2022 Archive

President Amiridis cheers on the Gamecocks as they play against SC State.

Year in review '22: In with the old, in with the new

December 14, 2022, Communications and Marketing

Did campus feel just a little bit livelier this year? A touch more spirited? A tad more optimistic? We thought so, too — and not only because we named a new president back in January. Yeah, that was one heck of a way to ring in the new year, and it set the tone for the months ahead, but in the end, 2022 was about all of us, from the President’s House to Russell House, from Colonial Life to Williams-Brice. It was about respecting tradition, rediscovering our identity, remembering our past and reimagining our future. In 2022, the University of South Carolina reminded us all what it means to be USC.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Academics, Research, Diversity, History, Recognition, Economic Engagement, Signature Events, Campus Construction, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Information and Communications

A bird’s eye view of a dark beer in a pint glass.

Prohibition-era beer laws persist to the present

December 02, 2022, Téa Smith

Craft beer is big business but that doesn’t necessarily mean business is booming.In fact, for many of the nation’s smaller brewing operations, competing with established large-scale “macrobreweries” is a David and Goliath story — and the laws are stacked in Goliath’s favor. But Scott Taylor Jr.. and his colleagues at the Wine and Beverage Institute at USC School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management are working on the first of three papers exploring the negative impact of Prohibition-era laws on competition within the alcoholic beverage industry.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, Research, Economic Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

portrait of Kirstin Dow

Geography professor maps heat islands as we adapt to climate change

November 16, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Longtime University of South Carolina geography professor Kirstin Dow has devoted much of her career to understanding climate impact, vulnerability and adaptation. In other words, she recognizes the problems posed by our warming planet and is determined to help mitigate them, most recently by mapping heat islands so that urban planners can make better decisions about where to plant trees, generate more shade or support investment in affordable renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences

portrait of Nicole Maskiell

History professor's new book looks at cross-cultural ties created by slavery in the U.S. Colonies

November 14, 2022, Laura Erskine

Nicole Maskiell is an associate professor of history and affiliate faculty in African American studies at the University of South Carolina. Her book, “Bound by Bondage: Slavery and the Creation of a Northern Gentry” (2022 Cornell University Press), examines the institution of slavery in the early American Colonies and how it created lasting ties between families of the elite classes, even across cultural lines, as well as ties among the enslaved people.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Diversity, Service, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences

James Clyburn speaks to the media against a backdrop that says

University establishes Clyburn endowed chair through $1.5 million gift from Boeing

October 20, 2022, Abe Danaher

The Boeing Co. has provided the University of South Carolina with a $1.5 million gift to establish the James E. and Emily E. Clyburn Endowed Chair of Public Service and Civic Engagement Fund. This endowed chair, awarded to associate professor Bobby Donaldson, will allow the university’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research to further its programming and outreach initiatives within the university community and across the state.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, Research, Diversity, History, Collections, College of Arts and Sciences

Eugenia Broude smiles while meeting with other faculty members.

Pharmacy researcher driven to find weapons in the fight against cancer

October 12, 2022, Margaret Gregory

College of Pharmacy professor Eugenia Broude had personal inspiration to pursue a career in science, and a newly awarded $3 million R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute will allow Broude and her co-investigators to continue their work in a groundbreaking area of breast cancer research.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, University Leadership, Research, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, College of Pharmacy

VPR Julius Fridriksson

New vice president for research aims to mentor junior faculty

October 03, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Julius Fridriksson loves a challenge. After climbing to the top of his field — and building out a research team of more than 40 faculty, post docs and graduate students at the Arnold School of Public Health — the onetime first-generation college student from a small village in Iceland agreed to become USC’s interim vice president for research in 2021.

Topics: University Leadership, Research, Recognition, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, Arnold School of Public Health

A nursing student practices on a mannekin while a professor observes.

Columbia, Upstate campuses to receive Prisma Health funding for nursing programs

October 03, 2022, Kyndel Lee

The University of South Carolina’s Columbia and Upstate campuses are recipients of an investment in scholarships by Prisma Health to help counter the state’s critical nursing shortage.

Topics: Students, Faculty, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Scholarships, Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Initiatives, Economic Engagement, Partnerships, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, College of Nursing

2 health care workers move a woman on a stretcher through floodwaters in Florida

Hurricane Ian flooded a hospital and forced evacuations from dozens of nursing homes

September 30, 2022, Brett Robertson

Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S., tore part of the roof off a hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, and flooded the building’s lower level emergency room, sending staff scrambling to move patients as water poured in. Brett Robertson, assistant professor of communication in UofSC's College of Information and Communications, writes about how hospitals and other health care organizations can better prepare for disasters.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Safety, College of Information and Communications

Booker T. Washington alumni look at display

New agreement with National Park Service advances UofSC's role in telling civil rights history

September 28, 2022, Alexis Watts

Under a five-year agreement with the National Park Service, the center will receive $3.4 million to expand the center’s existing work in civil rights education and scholarly research, including support for exhibits and programming at South Carolina sites in the African American Civil Rights Network. The center will help to grow the network in South Carolina by serving as a resource to property owners, community leaders and organizations interested in joining the network.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Research, Diversity, History, Collections, Partnerships, College of Arts and Sciences, University Libraries

Artistic version of American flag

Conservatives and liberals are equally likely to fund local causes, but liberals are more apt to also donate to national and global groups - new research

September 26, 2022, Nancy R. Buchan

Conservatives were less generous overall than liberals during an experiment in which people could give some money to COVID-19 relief charities. Nancy R. Buchan, associate professor of international business, writes for The Conversation about political donations.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Darla Moore School of Business, The Conversation

wrought iron gates

U.S. News rankings: UofSC retains top spot in international business, first-year student experience

September 09, 2022, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina has the top first-year student experience of any public college in the country and the best international business program, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual undergraduate rankings.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Undergraduate Admissions, Recognition, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Nursing, University System

A black and white pill opposite of a black and white background

Many drugs have mirror image chemical structures - while one may be helpful, the other may be harmful

August 16, 2022, Sajish Mathew

Many drugs have the same atoms and bonds but are arranged differently in space. These drugs are called chiral compounds — meaning they exist as two mirror images. Sajish Mathew writes for The Conversation on how these compounds are arranged in space can drastically change the effects they have in the body.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy, The Conversation

Black and white illustration of a midwife bathing a newborn after birth in medieval times

Old age isn't a modern phenomenon - many people lived long enough to grow old in the olden days, too

August 10, 2022, Sharon DeWitte

There is a common misperception that long life spans in humans are very recent, and that no one in the past lived much beyond their 30s before now. This is not true. There is physical evidence that plenty of people in the past lived long lives — just as long as some people do today. Anthropology professor Sharon DeWitte writes for The Conversation on the evidence that proves old age isn't a modern phenomenon.

Topics: Faculty, Research, College of Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Man holding glass of water with prescription pills next to him on a table

Taking certain opioids while on commonly prescribed antidepressants may increase the risk of overdose

August 01, 2022, Ismaeel Yunusa

While doctors prescribe the opioid oxycodone to treat moderate to severe pain after surgeries and injuries, it can also become a common drug of abuse. Professor Ismaeel Yunusa writes for The Conversation on how taking oxycodone at the same time as certain antidepressants can increase the risk of opioid overdose.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy, The Conversation

Students and alumni working at hotel, people dining in background

UofSC hospitality and tourism management program leads SEC, makes national top 10

July 26, 2022, Allen Wallace

For the fourth consecutive year, the University of South Carolina is among the top 10 in the country in hospitality and tourism management and No. 18 worldwide, according to the ShanghaiRanking’s 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Scholarships, Recognition, Leadership, Careers, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

professor Khalid Ballouli shows some of his professional baseball cards

HRSM professor researches topic outside his field, but inside his heart

June 28, 2022, Page Ivey

Khalid Ballouli knows first-hand what life is like for an aspiring professional ballplayer. It was his personal experience, which included six years as a pitcher in the minor leagues after playing for the Southeastern Conference’s Texas A&M University, that led him to his 10-year research project interviewing young players and their families about their experiences in travel baseball.

Topics: Faculty, Research, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

Doctor preparing a syringe and a woman with a face mask on is watching

Should you get a COVID-19 booster shot now or wait until fall?

June 28, 2022, Prakash Nagarkatti, Mitzi Nagarkatti

As COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, many people have found themselves unsure whether to wait on new, updated formulations of the COVID-19 vaccines or to mix and match combinations of the original vaccine strains. School of Medicine Columbia professors Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti write for The Conversation on whether you should get a COVID-19 booster now or wait until fall.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Medicine (Columbia), The Conversation

Author Octavia E. Butler in a multicolor jacket with poses with chin on hand in a Seattle bookstore.

Octavia E. Butler mined her curiosity to forge a new vision for humanity

June 22, 2022, Alyssa Collins

In an interview for The Conversation, Alyssa Collins, assistant professor of English Language and Literature, explains how science fiction author Octavia Butler’s boundless curiosity inspired her work and how Butler’s experiences as a Black woman drew her to “humans who must deal with the edges or ends of humanity.”

Topics: Faculty, Research, Diversity, College of Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

brick exterior of Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia, South Carolina

Grant advances UofSC's efforts to create destination for preserving, teaching civil rights history

June 20, 2022, Carol J.G. Ward

The University of South Carolina’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research will receive $500,000 in federal funding to further its mission to preserve civil rights history and tell critical stories of the movement. The African American Civil Rights grant administered by the National Park Service will be used to continue rehabilitation and preservation of the historic Booker T. Washington Auditorium Building.

Topics: Faculty, University President, Research, Diversity, History

Letters in air mail envelopes from Otto Frank to Cara Wilson-Granat spread on a table.

Letters from Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank, donated to UofSC Anne Frank Center

June 08, 2022, Alexis Watts

The Anne Frank Center located at the University of South Carolina is now home to 100 letters and cards written by Otto Frank, the father of Holocaust victim and world-renowned diarist Anne Frank. The donation comes as the world honors her life and legacy on the 75th anniversary of the publication of her diary and her birthday on June 12.

Topics: Faculty, University President, Research, Diversity, History, Collections, College of Education, University Libraries

image of brick block with 2x4

UofSC engineers develop disaster-resistant building materials

June 01, 2022, Chris Horn

For the past 10 years, Fabio Matta, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been engineering earthen building blocks made from local soil. Up close, the blocks don’t look like anything special, but their simplicity is the appeal — the blocks don’t require firing in energy-intensive kiln furnaces and can stand up to the worst Mother Nature can throw at them.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Experiential Learning, Initiatives, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Careers, College of Engineering and Computing

Ed Madden

For scholar and poet Ed Madden, going public is the name of the game

May 24, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Ed Madden is well known on the University of South Carolina campus as the director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program and as a dynamic classroom instructor. He is just as well-known as a creative writer and arts advocate in Columbia, South Carolina, where he is wrapping up his term as the capital city’s inaugural poet laureate.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Recognition, College of Arts and Sciences

electric car plugged into power source

Incentivizing purchase of green vehicles is not always a straightforward proposition

May 13, 2022, Chris Horn

In an ideal world, perhaps everyone would drive electric cars or use public transportation powered by renewable energy — and that world would have cleaner air and far less greenhouse gas emissions. But in the real world many consumers remain skeptical of plug-in electric and hybrid cars or shy away from those vehicle’s higher price tags. Government-sponsored incentives have helped to some degree, but research by two faculty members in the Moore School of Business reveals those incentives sometimes come with unintended consequences.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Leadership, Careers, Darla Moore School of Business

Syringes forming a hashtag symbol on a blue background

Countries with lower-than-expected vaccination rates show unusually negative attitudes to vaccines on Twitter

May 10, 2022, Jungmi Jun

With the tone of social media conversations regarding the COVID-19 vaccine are varying around the world, this research team wanted to understand if these tones matched differing country-level vaccination rates. Journalism and mass communications professor Jungmi Jun writes for The Conversation on the influence emotions toward vaccines may have on whether a person decides to get a COVID-19 vaccination or not.

Topics: Faculty, Research, COVID-19, College of Information and Communications, The Conversation

Michael Beets

Public health scientist sets high bar in research, mentoring productivity

May 02, 2022, Chris Horn

In 14 years at the University of South Carolina, Michael Beets has notched an enviable record of research productivity — more than 200 publications, a Google Scholar h-index of 50 with nearly 12,000 citations while serving as principal investigator on seven large NIH grants and associate director of an NIH-sponsored Center of Biomedical Research Excellence.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health

Rebecca Janzen

Professor explores aspects of Mexican culture in literature

April 27, 2022, Page Ivey

Spanish and comparative literature professor Rebecca Janzen has checked all the North America boxes: She is from Canada, works in the U.S. and her field of study is Mexican literature and culture. And, nine years removed from her Ph.D., she has published four books that all look at some aspect of Mexican culture or government and certain populations inside the country.

Topics: Faculty, Research, College of Arts and Sciences

QR code abstract

The Best of Times?

April 25, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

A lot happens over the course of an academic year, and there’s absolutely no way to highlight everything. So, no, don’t think of this as a Best Of list. This is merely a smattering of the achievements and memorable moments that defined 2021-22, a small taste of the year that was. Trust us, there’s plenty more where this came from — and plenty more to come.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, University Leadership, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Recognition, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Information and Communications, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Medicine (Columbia), College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health, University Libraries

Claire Windsor poses with her framed Algernon Sydney Sullivan award

Sullivan Award winner focuses research, leadership efforts on sustainability

April 21, 2022, Communications and Marketing

Geography major Claire Windsor has turned a passion for creating a sustainable world into action throughout her four-year career at South Carolina. The Travelers Rest, South Carolina, native and Honors College student received the university's top leadership award, the 2022 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.

Topics: Students, Academics, Research, Recognition, Signature Events, Leadership, College of Arts and Sciences

Digital generated image of syringe filling of COVID-19 vaccine from bottle against viruses on blue background

Why we can't 'boost' our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic for the long term

April 19, 2022, Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti

As mRNA vaccines used in the U.S. against COVID-19 have been successful at preventing hospitalization and death, the vaccines have failed to provide long-term protective immunity to prevent breakthrough infections. School of Medicine Columbia professors Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti write for The Conversation on the COVID-19 booster and retooling existing vaccines to increase the duration of protection.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, COVID-19, Medicine (Columbia), The Conversation

Kelly Adams on the UofSC Horseshoe

UofSC alumna guides employer's gift to Center for Civil Rights History and Research

April 12, 2022, Megan Sexton

Alumna Kelly Adams, managing director of state government and regulatory affairs for the energy infrastructure company Williams, was instrumental in her employer’s gift of $1.5 million to the university's Center for Civil Rights History and Research.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, Research, Initiatives, Diversity, Collections, Philanthropy, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University Libraries

Big Sur California coastline

UofSC-trained climate experts map a path forward for business and government

April 06, 2022, Chris Horn

Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that Earth’s rising temperatures and related phenomena — more frequent and severe drought, flooding and wildfires — are a result of human-caused climate change. Scientists who earned their Ph.D.s from South Carolina are applying their expertise to help corporations adopt more eco-friendly approaches to doing business and developing more equitable policies for coastal land use.

Topics: Alumni, Research, Health Sciences, Leadership, College of Arts and Sciences

David Cutler in steampunk style

Music professor gets creative in managing change

April 05, 2022, Dan Cook

When you think of change management, you might think of the Harvard Business Review or McKinsey’s global consultants. You probably don’t think about musicians. But in David Cutler’s new book, the distinguished professor of entrepreneurship and innovation in the School of Music takes lessons that began in the arts and translates them into a broad-based way of thinking about change in any other facet of life.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, Research, Experiential Learning, Initiatives, Recognition, Economic Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Careers, School of Music

New COVID-19 variant molecule

What is the new COVID-19 variant BA.2, and will it cause another wave of infections in the US?

March 22, 2022, Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti

The COVID-19 omicron variant has been the predominant source of rising infections around the world. BA.2 is the latest subvariant of omicron and is spreading quickly in many countries. School of Medicine Columbia professors, Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti, write for The Conversation on this new strain, if there will be another surge in the U.S. and how to protect yourself.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, COVID-19, Medicine (Columbia), The Conversation

water-sampling aerial drone

Water-analyzing aerial drone could get bigger and better

February 28, 2022, Chris Horn

A new water sampling aerial drone developed by University of South Carolina professors has six motors, four pumps, two batteries, one six-foot-long collection hose and a zero-carbon footprint. But this proof-of-concept machine could become even more impressive if the team is able to secure NSF funding for a new level of capability.

Topics: Research, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing

Coronavirus molecule on blue background

Is the omicron variant Mother Nature's way of vaccinating the masses?

February 01, 2022, Prakash Nagarkatti, Mitzi Nagarkatti

The characteristics of the COVID-19 omicron variant has many people wondering if it could act as a vaccine of sorts, inoculating enough people to effectively bring about herd immunity. School of Medicine Columbia professors Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti write for The Conversation about immune response to COVID-19.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Medicine (Columbia), The Conversation

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