USCTIMES
MAY 2015 / VOL. 26, NO.4
ACADEMIC YEAR IN REVIEW
Stop the Presses J-school gets new home, eyes bright future, page 2
Campus growth, campus life, athletics, arts, research — it’s time once again to reflect on the year that was and look forward to what comes next.
Carolina Road Trip Palmetto College puts online education on the map, page 16
USC TIMES / STAFF
FROM THE EDITOR USC Times is published 10 times a year for the faculty and staff of the University of South Carolina by the Office of Communications & Marketing. Managing editor Craig Brandhorst Designer Brandi Lariscy Avant Contributors Chris Horn Page Ivey Liz McCarthy Steven Powell Glenn Hare Thom Harman Photographers Kim Truett Chrissy Harper Ambyr Goff Bob Wertz Printer USC Printing Services Campus correspondents Patti McGrath, Aiken Cortney Easterling, Greenville Shana Dry, Lancaster Jane Brewer, Salkehatchie Misty Hatfield, Sumter Annie Smith, Union Tammy Whaley, Upstate Jay Darby, Palmetto College Submissions Did you know you can submit ideas for future issues of USC Times? Share your story by emailing or calling Craig Brandhorst at craigb1@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-3681.
WHAT FLOATS OUR BOAT Are we coming into port or just setting sail? This time of year it can be hard to tell. Classes have wrapped, grades have been submitted, graduating seniors have crossed the stage and tossed their caps. But here’s the thing about life at the university: there’s always another horizon, and another, and another after that. So is it OK to drop anchor for a bit? Or do we need to go ahead and start thinking about where we go next? It’s a lot to ponder, especially when the weather’s so nice, which is precisely how we wound up folding origami boats instead — and then launching them on the reflecting pond outside Thomas Cooper Library. Call it an idle pleasure, call it goofing off, but it’s also how we ended up with this month’s cover. And what a cover it is, the perfect portal to our second-annual Academic Year in Review. On the surface, this is our chance to reflect on the year that was, whether that means looking back at new construction (page 4), campus life (page 6), athletic success (page 10) or the arts (page 12). Flip through these pages, though, and you’ll discover a lot of stories that are still unfolding. Take the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, which moves into its new home in the remodeled health sciences building at the corner of Sumter and Greene streets this summer. Talk to College of Information and Communications Dean Charles Bierbauer (as we did, page 3), and he’ll tell you it’s been a long time coming; he’ll also tell you the best is yet to come. Or take chemistry professor Mike Angel, whose spectroscopy research contributed to the design of a new instrument selected by NASA for its Mars Exploration Rover Mission. The research is news now (“Red Planet Rendezvous,” page 15), but the next Mars rover won’t leave for the Red Planet until 2020. Or take USC Times itself. It was a good year for us, too, with the highpoint coming back in February, when we snagged a Silver Addy Award from the American Advertising Federation of the Midlands. It was a nice validation of something we already knew, which is that we do pretty good work around here. Don’t believe us? Check out those paper boats we’ve floated across the front and back cover, which symbolize everything we’ve accomplished over the past eight months plus all that we look forward to on the voyage ahead. They’re also just nice to contemplate as we head into summer. Anchors aweigh,
The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation or veteran status.
CRAIG BRANDHORST MANAGING EDITOR
VOL. 26, NO.4 1
TIMES FIVE
NOT-SO-HEAVY LIFTING The Move-In Crew needs 250-300 faculty and staff volunteers to help move more than 5,000 incoming freshmen into their residence halls this fall. Volunteers help families move possessions into rooms, point them in the right direction and show the newest members of the Gamecock family a little Southern hospitality. Typically, faculty and staff sign up for one or two two-hour shifts. All participants will receive a Move-In Crew T-shirt. Those working during the noon hour also will get a free lunch. The deadline to volunteer is June 29. Faculty and staff can register online at: sc.edu/moveincrew/. Questions? Contact Jimmie Gahagan at saose@mailbox.sc.edu or 803-777-1445.
A FULBRIGHT IDEA The deadline for the Fulbright Scholar Program, offering teaching and research awards in over 125 countries for the 201617 academic year, is Aug. 3. There are more than 600 core Fulbright opportunities for university faculty and administrators as well as for professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and many others. Several new programs have been added or expanded, including opportunities for multicountry grants with regional awards and flex awards for U.S. scholars unable to spend extended periods of time abroad. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program. For more information and a link to the application site, visit hr.sc.edu/international.html.
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh . . . OK, the summer camps offered through USC aren’t exactly novelty song material — they’re better. Carolina faculty and staff can sign up their kids for a range of camps and youth activities this summer, from academic to athletic to performing arts. Youngsters can learn the principles of matter and motion in Adventures in Physics or learn to fly (in a simulator, of course) with Adventures in Aviation. Other offerings include leadership
Return of the 30,000-pound Yard Sale
camps and music camps for several age groups and skill levels.
Faculty and staff have several opportunities to participate in
Visit http://uof.sc/USCcamps to learn more.
Give It Up for Good, sponsored by University Housing. The annual program collects donations as students move out of residence halls. The more than 30,000 pounds of items collected each year are sold in a yard sale with proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity. Faculty and staff donation day is 7 a.m.3 p.m., May 18, at the Greene Street Intramural Field. The faculty and staff preview sale is 4-6 p.m., Friday, May 22, at the same location. Admission is $5. The public sale is 7 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, May 23. Saturday admission is free, though early birds (7-8 a.m.) will be charged a $5 admission fee.
TALK ABOUT A MISTAKE! U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham grew up in the South Carolina town of Central and now resides in Seneca. A feature on the changing Southern accent (“Mouth of Cards”) in the April issue of USC Times incorrectly referred to Graham as a native of Edgefield, S.C. That town, some 80 miles south of Graham’s hometown, was the birthplace of the state’s longest-serving U.S. senator, Strom Thurmond, whose own distinct accent was markedly different from that of his senatorial successor.
BY CHRIS HORN
LET THE SUN SHINE J-SCHOOL PREPARES TO MOVE INTO BRIGHT NEW HOME
Not everything about the new Jschool is new. The windows, for example, were removed, reglazed, refi nished and reinstalled in accordance with USC’s historic Horseshoe guidelines. Workers tagged each one so they could be returned to their original locations.
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W
hen the College of Journalism and Mass Communications moved from the Horseshoe to the newly completed Carolina Coliseum in 1969, it didn’t take long for then-Dean Al Scroggins to realize the cavernous space was less than ideal. The Coliseum’s windowless classrooms and offices were only part of the problem. As subsequent deans would find, the concrete confines made it challenging to modernize classrooms or adopt emerging technologies. Eventually, the school just plain outgrew the place. But a floor-to-ceiling overhaul of the former health sciences building beside the Horseshoe is nearly finished, and the remade facility will welcome journalism students for the fall semester. “When I came here as dean in 2002, part of the deal was that we would have a new location; it was just a matter of where,” says Charles Bierbauer, dean of what is now the College of Information and Communications. “I didn’t think it would take this long, but, in the end, what we have in the new School of Journalism and Mass Communications building is better for our purposes than what we were planning several years ago with a renovation of LeConte.” The most stunning difference between the school’s old digs and its future home is natural light. There’s none in the former, and it’s everywhere in the latter. Sunbeams stream through the remodeled building’s original windows, all of which were reglazed and refinished in keeping with the historic Horseshoe district guidelines. Inside, glass walls and
doors convey a sense of transparency — not a bad physical metaphor for a journalism school, Bierbauer notes with a chuckle. On the first floor is a newsroom for the emerging print and broadcast senior semester, in which students will create online news content, newspaper content and a daily broadcast. Large flat-screen monitors will dot the newsroom walls, providing a continuous stream of Twitter feeds and other news. Seven miles of electrical and computer wiring snake throughout the building, seamlessly connecting servers and computers for editing suites, classrooms, labs, offices and studios. It’s important stuff, but not as attention-grabbing as the new atrium entrance on the east side of the building, which features a dazzling wide-screen media tower. On the north side of the building stands the steel skeleton of what will soon become the Greenhouse Studio, complementing the main TV studio inside. Overall, the traffic flow of the building is designed to encourage a mingling of students from different disciplines — mass communications, visual communications and the multimedia spectrum of today’s journalism. “It’s not a grail, but there is something inherently valuable to the school in having this building,” Bierbauer says. “Living in the Coliseum all these years, the journalism school was in a place built for basketball. Now we’ll have our own home and sense of place.”
4 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
CAMPUS
GROWTH Groundbreaking Partnership Following a nationwide trend in higher education, USC entered a new era of public-private partnership this year — inking a major deal for a new research facility while watching an earlier deal, for a student housing project, take shape just a block away. The kicker? Neither new building is costing the university a dime. In fact, the university stands to profit from the new corporate investment. In November, officials from USC, IBM and Fluor Corporation announced plans to open an applied innovation center in a new 120,000-square-foot building now under construction at the corner of Blossom and Assembly streets. As part of the agreement, IBM received a 10-year contract to run the university’s computer systems and entered into a handful of other partnerships that could reshape education and instruction in the decades ahead. But research, IT and education aren’t the only target of the new public-private paradigm. Student housing is also getting a boost.
Construction is well underway on 650 Lincoln, a new residential hall going up at the corner of Blossom and Lincoln streets, directly across from the Carolina Coliseum. Built entirely with private funds, the $94.6 million complex will open in two phases beginning this fall. The second phase will open in 2016. Built by Atlanta-based Holder Properties, the same company constructing the innovation center, 650 Lincoln will be privately managed but will add 878 much-needed beds and 689 parking spaces to the campus core. Silver Linings Playbook When faculty and staff at the Darla Moore School of Business relocated from the Close-Hipp Complex to their swanky new digs on Assembly Street in the fall, the plan was to lease the business school’s former home to the U.S. Department of Justice. In February, however, university officials were thrown a curve ball when the Justice Department backed out of the deal, citing budget cuts.
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But here’s the thing about curve balls: sometimes they hang right out over the plate. With two eight-story buildings now reverting to the university — and a $31.5 million financial settlement with the Department of Justice — what would have been a homerun now looks more like a grand slam. “Changing priorities at the federal level have taken what was a good deal years ago and turned it into an even better deal today,” said Ed Walton, USC’s chief operating officer. “Putting this 350,000 square feet of academic space back into the mix is a game changer for USC. The Club Is (Almost) Open Developers broke ground on the new My Carolina Alumni Center at the tail end of 2013, but the 65,000 square-foot meeting and event facility at the corner of Lincoln and Senate streets really came into focus this year — and is projected to open its doors this summer. With a brick façade and an entrance inspired by USC’s Horseshoe gates, the three-story building in the heart of Columbia’s Vista district will help link campus to the outside community. It will also help connect alumni — to each other but also to current Carolina students. “Our alumni have a vast wealth of talent that can help support the world-class education offered on campus,” My Carolina Executive Director Jack Claypoole told @UofSC Today in November. “From guest lectures to internships, our alumni can add value and support to today’s student while also instilling in them the importance of using the skills they learn at Carolina to help future generations of Gamecocks.” Change of Venue Going into the fall, we still had to rely on architects’ renderings to imagine what USC’s new law school will look like when it opens in 2017. As the spring semester draws to a close, we can actually watch the iron framework of the 187,500-square-foot structure going up in real time. Inspired by the 19th century architecture of Robert Mills but featuring the modern amenities of a 21st century educational facility, the new building will speak to the school’s 150-year history as well as its vision for the future. Meanwhile, its proximity to the National Advocacy Center, South Carolina’s Statehouse and Supreme Court, and the Children’s Law Center will position faculty and students at the center of a bustling legal community. “The School of Law’s future success is based on its present momentum and its rich history,” President Harris Pastides commented at the September groundbreaking. “Our new state-of-the-art structure will anchor a new legal corridor in South Carolina and project a modern, sophisticated image which matches our great expectations.”
Top to bottom: Steel structure of the new law school rises at the corner of Pickens and Gervais; renovations on Hamilton College, the new home for the College of Social Work, near completion.
Come Together Presently, you need a map and a compass to locate all the offices of USC’s College of Social Work, which are housed in half a dozen buildings on campus and off. That will all change, though, when renovations finish on Hamilton College, which will become its new base of operations this summer. “This move will be of tremendous importance to the College of Social Work,” says Dean Anna Scheyett. “We’ll be able to build community and have stronger connections among faculty, staff and students. We will also be able to have those impromptu conversations that turn into brainstorming and result in creativity and synergy of ideas, which will grow both our research and teaching excellence.”
6 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
CAMPUS LIFE
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ICE for ALS Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? In August, the viral campaign to raise money and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, hit the Carolina campus as students, faculty and administrators rallied around assistant professor of economics Stephen Finger, who was diagnosed with the disease last year. After students in Finger’s ECON 720 course videotaped their collective ice bucket dousing, colleagues in the economics department and deans from three colleges — public health, engineering and computing and social work — quickly followed suit. As the fad went viral, President Pastides and Ms. Moore-Pastides also joined in. “The Ice Bucket Challenge is a huge gimmick, it’s silly,” Finger told @UofUSC Today at the time. “That being said, two million people have done it, acknowledging the existence of ALS. That part of it is not insignificant. That part is unbelievable to the ALS community.” Also worth acknowledging: Finger’s own dedication to the Carolina community. “With an illness like this, you re-evaluate what you want to spend your time doing. Is teaching a valuable use of my time? At this point in my life, I’ve decided that it is,” he explained. “I would rather be doing this than sitting on a sofa at home.”
8 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
Dress for Success for Less Not every university president will give you the shirt off his back — but President Harris Pastides did exactly that this spring when he and first lady Patricia Moore-Pastides donated several pieces of business attire to Carolina Closet. Launched at the end of February by Student Government — the same organization that brought us Carolina Pantry in 2012 — the wardrobe rental service rents gently-used business attire donated by faculty, staff, students and area businesses to students on the internship and job hunt.
Two-Point Conversion In January, former Gamecock foot ball standout Marcus Lattimore re-enrolled at USC to complete his degree in public health. USC’s career leader in total touchdowns will also
From left: President Harris Pastides, 2014-15 Student Body President Lindsay Richardson and First Lady Patricia Moore-Pastides
serve as a special assistant to the president promoting Gamecock athletics. After rehabbing from the knee injury that ended his college career in 2012, Lattimore signed with the San Francisco 49ers but ultimately walked away from the sport citing lingering issues with his knee. “I cannot say enough about the support from the Gamecock family since the first day I stepped on campus until now,” Lattimore told reporters in November when he announced his retirement from the NFL. “I am so proud to be a part of the USC family, and I promise to always represent the garnet and black with honor and integrity.”
Honoring Fayad In April, USC’s Board of Trustees approved a memorial plaque honoring exercise science professor Raja Fayad, who was shot and killed on campus Feb. 5 in a domestic violence incident. The plaque will be placed next to a Lebanese cedar tree planted in April near the Arnold School of Medicine. It will feature a poem by Khalil Gibran as well as this passage, written by Fayad’s colleagues: “His kindness knew no bounds and he always saw the good in others. He was the consummate helper to anyone who asked and to many, many who didn’t. He changed the thinking and the lives of so many students with his exceptional teaching.”
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Where the Students Are ’15 There’s nothing inherently wrong with Spring Break at the beach. That said, a lot of USC undergrads find alternative spring break to be more fulfilling. This March, 65 Carolina students took advantage of the classroom reprieve to further their education in the real world — and do a little good in the process. During a whirlwind tour of the American Southeast, one group even learned about social justice. The Civil Rights Alternative Spring Break Trip, organized by USC’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and the African American Studies Program, hit the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, the Rosa Parks Museum and Library in Montgomery and half a dozen other sites across the South that bring the struggle for racial equality to life. Along the way, the group also stopped to conduct service in support of current civil rights causes.
The Professor Is Always In Junior biology major Sarina Dodhia spent hours in David Reisman’s office during the past two years, getting answers to her questions about cellular and molecular biology. She found her professor equally helpful in suggesting mentors for her upcoming honors thesis and even in critiquing — with an assist from his wife — rehearsal sessions of Moksha, the co-ed Bollywood fusion dance team that Reisman advises. “He also helped me get in contact with the professor I currently do research for,” Dodhia says. “I know several students who share similar stories regarding Dr. Reisman.” Little wonder that Dodhia and many other students nominated Reisman for the award he just received: the Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year Award, the highest honor the University of South Carolina bestows on faculty. “My door is always open. I tell my students to come by any time,” says Reisman, who joined the biological sciences faculty in 1991. “I treat students almost as peers, certainly as equals, and I think they feel comfortable around me.”
Let It Rain In April, students, faculty and staff braved the rain to sup port USC’s annual Relay for Life — and in the process raised $164,136.42 for the American Cancer Society. The event, which has been held every year since 2003, has now raised more than $1 million for the cause.
10 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
TROPHY TALK BY THOM HARMAN
It’s no secret that we love our sports at USC, but if there’s one team that really won our hearts in 201415, it was our women’s basketball team, who ran the courts all the way to the Final Four. But we watched quite a few other champions do their thing this year, too — and fell for them horse, line and sinker.
Holding court Head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley came to Carolina seven years ago with a plan, and she asked Gamecock Nation to buy in and be patient as she built a champion. This year, after winning the SEC regular season and tournament titles, the Gamecocks almost hoisted the ultimate trophy, making it all the way to the Final Four. On the strength of one of the country’s deepest rosters, and with the support of the nation’s largest home attendance, the Gamecocks spent 12 weeks at No. 1 during the regular season before getting knocked off at the University of Connecticut, the eventual national champion. By season’s end, the team had all but rewritten the program record book and garnered a range of honors, including SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Aleighsa Welch), SEC Freshman of the Year (A’ja Wilson) and AP First-Team All-American (Tiffany Mitchell).
Under Staley’s guidance, women’s basketball has improved their number of wins every year. Their 34th victory this season earned them the Greensboro Regional championship. Next spring, the team would like just two more wins — and one more trophy, the one that reads “National Champions.”
One day, two titles So Saturday, April 19, is certainly a landmark day for the University of South Carolina. In one afternoon, Gamecocks won the 2015 National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championship and the 2015 Fishing League Worldwide National Championship. The NCEA equestrian title is the third for Head Coach Boo Major’s squad (they also won in 2005 and 2007). This year’s championship also served as a bit of payback, as the University of Georgia, the 2015 runner-up,
beat the Gamecocks for last year’s trophy via a tiebreaker. The Anglers at USC duo of Patrick Walters and Gettys Brannon proved that home-field — or in this case, home-lake — advantage can be very real. In second place after two days of the three-day event, the team bounced between their favorite Lake Murray spots on Saturday to reel in enough bass to give them the victory by just one pound, five ounces over Liberty University. Though the two sports do not yet compete for NCAA-sanctioned titles, don’t take anything away from these student-athletes. They still compete against the best of the best at the collegiate level, including many SEC and Power Five conferences (which also includes the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC and the PAC-12).
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Driving it home Both the men’s and women’s golf teams have put together stellar seasons thus far. Ranked among the nation’s Top 5 virtually all season (and coming off hard-fought second-place finishes in their SEC tournaments), both teams were awarded No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Championships. On the men’s side, junior Matt NeSmith claimed medalist honors at the SEC tournament, carding a three-round score of 196 (-14), a school record. The Gamecocks have finished in the top five in eight straight events, including five wins — both also school records. Fellow junior Will Starke, who tied Carolina’s single-season record for top-five finishes with six, senior Will Murphy and NeSmith hope to lead the men’s team to its first national title this month. And there’s no shortage of brags for the women’s team, either, which reached No. 1 in both the Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin rankings for the first time in school history last fall. Led by SEC coach of the year Kalen Anderson and All SEC first-teamer Justine Dreher, the Gamecocks powered through the country’s sixth-toughest schedule, according to Golfstat. Currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, the team won the NCAA East Regional in early May and are now headed to the NCAA Championship.
Opposite page: Head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley gets nothing but net after her Gamecocks take the Greensboro Regional. Top to bottom: Senior golf standout Justine Dreher, sinks a winning putt; equestrian teammates Sam Chiodo (left) and Amber Henter celebrate another USC victory at the 2015 NCEA National Championship.
12 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
THE ARTS BY GLENN HARE
HIGH COTTON This year, cotton was king at USC’s School of Visual Art and Design as two Carolina art professors — filmmaker Laura Kissel and photographer Kathleen Robbins (pictured above) — explored our complicated relationship with the fluffy white plant and the plant’s role in the culture and history of the American South.
“Cotton Road,” Kissel’s award-winning documentary about the intersection of cotton and the global supply chain, was screened at festivals and on college campuses across the country and won several top prizes, including the Fork in the Road Prize at the GreenTopia film festival in Rochester, N.Y. Robbins’ book-length photo essay “Into the Flatland” (USC Press) isn’t about cotton, per se, but the plant’s legacy definitely informed her take on the Mississippi Delta, which has undergone a transformation from the land of cotton to the land of soybean and corn over the past 100 years. Cotton will bloom again next year — and campus-wide — as the Institute for Southern Studies sponsors the “Year of Cotton,” a series of lectures and presentations on the iconic crop’s role in Southern culture. “Speakers and artists from various disciplines are being invited to explore, in the words from the industry trade group, how cotton is truly ‘the fabric of our lives,’” says institute director Bob Brinkmeyer.
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FANFARE FOR A NEW THEATRE The new Darla Moore School of Business, which opened last fall to great fanfare, isn’t just home to our nationally ranked business programs. The Rafeal Vinoly-designed facility is also the region’s newest venue to hear choral and instrumental music performances. Johnson Hall provides a state-of-the-art performance space featuring the latest in acoustic architecture and advanced sound and video technologies. The collaborative space is shared between the business school and the School of Music. “During the day it serves as a lecture hall,” explains Tayloe Harding, dean of the School of Music. “After five o’clock, and on weekends, it’s the home for many of our best small- to medium-size ensembles.” The new theater is also the occasional home of conductor Donald Portnoy, who guided the USC Chamber Orchestra through selections from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” as part of the grand opening celebration in October. USC’s Ira McKissick Endowed Chair for the Fine Arts since 1986, Portnoy received a 2015 Elizabeth O’Niell Verner Award May 13. Presented by the South Carolina Arts Commission, the Verner Award is the state’s highest arts honor.
BOOKED SOLID When acclaimed short story writer George Saunders kicked off this year’s Open Book literary series back in March, the standing roomonly crowd enjoyed a lively conversation about writing and revising. Over the next six weeks, audiences of the annual series were treated to one literary heavyweight after another, including Pulitzer nominee Chang-rae Lee, PEN/Faulkner Award winner Kate Christensen and USC’s very own David Bajo, who became creative writing MFA director last summer — just a few months before the release of his latest novel, “Mercy 6.”
STRINGS ATTACHED Kids and violins may sound like a very bad idea, but not if you’re talking about the School of Music’s String Project. The innovative music education initiative celebrated its 40th anniversary this past year. Before String Project was launched in 1975, only a few public schools in Midlands offered string instruction. Now nearly every school–elementary, middle and high school–has some form of string instruction. Meanwhile, the music program has been emulated by other universities and colleges around the country. “We started with ten schools, initially,” says former project director Robert Jesselson. “Today 42 universities and colleges have string projects on their campus, all modeled after the one here.”
EAT PLAY LUNCH In October, USC Times took to the stage — literally — for a special installment of our “Meet & Three” roundtable series. For that month’s lunch, assistant professor of music composition Jesse Jones, studio art alumnus and professional actor Darion McCloud and Department of Theater chair Lisa Martin-Stuart joined us at Longstreet Theatre to discuss the nature of creativity under the lights on the set of “Ajax in Iraq,” just days before opening night.
TWO WORLDS ‘COLLIDE’ Seven graduates of USC’s dance program returned to campus this spring for the first-ever Alumni Choreography Showcase, which was held April 16 at the Koger Center for the Arts. “The combination of former and current dancers made [my] piece a true collaboration of what is currently happening in the USC dance program and what has happened,” explained Caitlin McCormack (’12), whose piece “Collide” featured 20 dancers, including four alumni, and music by Ezio Bosso. The Alumni Choreography Showcase also featured choreography by Kathleen Lee (’96), Erin Jaffe Bolshakov and Terrance Henderson (’01), Juliana Jordan (’11), Alyson Amato (’12) and Mindy Rawlinson (’13).
14 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
Research
BY STEVEN POWELL
As the only top-tier Carnegie research institution in the state, USC pulls in big external grants in every discipline every year, and our researchers continue to pull off bigger and bigger results. We don’t have room to highlight all of this year’s major breakthroughs — and exact funding figures won’t be available until the end of the fiscal year — but here’s a quick glance at our efforts paying off.
Carolina exclusive Life on Earth is so diverse that even in a well-traveled place like South Carolina scientists can make new discoveries. Biology professor John Nelson is certainly doing his part, recently documenting a rare, previously unknown plant species found so far only in the Palmetto State. Nelson and alumnus Douglas Rayner, who found the first sample of what’s now called Stachys caroliniana, published a full account of the new species’ characteristics in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas last fall. Named after its mother state, the new Stachys variety has so far been found in the wild in only two locations, both near the mouth of the Santee River. The holotype of S. caroliniana (the unique specimen used to establish it as a new species) is now permanently housed in USC’s A.C. Moore Herbarium.
Stachys caroliniana
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Red Planet rendezvous Chemistry professor Mike Angel’s laboratory in Columbia might be a long way from Cape Canaveral, but it’s producing research that will soon be literally out of this world. Angel is part of a team of scientists who designed a
CO2
Getting asthma to chill Take a deep breath: we’ve finally got some good news about CO2 . That’s right, engineering professor Mike Matthews’ carbon dioxide research has
new instrument recently selected for NASA’s next Mars
nothing to do with climate change and everything to do
probe, slated to blast off in 2020. The mission will look for
with breathing easier. Matthews has developed a cleaning
evidence of microscopic life, past or present, on the fourth
system that uses frigidly cold carbon dioxide to help pre-
rock from the sun. Angel is one of the world’s foremost
vent allergies, one of the triggers for asthma.
experts on standoff Raman spectroscopy, which is just
Using a recently patented device, tiny crystals of CO2
the right stuff needed for a Mars rover scoping out possi-
are sprayed onto fabrics like carpet or upholstery; and
ble signs of life.
then quickly removed by vacuum. While in the fabric, the
The instrument will shine a laser on a surface — what
super-cold CO2 crystals deactivate protein allergens and
Angel calls “tickling” it with light — and see what shines
literally explode dust mites. Because there’s no water
back. The technology is a giant leap forward from that
involved, it’s as dry as dry-cleaning, so microscopic crit-
used on earlier probes because scientists can use it to
ters aren’t inclined to move back in like they might after
look for different kinds of molecules. Life is built from a
a steam cleaning.
dizzying array of biomolecules, and finding just a few of
Matthews and alumnus Al Quick are developing a busi-
the simplest ones would help scientists see the Red Planet
ness that will send a vehicle from house to house to clean
in a whole new light.
floors, carpeting and furniture with the new process. Some Columbia-area volunteers will soon open their homes to the team — they think it’s one cool idea.
16 USCTIMES / MAY 2015
CAROLINA ROAD TRIP
PALMETTO COLLEGE SIXTY CREDITS AND COUNTING
Y
ou won’t necessarily find USC Palmetto College on a map. It’s rooted in four physical campuses — Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union — but its fastest-growing presence is on the Internet. So far, students from 44 of the state’s 46 counties are taking classes through the college, many from the comfort of home. “Prospective USC Palmetto College online students can begin their collegiate education at many different types of institutions, including our two-year USC Palmetto College campuses,” says Chancellor Susan Elkins. “After they have met general education requirements, students do not have to stress over sacrificing any obligations that they might have in their home communities. They can complete their bachelor’s degrees online.” Launched in 2013, the university’s online bachelor’s degree completion program enrolls students who have at least 60 college credit hours — about the same earned after two years of study on a typical degree plan and about what’s required for an associates degree. Once admitted, students can pursue more intensive courses of study from an ever-expanding catalog including seven online baccalaureate degree programs offered through the university’s four senior campuses — Aiken, Beaufort, Upstate and Columbia. In fact, the online programs have been such a success, says Elkins, that the original list of seven offerings will expand to include degrees in information science and hospitality management — degrees that can help folks who chose a career path before completing college. Total enrollment for USC Palmetto College was 5,144 as of Fall 2014 with 689 of those in the online program. That was a 37 percent
Chancellor Susan Elkins
“With our two-year colleges in the mix, we tell recruits that they can start where they live and finish where they live. They don’t have to travel to one of our four-year campuses anymore. They can finish online.” increase for online students from the first semester in Fall 2013. More than 200 students have graduated from USC Palmetto College is its first two-years. “Our top priority is student success,” says Elkins. “We’re pleased to be able to offer adult South Carolinians a flexible, accessible and affordable option to complete their bachelor’s degrees.” UP THROUGH THE RANKS
Teena Gooding sees the criminal justice system at work every day as a lieutenant in the University of South Carolina Police
Department. A 12-year veteran of the force, Gooding had taken courses on campus for years, trying to complete her bachelor’s degree. However, as her career began to advance, she found she had less time and flexibility to attend classes in person. “When I was on patrol, we worked 14 days a month and could take class in uniform,” Gooding says. “But the higher up the ranks I went, the harder it was to get time off. I would find myself not being able to make it to my class and I was missing things I needed to be there for.” Then, along came USC Palmetto College. Gooding already had her associates degree from Midlands Technical College when she started taking classes at Carolina early in her career. She now expects to graduate in August with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from USC Upstate. “I had never taken an online class, so that was new for me,” Gooding says. “But, being on the discussion boards, you don’t miss that classroom experience too much. The other people taking classes are often other professionals, too, so the discussions can get really interesting when the students are from all different walks of life.”
DOES NOT COMMUTE
When graduation day arrived earlier this month, Denzil Coleman had too much going on at work to attend. That’s exactly why USC Palmetto College has been the perfect way for Coleman to earn a bachelor’s degree. “The online experience has been quicker — there’s no commuting to campus. I didn’t have time for that,” says Coleman, who has all but
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Left to right: Palmetto College students Denzil Coleman, Andrew Verma and Teena Gooding take a break from their online studies for a quick round of web cam selfies.
completed a baccalaureate degree in human services through USC Palmetto College and USC Beaufort. “I found all of the courses as engaging as previous coursework I did in the classroom. It’s been a godsend.” Coleman finished high school in 1999 but didn’t know what he wanted to do. He attended St. John’s University, “but I wasn’t as grounded and mature as I needed to be. I left after a year.” He tried his hand working at a day care center, as a driver for a priority delivery company, and, finally at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York as a unit clerk. “I considered being a nurse and took a few science courses but decided I would do better on the administrative side of health care and got an associate degree,” he says. Coleman moved from New York to Mt. Pleasant, S.C., to be closer to family and his fiancé and landed a job at a Charleston hospital system that recognized his people skills. He’s currently managing a primary care facility in Summerville. “I saw an advertisement for Palmetto College and thought, ‘Man, this is right up my alley,’” he says. “Human services is an interdisciplinary degree that teaches you the best ways and processes to get people the help they need. I have my sights set on bigger and better things.”
DESTINY FULFILLED
After graduating from high school a year early, Destiny Cipriano wanted to stay at home for her first year of college to ease the transition. She benefited so much from the personal attention at USC Union, though, that she stuck around for a second year. “I like that it’s smaller, and teachers can work with you more,” she says. Having received an associates degree from USC Union, Cipriano was ready to begin work on her bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, like a lot of other students with family or work obligations, she realized that leaving home wasn’t an option. “My grandpa got really sick and now I live with him and take care of him,” Cipriano says. “So I decided to pursue the bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership online.” Cipriano plans to graduate with her degree from USC Columbia in December 2015. After that, she hopes to start her own business, probably in the Union area. ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Andrew Verma began his career at Wells Fargo while still a senior in high school. After starting as a phone banker, he progressed over the next eight years to sales banker and then team leader. He currently trains new hires as a
learning and development facilitator — and it’s a good fit because Verma is very happy at Wells Fargo himself. But the 26-year-old Columbia native also wants more, specifically a college degree. “My plan was to go to Midlands Technical College for two years and transfer to the Darla Moore School of Business,” Verma says. “However, the demands of working full time and the inability to take courses online made that dream increasingly difficult. Also my current role requires me to travel and sometimes weeks at a time. So the traditional classroom method was not a possibility.” The launch of USC Palmetto College changed everything. Upon completion of his associate’s degree at MTC, he heard about the new USC program from an old high school friend and started looking into it online. Verma is now enrolled in the business administration degree program through USC Aiken and is considering USC’s MBA program after that, all while continuing his career at Wells Fargo. “I was so glad I could go to a school that had a reputation like USC and continue my college education without going to a traditional online school,” he says. “I know that earning this degree will make me more competitive as a professional.”
ENDNOTES
Launching our origami fl eet onto the tranquil waters of the refl ecting pond in front of Thomas Cooper Library this month provided more than just a clever cover. It also provided a rare moment to contemplate our own efforts here at USC Times. In the spirit of reflection and self-evaluation, we put together this log of our own campus adventures over the past two semesters.
August 2014 “Head of the Class”
September 2014 “The Work Issue”
October 2014 “All the World’s A Stage”
November 2014 “The Sporting Life”
Where else do you start the academic year but in the classroom? Our special issue on the art of teaching featured, among other things, a series of personal narratives on life in the classroom by some of our most esteemed faculty. As Alan R. White, assistant dean of undergraduate STEM education, wrote, “You never really know and understand something until you have taught it to someone else.”
This was a fun one. Not only was the September issue our fi rst 20-pager; our tribute to good old-fashioned hard work also inspired our most ambitious cover to-date. That’s right — the one with the vintage 1970s offi ce desk sitting smack dab on the Horseshoe. The back cover, meanwhile, featured three movers from USC Maintenance Services breaking down the set alongside the perfect quote from crew leader Nelson Brown. “I just like to get the job done,” Brown said. “But when we were asked to come move this desk off the Horseshoe I thought it was great — because we’re in the picture.”
The arts took center stage in the fall and we followed right along, conducting a Meet & Three roundtable with three working artists under the lights at Longstreet Theatre. We also peeked in on several USC art professors at work in the studio, including sculpture professor Robert Lyon. “Through my example I’m able to demonstrate, for the students that have the determination, that a career in art is a rich and possible one,” Lyon said. “For all the others, I hope to show them art’s aesthetic relationships and pleasures, and its unique link to our quality of life.”
Sorry, we didn’t leave it all on the fi eld this time. Putting together our special sportsthemed edition, we left just as much in the classroom. Our feature on USC faculty who once played a college sport, for example, directed all eyes to the front. “After retirement, I knew I wanted to pursue my Ph.D. and become a professor,” said former college baseball standout and current assistant professor of sport and entertainment management Khalid Ballouli. “I missed being on the university campus, and I wanted to share my experiences with students who wanted to pursue a career in the fi eld of sports.”
December 2014 “It’s International”
February 2015 “USC Collects”
March 2015 “Women’s & Gender Studies”
April 2015 “Brick & Mortar”
We ended the fall semester with a special issue devoted to cultural exchange — not just as experienced through study abroad but right here on campus. As Italian international student Maria Vittoria Bianchini told us about life in the International House at Maxcy College, “You get to interact with people from all over the world, people who are like you but from diff erent cultures, so you can learn a lot from them.”
You never know what you’ll discover when you start rooting around people’s offi ces. Okay, we didn’t go rooting around President Harris Pastides offi ce — we were there on other business, we swear — but when we spotted his unusual collection of baseballs signed by prominent campus guests like Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and President Barack Obama, we knew we had our next cover. Our collections issue took off from there.
What started as a handful of women’s studies classes 40 years ago is now one of the most robust cross-disciplinary programs on campus. Our anniversary tribute to USC’s Women’s & Gender Studies Program looked to the past, the present and the future for inspiration. “I think more and more students are recognizing that a major in women’s and gender studies is a great value-added major,” said program director Ed Madden. “Our degree off ers immeasurable benefi ts for those fi elds by developing an understanding of how ‘diff erence’ works.”
Around the offi ce, we sometimes referred to the April USC Times as “the Southern issue,” but truth is, we envisioned something bigger in scope. Starting with our cover story on the restoration of our historic campus wall, we put together an issue about the things that bind us as a community, including history, language and geography. Then, to broaden our horizons even further, we took a dive with marine biologist Scott White — to the bottom of the Pacifi c, where he’s studying underwater volcanoes. “I really like the idea of being an explorer, seeing and discovering stuff nobody has ever seen, fi nishing off the mapping of the planet,” White said. “It’s pretty fascinating.”