A New Beginning

July 13, 2022

Dear Carolina Community,

The mountains of moving boxes stacked in my office at Osborne finally are unpacked, most of my books are on the shelves and my pictures are ready to hang. At the President’s House, Ero and I are settling into our new life on the Horseshoe, and yes, there are still boxes there as well. But after a busy first two weeks as the 30th president of the University of South Carolina, I am even more excited about the months and years that are still to come.

Ero and I are thrilled to be back home in South Carolina! At the same time, I know that I am assuming this new role at a pivotal time for higher education across the nation. Along with the honor of serving as your president comes a strong sense of responsibility to elevate the university to an even higher level, by educating the next generation of leaders, advancing knowledge and culture, and contributing to our state’s well-being.

To be successful in this endeavor, it is necessary to regain the public trust. We need to focus on our mission of education and research, protect access and affordability, advance equity and inclusion, and create an entrepreneurial and user-friendly university system that leads the next transformation of higher education.

There is so much we can and will do together as a community! In the coming months, I look forward to catching up with all our constituencies and hearing your aspirations, your concerns and your ideas on how we can build on your current accomplishments.

I would like to thank our interim president, Dr. Harris Pastides, and his wife, Patricia, for all they have done over the past year in dedicated service to the University of South Carolina. We owe them our gratitude.

Thank you for your very warm welcome! You have made coming back to USC everything Ero and I hoped it might be. This is a new beginning, and we are ready to move forward on a great journey together.

Michael Amiridis
President