Recent Stories

Overhead view of the South Caroliniana Library's reading room

Four USC building initiatives win awards

July 25, 2024, Thom Harman

Recently, the university was honored by both the state of South Carolina and the Midlands nonprofit Historic Columbia for its historic preservation efforts. In June, USC Columbia and USC Union were both recognized by the S.C. Department of Archives and History for their work in preserving, restoring and renovating buildings. Historic Columbia also honored the university’s Columbia campus with two awards: one for preservation, rehabilitation or restoration for Longstreet Theatre and one for revitalization for Campus Village.

Stevie Malenowski combs through a box of papers and images in Thomas Cooper Library.

USC students bring untold history of Sumter, S.C., to the public

January 31, 2024, Laura Erskine

Public history student Stevie Malenowski spent his summer digitizing images from boxes of archival materials, uncovering the history of the Williams Furniture Company, a staple of Sumter, South Carolina, for decades, alongside specialists at University Libraries. The archival materials are a key resource for a traveling exhibit coming in 2024.

USC Cocky Statue

ICYMI: Ten big things happening at the university

August 30, 2023, Lauryn Jiles

The university never sleeps, but it does slow down a bit during the summer. With the start of the fall semester, here’s a reminder of some recent happenings that you might have missed, plus a heads up about some major upcoming events.

Bobby Donalds leans on a large stack of document boxes.

Bringing civil rights history to life

February 22, 2023, Carol J.G. Ward

As a respected scholar of Southern history and African American culture, Bobby Donaldson has served as a consultant for museum exhibitions, archival collections, oral history initiatives, documentary films and historic preservation projects. He also has been recognized for his teaching and community outreach. He credits his parents and educators — from his elementary school librarian to a “drill sergeant” professor at Wesleyan University to his mentors and colleagues at USC — for inspiring his career.

Doctoral Candidate, Constance Caddell goes through SC NAACP records.

New age treasure hunters reveal lost stories of Black life in South Carolina

February 14, 2023, Alexis Watts

New age treasure hunters, part of the South Carolina Digital Newspaper Program, are saving crucial historical information buried in old publications that are being preserved and presented online. The newspapers reveal stories from the state’s Black residents and rural communities, often overlooked by larger news outlets. 

Medics giving medical attention to a patient during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

75 years later, film collection enriches history of WWII

February 13, 2023, 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.

Beth Bernstein, Michael Amiridis and Bill Stern smile at the camera during a reception

Supporters celebrate success of Anne Frank Center

December 01, 2022, Jeff Stensland

The University of South Carolina hosted a reception on Wednesday (Nov. 30) to thank those who supported the establishment of the Anne Frank Center on the Columbia campus and its ongoing mission to educate visitors about antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. Reception attendees included university President Michael Amiridis, former President Harris Pastides, state Rep. Beth Bernstein, S.C. Ports Authority Chairman Bill Stern and former state Sen. Joel Laurie.

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.

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.

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.

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.

photo of title page of Shakespeare's third portfolio with a sketch of william shakespeare on one side and the title on the other

Gift of rare Third Folio enhances UofSC's Shakespeare collection

December 14, 2021, Carol J.G. Ward

Third Folio of Shakespeare’s plays printed in 1664 has a permanent home at University of South Carolina Libraries. The book, a gift from Chicago attorney Jeffery Leving, along with the university’s copies of the Second and Fourth folios, will provide a rare opportunity for students, faculty and other researchers.

Mary Gordon Ellis portrait

100 years of suffrage: After the vote, comes an era of 'firsts'

August 20, 2020, Page Ivey

South Carolina’s few but dedicated suffragists were no doubt disappointed that the state was not among the first 36 to ratify the 19th amendment, but they almost immediately set about the business of turning their suffrage organizations into education and advocacy groups. In the process, these bold women kicked off the era of “firsts.”

booker t washington auditorium building

Popular UofSC civil rights exhibit will have a permanent home

April 09, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward

The university will continue rehabilitation and preservation of the Booker T. Washington Auditorium Building to create a permanent space for the Center for Civil Rights History and Research’s exhibit “Justice for All: South Carolina and the American Civil Rights Movement.” Funded with a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service, the restoration will advance efforts to create a destination for people to learn the history of Columbia and of the school.

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.

James Ellroy

Student lands interview with acclaimed crime writer

October 29, 2019, Office of Communications and Public Affairs

In October, crime novelist James Ellroy visited the University of South Carolina for the 2019 Fall Literary Festival, sponsored by University Libraries and the English department. On his last day on campus, Ellroy sat down with junior English and theater major Susan Swavely for an interview at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications’ Kennedy Greenhouse Studio.

Wonder Woman

Telling the American story -- through comics

September 30, 2019, Carol J.G. Ward and Joshua Burrack

With a massive donation of comics from Gary Lee Watson in the spring of 2019, the University of South Carolina is becoming an intellectual center for the study of 20th century popular culture. “The acquisition has made the Irvin department one of the nation's top public repositories of comic books, positioning the University of South Carolina as a premier institution for comics studies,” says Elizabeth Sudduth, associate dean for special collections in University Libraries.

scholars studying medieval manuscripts

Unlocking a mystery

March 28, 2019, Annika Dahlgren

For the past eight years, people from around the world have gathered at the University of South Carolina’s Hollings Library to experience the wonder of medieval manuscripts, and this year is no different. The ninth annual Medieval Manuscripts Symposium will take place April 1-2. “Understanding the Medieval Book,” is a two-day seminar dedicated to learning about the care, keeping, and understanding of medieval manuscripts.

Christian Cicimurri

Touching the past

January 15, 2019, Chris Horn

As curator of collections at McKissick Museum, Christian Cicimurri is accustomed to handling old documents and artifacts. But thanks to an ASPIRE II grant and subsequent funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Cicimurri has got her hands on new touch screen technology, which is being incorporated into McKissick’s exhibits.

Bobby Donaldson

Telling the untold

October 24, 2018, Megan Sexton

As he conducted research for the civil rights history project Columbia SC 63, history professor Bobby Donaldson started discovering largely untold stories about the struggle as it played out in Columbia. The material he and his students unearthed and the people he met helped guide the formation of the South Carolina Center for Civil Rights History and Research.

frankenstein

Celebrating 200 years of 'Frankenstein'

October 23, 2018, Page Ivey and Joshua Burrack

“Frankenstein,” Mary Shelley’s tale of a scientist pushing the boundaries of knowledge and ethics to reanimate lifeless flesh, turns 200 this year, and the University of South Carolina is celebrating the anniversary by reaching into its rare books collection and tapping faculty expertise to tell the story of Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that has spawned many reincarnations throughout popular literature, film and television.

richard riley

UofSC opens Richard W. Riley Collection as part of S.C. Political Collections

July 11, 2018, Peggy Binette

The South Carolina Political Collections — one of the largest political collections in the nation — will expand Monday, Aug. 6 when the University of South Carolina opens the Richard W. Riley Collection. The collection details the life and public career of Richard Wilson “Dick” Riley, a former South Carolina state representative, senator and governor and U.S. Secretary of Education.

John Shippen accepting a trophy

Open History

June 14, 2018, Nicole Carrico

University Libraries' newsfilm collection includes the only known footage of America’s first pro golfer, John Shippen. An African-American golfer, Shippen played in the second U.S. Open held in 1896 at the same location as this year’s — New York’s Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. In the silent film footage, Shippen can be seen picking up a second-place trophy in a tournament nearly two decades after playing in the Open at the age of 16.

dos passos

Dos Passos collection

February 22, 2018, Nicole Carrico

Richard Layman's collection of John Dos Passos, a “lost generation” author, playwright, artist and political activist, has found a permanent home at the University Libraries Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. University Libraries will celebrate the acquisition Feb. 28 with a public lecture and exhibit.

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.

USMC Film Repository's new home opens

May 26, 2017, John Brunelli

University President Harris Pastides and Thomas McNally, dean of University Libraries dedicate the John S. Davis Scanning Center and the Lt. Col. James H. Davis Film Vault at the Libraries' Moving Image Research Collections. The MIRC facility is the new home of the U.S. Marine Corps Film Repository that chronicles the corps from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Mindy Castles

A southern connection

January 09, 2017, Chris Horn

Mindy and Jack Castles made Beaufort, S.C., their home in retirement. So when it was time to donate Jack's extensive collection of Civil War documents, USC Beaufort was the natural selection.

sc encyclopedia

SC Encyclopedia off the shelf and on the web

December 14, 2016, Page Ivey

If you’re of a certain age, you might remember the row of dusty encyclopedias in your parents’ den — books that were the Google of their day but limited in what they could convey. Now you can open the “South Carolina Encyclopedia” and hear Dizzy Gillespie talk about be-bop or watch qualifying for a 1970s Southern 500 stock car race. That’s because the encyclopedia has gone digital.

Old, new friendships bring acclaimed illustrator's works to UofSC

November 04, 2016, Dan Cook

Anita Lobel, the acclaimed author and illustrator of children’s books, will be honored with the Thomas Cooper Society Medal in recognition of her contribution to the arts on Nov. 17. The award comes as part of Lobel's burgeoning ties to the university — and her longstanding friendship with two alumnae.

vote dress

American Politickers

October 18, 2016, Craig Brandhorst

South Carolina Political Collections, housed at the University of South Carolina’s Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, is home to the papers of 11 governors and more than 25 members of Congress, plus those of notable judges, civil rights activists, state legislators and the League of Women Voters.

Anita Singleton-Prather

Sacred music and Gullah culture showcased this weekend

February 22, 2016, Glenn Hare

Noted Gullah storyteller and singer Anita Singleton-Prather, along with the Gullah Kinfolk, will share stories and songs at “Shared Traditions: Sacred Music in the South,” a two-day symposium featuring shape-note singing, African-American spirituals and other music traditions unique to the South. The symposium starts with a meet-and-greet with Singleton-Prather at 3:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 26) in the McKissick Museum on the historic Horseshoe.