A senate RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE ENTIRE USC SYSTEM FOR ITS MANY AND SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDUCATION AND CULTURE OF OUR CITIZENS AND TO DECLARE FEBRUARY 14, 2023, "CAROLINA DAY" AT THE STATE HOUSE.

Whereas, the South Carolina Senate appreciates the significant impact that the University of South Carolina (USC) and the entire USC system has on the Palmetto State and its citizens, pumping more than 6.2 billion dollars into the state's economy annually and supporting 63,000 jobs statewide; and

Whereas, the state's flagship institution and major research university, USC Columbia, combined with the award winning four-year and two-year system institutions of Aiken, Beaufort, Upstate, Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union, reaches every corner of the state through twenty geographical locations and Palmetto College Online; and

Whereas, the USC system is a leader in providing access to an affordable high quality education, having frozen tuition costs across the system for four straight years through a strong partnership with the Governor and General Assembly, making the dream of a college degree a reality for talented students from across the Palmetto State; and

Whereas, the USC system, which awards 12,000 degrees per year, more than any other institution in the state and forty percent of the total statewide, proudly develops critical thinkers who become workforce leaders and excellent professionals in our State; and

Whereas, USC's system enrollment is strong, exceeding 51,000 students systemwide, with more than sixty percent of the system's freshman class hailing from the Palmetto State, including USC Columbia which this Fall welcomed its largest freshman class of South Carolina residents in the school's 221-year history; and

Whereas, with twenty-nine percent minority enrollment systemwide, USC is committed to continuing to build a more diverse student body reflective of the State of South Carolina including at USC Columbia, where African American freshman enrollment has more than doubled since 2016 and ranks in the top three percent of universities in graduating African American students nationwide; and

Whereas, the USC system is the state's most comprehensive healthcare research and education entity, elevating life and health for all South Carolinians, awarding four thousand healthcare-related degrees annually through more than one-hundred-degree programs in fifty areas of study including awarding eight hundred nursing degrees each year; and

Whereas, USC Columbia offers sixty nationally ranked academic programs, including the nation's top ranked undergraduate and graduate international business programs, the number one public honors college, the top ranked medical school for placing graduates in underserved areas, the number one online master's program in nursing, three top ranked sports science programs, and the nation's best experience for first year students; and

Whereas, USC Columbia, Aiken and Upstate are all ranked among the best colleges in the nation for veterans with Columbia being named the number one "Best College for Veterans" in America by the Military Times, the nation's leading military publication; and

Whereas, Aiken, Upstate, and Beaufort are consistently ranked as top public regional colleges in America, and the award-winning Palmetto College campuses of Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, and Union serve thousands of students each year, including Palmetto College Online, with each of these institutions helping to meet the workforce development needs of their local areas, regions and the state;

Whereas, among countless examples of these institutions helping to meet workforce development needs, Aiken's cybersecurity program has been named an NSA "Center of Academic Excellence", Beaufort is helping transition military personnel into the cybersecurity workforce, and Upstate's "Quality Enhancement Plan" is increasing career readiness through developing transferable job skills in every major;

Whereas, likewise, Lancaster has created a new CNA to BSN pathway and is modernizing nursing labs, Salkehatchie has expanded experiential learning opportunities in healthcare related fields, Sumter has added degrees in nursing and teacher education, Union, in collaboration with USC Aiken, will graduate its first cohort of BSN students this year, and Palmetto College Online has graduated more than one-thousand nurses; and

Whereas, recognized as a top-tier university for research and community engagement, USC ranks in the top one percent of patent producing universities in the world and grows the state's economy through innovative partnerships with companies like Verizon, Boeing, IBM, Siemens, Apple, Nephron, Yaskawa, and Samsung, utilizing such partnerships so students can solve real industry problems today to become technology workers of the future; and

Whereas, in Division I athletics, USC has won the Palmetto State's Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup measuring total athletics success from all sports teams in twenty of the last twenty-three years, and its student athletes excel in the classroom, as well as on the field, having just completed thirty-two straight semesters with student athletes whose GPA's average 3.0 or higher and, since 2015, has had more Southeastern Conference (SEC) Academic Honor Roll recipients than any other SEC school; and

Whereas, the members of the Senate of the State of South Carolina value the commitment of the State's flagship university and the entire USC system and its more than 340,000 alumni worldwide, to continued academic, educational, and athletic excellence, affordability, and availability to the citizens of our great State. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, recognize and honor the University of South Carolina and the entire USC System for its many and significant contributions to the education and culture of our citizens and declare February 14, 2023, as "Carolina Day" at the State House.

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