Baseball • 2006 Universit University of South Carolina Upstate y of ...

The Universiy of South Carolina UpstateThe Early YearsDeveloping a Presence in GreenvilleMaster PlanningThe history of the University of South CarolinaUpstate is a chronicle of remarkable development.In 1967, the university was founded in responseto efforts undertaken by G.B. Hodge, M.D., togetherwith fellow members of the SpartanburgCounty Commission on Higher Education, and aremarkably strong founding faculty primarily toavert a serious health care labor shortage crisiswhen Spartanburg General Hospital announcedplans to eliminate its diploma program for registerednurses. A citizen’scommittee investigated the situation and ultimatelyrequested that Spartanburg be included in theUniversity of South Carolina system. TheSpartanburg Regional Campus, as it was firstknown, opened its doors in the fall of 1967 to 177students on the first floor of the Spartanburg GeneralHospital nursing residence.Enrollment continued to increase, which resultedin the school becoming a four-year university in1975 and being renamed the University of SouthCarolina Spartanburg.During the next 20 years, the campus began totake physical shape with the construction of additionalacademic buildings, enrollment continued togrow and degree offerings were expanded. In1994, Dr. John C. Stockwell was named Chancellorof the University He adopted a metropolitanmission for the institution and implemented a 10-year strategic master plan for the campus. TheUniversity’s numerous partnerships with public andprivate corporations and other educational institutions,coupled with the mission to offer baccalaureateeducation to the citizens of the Upstate ofSouth Carolina, led to a name change. On June30, 2004, with USC Board of Trustees approval,USCS changed its name to the University of SouthCarolina Upstate.The Building of a Metropolitan UniversityNow in its 36 th year, USC Upstate continuesstriving toward its vision to become one of theSoutheast’s leading “metropolitan” universities. ...a university which acknowledges as its fundamentalreason for being its relationship to its surroundingcities, their connecting corridors and expandingpopulations. It aims to be recognized nationallyamong its peer metropolitan institutionsfor its excellence in education and commitment toits students, for its involvement in the Upstate,for its operational and managerial effectiveness,for its civility and common purpose, and for theclarity and integrity of its mission. As a seniorcomprehensive public institution of the Universityof South Carolina, the University’s primaryresponsibilities are to offer baccalaureate educationto the citizens of the Upstate of South Carolinaand to offer selected master’s degrees inresponse to regional demand.Since its founding, USC Upstate has grownfrom a small, two-year campus into one of theleading metropolitan universities in the Southeast.This growth has been a direct response to theneeds of the Upstate—a tradition that began withthe University’s creation. The University has expandedwell beyond nursing to include 40 bachelor’sand master’s programs in the liberal arts, sciences,business, information systems, teacher educationand nursing.In 1994, the University moved to the graduatelevel, with master’s degree programs in elementaryeducation and early childhood education. TheUniversity began offering degree programs in specialeducation - visual impairment, nonprofit administration,information management and systems,and graphic design in 2002. Currently, USCSoffers the only graphic design baccalaureate degreeprogram in South Carolina.From its inception, the University has boundits fortunes to one of the fastest growing regionsin the nation, the I-85 corridor connecting Atlantaand Charlotte. USC Upstate – a metropolitanuniversity – serves the cities of Spartanburg andGreenville and their surrounding communities, hometo a million people and the highest per capita internationalinvestment of any counties in the nation.The focus is on the higher education interestsof Upstate South Carolina and partnershipswith its important enterprises.Along with the enormous growth on theSpartanburg campus, USC Upstate has developeda significant presence in Greenville at theUniversity Center of Greenville (UCG), a nonprofitconsortium of seven higher education institutionsdedicated to increasing access to educationalopportunities for the citizens of the GreaterGreenville Metropolitan Area of South Carolina.USC Upstate is the largest provider of undergraduateacademic programs at the UniversityCenter of Greenville, generating over 70 percentof the Center’s baccalaureate enrollment. TheUniversity’s critical partner in this growth isGreenville Technical College. Both institutions aimto provide opportunities for students to completetechnical or associate degrees at GTC, and thenmove seamlessly into junior-through-seniorbachelor’s level degree completion programs innumerous related disciplines at USC Upstate.USC Upstate currently offers 12 undergraduateprograms in Greenville, each taught by highlyqualified and dedicated faculty both during theday and evening in business administration, communications,computer information systems, criminaljustice, early childhood education, elementaryeducation, graphic design, information managementand systems, interdisciplinary studies, middlegrades education, nonprofit administration, nursing,and special education – learning disabilities.Athletic ExcellenceJust as it offers academic excellence, USCUpstate also offers a comprehensive athleticsprogram competing in the nationally renowned PeachBelt Conference with membership in NCAA DivisionII. The University currently fields 11 varsitysports - basketball, soccer, tennis, and golf forboth women and men; baseball for men; and softballand volleyball for women. USC Upstate student-athleteshave won numerous academic andathletic awards, and the department has been recognizedfor its strength in diversity among itsstudent-athletes, staff, and administrators.The implementation of a 10-year, $150 millionmaster plan that focuses on the development ofthe northern segment of the Spartanburg campushas dramatically increased classroom space, academicsupport facilities, parking and roadways,housing and athletic/recreational facilities. Additionally,new infrastructure is being created for ahighly visible entrance, providing easier, faster,and safer accessibility to campus, improved trafficflow, expansion of existing roads and creationof new roads.A one-of-a-kind partnership between the SouthCarolina Army National Guard and USC Upstateresulted in a shared new facility for the 228 th SignalBrigade and the University. The $7 millionfacility has 55,000 square feet and is situated ona 12-acre site.The University is provided with additional classroomspace, special events locations, hospitalityrooms for the County University Soccer Stadium,dressing rooms for athletic teams and additionalsupport facilities for The Louis P. Howell AthleticComplex.The Louis P. Howell Athletic Complex, one ofthe Southeast’s top sports venues, includes theCounty University Soccer Stadium, SpartanburgCounty Youth Soccer Fields, Cleveland S. HarleyBaseball Park, Cyrill Softball Stadium and a tenniscomplex. With the development of the Complex,all athletic venues are now housed on campuscreating a greater sense of a campus community.The Palmetto House, a new suite-style residencehall that houses 350 freshmen students,opened on January 7, 2004. This $15.5 millionproject is a four-story, L-shaped building consistingof single and double occupancy rooms, computerlabs, open areas, laundry facilities, postalcenter and housing management offices. The coeducational105,000 square foot facility contributesto the sense of campus community andprovides students with a rich living and learningenvironment.In addition to numerous construction projects,a number of beautification initiatives to enhancethe physical environment of the campus are underway.The Susan Jacobs Arboretum features a300-seat amphitheatre, a meandering creek linedwith stones and boulders, lighted walkways andfoliage indigenous to the area among its 12 acres.A place of serene natural beauty ideal for variousactivities, the Arboretum serves as the center ofgravity for campus life and student activities andprovides a place for relaxation, for the enjoymentand advancement of academic studies.USC Upstate’s main campus in Spartanburgwill continue to grow, particularly given its residentialfreshman through senior student population,and with the forthcoming construction of theLibrary, the Wellness/Fitness Center, the HealthEducation Complex, and additional housing.Since the day groundbroke on theAdministrationBuilding, the USCUpstate campus hasundergone continualchange and improvements.57