The 2013 session of the South Carolina General Assembly ended at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday without passing a budget for FY 2013-14. A Concurrent Resolution passed by both chambers will bring the House and Senate back on June 18 to take care of unfinished business. 

 

In the meantime, a Conference Committee of 3 senators and 3 representatives will try to reconcile the differences in the two versions. Representing the Senate are Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman of Florence, Sen. Harvey Peeler of Gaffney, and Sen. Nikki Setzler of West Columbia. For the House, Rep. Brian White of Anderson, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, will lead a delegation which includes Rep. Gary Simrill of Rock Hill and Rep. Mike Anthony of Union. The first meeting of the committee is scheduled for today. Once the lawmakers agree on a budget, they will have to act on any line-item vetoes issued by Gov. Haley.

 

The Senate's budget is more favorable to independent college and university students. Both versions of the budget appropriate an additional $1.6 million in recurring state appropriations for the Tuition Grants Commission and full funding for the Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE, and Tuition Assistance scholarship programs, but the Senate version increases the lottery appropriations to the Tuition Grants Commission by $400,000 from $7.7 million to $8.1 million.

 

The Senate also adds $1.5 million for CHE need-based grants. Since the Tuition Grants Commission receives a proportionate share of the state's need-based grants, it is estimated that the Commission could receive an additional $250,000 from this source if the Senate's budget is adopted.

For the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL), the House version is more favorable placing the program as the #1 priority for excess unclaimed prize funds. The Senate budget moves PASCAL to the #3 position.

 

The SCICU team will work during the next week in the best interest of students attending independent institutions of higher learning. 

Nominations Committee to Meet

 

Nominations Committee Chair Sara Fisher announced that the committee

will hold its first meeting on June 25. Trustees are encouraged to submit recommendations for the next class of trustees who will take office for three-year terms at the annual meeting on October 1 at Anderson University. 

 

Recommendations may be sent to Eddie Shannon at eddie@scicu.org.  

 

SCICU's Campus Tour is fast approaching. It will take place June 17 - 20. The tour participants will travel via private bus as they tour ten SCICU member colleges. There are 36 participants this year, all of which are actively involved in high school students' educational choices. Vocationally, they range from high school level teachers, counselors, athletic coaches, and career specialists.

 

The campuses to be toured this year are Benedict College, Charleston Southern University, Claflin University, Columbia College, Erskine College, Furman University, North Greenville University, Presbyterian College, Southern Wesleyan University, and Voorhees College.

 

We are grateful for this year's tour guides: Bill Brown, Assistant Registrar at Columbia International University, and Chris Bouknight, Admissions Counselor and Creative Arts Liaison at Newberry College. SCICU's Brenda Torrence will be going along with the group to help coordinate activities and act as a resource for tour participants and guides. We are looking forward to a great week of showing off our member colleges.

 

Next year's tour will include the remaining ten colleges and allow participants to experience the full scope of what SCICU member colleges and universities have to offer their students. 

Students from Converse's STARS Program compete in INTEL ISEF in Phoenix, AZ.

The goal of the SCICU Student/Faculty Undergraduate Research Program is to increase the number of undergraduate students participating in scholarly research at South Carolina's independent colleges and universities. The program also provides an effective way to make a positive impact on the future supply of advanced degree candidates and highly competitive employees in areas requiring specialized knowledge.  

 

During the 2012-2013 academic year, funding from the SCICU Research Project and The Belle Baruch Foundation allowed Converse College to develop a model outreach program aimed at increasing high school students' participation in scholarly research. The Science, Technology and Research Scholars program (STARS) was developed by undergraduate student Morgan Roach and Dr. Neval Erturk, Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of the Biology Department at Converse. STARS, now in its third year, pairs select high school students with Converse faculty mentors for long-term, in-depth research projects. Research activities are coordinated both on Converse's campus and at Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown, S.C. The program continues to be led by Dr. Erturk.

 

Upon the completion of the STARS project, student Morgan Roach presented her findings at the SCICU Research Symposium in February 2013 at the BMW Zentrum in Greer, S.C. High school students participating in the STARS program also presented their projects at a variety of local, regional and international fairs. The participants were recognized with a total of 15 awards during the past academic year. The STARS students attended the May 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the world's largest international pre-college science competition, held in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Roach and Erturk hope to inspire similar collegiate research opportunities for high school students across South Carolina. The materials they developed are available for those interested in initiating similar programs at their institutions. 

SCICU features some of its member colleges and universities' news on our website each month. Here are some of the articles we featured this month:

• Anderson University Business Team Earns National Rank 
• Dr. Nayef H. Samhat named Wofford College president 
• Six Works by Coker Professor Jean Grosser Included in New Freedom Riders Exhibition 
• Claflin University Captures Service Learning Award 

To have your school featured in the "Member College News" section, please send your press releases to Stephenie Bergen at stephenie@scicu.org. 

 
To see all of our Member College News, please click here. 

SCICU's on-line network of providers offers goods and services to the independent higher education community in South Carolina. The Business Partners program provides a convenient marketplace where SCICU member colleges and universities can preview offerings from some of the top companies in the country.