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Second Chance Pell Initiative: Four SCICU institutions expanding educational opportunities for prisoners

May 24, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

COLUMBIA, S.C. — SCICU members Benedict College, Southern Wesleyan University, and Voorhees University are joining Claflin University in expanding educational opportunities for persons incarcerated in South Carolina.

The four SCICU institutions are participating in the U.S. Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative. In the 1994 Crime Bill, Congress restricted prisoners’ access to Pell Grants. Second Chance Pell experimentally restores Pell Grant access to prisoners participating in correctional education provided by selected colleges and universities.

Launched with nearly 70 colleges in 2016, the Second Chance Pell program provides Pell Grants to persons incarcerated in state and federal prisons. In 2020, Claflin University was selected for the second round of participating colleges and universities.

With the 2022 addition of Benedict, Southern Wesleyan, and Voorhees, the total number of participating institutions has grown to 200. The 2022 cohort includes 24 HBCUs and minority-serving institutions.

“Claflin’s participation in the Second Chance Pell Grant Program reflects the university’s commitment to the principles on which this institution was founded,” said Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack, Claflin’s ninth president. As a 2019 USA Eisenhower Fellow, Warmack conducted research exploring global best practices for reducing mass incarceration through education and rehabilitation.

“A quality education is the gateway to empowerment and plays a critical role in the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated people into their respective communities,” said Warmack. “This grant is also consistent with the university’s vision statement which includes our focus on developing a diverse and inclusive community of globally engaged visionary leaders, and one of Claflin’s essential Core Values: our commitment to valuing people.”

“Benedict College recognizes that inclusivity is paramount to helping all students attain a meaningful education,” said Jamila Lyn, director of special programming for Benedict College. “The Second Chance Pell initiative fits squarely in Benedict’s mission to advance social justice.”

Dr. April White Pugh, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Southern Wesleyan University, adds, “Approval by the U.S. Department of Education to operate as a Second Chance Pell Grant Experiment institution extends SWU’s reach in carrying out its mission to transform lives to impact the world for Christ. In partnership with South Carolina’s Department of Corrections, Healthy Routines, MarketPlace Professional Staffing, and others, Southern Wesleyan University is committed to providing South Carolina’s incarcerated an educational experience that is sure to increase their opportunities to achieve great successes.”

“The Second Chance Pell Grant will allow Voorhees University to embrace and uplift the ambitions of these citizens who are often forgotten and greatly assist them in developing clear pathways to successful, productive careers,” said Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, president of Voorhees University. “As a part of our Becoming Beloved Community, we embrace the opportunity to provide a quality education for those who are most in need and often have barriers to receiving higher education.”

Research conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice confirms the initial success of the Second Chance Pell initiative. From 2016 to 2020, over 22,000 Second Chance Pell students were enrolled and nearly 7,100 earned career/technical certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, or bachelor’s degrees.

RAND Corporation research shows that correctional education improves inmates’ chances of not returning to prison – 43% lower odds of recidivism. RAND also projects that every dollar invested in the Second Chance Pell initiative equates to $4-5 saved on the cost of keeping inmates in prison.

The 2022 Second Chance Pell Grant expansion is a lead-up to the full reinstatement of prisoners’ access to Pell Grants. Congress lifted the 1994 Pell Grant ban in 2020 and prisoners beginning in July 2023 will again be able to apply for federal aid.

About SCICU (South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities)
SCICU supports and promotes the values of independent higher education in South Carolina. SCICU seeks to advance higher education through fundraising, scholarships, and research, as well as by facilitating collaborative activities among the 21 member institutions. SCICU also enhances a positive public image and encourages government policies that support independent higher education.

Filed Under: scicu-news-releases

If I were a commencement speaker…

May 24, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez

Jeff Perez, Ph.D.
SCICU President and CEO

Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez –

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.

Filed Under: Messages from SCICU President, scicu-news-releases

South Carolina State House update

May 24, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

A week ago Thursday marked “Sine Die” for the SC General Assembly, the last scheduled day of the 2022 legislative session. Sort of.

Despite this year’s session being technically over, legislators will be returning on June 15 to take care of unfinished business.

While the General Assembly checked off several items on their to-do list – early voting, minimum standards for police training, fixing the sex offender registry, ban lower pay for disabled workers, and officially calling for a national convention to amend the U.S. Constitution – other legislation didn’t make it to the finish line. Supporters of splitting DHEC, creating hate crimes law, streamlining the approval process for new hospitals, and legalizing medicinal marijuana will have for next year’s legislative session.

Other bills passed both houses, but the House of Representatives and Senate passed different versions of them which will have to be addressed in a conference committee. That includes most prominently the state budget – the Senate version includes a $1 billion tax cut and $1 billion one-time rebate, while the House version offers a $600 million tax cut and increased spending for transportation and local project and rural schools.

Conference committees will also be formed to forge compromise on creating vouchers for K-12 private school students, and banning “Carolina squat” trucks that have been modified so their front is much higher than the rear of the vehicle.

But, of course, the budget is the focus of activity. Once it’s passed, the General Assembly is prepared to return later in June to address potential gubernatorial vetoes.

Filed Under: scicu-news-releases

‘What a great week!’

April 18, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez

Jeff Perez, Ph.D.
SCICU President and CEO

Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez –

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.

Filed Under: Messages from SCICU President, scicu-news-releases

SCICU undergrads send 9,000 Tuition Grant thank-you letters to S.C. General Assembly

April 18, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

SCICU students sent 9,000 hand-written thank-you messages to members of the General Assembly during 2022.

SCICU students sent 9,000 hand-written thank-you messages to members of the General Assembly during 2022.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Appreciation comes in large numbers at SCICU campuses – 9,000 to be exact. This year SCICU students bowled over S.C. senators and representatives with 9,000 “Thanks for my Tuition Grant!” letters and messages.

Last year the governor proposed and General Assembly approved a historic $10 million in additional Tuition Grants funding in the 2021-22 state budget.

“The thousands of letters sent to members of the General Assembly highlight the importance of Tuition Grants to so many students who rely on them to attend the private college or university that best meets their needs,” said Jeff Perez, SCICU president and CEO. “Tuition Grant recipients hail from every House and Senate district in South Carolina.”

Before the January opening of the General Assembly session, SCICU joined campus legislative coordinators at a kickoff gathering that provided them with a state budget forecast, student letter-writing strategies, and more. Campuses then hosted letter-writing events throughout the semester, culminating with a celebration of their efforts at Higher Education Day in April.

Anderson University, a perennial powerhouse in the student letter-writing campaign, won the 2022 competition with 1,770 Tuition Grant thank-you letters sent to members of the General Assembly. With 100% of its Tuition Grants recipients penning thank-you letters, Allen University won the honor of highest percentage of eligible students writing letters to senators and representatives.

SCICU President Jeff Perez announced the winners of the 2022 letter-writing campaign at the April 6 Higher Education Day, an inaugural joint rally of students from SCICU campuses, S.C.’s public universities, and the S.C. Technical School System. Please click here to read more about this historic rally at the S.C. State House.

Filed Under: scicu-news-releases

SCICU hosts inaugural Higher Education Day with S.C. public colleges and universities

April 18, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

Columbia College senior Zy'keria Moultrie emphasized the importance of Tuition Grants to her college education.

Zy’keria Moultrie
Senior Public Health Major – Columbia College
(Click here to view photo highlights from Higher Education Day)

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Students representing South Carolina’s private and public colleges and universities made history April 6 with the first-ever joint Higher Education Day, delivering combined messages of thanks for state-funded, need-based financial aid to Governor McMaster and the General Assembly.

SCICU collaborated with the S.C. Commission on Higher Education and the S.C. Technical School System to host the inaugural event at the S.C. State House.

“In previous years, SCICU students gathered at the State House to thank legislators for their support of the Tuition Grants Program, but this year all sectors of higher education in the state came together,” said SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez. “We sent a powerful message that supporting higher education and its students is the best way to secure a bright future for South Carolina.”

Students visited with state senators and representatives before gathering on the House chamber balcony for the reading of H. 5081, a concurrent resolution proclaiming April 6, 2022 as Higher Education Day in South Carolina. The resolution was introduced and read by the members of the House of Representatives Higher Education subcommittee – Chair Gary Simrill and subcommittee members Gilda Cobb-Hunter and Kirkman Findlay.

Following the House recognition of participating colleges and universities, Governor McMaster joined students and campus representatives on the State House north steps for the presentation of his gubernatorial Higher Education Day proclamation.

Highlighting the student gathering with the Governor were the student messages of thanks shared by Zy’keria Moultrie, a senior public health major at Columbia College, and Antonia Adams, a junior business economics major attending the University of South Carolina.

The April 6 State House Day marked the second time Moultrie expressed her thanks for the Tuition Grants program at events with Governor McMaster. She was also a featured speaker at the Feb. 17, 2021 needs-based aid news conference that announced the commitment to significant financial aid increases for FY 2021-2022, including an additional $10 million in Tuition Grants for in-state students attending South Carolina’s private colleges and universities.

The winners of the annual Tuition Grants student letter-writing campaign were also announced at Higher Education Day. Tuition Grants recipients on SCICU campuses sent a total of 9,000 thank-you messages to members of the General Assembly.

Filed Under: scicu-news-releases

2022 Higher Education Day highlight photos

April 18, 2022 By SC Independent Colleges & Universities

COLUMBIA, S.C. — SCICU, along with the S.C. Commission on Higher Education and the S.C. Technical School System, hosted the first-ever joint Higher Education Day April 6 at the S.C. State House. Please enjoy these highlight photos from Higher Education Day.

SCICU President Jeff Perez (left), S.C. Technical System President Tim Hardee (center), and S.C. Commision on Higher Education President Rusty Monhollon (right) welcomed and briefed students at the Higher Education Day orientation session at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

SCICU President Jeff Perez, S.C. Technical School System President Tim Hardee, and S.C. Commission on Higher Education President Rusty Monhollon welcomed students to Higher Ed Day.

 

South Carolina private and public college and university students head into the Gressette Building to meet with legislators.

Students head into the Gressette building to meet with legislators

 

Newberry College students meet with Sen. Ronnie Cromer.

 

Limestone University President Darrell Parker and Limestone students and staff meet with Sen. Harvey Peeler.

 

Limestone University students meet with Rep. Dennis Moss.

 

Students assemble on the House balcony (left) for recognition and reading of the concurrent resolution (right) by Higher Education subcommittee Chair Gary Simrill and subcommittee member Gilda Cobb-Hunter.

 

SCICU President & CEO Jeff Perez opens the proclamation ceremony introducing student speakers – Columbia College’s Zy’keria Moultrie and University of South Carolina’s Antonia Adams.

 

Columbia College senior Zy’keria Moultrie emphasized the importance of Tuition Grants to her college education and plans for the future.

Columbia College senior Zy'keria Moultrie emphasized the importance of Tuition Grants to her college education.

 

Antonia Adams, a junior at the University of South Carolina, described how need-based financial aid made college possible for her.

UofSC junior Antonia Adams described the importance of need-based financial aid for her college education.

 

Governor McMaster talks with Higher Education day participants and reads his executive proclamation.

 

Governor McMaster (center) with student speakers Antonia Adams (left) and Zy’keria Moultrie (right).

 

Governor McMaster with Wofford College students and staff.

 

Governor McMaster with Benedict College students.

 

Governor McMaster with Bob Jones University students and staff.

 

Governor McMaster with Charleston Southern University students.

Filed Under: scicu-news-releases

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