Published: December 17, 2020; Updated: December 17, 2020
By Dana Woodward, [email protected]
The university’s Board of Trustees met Tuesday (December 15), as well as several board committees. Here is a summary of the actions taken by the board.
Academic programs added, modified
The Student Excellence and Student Experience committee recommended, and the entire board approved, the addition of the following degree programs:
- Bachelor of Music Industry Studies
- BA in Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- MA Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- MSN in nurse education
- Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education
- Ph.D. in Psychology
- Ph.D. in computer science
- Bachelor of Civil Engineering Diploma
- Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering
- Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, Double Diploma
- MPH Dual Degree with Nanjing Medical University
- MHA Dual Degree with Nanjing Medical University
- Delivers 100 percent online BS in Integrated Information Technology
- Delivers 100 percent online BA in Interdisciplinary Studies
Program changes for M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology, M.Ed. and MAT in Special Education; an MBA / Pharm.D. the degree of combination and the degree of MD were approved, as well as the change of name from the Accelerated MBA to a one-year MBA; the Advanced Postgraduate Certificate in Librarianship and Information Science to the Specialized Study Certificate in Information Science; and the establishment of the new Cardiovascular Translational Research Center.
The Board approves contracts, leases and resolutions
The governance committee, followed by the full board, approved a contract between the USC Development Foundation and the School of Music for the rental of Greene Street United Methodist Church at 1100 Greene St., and a contract between the USC Educational Foundation and the Faculty of Engineering and Computing for the property at 1000 Catawba St. which serves as the McNair Center labs.
The following contracts were also approved:
- a new agreement with Pepsi Beverage Co. to be the main supplier of beverages for bookstore and restaurant operations until 2023, which does not cover vending machines on campus or rights to serve on sports facilities;
- transferring university insurance money to the USC Educational Foundation to complete the demolition of the Pritchard Island Research Center;
- a rental agreement with the Holiday Inn for 90 rooms from December 30 to March 1, to be used for potential quarantine and isolation of students with a positive test or exposed to COVID-19;
- a visiting student agreement between Lady Margaret Hall College at the University of Oxford and the Darla Moore School of Business, in which two international business students per year will study at Oxford;
- the purchase of two pieces of equipment for the genomic diagnostic laboratory at the Illumina Faculty of Pharmacy for SAFE testing purposes;
- a memorandum of understanding between Lexington County School District 1 and the College of Education to help address the shortage of principals and administrators, in which the university will offer M.Ed. in Educational Administration for qualified teachers and the school district will pay a flat fee for a group of 20 participants;
- a rental agreement between the National Resource Center First Year Experience and Students in Transition and the Hyatt Regency Seattle, which moves the previously approved conference from 2021 to 2026 due to COVID-19 cancellations;
- a donation agreement for the University Libraries in which John and Margaret Downs donate a collection of more than 400 memorabilia items, including 26 guitars, from the rock band KISS to enhance the Libraries’ popular music collections;
- an amendment to the Charles S. and Donna H. Bryan Library of Health Sciences Gift Nomenclature Agreement to allow payments to cease until the ground is broken if construction of the Bull Street health science facility has not started by 2024
- a donation agreement between Joey Rose, LLC and Gamecock Athletics, which includes donating a horse called Cracker Jack for the equestrian team to use in the competition;
- 10 Architectural Services Undefined Quantity Contracts for professional services to provide planning and design services on a strictly controlled basis, when requested and as required by the Boudreaux Group, FWA Group, Garvin Design Group, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood (GMC), Associates GMK, Inc., Jumper Carter Sease, POND, Quackenbush Architects + Planners, Stevens & Wilkinson and Watson Tate Savory;
- a five-year employment contract to hire new football coach Shane Beamer.
The committee and board also adopted a US Department of Energy resolution that excludes all members of the Board of Trustees, except the president and vice president, from fulfilling safety authorization requirements related to a project at the Nuclear Power Plant. Savannah River, which also excludes them from receiving classified information.
Additional board actions
During the meeting, the Board of Trustees took action on a list of items. They approved the minutes of the committee and board meetings in 2020, the Finance and Infrastructure committee agenda of November 13 and the updated mission statements from USC Aiken, USC Beaufort and USC Upstate. Approval was also granted for the implementation of fines for student non-compliance with the mandatory spring 2021 testing program.
The board also approved personnel issues related to honorary academic degrees, stability and promotion, as well as changes to the Faculty Handbook to clarify the language surrounding the inclusion of faculty on the university’s budget committees.
Curator Richard A. Jones Jr. was elected to the South Carolina Research Foundation, and Jeff Spears was elected to the unexpired term in the second judicial district of the university’s Visitors Council.
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Topics: University Leadership