USCB’s Continuing Education Department offers Course in "Survival Spanish"

Bluffton, SC –The University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Continuing Education department is offering a course in "Survival Spanish." Classes will be held June 11, 18, 25, July 2, and 9 on the Hilton Head Gateway campus located off Hwy 278 in Bluffton.

This 5 session course is a non-academic, non-grammar based class designed for people who want to learn practical, common phrases and questions. No prior knowledge of Spanish is required.  

Tuition is $130 and includes the course manual and two accompanying CD’s. 

To register for this course, please call Marilyn Arseneau at 208-8237 or email arseneau@uscb.edu before June 4.  Space is limited.  Payment can be made using credit card or check.

South Carolina Congressman Tim Scott visits USCB

Congressman Tim Scott and USCB graduate Bonnie Zolenas

Bluffton, SC –The University of South Carolina Beaufort welcomed South Carolina Congressman Tim Scott to the Hilton Head Gateway campus.  Congressman Scott expressed his support of USCB's role in the community as the only baccalaureate degree university in the four countny region. Job creation based on an educated workforce was the focus of his visit. 

Congressman Scott met with USCB graduate Bonnie Zolenas who came to USCB from Maryland and has permanently relocated to the Lowcountry.  He was given a commemorative t-shirt supporting the USCB Sand Shark baseball team who is currently playing in the NAIA College World Series in Lewiston, ID. 

Congressman Scott represents District 1 which will include Beaufort County effective November 2012. 

Drafted by Stefny Ankney, USCB Social Media Intern.                   

About Tim Scott

Prior to his election to Congress, Tim Scott was a successful small business owner and entrepreneur. Tim was elected to the SC House of Representatives in 2008 and was elected Chairman of the Freshman Caucus. Before serving in the State House, Tim served for 13 years on Charleston County Council. Tim graduated from Charleston Southern University in 1988, B.S. in Political Science, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award and Alumnus of the Year award by CSU. His past Board Memberships include: CSU Board of Visitors, South Carolinians for Healthy Family Formation, Midland Park Ministries, The College of Charleston Business School Board of Governors, Roper St. Francis Hospital Foundation, Board of Trustees for Seacoast Church and Palmetto Family Council (a SC affiliate of Focus on the Family).

Denita Badger at University of South Carolina Beaufort Is Named Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact

Campus Compact has honored 162 students from 32 states as 2012 Newman Civic Fellows. Among the honorees is Denita Badger of University of South Carolina Beaufort. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have worked to find solutions for challenges facing their communities.

Boston, MA - Campus Compact’s member college and university presidents from across the country have nominated 162 college student leaders for the 2012 class of Newman Civic Fellows. These students are demonstrating their personal commitment to creating lasting change for the better in their communities. Through service, community-based research, and through advocacy, the 2012 class of Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves and the root causes of some of the most pressing social issues that challenge us all.  

Denita Badger at University of South Carolina in Beaufort demonstrates the type of civic engagement that sets an example for others, shining a positive light in a time when negativity has dominated much national conversation. Denita Badger is a Human Services major at the University of South Carolina Beaufort.  By the end of this spring semester, Denita will have competed four Human Service internships  of over 120 hours each. She served two internships at the United Way of the Lowcountry. Another was coordinating a school readiness project, reading to pre-school students at Penn Center and coordinating early literacy services to 200 children. Her legacy service project is revising and updating the Human Services Directory for our region. Her commitment to civic engagement will continue after graduation when she joins the U.S. Air Force.

As a Newman Civic Fellow, Badger will join a network of Fellows around the country. Together — sharing ideas and tools through online networking — the Fellows will leverage an even greater capacity for service and change, and continue to set examples for their classmates and others. 

“These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world,” notes Campus Compact Board Chair James B. Dworkin, chancellor at Purdue University North Central.  

Through service-learning courses and other opportunities for community engagement, colleges are developing students’ public problem-solving skills, such as the ability to analyze community needs, the willingness to participate in public processes and debate, the commitment to raise awareness about challenges, and the ability to inspire others to become part of solutions.

“Dr. Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact, had a tremendous impact on American education and its role in the development of citizens who are eager and prepared to make a difference,” explains Campus Compact President Maureen Curley. “He dedicated his life to creating systemic change through education reform and this new group of Newman Civic Fellows would have inspired him. They are reflections and affirmations of his life’s work.”

Campus Compact is a national coalition of almost 1,200 college and university presidents—representing some 6 million+ students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education, that is, to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. For more information about the organization and the award, visit www.compact.org

USCB Faculty honored with Carolina Trustee Professorship Award

Beaufort/Bluffton, SC – For more than a decade, numerous University of South Carolina Beaufort faculty members have been honored with the Carolina Trustee Professorship award.  This year’s recipient is Babet Villena-Alvarez, Ph.D.

With a background in French and Spanish literature, Alvarez researches Language for Special/Specific Purposes (LSP).  She is the Chair of the Humanities and Fine Arts department and serves on 8 councils/committees on campus, in the community, and in her profession.  According to Alvarez, “Of the many committees I have chaired in the past, the most challenging and equally gratifying was when I was invited to lead the internal giving campaign for the USCB Family Fund last year. Our committee was able to encourage 62% more faculty and staff to participate as compared to the previous year.” 

Faculty at all 7 baccalaureate and regional campuses of the USC system are eligible for the Carolina Trustee Professorship Award.  In addition to Alvarez, the following USCB faculty have been recognized as Carolina Trustee Professors: Gordon Haist (2011), Carl Eby (2009), Lynn Mulkey (2004), and Ronald Harshbarger (2001).

Alvarez has been at USCB since 1994 and has no plans of going elsewhere.  “I am blessed to have a wonderful job in superb USCB campuses nestled among the South Carolina Sea Islands.” 

For more information, please see http://www.sc.edu/provost/carolinatrustee.shtml#recipients.

USCB student researchers Rebecca Rawson and Steven Vega work on deploying light traps for a study on correlating fish sound production during spawning and egg release in the May River. 

USCB to Present Student Research & Scholarship Day 

April 16, 2012

Bluffton, SC – Nearly 40 students attending The University of South Carolina Beaufort will be showcasing their quantitative and qualitative research projects to the public on April 16^th in the Hargray building on USCB’s Hilton Head Gateway campus.

The students have worked closely with their faculty advisors on their chosen projects.    According to Joely Tweel, Psychology student, “Professors at USCB really care about your education.  I previously attended the University of Colorado where I was just a number.  At USCB, I have professors who know me, support my research endeavors, and even attend my psychology club meetings. Their dedication is second to none.”

Student research projects to be presented cover a vast array of topics, from literary analysis of William Shakespeare, Spanish literature, historical research about the Transcontinental Railroad, social psychological research regarding eyewitness accounts, and scientific research relating to the coastal ecology of our local Lowcountry water ways.

Student researcher Jamie Fletcher describes her experience throughout the process of research by stating that “my project began as an independent study and my advisor [Benjamin Nelson, Ph.D] helped me throughout my time at USCB to think about how language affects culture and vice versa.” Students participate in this event for the purpose of gaining further input from the public.  “It will benefit me because it will allow me to gain feedback about this topic from an American, English speaking point of view rather from a Spanish one” explains Fletcher.

John Palmour, an award winning researcher in the Carolinas, will be delivering the keynote address at 3:30pm. During his career, Palmour has authored and/or co-authored more than 300 publications and is a co-inventor on 47 U.S. patents and 158 corresponding foreign patents. He was awarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award by the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University in 2009.  Palmour is a founder of Cree, Inc., which was responsible for the specialized LED lighting for the Beijing Olympic Games.

All Research and Scholarship day activities are open to the general public and free of charge. For more information, please visit www.uscb.edu under University Events.

Keynote Speaker, John Palmour, Ph.D,

Schedule of Events:

8:30 – 10:00 am Literary Criticism Oral Presentations: Session 1 - Shakespeare

Hargray 156

10:15 – 11:45 am Literary Criticism Oral Presentations: Session 2 - The World

Hargray 156

12 pm Poster Presentations, Hargray Lobby

1:30 – 3:00 pm Literary Criticism Oral Presentations: Session 3 - 19th and 20th Century British

Hargray 156

1:30 – 3:30 pm Students Present at Posters for Questions

Hargray Lobby

3:30 – 4:30 pm Keynote Speaker: Dr. John Palmour

Hargray 156

This release has be drafted by Stefny Ankney, Social Media Intern.  

MEDIA CONTACT:  

Candace Brasseur
USCB Public Information Director
843-208-8030 
brasse@uscb.edu
 

USCB‘s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute hosts rescued sea captain Richard Phillips

Hilton Head Island, SC –The University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute welcomes nationally renowned speaker, Sea Captain Richard Phillips, to Hilton Head Island. Captain Phillips will recount his 2009 Somalia pirate hostage experience and subsequent rescue by U.S. Navy SEALS. 

This event will take place at Hilton Head High School’s Visual Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 3 from 10:00am to 11:30am.

Captain Phillips will be available to sign his novel, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea.  Columbia Pictures has purchased the movie rights, with Tom Hanks slated to play the lead.

Tickets are $25. To purchase tickets in advance please call the OLLI office at 843-208-8247.  If space is still available, tickets can be purchased at the door the morning of the event.  All proceeds of ticket sales will go to the OLLI program at USCB.

 

Drafted by Stefny Ankney, USCB Social Media Intern

     

About OLLI

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is a university-affiliated, not-for-credit, program that has been in existence in the Lowcountry for over 20 years, currently serving more than 1,500 members. For more information, visit us as www.uscb.edu or call the OLLI offices at 843-208-8247 

Media Contact:

Andréa Sisino, Director

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

University of South Carolina Beaufort

843-208-8249, Sisino@uscb.edu

USCB students provide invaluable research to local event organizers

Hilton Head & Beaufort, SC- When people think of the Hilton Head Island region, beach going and vacations typically come to mind. But Hospitality Management students at the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) know there is a lot more than sunbathing taking place. 

Lead by Hospitality Management Professor John Salazar, USCB student researchers have become an integral part of all major tourism events in the area.  Salazar and his research team can be found polling hundreds of out-of-town visitors and event participants, entering substantive data into their tablet computers, amongst the festivities. Student Ellen Jones says, “Conducting these surveys at local festivals has given me the real life experience of how information/data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted to provide solutions to the problems that event organizers encounter. To combine the classroom sessions with the real world training is the ultimate learning experience.”

The community impact is further felt after the event concludes when students present their findings to event organizers.  According to the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival and Concours d’ Elegance President, Carolyn Vanagel, “ Dr. Salazar and  his student team have been critical to the success of our event.  We use their results to market our event to sponsors.  And without fail, these prospective sponsors note that no one else representing similar events has the same level of data demonstrating performance.  We are so fortunate to have this instrumental data, which drives the financial success of our event, because of Dr. Salazar.”

Certainly, USCB students gain market research and event management experience by working with Salazar.  However, their findings hold even greater significance throughout the region.  Based on their findings, community leaders can actually see which events have the biggest return on investment (ROI) of the use of Hilton Head Island accommodations taxes. The work has been cited by the Hilton Head Island Accommodations Tax Committee as extremely valuable whereas the committee has recommended to the elected officials to fund an ongoing festival and event ROI analysis program through collaborating with Salazar and the USCB Hospitality Management students.

As a result, this collaborative research between Salazar’s students and county-wide events has been spreading quickly, with event managers from Houston, Greenville, and North Carolina contacting Salazar about replicating his efforts in their regions.  “It’s exciting to see student research be applied to real world concerns and that various hospitality and tourism organizations recognize the value of the work. That is something I have always wanted to achieve for the students as university professor.”

Various events USCB Hospitality Management students provide research for:

·         The RBC Heritage Golf Tournament
·         Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival and Concours d’ Elegance
·         Hilton Head Island Wine Festival
·         Taste of Beaufort Shrimp Festival
·         Hilton Head Island Recreation Center Festivals
·         Hilton Head Island Italian Festival
·         MCAS Air Show
·         Hilton Head Island Public Art Exposition

MEDIA CONTACT:                                                                                                              

Candace Brasseur
USCB Public Information Director
843-208-8030 
brasse@uscb.edu