Oct. 7, 2013 USC Times

University of South Carolina

uscTIMES

September 20, 2012

A publication for faculty, staff and friends of the university

USC Times

Stories, snippets & scenes from the

University of South Carolina.

Aiken

Aik

en /

Beaufort

Beau

fort /

Colum

Columbia

Lancaster

b i a / L a n ca s t e r / S

al

Salkehatchie

tc h i keha

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Sumter

/ Un mt e r

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the inside

Upstate

at e 1 0/7/2 013 i o n / U p st

Why leadership?

Walk through the bustling second floor of the Russell House next spring, and it won’t be hard to spot construction of the new Student Leadership and Service Center.

The center’s high-profile location is symbolic of USC’s commitment to making leadership development one of the cornerstones of a Carolina education.

Launch of the Carolina Leadership Initiative and USC Connect, along with continued support of other leadership development programs, is further evidence of the university’s resolve.

Connecting the dots: leadership with distinction

U

ndergraduates wanting to demonstrate leadership skills to prospective employers or to graduate school admissions committees can soon do so through the new Graduation with Leadership Distinction pioneered by USC Connect in collaboration with the Carolina Leadership Initiative.

The distinction, which will begin appearing on transcripts in 2014,

recognizes those who have shown leadership in or beyond the class-

room in one of four USC Connect pathways — community service, global learning, professional and civic engagement or research — and is open to students seeking bachelor’s or associate’s degrees at the Columbia or regional campuses.

“We’re preparing students to be leaders — people who are knowledgeable about their fields and who can apply what they have learned to new contexts,” says Irma Van Scoy, executive director of USC Connect. “The Graduation with Leadership Distinction, which is

So why all the emphasis on student leadership?

“We want our graduates to become thought leaders, to have organizational savvy and an entrepreneurial mindset,” said Dennis Pruitt, USC’s vice provost and vice president for student affairs. “The best way for them to achieve that is to engage in beyondthe-classroom experiences that provide opportunities to acquire leadership and related skills such as adaptability, resiliency, emotional intelligence and teamwork.”

Gaining leadership and other lifelong learning abilities will enable students not only to be employed when they graduate but also to succeed in the future in job paths that don’t yet exist, Pruitt said.

“President Pastides has motivated a lot of people on campus to put resources into leadership development. Our students will experience the benefits of that for years to come,” he said.

—Chris Horn

open to all students, was built to be consistent with that.”

Interested students must maintain a 3.0 GPA, complete appropriate coursework and fulfill “core experience” requirements related to a specific pathway (for example, 300 hours of community service). But while attaining the distinction requires focus and dedication, leadership distinction itself is broadly defined.

“We’re not only talking about leadership in terms of government or business,” Van Scoy says. “We have a broad definition of leadership. It could be leadership in a field such as geography or mathematics. Making a difference in any area requires leadership.”

— Craig Brandhorst

“

“We are the flagship university. Leadership walks hand-inhand with that responsibility. We must lead, and that’s Dr. Pastides’ vision for the university – that we lead and engage.

As a university, it’s our responsibility to encourage our students to become better individuals. Part of that involves encouraging our students to be more civic-minded, to engage more. And leadership can be part of that. It’s our fundamental responsibility to expose our students to it.”

— Kirk Randazzo, director of the Carolina Leadership Initiative, an organization that promotes leadership development on campus and helps create new leadership projects.

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University of south carolina

Peer leaders At Carolina, peer leaders are undergraduate students who have been selected and trained to offer educational services to their peers.

Where They Live

Peer leadership groups

40% on-campus 60% off-campus

Gender

77% female

23% male

Helping nurses reach their potential

Class standing

USC’s mission to promote leadership does not begin and end with

2.69% freshman

traditional students. In fact, there are many efforts to help pro-

30.77% sophomore 37.31% junior 26.54% senior 2.69% fifth year

fessionals already working in the field to reach for the mantle of

sophomore

leadership.

Take USC’s Center for Nursing Leadership, which is preparing nurses to assume key roles in the rapidly changing health care system. Staff work with key stakeholders across the state to increase the number of

junior

senior

nurses with baccalaureate and higher degrees and encourage them to step up to leadership positions on interdisciplinary health care teams.

“The leadership abilities of nurses have historically been vastly underestimated,” said Peggy Hewlett, the center’s director. “We have certainly increased the leadership potential within the profession, but we need to step it up.”

Compensation

Part of the urgency to help nurses comes from the national Patient

49% paid/stipend

26% course credit 17% reduction in housing costs

34% no compensation

5% other

Protection and Affordable Care Act, or health care reform, that is expected to increase demand for health services.

“This is a time to be building leadership within the profession, from the bedside to the board room,” Hewlett said. “I realized as a young nurse the unique expertise nurses bring to the table — and it’s been my personal mission to help every nurse reach his or her full potential.”

—Jeff Stensland

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

BY FRENCHE BREWER

The buzz term “leaning in” has triggered new debates about women and working mothers in the workplace. But, the label is nothing new to Beth Watson, director of the prestigious Washington Semester Internship Program and other internship programs out of the South Carolina Honors College.

Watson, a 12-year board member and vice chair of the Lexington-Richland School District Five Board of Trustees, was balancing an upwardly mobile career and motherhood in 1994 when she decided to get involved with her children’s school committees, not realizing her volunteerism in the elementary school and district would propel her to a position of leadership.

“I was inspired to run

“I have a core value of

for office after being asked to chair a school bond referendum cam-

wanting what is best

paign,” Watson says. “I

for the greater good”

district and bring about

knew that I could be a strong advocate for the positive change for our students.”

Watson’s success as a public servant gets to a

core value that’s a guiding principle in her life.

“I have a core value of wanting what is best for the greater good. I can’t ignore this trait, even when it would be easier to do so,” she says. “I stand up for what I believe, step forward to challenge the status quo and acknowledge the contributions of others in a shared venture.”

Watson is also passionate about her inherent belief in the value of education — how it can impact an individual student and the positive influence it

has on society. As director of the Washington semester internship program at USC, she recruits the best and brightest students from all colleges and universities across the state to work and take classes in the nation’s capital.

Because she places students in the offices of elected officials and agencies that require a security clearance and in organizations accountable to the public, Watson says it’s important that the candidates demonstrate strong leadership skills.

“It is important that the students have the maturity to succeed in their internship and the integrity to favorably represent themselves and the university,” Watson says.

USC Times 10/7/2013

Teaching the next generation

S ystemwide

McCarthy

When Leah McClimans was a 20-something professional working in hospitals, she was terrified of being a leader. But now, she’s teaching her leadership is important.

“I did not want to be a leader,” she says.

“When I was 29, the idea of taking a seat at the table was really scary. And now, I want

Tara Fetemie, senior biology instructor at USC Union who teaches a women’s and gender studies course and leads through service

to be at the head of the table.”

She wants to teach her students to take a seat at the table because, she says, improving

Q

&

By Liz

students how to become leaders and why

3

A

Tell us about your leadership outside the classroom.

I am the faculty adviser for the Men and Women on a Mis-

patient care requires ethical leaders.

sion and the African-American Student Association student

“I see students who are going to be working in hos-

groups. We sponsor activities throughout the campus that

pitals and they have to be leaders. If they can’t do this, if they

promote healthy nutrition and healthier behaviors, particu-

can’t become leaders — not doctors — in hospitals, we won’t be getting the most out

larly with respect to sexual health. We also raise awareness

of them that we can,” she says. “Because I was in hospitals and I saw how important

regarding domestic violence issues.

leadership is, I really want my students who are going to become doctors to see this.”

McClimans, a philosophy professor, teaches a health care ethics class that focuses on the impact on policy of having too few women and minorities in leadership roles.

She also teaches a medical ethics

“it’s less about blazing

a trail and more about teamwork”

class, which builds leadership skills through ethics case consultation.

The Carolina Leadership Initiative and the Center for Teaching Excellence sponsor both classes.

Looking back, McClimans says she wishes someone had told

her what leadership was really about.

“Someone should have said to me that being a leader didn’t mean I had to know what I was doing,” says Mc-

Climans. “I thought that being a leader meant being certain of what I wanted and knowing the right thing to do.”

Now she sees leadership as an important part of being a good citizen.

“I think it’s about taking responsibility for your actions,” she says. “It is in some ways about having a vision, but it’s less about blazing a trail and more about teamwork.”

In her classes she likes to teach leadership as a hands-on style class, forgoing a lec-

I have been fortunate to receive various grants during the past three years enabling me to educate students and the local community about unplanned pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted infections.

What’s your teaching philosophy? How does your idea of “leadership” fit into it?

I always keep in mind that our students come from very diverse backgrounds, both socioeconomically and academically. Because of this, they do tend to have different learning styles, and therefore, I make a conscious effort to use diverse approaches in teaching. Also, to help students understand how the subject matter is relevant to their everyday lives, I try to bring news relating to the subject matter I am teaching into the classroom through articles, short videos, etc.

What brings you back every day?

My love for teaching brings me back to campus every day. I look forward to teaching my students every day, and hope that I am making a difference in their lives by teaching and showing how much I care for their success.

ture to create open dialogue. Last year, her medical ethics class created leaders by having health care ethics committees discuss cases. The students had to become leaders.

“You don’t teach it by lecturing. I just let them do it,” she says. “From the first day to the last day they become functioning teams where the leaders develop skills about how to talk to the team and get them to function properly. It’s really amazing to watch.”

leadership minor plays major role

A spring break trip to Washington changed

SYSTEM NEWS USC Aiken USC Aiken was ranked among the top three public regional colleges in the South in the 2014 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” guide for the 16th consecutive year.

USC Beaufort Musician Eric Hutchinson performed at USCB’s inaugural

Ian McIntyre’s life — and his future path.

Homecoming Concert.

The senior political science major, will be

USC Lancaster

among the first USC students to earn a minor in leadership when he graduates in May. As a student in Kirk Randazzo’s politics of leadership class, he had the opportunity to visit Washington and meet with leaders from institutions like the

The Native American Studies Center named galleries in honor of Duke Energy, the City of Lancaster and benefactor Lindsay Pettus.

USC Salkehatchie

National Science Foundation, the Court of Appeals and the House of Representatives.

The Carolina Theatre celebrated its grand opening.

“I had the opportunity to speak with some fantastic leaders of our country,” said

USC Sumter

McIntyre, who returned to Columbia and turned his interest in politics into a leadership position with the College Republicans.

A visit by USC trustee and alumnus William Hubbard to the leadership class turned into an internship opportunity for McIntyre with the Nelson Mullins law firm. He now plans to attend law school and pursue a career in corporate law.

“My experiences started with that leadership class,” he said. “As a leadership minor, beyond having a certificate, I’ll have skills others won’t have. I’ve had classes that they haven’t had, classes that have taught me what it takes to be a leader and how to make quick and hard decisions. It’s something that sets me apart from people without that experience.”

—Megan Sexton

USC Sumter unveiled its new Fire Ant mascot and logo.

USC Union USC Union achieved record freshman class enrollment.

USC Upstate The Mary Black School of Nursing will begin offering a master’s degree with a concentration for a clinical nurse leader in fall 2014.

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University of south carolina

Making the most of college

BY JEFF STENSLAND

The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce has announced its Leadership Columbia Class

One attribute of true leadership, experts say, is having

stint as a Capstone resident mentor during his sopho-

of 2014. USC faculty and staff

the confidence to break away from life’s conventional,

more and junior years. He spent many nights coaching,

members Hilary Dyer Brannon,

easy paths. Coy Gibson, a senior political science major

reassuring — and occasionally intervening — when

Kirk Randazzo, Mary Elizabeth

at USC, wouldn’t have it any other way.

college life seemed overwhelming to some of the 40

Sewell and Lori Anna Varnadoe are

freshmen assigned to him each year.

among 59 leaders in the 41st class

While many students drift through college, Gibson

“Housing does a great job training our RMs, and

decided early on to make the most of his experience.

of Leadership Columbia, which is

He says his exposure to USC’s Leadership Initiative in

you never know what you’re going to encounter. You

designed to inspire current and

his sophomore year planted the seeds for wanting to

have to stand in front of all these freshmen and be able

future leaders to hone skills that

to have the confidence to explain what college is like

will benefit the city and greater

and that you’re there for them during that transition,”

community.

“Housing does a great job training our RMs, and you

he says.

Fresh from spending this summer interning at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Gibson is now in

never know what you're going to encounter” do something differ-

“As a University 101 instructor, I talk with my students about the

Brazil, where he’s learning Portuguese as part

importance of being an active

of a study abroad program. In Amsterdam,

member of not only the Carolina

Gibson helped organize the South Carolina leg

community, but the Columbia com-

of an international Anne Frank touring exhibit,

munity as well. I want to be an ex-

which will make a stop at his high school alma

ample to my students, and I know

mater in Kershaw County.

that through Leadership Columbia,

Gibson plans on returning for one more semester

I will not only be exposed to the

ent. He credits Kirk

as a resident mentor when he returns from Brazil. After

needs of the community and ways

Randazzo’s leader-

his graduation in May, he’s not sure what’s next, but is

that I can help but also the great

ship class for his successful run for Student Govern-

leaning toward a “gap year” spent traveling across the

opportunities the city has to offer.”

ment treasurer in 2012.

United States.

— Mary Elizabeth Sewell, associate

“You try to go into every class open minded, but

“I think part of being a leader is knowing when it’s

that class was different. I took so many notes that

time to step up, and knowing when it’s time to take a

my hand ached,” he says. “We learned how to give

break, step back and go learn something new,” he says.

speeches, how to organize groups, bring people to-

“People forget what’s in their own backyards. We tend

gether and make teams work.

to get caught in these loops, and when you get out of

Those skills were especially useful during Gibson’s

director, University 101 — Marcie Nelson

them, really cool things can happen.”

5 QUESTIONS with …

uscTIMES

Jennifer Keup, director of the National Resource Center for The FirstYear Experience and Students in Transition

Vol. 24, No.15 Oct. 7, 2013

1

What does the center do?

Born out of the success of the University 101 program, the center was established in 1986 and has grown to become the trusted expert and international leader for all postsecondary transitions. The center supports a network of higher education professionals in their work to improve student learning and transitions through professional development events, a catalog of publications, a research agenda, and online communication and resource-sharing channels.

2 3 4 5

Why is the first year so important?

For traditionally aged students, it represents the first stage of adulthood and independence. For adult students, it is an investment in a new phase of their lives. The first year of college is an opportunity to facilitate learning, foster development and set the precedent for success in college and beyond.

Why is there a focus on other student transitions?

The first year is only one of the critical junctures in the educational pipeline. Every transition that a student experiences — the first and sophomore years, transfer and new graduate student experiences, degree completion — represents an important opportunity for student learning and development.

What values does the center represent as a leader in higher education?

The center relies on five core commitments: 1) a belief in the power and potential of student transitions, 2) a commitment to advance and support the connection between research and practice,

USC Times is published 20 times a year for the faculty and staff of the University 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 and Jeff Stensland Photographer: Kim Truett To reach us: 803-777-2848 or lizmccarthy@sc.edu Campus correspondents: Patti McGrath, Aiken Candace Brasseur, Beaufort Shana Dry, Lancaster Jane Brewer, Salkehatchie Misty Hatfield, Sumter Tammy Whaley, Upstate Jay Darby, Palmetto College 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.

3) the inclusion of diverse viewpoints in the dialogue on transitions, 4) to serve as a model in our field, and 5) a dedication to lifelong learning.

What are the tenets of your leadership philosophy?

I have based my leadership philosophy on the principles of authenticity, equity, accountability, excellence, innovation and collaboration, when I strive to represent in my service to the organization and my decisions as a leader.

Submissions: Did you know you can submit photos, stories or ideas for future issues of USC Times? Share your story by emailing or calling Liz McCarthy at lizmccarthy@sc.edu, 803-777-2848