South Carolina has a diverse higher education system with 17 public colleges and universities (including 4 two-year regional campuses of the University of South Carolina), and 21 private colleges and universities, including 2 two-year institutions. The state’s 8 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) include 1 public, 5 private, 1 two-year community, and 1 technical college. The SC Technical College System is comprised of 16 campuses with average minority enrollment of >36%; all are regionally accredited by SACS to award two-year associate degrees.
The SC EPSCoR/IDeA Program is supporting new education programs that increase diversity across institutions, disciplines, and individuals. Through the RII Track-1 (The SC Project) mechanism, new 2+2 degree programs will be developed between Claflin University and Greenville Tech, as well as Voorhees College and Denmark Tech. These programs will offer greater access to 4-year degrees to a larger portion of the State's population. A new baccalaureate degree program is being developed at the University of South Carolina Beaufort in computational sciences, and a new masters degree program is being developed in biorobotics and biofabrication at South Carolina State University.
Other diversity initiatives by SC EPSCoR/IDeA include:
The Innovative Integration Board (IIB) is designed to facilitate the coordination and communication among the State's diversity programs. Many of the State's institutions already have diversity initiatives, including the Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) program, Advanced Technological Education (ATE) programs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Programs (HBCU-UP), Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Programs (PREP), a South East Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (SEAGEP), Initiatives for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) programs, and Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) programs. The IIB will identify and pursue ways to leverage resources that bridge SC’s minority serving programs and EPSCoR programs. The Board will increase communication among the programs’ leadership thereby creating new multidisciplinary opportunities for a diverse group of future scientists.
Key stakeholders met January 11, 2010 to develop a strategic plan for diversity to guide the IIB in its mission. These stakeholders also identified members to serve on the board.
A Strategic Plan to Increase the Diversity of Participation in STEM Higher Education and Research in South Carolina (pdf, last revised: February 5, 2010)
The Scientific Advocate Network (SAN) program is an outreach program that aims to increase diversity among South Carolina’s faculty in STEM disciplines. The Scientific Advocate Network is a tool for institutions to increase candidate pools for technical staff, postdoctoral fellow, and tenure-track faculty positions. Institutions of higher education in South Carolina can propose one or more of the following activities:
Track-1:
Track-2:
More information, such as eligibility and the process for application, is available on the SAN Funding Page.
The Ernest E. Just Symposium celebrates the career and scientific achievements of an internationally recognized African-American developmental biologist born in Charleston in 1883. It is a forum to encourage minority students to pursue scientific research careers through discussions of Dr. Just’s career and presentations by leading scientists and educators. It attracts accomplished African-American and other diverse scientists who serve as role models, speakers and future collaborators. Undergraduate student attendees have the opportunity to meet with admissions coordinators from SC colleges and universities with STEM graduate programs, including MUSC, USC, Clemson, Claflin, Furman and Winthrop University.
The
Tenth Annual
Ernest E. Just Scientific Symposium was held
February 26, 2010.