Author: Author Listing Page

A headshot of Katy Close in black & white.

School of Medicine alum treats patients in underserved communities around the world

May 12, 2025, Craig Brandhorst

USC’s impact on health care is improving lives throughout the Palmetto State, but our graduates take their knowledge around the world. For School of Medicine Columbia graduate Katy Close, that has meant treating patients in underserved communities from El Salvador to Haiti to Liberia.

Topics: Alumni, Recognition, Philanthropy, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, Medicine (Columbia), Carolinian

Bill Bloking, left, with Wildcats co-owners Annie Hill and Christian Hauff Photo courtesy of Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Retired oil industry executive and USC alum Bill Bloking is helping future generations of Gamecocks achieve dreams of their own.

October 23, 2024, Craig Brandhorst

The first in his family to attend college, Bill Bloking’s engineering degree prepared him for careers at Exxon and BHP — and for boardrooms around the globe. His William F. Bloking First-Generation Scholars Fund will support Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing students and programs.

Topics: Alumni, Service, Leadership, Careers, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, Carolinian

A photo of an African American hand doing a mic drop.

Toby Jenkins, associate professor of higher education, explores how hip-hop values and ethics can help educators and other professionals succeed

February 28, 2024, Craig Brandhorst

Toby Jenkins is a a professor in USC’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the College of Education and associate provost for faculty development. Jenkins’ latest book, “The Hip-Hop Mindset: Success Strategies for Educators and Other Professionals” (Teachers College Press), combines her scholarly expertise with her lifelong appreciation for hip-hop music and culture.

Topics: Faculty, Recognition, Leadership, College of Education, Breakthrough Research

A portrait of Leroy Chapman.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor-in-chief Leroy Chapman inspires next generation of journalists

January 22, 2024, Craig Brandhorst

In March 2023, University of South Carolina alumnus Leroy Chapman Jr. made headlines — as the first person of color to be named editor-in-chief of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It was a big deal for the 155-year-old paper, for the city of Atlanta and for journalism in general. It was also a big deal for Chapman’s alma mater, which recognized his professional achievements with the 2023 College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award.

Topics: Alumni, Recognition, Philanthropy, Leadership, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Carolinian

Joe Rice with his wife at the law school dedication ceremony.

USC's newly named Joseph F. Rice School of Law reflects powerhouse attorney's ambition, philanthropy and commitment to the profession

January 17, 2024, Craig Brandhorst

Attorney Joe Rice is one of the most respected plaintiff’s attorneys in the country. The cofounder of the Charleston-based Motley Rice law firm has secured hundreds of billions of dollars for clients, taking on Goliath-sized opponents like Big Tobacco and the financiers of 9/11.

Topics: Alumni, Philanthropy, Signature Events, Service, Leadership, Careers, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Carolinian

Humpy Wheeler poses at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Legendary NASCAR promoter Humpy Wheeler looks back at his career in racing and his days as a Gamecock in the 1950s

January 09, 2024, Craig Brandhorst

From 1975 to 2008, Humpy Wheeler, ’61, journalism, was president and general manager of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. And over those three high-octane, pedal-to-the-metal decades, he came to be regarded as one of the most colorful promoters in NASCAR history.

Topics: Alumni, Economic Engagement, Careers, College of Information and Communications

Seth Rose and his family photographed on the Horseshoe.

Alumnus and tennis standout Seth Rose gives back -- and not just for racket sports.

November 08, 2023, Craig Brandhorst

Seth Rose, ’03, was a first team All-American in men’s tennis, and he paid his alma mater back by helping finance two courts on campus But Rose’s love for the Gamecocks extends beyond tennis. The 2014 Gamecock Athletics Hall of Fame inductee is also a huge Gamecock football fan, and his philanthropy reflects it.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, Recognition, Service, Leadership, Careers, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Carolinian

Jennifer Asouzu, assistant director for special populations and communication with New Student Orientation, talks partnerships and first impressions.

The Happiest Lunch on Earth

June 26, 2023, Craig Brandhorst

On the last Friday before the end of classes, USC TIMES invited three staff members to lunch at McCutchen House’s Garden Grill to discuss how our work lives change — or don’t change — over the summer. George Hendry, director of the McCutchen House and senior lecturer in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, shared his thoughts on troubleshooting through teamwork. Jennifer Asouzu, assistant director for special populations and communication with New Student Orientation, talked up partnerships and first impressions. Leroy Sims, a custodial zone manager with Facilities and a member of Staff Senate, discussed employee satisfaction and how to make the USC campus the happiest place on Earth.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, Recognition, Service, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Careers, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

The outline of a teacher in chalk on a blackboard.

Education professor's new book examines the chronic shortage of public school teachers

January 04, 2023, Craig Brandhorst

It’s no secret: public school teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate. “How Did We Get Here? The Decay of the Teaching Profession” (Information Age Publishing, 2022), edited by University of South Carolina associate professor of education Henry Tran and Iowa State University associate professor Douglas A. Smith, explores the causes and consequences of teacher attrition in South Carolina as a way to shed light on the larger crisis affecting America’s schools.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Leadership, Careers, College of Education

portrait of Kirstin Dow

Geography professor maps heat islands as we adapt to climate change

November 16, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Longtime University of South Carolina geography professor Kirstin Dow has devoted much of her career to understanding climate impact, vulnerability and adaptation. In other words, she recognizes the problems posed by our warming planet and is determined to help mitigate them, most recently by mapping heat islands so that urban planners can make better decisions about where to plant trees, generate more shade or support investment in affordable renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Leadership, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

VPR Julius Fridriksson

New vice president for research aims to mentor junior faculty

October 03, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Julius Fridriksson loves a challenge. After climbing to the top of his field — and building out a research team of more than 40 faculty, post docs and graduate students at the Arnold School of Public Health — the onetime first-generation college student from a small village in Iceland agreed to become USC’s interim vice president for research in 2021.

Topics: University Leadership, Research, Recognition, Health Sciences, Leadership, Careers, Arnold School of Public Health

Ed Madden

For scholar and poet Ed Madden, going public is the name of the game

May 24, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Ed Madden is well known on the University of South Carolina campus as the director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program and as a dynamic classroom instructor. He is just as well-known as a creative writer and arts advocate in Columbia, South Carolina, where he is wrapping up his term as the capital city’s inaugural poet laureate.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Recognition, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

artist kev roche is photographed from behind looking in a mirror

Illustrator Kev Roché brings artistic wit to the world of sports television

May 05, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Kev Roche has turned his artistic talent and quick wit into a lucrative "hustle" drawing illustrations for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The 2005 studio art major also has illustrated a book by two former Gamecock football players as well as given UofSC's beloved mascot Cocky a cartoon makeover.

Topics: Alumni, Experiential Learning, Carolinian, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

graduate wears cap and gown at a commencement ceremony

Dimitri Amiridis discusses family's many ties to UofSC

May 03, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

When computer engineering major Dimitri Amiridis crosses the stage at commencement this spring, the South Carolina Honors College graduate will become the third member of his family with a degree from the University of South Carolina. The only member of his immediate family not to hold a degree from his new alma mater? Dimitri’s father, university President-elect Michael Amiridis.

Topics: Students, Alumni, University President, Academics, Signature Events, Student Voices, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing

Michael Amiridis smiles for the camera with Chicago skyline in background

Michael Amiridis has many reasons to return to UofSC

May 02, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

Incoming University of South Carolina President Michael Amiridis is going to miss the University of Illinois Chicago, but he has zero misgivings about the new job. In fact, the former UofSC faculty member-turned-administrator is thrilled to return to the campus where he cut his academic teeth.

Topics: University Leadership, University President, Signature Events, Carolinian, Leadership, Careers, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing

QR code abstract

The Best of Times?

April 25, 2022, Craig Brandhorst

A lot happens over the course of an academic year, and there’s absolutely no way to highlight everything. So, no, don’t think of this as a Best Of list. This is merely a smattering of the achievements and memorable moments that defined 2021-22, a small taste of the year that was. Trust us, there’s plenty more where this came from — and plenty more to come.

Topics: Alumni, Faculty, University Leadership, Academics, Research, Experiential Learning, Recognition, Leadership, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Information and Communications, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Medicine (Columbia), College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health, University Libraries

Adel Nasiri

New faculty spotlight: Adel Nasiri

November 19, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

Adel Nasiri joined the University of South Carolina as a distinguished professor of electrical engineering in August, following a 16-year career at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research on energy conversion, microgrids and batteries has taken on added import as sustainability, efficiency and resilience efforts ramp up during the age of climate change.

Topics: Faculty, Academics, Service, Leadership, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing

Thomas Crocker smiling

Constitutional law scholar discusses his new book on presidential powers

October 18, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

Law professor Thomas Crocker specializes in constitutional law, criminal procedure, free speech and democracy, national security and the Constitution. His new book, "Overcoming Necessity: Emergency, Constraint, and the Meanings of American Constitutionalism" (Yale University Press) is an analysis of how the concept of necessity, in conflict with constitutional commitments, creates dynamic challenges to constitutional governance, especially during times of emergency.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Leadership, Joseph F. Rice School of Law

Marva Smalls in her office at ViacomCBS

Alumna plays crucial role in media company's inclusion efforts

September 21, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

As an executive vice president and global head of inclusion at ViacomCBS, Marva Smalls plays a crucial role in the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. And while her commitment to advocacy predates her time at the University of South Carolina, Smalls’ undergraduate and graduate experiences shaped her philosophy in profound ways.

Topics: Alumni, Diversity, Recognition, Leadership, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business

Jamy Claire Archer stands in the COMD lab

Hindsight 2020: The therapist

September 01, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

Singers, teachers and public speakers can feel the effects of the pandemic, whether or not they contract the virus. Enter clinical professor of communication sciences and disorders and voice therapist Jamy Claire Archer, one of 10 Gamecocks Carolinian magazine spoke to about how the pandemic has changed the way we work.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Experiential Learning, COVID-19, Leadership, Careers, Arnold School of Public Health

head and shoulders photo of Patricia Fabel

Garnet Apple Teaching Award: Patricia Fabel

August 05, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

For associate professor of pharmacy Patricia Fabel, classroom education is a team effort, with students contributing their own experiences to the discussion. “Whether we're talking about immunizations, medications, over-the-counter products or things that they've interacted with and their family has interacted with, they bring different perspectives to the table,” she says.

Topics: Faculty, Academics, Recognition, College of Pharmacy

shawnese cleveland class of 2021

Class of 2021: Shawnese Cleveland

April 20, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

First-generation college student Shawnese Cleveland started her academic career as a political science major, intent on going to law school one day and perhaps working in government. After watching the event staff do their thing during a women’s basketball game at Colonial Life Arena, the Georgia native changed her mind and changed her major. Now, following back-to-back campus internships, the sport and entertainment management major is kicking off her career at a Las Vegas resort.

Topics: Students, Experiential Learning, Careers, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

empty dining room with the alps in the background

COVID-19 impact: Changes in tourism

March 18, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked members of the university community to share their expertise about how the coronavirus has affected all facets of life and offer insights on ways to move forward. Simon Hudson, a professor of tourism in the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, speaks about COVID-19’s economic impact on the tourism industry.

Topics: Faculty, Research, COVID-19, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

artist rendering of mohammed dajani standing beside a railroad switching station

Dajani's cave

February 09, 2021, Craig Brandhorst

In 2014, Mohammed Dajani, longtime professor at Jerusalem’s al-Quds University, took 27 Palestinian college students to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration near Krakow, Poland. He wanted them to confront the Holocaust, which he believes is downplayed in Palestinian schools, and to consider the complicated history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from multiple perspectives. The backlash would cost him his job and endanger his life. It would also embolden his commitment to reconciliation.

Topics: Alumni, Graduate Studies, History, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Tim Smith outside Papa Jazz

UofSC alums help keep 5 Points alive

December 14, 2020, Craig Brandhorst

If you think Five Points is only a college bar district, think again. The village down the hill has drawn South Carolina students for more than a century, and not simply to celebrate. And for many who settle in the Capital City after graduation, Five Points remains an integral part of their lives, including Tim Smith, who turned his passion for music into a 40-year career buying and selling it.

Topics: Alumni, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Don McCallister inside Loose Lucy's

UofSC alums help keep 5 Points alive

December 10, 2020, Craig Brandhorst

If you think Five Points is only a college bar district, think again. The village down the hill has drawn South Carolina students for more than a century, and not simply to celebrate. And for many who settle in the Capital City after graduation, Five Points remains an integral part of their lives, including Don McCallister, whose business Loose Lucy's supports his creative outlets.

Topics: Alumni, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Opie patterson inside Goat's

UofSC alums help keep 5 Points alive

December 08, 2020, Craig Brandhorst

If you think Five Points is only a college bar district, think again. The village down the hill has drawn South Carolina students for more than a century, and not simply to celebrate. And for many who settle in the Capital City after college, Five Points remains an integral part of their lives, including Opie Patterson, who reopened one of the district's most iconic nightspots five years ago.

Topics: Alumni, Darla Moore School of Business

amy beth franks sits in the gourmet shop

UofSC alums help keep 5 Points alive

December 03, 2020, Craig Brandhorst

If you think Five Points is only a college bar district, think again. The village down the hill has drawn South Carolina students for more than a century, and not simply to celebrate. And for many who settle in the Capital City after graduation, Five Points remains an integral part of their lives, including Amy Beth Franks, who worked for the Five Points Association and now owns one of the district's oldest businesses.

Topics: Alumni, Darla Moore School of Business

five points fountain

UofSC alums help keep 5 Points alive

December 01, 2020, Craig Brandhorst

If you think Five Points is only a college bar district, think again. The village down the hill has drawn South Carolina students for more than a century, and not simply to celebrate. And for many who settle in the Capital City after graduation, Five Points remains an integral part of their lives, including Richard Burts, who has helped re-imagine many of the district's spaces.

Topics: Alumni, Darla Moore School of Business

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