With the September 2022 edition of the SCICU Newsletter we kick off a new feature: The SCICU Legislative Spotlight.

Every month we’ll learn more about a member of the General Assembly who attended a SCICU member institution or has a close relationship with one.

We are honored our first Spotlight is S.C. House Speaker Murrell Smith, who, as you’ll read, is a proud graduate of Wofford College.

Speaker Smith’s experience at Wofford set him on a path to professional success and public leadership. He will share with you in his own words how Wofford professors inspired his love history and interest in politics. He may not have realized it at the time but his work in the classroom and extracurricular activities were preparing him to run for S.C. House of Representatives and manage the challenges of elected office.

You might say that Speaker Smith’s path from his hometown of Sumter to the Statehouse passed through Wofford.

What I found fascinating was that, while a History major, it was an art history professor that encouraged his political engagement.

But don’t take my word for it, read the Legislative Spotlight and let Speaker Smith tell you himself.

It’s that time of year! Campuses are welcoming students for the fall semester, like they have for many years…well, except for those COVID years. And colleges and universities continue to take the precautions appropriate to their communities and campus culture.

As COVID-19 begins to loosen its grip on us, there’s still plenty for campus leaders to wrestle with. Even before the pandemic higher education was undergoing significant disruptions. SCICU member institutions are still sorting through the changes they face. What are some of those challenges?

Students are changing. As for traditional students – the 18-year-old high graduates – their final years of high school were spent alone, online. They are often less prepared academically, and after two years of isolation and the cancellation of so many extracurricular activities, they are struggling with their social and emotional intelligence. Mental health issues were already a growing concern, but, with the stress of being at college, campuses are facing unprecedented demand for counselling.

And there are fewer traditional students. There has been much talk in higher education circles about the “demographic collapse” to occur in 2025 when the number of high school graduates begins to decline precipitously. At the same time, more and more adults are looking for advance preparation of one sort or another. They believe they are not looking for the classic campus experience so much as specific knowledge to advance in their careers.

Technology is changing. Remember when “Zoom” meant going really fast? In one form or another virtual meetings and online learning are here to stay. That’s just the beginning. Some campuses in the country are dabbling with virtual campuses – put on goggles, hit the link and you’re walking across a virtual quad, entering a virtual classroom, to attend a lecture by the avatar of a professor. As dystopian as that may sound to many of us, it’s a meta world that some young people are just as, if not more, comfortable in.

The economy is changing. After many years of sustained growth, we are in a period of inflation, that may be a recession, with traces of stagflation. Since the pandemic, millions of employees disappeared and no one seems able to find them. What will the economy look like a year from now? What should colleges students expect of the job market when they graduate? The only honest answer is, who knows?

The world is changing. I hate to admit it, but there are times I long for the predictability of the Cold War. You knew where the lines were drawn, and that those lines would be there tomorrow and the next day. We now must reckon with a world of unstable alignments. Much like about 100 years ago, we wake up every day with the awareness that a conflict on one small part of the map could lead to world war, as it did in 1914.

All this change is captured in one word: uncertainty. How do we educate and prepare students to stand on shifting sands? The answer is a familiar one – by imbuing them with the mental agility and creative thinking, as well as the timeless truths and principles, afforded by a liberal arts education. Along with preparing their students to adapt and thrive in change, SCICU member colleges and universities equip their students with a grounding in the human experience that empowers them to cope with the stress of uncertainty.

I am so very proud to serve private colleges and universities that are so deeply committed to the success of their students. That never changes.

If I were to give a commencement address this year, it would be, well, short. That’s because short speeches are best, and most fondly, recalled. It would go something like this:

We’ve all seen a lot of headlines reporting inflation is at its highest in 40 years. That rang a bell.

I know what it’s like to leave the security and predictability of college life and venture into an economically uncertain world. I graduated this month precisely 40 years ago.

I remember envying friends just a few years older whose lives seemed so much more sorted. Now everything was changing – heck, Ma Bell was being broken up! That’s what we called the phone company – the only phone company. Suddenly, just making a call required choosing among things called “providers,” and “services.”

Because I attended a private liberal arts university, however, I knew I had options. I felt prepared to take on any challenge I put my mind to, and confident I’d succeed. For me that meant running an asphalt driveway sealing business with a friend of mine. We branded ourselves, took out ads and designed and distributed flyers (no Internet back then). We had never done those things, but we figured them out. The work was smelly and hot, but we worked for ourselves, and after a few months I had made enough money to travel cross-country. Being an American History graduate, I felt I should see the object of my studies.

That trip was followed by other career twists and turns including a gig as a restaurant host, followed by graduate school, legislative work and college stints that happily led to my current position at SCICU.

Why the trip down memory lane? The members of the Class of 1982 bear many of the same anxieties faced by, you, the Class of 2022, but we also share the prospect of unlimited possibilities. In 2019 Dell Technologies forecast that 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet!

Like my post-graduate experience, your career path will no doubt include curves and lane changes, even more than I faced. Making the most of those opportunities requires having the skills to adapt to new circumstances, to learn fast and to figure out how to succeed. In other words, having attended a private liberal arts college, you are eminently qualified for whatever you choose to take on.

Now, this is the part of the commencement address when I’m supposed to impart wisdom that, like a beacon, will direct you to success and fame. Sorry, I just have the flashlight on my cell phone, but I’ll give it a shot.

Don’t stress about your future, just pick a path. If it turns out to be the wrong one, you’ll have vital information you didn’t have before – you’ll now know what you don’t want to do, which will make it a lot easier to pick the better path for you.

And base your success on where you are, not where you’ve been.

I’m not sealing driveways, but I turned out OK.

I look forward to working at SCICU every day, but the first week in April was tremendous.

On Tuesday, April 5, we held the Excellence In Teaching Awards dinner at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Each of the 21 member institutions nominates a faculty member for the SCICU award, which includes a $3,000 professional development grant and a framed awards certificate.

This was our first awards dinner in two years, and we were all excited to get together – Mother Nature wasn’t so sure. She made it a bit more interesting by strewing tornados and strong thunderstorms across the Midlands. A couple of campuses weren’t able to make it, and we had to “shelter-in-place” for about 20 minutes at the convention center – not a big deal as we just moved the reception away from the gallery windows into the dining area.

I deeply appreciate that nearly 150 people were able to make it. Many thanks to the presidents and campus leaders who joined in celebrating their faculty members’ achievements.

Faculty members are typically acknowledged in professional environments like academic conferences and don’t often get the chance to be recognized in front of family and friends. We at SCICU are very proud to provide that opportunity.

On Wednesday, April 6, we held the first Higher Education Day at the State House. You may remember in previous years we’ve celebrated Independent Higher Education Day, but this year we joined with our colleagues from the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical College System to highlight the depth and breadth of college opportunities in South Carolina.

About 65 students from colleges and universities all over the state met with legislators to express their thanks for the state’s financial support of students, in particular the Tuition Grants Program for private college and university students and the Needs-Based Grant Program for students at public colleges and universities. Speaking of Tuition Grants, the day also marked the culmination of our annual letter-writing campaign – fully 9,000 hand-written messages were sent to legislators by Tuition Grant recipients thanking them for the support that makes real for more than 11,000 students the dream of a college education.

Holding a joint Higher Education Day symbolizes our mutual support for each sector’s financial aid program, and highlights the collective contributions of our campuses and students to the future of South Carolina.

Nowhere was that clearer than in the balcony of the S.C. House of Representatives where the students were acknowledged by the legislators with a resolution proclaiming April 6, 2022 as Higher Education Day in South Carolina.

The students then moved outside onto the steps of the Statehouse where they were joined by none other than Gov. Henry McMaster who issued an executive proclamation honoring the students.

I capped off the week by flying to Chicago to attend the meeting of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. I sit on the board in my capacity as national chair of the association of individuals like myself who run state organizations.

Spending time with campus leaders from across the country afforded me the opportunity to benefit from their perspectives on the challenges facing independent higher education. And there were familiar faces there: Allen University President Ernest McNealey and Coker University President Natalie Harder were also in attendance.

That week tested my endurance, but I’ve never been happier to be so tired.

Last week SCICU held its first in-person board meeting in two years, and it was a great success. Numerous board members shared with me how excited they were to see each other again. While virtual meetings may be convenient, I believe being physically together makes for a more productive and rewarding meeting. Let me give you three reasons why.

Number 1. There’s more interaction among the meeting participants. You may have heard that “Seventy percent of communication is non-verbal.” We rely on body language to reinforce our verbal communication and to better understand the meaning of others.

Body language is hard to pick up during a virtual meeting. And scanning the group for non-verbal feedback is all but impossible. When we’re sitting around a table we can express enthusiasm by leaning forward or sense concern of the others who lean back and look down.

Number 2. Participants are better focused on the agenda. How do you feel when you’re speaking during a virtual meeting and you see others glancing sideways, clearly working on something else on another screen, or looking down at their cell phones? And just what are people doing when their screens are turned off?

When everyone is sitting together, let’s call it “group accountability.” You’re more likely to be more considerate of those around you. And I’m just as guilty as the next person.

Number 3. There is a greater sense of shared purpose. When we’re isolated behind our computers we don’t have the same awareness of a connection to others and the organization as a whole. When you must make the effort to attend a meeting you’re demonstrating commitment to the larger cause and its shared values.

We’ve all found that maintaining an organizational culture is very difficult if people are not brought together. Being together creates an excitement, and part of that excitement is the unscripted moments. We’ve all experienced that some of the most valuable, and unexpected, parts of a meeting are the discussions during breaks. These spontaneous conversations often result in the best ideas.

Of course, there will always be a role for virtual meetings at SCICU and your own business or organization, but because it’s important to keep participants fully engaged, they should be balanced by in-person meetings.

Now, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a Zoom meeting in five minutes.

A friend of mine is fond of saying, “I can predict everything but the future,” but that is just what our campus leaders are called upon to do. Colleges and universities are in the business of preparing students for the challenges they will face. But what will those challenges be?

That is surely on the minds of students. Whereas previous generations had a pretty good idea of what to expect of their lives after college, today’s students look down a road that’s foggy with unexpected twists and turns.

For example, in 2019 the Dell Corporation forecasted in a report on technology that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.

At the time of the report Dell was trying to look 10 years down the road. Let’s try to do the same but with a broader perspective. What will the world look like? I don’t claim to have the answers, but I’ve got a few questions:

• Will robots do our jobs? If they are, what will we be doing?
• Will we live in some sort of virtual reality?
• Will cars fly?
• Will the U.S. remain the dominant superpower?
• Will the waters be higher?
• Will we be as divided and divisive as now?
• What will a loaf of bread cost?

The scope of these questions explains why students are so anxious about the future. They simply don’t know what to expect.

On the other hand, people have not changed all that much, nor are we likely to do so. We bear the same hopes, fears, loves, and jealousies with which people wrestled 3,000 years ago, and will continue to do so. The one constant is the human experience, which is why the focus on humanities and liberal arts at our colleges and universities is so important. It is through the exploration of humanity as expressed by great thinkers and artists that SCICU member institutions produce academically and emotionally grounded graduates who are equipped to manage change in their lives by drawing strength from the enduring qualities and values that have always inspired humanity.

You might even say the more things change the more they stay the same.

Exercise. Eat less. Read more. These are popular New Year’s resolutions people make as that ball is falling in Times Square. Organizations can have resolutions too.

In the last two years SCICU member colleges and universities have done an amazing job adapting to the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As I’ve noted before, thanks to the precautions they took, there have been no major outbreaks on the campuses.

Higher education in general was already facing major changes due to technology, demographics, and changing workforce demands. The pandemic has accelerated the transformation in higher education. How campuses recruit students, educate them and provide a supportive environment are all being reassessed and reconfigured. Though I hate to employ an overused term, it fits: Campuses are adapting to the New Normal, and so must SCICU.

In the coming months we will explore how SCICU can best serve its member institutions in this volatile environment. We will encourage discussions with the campuses, our Board of Trustees and other stakeholders to identify how SCICU can help our member institutions as they navigate these uncharted waters.

Through our scholarship and grant programs SCICU in our last fiscal year provided $640,000 in support to students at SCICU member institutions. SCICU helped more than 400 students pay for college, overcome unexpected family financial emergencies, and conduct high-level academic research.

We are committed to help even more students this year. The students at our colleges and universities have had to endure so many disruptions and uncertainties. We want to help ensure they’re not distracted by financial needs. In this effort we complement the tremendous scholarship and grant support provided by the member institutions, which totaled nearly $350 million last year.

One of SCICU’s top responsibilities is promoting independent higher education in South Carolina. We work with state legislators, public officials, and the media to highlight the many successes realized on our member campuses.

Our efforts serve to promote campus fundraising and underscore the importance of SCICU member institutions, and their students, to the future of South Carolina. We see the results, for example, in the support demonstrated by the governor and General Assembly for the Tuition Grants Program, which last year provided financial support to more than 12,000 South Carolina residents.

This year we will extend our communications “footprint” through the use of digital and social media and expand our partnerships with campus relations professionals at the SCICU member institutions.

I once heard that March is where New Year’s resolutions go to die. That won’t happen with SCICU’s resolutions – they will be kept.