Stories for Faculty and Staff

Woman in cap and gown waving towel at graduation ceremony

Class of 2025 December graduates

December 03, 2025, Megan Sexton

As the December Class of 2025 prepares to walk across the commencement stage, graduates leave the University of South Carolina with memories of enduring friendships, newfound passions, supportive mentors and life-changing experiences.

A group of winners gather together holding their awards.

USC students and alumni win South Carolina InnoVision Awards

November 14, 2025, Laura Erskine

Six finalists with ties to USC were recognized by the 2025 InnoVision Awards, with three winning top honors. The winning businesses are led by students in the South Carolina Honors College, alumni and graduate students from the Molinaroli College of Engineering, and alumni from the Darla Moore School of Business and the Honors College.

Monique Garvin and a colleague talk with the South Carolina State House in the background.

SC Impact: Building stronger communities

May 28, 2025, Communications and marketing

From creating social mobility by supporting first-generation students to providing resources for community members who need them most, the University of South Carolina is dedicated to strengthening our state and improving the lives of its residents. It’s work that goes beyond the college campus and extends into every corner of South Carolina.

Ann Vail, dean of The Graduate School, puts an award around the neck of an award winner at the 2025 Recognition of Excellence Ceremony

Graduate award winners recognized

May 19, 2025, Thom Harman, with Matt Klopfenstein

The Graduate School recently announced and recognized its 2025 Graduate Student Award winners and Trustee Fellowship recipients, as well as the graduates from the school’s scholarly initiatives. The school held its annual Recognition of Excellence Ceremony on April 25 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

Student in cap and gown stands with fists in the air
Stan Brown in the Imperial Theater, New York City

Gamecocks Take Manhattan: Stan Brown

November 08, 2024, Craig Brandhorst/Photos by Kim Truett

This spring, actor Stan Brown made his Broadway debut at the age of 61. The theatre double alumnus, ’84, ’89 MFA, calls the role as Camel in the musical ‘Water for Elephants’ “a dream deferred,” but it’s not as if he has been waiting in the wings all these years. The Great White Way is just the latest chapter in a long and gratifying career.

Paul Toriello in a navy suit

New Faculty Spotlight: Paul Toriello

October 25, 2024, Faith Militello

Paul Toriello, assistant dean of clinical graduate programs, brings 30 years of experience in mental health counseling and academia to the School of Medicine Columbia. As a clinical professor in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, he leads initiatives to integrate technology into health care education and expand mental health services, preparing students to become professional caregivers.

Group of students in graduation cap and gowns posing for a photo.
Graduation cap decorated with a Block C.

Class of 2023 December graduates

December 07, 2023, Megan Sexton

As the December Class of 2023 prepares to walk across the commencement stage, graduates leave the University of South Carolina with memories of enduring friendships, newfound passions, supportive mentors and life-changing experiences.

Smokestacks by Thomas Cooper Library

Graduation with Leadership Distinction alumni look back on pathways to success

April 21, 2023, Hannah Cambre

The Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning is celebrating the Graduation with Leadership Distinction Program's tenth anniversary. Take a look at some of the earliest graduates with leadership distinction.

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.

UofSC home to 60 ranked programs

UofSC med school leads nation for grads practicing in underserved areas

March 29, 2021, Megan Sexton

The School of Medicine Columbia is the top medical program in the country for graduates who are practicing in areas where there is a shortage of health care professionals, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings. The rankings also show that UofSC is now home to more than 60 nationally ranked programs.

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

The Long Run: Libby Foreman

May 20, 2019, Page Ivey

They arrived in the 1970s, some after serving in Vietnam, some fresh out of high school or college. More than 40 years later, they still come to work at the University of South Carolina — some after officially “retiring.” TIMES spoke with a few of these long-term employees to see what keeps them coming back to work on campus, long after they could have settled into that place in the mountains or that home by the sea.

Mr. Gibson's fifth grade class

Culturally relevant teaching changes the game for students

May 13, 2019, Kathryn McPhail

Jackson Creek Elementary School, in Columbia, is committed to improving the way its teachers are educating students — both academically and socially. The school is collaborating with College of Education professors to offer all teachers and support staff ongoing professional development in culturally relevant teaching.

Dr. Ross

A thousand passions, 1 heartbeat

October 20, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

University of South Carolina College of Education alumnus and Chapin High School principal, Akil Ross, was named the 2018 National Principal of the Year on Friday, October 20. The honor is the culmination of a passionate career as an educator that began just a few miles away from our campus 16 years ago.

jeffries

When tracking math students doesn't add up

July 21, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

Education professor Rhonda Jeffries and graduate student Hope Reed wanted to close the achievement gap for underrepresented students, specifically those tracked to be in remedial classes. So, they took a risk with a group of freshman students at Blythewood High School and conducted a secret experiment of sorts that proved to be powerful.

Student works on reading

The hidden parents of South Carolina

June 26, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

Raised by a Cuban father and Colombian mother in Boston, Massachusetts, Julia López-Robertson experienced first-hand the challenges that come with being a member of an underrepresented population in America. Now as a professor in the College of Education, she is helping other Latino families through her research and outreach.

beasley

Planting a love of learning

March 27, 2017, Kathryn McPhail

A self-proclaimed “outdoorsy” person, Todd Beasley started his own small business at just 10 years old gardening for other families in his neighborhood. Now three decades later, the College of Education alumnus is the new director of programs at one of the largest botanical gardens in the country — the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

Year end review