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Date Published: January 23, 2004
USC Sumter supporters determined
By KRISTA PIERCE
Item Staff Writer
kristap@theitem.com
Gov. Mark Sanford’s comments in the State of the State address regarding his plan to veto the South Carolina Life Sciences Act because of an attached amendment that would grant four-year status to the University of South Carolina Sumter have left supporters of the plan more determined to make sure it comes to fruition.
Challenging the notion that allowing USC Sumter to grant four-year degrees would be costly for the state, Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, cited a transition plan produced by USC that shows the change would pay for itself because of projected enrollment and tuition increases.
“The bottom line is it will be cash positive for the university,” he said, adding the estimated increase in enrollment used to formulate revenue projections was very conservative.
The plan, which was revised last month, estimates the total expense for the change at about $5.4 million through fiscal year 2009-10. The total revenue projected for that period comes to more than $6.2 million, more than enough to cover the cost of the transition to four-year status. Those estimates do not include any revenue generated through local efforts. Sumter County has already pledged $250,000 to support the transition.
USC Sumter, which has a full-time enrollment of about 760 students and more than 500 part-time students, already offers six bachelor’s degrees through other schools in the USC system. On average, 53 students per year earn bachelor’s degrees through the school’s collaborative efforts with the state’s four-year schools. These students are not reflected in USC Sumter’s enrollment numbers. Rather, they are listed under the award-granting institution.
In his State of the State address Wednesday night, Sanford said the effort is not supported by the USC Board of Trustees or the Commission on Higher Education, but local representatives who serve on those boards said Thursday neither board had issued a formal position on the matter.
“We’ve never had any kind of motion or vote on it,” said Sumter attorney Arthur Bahnmuller, who has served on the USC Board of Trustees for 14 years. “I don’t think he even polled any of the members. Who knows what the governor is coming up with?”
Bahnmuller was conducting an informal poll of his fellow board members Thursday afternoon to see for himself. Of the five members he’d reached, three were opposed, one was in favor and one was undecided. The board consists of 21 voting members. The governor serves as a non-voting member of the board.
Likewise, retired Maj. Gen. Tom Olsen, who heads up Sumter’s Base Defense Committee, said the Commission on Higher Education on which he also serves has not issued a formal opinion on the proposal. Its executive director, Conrad Festa, was recently quoted in The (Columbia) State newspaper as saying he’s personally opposed to USC Sumter being granted four-year status but the 14-member commission has not taken a position because, according to Festa, “I think there’s a reluctance to get involved in what they see as the legislators’ business,” he told The State.
Will Folks, Sanford’s spokesman, said the information presented in the address is accurate.
“I know that the president of USC has specifically laid out his opposition,” Folks said, “and the Commission on Higher Education has laid out their opposition to us.”
Supporters say senior status for USC Sumter could help shore up Shaw Air Force Base in the next round of base closures set for 2005.
In a letter to his fellow economic developers, Sumter County Development Board President Steve Rust said four-year status should be a “slam dunk” for Sumter and the surrounding areas.
Responding to an e-mail from Scott Derks, director of legislative affairs for the S.C. Department of Commerce, asking economic developers to lobby their legislators to remove the USC Sumter amendment from the Life Sciences Act, Rust highlighted the economic benefit the base has on Sumter and the surrounding area.
“Shaw Air Force Base has a $690.2 million economic impact in the Midlands of South Carolina,” he stated. “It represents one-third of Sumter’s economy. The availability of a public four-year educational institution in the local community has been, and will continue to be, a factor in the Base Realignment and Closure.”
Leventis said Sanford’s comments show a lack of understanding about the Sumter community and the needs of its people.
“It’s sad indeed that he’s so concerned with the process that he’s failed to see the community wants and needs this program,” Leventis said.
In his letter, Rust said it is “borderline unethical” for his fellow economic developers to take direct action against the plan because it could have such a negative effect on Sumter’s future. He urged his counterparts in other parts of the state to support the bill “as is.”
Proponents of the change have been lobbying for four-year status since the mid-1980s and were close to reaching their goal in 1991, when a formal proposal was approved by then-university Interim President Art Smith and the USC Board of Trustees. Subsequent to the approval, the state Commission on Higher Education scuttled the initiative and supporters went back to the drawing board.
Now, four-year status for USC Sumter depends on the passage of the Life Sciences Act, which has bipartisan support. Normally, two-year universities would go through the Commission on Higher Education to be granted senior college status. USC Beaufort was the last two-year regional branch of USC to be granted four-year status in June 2002. The school began offering its first bachelor’s degree programs in the fall of 2003. To fully implement four-year status, Beaufort County is raising $50 million in local tax dollars for construction of a new campus.
Leventis said USC Sumter’s existing campus would meet the needs of bachelor’s degree programs.
“It’s a small investment, really, and that investment is time,” he said. “We’re willing to put our own money into it. We’re investing local dollars but the university seems to be telling us we’re not ready. I’m saying that’s not going to cut it. We need the services.”
Contact Staff Writer Krista Pierce at kristap@theitem.com or 803-774-1272.
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February 11, 2004
