The university community began to Reimagine Upstate in the fall of 2021 to elevate USC Upstate to greater heights of service and influence. With that energy infusing our work, I am pleased to say that 2022 was a great year!First, the university is financially sound because of campus-wide efforts to right-size our budget and substantial new support from the South Carolina General Assembly, which appropriated $3.4 million for tuition mitigation, a library addition totaling $21 million, and $3 million for deferred maintenance at USC Upstate. Investments in the university are investments in the future of the state: 85% of USC Upstate alumni live and work in South Carolina, and the university generates a $500 million economic impact.
Our academic program is unsurpassed for excellence! USC Upstate was reaccredited in March with no recommendations by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the toughest regional accrediting body in the nation. This wonderful outcome demonstrates the quality and leadership of our exceptional faculty and staff.
New or recently added features of our academic program detailed in these pages include a new Translation and Interpretation minor, the only one in South Carolina to teach both skills to undergraduates; the return of our Study Abroad program with a new partnership that expands students’ choices; and the exciting new University Crime Analysis Center.
As we seek to provide an “education for all that inspires a thriving and just society,” 2022 saw us create new programs to make the university more accessible. The Spartanburg Promise Scholars Program offers debt-free bachelor’s degree programs for up to 90 Spartanburg County-area high school graduates; the South Carolina Promise Scholarship creates a bridge for students from the Hope Scholarship as freshmen to the Life Scholarship as sophomores; and the Aspire Scholarship assists students whose finances might keep them from returning to school without extra help.
New scholarships have also been established by a grant from the National Science Foundation and gifts from Prisma Health and Denny’s Corp. And Amazon has selected USC Upstate as a partner in its Career Choice program, which pays tuition for its employees to earn a degree or learn new skills at the university.
If that’s not exciting enough, the rising enthusiasm for the university was on full display as thousands of USC Upstate fans descended on downtown Spartanburg for Morgan Square Madness, the tipoff of the new basketball season, and our reimagined Family Weekend.
I am thrilled to be part of the USC Upstate community and look forward to an even more exciting 2023. Thank you for all you do for our students. Go Spartans!
Bennie L. Harris, Ph.D.
Chancellor