Press Releases

man and woman embrace while looking at flooded buildings

How Hurricane Helene became a deadly disaster across 6 states

October 07, 2024, Cary Mock

Some hurricanes are remembered for their wind damage or rainfall. Others for their coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene was a stew of all of that and more. Its near-record-breaking size, storm surge, winds and rainfall together turned Helene into an almost unimaginable disaster that stretched more than 500 miles inland from the Florida coast. Geography professor Cary Mock writes about the hurricane for The Conversation.

Two femaie dancers

Fall Arts Preview

August 28, 2024, Kristine Hartvigsen

Soon all of us will experience an arts immersion like no other — autumn. We will marvel at breathtaking color — yellows, russets, reds and browns — brilliantly lighting up the landscape. The University of South Carolina similarly offers a wide spectrum of arts experiences to ignite your imagination this fall. Here is a sampling.

Two people holding a box during move-in 2024

Move-in by the numbers

August 27, 2024, Koby Padgett

With total attendance at the University of South Carolina topping 38,000 for the first time, a new class of Gamecocks bring excitement and an energetic buzz back to the Columbia campus and metro area. Here are some numbers about our incoming students that help give a picture of the resources it takes to support them, the activities they take part in and how they’ll impact campus life.

Amber Fallucca on USC's historic Horseshoe

Inaugural director excited about Carolina Experience

July 11, 2024, Thom Harman

Amber Fallucca is the inaugural director of the Carolina Experience, which will focus on the undergraduate experience past the first year — for transfer, sophomore, junior and senior students. As a coordinating office, they will collaborate with a variety of campus offices to elevate the entire student experience at USC.

Dawn Staley throws her head back and hands out in celebration of the WBB National Championship.

Let it Reign!

May 14, 2024, Thom Harman

Maybe you were shouting from the stands in Cleveland as Dawn Staley’s remarkable women’s basketball team brought home the third national championship in program history. Maybe you were among the 24 million viewers watching on TV as they turned a so-called rebuilding year into an undefeated season and rings all around. Maybe you were even out there in the Thomas Cooper reflecting pool with several hundred other ecstatic Gamecocks, making a splash all your own.

Matt White conducts an ensemble

Matt White's approach for "Lowcountry" has him headed to Spoleto

January 26, 2024, Thom Harman

From a new program home to new music to continued research, Matt White, Jazz Studies Program chair, is rather busy. His novel approach to a 2023 release, “Lowcountry” — incorporating Gullah histories and stories with contemporary jazz — has earned White and his collaborators a chance to perform the piece during the 2024 Spoleto Festival.

Maxcy building

New initiatives expand USC's first-gen support

January 22, 2024, Hannah Cambre

The University of South Carolina is committing to providing more comprehensive support to its first-generation student population, including a First-Generation Center launching in August 2024, a living and learning community for first-gen students, and an expanding partnership with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Members of the Carolina Band perform on the field at halftime of a USC football game

Carolina Marching Band selected to perform in the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

September 08, 2023, Thom Harman

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® committee has announced the Carolina Band as one of their premier bands selected to perform in the 2024 parade. The announcement was made at halftime of the South Carolina vs. Furman football game on Saturday (Sept. 9). The band was one of just 10 chosen from more than 100 applicants. This is the first time in the band’s 100+-year history that it’s been given this opportunity.

Two freshmen pushing carts with their belongings into their new campus home.

Move-in by the numbers

August 24, 2023, Koby Padgett

As a record-breaking first-year class settles into the University of South Carolina this week, here are some numbers about our incoming students that help give a picture of the activities they take part in, how they’ll impact campus life and the resources it takes to support them.

Dance Marathon students with Cocky

Dance Marathon raises $931,016

April 12, 2022, Allen Wallace

On April 9, nearly 2,000 University of South Carolina students spent the day dancing together, closing more than a year of work with a huge success as they raised $931,016 to support the Child Life program at Prisma Health Children's Hospital.

Ian MacLeod and Shane Weatherford on balcony smiling.

VA program helps veterans transition to medical careers

November 09, 2020, Margaret Gregory

Two members of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia Class of 2024 are bringing unique perspectives as they train for their future careers in medicine. Before entering medical school, Ian MacLeod and Shane Weatherford served their country in the U.S. armed services. Both are able to pursue their education thanks to the Veterans Healing Veterans Scholarship.

graphic with multicolored lines to show spread of COVID-19

COVID-19 impact: Coronavirus genome allows epidemiologists to track where it's been

April 27, 2020, Bert Ely and Taylor Carter

Following the coronavirus’s spread through the population – and anticipating its next move – is an important part of the public health response to the new disease. Biological sciences professor Bert Ely and doctoral student Taylor Carter write for The Conversation on how the virus's genetic sequence provides insight into where the virus has been.

iwo jima medical

75 years later, film collection enriches history of WWII

February 18, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward

The University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections in a partnership with the History Division of the Marine Corps is digitizing films shot by more than 50 Marine combat cameramen during the Battle of Iwo Jima, which began Feb. 19, 1945. The goal is to provide public access to the video and expand historical understanding.

Neema Patel and the Gibbs Family

Scholarship transforms heartbreak into hope

December 11, 2019, Margaret Gregory

In 2002, 8-year-old Wanda Gibbs died after being hit by a car at her bus stop. After her tragic passing, the community came together and launched a fundraising initiative to ensure Wanda’s memory would live on. Their efforts established the Wanda Gibbs Scholarship at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, which was awarded for the first time earlier this year.

A group of students surround the larger-than-life bronze Cocky statue, all of them flashing the spurs up hand sign.

UofSC welcomes increasingly diverse and talented class of students

August 20, 2019, Jeff Stensland

The approximately 8,700 students arriving in Columbia this week are part of the largest pool of new students ever enrolled at the University of South Carolina’s flagship campus. Preliminary enrollment numbers show the university also is increasing in diversity and serving more students from South Carolina than ever before, surpassing last year’s record and setting a new bar for academic achievement.

Katy Pilarzyk in the lab

Brain Power

May 23, 2019, Alyssa Yancey

Second-year Ph.D. candidate Katy Pilarzyk was one of three University of South Carolina students awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship this year. She will use her funding to continue her work in Michy Kelly’s lab at the School of Medicine Columbia. The lab studies the inner workings of the brain to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying social and cognitive deficits.

Aalia Soherwardy

Fast track to success

December 14, 2018, Alyssa Yancey

The BARSC-MD program, a joint initiative between the University of South Carolina Honors College and the USC School of Medicine, allows a select group of students to complete an undergraduate degree and their medical degree in just seven years. The students receive conditional acceptance to medical school as freshmen, and then enter medical school after their third year of undergraduate coursework.

Sport management students interning at Williams-Brice

UofSC tops U.S. in sport science for third straight year

October 19, 2018, Allen Wallace

The University of South Carolina’s sport science programs are making an impact around the world, and the success has earned global recognition. The programs are ranked No. 1 in the United States for the third consecutive year in the Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments.

McCutchen House

McCutchen House gets cooking

August 30, 2018, Allen Wallace

Beginning Sept. 6, McCutchen House will be open for lunch Tuesday-Friday and for dinner each Thursday night. The on-campus, student-run restaurant offers a variety of dining experiences while serving as a hands-on training ground for hospitality management majors in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management.

cancer research

Heating up cancer treatment research

July 12, 2018, Annika Dahlgren

Researchers with the College of Engineering and Computing have created a new way to destroy cancer cells in two days. The research team — made up of electrical engineering professor Seongtae Bae, postdoc fellow Jung-tak Jang and undergrad (Eric) Sang Hoon Ju — uses a nanomaterial and an alternating current (AC) magnetic field generator to super heat the cells.

South Carolina Sunset

Building a healthier South Carolina

April 20, 2018, Alyssa Yancey

The staff of the SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare at the USC School of Medicine is working to improve access to care in rural South Carolina. Created with state funding in 2017, the center has a number of initiatives underway, including a loan program to encourage health profession students to practice in rural settings, research grant programs and partnerships helping put providers on the ground in critical need areas.

Exercise science in action

No. 1! UofSC sport science programs top national rankings

December 20, 2017, Allen Wallace

The University of South Carolina’s sport science programs are ranked No. 1 in the United States for the second year in a row, and No. 4 in the world by ShanghaiRanking's 2017 Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments.

Kathleen Parker

Washington Post columnist gives personal archive to UofSC

November 20, 2017, Peggy Binette

Students and scholars will have a richer understanding of contemporary politics and culture thanks to Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker. The 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner who lives in Camden, South Carolina, and writes the nation’s most widely syndicated column, has given her personal archive to the University of South Carolina Libraries’ South Carolina Political Collections.

proving ground

UofSC students, young alumni invited to enter big ideas in The Proving Ground

November 06, 2017, Peggy Binette

The Proving Ground startup competition is gearing up for another year of big ideas as students and young alumni compete for cash prizes and startup support. This year’s “Shark Tank-style” competition launched Nov. 1, with the finale set for March 29, 2018, giving competitors more time to shape their idea and ready their business plan.

students walking on campus

Top scholars to join incoming UofSC freshman class

July 19, 2017, Peggy Binette

The University of South Carolina will welcome some of the nation’s and the state’s top students for the university’s most valuable and prestigious scholarships program. Recipients of the Stamps, Carolina and Hamilton scholar awards for in-state students and the Stamps, McNair and Horseshoe Scholar awards for out-of-state students will join the Carolina community in August.

Michael Senatore

Michael Senatore bottle flips into TEDx Carnegie Mellon

March 30, 2017, Abigayle Morrison

While some Gamecocks played on the national stage for basketball this weekend for the Final Four in Phoenix and Dallas, freshman political science major Michael Senatore stepped on a stage of a different sort. On Saturday (April 1), Senatore gave a TEDx talk at Carnegie Mellon University on how he made the science of flipping a water bottle a national phenomenon.

SC party chairs discuss impact of presidential campaign on state

October 13, 2016, Peggy Binette

South Carolina’s political party chairs will meet at the University of South Carolina Thursday, Oct. 20 to discuss the impact of the presidential campaign on the state. The event takes place the day after the final candidate debate and just weeks before the Nov. 8 general election. Titled, “Campaign 2016: The Impact in South Carolina. A conversation with South Carolina Republican and Democratic State Chairs,” the event will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. in the university’s School of Law auditorium.

Greg Stuart

Students perform world premiere in New York City

September 12, 2016, Dan Cook

Imagine the stakes when you enroll in an experimental music class and it turns out that you’ll not only be listening to challenging sounds, but actually performing such pieces yourself. Not only that, but performing them in New York City just one month into the semester as part of a world premiere.

symposium to explore Reconstruction history, racial legacy 150 years later

March 24, 2016, Peggy Binette

The shooting of nine people in a Charleston AME church was a catalyst for South Carolina lawmakers to remove from Statehouse grounds the Confederate flag. Nine months later, the state’s capital city will host a public symposium for people and public officials to explore the history and racial legacy of the Reconstruction era. The April 21-22 event marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Reconstruction era and will feature Rep. James Clyburn, the state’s first African-American member of Congress since Reconstruction, Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar Eric Foner as well as an array of scholars and public historians.