APRIL 2014
newsletter
Page 2
•Dr. Gwendolyn B.
Johnson
Page 3
•Campus Citizens
of the Month
Page 4
•Policy Heads
Up: Gainful
Employment
•Research Day
2014
Page 5
•SC Teaching
Fellows at USC
Aiken
Page 6
•Athletics Updates
Page 8
•Data Security
Reminder
•SC Academy of
Science Annual
Meeting
Page 9
•LIFE Expo
•Project Updates
OOC News
Higher Education and Public Policy
Chancellor Remarks
Education serves a
H igher
pivotal role in the development
of the nation’s human capital by
supporting economic stability, public
service and social entrepreneurship,
innovation, and a high quality-oflife. Universities similar to USC
Aiken have long been committed to
providing educational opportunity
and academic excellence while
remaining affordable. For many
of our students, a public college
education is the best guarantor of
both an enriched life and a more
financially secure future. The current
funding environment places this
work of public comprehensive
universities in danger. Thus, first
on any list of policy priorities must
be for states to provide sufficient,
consistent and sustained state
funding.
With this in mind, the AASCU
has set forth a public policy agenda
that includes the following actions:
• Advocate for increased state
investment in public higher
education
• Promote strategies for
leveraging federal resources to
stimulate state funding
• Support state funding
processes that involve public
comprehensive university
leaders in the system design
and which recognize and
reward outcomes with the
comprehensive missions
• Promote increased state
investment in need-based
student aid programs
• Discourage “Pay it Forward”
proposals and challenge their
Continued on Page 5
Dr. Gwendolyn B. Johnson named the 2014
Pickens-Salley Southern Woman of Distinction.
“Dr. Johnson is a dynamic and influential STEM professional and educator,” stated Dr. Gary Senn, Director of the Ruth
Patrick Science Education Center. “Throughout her acclaimed career, she has influenced countless teachers, students and
community members by infusing a love for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).”
D
r. Johnson began her career as an
environmental research biologist
with DuPont at the Savannah River
Laboratory. A few years later, she
began her dream career as a dynamic
educator. She was a middle school
mathematics teacher and was named
Aiken County Teacher of the Year. Her
success as an educator paved the way to
her appointment as the Math/Science
Curriculum Specialist for the Aiken
County Public School District. During
her time in that position, she launched
Science Education Enrichment Day
(SEED).
She worked closely with USC Aiken
personnel to apply for a grant that
helped to support the newly created
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Ruth Patrick Science Education Center
(RPSEC), and after a few years, she was
hired as the Program Director of the
RPSEC. She brought SEED with her
to the RPSEC and with her continued
leadership SEED is one of the most
important outreach activities of the
RPSEC. Her wonderful achievements
resulted in her becoming the Director of
the RPSEC.
A few years later, she transitioned
into a role where she provided vital
leadership for a new grant project
through which she became the Director
of the Allendale Elementary School
Professional Development School.
In 2011, she officially retired, but
continues to work for USC Aiken as
a part-time faculty member teaching
USC Aiken classes for college students
in Allendale. However, there is nothing
part-time for Dr. Johnson. She uses up
more than half of her time to provide
professional learning activities through
the RPSEC and to implement other
grant projects at USC Aiken including
the Improving Teacher Quality grant
and the Mathematics and Science
Partnership grant.
In recognition of her many
accomplishments and contributions to
the Aiken community and beyond, Dr.
Gwendolyn B. Johnson is the deserving
recipient of the Pickens-Salley Southern
Woman of Distinction honor for 2014.
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Congratulations to our April Campus Citizens
CAMP U S
CIT IZ E N
of the Month
The Caring Faculty and Staff
Who Came to the Aid
of Juanita Geter
The April Campus Citizen of the Month goes not only to
one person but to many – the more than 75 USC Aiken Faculty
and Staff that contributed more than $3000 to assist a co-worker
during a time of need.
A member of USC Aiken’s custodial staff for more than
15 years, Juanita Geter is known by many on the campus as
a friendly and hardworking co-worker. Her home survived
the ice storm in February, but a fire after the storm destroyed
it. Knowing she faced a difficult situation, her USC Aiken
colleagues took action to raise money to help her during a
troublesome time.
This group of caring USC Aiken employees is named the
Campus Citizen of the Month. The outpouring of generosity
shown by more than 75 faculty and staff members for a fellow
worker is extraordinary, and deserves to be recognized. Some
people donating asked to be anonymous, but each of you knows
who you are. It is truly inspiring to see such kindness on the
campus.
Normally, the award winner receives a $20 gift card as
part of their recognition. In keeping with the spirit of giving
by this group, the gift card will be given to Juanita Geter.
Congratulations to all who opened their hearts and wallets to
help a colleague!
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T
he Campus Citizen of the Month
award is given in recognition of
good citizenship. All faculty, classified
and unclassified staff, and university
partners who have been with the
University for one year and are in good
standing are eligible. The nomination
remains active indefinitely in the
pool of candidates. The nomination
form must be signed by the nominee’s
supervisor and sent to the nominee’s
Vice Chancellor in that unit. The
criteria to be used in the nomination
are:
• Initiative/Creativity: Exhibits
ingenuity and resourcefulness.
Examples: Improved work
methods, efficiency within the
department.
• Loyalty/Dedication: Willing to
go the “extra mile” without being
asked.
• Positive Attitude: Maintains
effective relationships with others
both on and off campus; serves as
role model. Example: Consistently
delivers prompt, friendly service.
• Leadership: Acknowledge those
whose efforts have inspired and
supported the performance and
achievement of others.
Monday Group will
review the nominations
and select each
month’s winner.
Contact Maria
Chandler at
MariaC@USCA.edu
for more information.
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Policy Head’s Up: The Gainful Employment Rule
S
ecretary of Education Arne Duncan and
the Education Department released a
reshaped “gainful employment” rule last
month. The proposal, if approved, would
create a process to eliminate academic
programs at colleges and universities if their
graduates were unable to pay off their student
loans within a set time after graduation. While
originally aimed at controlling the high loan
default rate of students in high-cost, high failure
rate programs at for-profit institutions, the rule
will be applied to all academic programs at all
public universities as well.
In essence, the proposed rule requires
that programs whose graduates in yearly
cohorts have debt to income ratios of 8 to
12% be placed on warning. Programs may
remain on warning for four consecutive years,
however, after the fourth year the students in
the program or entering the program cannot
receive student aid. Currently, programs
with fewer than 30 students receiving aid
in a cohort are exempt from the Gainful
Employment Rule.
Heads up! Variations on this concept are
gaining popularity with lawmakers in the states
as well. The clear message for universities is to
focus on those academic programs that are in
demand by students and by employers.
Research Day 2014 held April 12
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SC Teaching Fellows Program
Adds USC Aiken
“Chancellor Remarks” continued
from Page 1
use as a legitimate funding
model
• Support compact
arrangements and
collaborative efforts to
address “state authorization”
of online programs *
(*actions summarized
from the AASCU policy
agenda, Delivering on
America’s Promise)
T
he Center for Educator
Recruitment, Retention, and
Advancement (CERRA) announced the
addition of USC Aiken as a Teaching
Fellows Institution, beginning with the
2015-2016 academic year. USC Aiken
will use the 2014-2015 academic year to
develop their Teaching Fellows program
and will begin accepting new Fellows in
the fall of 2015.
Dr. Timothy Lintner, Associate
Professor of Education, says that the
Teaching Fellows Program at USC
Aiken is a seamless collaboration
between numerous departments and
divisions on campus. The program will
tap into the rich and varied resources
from across campus and throughout
the community enabling students to
become dynamic teacher-leaders in the
classroom.
The Teaching Fellows Program
was established in 1999 by the General
Assembly to address the need to
recruit high quality teachers for South
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Carolina’s classrooms. Teaching Fellows
receive up to $24,000 over four years
to pursue a degree in education. While
participating in the Program, Teaching
Fellows work closely with a faculty
Campus Director, receive advanced
professional development, partner
with businesses and communities, and
explore opportunities to refine their
leadership skills. A Fellow agrees to
teach one year in a South Carolina
public school for each year he or she
receives the Fellowship. If a Fellow does
not meet this requirement, he or she
is obligated to repay the appropriate
portion of the award.
The Teaching Fellows application
is available to high school seniors in
South Carolina and will open online on
September 1, 2014. Students who apply
for this prestigious Fellowship will have
the option of requesting to attend any
of the 12 Teaching Fellows institutions.
With Mid-term and
Gubernatorial elections in
the near future, USC Aiken
will join with other AASCU
institutions and lend our voice
to the discussions by writing and
visiting our representatives in
South Carolina and Washington
D.C. Meanwhile, regarding
South Carolina’s 2015 budget,
the proposed House budget is
now under review in the Senate.
At this point, the institution will
focus efforts on the Senate Side
and continue to visit frequently
with our local delegation and
others to press for more equitable
funding through parity. As
always, as the legislative session
progresses, we’ll keep you
updated. As you bump into
members of our local delegation,
please consider thanking them
for their public service and for
their tireless support of our parity
issue. Remember, if you wish
to contact your state or national
representatives by email, please
do so as a private citizen from
your own personal computer,
rather than from the state-owned
university computers and .edu
address.
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Athletics Updates
Men’s Basketball Team Earns Spot in Final Four
T
he 2013-14 University of
South Carolina Aiken men’s
basketball team proved it was
the best in school history. Not
only did the squad win its third
straight Peach Belt Conference
Championship, but also registered
its second straight PBC Tournament
title and second consecutive
Southeast Regional Championship
en route to the program’s first-ever
Final Four appearance.
Twentynine records were set or tied
during the 2013-14 campaign by
head coach Vince Alexander’s
team. The Pacers attached
themselves to 21 school records
and eight conference marks
in the record book with their
program-best 33 wins.
With the
top seed in the Southeast Region
for the second straight season,
USC Aiken earned the right to
host the first three rounds of the
NCAA Tournament.
USC Aiken
was the lone team in the Elite
Eight that won all three games of
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its respective regional by double
figures – and the trend continued in
the Elite Eight.
However, the squad
re-wrote the record books, both
individually and collectively, and
the season will be remembered for
many years to come.
In addition
to the team’s school-record setting
33 wins, the 37 games played also
established a new record. The four
losses tied the mark for the fewest
in a season while the .947 winning
percentage tops the school’s
record book.
Alexander’s team
won a school-record 15 straight
games and increased its longest
home winning streak to 17 games.
The team has currently won 12
straight road games, which also
established a school mark.
USC
Aiken netted a program-best 2,906
points on a record 982 made
field goals. The team also
attempted 2,070 shots from the
floor. The 737 made free throws
was nearly 100 more than the
previous school record and the
1,059 free throws attempted were
over 150 more than the previous
mark.
Thanks in large part to
Rick Alderman, Alvin Brown and
Paul Larsen, the team snagged
a record 1,494 rebounds, which
also turned into 40.4 rebounds a
game (school record).
With Brown
blocking a school-best 144 blocks,
the team went on to establish
a program-high 233 rejections.
The program has now had seven
straight winning seasons and tied
the mark with three straight 20-plus
win seasons.
Brown led Division II
with the blocks, which also set a
PBC record for blocks in a season.
His 70 blocks against conference
foes allowed Brown to tie the PBC
record.
DeVontae Wright, who
replaced All-American Re’mon
Nelson at the start of the season at
point guard, tied the school record
with 13 assists in the Senior Night
Continued on Page 7
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“Athletics” continued from Page 6
win over UNC Pembroke. Wright, a
first-team all-conference selection
and MVP of the PBC and Southeast
Regional Tournaments, shattered
the Peach Belt Conference and
USC Aiken single-season mark
by playing 1,351 minutes. He
also set school records with 190
made free throws and 230 free
throws attempted.
Larsen, a
preseason All-American, went
on to be named second-team
all conference and PBC alltournament team, broke the
school record for field goal
percentage, hitting 164-of-269
shots from the field for the year (61
percent). Not only did he break
the single-season mark, Larsen
etched his name in the career
chart by netting 59.8 percent of
his shots while in a Pacer uniform
(319-of-533). A force on the
inside, Larsen also shattered the
school record for rebounds with
326.
Ronald Zimmerman set the
USC Aiken and PBC career mark
with 344 made three-point baskets.
His 777 shots and 44.3 percent
shooting from downtown also
allowed him to have additional
school records to his credit. The
144 made three-pointers and 319
three-point attempts by the NABC
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All-American this season set a new
benchmark for a single season
at USC Aiken.
The foursome of
Alderman, Larsen, Wright and
Zimmerman set the school record
for most games played in a season
with 37. Larsen and Zimmerman
tied for most consecutive starts
with 70 during their illustrious
careers.
Jesse Seilern will go
down in the record book for most
games played in a career (127)
and started in a Pacer uniform
(111). The games-played mark
also thwarted the previous PBC
record.
Collectively, the team set
PBC records for most consecutive
road wins, most free throws made
(737), most free throws attempted
(1,059), most blocked shots in
a game (tied the mark with 14
against P.R.-Piedras), most blocks
in a season (233), most blocks in a
season against conference foes
(117) and fewest turnovers for a
season (275).
Only time will tell
where they stack up against other
Pacer men’s basketball teams,
but the 2013-14 took the road less
traveled and performed under the
brightest of lights and will always
be discussed. Ten seniors depart
from the 2013-14 team, but their
legacy will always remain.
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Data Security Reminder
As University data becomes easier to
access and more convenient to transport
on multiple devices, now is a good time
to remind you of the policies as they
relate to data access and securing
sensitive University data. In a nutshell:
USC Aiken Student receives award at
SC Academy of Science Annual Meeting
1. Sensitive University data such as credit
card information, medical records,
social security numbers or any other
personally identifiable information (PII)
should never be stored on laptops,
flash drives, external hard drives, CDs,
DVDs or any other portable media.
2. Files containing PII should never be
e-mailed.
It is just as important for you to routinely
back up your data to avoid the loss of
valuable information in the event of a
hardware failure. The suggestions below
are all viable backup options:
1. Back up your most valuable data to
your personal network space on the J:
drive. This data is backed up nightly
and, in most cases, can be restored if
lost or damaged.
2. Back up your non-PII data to external
media such as flash drives, external
hard drives, CDs and DVDs.
3. Take advantage of cloud (Internet)
backup services such as Dropbox
or Google Cloud. The advantage
of these services is your data will be
available to you from anywhere you
have a connection to the Internet.
The disadvantage is they usually
come with a monthly fee.
As always, feel free to contact our Help
Desk at 4357 or HELP@USCA.EDU if you
have questions. Thank you and be safe.
USC Aiken Policy AIT 107: Acceptable
Use of Information Technology
USC Aiken Policy AIT 114: Data Access
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Annual Meeting of the SC Academy of
T heScience
was held April 5 at Trident Technical
College in Charleston.
As part of the program, a total of 58
undergraduate students representing 11 different
institutions from across the State presented
results of their research. Their presentations
were judged by a panel of 17 judges from
Academia, Government and Industry.
A total of 6 awards for outstanding
undergraduate research were given in six topical
sessions.
Claudia Fulmer of USC Aiken received an
award for her presentation titled “The Cellular
Effects of HIV-1 TAT-Dependent Expression
of Pro-apoptic TBID and BAX” which she
presented in the Molecular Biology session.
The mentor for her research was Dr. Bill
Jackson of the USC Aiken Biology and Geology
Department.
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Operations:
Project updates
Convocation Center News
Pedestrian Bridge
Percent Complete:
Design: 100%
Bidding: I/P
Construction: Not Started
B
etter your body, better your health;
learn how for free. The Healthy
Lifestyle Expo is back to share the
newest practices of healthy living. For
six consecutive years, the Life Expo has
catered to members of the community
looking to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
The expo will be held at the USC Aiken
Convocation Center from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. – sponsored by Aiken Regional
Medical Centers and The Caring for
Carolina Partners. Admission for this
event will be free to the public.
The event will be filled with fitness
information, exciting demonstrations
ranging from karate to cooking, and
health screenings for all who attend.
Health screenings will be provided by
Aiken Regional Medical Centers and
will include cholesterol checks and
much more.
The Shepheard Blood Mobile will be
in attendance to collect much-needed
donations and make sure you check
out the Aiken Horsepower Car Show
in the parking lot. Also, there will be
a senior fashion show by Dillard’s of
Aiken. Fashion show models provided
by UniHealth Post-Acute Care of Aiken.
New this year, we will be accepting
donations for Goodwill. So clean out
your garage and closets, and bring in
your unwanted treasures to donate to a
worthy cause.
Don’t miss out on this free, fun
and informative day for anyone to
enjoy. For more information about
the expo visit our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/AikenLifeExpo.
This event is brought to you by Aiken
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Regional Medical Center, The Caring
for Carolina Partners – WJBF-ABC
News Channel 6, Maxwell Law Firm,
Beasley Broadcasting and USC Aiken
Convocation Center.
The USC Aiken Convocation Center
is managed by Global Spectrum on
behalf of the University of South
Carolina Aiken, as well as more than
100 other public assembly facilities
around the world. Nearly 20-million
people attended more than 11,000
events in Global Spectrum venues last
year. Based in Philadelphia, PA, Global
Spectrum is part of Comcast-Spectator,
one of the world’s largest sports and
entertainment companies. ComcastSpectator also owns the Philadelphia
Flyers of the National Hockey League,
Ovations Food Services, a food and
beverage services provider, New Era
Tickets, a full-service ticketing and
marketing product for public assembly
facilities, Paciolan, the leading provider
of venue establishment ticketing,
fundraising and marketing technology
solutions, Front Row Marketing
Services, a commercial rights sales
company, and Flyers Skate Zone, a
series of community ice skating rinks.
In a partnership with Disson Skating,
Comcast-Spectator annually produces
eight nationally televised figure skating
spectaculars on NBC-TV. The company
also manages the James Brown Arena
and Bell Auditorium in Augusta,
GA and the Colonial Life Arena in
Columbia, SC.
For more information contact Katie
Cason at 706-262-4556 or kcason@
arccc.com
Summary: Bid documents are
completed. Permits have been
completed. USC Columbia has
“rescrubbed” the construction
cost estimate. Initial review of
the estimate is good and within
budget. Pre-bid meeting was held
on 3/13 with a lot of vendors and
contractors in attendance.
SCBO advertise – 3/3/2014
Pre Bid Date & Time: 3/13/2014 @
10am –Aiken Campus B&E 140
Bid Closing Date & Time: 4/3/2014
@ 2pm – Columbia Campus
Bid opening 4/18
Preconstruction – May 2014
Greenhouse
Percent Complete:
Design: 100%
Bidding: In Review
Construction: Not Started
Summary: Bids received and low
bid came in at $36K over planned
budget. Electrical was majority
of cost overrun. Working with
Architect/engineer to remove
scope to bring costs within budget.
All material for Greenhouse has
been received and stored on
campus.
Penland and Library Elevator
Cab renewals
Percent Complete:
Design: 100%
Bidding: Awarded
Construction: Complete
Summary: This project is complete
and is in closeout.
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