Blog Category: Blog Posts

Photo by Steve Buissinne via Pixabay The greatest test of a student’s college career is upon us: it’s time for May 2018 graduates to begin repaying student loans. The average college graduate leaves school owing roughly $42,000, in payments of $350/month for ten years. The problem, say financial aid officers, is that many students are uninformed…

Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli via Unsplash No intelligent discussion about improving college attendance and graduation rates can fail to address the onrushing teacher shortage now reaching critical levels in South Carolina. The past school year opened 550 teachers short. That explains why the state’s Commission on Higher Education (CHE), a statewide funding agency for educational initiatives in state-owned…

A new day is coming to the already rambling, shambling, expensive, labyrinthine American healthcare system. U.S. healthcare is twice as expensive as the next most expensive system in the world (Germany’s) while delivering worse outcomes than in most industrialized countries.  Now, a seed planted by the Affordable Care Act is beginning to germinate into a…

Image by Kyle Ryan via Unsplash A country can impose any tariff or pass any trade-restricting law it likes, rail all it wants about unfair trade practices, demand a better deal from this trading partner or that one, says Dr. David Jamison, professor of business at South Carolina State University, but they are fighting the…

In the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage, attributed to John F. Kennedy but likely written by his staff, the authors single out Edmund Ross, a Republican Senator from Kansas, for a most unpopular decision. Ross broke with his party and cast the decisive vote against the conviction of President Andrew Johnson, allowing him to…

Image by Caleb Woods via Unsplash Changes in the state’s tax law, under S.C. Tuition Tax Credit that went into effect this year could reduce college tuition bills for many South Carolina families this tax year, irrespective of income or student GPA.   The significance of this change lies in the fact that college costs in…

If you’ve been to a conference, you know the formula: The organizers determine the speakers, presenters, a panel of experts, maybe some breakout sessions that allow participants to chime in periodically. Participants show up, listen to experts and maybe walk away with some CEUs. If the keynote speaker is entertaining, that’s a bonus. Rarely is…

  The Lowcountry Graduate Center (LGC) was created to answer the community’s call for graduate education that develops the knowledge-based workforce needed by industries powering Charleston’s economy. LGC fulfills this mission in myriad ways, often by providing local remote access to courses taught elsewhere. Another meaningful way the LGC fills the gaps in graduate education…

For years, particularly since the development of the aeronautics sector in the Lowcountry economy, employers have been agitating for more governmental and academic support for the development of STEM expertise. For the longest time, the Charleston area had no graduate-level programs for engineering, technology or science – other than the life sciences at MUSC. Imagine,…

  A unique South Carolina resource, with a little help from an old Pig, has catapulted a local company and begun creating jobs in North Charleston. The South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) is a private, non-profit group that serves as a resource to South Carolina businesses, providing them with a range of helpful strategies…

This profound nugget of wisdom came from, of all places, the Dear Abby column in the newspaper. A 36-year-old man whose life dream was to be a doctor had frittered away his college years. He was considering a return to school but fretted that finishing his degree, medical school and an internship would take seven…

  Because environmental issues are health issues, the Lowcountry Graduate Center’s Healthcare Advisory Board recently invited Emily Cedzo, Land, Water and Wildlife Program Director for the Coastal Conservation League, to present the organization’s priorities for 2018. The Coastal Conservation League’s mission is “to protect the threatened resources of the South Carolina coastal plain — its…

  Sally Bethea always had a head for business and a heart for taking care of people. She followed her heart and got a nursing degree from South Carolina State University, working for a spell as a floor nurse at Providence Hospital in Columbia. A series of personal tragedies – the death of her father…

  On August 2, 1986, the body of 15-year-old Dawn Ashworth was found in the woods of  Leicestershire, England, raped and strangled.  The specific modus operandi recalled the murder of Lynda Mann in the same vicinity three years earlier. Mann’s case had never been solved. The prime suspect in the case was a local 17-year-old…

Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, Dana Farmer’s talent for math and science was evident, so school counselors pointed her towards accounting and business, not engineering or science. Because of her natural talent, she gravitated in her career towards engineering but found not having an engineering degree hindered her from securing some…

We’re in the communication age, yet fewer people seem to be adept at communication than ever before. This has massive implications for the workplace, but most schools do not teach students business communication skills, by and large. Asked to rate the soft skills most important to business in a Harris survey, executives selected communication eighth…

  Ninety percent of brain development in humans occurs in the first three years of life when we learn how to learn. During that time, we develop – or we don’t – the neural pathways that will speed the learning process for a lifetime. By age six, the window of opportunity to develop those pathways…

  If you were to plot brain growth in humans against America’s public investment in young people by age, (as we demonstrate below) you would see a curious shape: The two lines are nearly mirrored images. In other words, the more public investment can make a difference in a child’s future, the less we invest…

    The credit union branch at Goose Creek High looks just like a professional branch except for the school logo. Morgan Montemayor speaks the language of financial institutions. She has handled member accounts at Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union, ensured compliance with company policies and federal regulations, and established proficiency in financial systems. Morgan…

  The number of people with mental healthcare diagnoses has been on the rise for nearly half a century. Ever since the 1970s, and the de-institutionalization of mental healthcare, people struggling with diseases of the mind and the issues surrounding them have been thrust back into communities. With the rising number of people in need…

A growing manufacturing sector in South Carolina has produced a growing need to move products from one point to another. The state recently quantified the impact of this business, commonly known as logistics or supply chain management. Logistics are particularly tied to advanced manufacturing, SC’s fastest-growing industry this decade. The study found advanced manufacturing employs…

As we documented a few months ago, a looming teacher shortage resulting from Baby Boomers retiring and a lack of Millennials to replace them in the classroom has begun to hit Charleston County hard enough to warrant a response. Charleston County School Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait has proposed that the school district hike starting teacher pay…

In almost every county in every state in America, jails and prisons are filled to overflowing, often with people who neither belong behind bars nor are best-served there. Many in jail are awaiting trial, a process that can take months, even years. Many struggle with drug addiction and mental illness and are low-level offenders who…

Rickey grew up surrounded by drug use, poverty and criminal activity, so it surprised no one when he headed off to prison, or when he returned repeatedly.  After each stint in the penitentiary, Rickey resolved not to make the same mistakes, but change is hard and he always reverted to his old ways.   In…

By Barry Waldman My high school years were the 70s, long after humans had achieved the technological leap of landing on the moon, but before computers had advanced to rule the world. A computer showed up at my high school, the sixth largest in America, and they quickly gathered students around it for a week…

South Carolina boasts more than 5,000 manufacturing businesses in the state, whose average wages of $54,444 account for $25 billion of income statewide. Companies like Boeing, Volvo Cars, Mercedes Vans, their suppliers, and many others in the Charleston area are growing the manufacturing base even further. Governor Henry McMaster proclaimed the first week of October…

You may have noticed that population growth is transforming the once-sleepy Charleston area into a metropolis, with all its benefits and drawbacks. The population is swelling by 48 people every day, mostly from in-migration. Job and entertainment opportunities are on the upswing, but so is the amount of car traffic, the cost of housing, the…

From nearly half the U.S. economy in the 1950s, manufacturing has plummeted to just 9% of U.S. economic activity in 2016. Cheap labor and global markets provided an incentive for manufacturers to move their plants outside the U.S. With high tech advances in manufacturing, that is turning around, particularly in South Carolina. Today, a robust…

Returning to school can be daunting, particularly after years away from the discipline of note-taking, paper-writing and studying. It is understandable that even excellent students might feel anxious about re-entering the academic realm after time in the working world. The Lowcountry Graduate Center (LGC) has partnered with Tutor Matching Service (TMS) to offer expanded tutoring…

On August 6, 2017, a longstanding and trusted servant in higher education retires from the College of Charleston. Patricia Simpson, known by us all as “Patty,” smiled and greeted countless numbers of want-to-be students as they inquired about academic programs on the North Charleston campus, how to apply, and what to expect. For her warmth,…

Within my first year as director and associate dean of the Lowcountry Graduate Center, I relied on recent, independent research data quantifying the demand for jobs and the talent “gaps” in our region in order to strategically target employment sectors for the LGC’s attention. They were identified broadly as: 1) advanced manufacturing, engineering services, and…

This is not a formula any science teacher would propose: Take a state that holds itself accountable in its constitution for “minimally adequate” education; combine legislative foot-dragging over a court decision demanding remediation of appalling conditions at schools along a poor section of the state dubbed the “corridor of shame;” and mix in a burdensome…

For the last seven years and for the next 12 going forward almost 10,000 people are celebrating their 65th birthday every day. Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 are creating a boom in the field of gerontology. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) projects the need for 70,000 social workers with a specialty…

In an area of the country known as the “stroke belt,” the “diabetes belt,” and the “obesity belt,” community partners from various sectors are coming together to improve the health of local citizens. Known as Healthy Tri-County, it’s a systems-change initiative that will take years of continuous effort, broad community support and many partners working…

In the earliest days of proto-humans two million years ago, Homo Erectus began hunting cooperatively, employing stone tools and teamwork to catch, trap and kill their quarry. The leader of the hunting party, the hominid who assessed risk, assigned roles and led the development of strategy, who tracked time and arranged retrieval of the prey,…

Because he had G.I. Bill money expiring, Dan Ecklund was taking two classes each semester to earn his master’s degree in Project Management through The Citadel while working full-time for Scientific Research Corp. at SPAWAR. He didn’t have much free time to spend with his wife at home in Goose Creek. Fortunately, the program is…

Are you considering going back to graduate school? Money is an issue, isn’t it? Most returning students have to factor both the upfront costs and the long-term payoff when determining whether to commit the time and effort to a graduate program. One issue facing individuals seeking post-graduate education is determining the real net costs of…

Palmetto Primary Care Physicians’ $32 million expansion into the burgeoning Nexton development near Summerville will develop a six-building campus delivering primary, specialty and urgent care, and offer imaging and lab services. It will create 250 permanent jobs and signal a new vision: a continuum of care focused on outcomes rather than services delivered. That will…

You may have noticed a flurry of news from the Lowcountry Graduate Center in recent months. That’s because there’s been a blizzard of activity with several big announcements. SC State is now accessible in the Lowcountry, with its new Healthcare Management concentration added to its existing, hybrid MBA program. It is designed for those wishing…

In the last election, South Carolina received one of the lowest voter turnout rates across the nation. In order to ensure that your voice is heard, consider tips offered by this guest blog. Your local elected officials make decisions that determine sales taxes, infrastructure, and zoning that shapes city development and neighborhood quality. Your state legislators…