Stories for Alumni

A photo of an African American hand doing a mic drop.

Toby Jenkins, associate professor of higher education, explores how hip-hop values and ethics can help educators and other professionals succeed

February 28, 2024, Craig Brandhorst

Toby Jenkins is a a professor in USC’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the College of Education and associate provost for faculty development. Jenkins’ latest book, “The Hip-Hop Mindset: Success Strategies for Educators and Other Professionals” (Teachers College Press), combines her scholarly expertise with her lifelong appreciation for hip-hop music and culture.

Topics: Faculty, Recognition, Leadership, College of Education, Breakthrough Research

Photo of student walking on the Horseshoe

First-generation college students bring resilience, perspectives to USC campus

November 03, 2023, Megan Sexton

First-generation college students come from all sorts of backgrounds and bring a variety of perspectives to campus. At USC, about one-fifth of the student population identifies as first-generation college students, meaning their parents did not earn a four-year college degree.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Experiential Learning, Scholarships, Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Initiatives, Diversity, Leadership, Careers, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computing, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

Ryan Buell on the USC horseshoe

From chasing ghosts to helping others fight inner demons

August 11, 2023, Alexis Watts

Ryan Buell has been a student, journalist, paranormal researcher, well-known TV personality, addict and now University of South Carolina counselor education graduate. “There's nothing anyone can say that will make me look down on them because I’ve been there,” Buell says. “If you're wanting help, if you're seeking to better yourself and you're seeking redemption, I feel like everyone should have that chance.”

Topics: Alumni, Experiential Learning, College of Education

Students wear protective glasses while learning at camp

Carolina Master Scholars camps spark curiosity, forge connections

August 03, 2023, Alexis Watts

Summer camp memories don’t often include crime scene blood spatter analysis or creating culinary masterpieces, but the Carolina Master Scholars Adventure Series is not your typical summer camp.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Experiential Learning, Undergraduate Admissions, Initiatives, Diversity, Economic Engagement, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

a woman leans down and points to bricks on a walkway

Alumna Tjuan Dogan helps people around the world access online education

June 21, 2023, Page Ivey

When Tjuan Dogan came to USC to study advertising and public relations, her career goal was to carry a briefcase to work. From that beginning, Dogan, who has a bachelor’s in advertising and a master’s and a Ph.D. in education all from USC, crafted a career path that now has her helping nontraditional students find their careers and new lives through education.

Topics: Alumni, Diversity, Careers, College of Education, College of Information and Communications

Orb on the Maxcy monument on the USC Horseshoe

US News rankings: USC tops in International MBA

April 24, 2023, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina’s master’s in international business program retained its spot as the best in the country for the 10th consecutive year, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings released Tuesday (April 25).

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, Academics, Graduate Studies, Recognition, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Nursing

A wi-fi symbol lights up green on a router.

Improving internet access and outcomes

March 22, 2023, Grace Farrar

An estimated 450,000 South Carolinians lack internet access, but the University of South Carolina is teaming up with the state Broadband Office to bridge that gap. Researchers from across the university have developed a survey to gauge broadband need statewide, a key step towards accessing federal broadband investments.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, College of Education, Medicine (Greenville), Arnold School of Public Health

Honoree Amber Guyton kneels over her brick and smiles

Meet the Black alumnae whose contributions are commemorated on the Horseshoe

March 14, 2023, Rebekah Friedman

As a tribute to the Black alumnae featured in the student-produced documentary The Backbone, USC’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion installed 18 personalized bricks on the Horseshoe. The honorees' stories span seven decades of university history.

Topics: Students, Alumni, University Leadership, Diversity, History, Recognition, College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Education, The Graduate School, College of Information and Communications, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Medicine (Columbia), South Carolina Honors College

Teachers in the TIP program (need more precise caption)

Colonial Life offers key support for College of Education's CarolinaTIP

February 10, 2023, Page Ivey

CarolinaTIP focuses on teachers in their first three years as they transition from learning how to teach to leading their own classrooms. About half of all South Carolina teachers who leave their jobs each year are in their first five years of working in the classroom. The Carolina Teacher Induction Program has reduced the number of new teachers leaving the profession by offering them coaching support from more experienced classroom leaders — most of whom are retired instructors who want to give back to the profession.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Initiatives, Carolinian, Service, Leadership, College of Education

USC student nurses at bedside of a patient

U.S. News rankings: USC keeps top spot in online graduate nursing programs

January 20, 2023, Megan Sexton

For the third straight year, the University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing is ranked No. 1 nationally for its online graduate nursing program, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual online programs rankings released Jan. 24.

Topics: Students, University Leadership, University President, Academics, Graduate Studies, Recognition, Health Sciences, Careers, College of Education, College of Nursing, University System

The outline of a teacher in chalk on a blackboard.

Education professor's new book examines the chronic shortage of public school teachers

January 04, 2023, Craig Brandhorst

It’s no secret: public school teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. “How Did We Get Here? The Decay of the Teaching Profession” (Information Age Publishing, 2022), edited by University of South Carolina associate professor of education Henry Tran and Iowa State University associate professor Douglas A. Smith, explores the causes and consequences of teacher attrition in South Carolina as a way to shed light on the larger crisis affecting America’s schools.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Leadership, Careers, College of Education

Photo of Jazmine Lara Guerrero, a first-gen student

First-generation college students add energy, resilience to USC campus

November 04, 2022, Megan Sexton

There is no typical first-generation college student. Some come from immigrant families, some from households where family members didn’t graduate from high school. But all add energy and variety to the University of South Carolina campus.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Experiential Learning, Scholarships, Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Initiatives, Diversity, Leadership, Careers, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computing, Arnold School of Public Health, South Carolina Honors College

Teacher wearing black and white polka dotted shirt pointing at an electronic board while teaching elementary school students

The most recent efforts to combat teacher shortages don't address the real problems

August 15, 2022, Henry Tran

The national teacher shortage is rooted is the longstanding lack of respect for teachers and their craft, which is reflected by decades of low pay, hyperscrutiny and poor working conditions. This disrespect to the profession is what is driving teachers away. Education professor Henry Tran writes for The Conversation on how the most recent efforts to recruit teachers do not address the real problems.

Topics: Faculty, College of Education, The Conversation

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

Celia Dial Saxon in plaid dress, Normal School group photo

The honor and dignity of Celia Dial Saxon

February 07, 2022, Chris Horn

A student residence hall near the Colonial Life Arena has become the first University of South Carolina building named for an African American. Formerly known as 700 Lincoln, the Celia Dial Saxon Building honors an educator and community advocate whose teaching career spanned six decades in segregated schools near the university campus.

Topics: Alumni, Academics, Experiential Learning, Diversity, Leadership, Careers, College of Education, University System

Nursing students at UofSC

UofSC ranks No. 1 in online graduate nursing program

January 24, 2022, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing retained the No. 1 national ranking for its online graduate nursing program, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual online program rankings released Tuesday (Jan. 25).

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Academics, Graduate Studies, Recognition, Health Sciences, Careers, College of Education, College of Nursing, University System

archival image of marjorie weber sitting at a desk in education classroom circa 1969

Gamecock family affair

August 23, 2021, Savannah Bennett

Marjorie Weber was a widow in her 40s when she decided to return to college to earn her teaching degree from the University of South Carolina where her late husband had been an education professor. She also served as a starting point for a string of family members attending South Carolina, including a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters, who are current education students. They are among the hundreds of students who follow family members to become Gamecocks each year. 

Topics: Students, Alumni, History, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Education, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, College of Information and Communications, College of Pharmacy

A student taking notes in a classroom

New degree programs debut in Fall '21

August 12, 2021, Cam Adams

The University of South Carolina is expanding its degree offerings with 13 new programs set to launch this fall that will better prepare students for careers in cybersecurity, education, nursing, business and music among other fields.

Topics: Students, Faculty, University Leadership, Academics, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Education, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, School of Music, College of Nursing

man in blue check shirt and blue jacket with trees in background

Education professor honored for his commitment to empowering teachers

April 07, 2021, Carol J.G. Ward

Most of Barnett Berry’s career has been about advancing what he calls the profession that makes all other professions possible – teaching. As a scholar and researcher, he is an advocate for teachers and how they can and must be more instrumental in the future of education. Berry is the 2021 recipient of the James A. Kelly Award for Advancing Accomplished Teaching.

Topics: Faculty, Recognition, Leadership, College of Education

Woman wearing a yellow scarf with blurred background

Education professor fights status quo to make schools more equitable

March 22, 2021, Carol J.G. Ward

For three and a half decades, University of South Carolina education professor Gloria Boutte has dedicated her work to creating school experiences that are more equitable for students of color. Her scholarship, teaching, leadership and service have been recognized with the 2021 Legacy Award from American Educational Research Association.

Topics: Faculty, Academics, Research, Diversity, Recognition, Leadership, College of Education

Social Justice Award winners

Three chosen as UofSC's 2021 Social Justice Award winners

January 11, 2021, Megan Sexton

An endowed chair in the School of Information Science, an associate professor of higher education who directs the university’s Museum of Education, and a Gamecock football player who proclaimed “’Matter’ is the Minimum” during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests are the university’s 2021 Social Justice Awards winners.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Initiatives, Diversity, Recognition, Service, Leadership, Careers, Student Voices, College of Education, College of Information and Communications, Arnold School of Public Health

Maxcy Monument on the Historic Horseshoe with sunlight streaming through the trees.

Character Counts: 2020 in Review

December 18, 2020

It’s been a year — but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty to celebrate, recognize and honor at the University of South Carolina in 2020. UofSC rose to each and every challenge this year and raised the bar for the year to come.

Topics: Students, Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Diversity, Recognition, Partnerships, Health Sciences, Campus Construction, COVID-19, College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computing, The Graduate School, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Medicine (Greenville), School of Music, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, Arnold School of Public Health, College of Social Work, South Carolina Honors College, University Libraries

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