Bill Text: SC S0403 | 2019-2020 | 123rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Carolina Day
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-24 - Adopted, sent to House [S0403 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2019-S0403-Introduced.html
A SENATE RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA FOR ITS MANY AND SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDUCATION AND CULTURE OF OUR CITIZENS AND TO DECLARE JANUARY 30, 2019, AS "CAROLINA DAY" AT THE STATE HOUSE.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate appreciate the outstanding opportunities that the University of South Carolina (UofSC) affords to the Palmetto State and to our citizens; and
Whereas, with forty-seven nationally ranked academic programs, South Carolina was named the State's top global university, ranks in the top one percent of patent-producing universities in the world, and boasts the number one international business program and the best public honors college in the United States; and
Whereas, on eight campuses and twenty locations across the State, the university's accessibility to education enables 34,000 South Carolinians, more students than ever before, to receive a world-class education; and
Whereas, the UofSC system confers nearly half of all bachelor's degrees within the State; and
Whereas, innovative programs, such as Gamecock Guarantee, Opportunity Scholars, Gamecock Gateway, Palmetto Pathways, Raise.me, and University of Possibilities, have put UofSC on the forefront of creating programs that help low-income and first-generation students succeed; and
Whereas, the comprehensive universities of Aiken, Upstate, and Beaufort are each ranked in the Top 6 public regional colleges in America, and the Palmetto College campuses of Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, and Union serve a combined five thousand students each year; and
Whereas, South Carolina is in the top three percent of universities in graduating African American students in the nation, and provides more opportunities for African American and minority students than any other institution in the State by leading in both enrollment and graduation, preparing all its graduates to lead in an increasingly diverse and global workforce. Over the past two years, African American freshman enrollment on the Columbia campus has increased by more than forty percent; and
Whereas, nationally recognized as a great value, South Carolina is listed amid the most efficient universities in the nation and offers one of the most cost-effective paths to a bachelor's degree in the State; and
Whereas, pumping five and a half billion dollars into the state's economy annually, the economic activity of the university system supports more than sixty thousand jobs statewide and each dollar invested in higher education returns twenty-five to the State; and
Whereas, UofSC also grows the state's economy through innovative partnerships with companies like Boeing, IBM, Siemens, SIOS, and Samsung, and university faculty members have garnered an average of 242 million dollars in sponsored awards annually over the past five years; and
Whereas, in Division I athletics, South Carolina is the only program in the nation to have at least one Top 4 national finish in football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, and women's soccer since 2010, and its student athletes excel in the classroom, as well as on the field. South Carolina just completed twenty-four straight semesters with student athletes whose GPA's average 3.0 or higher and leads all SEC schools in total number of Academic Honor Roll inductees since 2015; and
Whereas, South Carolina's athletics program is one of only twenty totally "self-supporting" Division I schools, requiring no university, state, or taxpayer support for operations while also generating more than 225 million dollars in economic activity annually for state and local economies; and
Whereas, first formed in 1846, My Carolina Alumni Association ardently serves the University community and is committed to adding value to students, engaging alumni, and building the brand of the University and the UofSC Alumni Center as a place to gather and celebrate important moments in the life of our alma mater, while connecting Gamecocks for a lifetime to the University; and
Whereas, the members of the Senate of the State of South Carolina value the commitment of the State's flagship university to continued academic and educational 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 for its many and significant contributions to the education and culture of our citizens and declare January 30, 2019, as "Carolina Day" at the State House.
