History

In 1999, the Charleston County Legislative Delegation formed the University Study Committee "to explore the possibility of associating "the Medical University of South Carolina, The Citadel, and the College of Charleston.  The Committee was chaired by Rep. Harry M. Hallman, Jr. and included Dr. James B. Edwards (president emeritus of MUSC), General Alex Grimsley (president emeritus of The Citadel) and the late Dr. Harry M. Lightsey, Jr. (president emeritus of CofC). It recommended creating and supporting a jointly operated Lowcountry Graduate Center.

2000

In November, the first meeting of the informal "Governing Board" of the LGC was held. The planning committee was appointed with administrators and faculty representatives from the three universities.

2001

In March, the LGC Governing Board met and agreed to form the Lowcountry Graduate Center. Then in May, Rew A. Godow, Jr. was named the founding executive director. August brought the first LGC classes: one Citadel MBA course and two CofC computer science courses taught via two-way video.

2002

In January the first CofC education courses were offered and in August the first Citadel education courses were offered.

2003

Beginning in August, the first courses in the CofC Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages were offered.

2004

During July, the LGC received the first state appropriation of $465,000. In August, the first electrical engineering course from the University of South Carolina (first full LGC program; first USC program) was offered, along with the first courses in the CofC Certificate in Corporate Communication program.  

2005

In July, State funding increased to $660,000. The first meeting of the LGC Advisory Council was also held. The first course in Citadel Certificate in Technical Project Management (first Citadel new program offered exclusively at LGC) began in August.

2006

In February, the LGC won the "Admissions Advertising Award" by Admissions Marketing Report for recruitment package. State funding was increased to $1.11 million in July, and the LGC named one of 10 "Innovators 2006" by the Charleston Regional Business Journal. The first courses in the Clemson Ph.D. program in higher education administration (first Clemson program and first Ph.D. program), the first courses toward new Master of Arts in Communication from CofC (first new program developed exclusively for the LGC) and the first course in social work from USC all began in August. The LGC also became a receiving site for more than 20 programs of USC's Extended Graduate Campus during that month. The LGC celebrated Five Years of Growth with an anniversary celebration in November, and in December the USC Ph.D. in Educational Administration was launched.

2007

The LGC won gold recognition by the Admissions Marketing Report for The LGC Five Year Report. The Master of Social Work was launched on March 8.