UNIVERSIT Y OF SOUTH C AROLINA BEAUFORT
2009-10 COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE
801 Carteret Street Beaufort, SC 29902 One University Boulevard BluямАton, SC 29909
www.uscb.edu
Witne Tree Daybreak casts lucent beams around this steadfast native form – lowcountry legacy whose abiding design is enlightenment.
Burgeoning roots, nurtured by a half century’s growth, send rings of knowledge up the buttressed base, degree by degree, through the furrowed trunk to wide spreading limbs, fortified by terms of drought and flood. Unbent by the crosswinds of whim, they shape the broad canopy ever outward, yet ever allied to each goldgreen shining leaf. As light turns brighter in the branches, celebrate the ennobled life of learning. Come then, chancellor and chairmen, students, staff, faculty, friends. Drape the building in a banner that lauds every leaf and bough– and with a flourish gather in the Carolina morning underneath the witness tree. Mark the progress, poised for ages, as we sound the jubilee.
P. Ellen Malphrus, Ph.D.
USCB Golden Jubilee Celebrating 50 Years of Higher Education in the Lowcountry
FEATURES
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Golden Jubilee Your invitation to a year-long celebration
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The University of South Carolina Beaufort Story Celebrating our heritage, embracing the future
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The Arts, Beaufort and the University The perfect marriage of place and program PROFILES
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Alumni Profile: Billy Keyserling
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Faculty Profile: Lila Meeks
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Staff Profile: Vince Meseric
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Right Place, Right Time
“Everything that rises must converge”
Counselor, coach and mentor
SUPPORTERS
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Heritage Classic Foundation
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University of South Carolina Beaufort
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Decade makes a difference
2008-2009 Donor recognition
COVER ART:
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The Golden Jubilee Amiri Geuka Farris 2009 Artist and art faculty member Amiri Farris celebrates USCB’s 50 years of service to the Lowcountry with this gift to the University. The painting, using mixed media on canvas, features Beaufort College, set in its beautiful Lowcountry landscape. The Sea Island bird signifies the University’s flight into a bright future.
Associate Professor University of South Carolina Beaufort
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J U B I L E E F E AT U R E
USCB Magazine Building Connections. Serving USCB. Fall 2009 • Volume VII Number I This magazine builds connections between University of South Carolina Beaufort and its supporters with articles on teaching, research, student life and community service. It highlights the activities of our alumni and friends.
Golden Julee
is fall marked a milestone in the history of the University of South Carolina Beaufort: a half-century of service in the Lowcountry.
Jane T. Upshaw, Ph.D. Chancellor
Lynn W. McGee, Ph.D. Vice Chancellor for University Advancement
Colleen Callahan Director of Development
EDITOR
Lynn W. McGee ASSISTANT EDITOR
It was 1959 when the first fiy-seven students enrolled in the University of South Carolina’s Beaufort campus. Since that time, USCB has metamorphosed from an intimate two-year school, housed in what was once Beaufort’s elementary school, to a four-year baccalaureate university. We are attracting noteworthy faculty and a growing student body, delivering a winning Sand Sharks athletics program, and providing a full spectrum of student life experiences on the Historic Beaufort and Hilton Head Gateway campuses. In celebration of USCB’s progress, the lives higher education has changed and the exciting work that lies ahead, a year-long schedule of special events has been organized for the University family and the community to enjoy.
COMMUNITY CEREMONY • APRIL 6 • HISTORIC BEAUFORT CAMPUS
In April, USC President Dr. Harris Pastides leads a formal academic convocation to celebrate USCB’s heritage, accomplishments and future. e University Medallion Ceremony will be followed by refreshments on the lawn of the Beaufort College. e Golden Jubilee offers something for all interests. Take a look at this year’s extraordinary Lunch with Authors series, the Historic Lecture Series recounting Beaufort’s history from 1560, the USCB Festival Series of chamber music, studio art exhibits and the new business Executive Speaker Series. Event details are listed at www.uscb.edu/50. While online watch the video history of USCB. It is full of faces from the past and present and looks forward to a bright future.
Deborah Reynolds COMMUNITY CELEBRATION • MARCH 5 • HILTON HEAD GATEWAY CAMPUS ART DIRECTION/DESIGN
Marlys West CONTRIBUTORS
Colleen Callahan Lynn W. McGee Lila Meeks Deborah Reynolds
In March, Chancellor Jane Upshaw and Golden Jubilee Honorary Chair Larry Rowland, welcome renowned state historian Walter Edgar to provide a historical perspective on education in South Carolina and USCB’s role in the Lowcountry and across the state.
During this year of reflection and celebration help us reconnect with those who have been involved with the University through the years. If you have a special memory or photo to share, please visit www.uscb.edu/50/memories and let us hear from you. e University of South Carolina Beaufort family looks forward to seeing you on campus!
Larry Rowland, Honorary Chair of the Golden Jubilee and USCB Professor Emeritus (above). Larry Rowland 1984 (R)
RESEARCH
Deborah Reynolds Marlys West
Your invitation to a year-long celebration
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ron Casas
www.uscb.edu/50
University of South Carolina Beaufort 801 Carteret Street Beaufort, SC 29902 One University Boulevard Bluffton, SC 29909
magazine@uscb.edu www.uscb.edu
e 5 leaders of University of South Carolina Beaufort since its inception. John J. Duffy, Jr. Resident Director 1959-1966
Darwin Bashaw Dean 1966-1983 and 1989
Rowland Tuttle, Jr. Dean 1983-1988
Chris P. Plyler Dean 1990 -1999
Jane T. Upshaw Dean 1999-2002 Chancellor 2002 - present
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H I S TO R Y F E AT U R E
e University of South Carolina Beaufort: Celebrating our heritage, embracing the future Beaufort County’s commitment to higher education has roots that extend 200 years into our state’s history. In 1795 Beaufort College was chartered “to grant or confer such degree or degrees, in liberal arts or sciences…as are usually conferred in other colleges in Europe and America.” e College opened with high hopes, but suffered adversities that at times overwhelmed its supporters and the scholarly, dedicated men who were its early trustees.
boll weevil, the depression and the lack of political clout in the statehouse. e Trustees of the College of Beaufort continued to meet, but they no longer had a faculty, student body, library or building to oversee.
BEGINNING AGAIN… In the 1950’s South Carolina citizens recognized the need to bring higher education to regional centers. A group of Beaufort citizens appealed to the University of South e faculty were first-rate scholars such as Stephen Elliott, Carolina and to the legislature for a branch campus to offer the foundational courses required for baccalaureate the Maxcy bothers, James Petigru and William Grayson. degrees. In the fall of 1959, the “University of South e first college building opened in 1809. In 1817, a Carolina Beaufort Campus” reopened the doors of yellow fever epidemic that caused the death of one in six members of the white population closed the College. Out Beaufort College with 59 students. of fear that the college building housed the epidemic’s Dr. John Duffy, the first campus director, taught history source, the structure was demolished. and led a small faculty that included several community members. In 1965 the Sandstone building was built to e community again raised support for the college and house a library, a chemistry lab and several classrooms. a smaller Beaufort College Building opened in 1856. By 1968 Darwin Bashaw was dean of “USC Beaufort,” Within five years, its students were wearing Confederate States of America military uniforms. e College’s library a two year institution conferring associate degrees. and buildings were brought under federal control early in With growing enrollments in the 1970’s and ‘80’s, USCB the war. e library collection was taken to Washington. expanded into the adjacent Beaufort Elementary School e facility was used as a hospital, a school for freed building, purchased a neighboring house for faculty slaves, and then an elementary school. offices and a historic building for an art studio, and constructed the Marine Science building to expand For one hundred years, local access to higher education laboratory and classroom space. On its 30th anniversary, was interrupted by wars, reconstruction, hurricanes, the
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Opposite page le to right: Beaufort College (1981); Art Studio (1981); Science Classroom (1963); USCB Cheerleaders (1966); Commencement (1981); Students in Library with new technology (1998). is page Beaufort College taken by USC Photography 1981.
H I S TO R Y F E AT U R E
Dean Chris Plyler led a campus that served 877 students in classrooms, labs and offices integrated into a four block area of Beaufort. Its outreach included the Marine bases and a leased classroom facility on Hilton Head Island. Community support continued to be strong. Dr. Marge Yanker worked with Duke University to offer “creative retirement” classes and travel opportunities. With community gis, the Performing Arts Center was professionally renovated. Professor Mary Whisonant developed a world-class chamber music series and Professor John Blair introduced a student drama program. Phillip Rhodes donated a 2500 acre barrier island, Pritchards Island, to the University for conservation, research and science education.
Beaufort County Council under the leadership of Tom Taylor, the Beaufort Jasper Higher Education Commission, the Beaufort College Board of Trustees, and many community members combined efforts led to the 2002 decision of the USC Board of Trustees and the state to authorize USCB to pursue baccalauareate status. Community leaders realized a new university needed new facilities. Space was limited in Beaufort, so a second campus to serve the expected student growth was proposed. In 1996 the Palmetto Electric Trust gave the lead gi for the Hilton Head Gateway campus. Brantley and Helen Harvey gave a million dollar gi in 1998. In 2000 the Hargray Communications Group contributed $3.5 million. Beaufort County Council established a Tax Incre-
more than doubled, distinguished professors joined the faculty, Sand Shark intercollegiate athletic teams in golf, cross country, track and baseball began competition in the NAIA Sun Conference, and construction of the Hilton Head Gateway campus continued apace. USCB has partnered with individuals, government, businesses, organizations, and private foundations to ensure that through its mission of teaching, research and service, it responds to the region’s needs, draws upon the region’s strengths and prepares students to contribute to their community as highly skilled professionals and more reflective citizens.
Friends of the Festival, USCB’s fine chamber music series celebrated its 30th and most successful season.
is year, 120 full and part-time faculty instruct 1684 students who are choosing from 12 degree programs and 11
e recent initiative to focus the Historic Beaufort campus on the arts is gaining momentum. e charm of the
In response to the critical need for baccalaureate trained nurses, and with exceptional support from Hilton Head Regional Healthcare, Beaufort Memorial Hospital, and the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, USCB launched the region’s only BS in Nursing program in January 2009. With state of the art nursing labs and “smart” classrooms on campus and area medical centers offering clinical experience, students are receiving an excellent nursing education which will benefit patients in our region.
Le to right: Students in front of Hargray building (2007); Dr. Harris Pastides, (L) Dr. Jane Upshaw (C) and Mrs. Patricia Moore-Pastides (R) on the steps of Hargray, during Dr. Pastides inaugural visit as 28th president of University of South Carolina (2008).
Le to right: Students in front of Beaufort College (1966); Dr. John Palms (L), Helen Harvey (C), Dr. Chris Plyler (R).
e process of structuring cooperative degree programs with USC Columbia and USC Aiken to enable USCB students to complete baccalaureate degree requirements locally began in the 1980’s. Columbia awarded degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies and Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management and Aiken offered degrees in Early Childhood Education, Nursing and Business Management. e growth in students pursuing these degrees demonstrated the need for a baccalaureate university to serve the southeastern corner of the state. EARNING BACCALAUREATE STATUS—AND EXPANDING TO TWO CAMPUSES e Union Camp (International Paper) gi of 80 acres of land on Highway 278 and the need of the region gave newly appointed USCB Dean Jane Upshaw the impetus to campaign for a baccalaureate university. Local citizens Dick Stewart, Wes Jones, Brantley and Helen Harvey,
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ment Finance District that generated $27.5 million. Private gis and $4.0 million in state bonds provided the remaining funding for the $40 million campus. Ground breaking for the “New River” campus took place in 2003. e Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the University of South Carolina Beaufort as a baccalaureate institution in 2004. at fall USCB opened its doors as South Carolina’s newest four-year university serving students on the Beaufort campus and in the Hargray Building on the new “South” campus. USCB offered degrees in Business Management, Early Childhood Education, English, Hospitality Management, Human Services, and Liberal Studies to 1277 students. BUILDING A FULL SERVICE UNIVERSITY In the next five years, full time enrollment grew by an average of more than 10% each year, degree programs
concentrations leading to baccalaureate degrees; six preprofessional programs including pre-law and pre-med; and 16 minors. e Hilton Head Gateway campus boasts a high tech science and nursing building, on-campus student apartments for 300, a technology infused library and a campus center with fitness facility and dining services.
historic district and the natural beauty of the region provide an ideal setting that will be attractive to art faculty and students from our region and beyond. e B.A. in Studio Art opens in January 2010 and the vision for the arts initiative extends to other visual and performing arts.
Professors and researchers, supported by federal and local grants, are involved in efforts to preserve a healthy ecology and healthy individuals. In a collaborative effort with Western Carolina University, USCB is studying beach erosion and other coastal environmental concerns on Pritchards Island.
With the legacy of community commitment to higher education going back to Beaufort College, the strength of the University of South Carolina system, and its energetic growth over the past decade, the University of South Carolina Beaufort is well positioned to become the student-centered, community-engaged university of academic distinction that our region envisions.
Over 1600 seniors annually benefit from courses geared to their interests in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, supported by $2 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation. With the generous support of the
e legacy of Beaufort College and the strength of South Carolina’s flagship public university are the dual foundations of the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
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A R T S F E AT U R E
e Arts, Beaufort and the University The Perfect Marriage of Place and Program
What better place for a college campus focused on the arts than in the heart of Beaufort, recently selected as one of the “Top 25 Small Cities for Art?” A thriving baccalaureate art program and USCB’s Historic Beaufort campus, located along the waterfront of Carteret Street, is the perfect marriage of place and program. Interim Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Harvey Varnet notes, “Arts on our Historic Beaufort campus make sense. What better place to study art than in the middle of a historic town full of natural beauty which is receiving national accolades for its rich arts culture. e arts elevate life – move us beyond our day-to-day life and help us to think and reflect differently.” e plan for a campus focused on academic programs that reflect Beaufort’s unique strengths began to crystallize when the University received official approval to offer a studio art major. USCB plans to invest approximately $200,000 of federal stimulus dollars to jump-start a fortified art program. at money will go to renovate existing spaces into state-of-the-art studios and classrooms, purchase new art curricula-related equipment and create a ceramics studio. rough a generous gi from the Heritage Classic Foundation of the Lowcountry, two arts classrooms have already been modified. e new art program will offer a high-quality, affordable baccalaureate degree that builds on the best attributes of Beaufort and responds to the needs of the region. Studio Art program director Jon Goebel explains how the program will dovetail nicely with area art students’ needs: “Many Beaufort County high schools are now delivering quality arts education programs. Students who find that’s where their passion lies will now be able to pursue a four-year art degree and do it affordably, without having to leave the Lowcountry.” e Studio Art degree will focus primarily on visual arts, but graphic and media arts are an important part of the vision as they become financially feasible. e curriculum includes art history, within the context of the liberal arts. Students will be prepared for professional careers in the arts and graduate programs in fine arts. e combination of an intensive liberal arts background, studio arts proficiency and practical experience will help students investigate and integrate their knowledge. In today's technologically changing world, these three elements of USCB’s arts program will give graduates the foundation for a career in the arts.
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A R T S F E AT U R E
GOALS OF THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN STUDIO ART
MEET THE ART FACULTY…
• Promote students’ visual and conceptual development with exposure to a wide range of artistic ideologies, styles, and media. • Introduce artistic diversity in the visual arts by integrating both contemporary and historical perspectives in the training of the artist. • Engage students in activities that relate to the professional visual arts field including guest lecturers, exhibits, curatorial work, and community events. • Establish a learning environment in the studio art discipline that encourages cooperation and collaboration with communities in the region and the state. • Provide students with a diverse choice of media, knowledgeable and experienced faculty, and well equipped facilities to foster technical and creative growth and development. • Prepare students for careers or graduate level studies in the arts.
Whether USCB students choose the new studio art degree in preparation for a career in the arts or whether they take a few classes for enjoyment and skill development, they will have the advantage of learning from faculty with demonstrated skill and professional recognition. Meet USCB’s growing art department:
USCB seeks to ensure that all students who complete the bachelor’s degree in Studio Art are able to... Shown above: Students pursue their passion for the arts in the Heritage Classic Art Studio.
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• • • • •
Display well developed problem-solving, expressive and perceptual skills. Understand various artistic ideologies and styles. Demonstrate competence in a variety of media. Demonstrate the ability to develop a concept into a finished work of art. Describe the significance of art movements/achievements and artists in a global context.
Jonathan Goebel, assistant professor, studio art. In his two years at USCB, Goebel has added new art studios to USCB and developed the curriculum for the Studio Art degree, which officially opens in January of 2010. He is an award-winning printmaker and serves on the Executive Board of the Southern Graphics Council. Lisa Victoria Ciresi, assistant professor, art history. A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Ciresi helped develop USCB’s new Studio Art program. Her research and publications focus on the use and perception of relics and reliquaries in medieval ritual. Dr. Ciresi teaches courses in the history of art. Amiri Geuka Farris, adjunct professor studio and fine arts. Farris is known for his colorful, contemporary paintings. He was commissioned to create ‘e Golden Jubilee’, the cover art of this magazine. His work has been exhibited locally in Savannah and Beaufort and as far away as Russia. Farris was named the 2008 Artist-of-the-Year at Historic Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina.
Art faculty pictured from top to bottom: Jonathan Goebel, Lisa Ciresi, Amiri Farris Roger Steele
Roger L. Steele, adjunct professor studio and fine arts. Affiliated with USCB for more than thirty years, Steele has exhibited across the country and internationally. Collections containing his work can be found in e Library of Congress. Steele served the Southern Graphics Council as Treasurer, Vice President, and Honorary Member. He is a past Board Member of South Carolina Arts Commission.
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ALUMNI PROFILE
Right Place, Right Time for Billy Keyserling In a town where it’s nearly impossible to walk a downtown street or stop for gas without seeing someone you know, it’s fitting that the University born in Beaufort has clung to its reputation for intimacy and personal attention. Beaufort Mayor and native son Billy Keyserling says that was just what he needed when he found himself on the fence when it came to his college education. Keyserling always knew becoming a public servant was his destiny. His parents modeled that role during his youth. e question lay in whether the route to his service would be by pursuing a formal education or by immersing himself in the world’s problems, rolling up his shirt sleeves and getting to work. “I thought I would go to Appalachia and work to improve the lives of coal miners and their families. But I decided to come back to Beaufort and think about my future. Continuing with college at USCB that year was really what the doctor ordered.”
Billy Keyserling, 1960’s
e decision to return to his hometown to contemplate his life’s mission was made as he completed his freshman year at the College of Charleston. Keyserling remembers what he felt was lacking from his educational experience, “e College had only 500 or so students at the time, but it had this air of formality. ere was just this distance between the faculty and me.” Keyserling finished his freshman year with respectable grades, but he struggled with learning disabilities. “I was dyslexic and (had) ADHD, but of course they didn’t know what those things were in those days. So I sort of fell into USCB. I thought, ‘OK, I’ve got this learning disability. I’ve made it a year (but)... I don’t know that I want to stay in college’. While I figured it out, USCB was an interim solution.” As it turns out, the year Keyserling spent at USCB proved formative. Its influence on him was rooted in the relationships he established with faculty who became mentors and friends. “Darwin Bashaw was head of the school,” he recalls. “So, you’d go downtown for a cup of coffee, see Darwin and his bunch, go to school and hang out with different people and become friends with the faculty.” Keyserling
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is clear that the personal attention he received on the campus nestled along the banks of the Beaufort River helped him wrestle the power from his learning disabilities.
“I see the University as a partner to grow Beaufort...building on who we are, on our physical beauty through the arts program and on our unique sense of place.” At the end of a successful academic year at USCB, Keyserling decided a formal education was indeed to be part of his future. His sights were set on prestigious Brandeis University in Boston. ere was only one problem. His learning disabilities prevented him from earning the required test scores. at’s when a fearless Billy Keyserling did something that would send chills down the spine of many a college sophomore. He picked up the telephone and dialed the President of Brandeis directly, ready to plead his case. “I said, ‘I’m flying to Boston; I’d like to meet with you.’ So I flew there and I told the president, ‘I’m never going to get in unless you let me in. If you let me in, I’ll do you proud. Just give me a chance.” Keyserling’s wish was granted. He kept his promise, beat the odds and graduated magna cum laude. “ose one-on-one relationships with USCB faculty members had allowed me to adjust the learning model to one that helped me learn and gave me the confidence I needed.” Aer Brandeis, Keyserling went on to earn a master’s degree in public relations at Boston University. e Mayor’s vision for the role of USCB going forward is clear and collaborative “I see the University as a partner with the community to grow Beaufort the way it ought to grow. at means building on who we are, building on our physical beauty through the arts program, building on our unique sense of place…e way to attract people is not to be like someplace else, but to be more of who we are.”
Mayor Billy Keyserling in front of a frieze he help to construct at age 16 – Sandstone building, Historic Beaufort campus
FA C U LT Y P R O F I L E
Lila Meeks: “Everything that Rises Must Converge” Lila Meeks, a Flannery O’Connor scholar, may never have considered how well her favorite author’s title, “Everything at Rises Must Converge,” describes Lila’s own 34 years of service to the University of South Carolina Beaufort. A seemingly chance encounter at a Rotary Club meeting led Darwin Bashaw, the first head of the fledgling branch campus in Beaufort, to hire the wife of the new young lawyer in town to teach an English class. However, Lila’s subsequent career--as teacher, scholar, chief academic officer and advocate of the arts at USCB–demonstrates how one person’s commitment and talent can “rise” and “converge” to benefit an institution and a community. Beginning as a adjunct faculty member, Lila found her abilities were acknowledged and she rose to full-time status, teaching English for seven years. Lila’s entry into academic administration just seemed logical to her colleagues: “At some point, Larry Rowland, our chief academic officer, wanted to go back into the classroom. Several faculty members asked me to consider serving in this role. I said I’d take it for a year.” Little did she know one year of service would extend to 18 years. In this role, Lila shaped the University through its faculty and academic programs. And, she helped to lay the foundation for USCB’s transformation to a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. “e thing that I did that was most significant in those early years was hammering out arrangements with USC Columbia and USC Aiken to offer courses for some baccalaureate degrees taught by our faculty at USCB. For the first time, students could stay here and earn a four-year degree.” Recalling this significant step in the University’s growth in the early ‘80’s brings a smile of satisfaction to her face. Lila shared the community’s vision to earn four year university status for USCB and was an active leader in the campaign: “We worked so hard…e state already had too many universities, but it was our argument that ‘there are none here and there should be ONE in this region.” Aer years of traveling the state with Dean Jane Upshaw and community leaders to share the region’s need and the financial model, the dream was realized in 2002. “It was hard work but it was gratifying,” she recalls. Lila’s talents in “telling the story of USCB” led to another convergence—as she became USCB’s first vice chancellor for advancement. In this issue of the USCB Magazine, she authors the USCB story for us once again (page 6). Since retiring from the senior leadership team at USCB in 2006, Lila has continued to work for USCB’s community outreach group. She supports the Friends of the Festival Series who present the Lowcountry’s premier chamber music performances, the USCB Festival Series. Looking to the future, Lila is enthusiastic about the University’s new arts initiative in Beaufort. “I support it. I’m fascinated to watch it happen and I’m trying to help.” Once again, Lila’s talents and dedication rise and converge with the vision for the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s growth.
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“Starting as an adjunct faculty member was the perfect arrangement for me,” Lila recalls. USCB had only two full-time English faculty members, so Lila taught the full range of English courses offered, beginning with English 101, in evening classes at the Marine Corps Air Station. Lila Meeks (1981)
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S TA F F P R O F I L E
Vince Mesaric: Counselor, Coach and Mentor When Vince Mesaric earned his master’s degree in 1974, he started his career at a small two-year campus, planning to move to a larger institution. Aer a few years of recruiting, admitting, advising, counseling, teaching, coaching, and helping students make the transition to the Columbia campus to finish their degrees, Vince chose to make the University of South Carolina Beaufort his career for 26 years. His physical presence is commanding, but Vince’s conversational style is easy. His northern accent has soened and the pace of conversation—interspersed with humor— moves with southern graciousness. His memories of “parties at the VFW fairgrounds with 12 piece bands and beer served legally to anyone 18 or over…dress up Halloween parties that were just fun...students building floats for the Water Festival parade... inheriting the job of basketball coach from Pat Conroy—and matching his win/loss record…supporting student government presidents’ initiatives, including a tennis team…the coed USC system soball tournament…Sunday evening bowling league with 12/15 teams…leadership retreats…student field trips…the student whose hand got stuck in the candy machine…commencements honoring 10 or 12 graduates for which the faculty wives provided homemade refreshments…the librarian who smoked and played the guitar between student requests for help...the idealism and freshness of each entering class that kept me going…and the return-to-college students who were such an inspiration” are vivid and warm, as are his loyalties to former USCB colleagues and students.
Vince Mesaric remembers USCB as a warm, friendly campus where students “made their own fun.”
Vince can take credit for some of USCB’s accomplishments aer his retirement: “I was recruiting students on Hilton Head and met a young high school math teacher who wanted to teach for the University. I mentioned Jane Upshaw to Dr. Duffy, who hired her.” Subsequently, Dr. Upshaw earned her Ph.D., progressed from the faculty to dean to chancellor, and led USCB to baccalaureate status. Dr. John Duffy was resident director and Dr. Larry Rowland was chief academic officer when Vince joined USCB; they and other members of the “Monday Lunch Bunch” stay in touch today—and support USCB. Vince is a committed fan of Sand Shark baseball. He and his wife Kathy attend the annual University Awards Ceremony to meet the Vince Mesaric Award winner. is honor is given to the “full time faculty or staff member who demonstrates commitment to working with students outside the classroom through active involvement with student organizations and student-sponsored activities.” at’s Vince Mesaric—counselor, coach and student mentor—quite well. Vince Mesaric (far right) and USCB friends “Don’t Drink and Drive” (1985)
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DONOR PROFILE
Heritage Classic Foundation: A Decade of Commitment to USCB
“e Heritage Classic Foundation has been integral to USCB’s development as a baccalaureate university, to the shaping of our of degree programs and to economic development in our region.” – J A N E T. U P S H AW, USCB Chancellor
Charged with serving Lowcountry communities, the University of South Carolina Beaufort has been steadfastly supported by the region in which its history—and its future—are rooted. As USCB commemorates 50 years of service, it is fitting that we recognize a local organization that has supported us for more than a decade. e Heritage Classic Foundation’s generosity and commitment has accelerated the University’s transition from a two year campus to a baccalaureate university. e Heritage Classic Foundation was founded in 1987 to provide financial sponsorship for the Heritage Classic Tournament—at a time when many local citizens wondered if Sea Pines and the golf tournament could survive. Rather than setting up a risk-taking venture that would benefit themselves if successful, a group of generous and far-sighted local businessmen used a non-profit, foundation structure to provide the financial stability, guidance and direction the tournament needed.
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When they were successful, the Heritage Classic Foundation then became the means by which tournament proceeds were re-invested in the community. Since 1987, the Foundation has donated nearly $18.5 million to local charities. THE FOUNDATION’S IMPACT AT USCB e Heritage Classic Foundation’s support of the University of South Carolina Beaufort began over a dozen years ago. One of the first gis funded for a sign on Highway 278 which read, “Future Home of the University of South Carolina Beaufort.” It remained a solitary symbol in a swathe of pine forest and pasture until 2003 when the Hilton Head Gateway campus began to take shape. at first gray wooden sign was then replaced by an impressive brick and wood structure, reflective of the University’s new baccalaureate role and mission.
Last year, the Foundation helped jump-start the Arts Initiative on the Historic Beaufort campus by funding the conversion of two classrooms into art studios. e gi also allowed the University to replace broken or outdated art equipment. e two fully equipped Heritage Classic Foundation studios are vital to launch the bachelor’s degree in studio art in January 2010. In 2006, the Foundation granted funding for the Heritage Classic Foundation Initiative for Student Achievement and Retention. Faculty and staff work groups studied methods to enhance student achievement and persistence to graduation. USCB’s persistence rates rose to 57 percent in 2008 from 48 percent in 2005.
Above le to right: Hilton Head Gateway campus signage; Heritage When the Hargray building opened in 2004, the FoundaClassic Foundation tion granted funding to equip the lecture hall with state Hall; Library of the art technology, ensuring that USCB students and collection cases; community audiences would have excellent instructional Initiative for Student Achievement delivery systems. e Heritage Classic Foundation Hall Program; USCB also displays over thirty prints of original art depicting Athletics Van; the golf tournament winners and images. Heritage Classic Foundation Art Significant Foundation leadership gis to USCB also Studio in the include a van to provide transportation between camPerforming Art puses and to athletic events; a gi to establish an endowed Center, Beaufort
With the opening of the new library on the Hilton Head Gateway campus, the Foundation granted funding for the purchase and installation of sealed, protective display cases. By showcasing library collection highlights, rare
Chair of Environmental Health Science; and funding to bring USCB’s library collection to the level appropriate for a baccalaureate university. Across both campuses of USCB, the teaching and learning environment has been shaped and enhanced by the work of the Foundation.
books and artifacts, the cases enliven student learning and engage community visitors.
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In Appreciation Our Community Supporters is annual report expresses our sincere thanks to our friends and supporters in the community who give their time, resources and expertise to further the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s mission in the Lowcountry.
BEAUFORT/JASPER HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION
John McKenzie Chairman Thomas Johnson Vice Chairman Jane Kiser Secretary Earle Holley Treasurer LaVerne Davis Vernita Dore Simon Fraser Tim Pearce Lawrence Rowland Andrea Smallwood Ex-Officio Jane T. Upshaw, Chancellor
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION
Senator Tom Davis Senator Clementa Pinckney Representative Curtis Brantley Representative Richard Chalk, Jr. Representative Shannon Erickson Representative William Herbkersman Representative Kenneth Hodges
BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL
PARTNERSHIP BOARD
Weston Newton Chairman Paul Sommerville Vice-Chairman Steven Baer Rick Caporale Gerald Dawson Brian Flewelling Herbert Glaze William McBride Stewart Rodman Jerry Stewart Laura Von Harten
Paula Bethea John Brinkley Eric Esquivel Simon Fraser Jennifer Green William Hair Brantley Harvey George Hood Robert Horning Thomas Johnson William Jones Elizabeth Lamkin Bonnie Lowrey Douglas Matney John McKenzie William Miles Dennis Montgomery Rose Newton Robin Perella John Reed William Robinson Martin Sauls John Wigington
JASPER COUNTY COUNCIL
Dr. George Hood, Chairman LeRoy Blackshear, Vice Chairman Henry Etheridge Rev. Samuel Gregory Hubert Tyler
Ex-Officio Jane T. Upshaw, Chancellor Lynn W. McGee, Vice Chancellor of Advancement
DONOR RECOGNITION 2008-2009 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEAUFORT
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DONOR RECOGNITION 2008-2009
In Appreciation Our Donors e work of the University of South Carolina Beaufort is made possible by the combined efforts of individuals, businesses, foundations, government leaders and organizations that support the university’s mission of building upon regional strengths and meeting regional needs through teaching, research and public service. In partnership with you, our donors, we are creating a distinctive baccalaureate institution in the University of South Carolina system.ank you for your gi.
Donors $1,000,000 and Above Bernard Osher Foundation Donors $100,000 to $249,000 Beaufort Memorial Hospital Donors $10,000 to $99,999 Heritage Classic Foundation Anonymous Anonymous Mr. Mark Jicha Mr. Jon Charles Jicha Loggerhead South Associates, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Lortz Dr. and Mrs. Jack B. McConnell Dr. Jane T. Upshaw and Mr. G. Thomas Upshaw Donors $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. and Mrs. H. Laurance Fuller The Hobbs Foundation Dr. Charles H. Keith Low Country Human Resource Association Palmetto Electric Cooperative, Inc. Mrs. Bailey Symington Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Tenney HL Thompson Family Foundation Donors $2,500 to $4,999 Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Colden Battey, Jr. Beaufort Charities Beaufort Water Festival
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce Mr. Charlie Lee Mr. and Mrs. John T. Mahoney Mrs. Rose Y. Mark Mr. and Mrs. Wayne C. Reynolds D. L. Scurry Foundation SCBT Donors $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. and Mrs. William Agnew American Institute of Food and Wine Hilton Head Island Chapter Mr. and Mrs. William R. Barrett, Jr. Mrs. Margaret C. Bashaw Mr. and Mrs. Austin Buck Mr. Thomas Cable, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Childs Choate Construction Co. Cooperative Electric Energy Dr. Carl P. Eby Mr. and Mrs. Dennis O. Green Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lee Mrs. Bonnie Lowrey and Mr. Pierce Lowrey Dr. and Mrs. W. Brem Mayer Mr. and Mrs. W. Wallace McDowell, Jr. Dr. Lynn W. McGee and Mr. David L. McGee Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Oliver Dr. and Mrs. H. Timberlake Pearce Ms. Ann Percival
Prudential Foundation The Sea Island Rotary Club Shelco Incorporated Ms. Marjorie M. von Stade Mr. and Mrs. Landon K. Thorne III Trinity United Methodist Church Vortex Foundation Ms. Barbara L. Welch Mr. and Mrs. Millard Tom Wilson Donors $500 to $999 Ms. Ann R. Baruch Beaufort County Historical Society Mr. and Mrs. William Berne Mr. and Mrs. William L. Bethea, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Black Mr. and Mrs. William Bonneville CRD of Hilton Head Cool Pak LLC Mr. and Mrs. Henry Driessen,Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Fryer Hampton Lake, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hirsch Mr. Herbert W. Jarvis Mr. and Mrs. Paul Jones Harriet and Herbert Keyserling Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Pat McGarity Mrs. Lila N. Meeks Mr. and Mrs. Bo Mohr Mr. and Mrs. James Moss Mr. John Petrillo Reed Development Mr. and Mrs. John Runnette
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Schaller Mr. and Mrs. Marion Roberts Simmons IV Barbara Thomas and Thomas A. Gasparini Mr. and Mrs. Spike Thorne Mr. Steven D. Wimberley Mrs. Cynthia Warrick and Mr. John Folts Donors $250 to$499 Mr. Joseph Barr Ms. Sheree Binder Mr. Larry Brown Mr. and Mrs. John Cartwright Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dunlap Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Eidt Mr. and Mrs. Bill Fox Mr. and Mrs. Jim Gibson Gaithersburg Equipment Greenline Architecture Mr. and Mrs. Robert Googins Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Haist Mr. Shaun A. Hardimon Mr. and Mrs. Robert Horning Mr. and Mrs. David C. House Ms. Twyliah H. Kerr Mr. Kevin King John & Karen McCormick Foundation Mr. Mark McDonald Mr. Bruce Milligan Elizabeth N. Muench Nimmer Turf In Memory of Jimmy Nunnery Ocean Woods Landscaping Ms. Gloria Otley Palmetto Economic Development Corporation
Mr. Bert Reid Mr. Terry Rohlfing Ms. Nancy Scheider Mr. Richard Sebastian Ms. Donna M. Sprout Mr. Mark Solow Mr. Albert Thiess Mr. Mike Thomas Mr. Richard Toore Mr. Harvey Varnet Mr. Gary Whitehead Mr. Timothy Wiebe Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wilson Mr. Tom Wolever Donors $100 to $249 Mr. and Mrs. W. Mizzell Alexander Advantage Building Corporation Dr. and Mrs. Alex F. Althausen Betty Anderson and Associates Mrs. Pat Ashton and Mr. Bob Steinmetz Atlantic Bank and Trust The Honorable Karl M. Becker and Mrs. Becker Ms. Colleen Callahan Mr. and Mrs. Roger Coe Mr. and Mrs. Richard DeLong Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard C. Endler Mr. and Mrs. Eric H. Esquivel Mr. and Mrs. Scrib Fauver Mr. J. Simon Fraser Mr. and Mrs. George E. Gayles Mr. and Mrs. D.C. Gilley Dr. and Mrs. John Gray Mr. and Mrs. Steve Greenberger Mr. and Mrs. William Hays Mr. and Mrs. Mark Heles Dr. Robert J. Hohman
Ms. Hilda Holstein Dr. Akira Iwasa Junior League of Savannah Hilton Head Island Sustainers Ms. Jane Levitan Mr. John Levitan Mr. and Mrs. Edward Like Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mitchell Ms. Sally H. Mitchell Mr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Mix Dr. Martha A. Moriarty Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Nagy Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Namero Mr. and Mrs. Bill Nettles Dr. Douglas Alan Oblander Ms. Nancy Pratt Dr. Blanche L. Premo-Hopkins Dr. Melanie G. Pulaski Mr. and Mrs. Carl Raichle Mr. Howard L. Ramsey Mr. Jerry Reeves Mr. Kevin Ryan Dr. John Salazar Mr. Phillp N. Sanford Ms. Theresa L. Scheetz Lt. Col and Mrs. William Sherman Ms. June Siegmund Mr. and Mrs. Richard N.P. Stewart Mr. and Mrs. Mark Thomas Mrs. Kate Torborg Mr. John Vann Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Viverette, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce A. Wager Ms. Mary Whisonant Ms. Beth Whitney Dr. Susan C. Williams Ms. Linda Wolever Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Zeiss
is list represents all donors who have contributed gis of $100 or more during the last fiscal year, July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Please contact Colleen Callahan or MJ Simmons in the Development office at 843.208.8258 or gis@uscb.edu if you identify an error or omission in this listing. 24
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEAUFORT
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DONOR RECOGNITION 2008-2009
Foundation Awards and External Funding 2008-2009 Town of Bluon: Water quality laboratory. D. Alan Warren. $325,000. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control: Statistical Analysis of Body Mass Index (BMI) Data on 3rd, 5th and 8th Grade Students in the Beaufort and Jasper County School Districts. D. Alan Warren. $4,000. Beaufort County. USC Beaufort Port Study. John Salazar. $15,325. Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association: Customer Service Training for the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association. John Salazar. $1,750 Beaufort Jasper Comprehensive Health Services/March of Dimes. Together for Beaufort Adequacy of Prenatal Care Coalition - Las Promotoras for the Lowcountry. Lynn Mulkey. $40,000 USC Research Foundation. MGS: Eyewitness Identifications: Cues to Accuracy. Jennifer Beaudry. $3,000. USC Research Foundation. ROP: e misinformation effect in eyewitness identifications: An examination of source, plausibility, and warning. Jennifer Beaudry. $10,000. Heritage Classic Foundation. e Heritage Classic Foundation Studio of Art. Colleen Callahan. $35,000.
Our community so values higher education that it founded a college in 1795 and lobbied for a branch campus of USC in 1959. Our region advocated for baccalaureate status in 2002, provides a major portion of our funding and challenges USCB to achieve more each year for our students, for the communities we serve and for the economic future and quality of life of the Lowcountry.
Golf Tournament With appreciation for their generous support of the Third Annual Sand Shark Athletics Golf Tournament:
Platinum Sponsor The Heritage Classic Foundation Gold Sponsor Hargray Communications Palmetto Electric
Silver Sponsor Chartwells Cleland Site Prep Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Cummings Corporation Jim Feree Gulfstream Okonite Reed Development/Hampton Lake Shelco
In-Kind Donation Coca-Cola
More than $40,000 raised to fund athletics and athletic scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year.
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Golden Julee flections My own life has been intricately interwoven into the fabric of USCB over the last 26 years. And so it is with sincere personal appreciation that I remember the many, many friends and colleagues who have built, touched, changed and directed this University. Without each of you, USCB would not have come this far and only with each of you will we meet the challenges and opportunities ahead. Please stay in touch, encourage qualified students to aim for baccalaureate degrees, advocate for higher education, and work as a friend-raiser and fund-raiser for USCB. ank you for your support.
Jane T. Upshaw Chancellor University of South Carolina Beaufort