it was because of its black matriculates, its Republican faculty, and its lavish support that the University became a symbol the Redeemers sought to destroy. After the Democratic victory in the election of 1876, the University was closed on June 7, 1877 by a joint resolution of the General Assembly.
It was far from certain that the University would be reopened and debate ensued in the General Assembly over the necessity of the University. Many legislators led by Martin Witherspoon Gary felt that the state had other obligations and it was not practical for the state to spend money on the University. In addition, these legislators were from the Upstate and had no attachment to the University since they had attended other schools as a result of the University being essentially closed to whites during Reconstruction. An act to reorganize the University was passed by the state Senate by just two votes on March 2, 1878, but it did not provide for the appropriation of funds to the reopening. The act specified that the University was to consist of two branches, one styled as the South Carolina College in Columbia for the whites and Claflin College in Orangeburg for the blacks. In order to mollify agitation by the farming interests, a section of the act specified that an agricultural department was to be established with the University.
On October 5, 1880 the institution was reopened as the 'South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts' and largely derived its funding from the Morrill Act. Despite its name as an agriculture and mechanical college, few students showed an interest in either area. Only nine students worked the twenty acre college farm for the first session and just twenty-one attended the mechanical shop. It was simply that the state could not afford a University offering a broad and comprehensive curriculum that it had to offer a semblance of an agriculture program to comply with the Morrill Act in order to receive its funds.
By 1881, the state's financial situation was markedly improved and Governor Johnson Hagood called for greater expenditures on higher education. With a much higher appropriation, the trustees abolished the farming and mechanical foreman positions and proceeded to restore the institution to its antebellum status as the South Carolina College in 1882. An agriculture department remained, but little of the curriculum was agricultural and it was essentially identical to the general science program. Furthermore, the department suffered from neglect because its professor, John McLauren McBryde, was also the President of the institution and in that position he focused most of his energies.
In the latter years of the 1880's, the College increasingly came under attack from the sectarian forces and the agricultural interests. The denominational colleges, struggling to rebuild from the Civil War, demanded that free tuition be dropped at the college and the General Assembly capitulated in 1887 by fixing tuition rates at $40 per year. Led by Ben Tillman, the agrarians pushed to establish a separate agriculture college because they felt that the College was not providing an adequate education in agriculture. Despite Tillman's rhetoric, a majority of the students were sons of farmers and the most advanced agricultural research was being conducted at Cornell and the University of California, both liberal arts colleges.[3]
To take advantage of the Hatch Act and to assuage the concerns of the farmers, the legislature passed an act in 1887 to reorganize the college as the University of South Carolina with six schools and colleges. An agricultural experiment station was set up, the college farm was expanded by , and a well developed agriculture program was initiated. The University was so successful that Ben Tillman announced his retirement from public life.
The death of Thomas Green Clemson in 1888 breathed new life into the establishment of a separate agriculture college because his will stipulated that his estate was to be left to the state for that purpose. Ben Tillman reemerged to carry the cause to the legislature and in 1889, Governor Richardson signed the bill accepting the bequest. The Morrill and Hatch funds were transferred to the new agriculture college in June of 1890 and the University's agricultural department ceased to exist. The vitality of the University itself was threatened during the 1890 campaign when Ben Tillman advocated its closing. Although he won the election, he only succeeded in reorganizing it as a liberal arts college while in office.[10]
The University was reorganized once more as the South Carolina College in 1891 and it struggled to remain relevant through the rest of the decade. It was restricted to teaching the subjects of law, literature, classics, and theoretical science.[3] The prestige of the College had fallen such that in 1893 a proposal was offered in the legislature to close the campus and provide homes for Confederate veterans on it instead.[3] Nonetheless, with enrollment lagging and the lack of a liberal arts school for women, the legislature passed a bill in 1893 that mandated the College to admit women. On September 24, 1895, Frances Guignard Gibbes was the first woman to be admitted to the College and Mattie Jean Adams was the first to graduate in 1898.[3]
Although Tillman had crippled the institution when he became governor, he also did not let it die. The number of students steadily declined from a high of 235 in 1889 to a low of 68 in 1894 and despite the urging of legislators to close it, Tillman maintained through his governorship that the College receive an adequate level of funding. Tillman also led the charge to reestablish the normal school at the College, long dormant since the end of Reconstruction. In addition, engineering was permitted to be added to the College in 1894 despite a previous prohibition from the act of 1890.
University of South Carolina, 1906 – present
The victory by Duncan Clinch Heyward in the gubernatorial election of 1902 marked the end of Tillmanism and the return of a friendly figure in the governor's office for the institution. Heyward pushed the legislature to convert the College into a University in 1905 to mark the centennial by providing the state with a capstone for its educational system. The effort failed when legislators feared that The Citadel was to be absorbed into the University, but the measure was reintroduced in 1906 and passed on February 17 to charter the institution for the last time as the 'University of South Carolina'.
Yet for the next forty years, the institution would struggle to find its identity as it cycled through periods of achieving popularity versus academic excellence. Under the vigorous leadership of President Samuel Chiles Mitchell from 1909 to 1913, enrollment at the University doubled and he brought the University to the state by setting up extension courses in 1910. Incessant criticism by Governor Coleman Livingston Blease over Mitchell's handling of University affairs led to his resignation and the trustees elected William Spenser Currell with the intention of raising the level of scholarship at the University. Entrance requirements were made more stringent and Currell's efforts were rewarded when the University became the first state-supported college or university in South Carolina to earn accreditation by the Southern Association in 1917.[3]
The entrance of America into World War I was enthusiastically supported by the student body and the vast majority participated in the ROTC unit at the University. To compensate for the loss of enrollment because of conscription, the war department replaced the ROTC program with the Student Army Training Corps. After the war, the SATC was disbanded and military training was made compulsory for freshman and sophomore students in the ROTC program. The students wished a return to normalcy and the ROTC program was scrapped in 1921 due to lack of interest.
An aura of stagnation existed at the University in the early 1920's and the trustees elected William Davis Melton in 1922 to revive its fortunes. Melton launched a campaign to popularize the institution by convincing the people of the state that it was not exclusively for the elite or a special interest group, but rather for the masses. He achieved phenomenal results as the appropriation by the legislature for the University was greatly increased and student enrollment surpassed that of Clemson in 1924 for the first time. Following Melton's death in 1926, Davison McDowell Douglas was elected President to consolidate the gains by Melton and tighten academic standards. However, the board of trustees called upon James Rion McKissick in 1936 to return to Melton's policies of popularizing the University.
McKissick established the University News Service to combat perceived misconceptions of the University and to promote the high moral character of the students. Due in large part to his efforts, enrollment reached record numbers and the University entered the 1940's with a renewed sense of optimism. Yet, the world soon became engulfed by World War II and to help with the loss of enrollment because of mobilization, the University received a Naval ROTC detachment. The University was quickly transformed into a Naval school when the Navy set up a V-5 Navy Flight Preparatory School, a Civil Aeronautics Administration-War Training Service program, and a V-12 Navy College Training Program. The V-12 program was the most important to the University because the trainees were enrolled in classes and they became an active participant in student life and extracurricular activities.
By November of 1944 it was clear that World War II would soon be coming to a close and the serviceman would return to enroll in the university in massive numbers due in large part because of the passage of the G.I. Bill. Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives and trustee of the University, Solomon Blatt, unveiled a proposal called the "new and greater university" plan that would move the University from its present site to a site just outside of Columbia. At the time, the University was the smallest state university in the South and a larger campus would more easily allow for expansion at much less cost. The idea of a move came from that of the relocation of Louisiana State University in 1925 and it was envisioned that a new campus would provided the impetus for the University of South Carolina "to establish itself as a great American state university."[15]
Blatt obtained support from all the key players in the politics of South Carolina to facilitate such a visionary proposal. He received support Governor Olin D. Johnston, Governor-elect Ransome Judson Williams, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Edgar Allan Brown, and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Morris Tuten. The Board of Trustees approved the plan in December of 1944 by a vote of 17-2, although complaints were issued from the dissenting voters that the decision was made with too much haste and without any input from the public. In addition, Blatt chose Navy Rear Admiral Norman Murray Smith as the President of the University in large part because he held connections in the political establishments of South Carolina and the federal government necessary to secure funds for the relocation of the University.
However, Blatt's proposal caused an intense out roar in the state because alumni and students felt that it would needlessly severe the University from its antebellum tradition. Other complaints arose that the process itself did not allow for public input and it was detested as a product of the Barnwell Ring. Even with the outpouring of condemnation, municipalities lobbied to have the University moved to their locale such as Camden, Cheraw, Georgetown, Manning, Spartanburg, Sumter, Kershaw County and Oconee County.[15] Blatt realized that his proposal in February of 1945 would not receive the necessary support in the legislature and he modified it so that the University would expand upon its existing area. This idea was warmly received by the alumni and students, but it died in the Finance Committee after Senator Edgar Brown declined to take up the matter.
Following World War II, enrollment at the University swelled from the influx of veterans. They were wholeheartedly welcomed by President Smith who actively campaigned for their attendance and he announced that every qualified veteran would be admitted to the University. The vast majority of South Carolina veterans chose to attend the University because of its hospitable atmosphere, but also for other reasons. They did not want to attend Clemson or The Citadel because "the prospect of returning home to attend a military college was distasteful for the older men leaving the military after fighting the largest war in world history."[15] In addition, Clemson's rural location and its self imposed restriction on the number of students made it inaccessible for a large number of veterans. The University offered several special programs to meet the needs of the veterans and it continued an accelerated calendar until 1949.
On September 11, 1963 the University of South Carolina became the university of all the people of South Carolina. As the result of a federal court order, Henrie D. Monteith, Robert Anderson, and James Solomon became the first of an increasing number of African-American students to enroll at the University in the 20th century. In the ensuing years, Carolina underwent explosive growth as the "baby boom" generation entered college. Enrollment stood at 5,660 in 1960, but by 1979 had reached nearly 26,000 students on the Columbia campus alone. To meet the needs of these students and South Carolina's changing economy, the University put new emphasis on research and introduced innovative degree programs as well as a number of new schools and colleges. Carolina had become a true research university.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the University of South Carolina continued to develop its resources to better serve the Palmetto State. A concerted drive to achieve national recognition brought Carolina into the 21st century. In 2001, the University of South Carolina celebrated a legacy of 200 years of educating leaders for the future of South Carolina, the nation, and the world. [18]
Literary Societies
Student literary societies were an important part of student life at Carolina for the first 150 or so years of its existence. Philomathic was the first such society and was formed within weeks of the opening of SCC in 1805 and included practically the whole student body. In 1806 it was split into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies.[19]
After the university admitted women students, the Hypatian Society was founded in 1915 for women, followed by the Euphrosynean Society in 1924.[20]
Academics
| College | Undergrad | Graduate |
|---|---|---|
| College of Arts and Sciences | 7,281 | 1,193 |
| Moore School of Business | 3,106 | 403 |
| College of Education | 879 | 873 |
| College of Engineering and Computing | 1,299 | 382 |
| School of the Environment | -- | 29 |
| The Graduate School | -- | -- |
| College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management | 1,662 | 78 |
| School of Law | -- | 744 |
| College of Mass Communications and Information Studies | 1,514 | 545 |
| School of Medicine | -- | 456 |
| School of Music | 320 | 115 |
| College of Nursing | 822 | 119 |
| College of Pharmacy | 388 | 400 |
| Arnold School of Public Health | 414 | 481 |
| College of Social Work | -- | 520 |
| South Carolina Honors College | -- | -- |
| #As found at http://www.ipr.sc.edu/.#Graduate programs are run by the respective colleges, but all graduate degrees are awarded by the Graduate School.#Not a degree granting college. | ||
Admissions
Classified as ''more selective'',[21] USC admitted less than 68% of those who applied to be Freshmen in 2005.[22] When admitting Freshmen, the university puts emphases on the rigor of high school study and scores on standardized test, SAT or ACT. It also considers class rank, extracurricular activities, and an optional personal statement. The average incoming freshman has a combined SAT score of 1166 and has a high school GPA of 3.82.[23][24]
Honors college
Carolina is home to the nationally recognized South Carolina Honors College, which is designed to offer academically gifted undergraduates the advantages of a small college in the setting of a large metropolitan university. After gaining acceptance to the University, students must apply separately to the Honors College and demonstrate significant academic achievement to be accepted. Entering freshman in the program have an average weighted GPA of over 4.4 and an SAT score of 1410.
An illustration of the new Honors College Residence Halls.
The Honors College offers housing for freshman in Maxcy College, located on the University's historic Horseshoe. Additional Horseshoe housing in apartment-style residents are available to upperclassman Honors student in various buildings. Current development plans call for a new Honors College residence to be built on the site of the University's "Towers" dormitories.
There are over 120 courses offered exclusively to Honors College students. Students are required to complete a Senior Thesis under the direction of a faculty member in order to graduate from the College with Honors.
Research
Carolina is the only university in South Carolina to be designated a research institution of "very high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This classification is the foundation's highest, given to 62 public and 32 private research institutions in the United States.[25][26]
During his tenure, former Carolina president John Palms articulated a "Cathedrals of Excellence" budgeting philosophy. Palms was an expert fundraiser who advocated that the money be channeled into USC's best programs, rather than spread the funds evenly. The strategy would pay off in the long term when these programs became nationally prominent, making a name for USC and attracting grant money. The board of directors has since used his notion to shield certain colleges from budget cuts at the expense of others.
Current USC president Andrew Sorensen raised even larger sums for research, including a $300 million grant for colorectal cancer. In the spirit of Palms' budget, the board of directors moved to transform university land on Assembly Street into an "innovation district" called Innovista that will develop four strengths: biomedicine, nanotechnology, environmental science and alternative fuels.
Innovista is a partnered development with the City of Columbia and will form an ecosystem of sorts. The campus will house offices and private research firms among the university offices and labs, as well as hold residences and retail. Those who live and work in the Innovista will have easy access to the Congaree Vista and a Publix, as well as being within walking distance of the Five Points bar and shopping district. All told, Innovista will add five million square feet of floor space to the metro area and could set Columbia on a more urban path.[27]
National rankings
| Publication | Rank[28] | Category |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. News & World Report | # 1 | Undergraduate international business for 10th consecutive year |
| # 2 | Graduate international business (17th consecutive year as either # 1 or # 2) | |
| # 25 | Best business programs (among public universities) | |
| # 19 | Graduate library science, including # 2 school library media and # 8 health information | |
| # 58 | Nursing master's program | |
| # 3 | School psychology doctoral program | |
| # 12 | Graduate social psychology | |
| # 91 | Law Schools | |
| # 112 | National Universities (out of 248 institutions; # 54 out of 162 public institutions) | |
| ''Entrepreneur'' | Top 50 | Business schools in entrepreneurship |
| Forbes Magazine | # 49 | Graduate business schools' "return on investment" |
| ''Latin Trade'' | # 5 | MBA programs for Latin Americans |
| National Science Foundation | # 38 | Chemistry and biochemistry federally funded research |
| ''American Academy of Kinesiology & Physical Education'' | # 8 | Exercise science |
| ''Journal of Health Education'' | # 5 | Health education doctoral program |
| ''Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education'' | # 9 | Hotel, restaurant, & tourism management |
| American Board of Pediatrics | # 2 | Pediatrics residency program |
| ''Journal of Public Affairs Education'' | # 10 | Publication rates of faculty research in journals associated with the American Society for Public Administration |
| ''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' | # 31 | 100 Best Values in Public Colleges |
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is a body created by the state of South Carolina responsible for the maintenance and operation of the university, including the University of South Carolina System. Its primary focus is to set the mission for the University system and to approve all financial decisions.
The board was established in the legislation passed by the General Assembly on December 19, 1801 for the foundation of South Carolina College. The original board was composed of twenty-five members, twelve of whom were ''ex officio'' and thirteen were elected. They first met on February 12, 1802 at the home of Governor John Drayton. A quorum was not present so they met again on February 14 when they did have the necessary numbers for a quorum.
On May 7, 1970 about 500 students marched to the flagpole on the Horseshoe and demanded that the US Flag be lowered to half staff to honor those who had died in the Kent State shootings. An equal size counter-protest gathered at the flagpole and demanded that flag remain hoisted at the top of the pole. To thwart off any potential bloodshed, President Tom Jones ordered that the flag be lowered. However, the protesters felt emboldened and took over the Russell House. The National Guard had to be called in to dislodge the students from the building and 42 students were arrested.
The board acted to discipline the students on May 11. A crowd of 300 students formed, marched on the administrative building where the trustees were meeting, and demanded amnesty for the students. The board refused and the protesters responded by vandalizing cars parked at the building. One car that was flipped over was bought the same day by a trustee. The protesters occupied the first floor of the building causing the trustees to huddle in a room on the second floor. After waiting a few hours in the room, Hugh Willcox, a trustee in his 70's, simply left the room, walked past the students, and sped away in his car. Sol Blatt, Jr. commented that he would not have done that for $100,000.[15] The National Guard arrived later that night and the protesters dispersed at their sight. The inability of President Tom Jones to control the actions of the students led to the loss of support by the trustees and his eventual resignation in 1974.
Composition and powers
The Board of Trustees is composed of the following twenty members:
★ Governor of South Carolina, ''ex officio'' Chairman of the Board; may appoint a designee in his stead
★ South Carolina State Superintendent of Education, ''ex officio''
★ President of the Greater University of South Carolina Alumni Association, ''ex officio''
★ One member elected by the General Assembly from each of the sixteen judicial circuits
★ One member appointed by the governor
The governor's appointee and those elected by the General Assembly serve for a term of four years.
Seven standing committees have been set up to streamline the business of the board of trustees. A special or ad hoc committee can be formed by the Chairman of the Board should a need arise. The following are the seven standing committees:
★ Executive Committee
★ Buildings and Grounds Committee
★ Intercollegiate Activities Committee
★ Academic Affairs and Faculty-Liaison Committee
★ Student-Trustee Liaison Committee
★ Health Affairs Committee
★ Fiscal Policy Committee
Up until 1981, the positions of head football coach and athletic director were combined. Despite being the athletic director, the head football coach held little sway over the hiring and firing of the coaches for the other athletic programs. The true power lay with the chairman of the athletic committee and the position was dominated from the 1930's to the 1970's by Solomon Blatt, Sr. and his son Solomon Blatt, Jr. Yet in 1966 Blatt, Jr. was trumped when he had lined up Bill Murray to become the head football coach and Governor Robert Evander McNair had instead convinced Paul Dietzel to accept the position.
The trustees have the final say on all affairs that are pertinent to the University. Their powers include:
★ Awarding of honorary degrees
★ Purchasing, leasing and selling property of the University
★ Setting tuition fees
★ Hiring and firing faculty and personnel
Additionally, according to the Code of Laws of South Carolina (1976), Section 59-117-100, the board of trustees are tasked with ensuring that the President of the University is not an atheist or an infidel.
Student life
Demographics
Approximately 27,000 students attend the Columbia campus of the University of South Carolina, coming from all 46 South Carolina counties. In addition, students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries are represented. (Another 13,000 students study at the regional campuses of the University of South Carolina System.) Enrollment statistics for the Fall 2005 indicate the following:
★ Undergraduates 77%, Graduates 19%, Professionals 4%
★ Males 40%, Females 60%
★ Full-time 75%, Part-time 25%
★ Residents 83%, Non-residents 17%
★ Minorities 21.51%
Housing
The University of South Carolina campus is currently home to twenty-five residence halls, the last of which opened in of the fall of 2004. The housing on campus is under the supervision of Department of Student Housing, and quality of life is enhanced through the Resident Hall Association.
Capstone House built in 1967.
On-campus housing currently provides over 6,200 housing units on campus. Patterson Hall, with a housing capacity of approximately 600 freshmen females, is Carolina’s largest residence hall. The tallest and most notable landmark on the Columbia campus is the 18-story Capstone House. Top of Carolina Dining Room is on the 18th floor and was the only revolving restaurant on an American college campus. In the fall of 2004, the West Quad was the last residence hall opened on campus and is one of only four in the world to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Since campus academic enrollment exceeds the capacity of on-campus housing, the University is in the process of adding more resident halls, most of which will be suite-style. Some students as a result live in popular off-campus housing, including apartments at College Suites, University Commons, The Wilshire House at Union Station, Whaley's Mill, and Sterling University; houses in the Shandon, Rosewood, and Olympia areas of Columbia; and off-campus housing provided by Greek organizations.[30]
Organizations
Students may participate in any of the 300 registered student organizations and can have a voice in the University's administration by election to and service in student government and student judicial council.
Carolina Productions is a student organization responsible for providing diverse educational programs, entertainment, and special events for the University. It is composed of seven commissions, each of which concentrates on separate programming.
'Honor societies' include Alpha Epsilon Delta, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Phi Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi, Carolina Scholars Association, Chi Sigma Iota, Eta Sigma Delta, Gamma Beta Phi, Golden Key, Kappa Delta Epsilon, McNair Scholars Association, Mortar Board, Mu Sigma Rho, National Residence Hall Honorary, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Omicron Delta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Lambda Sigma, Phi Sigma Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, Psi Chi, Rho Chi, Sigma Alpha Lambda, Sigma Delta Pi, Sigma Iota Rho, and Tau Beta Pi.
'Professional organizations' include Academy of Student Pharmacists, Alpha Kappa Psi, American Marketing Association, Delta Sigma Pi, Gamecock Pre-Veterinary Association, Library and Information Science Student Association, Phi Alpha Delta, Public Relations Student Society of America, Social Work Student Association, Student Nurses Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, among others.
'Religious organizations' include Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chi Alpha (Assemblies of God), Christ's Student Church (Church of Christ), Hillel (Jewish), Lutheran Campus Ministry, Methodist Student Network, Presbyterian (USA) Student Association, Reformed University Fellowship (Presbyterian Church in America), and St. Thomas More Catholic Community.
'Minority and international student organizations' include Association of African American Students, Students Allied for Latin America, Black Graduate Student Association, Hellenic Student Organization, NAACP, Brothers of Nubian Descent, Ethnic Student Ministries, Indian Student Association, International Student Association, Nihon Club, Fellowship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, Thai Students Association, Turkish Student Association, Filipino-American Student Association, SEED, SALA, Society of Black Engineers, and Hindu Students Council.
Other organizations include choral groups, concert band, dance, drama/theater, jazz band, marching band, music ensembles, musical theater, opera, pep band, symphony orchestra, and the campus radio station.
Students can also join the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) or participate in any of the local projects sponsored by Habitat for Humanity.
Media
There is an editorially independent student newspaper, ''The Daily Gamecock'', which is is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters. The Daily Gamecock has a readership of more than 30,000
In the Fall 2006 USC established its first television station SGTV (Student Government Television). It was funded by Student Government until April 2007 when SG released SGTV to the department of Student Media which operates Garnet & Black, The Daily Gamecock and WUSC.
SGTV airs Monday through Thursdays from 6pm-10pm and all weekend long. We are on Gamecock (campus) Cable channel 4. SGTV provides original informative and entertaining programming as well as an outlet for student work.
The student run radio station WUSC began broadcasting on the AM dial in 1947. In January of 1977 WUSC began broadcasting on the FM dial and in 1982 the station found its current home at 90.5 FM. In June of 2006 WUSC upgraded to a current digital transmitter and are now broadcasting in HD radio. WUSC-FM was one of the first stations in the state to broadcast in HD and recently made history by being the first station in the state to broadcast in HD2
Students also publish a literary magazine the Garnet & Black magazine. Garnet & Black is Student Media's newest print publication, formed in 1994 as a consolidation of the University's former yearbook and literary magazine. This student magazine focuses on the issues of general interest to the Carolina community and includes a literary section featuring student literary and other creative work.
Greek life
The Greek system has been slightly less popular at USC than at other large universities in the southern states. Currently, about 16% of students participate in Greek organizations. However, a significant increase in interest has already been experienced with the addition of the Greek Village, where currently nineteen houses (construction started in 2002 and continues to develop) are owned and managed by individual Greek organizations. All students who live in these buildings are members of a sorority or fraternity.[31]
The Greek Village.
★ Number of fraternities: 19
★ Fraternities with chapter houses: 11
★ Fraternities and Sororities with Houses
★
★ Gamma Phi Beta
★
★ Chi Omega
★
★ Chi Psi
★
★ Kappa Kappa Gamma
★
★ Delta Zeta
★
★ Lambda Chi
★
★ Alpha Chi Omega
★
★ Alpha Delta Phi
★
★ Delta Delta Delta
★
★ Kappa Delta
★
★ Sigma Alpha Epsilon
★
★ Sigma Nu
★
★ Pi Kappa Phi
★
★ Sigma Chi
★
★ Zeta Tau Alpha
★
★ Kappa Sigma
★
★ Alpha Tau Omega
★
★ Kappa Alpha Order
★
★ Phi Sigma Pi
★ Fraternity members: 15%
★ Number of sororities: 14
★ Sororities with chapter houses: 9
★ Sorority members: 16%
Athletics
The University offers club, intramural, and varsity sports. Its 18 varsity sports teams compete in the Southeastern Conference and are known as the 'Gamecocks'. The Gamecocks have won six national team championships: 2002 NCAA championship in women's track & field, 2005 & 2007 National Championship in women's equestrian, and 2005-2007 Hunt Seat National Championships in women's equestrian. Also, the men's and women's track & field teams have produced ''many'' NCAA individual champions, world championship medalists, and Olympic medalists. The men's baseball and basketball teams have also produced Olympic medalists. Other significant accomplishments include: 2005 NCAA runner-up in women's track & field; NCAA runner-up three times in baseball (2002, 1977, 1975); 1993 NCAA runner-up in men's soccer; and 2005 & 2006 NIT championships in men's basketball. See grid at the following article for other championships.
Main articles: South Carolina Gamecocks
Recreation
Students tend to socialize off campus in Five Points and the Congaree Vista. Both of these areas are within walking distance of campus and offer restaurants, bars, cafés, and a variety of local entertainment.
Lake Murray and the three rivers (Saluda River, Broad River, and Congaree River) around Columbia offer students many recreational activities.
Recent accomplishments
★ Since 1994 students have won 313 national fellowship and scholarship competitions totaling more than $9 million dollars for advanced academic study. Included are Marshall, Rhodes, Truman, National Science Foundation, Fulbright, Goldwater, Madison, Cooke, and Javits Scholars, among others[32]
★ Two more public relations teams from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications won national titles at the 2006 Bateman Competition sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America. Teams were challenged to design campaigns that would increase awareness and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, and of the more than ninety universities that started, sixty-two actually submitted entries. USC's Keystone Group won the international campaign division, and the University's Merlin Group won the regional campaign division. In 2004, USC won a national title while another USC team placed third. USC also won the 2002 competition.[33]
★ USC-affiliated athletes won seven medals at the 2004 Olympic Games.[34]
Campus
The Horseshoe at the center of USC's campus as it looks today.
When South Carolina College opened its doors in 1805, the building now known as Rutledge College was the only building on campus. Located one block southeast of the State Capitol, it served as an administrative office, academic building, residence hall, and chapel. However, the master plan for the original campus called for a total of eleven buildings, all facing a large lush gathering area. Therefore, in 1807, the original President's House was the next building to be erected. The building now known as DeSaussure College followed shortly thereafter, and the remaining eight buildings were constructed over the next several decades. When completed, all eleven buildings formed a U-shape open to Sumter Street. This modified quadrangle is known as the Horseshoe.
The Horseshoe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and most of its buildings reflect the federal style of architecture in vogue in the early days of the nation. Among them is the Caroliniana Library, which was designed by Robert Mills and is the first freestanding academic library in the United States.[35]
Over the years the eleven original buildings on the Horseshoe survived a fire, an earthquake, and the Civil War, but in 1940 McKissick Museum replaced the original President's House. The President's House would eventually return to the Horseshoe after extensive remodeling of one of its original buildings, which was dedicated as such in 1952.
During the 20th century, the campus began to spread out dramatically from the Horseshoe. Today it includes the student union, 21 residence halls, numerous academic buildings, Longstreet Theatre, the Koger Center for the Arts, the Carolina Coliseum, the Colonial Center, Sarge Frye Field, and various facilities for Olympic sports. (Williams-Brice Stadium is located approximately one mile off campus.)
Recent additions to the campus are the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center (the largest facility of its kind on a college campus in the United States) , the Greek village, and the West Quad.
USC's new LEED building West Quad.
The West Quad was opened in the fall of 2004 as a residence hall and is one of only four in the world to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
The campus continues to expand west toward the Congaree River in support of its research initiatives (see below). Three separate sites, each specializing in its own research area, will initially cover spread over six city blocks and will eventually grow to . This new district of campus, named Innovista,[36] will mix university and private research buildings, parking garages, and commercial and residential units. At the center will be a public plaza called Foundation Square.
Future plans also include a new home for the Arnold School of Public Health and a new baseball stadium along the Congaree River.[37]
People
The University has over 250,000 living alumni.[1]
Main articles: List of University of South Carolina people
During its more than two hundred year history, the University has had over 30 presidents.
Main articles: Presidents of the University of South Carolina
Since its charter in 1801, the University has been governed by a board of trustees.
Main articles: University of South Carolina Board of Trustees
Points of interest
★ W. Gordon Belser Arboretum
★ The Capstone
★ Gibbes Green
★ The Horseshoe
★ Longstreet Theatre
★ McKissick Museum
★ National Advocacy Center
Footnotes
{{FootnotesSmall|resize=
Resources
★ 1. Hollis, Daniel Walker, (1951) ''University of South Carolina'' Volume I ''South Carolina College'', Columbia: University of South Carolina Press
★ 2. Hollis, Daniel Walker, (1956) ''University of South Carolina'' Volume II ''College to University'' Columbia: University of South Carolina Press
External links
★ University of South Carolina
★ Official University of South Carolina Athletics Site
★ Editorially independent student newspaper, The Gamecock
★ University of South Carolina Board of Trustees
★ Student Programming Board, Carolina Productions
★ USNews School Brief - USNews school profile
★ WUSC 90.5FM Columbia The commercial-free, free-format, non-top 40 Student run radio station of USC @ Columbia
★ International MBA (IMBA)
★ Campus Maps:
★
★ Official Campus Map
★
★ Google Map
★
★ WikiMapia
★ Historical Photos of USC Buildings and Grounds at the University of South Carolina Library's Digital Collections Page
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