USCTIMES
MAY 2014 / VOL. 25, NO.5
ACADEMIC YEAR IN REVIEW Reflecting on the year that was, anticipating what comes next.
WHAT’S INSIDE Fall ‘13
This Summer
Spring ‘14
Desegregation at 50: Remembering the struggle, honoring the pioneers, page 9
Exclusive Darla Moore School of Business building preview, page 2
New women’s sport takes the court, page 11
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 Division of Communications. Managing editor Craig Brandhorst Designers Philip Caoile Michelle Hindle Riley Contributors April Blake Glenn Hare Thom Harman Chris Horn Page Ivey Liz McCarthy Steven Powell Jeff Stensland Photographers Linda Dodge Ambyr Goff Erin Koons Kim Truett Printer USC Printing Services Campus correspondents Patti McGrath, Aiken Candace Brasseur, Beaufort 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 photos, stories or ideas for future issues of USC Times? Share your story by emailing or calling Craig Brandhorst at craigb1@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-3681.
FALL INTO SPRING We’re pretty good at looking forward around here, perhaps because we have so much to look forward to. The Darla Moore School of Business is poised to move into its new state-of-the-art building on Assembly Street, the historic Women’s Quad will reopen by fall and just before we went to press the nation’s No. 1 women’s basketball prospect, Heathwood Hall standout A’ja Wilson, committed her talents and winning smile to Dawn Staley’s already talented and already winning Gamecocks. We could devote an entire issue to the great things on USC’s horizon. But sometimes it’s important to pause and reflect, especially at the end of the semester, even more so as we close out the spring. This was a big year, after all — one that marked the 50th anniversary of USC’s desegregation, the debut of a new women’s sport, even the discovery of a new aquatic species! It’s in that spirit that we put together this free-flowing issue, which highlights a small handful of events and accomplishments from the 2013-14 academic year. So after you enjoy our exclusive Moore School walk-through (pages 2-3) and our progress report on some of the other changes taking shape around campus (pages 4-5), take a couple of moments to relive the last nine months, beginning on page 6. With exams looming and term papers due, ink was at a premium. Still, we managed to cover staff members who went above and beyond (page 7), student-run philanthropy (page 8), teaching excellence (page 9) and groundbreaking developments in research (pages 12-13). We also got Athletic Director Ray Tanner to reflect on the year in sports and share his thoughts on the value of college athletics to the university community (page 10). We couldn’t hit everything great that happened this year, not even close. The goal is simply to jog your memory, to remind you of your own accomplishments and those of your colleagues over the past year. The present becomes the past too quickly sometimes, and while we love to look forward, we should always try to remember what we’ve accomplished as we prepare to take on the future.
CRAIG BRANDHORST MANAGING EDITOR
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.
VOL. 25, NO.5 1
TIMES FIVE
SUMMER AT CAROLINA A record number of students is expected to take classes at the university this summer, but May and June are also an excellent time to take advantage of professional development courses and other training opportunities offered by Human Resources. Build or refine your job skills, increase your knowledge of university operations or prepare for a new role or assignment. Many classes are available in May and June. Visit hr.sc.edu/profdevp.html to learn more.
$
Apply Yourself Faculty interested in teaching or conducting research abroad in 2014-15 must submit Fulbright Scholar applications by Aug. 1. The core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program provides about 800 teaching and research grants to U.S. faculty and experienced professionals in a wide variety of academic and professional fields. Preference is given to first-time recipients, though repeat grants are possible when warranted. For more information, visit hr.sc.edu/ international.html
GET ON THE SAME PAGE Want to know what next year’s freshman class is talking about? USC’s First-Year-Reading Experience book for 2014 is Dave Eggers’ dystopian novel “The Circle,” a cautionary fable about
REMEMBER YOUR VERY FIRST JOB?
privacy, the Internet and personal identity. Freshmen will hear Eggers speak at the beginning of the fall semester and the book will be incorporated into many University 101 syllabi. Add the novel to your own summer reading list, and enter the larger
Whether you
conversation. (This year’s FYRE poster, left, was designed by
groomed standard
junior studio art major Kristmar Muldrow.)
poodles, sold encyclopedias door-to-door or delivered ice to the state penitentiary, USC Times wants to hear about it. Share your horror stories, comic mishaps, teenage miseries and character building experiences by emailing craigb1@ mailbox.sc.edu.
MOVE-IN CREW NEEDS YOU! Spring semester may be wrapping up, but the next round of first-year students moves in Saturday, Aug. 16 — and they could use your help. About 250 faculty and staff volunteers are needed for the 2014 Move-In Crew. Volunteers are assigned a residence hall where they will provide assistance to freshmen and their parents. You don’t need any special training, just a smile, some patience and a little Southern hospitality. Work as little or as much as you can; hours are flexible, but volunteers typically work in two-hour shifts starting at 8 a.m. Sign up online at sc.edu/moveincrew/.
2 USCTIMES / MAY 2014
MOORE SCHOOL PREVIEW
VOL. 25, NO.5 3
BY PAGE IVEY
Opening for business Flags representing the countries of students and faculty will hang in front of the entrance, while a welcome center off the main Greene Street entrance will feature a 120-inch video wall where families of prospective students can learn about opportunities. Inside, a courtyard featuring two grand staircases and large planters hold dozens of palmetto trees.
The new home for the Darla Moore School of Business is nearing completion and is slated to open later this summer. “I dream this building,” says Wendy Hennessy, the project manager for the four-year construction project. “I live it 24/7.” Designed by noted South American architect Rafael Vinoly, the building will include the latest technology for minimizing environmental impact, from banks of windows that cut down on electric lighting to rooftop solar panels and a system to capture and reuse rainwater. The eventual goal is for the building to produce as much energy as it uses. The building will also serve as a hub for a wide range of campus activities. “It has one very strong idea, and that is this sort of platform with all the classrooms together,” said Vinoly, who toured the building earlier this year with the school’s namesake, alumna and benefactor Darla Moore. The design, Vinoly explained, is “not only an efficient approach to the scheduling of classes, but also an opportunity because there is an independent access from the tunnel, for the rest of the university
community to use the large auditorium and the small auditorium for performances and other purposes.” The larger hall will seat 500 people for performances by students and faculty from the nearby School of Music, while a state-of-the-art lecture hall will seat 250. The first floor will house 31 classrooms, some with adjustable walls that can expand capacity from 30 to 60 to as many as 90 students. The second floor houses a graduate student lounge, a trading floor, shaded terraces and a café with a view of Columbia’s Congaree Vista. Common spaces and study areas will encourage informal discussion and collaboration while glass-walled offices, meeting spaces and classrooms will welcome visitors to peer inside. “Given the openness of the glass design and the flexibility throughout the structure, this building will be a showcase for research, teaching and learning,” said Debbie Brumbaugh, the Moore School’s chief financial officer and director of administrative services. “It will also connect — figuratively and literally — our students to the business leaders and communities they serve and will demonstrate the value of collaboration to the state, the nation and the world.”
4 USCTIMES / MAY 2014
CAMPUS GROWTH
Campus growth Living and learning, campus-wide It’s been a while, but with the completion of renovations on USC’s historic Women’s Quad this summer, every residence hall on campus Beds on campus will finally be open at once. But an expanded student body requires expanded housing, not to mention classrooms, so the university has also entered a public-private partnership to add beds on USC’s burgeoning west end and meanwhile has begun work on new digs for the J-school near the center of campus. The venerable Women’s Quad — Sims, McClintock and Wade Hampton — has undergone a couple of facelifts over the years, but the current renovation, to finish this summer, is comprehensive. Heating, air, electrical and plumbing systems have been replaced; the room layout has been altered; hall bathrooms are being replaced by suite-style bathrooms between the rooms; and a connector will allow students to walk from one building to another without going outside. The addition of nearly 20,000 square feet has created space for 50 more students. Across campus, construction is set to begin on a new 878-bed facility behind the Carolina Coliseum and the new Darla Moore
6,638
School of Business. Scheduled to open in two phases beginning in fall 2015, the privately run complex will house upperclassmen and will include both retail space and a dining facility. The second phase should be completed by fall 2016. Construction required the closure of a large surface parking lot for students, but the new student housing project will include nearly 700 parking spaces for residents: 437 in the first phase and 252 in the second. Speaking of new homes, USC’s College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, housed in the Carolina Coliseum since 1969, will move into the former Arnold School of Pubic Health building on Sumter Street in 2015. Like the Women’s Quad, the 1962 structure has been completely gutted. The exterior won’t change — even the wooden windows are being restored — but the interior will feature 20 rooms for various types of instruction. An adjacent Greenhouse Studio will showcase student television production. “The two-story central atrium will become a hub of activity within the building and a place to show off student work on big screen monitors,” said Dean Charles Bierbauer. “We also think the third-floor roof garden is just cool.”
VOL. 25, NO.5 5
Carolina’s Promise Nearing the homestretch
The new Petigru Built in 1950 to house the School of Law, Petigru for many years was where students paid their tuition and got official grade transcripts. Following an extensive renovation of its 25,000 square feet just a few months ago, Petigru now houses the College of Arts and Sciences administrative offices and eight new classrooms. Wood wainscot, reworked handrails and upgraded light fixtures were added to the main stairwell, which greatly improved the aesthetics of the building.
The $1 billion Carolina’s Promise fundraising campaign — the most ambitious in the history of the state — began in 2008 and will conclude in a little more than a year. So far, more than 109,000 alumni and friends of the university have invested in the institution, creating scholarships for undergraduates, supporting recruitment and retention of top professors and building momentum for the university’s third century of service. As of April 1, $828 million has been raised, and more than 110 gifts of $1 million or more have been made. Faculty and staff have given about $9.5 million, and alumni have contributed more than $250 million.
$828
Million Raised
Alumni break new ground Nearly 170 years after its establishment, USC’s alumni association broke ground Nov. 1 on a new home and events space in the heart of Columbia’s Vista district. square-feet Once completed in May 2015, the new 65,000-square-foot Alumni Center at the corner of Lincoln and Senate streets will serve as a hub for student and alumni interaction. “From guest lectures to internships, our alumni can add value and support to today’s students,” said Jack Claypoole, executive director of the My Carolina Alumni Association.
109,728 Total Donors
65,000
83% Percent raised toward $1 billion goal as of April 1, 2014
Streamlining at the top USC recently ranked among the 15 most efficient national universities, according to U.S. News & World Report, and the effort continued this spring, as the university merged several senior-level jobs and cut administrative salary costs by more than $400,000. “We’re constantly evaluating, looking for opportunities to become more efficient,” said President Harris Pastides. “As we examined the structure of the senior administrative staff it became clear there was room for streamlining.” Ed Walton was named senior vice president for administration and chief operating officer. He will be responsible for business and financial affairs, facilities and transportation, law enforcement and safety, communications, governmental relations, and economic engagement. Leslie Brunelli was named vice president for finance and chief financial officer, and Derrick Huggins was named vice president for facilities and transportation. Wes Hickman leads the university’s communications efforts as director of communications and marketing and chief communications officer.
6 USCTIMES / MAY 2014
Campus life
VOL. 25, NO.5 7
4,900 Students in freshman class
Taking charge
31,964
Total enrollment
48 @realdannyo
@amandamcgoye
All work and snow play This year, “famously hot” Columbia saw not one but two snowstorms. The first winter storm rolled into the Midlands the last week of January and the second followed just two weeks later, just before Valentine’s Day. Both storms brought classes to a halt. With the historic Horseshoe blanketed in snow and ice, campus turned into a rare winter playground for students. Staff members, though, went beyond their jobs to ensure campus was safe and students had access to important resources. Kirsten Kennedy, director of University Housing, slept on a cot in her office so she could be on campus to serve students. Carolina Dining workers made sure students had a hot meal and plenty of hot chocolate. USC law enforcement and first responders ensured students were safe. Landscaping and facilities personnel and energy maintenance personnel kept campus running and sidewalks clear. “What was remarkable about the work that our staff did across the campus on behalf of the Carolina community was that nobody asked them to do it. Virtually everyone volunteered to do it,” said Dennis Pruitt, vice president of Student Affairs and Academic Support. “We really appreciate the work that they did for the entire Carolina community.”
Countries in which students studied abroad
760
Freshmen in Capstone Scholars program
1,800
on-campus student employees
This May, nearly 100 USC students will make up the first class to graduate with leadership distinction. To qualify, students must complete 300 hours of community service, 300 hours of peer leadership and internships, one semester of study abroad and two semesters of extensive research. Students also must have at least a 3.0 GPA, complete additional coursework and activities related to their area of distinction and make presentations highlighting their research. Finally, students document their efforts and what they learned from their activities in an e-portfolio. “It’s about having purposeful beyond-the-classroom experiences, connecting those to within-theclassroom experiences, then applying that learning to make a difference, which is leadership,” says Irma Van Scoy, executive director of USC Connect, which administers the program. May graduate Brittany Schifflin is among those receiving the distinction. “It just tells me that everything I’ve done at Carolina and coming here has been worth it,” she says. “It was a way to reflect upon all my experiences at USC in a way that’s meaningful and makes sense.”
8 USCTIMES / MAY 2014
Great Scot!
Hot wheels This spring, President Harris Pastides hit the streets in his new Mini Cooper S, featuring metallic garnet tail feathers on the fenders and sides plus a block-C gamecock on the back. The one-of-a-kind design, dreamed up by USC Creative Services, adds hot rod flare to the eco-friendly convertible.
384 Hours danced in 16 years
In March, the university unveiled the official USC tartan, a plaid design called “Old Cocky,” which is being incorporated into a variety of accessories and apparel. But USC’s Scottish ties are stronger than mere scarves and blankets. This year USC libraries acquired the earliest handwritten manuscript of the Robert Burns poem “Afton Braes,” also known as “Flow Gently Sweet Afton.” The important 18th-century poem carries extra significance, having later been set to music, which was in turn used as the tune for USC’s Alma Mater. 2013 also marked the 50th anniversary of the recently revived journal Studies in Scottish Literature, edited by USC professors Patrick Scott and Tony Jarrells.
Freedom Rider arrives “Oppression always requires the cooperation of the oppressed. If the oppressed withdraw their cooperation from an oppressive system, that system will fall. Understanding this principle will save you a lot of time arguing and trying to change other people, because the only person you can change is yourself.” Speaking to students, faculty and the general public at the President’s Leadership Dialogue in February, Diane Nash recounted her experiences as a cofounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and as a leader in the Freedom Rider movement to desegregate interstate bus travel in the Jim Crow South. But as Nash brought to life the struggles of that era, the famed civil rights activist could have been talking about any of the thousands of unknown activists, black and white, who transformed America for the better in the 1960s. “People know my name because I was a chairman and a national coordinator,” Nash told the Koger Center audience. “But there are many, many thousands of people who made huge sacrifices whose names we will never know.”
Let’s dance This year USC Dance Marathon celebrated its 15th year by raising $318,649 for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, the local Children’s Miracle Network hospital. Taylor Dietrich, overall director for the year, led more than 1,000 student dancers and a hundred student volunteers during the 24-hour fundraising event. The record total brings the amount raised by USC Dance Marathon over the past 16 years to nearly $2 million. Dietrich discovered her love for Dance Marathon as a freshman, but an illness and hospital visit led her to see firsthand how important the student-run philanthropy event is to Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. “It’s definitely something that I not only put a lot of effort into but something I want to continue doing,” she says. “I’m amazed at the impact that a college student can have and spread across campus. It’s so much bigger than yourself.” Since her involvement with the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, Dietrich has decided to pursue a career with the national organization. She switched her major from nursing to public health, where she says she feels she can make the best impact. Dance Marathon, she says, is preparing her for what she wants to do when she graduates in May.
VOL. 25, NO.5 9
50 Years
Desegregation remembered
Top of the profs
When the 2013-2014 academic year began, no one batted an eye at the diverse population of incoming freshmen arriving on campus. Fifty years earlier, however, it was a different story, as a crowd of reporters, cameramen, students and curious onlookers watched the first three African-Americans admitted to the university since Reconstruction climb the steps of the Osborne Administration Building to register. September 11, 1963, marked the end of a shameful era of exclusion at USC, and despite fears of violent protest, the events of that morning went off without incident, thanks in part to heightened security and careful planning. But the admission of Henrie Monteith (now Monteith Treadwell), Robert Anderson and James Solomon to the formerly all-white Southern school at the height of the Civil Rights era was anything but an easy victory. The university had resisted desegregation for years and had only admitted Monteith, whose lawsuit paved the way for the others, following a protracted legal battle and after exhausting every legal option to keep her out. “Once they said ‘no’ — for no good reason — it became a different issue,” Monteith Treadwell told Carolinian magazine last fall. “There was no explanation, just a letter: not accepted. The next step became obvious.” This year, the university recognized the 50th anniversary of its desegregation with a series of events, speakers and performances. On April 11, the university also dedicated a new commemorative garden in a quiet nook on the north side of Osborne, just around the corner from where the three students made history half a century earlier. “Much like the variety of plants in this beautiful garden, our strength comes from our diversity,” USC President Harris Pastides told those in attendance, including special guests Monteith Treadwell and Solomon (pictured above). “This garden serves as a permanent reminder of the tremendous progress we have made since that historic day in 1963, and provides us a special place that will grow and flourish as the university continues to move forward on this journey.”
Anyone who’s ever worked on a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle knows the challenge of putting it together, one piece at a time, as the big picture slowly takes shape. For Rekha Patel, the 2014 Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year, biochemistry is the big picture — and it’s her job to help students understand each little piece. “It’s like I’m showing them how each particular piece relates to the bigger puzzle,” said Patel, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. “I help them see it, and they go, ‘Wow, now I understand that!’” That winning teaching style factored into why students have nominated Patel several times for the university’s top faculty prize, which Patel received in April. “She always brings it back to the big picture and to the way the material can be applied and used. She tells you why this is important,” one student wrote in nominating Patel for the award.
10 USCTIMES / MAY 2014
#
Sweet
1 16
SEC Champions
NCAA Tournament
Athletics On the record with Ray Tanner Ray Tanner enjoyed unprecedented success for nearly two decades as USC’s head baseball coach before becoming athletic director in 2012. USC Times asked Tanner to reflect on the past year and to share his thoughts on the value of athletics on the college campus. Was 2013-14 the best year ever? I feel like we’ve had a consistent run the last four or five years. We’ve had a lot of outstanding moments. I think the university’s brand is stronger than it ever has been. Athletics is a part of that. It’s not the whole part. I think Dr. Pastides’ impact as president has been felt throughout the country and has impacted our university in a positive way.
How do you maintain that momentum? The thing that drives me, and is on my mind constantly, is sustaining success. That doesn’t mean you win a national championship. It doesn’t mean you win an SEC championship in every single sport. It’s just sustaining success.
Was there a single moment this year that really stands out for you? You know, we beat Clemson again in football. That’s five in a row. It’s a rivalry and to be able to win five years in a row is an incredible feat. There’s excitement that’s generated with your fan base when you’re doing something like that. Then Coach Staley’s SEC conference clinching game against Georgia at Colonial Life Arena, the postgame
VOL. 25, NO.5 11
Courting victory Over the years, the Gamecocks have played well on the gridiron, the hardwoods, the diamond, even in the water. Now we’re playing in the sand — and diving in headfirst. This spring marked the first season for the USC women’s sand volleyball team, led by former assistant indoor volleyball coach Moritz Moritz. USC was the first school in the SEC — and one of 38 NCAA schools nationwide — to field a team in the increasingly popular sport, which differs slightly from traditional indoor volleyball. “Most of the skills cross over,” Moritz told Carolinian magazine this winter. “But you do look for players who can play and adapt in the elements. And there are just two of you out there at a time, so strategies change.”
8
straight years atop SEC Fall Honor Roll
celebration — there were 12,500 people there to watch her young women clinch that SEC basketball championship. That was a moment. I stood up at the end of the game and went “Wow, this is incredible!”
What’s been the key to this high level of achievement? It’s all about people, and when I say “people” I’m talking about coaches and student athletes and our fan base, our donors, our Gamecock Club members, our boosters. I go back to when we were not very successful in football. We had pretty good attendance. We had the foundation in place from the donor base, fan interest to do something special. We increased our resources, and now the mindset and the culture among our student athletes is “We’re among the best.” It’s not arrogance; it’s not ego; it’s just culture and mindset.
What role do you see athletics playing in the larger university community? We want the entire university to feel good about what we’re doing. It’s not just about athletics. It’s about the entire university. I hope that all of our faculty and staff feel that way. We’ve had 14 semesters in a row where athletes had at least a 3.0 (GPA). As much as we get caught up in winning games and the excitement of competition, 99 percent of these athletes are going to be professionals in something other than the sports they play. While we have the opportunity to compete in sports, the ultimate goal is acquiring a degree and accomplishing that “student” part of being a “student athlete.”
12 USCTIMES / MAY 2014
Image provided by Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of South Carolina Libraries
BREAKTHROUGH BREAKOUT
Research at USC runs the gamut, with no way to do it all justice. Here’s a small taste of the scholarly goings-on this past year.
Kind of blue
BY STEVEN POWELL
Research
Blue isn’t just blue in the world of illuminated manuscripts. Just ask Scott Gwara. The English professor with a doctorate in medieval studies is on the cutting edge of a new effort to harness technology to look even deeper into the past. And there’s no better place than Carolina to do it: chemist Steve Morgan is one of the world’s leaders in using nondestructive spectroscopy to analyze irreplaceable artifacts, and the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is a repository of medieval manuscripts from all over Europe. The two professors from opposite ends of the academy are mentoring freshman Adam Glenn, a chemical engineering major, in a project that will distinguish between different pigments of blue in three 15thcentury illuminated manuscripts. The pigment could be the luxurious ultramarine known as lapis lazuli, or it could be azurite, a cheaper alternative. Shining fresh light on the blues will add to the works’ provenance and answer some fundamental questions about the craft of bookmaking at a time when the printing press was just starting its relentless assault on illiteracy.
SYSTEMWIDE
FOCUS UOFSC UPSTATE
The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) was established in 1995 by the U.S. Geological Survey in response to the decline of certain amphibian species and the larger biodiversity crisis. Melissa Pilgrim, director of research at USC Upstate, discusses Upstate’s role in the initiative.
What’s USC Upstate’s involvement with NAAMP? Upstate’s Herpetology Group has donated more than 800 service hours to the program and has been instrumental in identifying specific causes of this decline, and in reconnoitering different wetlands in seven Upstate counties to locate habitats for known amphibians.
Students play a key role in this project. What do they get out of it? Research is not just conducted in a walled laboratory. It is engaged learning interwoven with community outreach and citizen science. Participation provides an opportunity to receive information for independent study programs and senior research projects, as well as the prospect of presenting at national and international conferences. Students have engaged with landowners in each county to encourage participation in the data gathering process. Involvement with NAAMP certainly demonstrates the “not just conducted in a walled laboratory” emphasis, as students monitor 11 routes making 10 stops per route. All routes must be surveyed at least once during three sampling windows each year. They are required to score weather and noise conditions
VOL. 25, NO.5 13
Stop! Hammer time This fish story is more than a tall tale, and biologist Joe Quattro has the morphological and mitochondrial DNA data to prove it. Turns out, the waters off the coast of our fair state are the pupping ground of a rare, previously unknown species of hammerhead shark. Our toothy neighbor had eluded discovery until recently because it blends in perfectly with the far-morenumerous scalloped hammerheads, many of which also spend their first year in the fringes of the Palmetto State’s estuaries. Quattro and colleagues did the requisite work to publish a full characterization of the new species in the journal Zootaxa last fall, which gave them dibs for suggesting the new species’ common name. By choosing to honor the state where it was discovered, they drew some national attention that was not snarky, but positively sharky: the Carolina hammerhead was selected as one of the top 10 new species of the year by a number of media outlets, including Time and Audubon magazines.
and record calling activity for five minutes at each stop. This documentation then becomes part of a national database.
Does Upstate’s relationship with NAAMP have extended benefits? Indeed! Our involvement has had more far-reaching implications than originally thought. As a result of the extensive habitat search, three additional tree frog species have been discovered in the Piedmont of South Carolina. In addition, this combination of research, teaching, service and working with the community helps ensure that students and faculty are afforded opportunities and resources to support their scholarly and creative work.
Think thin Think you know what thin is? Check out the new membrane that Miao Yu and a team from the College of Engineering and Computing recently put together. You’ll need some special equipment even to see it: at about two atoms thick, on average, a run-of-the-mill magnifying glass won’t be much help. And it’s more than just a membrane. Engineered with precisely sized holes throughout its surface, it acts like a sieve on the smallest of scales. Only the tiniest molecules, like helium, hydrogen or water, can flow through — anything bigger just won’t fit. Given that just about every pollutant around is bigger than H2O, it might be the most efficient tool ever devised to clean water. The hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry is a likely commercial outlet for the invention, but the filter’s utility is so general it’s hard to tell just how many ways it might be harnessed. And that’s just the skinny.
AROUND THE SYSTEM USC Aiken’s School of Business Administration will begin offering a new MBA program designed exclusively for students with a background in one of the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) or any of the liberal arts, pending approval. USC Beaufort’s new Sand Shark Recreation Complex, opening in the fall, will house a gym, a fitness center, two basketball courts, an aerobics room and athletic offices. USC Lancaster’s Lancers baseball team currently ranks No. 7 in the nation in the NJCAA for home game attendance.
USC Salkehatchie student Brandan Harley’s pet hedgehog, Jake, was featured on the cover of the April issue of National Geographic. USC Sumter hosts Sumter’s first Color 5k this month in support of Fire Ants softball. USC Union’s Bantams baseball team clinched the NCBA Division II Championship. USC Upstate’s Center for Innovation and Business Engagement opened at the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics in downtown Spartanburg.
To learn more about the USC system, visit sc.edu/about/system_and_campuses.
25
356,852
Years USC Times has been in print
108.7 million Ounces of coffee consumed in offices, dining halls and dorm rooms since August
Meals served in Grand Marketplace
4.6 Average hours of sleep per student during exams
74
Interviews conducted by USC Times since rebranding in January
5,000 Community service hours performed by student-athletes
OVERHEARD @UOFSC
*
11 x 3
Football wins since 2011
89% increase in women’s soccer attendance
3x3 “Meet & Three” roundtable guests fed by USC Times
*Some figures are approximate.
1,236
Snowballs thrown on the Horseshoe
25
Overall athletic wins over Top 25 teams
21.4% 18,563 Percent of snowballs that hit their intended target
Azalea blossoms in bloom at one time campus-wide
1
Image of President Harris Pastides pretending to throw a football in the January issue of USC Times