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USC board committee approves plan to integrate USC, MUSC pharmacy colleges--September 24, 2004
USC has sought, still wants baseball deal--August 20, 2004
Talking Points for 2004 Life Sciences Act
The Life Sciences Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2004, will have a huge economic impact on South Carolina. It will mean a more competitive economic environment, a healthier tax base, more business investment, and new, high paying jobs.
It allows for the authorization of up to $220 million in state bond revenue earmarked specifically for South Carolina's three research universities for research initiatives that stimulate economic development.
Specifically, the legislation authorizes a dollar-for-dollar match from these funds once the university has demonstrated the economic viability of a proposal by first obtaining funds through private investment.
What does this mean for the University of South Carolina? By streamlining state regulations, it will create more opportunities for public/private partnerships, and it will give us more flexibility in hiring and compensation to help recruit and retain top faculty and graduate students.
It means that if a pharmaceutical or a biotech company wants to invest $100 million and be part of our research campus, then we can go to the state and aks for matching funds.
Perhaps most important, this legislation and the lottery-funded Research Centers of Economic Excellence/Endowed Chairs program acknowledge the vital role that the University of South Carolina, along with the Medical University of South Carolina and Clemson University, can play in economic development, and they make us partners with business and industry. After all, the fortunes of the state's three research universities and the state's economy are inextricably linked.
Liberal Arts - Science and Math merger
On December 15th, 2003, the University Board of Trustees unanimously approved merging the College of Science and Math and the College of Liberal Arts to create a College of Arts and Sciences. This action is set to take place later this year.
The merged College will comprise 517 faculty in over 23 departments, institutes and centers and an enrollment of more than 8,200 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students. The merger has the full support of President Sorensen, who has said that a College of Arts and Sciences will create a richer teaching, learning and research environment.
Last spring, President Sorensen tasked a committee with studying the feasibility of merging the two colleges. After interviewing faculty, administrators and staff at USC and at approximately 50 “peer” institutions, many of which have arts and sciences colleges, the committee concluded that a merger done under the right conditions would stimulate and enrich undergraduate students' experiences, improve the University’s administrative structure, and enhance research and teaching, particularly interdisciplinary research and teaching. Dr. Madilyn Fletcher, who co-chaired the committee, has said that most of the top 50 universities, as ranked in U.S. News & World Report, have colleges of arts and sciences.
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