The South Carolina General Assembly adjourned sine die on Thursday without passing a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Prior to adjournment, both houses agreed to return on June 14 to finalize the budget and address several outstanding issues such as redistricting. During the interim period, a conference committee of 3 senators and 3 representatives normally would work to reconcile the differences in the two versions of the budget.

 

The orderly end-of-the-year schedule was thrown into doubt minutes after the House and the Senate adjourned when Gov. Haley ordered the General Assembly to return to Columbia for an emergency session on June 7. Gov. Haley wants the legislature to serve without pay to address several government restructuring bills before adjourning until January.

 

While not unprecedented, emergency sessions are reserved for "extraordinary circumstances." Leaders in the House and Senate are concerned about a number of legal questions surrounding the call for a special session. Until these issues are resolved, the fate of the state budget hangs in the balance.

 

There is no doubt that South Carolina will have a balanced budget, but the question is when. We have every expectation that the funding levels for higher education student grants and scholarships will be the same as the current year. Until the appropriations bill receives the Governor's signature, all funding is still at risk, and we must retain our vigilance.

Southern Wesleyan University's board of trustees unanimously voted to approve Dr. Todd Voss to become the 18th president of the institution.

 

Dr. Voss will take office on July 1, according to university board chairman Dr. Charles Joiner, who also led the presidential search committee.

 

"We are very pleased with this result," Joiner said of the search committee's work. "I can assure you that the process was undertaken in a very prayerful way."

 

Joiner characterized Voss as exacting, energetic, charismatic and a proven leader.

 

"Dr. Voss brings excellent experience in Christian higher education to us," Joiner said. "We're pleased to have him join our team."

 

Voss addressed the university community at a press conference on May 27, fielding questions and outlining some of his plans for Southern Wesleyan University. He expressed gratitude to retiring president Dr. David Spittal for positioning the university for success and prosperity.

 

"Dr. Spittal has had 17 years of amazing success here," Voss said. "It is a very promising future. I am excited about that."

  

Voss has been serving as executive vice president at Indiana Wesleyan University. His areas of leadership include student life, spiritual life, information technology, athletics, operations, construction, campus planning and other related functions.

 

He began working at IWU in 1989 as vice president for student development with previous experience in student life, business affairs, auxiliary services and campus planning from West Virginia University, Western Michigan University and Michigan State. Voss's interest in generational studies has been ongoing for more than two decades.

 

He earned his bachelor's degree in pre-medicine/psychology, his master's in counseling and his doctorate in counseling/higher education administration.

 

Voss and his wife, Julie, have two married children, Emily and Matthew, and one grandchild, Luke.

Dr. Tracy Parkinson, dean of the faculty and associate vice president for academic affairs at King College in Bristol, Tenn., has been appointed to serve as Provost of Coker College beginning July 1.

 

"It is with great excitement that we welcome Dr. Parkinson to Coker and to our community," said Coker College President Robert Wyatt. "The selection committee was overwhelmingly enthusiastic in its recommendation, seeing in Dr. Parkinson both the drive and the talent to help Coker realize the highest ideals of a liberal arts institution of higher learning."

 

As Provost, Parkinson will be responsible for the planning, development, coordination, review, and administration of Coker's academic programs.

 

"I could not be more pleased to have been selected," said Parkinson.

 

"It was going to take an exceptional opportunity for me to leave a place I love, but I think I've found something special at Coker and in the Hartsville community.

 

"The enthusiasm for learning and the sense of common purpose among faculty, staff and students is remarkable. Coker has a wonderful heritage and a very bright future, and I feel fortunate to have the chance to be a part of it," he added.

 

Parkinson served at King College, also a member of Conference Carolinas, since 1999. While he began his career teaching French, throughout his tenure Parkinson served in various leadership roles, including as the acting director of athletics, dean of the faculty, acting dean of the school of business and economics, chair of the division of humanities and social sciences and chair of the department of languages and literatures.

 

Parkinson has a Bachelor of Arts with honors in French and Spanish from Carson-Newman College and a Master of Arts in French Language and Literature from the University of Tennessee and a Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures also from the University of Tennessee. He has also continued scholarly pursuits in such international venues as American University of Paris, University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria.

 

He received the 2008-2009 Outstanding Young Alumnus award from Carson-Newman and served on the institution's alumni association board of directors.

 

Parkinson replaces Provost Patricia Lincoln, dean of the faculty and professor of biology, who is retiring after 28 years of service to the college.

In the last edition of News and Notes, we recognized the recipients of the 2011 Excellence in Teaching Awards. Unfortunately, we omitted Barry D. Ward, Professor of Health and Physical Education at Spartanburg Methodist College. We apologize for the oversight and encourage you to find out more about Mr. Ward at http://www.scicu.org/about-scicu/awards/309-mr-barry-d-ward.

The Commission on Higher Education recently issued a call for nominations for the Governor's Professor of the Year. Every regionally accredited public or private institution in South Carolina is eligible to nominate one faculty member for this award. The Governor's office and the Commission on Higher Education will establish a selection committee which will include representatives from these offices and individuals representing civic, business, and governmental life in South Carolina.

 

Eligibility requirements and nomination forms have been sent to all SCICU presidents and provosts. The deadline for nominations is September 1.

Mike Brenan, chair of the SCICU Nominating Committee, invites current Board members to nominate candidates for membership on the Board of Trustees for terms of office that begin on September 1, 2011. Candidates should have an appreciation for the important contributions that a strong and vibrant community of independent colleges and universities bring to the state and a willingness to advocate for strengthening the opportunities for students to attend the independent institution of higher learning of their choice.

 

Please send you nominations by July 5 to SCICU President and CEO Mike LeFever.

SCICU is a member of the Coalition for College Cost Savings. CCCS is comprised of 26 member organizations in 24 states that collectively serve 600 private colleges and over 1.2 million students across the United States. The organization and staff is dedicated to helping private institutions of higher education improve processes and reduce and contain costs through collaboration.

 

Because of their membership in SCICU, all of our member schools have access to CCCS's national contracts and services. We are pleased to offer all of the resources of CCCS to our members. Links to the CCCS website can be found in this newsletter and on the Business Partners pages of the SCICU website.