USC Times
february 28, 2013
4
USC BEAUFORT PROFESSOR HELPS STUDENTS LEARN ONLINE By
Thom
Harman
B
oys in middle school typically dream of careers as professional athletes or astronauts or rock stars. Few are able to see career options that are more realistic and that are often more fulfilling. But Charles Spirrison knew from a very early age exactly what he wanted to be. “I was pretty unusual, I think,” he said. “At an early age, I’d say 10, 12 years old, psychology was one of the career choices on my list.” By high school, he knew he wanted a profession in which he could help people, and psychology would allow that. Following that dream, Spirrison began a career as a researcher and professor that’s taken him from Starkville, Miss., to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. But now he’s settled in as chair of social science at USC Beaufort. Spirrison wasn’t really looking to leave his post at the University of Nicosia, in Cyprus, which he says is “kind of the Hawaii of Europe.” “It was such an interesting and complex place,” he said. “It’s a wonderful place to be.”
But he heard about an opening in the South Carolina Lowcountry and it was too intriguing to pass up. His role as chair allows him to work for the good of the university, the faculty and his students. “And I’m excited about teaching via the Internet,” he said. After teaching in classrooms since the mid- to late1980s, Spirrison embraced the chance to teach an online course a few years ago. And he has learned to use online delivery to his advantage. “I was skeptical, but now I see that it really is possible to help students meaningfully relate to the class materials,” he said. “And so I enjoy that.” He’s looking forward to breaking some new ground through South Carolina Palmetto College while still pursuing his goal of helping others. “I think it’s wonderful for USC Beaufort, for the USC system and for the state of South Carolina,” Spirrison said. “The idea of being able to serve people, who may not have the opportunity to go to a residential college, and allow them to complete their education is an important goal.”
USC took home several CASE awards this year, winning four Grand Awards at the ceremony in Atlanta. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education recognizes outstanding work in communications and marketing. USC competed against schools across the Southeast including Clemson, Vanderbilt and UNC.
4 4 4
SCIENCE CORNER
Grand Awards Integrated marketing communications plan 2012 freshman recruitment materials College World Series ad Carolina on King card series
Awards of Excellence Freshman recruitment materials Capitol One Bowl ad Homecoming brochure Marketing for Carolina on King
Special Merit Awards Carolina on King micro website Carolina’s Promise capital campaign newsletter USC Beaufort Family Fund campaign USC Aiken Family Fund campaign
USC TIMES Vol. 24, No. 4 | february 28, 2013 USC Times is published 20 times a year for the faculty and staff of the University
Keeping a healthy tropical glow
of South Carolina by the Division of Communications. Managing editor: Liz McCarthy Designer: Linda Dodge Contributors: Peggy Binette, Craig Brandhorst, Frenché Brewer, Glenn Hare, Thom Harman, Chris Horn, Page Ivey, Steven Powell, Megan Sexton, Jeff Stensland and Marshall Swanson
Float on your back in the Mangrove Lagoon on St. Croix and you can trace out a “glow-angel,”
Photographers: Kim Truett
the tropical relative of winter’s snow-angel. Stirring the waters there causes microscopic
To reach us: 803-777-2848 or lizmccarthy@sc.edu
biota to illuminate, giving a milky shimmering to the areas of agitation that’s rather vivid. For
Campus correspondents:
more than 15 years, the bioluminescence in the lagoon has been the subject of nightly kayak
Patti McGrath, Aiken
eco-tours, even as the sources of the light have remained a subject of pure speculation. Now
Candace Brasseur, Beaufort Shana Dry, Lancaster
USC biologist Jay Pinckney is leading a team of scientists that will establish the species –
Jane Brewer, Salkehatchie
presumably dinoflagellates – responsible for the light show and help ensure their survival.
Misty Hatfield, Sumter
Master’s student Michelle Zimberlin, for example, is studying mangrove leaves from the trees
Annie Houston, Union
Tammy Whaley, Upstate
surrounding the lagoon as a potential source of a key nutrient combination that supports the luminescing microbes. Knowing the species involved, and understanding how to keep them thriving in the larger phytoplankton community, is crucial to maintaining the bioluminescent lagoon, a rare and fragile ecosystem found in just a few places throughout the world. The area has more than a passing interest to the USC community; the university is leading a consortium of four universities to establish a marine research and education center nearby on U.S. National Park Service property.
The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation or veteran status.