Stories for Faculty and Staff

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.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Academics, Research, Safety, Economic Engagement, Leadership, College of Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

students walking on USC Horseshoe

US News rankings: USC tops in international business, first-year experience

September 23, 2024, Megan Sexton

The University of South Carolina is home to the nation’s top first-year student experience among public institutions, and its living-learning communities are ranked 10th best in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual undergraduate rankings released Sept. 24.

Topics: University Leadership, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Undergraduate Admissions, Recognition, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Nursing

man gestures while talking from a podium

Propel AI initiative aims to weave AI into scholarship, research

September 11, 2024, Dan Cook

This fall, roughly 60 faculty members will take part in a new artificial intelligence initiative from the Office of the Vice President for Research. Called Propel AI, the effort aims to empower faculty to incorporate artificial intelligence into their work — regardless of their academic area or previous experience with AI. We spoke with Bryant Walker Smith, associate professor of law and an expert on emerging technologies, about the new initiative.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Initiatives, Joseph F. Rice School of Law

USC professor and alumna Anna Hoppmann stands in the atrium of the children's hospital at Prisma Health-Midlands.

Anna Hoppmann leads pediatric cancer research effort

September 10, 2024, Chris Horn

Anna Hoppmann is a pediatric oncologist with Prisma Health and a clinical assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia where she graduated nine years ago. She also chairs the S.C. Childhood Cancer Taskforce, which recently released a 25-year trend report on childhood cancer incidence, survival and mortality in South Carolina.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, College of Arts and Sciences, Medicine (Columbia), South Carolina Honors College

Two young boys draw with sidewalk chalk on a sunny day.

USC health science researchers play critical role in first-ever S.C. pediatric cancer report

September 04, 2024, Laura Morris

A new report led by the state Department of Public Health provides a comprehensive look at the burden of childhood cancer in the Palmetto State over the past 25 years. University of South Carolina health science researchers played a critical role in developing the report; additional partners include the South Carolina Children’s Hospital Collaborative and the South Carolina Cancer Alliance.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Leadership, Medicine (Columbia), Medicine (Greenville), Arnold School of Public Health

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.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Academics, Signature Events, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music

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.

Topics: Students, Signature Events

A girl standing in the of a group of people cheering.

Pillars for Carolina helps prepare incoming freshmen for college

August 20, 2024, Téa Smith

Pillars for Carolina is a four-day student-led leadership and service program designed to help incoming students learn and explore the University of South Carolina and the Columbia community. Student co-directors Evey Konstantopoulos and Jackson Hensley share their experiences participating in the program the summer before starting college.

Topics: Students, Service, Leadership, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Social Work

Susan Newman discusses spinal cord injuries to a group in India.

New faculty profile: Susan Newman

August 19, 2024, Gregory Hardy

One of Susan Newman’s newest missions for improving the health of South Carolinians is to encourage more individuals with disabilities to explore nursing careers. The USC health sciences endowed professor joined the nursing faculty in July for a role that allows her to increase training opportunities for health care providers—particularly nurses who work with individuals with disabilities—and expand her research efforts.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, College of Nursing

us capitol building

Washington Media Scholars Foundation helps students get a foothold in the nation's capital

August 15, 2024, Rebekah Friedman

Thanks to the Washington Media Scholars Foundation, students pursuing careers in media and policy have a little less to worry about and a lot more within their reach. Founded by University of South Carolina alumnus Robin Roberts in 2009, the foundation supports undergraduates from USC and other institutions around the country through two very specific initiatives.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Experiential Learning, Careers, College of Information and Communications

A person looking at their phone

Helpful campus apps

August 14, 2024, Koby Padgett

There are plenty of mobile apps students, faculty and staff can use to navigate campus this academic year that are free to the USC community. From placing and tracking food orders to finding parking to staying safe around campus, here are a few key apps for students, faculty and staff.

Topics: Academics, Initiatives, Safety, Healthy Carolina

Exterior of the College of Nursing's satellite clinical education building on the Lexington Medical Center campus

USC and Lexington Medical Center open innovative facility to train nurses

August 12, 2024, Gregory Hardy

The University of South Carolina and Lexington Medical Center opened a new 52,000 square foot facility to train the next generation of nurses Monday (Aug. 12). Located on Lexington Medical Center’s West Columbia campus, the satellite clinical education building will be used primarily for the clinical training of the College of Nursing's third- and fourth-year nursing bachelor’s students as well as master’s program students.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Experiential Learning, Health Sciences, College of Nursing

robert mcnair

McNair Institute fosters entrepreneurial mindset

August 05, 2024, Rebekah Friedman

Many students enter the University of South Carolina with entrepreneurial dreams. But the entrepreneurial mindset is as much about how you think about solving problems as it is about launching a new business or bringing an invention to market — and acquiring that mindset requires a very particular kind of educational environment. Since 2017, USC’s McNair Institute for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise has provided exactly that.

Topics: Students, Faculty, Experiential Learning, Economic Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Darla Moore School of Business

three students stand in a radio station booth

From the classroom to the field, USC students carve their own Carolina paths

August 01, 2024

For a lot of University of South Carolina students, the realization that this is a special place comes quickly. One walk around the Horseshoe, one time cheering in the stands at Williams-Brice Stadium, and that’s all it takes. But those signature experiences are only a tiny part of what it means to be a Gamecock. Life-altering experiences can be found all over campus and beyond.

Topics: Students, Experiential Learning, Undergraduate Admissions, Student Voices, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Information and Communications, Arnold School of Public Health, College of Social Work

man wearing a white coat stands in the middle of a laboratory with people and lab equipment in the background

New endowed chair brings focus in Alzheimer's drug research

July 31, 2024, Chris Horn

Qun Lu’s quest to develop an effective drug treatment for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases has brought him to the University of South Carolina. Lu, who joined USC in January as the new SmartState Endowed Chair in Neurotherapeutics Chemical Biology, has developed, with his research team, novel therapeutic molecules that have demonstrated effectiveness in rodent models that mimic Alzheimer’s disease.

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

portait of a man with greenery in the background

Garnet Apple winner: Khalid Ballouli

July 31, 2024, Page Ivey

Khalid Ballouli’s path to academia took a detour through professional baseball, so it’s only natural this his teaching style is a little different. An associate professor in the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, Ballouli teaches undergraduate classes in sport and entertainment marketing as well as graduate-level courses in research design and business research and analytics.

Topics: Faculty, Academics, Recognition, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

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