South Carolina State University officials hope to attract millions more in federal research grant dollars by working with the South Carolina Research Authority.

The university’s trustee board voted Thursday to form a committee of trustees and staff members to work with a team from the SCRA.

They will analyze the university’s existing research and economic development components, look at best practices used in other places and recommend ways the university can do more research and get more funding.

Trustees voted after listening to a presentation by Jim Stritzinger, executive vice president and general manager of SCRA-affiliate South Carolina Public Interest Research.

He said S.C. State consistently ranks about 20th among historically black colleges and universities in terms of the amount of federal grant dollars it receives for science and engineering.

“South Carolina State can, and should, move into the top 10 nationally,” Stritzinger said. “This will be a catalyst to recruit talented faculty members and students.”

He said SCRA’s connections can help S.C. State get research grants from the departments of Defense and Energy, the National Science Foundation and other entities.

Those agencies want to strengthen their involvement with HBCUs, said William E. “Bill” Leftwich III, who is with another SCRA affiliate, LS Strategic Group.

These affiliations not only underwrite university research, he said, they can also open career doors to students upon graduation.

Board Chairman Maurice Washington said the amount of federal research dollars coming to S.C. State has been “pretty much stagnant” in recent years.

Private-sector companies with performance records similar to that of S.C. State’s “would be out of business with those numbers,” Washington said.

Even though “it might be kind of frightening,” he said some risks are required “if we want to be serious about research and move from the top 20 to the top 10 or the top one.”

Just recently, SCRA helped the university submit a proposal for continued funding for the James E. Clyburn Transportation Center.

“I think that went very successfully,” Stritzinger said.

SCRA has offered to provide research and economic development staff under contract to the university. The trustees have not made a decision on that.

n Engineers support

expanding SCSU

engineering program

The South Carolina Board of Engineers and Land Surveyors has declared that the Palmetto State needs more licensed professional engineers.

That board passed a resolution Wednesday supporting the development of an engineering school at S.C. State that would offer EAC/ABET accredited bachelor of science degrees in engineering.

S.C. State has an engineering technology program at present. Only a few take the 16 hours of tests required for a license, and even then, the most they can get is a Category B license that limits their career options, said Mitchell S. Tibshrany Jr., past chairman of the engineers board.

The engineers plan to ask the Legislature next year to scrap the Category B license after a 12-year “window” to allow today’s students to make the necessary adjustments.

Only 21 of the state’s 11,000 professional engineers have a Category B license, Tibshrany said.

Building an accredited engineering program at S.C. State will take years, so the engineers board proposed setting up an interim program that would give S.C. State students “a path to get their engineering license,” Tibshrany said.

The S.C. State students would take their highest-level professional courses at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

The proposed arrangement, Tibshrany said, mirrors the nuclear engineering pact that is “in place and working today between S.C. State and the University of Wisconsin.”

Answering a trustee’s question, Tibshrany acknowledged it was possible that the state’s engineers opposed an engineering school at S.C. State at some time in the past.

Today, he emphasized, the board is willing to be “a facilitator, a catalyst, to make it all happen.”

“South Carolina State made a giant leap forward in changing from an algebra-based program to a calculus-based one,” Tibshrany said.

“Our next move is to push forward with the legislation,” Tibshrany said, adding that S.C. State’s support would mean a lot.

Washington said the conversation was “a step to begin some serious dialogue on this issue. ... You have to look at the pride of the university, but you also have to look at (what’s best for) the customer: the student.”

n Members named

to Board of Visitors

The reasons were varied. Some declined a second term. Others did not fulfill attendance requirements. At least one resigned due to health.

The result was that S.C. State’s Board of Visitors fell to 14 members – out of an authorized strength of 31.

On Thursday, trustees voted to add nine members: Jameel O. Allen, Hope L. Doe, James Hampton, Nathan J. Hill, Rodell Lawrence, James Franklin Macon Jr., Arthur F. Powell, Rudolph Simmons and Dr. Charles Allen White.

The Board of Visitors, which last met May 19, works to enhance the university’s image, influence and financial resources. The board also serves as an advisory body to the Board of Trustees and acts as an advocate on behalf of the university.

n Chief wants

more officers

Gregory C. Harris, the new campus police chief, asked trustees to consider providing money to install call boxes and security cameras in key places.

“We need four additional officers. We also need two dispatchers” to provide coverage 24/7, he said.

Washington said the trustees will consider the request.

n Pinson elected

vice chairman

Trustees elected Jonathan Pinson as their vice chairman. He received six votes to four for Lumus Byrd.

Charles Williams, who was unable to attend, submitted a sealed ballot, but Washington said he reviewed the board’s bylaws and determined that the request could not be honored.

n Enrollment slips

S.C. State, which is trying to grow its enrollment to 8,000 in coming years, saw its headcount slip a bit. Total enrollment this fall was 4,343, compared to 4,399 last fall and 4,262 the previous fall.

n Lowcountry Classic

On behalf of Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, Washington presented a check for $10,000 from the city of Charleston to S.C. State President Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. and Athletics Director Charlene Johnson in connection with the Lowcountry Classic football game.

“The check will be deposited into the account of the University Advancement Foundation to cover some expenses associated with the Classic on behalf of the athletics department,” Washington said.

n T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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