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SCICU joins federal lawsuit challenging ‘Blaine Amendment’ language in South Carolina Constitution

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — SCICU on April 14 joined the federal lawsuit, Bishop of Charleston, a Corporation Sole, dba Diocese of Charleston v. Adams, to strike down post-Civil War “Blaine Amendment” language from the South Carolina Constitution.

The suit was filed by attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit, public-interest litigation center that fights to protect school choice and fundamental constitutional rights.

Please click here to read the official Liberty Justice Center news release.

Case filings are available at https://libertyjusticecenter.org/media/sc-school-discrimination.

Kristen Williamson at Liberty Justice Center is the media contact for this lawsuit. Ms. Williamson may be reached media@libertyjusticecenter.org or 773-809-4403.

SCICU president’s remarks at Apr. 14 Blaine Amendment federal lawsuit news conference

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SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez

Jeff Perez, Ph.D.
SCICU President and CEO

Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez –

For my column this month I thought I’d share with you my comments at the press conference announcing SCICU’s participation in the federal lawsuit to strike the “Blaine Amendment” from the S.C. Constitution.

My organization is a party to this lawsuit in order to strike from the South Carolina Constitution a provision expressly intended to thwart the establishment and growth of independent and religious colleges and universities in our state. Why? The historical record is clear the purpose was to deny African Americans and Catholics the hope of a better life through education.

Today, the 20 SCICU member institutions are paying the price for the racist and anti-religious intentions of Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman. Because of the provision in the state constitution prohibiting aid to independent and religious institutions, our governor feels compelled to deny my members access to federal funding clearly intended for us by Congress in the CARES Act.

Governor McMaster initially signaled he would provide federal GEER funding for eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities, five of whom belong to SCICU. A court case predicated on the Blaine Amendment successfully prevented the governor from using GEER funding for private and religious K-12 school students, and discouraged him from following through on the funding for the HBCUs.

The General Assembly’s Act 154 of last year included independent higher education with state and local agencies, and public colleges and universities for reimbursement for COVID-19 expenses from a pool of $115 million of federal CARES Act funding. Chastened by the court case, the South Carolina Department of Administration informed SCICU that its member institutions would not be permitted to continue the process for applying for a portion of this funding out of fear for being sued.

I want to be very clear who the villains are in this story. Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman was an enemy of African Americans and was abetted in his efforts by constitutional language inspired by James G. Blaine whose anti-Catholicism dovetailed nicely with Tillman’s racism. They worked tirelessly to ensure religious organizations would be unable to fully realize their efforts to foster educational institutions that would benefit peoples they considered unfit to participate in the American Dream.

Their legacy is to diminish the capacity of independent colleges and universities to serve their students, whose families in recent months have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fully 45 percent of students at SCICU campuses receive federal Pell Grants, which are designated for the most economically disadvantaged students. These are the students at greatest risk of dropping out.

My member institutions have endured massive disruptions to their operations as a result of the pandemic. They were counting on the federal support contained in GEER and Act 154. And so were the surrounding communities – these colleges and universities are essential to the economic wellbeing of the regions in which they are located.

On a personal note, my academic background is American History. I studied the development of state and federal governments as part of my doctoral research. I join this endeavor with a deep sense of reverence for the intentions of the Founding Fathers who had the courage to imagine a government of the people, by the people and for the people, though they fell short of their aspirations. And for the Civil War generation who advanced that great mission by enshrining equal treatment under the law in the 14th Amendment, though its application has been imperfect. And for modern generations who have struggled, and sometimes died, for those civil rights.

I am humbled by the prospect of continuing their work by absolving South Carolina of the injustice entombed in its constitution.

2021 Legislative Champion Rep. Gary Simrill celebrates 2021 Virtual Statehouse Day with SCICU students

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SCICU students celebrate 2021 Virtual Statehouse Day with Rep. Gary Simrill, 2021 SCICU Legislative Champion


COLUMBIA, S.C. — SCICU 2021 Legislative Champion Rep. Gary Simrill and more than 90 SCICU students celebrated the successful 2021 student letter-writing campaign during the April 13 Virtual Statehouse Day gathering.

“Gary Simrill has successfully tackled the major issues facing South Carolina by working with both sides of the aisle,” said SCICU President and CEO Perez. “We at SCICU are honored to have the opportunity of acknowledging Gary’s principled leadership and support for independent higher education by naming him our Legislative Champion for 2021.”

SCICU students teamed up and sent more than 7,200 Tuition Grants thank-you letters to their members of the S.C. House and Senate. Campus legislative coordinators worked through myriad COVID-19 challenges and scheduled events to facilitate student letter-writing. SCICU and campuses also worked together in coordinating a Tuition Grants thank-you campaign with posts on Twitter and Facebook leading up to and during Independent Colleges and Universities Week, this year April 12-16.

“Independent colleges and universities are an important part of the fabric in South Carolina, and continued funding for Tuition Grants and increasing accessibility will remain a top priority,” said Simrill, who chairs the S.C. House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Higher Education. “Collaboration and consensus building are vital for supporting higher education. We don’t have the toxicity in South Carolina like what we see in D.C. The General Assembly and Governor McMaster understand the need for making college more affordable and accessible for all South Carolinians.”

Simrill explained to students that his focus on higher education funding goes all the way back to his experiences as a student at Winthrop in the early 1990s. “I was told that the reason tuition kept going up was because of the General Assembly,” said Simrill. “Higher education funding was an important driver in my initial decision to run for an S.C. House seat.”

“Keeping South Carolina competitive depends on higher education,” Simrill added. “We have to remove barriers for South Carolinians in accessing and affording a college education.”

Katie Harrison, executive director of the S.C. Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission, updated students with the latest funding news for Tuition Grants. “The governor and the House have proposed a $10 million increase for Tuition Grants next year, and if approved by the Senate, will boost the maximum Tuition Grant by $790, the largest single-year increase in the 51-year history of the Tuition Grants Commission. Your thousands of thank-you letters are very influential with S.C. Representatives and Senators in their decisions to support the Tuition Grants program.”

SCICU students say ‘Thank You’ over 7,200 times to S.C. Representatives and Senators

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CIU students say THANK YOU for their S.C. Tuition Grants! CIU and other SCICU colleges and universities also posted their Tuition Grant thank-you messages on Twitter and Facebook during 2021 Independent Colleges and Universities Week (April 12-16).

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Members of the S.C. General Assembly once again had their mailboxes filled by thousands of thank-you letters from SCICU students during the 2021 legislative session.

S.C. Senators and Representatives received over 7,200 student letters thanking them for their continued support of the S.C. Higher Education Tuition Grants program. These need-based grants are an essential component of financial aid for S.C. residents who decide that their best choice for college is at one of the state’s independent colleges. Approximately 60 percent of in-state resident undergraduates who attend the 20 SCICU member colleges and universities receive tuition grants.

Limestone students gathered to write their Tuition Grants thank-you notes for S.C. Representatives and Senators.


“Every time I talk with S.C. Senators and Representatives, they mention how much they appreciate and are impressed by the students’ letters,” said SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez. “At SCICU we are very proud of the tremendous effort that our Tuition Grants recipients put into this annual outreach campaign, which is a highlight of the legislative session.

“We are also deeply thankful for the work of campus legislative coordinators who helped achieve 100% participation by all SCICU member institutions,” said Eddie Shannon, SCICU executive vice president. “Without their leadership, the letter writing initiative would not be possible.”

PC students also posted their Tuition Grants thank-you messages on Twitter and Facebook.

Newberry College students joined other SCICU students on Twitter and Facebook with Tuition Grants thank-you posts.

Claflin University students posted Tuition Grants thank-you messages on Twitter and Facebook.

SWU students posted their Tuition Grants thank you messages on Facebook and Twitter.

SCICU honors 2021 Excellence In Teaching award winners on 20 campuses

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — SCICU is pleased to recognize the 20 winners of the 2021 Excellence In Teaching awards and their achievements in the classroom and campus communities.

“The 20 SCICU member institutions share a deep commitment to student achievement,” said SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez. “The SCICU Excellence In Teaching Award recipients embody that dedication by providing an education that is second-to-none and inspiring their students to become leaders in their professions and communities.”

A faculty member from each of SCICU’s 20 member colleges and universities is nominated for the Excellence In Teaching award according to rigorous guidelines. Each year the 20 award recipients receive a framed award certificate and a $3,000 professional development grant. For the first 13 years of the SCICU Excellence In Teaching program, award recipients and their guests were honored at a special dinner in April during S.C. Independent Colleges and Universities Week. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dinner was cancelled in 2020 and again for 2021.

In place of the 2021 awards dinner, college/university presidents held campus awards presentations for their Excellence In Teaching recipients, and sent photos to SCICU. Campus public information officers and SCICU teamed up to celebrate and recognize the 2021 Excellence In Teaching awards recipients on Twitter and Facebook.

Please click on the links below to learn more about the achievements of these outstanding educators.

Allen University — Melita Heyward
Anderson University — Dr. T. Hunter Strickland
Benedict College — Emmie Jannell Davis
Charleston Southern University — Thomas Keating
Claflin University — Michael Fairwell
Coker College — Dr. Jennifer Heusel
Columbia College — Dr. Brennan Davis
Columbia International University — Dr. John Crutchfield
Converse College — Dr. Angela Esco Elder
Erskine College — Tracy McCurry
Furman University — Dr. Janet Kwami
Limestone University — Dr. Yan Gong
Morris College — Herbert Johnson
Newberry College — Dr. Laura Roost
North Greenville University — Dr. Jon Boulet
Presbyterian College — Dr. Roy B. Campbell
Southern Wesleyan University — Dr Kim Jedlicka
Spartanburg Methodist College — Dr. Kirk Hansen
Voorhees College — Roger Riley
Wofford College — Dr. Karen Goodchild

South Carolina update

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Good news from the BEA —

Last week the S.C. Board of Economic Advisors reported the General Assembly would have considerably more resources at its disposal for the next fiscal year (2021-2022) than previously projected.

In January, the BEA anticipated additional revenues of $440.2 million, but at its April 8 meeting the BEA upped that number by nearly 50%, reporting that the state will end fiscal year 2021 with a surplus of $646.7 million. It now projects the state will have a whopping $1.7 billion in an unobligated revenue for fiscal year 2021-2022.

The $1.7 billion breaks down between $386 million in recurring funds that will be received next year and every year thereafter, and $1.33 in non-recurring, “one-shot” revenue.

Why does the state have so much more revenue available than previously thought? According to the BEA analysis, the pandemic downturn was very different from previous recessions. Taxable spending recovered very quickly and total wages and income did not decline as expected. Additionally, the federal stimulus funding boosted both government spending and the overall economy.

Nevertheless, the state has not regained jobs to the pre-pandemic level, with the hospitality sector being the slowest to recover.

Washington update

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Title IX —

The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights announced on Tuesday that, responding to the president’s executive order, it would review the Title IX regulations put in place last August. It is doing so as part of implementing President Biden’s March 8 Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. It also clarified that the current regulations are still in force and that it will be issuing FAQs to provide guidance.

As you may recall the rulemaking that resulted in the current Title IX regulations was a process that took about two years. There’s every reason to expect the same timeframe for another round of rulemaking.

Appropriations Bill —

Last week the Biden administration sent Congress its initial discretionary funding request, totaling $1.5 trillion, of which $769 billion is non-defense spending. Think of it as the president’s budgetary wish list.

The request includes good news for higher education. The president proposes increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $400, the largest one-time increase since 2009. However, the request goes on to note the $400 increase is one piece “…of a more comprehensive proposal to double the maximum Pell Grant.” Doubling Pell is one of SCICU’s top federal legislative priorities – this is a good start.

The discretionary budget would also ensure that DACA students would be “eligible for Pell Grants if they meet the standard requirements for that aid.” In total, the discretionary request invests an additional $3 billion in Pell Grants.