2016 Legislative Letter Writing Campaign Winners (L-R): Erskine College, Highest % (Lee Ann Fortner, Michelle Lodato); Anderson University, Most Letters Written (Barry Ray);SCICU President & CEO Mike LeFever
Mike LeFever, President and CEO of SCICU, welcomed the group followed by Mr. Earl Mayo, Executive Director of the SC Tuition Grants Commission, who presented an update on the SC Tuition Grants Program. Daniel Boan, Budget Director and General Counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, gave a state budget outlook followed by Representative Chandra Dillard, District 23-Greenville, who summarized the legislative issues facing the 2017 General Assembly.
Mike LeFever covered the 2017 legislative strategic plan followed by Eddie Shannon who announced the winners of the 2016 legislative letter-writing campaign. A total of 8,264 letters were written by the students to their House and Senate members. Anderson University wrote the most letters (1,744) and Erskine College had the highest percentage of their grant recipients writing letters (84%). Mr. Shannon emphasized the importance of the letter-writing campaigns and invited the individuals in attendance from Anderson and Erskine to describe the efforts on their campuses to get the students to write letters.
In closing the lunch meeting, Mike LeFever reminded everyone of two important events upcoming this Spring related to our legislative effort: 1) Independent Higher Education Week: April 3-7, 2017, and 2) Independent College Day at the Statehouse: April 5, 2017.
The SCICU campus legislative coordinators meet each year in December to go over the SCICU legislative strategic plan for the upcoming year as developed and approved by the SCICU Public Policy Committee.