Mission Statement

The primary mission of the University of South Carolina, a multi-campus public institution serving the entire state of South Carolina, is the education of the state’s diverse citizens through teaching, research and creative activity, and service.

Teaching

The University is committed to providing its students with the highest-quality education, including the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for success and responsible citizenship in a complex and changing world. A particular strength of the University of South Carolina is the excellence, breadth, and diversity of its faculty.

Research

Convinced that research and scholarship, including artistic creation, are essential for excellent teaching, the University pursues aggressively an active research and scholarship program. The University is dedicated to using research to improve the quality of life for South Carolinians.

Service

Another important facet of the University's public mission is service--to its community, state, nation, and the world in such areas as public health, education, social issues, economic development, and family support systems.

Founded in 1801 in Columbia, the University of South Carolina began providing programs in communities statewide in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, a network of campuses was established in response to community initiative and support for accessible, affordable educational programs principally for local citizens. In the 1970s, the Aiken and Spartanburg campuses were granted the authority to award baccalaureate degrees. The Beaufort campus was given the same authority in 2002. While the regional campuses, the senior campuses, and the Columbia campus all pursue teaching, research, creative activity, and service, they do so with an emphasis suited to their individual campus missions.

Columbia Campus

As a major teaching and research institution, USC Columbia has long offered a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs through the doctoral level. With a mission of teaching, research, and service, USC Columbia addresses the state's needs for master's level, professional, and doctoral education, for conducting and sharing research, and for responding to statewide and regional demands for educational resources and professional expertise.

USC Columbia aspires to national and international stature as it provides equitable access to its opportunities, resources, and activities.

Senior Campuses

Separately accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Aiken and Spartanburg take as their primary mission the delivery of basic undergraduate education to their respective areas. SACS accreditation for the Beaufort campus is currently pending. These senior campuses also offer graduate-level course work through the University's Extended Graduate Campus program and offer master's degree programs in response to regional demand.

Regional Campuses

Accredited with USC Columbia by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional campuses in Lancaster, Allendale (Salkehatchie), Sumter, and Union principally provide the first two years of undergraduate education, as well as selected associate degree programs mainly for their locales. The regional campuses also provide for the completion of a bachelor's degree by offering selected upper-division course work in conjunction with the Aiken, Beaufort, Columbia, and Spartanburg campuses as well as some graduate education through the University's Extended Graduate Campus program. In addition to providing these programs, the regional campuses bring the resources of the entire University to citizens throughout the state.

USC Columbia Mission Statement

Committed to becoming one of the finest universities in America, USC Columbia is dedicated to nationally recognized excellence in its student population, faculty, academic programs, living and learning environment, technological infrastructure, library resources, research and scholarship, public and private support, and endowment. The University is further resolved to enhance the industrial, economic, and cultural potential of the state so that South Carolina and the University can prosper together. USC Columbia recognizes its historic responsibility to achieve overall excellence and to provide South Carolina’s citizens a university as good as any in the nation.

One of the oldest and most comprehensive public universities in the United States, the University of South Carolina Columbia is the major research center of the University and its largest campus, enrolling some 16,500 undergraduate students and more than 8,500 students in graduate and professional programs.

From its location in the state capital, the University offers a range of excellent programs and activities designed to enhance the intellectual, cultural, physical, and social development of its diverse student body. Students can pursue bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees in over 350 major degree programs. USC Columbia’s professional programs in law, pharmacy, and medicine, and the magnitude of its graduate programs in areas such as the arts and sciences, international business, public health, social work, and library and information science distinguish it from all other institutions of higher learning in the state of South Carolina. Additional opportunities for personal and career development, including an associate degree program at Fort Jackson, are provided to the citizens of South Carolina through outreach and continuing education activities. USC Columbia offers the most comprehensive array of educational programs in the state and is the only South Carolina institution classified as a Four Year I by the Southern Regional Education Board.

Students at USC Columbia come from various backgrounds, with different career goals and levels of aspiration. The distinctiveness of USC Columbia lies in the conspicuous diversity that nurtures and stimulates students, faculty, and constituents. USC Columbia aspires to national and international stature as it provides equitable access to the full range of its opportunities, resources, and activities.

As a relatively selective institution, USC Columbia seeks to attract inquisitive students who have demonstrated academic ability, who are committed to learning, who are capable of self-discipline, and who wish to benefit from the variety of experiences provided by a major university with students, faculty, and staff drawn from throughout South Carolina, the nation, and the world. The University strives to educate graduates who are capable of excelling in their chosen fields, who are dedicated to learning throughout their lives, and who are responsible citizens in a complex society requiring difficult ethical and value-related decisions. By offering its students reasonable freedom to select from among the many experiences available in liberal arts, the natural sciences, the social sciences, the performing and creative arts, and the professions, USC Columbia encourages students to seek their full potential in the broad array of endeavors associated with our various schools and colleges.

A central mission to the University is to advance knowledge and enrich our cultural heritage. To achieve this mission, the University supports a faculty actively engaged in research in a breadth of disciplines including those listed above.

An important mission of the University is to engage its considerable resources in service to the state and society for the purposes of cultural enrichment, the dissemination of knowledge, and the enhancement of the overall quality of life. USC Columbia’s teaching, research, and service programs affect every part of life in South Carolina.

History

Chartered in 1801 as South Carolina College, the University of South Carolina was the first state university to be supported continuously by annual state appropriations. In the years before the Civil War, it rapidly achieved a reputation for academic excellence in the classical tradition and was known as one of the best endowed and most distinguished colleges in the United States. Its faculty included Francis Lieber, editor of the Encyclopaedia Americana and author of On Civil Liberty and Self-Government; the nationally known scientists John and Joseph LeConte; and chemist William Ellet, who produced some of the first daguerreotypes in the United States. By the 1830s, distinguished alumni virtually filled the state's General Assembly. James H. Hammond and Wade Hampton were the most prominent of a parade of future governors, senators, judges, and generals who graduated during the antebellum period.

The pre-Civil War campus included Longstreet Theatre and all the buildings in the area known today as the Horseshoe (with the exception of McKissick Museum). When the voluntary enlistment of all students into the Army of the Confederacy forced the college to close in June 1862, the buildings were used by the Confederate government as a hospital. By the time General Sherman's army reached Columbia in February 1865, the hospital housed wounded Union soldiers as well. A fire soon started that destroyed most of the city, but federal troops helped save the campus buildings from the flames.

After reopening in 1865, the institution went through six reorganizations and name changes during the last decades of the 19th century, while legislators, administrators, and faculties reassessed the institution’s goals and struggled to define its mission. Finally in 1906, at the beginning of its second century, it was rechartered for the third, and last, time as the University of South Carolina, with a graduate school.

In sharp contrast to the South Carolina College's antebellum, elitist philosophy, President William Davis Melton in 1925 expressed a far-reaching principle that had emerged in the first quarter of the century: "Education is not a special privilege to be enjoyed by a special few." Thus, in its final reorganization, the University of South Carolina developed this institutional objective: to furnish both liberal and professional education to the people of South Carolina.

Efforts to achieve this objective were almost immediately hampered by the early arrival of the Great Depression in South Carolina. Enrollment declined, some courses were eliminated, and buildings went without repairs. The situation improved greatly in the late 1930s because of grants from federal New Deal agencies. Then America entered World War II, and the campus was virtually transformed into a naval training base, with payments from the Navy helping the school continue to function during the war years.

Fulfillment of the promise of the early years of the 20th century began in earnest in the 1950s. Since then, dynamic academic expansion and the development of a statewide network of campuses have produced highly diverse and innovative education programs. A commitment to graduate education along with involvement in major research programs has attracted an outstanding faculty. A master plan for the campus environment and buildings will preserve the historic campus atmosphere while providing new academic, residence, and campus life facilities.

Today, the University serves the entire state and includes, in addition to the Columbia campus, two four-year campuses (Aiken and Spartanburg) and five regional campuses offering primarily two-year programs (Beaufort, Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, and Union). Enrollment on all campuses totals more than 37,000. Of these, more than 25,000 students are on the Columbia campus, about one-third of whom are enrolled in graduate and professional programs. The University offers more than 350 degree programs, including 11 programs of study for associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees in 124 areas, master's degrees in 150 areas, doctoral degrees in 61 areas, and professional doctorates in law, medicine, and pharmacy. Many programs are nationally and internationally ranked, from the creative arts, liberal arts, health and physical sciences, to law, business, and engineering. Regional campuses primarily offer associate degrees to students who may earn 60 hours of credit applicable toward a baccalaureate degree program. The four-year campuses, in addition to basic courses, primarily offer programs leading to the baccalaureate degree. Graduate courses are also offered at more than 50 sites throughout the state under the Extended Graduate Campus program administered by the Columbia campus. Other programs are broadcast via closed-circuit television from studio classrooms on the Columbia campus and through the state's ETV digital satellite network.

Coinciding with this statewide outreach program has been the establishment of the South Carolina Honors College on the Columbia campus. The college is designed to offer academically gifted undergraduates the finest advantages of a small college in the context of a large comprehensive university.

The University's effort in the international area, particularly important to the state's development of foreign trade and investment, continues to expand; academic exchange programs and research linkages have been established with European, African, and South American universities, as well as with China and Japan.

In keeping with both its 19th-century and its 20th-century heritage, the University continues to promote academic excellence while responding progressively to its educational responsibilities and the citizens of South Carolina. It has committed itself to earning a place in the Association of American Universities (AAU), which includes 60 of the finest institutions of higher learning in America. Pursuing this goal, the University aspires to build upon its commitment to enhancing not only our students' knowledge, understanding, and economic viability, but also their sense of character, empathy, and mutual respect. Such ambitions and ideals were cornerstones of the original college and remain fundamental to the University's purpose in South Carolina and in society.

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University Officials

Academic and Support Services

Libraries

University libraries in Columbia house over 8 million processed items, including approximately 3.2 million volumes and 4.9 million units in microform. More than 21,000 current periodicals are received. The library facilities are available to any student with a current, validated University identification card.

Detailed instruction concerning the use of library facilities is provided both in English 101 and in tours offered by the library's Reference Department. A library guide, which gives information about library services, is available upon request.

Thomas Cooper Library (Greene Street). This library, which opened in June 1976, contains all of the University library collections in Columbia except those located in the South Caroliniana Library, Coleman Karesh Law Library, Mathematics Library, Music Library, Springs Business Library, and Medical Library. Thomas Cooper Library seats approximately 2,500 readers. Included in the seating are more than 900 private locked facilities for faculty and graduate students involved in research. Also included in the building are 40 study rooms seating up to four persons each, six seminar rooms for library-related seminars, and a classroom for the library-taught orientation and bibliographic instruction classes. Special areas in the library include the student computer labs (on Levels 3 and 5), the Science Library (on Level 4), Special Collections (on the Mezzanine Level), and the Map Library (on Level 5). Access to the collections is obtained through the USCAN/NOTIS Online Card Catalog with terminals located throughout the building. CD-ROM stations are available for user searching of multiple databases. Thomas Cooper Library has available to visually disabled students a Kurzweil Reading Machine, which electronically reads aloud printed and typed materials.

Special Collections, Thomas Cooper Library. The department's foundation stone is the collection of the South Carolina College, assembled by the University between 1801 and 1860. The collections have expanded vastly in recent years. Prominent areas of research strength include English and American literature, historical children's literature, the Civil War, and natural history and science, including the John J. Audubon Collection and the Claudia Lea Phelps Camelia Collection.

Gift collections of international repute include:

• G. Ross Roy Collection of Robert Burns, Burnsiana, and Scottish Literature: Dr. G. Ross Roy, Curator
• John Osman Collection of Braun and Hogenberg City Views
• Matthew J. and Arlyn Bruccoli Collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Dr. Matthew J. Bruccoli, Curator
• C. Warren Irvin Jr. Collection of Charles Darwin and Darwiniana: Dr. C. Warren Irvin Jr., Honorary Curator
• Anthony P. Campanella Collection of Giuseppe Garibaldi: Dr. Anthony P. Campanella, Honorary Curator
• Augusta Baker Collection of African-American Children's Literature and Folklore
• James Willard Oliver Collection of David Hume
• Joseph Heller Archive
• James Ellroy Archive
• Speiser and Easterling Hallman Foundation Collection of Ernest Hemingway

Springs Business Library (Close-Hipp Building, 2nd Floor). A collection of noncirculating financial, labor, and tax services, corporation annual reports, textbooks, periodicals, and a small circulating collection of books. Multiple business indexes are available on CD-ROM such as ABI Inform, Compact Disclosure, Business Periodicals Ondisc, and the Business Collection, which contains a subject index and full texts of 500 major business journals. The reserve reading collection for all courses in business and economics is located in the library.

Coleman Karesh Law Library (Law Center). A noncirculating collection serving the research and study needs of the students and faculty of the School of Law in the field of Anglo-American law.

Mathematics Library (LeConte). A collection of books and journals in the subject area of pure mathematics serving the research needs of the mathematics department. Available to all USC students.

Medical Library (V.A. Campus). A special collection serving the research and study needs of the students and faculty of the medical school. Available to all USC students.

Music Library (School of Music Building). A collection of recordings, scores, books, and periodicals serving the research and study needs of the School of Music. Available to all USC students.

South Caroliniana Library (Horseshoe). Largest collection in the world of South Carolina material. Includes books, pamphlets, newspapers, maps, and manuscripts relating to South Carolina and the South.

Research Bureaus and Institutes

Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research. The institute is a leader in research of coastal ecosystems, with research ranging from the molecular to the landscape level of organization. Assessing effects of human activities is an integral part of many of the studies. Using a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the complexity of coastal and marine environments, we bring together researchers in the sciences and in disciplines such as geography, economics, environmental health, policy, statistics, and geographic information processing and remote sensing technologies. Recognizing that research must be conducted in partnership with education, we provide students with opportunities to pursue their research interests, welcome visiting researchers and classes, and offer educational programs for a range of constituencies, including university and secondary-school faculty and students, government regulatory personnel, environmentalists, and the general public. The institute was established in 1969 through the joint efforts of the Belle W. Baruch Foundation and the University of South Carolina. A freestanding entity within the College of Science and Mathematics, the institute has headquarters and laboratory facilities on the University's main campus in Columbia and a 25,000-square-foot laboratory located on Hobcaw Barony, near Georgetown, S.C. For more information, please visit our Web site, www.baruch.sc.edu.

Center for Disability Resources. The Center for Disability Resources (CDR), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, is an interdisciplinary training program of the Department of Pediatrics. The CDR receives administrative and operational support from the University of South Carolina and a federal grant awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Through interdisciplinary training, exemplary services, technical assistance, and information dissemination activities, the CDR identifies and uses the vast resources within institutions of higher education to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities, their families, and other citizens of our state.

Center for Electrochemical Engineering. The Center for Electrochemical Engineering was created July 1, 1995, within the College of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of South Carolina. Its mission is to provide a means for students, faculty, and industrial researchers to interact on projects that involve electrochemical phenomena such as corrosion, batteries, and fuel cells.

Center for Information Technology. The center establishes the University of South Carolina as a leader in the research and development of advanced information systems. Researchers at the center are investigating multiagent systems, conceptual modeling, ontological engineering, distributed database systems, and computational intelligence, with applications to enterprise integration, industrial automation, executive decision support, and software development. The center serves as a focal point for the University's research, public service, and education efforts in these important new areas of technology, providing well-qualified engineers and scientists an educational and research capability that meet the needs of industry.

Center for Mass Communications Research. Located in the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, the Center for Mass Communications Research engages faculty and graduate students in a wide range of studies for individual and organizational clients involving the processes and effects of mass communication, including audience analysis, readership studies, content analysis, advertising and public relations effectiveness research, communication surveys, polls, samples, and other studies involving consumer and organizational behavior. The center also participates in interdisciplinary studies, especially externally funded projects that involve the communication aspects of scientific research. In addition, the center sponsors conferences and symposia of state, regional, and national interest to mass communications industries and scholars.

Center for Mechanics, Materials, and Nondestructive Evaluation. The statewide center serves as a focus for research in solid mechanics, materials science, fracture mechanics, nondestructive evaluation, and smart structures. Research projects span a spectrum from industry-oriented to basic. Areas of expertise include materials characterization, mechanical testing, structural analysis, state-of-the-art noncontacting strain measurement methods, and state-of-the-art numerical modeling. Facilities include sophisticated mechanical test capabilities (including high-vacuum and dynamic testing), high-speed workstations, and optical strain analysis equipment for field and laboratory use. In addition, the center is supported by a state-of-the-art electron microscopy facility (the Southeastern Electron Microscopy Center) for advanced microstructural evaluation.

Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE). The primary purpose of the center is to research clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes related to the utilization of pharmaceutical products and services. The center, located within the College of Pharmacy, strives to cultivate an interdisciplinary research environment which blends expertise and interest from academia, industry, and government. Students and faculty from across the University campus and other institutions in the state may find research opportunities within the center. In addition, the center promotes pharmaceutical industry internships, academic exchange programs, graduate research training, and postdoctoral fellowships. Faculty and staff associated with the center serve an advisory function to local, state, and federal government agencies on matters related to pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical services. The center also sponsors educational conferences and symposia of interest to the health care industry.

Center for Retailing. The center is an integral part of the Department of Retailing, providing opportunities for retailers and academics to interact, thereby strengthening the academic/retail partnership. The objectives of the Center for Retailing are to provide service to the business community and conduct academic and business research through contracts. The center provides proprietary retail services, including location analysis using geographic information systems (GIS), focus group research, and the administration and analysis of surveys. The center continues to provide service to the retail community through media relations and plans to develop an executive education program. The center is supported by founding partners including Wal-Mart, Miller Brewing Company, and Fairchild Books.

Center for Science Education. The center, administered as part of the College of Science and Mathematics, coordinates content area aspects of precollege science and mathematics teacher training. The center coordinates instruction in all sciences and mathematics, ranging from one-hour in-service presentations through formal, graduate-level course offerings, to multiyear program development. The center draws upon the expertise of science and mathematics faculty from the College of Science and Mathematics and science and mathematics education faculty in the College of Education to provide these services. The goal of the center is the improvement of the quality of instruction in the sciences and mathematics from the elementary-school level through the secondary-school level.

Center for the Study of Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. The primary purpose of the center is to disseminate, publish, facilitate, consult on, and conduct basic research on the problems of suicide and life threatening behaviors. The center will also supervise doctoral- and master's-level student theses on suicide, in cooperation with other departments; do psychotherapy (evaluation and referral) with suicidal individuals (especially students); consult with law firms and insurance companies; offer workshops, conferences, and lectures; provide public information; and serve as a repository for data on suicide.

Division of Research, Moore School of Business. An integral part of the Moore School of Business, the division publishes analyses of significant business and economic problems in its Business & Economic Review and Economic Indicators series and sponsors a working paper series in economics and business administration. Through its programs the division facilitates research by graduate students and faculty members and encourages the use of economic data by regional businesses and public groups. The division also conducts special research projects for both private and public organizations and sponsors an annual Economic Outlook Conference that features the latest economic forecast from the division's South Carolina Economic Forecasting Service.

Earth Sciences and Resources Institute (ESRI-USC). The institute conducts environmental studies primarily integrating geology, hydrology, and geochemistry with advanced computer applications for subsurface characterization, prediction of groundwater flow and solute transport, and agricultural and nonpoint source studies. Applied research programs focus on both site-specific and regional scale hydrogeologic studies that involve field, laboratory, and modeling activities. A key component of the institute's groundwater research is the use of geophysical techniques to describe the geologic framework of groundwater systems and to determine the extent of groundwater contamination. The institute uses geographic information system (GIS) capabilities for managing large spatially oriented databases and modeling diverse geographic data.

Funding for the environmental research program comes from both public and private sources. The U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state agencies, and several environmental consulting firms have recently supported environmental earth science research within the institute.

The institute contributes to the academic mission of the University of South Carolina through its contribution to the Master's in Earth and Environmental Resources Management (MEERM) program administered by the School of the Environment. This graduate degree program was initiated in the late 1980s to expand the business- and management-related expertise of technically oriented individuals. The MEERM program offers expanded opportunities to pursue environmental-related course work while maintaining its focus on integrating business and technical decision making. ESRI-USC plays a key role in the MEERM program through teaching, graduate student research opportunities, and graduate student advisement. ESRI-USC also provides many educational opportunities apart from the MEERM program through the availability of graduate research assistantships, summer intern programs, and undergraduate hourly employment. The institute is committed to providing high-quality research opportunities in earth and environmental sciences for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina.

The environmental research capabilities of the Earth Sciences and Resources Institute are expanding to meet the increasing need for better understanding of subsurface phenomena. In that regard, the institute is providing state-of-the-science solutions to the environmental challenges before us.

Electron Microscopy Center. Administered as a part of the College of Science and Mathematics, the center is open to USC faculty members and students for training and research in analytical microscopy and imaging of biological and nonbiological materials.

The center is equipped with two transmission electron microscopes, including a high-resolution, 200 KV model with side-entry goniometer; digital camera; STEM and X-ray microanalysis systems; three scanning electron microscopes with X-ray microanalysis systems; a wavelength dispersive microprobe; a two-photon laser confocal microscope; an integrated scanning probe microscope; four ultra microtomes; and other modern equipment necessary for ultrastructural studies.

Institute for Families in Society (IFS). The Institute for Families in Society seeks to enhance family well-being through education, research, and service by means of a partnership between the University of South Carolina and the broader community, including the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The USC Institute for Families in Society serves as a catalyst to facilitate:

• collaborative relationships among public agencies, policymakers, academic units, community groups, and business leaders for the purpose of discovering and enacting effective ways to enhance family well-being
• research, education, and service that is family-focused, interdisciplinary, and relevant to community needs
• academic and community educational activities that promote the exchange of new ideas about family enhancement
• interdisciplinary professional education at the undergraduate and graduate levels to produce personnel who are competent to fill family service and policy development jobs.

Richard L. Walker Institute of International Studies. Established in 1961, the institute is the University's center for social science research in international studies and as such provides organizational support for faculty projects and sponsors faculty research forums, colloquia, public lectures, and international conferences. The institute has an ongoing program of academic exchange with similar organizations in the United States and abroad. This enables students and faculty to have access to facilities and contacts elsewhere, and in turn the University benefits from the presence of distinguished visiting scholars.

The institute maintains a reading room to serve the research needs of foreign-area specialists. Many of these materials are unavailable elsewhere within the University.

Institute for Public Service and Policy Research. The institute's primary roles are in public policy research and public sector management training and leadership development. The institute works with faculty and research units of the University to facilitate research on public policy issues. It provides consultative and training services and undertakes special research projects for governments, foundations, and public sector agencies. The institute is composed of several centers and programs, including: the Center for Environmental Policy, the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanitites, the Center for Governmental Services, the Center for Citizenship, Leadership South Carolina, the Survey Research Laboratory, and the Southern Region Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention Center.

Institute for Southern Studies. The institute coordinates academic research and public service to further the understanding of South Carolina and the South. Although the institute is administratively located within the College of Liberal Arts, its interdisciplinary emphasis calls for a working relationship with departments and colleges throughout the University. Funding assistance and research fellowships are often provided to community officials as well as out-of-state and foreign scholars studying the many different aspects of Southern culture. In addition, the institute provides information upon request and works closely with other educational institutions within the state. Public programs, publications, scholarly research, and undergraduate courses of study are sponsored by the institute.

Institute for Tourism Research. The institute is administered as part of the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management with the purpose of developing research, education, and service programs for South Carolina's largest industry--tourism. Among other endeavors, the institute conducts studies in the following areas: feasibility, needs assessment, market segmentation, position analysis, image and advertising effectiveness, visitor profile analysis, and economic impact. At the state, national, and international levels, the aforementioned research enables the institute to provide information to government, industry, and community leaders through publications, workshops, and consultancy.

The Riegel and Emory Human Resource Research Center. The Riegel and Emory Human Resource Research Center was founded in January 1982 through the generosity of Riegel Textile Corp. and the family of the late Mr. German H.H. Emory, former chair of Riegel. The basic objectives of the center are:

• to conduct research in motivation and satisfaction of workers
• to dignify work and the worker
• to emphasize human values in the workplace
• to enhance skills of management
• to encourage higher levels of cooperation in the workplace
• to preserve the values of the free market system.

The center staff and faculty believe that scholarly research is most useful when practitioners, whom the research results might benefit, are involved in formulating the design and carrying out the research. Thus, center staff work closely with an advisory board made up primarily of business executives in determining the problems needing attention and the approaches that offer the most promise. The center also sponsors periodic executive conferences at which faculty and senior human resource practitioners review the center's research findings and discuss current human resource needs.

South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA). The institute is a full-time research facility and state agency within the University with professional and support staff and facilities for field and laboratory research on a year-round schedule. Under the S.C. Code of Laws (60-13-210 and 54-7-610 et seq.), it has a dual responsibility for service research programs for the state and for academic research programs for the University.

SCIAA has some 60 employees (with an additional 10 graduate and undergraduate student employees) in its Columbia, Aiken, and Charleston offices among its research, cultural resource consulting, and administrative divisions; the Office of the State Archaeologist; the Office of the State Underwater Archeologist; and the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program.

The Underwater Archaeology Division administers some 475 hobby licenses yearly and issues salvage licenses for the recovery of cultural resources located beneath the state's navigable waters. The institute has the Western Hemisphere's largest water-logged wood conservation tank and is currently treating numerous cannons, ships, canoes, and other artifacts from around the state.

The service programs under the Office of the State Archaeologist deal with environmental impact archaeology and historic preservation within the same theoretical and methodological concepts of scholarly excellence as the academic programs supported by the University and by grants. The research division of the institute is also excavating, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Defense/USMC, the 1560s and 1570s Spanish colonial capital of Santa Elena and the French Huguenot site of Charlesfort on the U.S. Marine Corps base at Parris Island, S.C.

The institute is responsible for the statewide inventory of 21,500 archaeological sites, for the curation of all state of South Carolina prehistoric and historic archaeological collections (now amounting to 29,000 cubic feet), and for the synthesis of all research data available concerning the prehistoric and historic archaeology and anthropology of the state, both on land and beneath the waters. This pursuit of research leads to an understanding of the 12,000 or more years of cultural development in South Carolina. The institute sponsors conferences, interdisciplinary studies, avocational societies, and visiting scholars; trains students in research; has an extensive publication program; and has an extensive contracts and grants program. The institute, within the University of South Carolina, participates in numerous University activities, scholarly events, and programs and works cooperatively with other universities to further archaeological and anthropological research.

Computer Services

Computer Services provides centralized information systems and voice communications support to the University of South Carolina. Located at 1244 Blossom Street, this unit maintains the campus network infrastructure, manages administrative systems and databases, and coordinates support of both communications and information technology resources for academic and administrative areas of the University. Computer Services manages an IBM Enterprise Server hosting USCAN, the University's library catalog system, and centralized University databases (financial, human resources, and student records). Support includes maintaining interfaces for Web-based course registration, drop-add, fee payment, and additional student services, as well as interfaces for instructional support, human resources information, and financial systems. Computer Services also manages a cadre of Unix-based servers supporting the University's primary Web presence (www.sc.edu) and other Internet and campus network functions.

Computer Services also maintains equipment (both voice and data) linking the Columbia campus with the USC regional campuses. Equipment supporting the campus's Internet connection (including access to the high-speed vBNS research network) is also maintained by this unit. Internet access is provided via the campus network to academic and administrative offices, public computing labs, and Columbia campus residence halls. Computer Services also has contracted with multiple Internet service providers to offer Internet access to University faculty, staff, and students from off-campus locations at a reduced fee.

In addition to a training and support program, Computer Services also provides a wide variety of popular software applications and negotiates licenses to offer many of these products to the University community. Student and administrative e-mail service and support and voice communications services (administrative and student voice-mail service and a long distance plan for students) are also provided. Fee-based desktop support (on-site software/system installation and troubleshooting) is provided to participating departments. A Web-based "help" system is provided for reporting/tracking requests for software, desktop, network, and voice communications support.

Specific details on IT services available to University students on and off campus are available on the Web at www.sc.edu/studentIT. For a tour of online services available via the Web to students (including course registration, textbook shopping, housing assignments, and fee payment), visit vip.sc.edu/demo. For more information on systems and support provided by Computer Services, visit the Computer Services Web site, www.csd.sc.edu.

University Affiliated Program

The University Affiliated Program (UAP) is an interdisciplinary training program of the Department of Pediatrics. The UAP receives administrative support from the University of South Carolina and a federal grant awarded under P.L. 104-183, Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Through interdisciplinary training, exemplary direct services, and applied research, the UAP identifies and utilizes the vast resources within institutions of higher education to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities and other citizens of our state.

The term "developmental disabilities" includes severe, chronic disabilities due to mental and/or physical impairment that become manifest early in life, result in substantial functional limitations, and require long-term coordinated, specialized services.

McKissick Museum

The McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina, accredited by the American Association of Museums, is located at the head of the historic Horseshoe. Remodeled in 1976 to serve as a center for the University's museums, art gallery, and archives, McKissick was formerly the central library at USC. In order to "tell the story of Southern life, culture, and community," the museum administers a broad range of activities. Exhibitions and collections include: Southern folk art; works by state and regional artists; artifacts relating to the University's history, the history of South Carolina, and the material culture of the South; and the Bernard Baruch Silver Collection. The Howard Gemstone Collection, which is part of one of the finest collections of minerals in the Southeast; the extensive Ferillo political campaign memorabilia collection; and the South Carolina Folk Arts Resource Center are also parts of McKissick Museum. Art, history, and science traveling exhibitions are offered as well as exhibitions based on the permanent collections. Docent tours and outreach programming are offered throughout the year. Special cultural events and other educational activities are also regularly scheduled. McKissick also administers a graduate-level certificate program in museum management.

University Press

The University of South Carolina Press shares the University's central mission–to advance knowledge and enrich the state's cultural heritage. Established in 1944, it is one of the oldest publishing houses in the South and among the largest in the Southeast. With more than 1,400 books published, the press is important in enhancing the scholarly reputation and worldwide visibility of the University of South Carolina. The press publishes in a variety of disciplines, including history (African American, American, Civil War, maritime, Southern, and women's), contemporary literature, regional studies, religious studies, rhetoric, and social work. The press now has about 500 titles in print and publishes approximately 45 new books annually, including the papers of John C. Calhoun and Henry Laurens.

Writing Center

The Writing Center offers free individual writing assistance to University students, faculty, and staff, as well as to members of the greater community. In one-on-one sessions, writing assistants work with clients on every stage of the writing process for class assignments, resumes, presentations, grant proposals, personal statements for applications, books, articles, and personal writing.

The main writing center is located in Room 014 of the Welsh Humanities Classroom Building and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In cooperation with University Housing, the Writing Center also operates four satellite centers, located in Bates House, Columbia Hall, Sims, and the Towers. The satellite centers are open Mondays and Tuesdays, 4 to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 to 7 p.m. Appointments are necessary and can be arranged by calling 803-777-2078.

For answers to specific writing, grammar, and punctuation questions, the Writing Center offers the Writer's Hotline, which can be contacted by phone at 803-777-7020 or via e-mail at grammar@sc.edu.

For more information about the Writing Center, please visit the Writing Center's Web site at www.cla.sc.edu/writ or call 803-777-2078.

Career Center

The Career Center, located on the sixth floor of the Close-Hipp Building, offers career development services to USC students, alumni, faculty, and staff. The center is divided into two areas: career development and career connections. The offices listed below provide direct services to USC graduate students. Information regarding Career Center programs and services is available online at www.sc.edu/career.

Career Development: Services include self-assessment, occupational information, and preparation for the job search. Computerized guidance systems, SIGI Plus (System of Interactive Guidance and Information) and SCOIS (South Carolina Occupational Information System), can help graduate students in the career-planning process. Graduate school directories are available in the Career Library as well as information on various career fields. Career development workshops on resume writing, interviewing, job search, and other topics are also available. Graduate students seeking assistance should call 803-777-7280.

Career Connections. Part-time employment opportunities for graduate students interested in pursuing career-related work experience or in earning extra money are available. Extensive opportunities for paid and unpaid internships throughout the U.S. are available through the Career Internship Program, and limited opportunities are available through cooperative education. A career shadowing program allows students to follow and observe professionals in the workplace to get a firsthand view of careers which hold particular interest for the observer.

A large listing of part-time employment opportunities and internships can be viewed online, as well as a limited number of graduate assistantships for the Division of Student and Alumni Services and some related administrative areas. For further information stop by the office on the sixth floor of the Close-Hipp Building, or call 803-777-7280.

Full-time employment services for graduate students include credential files, opportunity for campus interviews, and resume referral to business and industry. Attendance at an orientation is mandatory to register for campus interviews. For information call 803-777-7280.

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