reat teaching has been at the heart of the University of South Carolina for 200 years. On May 3, in a special bicentennial ceremony, 50 trees on the historic Horseshoe were dedicated to the memory of some of Carolina's greatest teachers. Marked by brass plaques with the honored professors' names, disciplines and years of service at USC, the trees stand as living monuments to the power of teaching.

The 50 honorees were selected by a special committee chaired by Professor H. Thorne Compton, Chairman of the Bicentennial Executive Committee. The working committee included current and former USC faculty.

The afternoon ceremony took place on the Horseshoe and included remarks by President John Palms; Professor Compton; Professor Caroline D. Strobel, Chair of the USC Faculty

Senate; and three AMOCO Outstanding Teaching Award recipients: Professor John D. Spurrier (2000 recipient), Professor Carolyn Matalene (1998 recipient) and Professor David Sumner (2001 recipient). The highlight of the ceremony was a roll call of honorees, during which family members stood to be recognized.

Ceremony booklets, complete with brief biographies of all honorees and a map of the dedicated trees, are available at the Bicentennial Office, McKissick Museum and the South Caroliniana Library. Honorees' photographs are on display at McKissick Museum.

Click here for a list of honorees and a corresponding map of dedicated trees. Note: Pages will open in a new browser window.