Weather Update: UofSC Columbia campus will be closed Friday, Sept. 30 due to inclement weather. Classes are canceled and only essential personnel are required to report to campus. See sc.edu/weather for updates.
July 14, 2022, Page Ivey
Law professor Emily Suski’s research focuses on children and their health and well-being. She takes a fresh look at Title IX protections for children in the K-12 school environment as well as creating a legal clinic to help when children’s health is put at risk by social factors.
May 09, 2022, Rebekah Friedman
A portrait of I.S. Leevy Johnson, ’68 law, was unveiled Monday at the School of Law in recognition of the trailblazing alumnus’ legal, business and political achievements.
April 25, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
A lot happens over the course of an academic year, and there’s absolutely no way to highlight everything. So, no, don’t think of this as a Best Of list. This is merely a smattering of the achievements and memorable moments that defined 2021-22, a small taste of the year that was. Trust us, there’s plenty more where this came from — and plenty more to come.
April 25, 2022, Carol J.G. Ward
Alumna Lorri Unumb's journey to becoming an advocate for families affected by autism began when she and her husband Dan noticed their son Ryan wasn’t behaving and developing like other children. Ryan was diagnosed with autism shortly before his second birthday. Today, Unumb is internationally known for her advocacy. She has written ground-breaking autism insurance legislation and co-founded, with her husband, a nonprofit center for families affected by autism in South Carolina.
April 19, 2022, Derek W. Black and Axton Crolley
The Brown v. Board of Education decision framed racial segregation as the cause of educational inequality. Brown's focus on physical segregation inadvertently left important and less obvious aspects of local funding inequality unchecked. This still drives underfunding in predominantly poor and minority schools. Law professor Derek W. Black and law fellow Axton Crolley write for The Conversation on the historical connection between segregation and states' reliance on local school funding.
March 28, 2022, Megan Sexton
The University of South Carolina’s international business program retained its spot as the best in the country, while the School of Medicine Columbia remained the best school for graduates practicing in underserved areas, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings.
March 04, 2022
The University of South Carolina has a number of faculty members who are available to offer their expertise on environmental protection, climate action, biodiversity and conservation.
February 07, 2022, Chris Horn
Born to sharecroppers in 1944 in Yemassee, S.C., Edna Smith Primus was among the first Black graduates from the University of South Carolina in 1966. She became the first Black woman enrolled at the School of Law.
January 26, 2022, Carol J.G. Ward
The professional experience and expertise of two University of South Carolina alumnae and a law professor have led to their selection for roles in federal agencies and courts.
January 10, 2022, Page Ivey
Two faculty members and a student have been recognized for their social justice efforts on campus and in the larger community as 2022 Social Justice Award winners.
December 06, 2021, Carol J.G. Ward
Glynnis Hagins, a third-year law student at UofSC, has received a Skadden Fellowship that will allow her to pursue her passions of law, education and public interest. She is one of 28 Skadden Fellowship recipients for 2022 and the first UofSC law student to receive the prestigious award, one of the more competitive in the country.
November 15, 2021, Page Ivey
New law professor Etienne Toussaint came to the legal profession after starting out as an engineer, building bridges. After working internationally with Engineers Without Borders, he saw how a legal career would let him help lift those living in extreme poverty in the U.S. and around the world.
November 11, 2021, Carol J.G. Ward
When Navy veteran Brooks Herring needed help seeking custody of his son, he turned to the Veterans Legal Clinic at the University of South Carolina’s School of Law.
October 18, 2021, Craig Brandhorst
Law professor Thomas Crocker specializes in constitutional law, criminal procedure, free speech and democracy, national security and the Constitution. His new book, "Overcoming Necessity: Emergency, Constraint, and the Meanings of American Constitutionalism" (Yale University Press) is an analysis of how the concept of necessity, in conflict with constitutional commitments, creates dynamic challenges to constitutional governance, especially during times of emergency.
September 14, 2021, Claire Raj
Law professor Claire Raj, who specializes in special education law, offers answers in The Conversation to some questions parents might have about mask mandate bans and students with disabilities.
July 23, 2021, Page Ivey
University of South Carolina law professor, and now interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Joel Samuels works to preserve the underlying principle that holds societies together: the rule of law.
June 29, 2021, Chris Horn
It’s been a long time coming, but the Children’s Law Center finally has a permanent home, complete with a mock court room and a mock crime scene apartment for forensic training purposes. Those two assets are vital to the center’s mission of providing training to more than 10,000 professionals in justice, law enforcement and child welfare in South Carolina.
May 18, 2021, Page Ivey
Shelley Welton wanted no part of the law after watching her mother work tirelessly in children’s law and come up against structural issues that day-to-day lawyering couldn’t fix. But after getting a master’s degree in environmental policy work, she realized that she needed a better understanding of the law to make progress.
April 23, 2021, Craig Brandhorst
Former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, a two-time UofSC graduate, was at a loss for words when he learned the international organization he helms won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. Beasley has served as the executive director of the World Food Programme since 2017.
April 14, 2021, Benjamin Means
Over 100 companies publicly denounced Georgia’s new restrictive voting law, Major League Baseball went beyond words by moving the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver. In The Conversation, law professor Benjamin Means writes about how corporations use their economic power as leverage to get what they want from lawmakers.
April 13, 2021, Joseph A. Seiner
Sexual harassment at work is a very common occurrence for women, regardless of age or income level. Among women who have experienced unwanted sexual advances in the workplace, almost all reported that male harassers usually go unpunished. Law professor Joseph Seiner writes in The Conversation about the unfortunate reality that engaging in this conduct will result in no real consequences.
March 29, 2021, Megan Sexton
The School of Medicine Columbia is the top medical program in the country for graduates who are practicing in areas where there is a shortage of health care professionals, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School rankings. The rankings also show that UofSC is now home to more than 60 nationally ranked programs.
March 04, 2021, Chris Horn
The steady rise in podcast popularity has produced a bountiful crop of shows for listeners worldwide — 1.75 million and counting — including a growing list of podcasts produced by University of South Carolina faculty, staff and students.
February 09, 2021, Rob Schaller
Long before 2020, four South Carolina Law professors began writing books on topics that would come to dominate national conversations.
January 21, 2021, Ann Eisenberg
Law professor Ann Eisenberg with co-authors Jessica Shoemaker and Lisa Pruitt write in The Conversation about five federal initiatives they say would go a long way toward empowering distressed rural communities to improve their destinies, while also helping bridge the urban/rural divide.
January 03, 2021, Page Ivey
Scarlett Wilson’s passion for justice is so strong that she is willing to open the process in her office to in-depth scrutiny to ferret out racial disparities in criminal prosecution.
December 18, 2020
It’s been a year — but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty to celebrate, recognize and honor at the University of South Carolina in 2020. UofSC rose to each and every challenge this year and raised the bar for the year to come.
December 17, 2020
Lacy Ford is stepping down as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and will return to research and teaching in the 2021 spring semester. Professor Joel Samuels, interim vice provost for interdisciplinary studies and director of the Rule of Law Collaborative, will serve as interim dean starting Jan. 1.
October 13, 2020, Thom Harman
The University of South Carolina will host its first ever virtual TEDxUofSC event Wednesday, Oct. 21. Guided by TED’s goal of sharing “ideas worth spreading,” TEDxUofSC 2020 will be broadcast from the Columbia campus via Facebook Live from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
October 09, 2020
An international food program run by University of South Carolina alumnus David Beasley won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger in regions facing conflict and hardship and at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has driven millions more people to the brink of starvation.
September 28, 2020, Craig Brandhorst
Instead of contemplating retirement, longtime Columbia attorney, Board and Trustees member and past president of the American Bar Association William Hubbard is focused on his new tenure as dean of his alma mater’s School of Law.
September 24, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward
University of South Carolina law students Jasmine Caruthers and Anna Catherine Parham say their research on no-knock warrants to assist the lawyers representing Breonna Taylor’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit was enlightening and emotional.
August 27, 2020, Page Ivey
As the era of the civil rights movement gave way to the 1970s, the women’s movement took up a new banner that went beyond voting rights — the Equal Rights Amendment.
August 20, 2020, Page Ivey
South Carolina’s few but dedicated suffragists were no doubt disappointed that the state was not among the first 36 to ratify the 19th amendment, but they almost immediately set about the business of turning their suffrage organizations into education and advocacy groups. In the process, these bold women kicked off the era of “firsts.”
June 26, 2020, Jeff Stensland
William Hubbard, a prominent South Carolina attorney and former president of the American Bar Association, has been named the new dean of the University of South Carolina’s School of Law, the state’s only public law school. He will officially begin his duties on Aug. 1.
May 29, 2020, Seth Stoughton
The killing of an unarmed black jogger by white residents is shocking, but it should come as no surprise. Law professor Seth Stoughton writes for The Conversation that if anything, Ahmaud Arbery’s death in Georgia on Feb. 23 was predictable: the latest tragic example of the fatal consequences that can occur when private citizens seek to take the law into their own hands.
May 29, 2020, Derek Black
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act, designated $13.5 billion for public schools that was supposed to be distributed based on the number of low-income students enrolled in a district. Law professor Derek Black writes for The Conversation that a new directive from the U.S. Department of Education, which tells districts to share far more of the money than expected private and religious school students, contradicts the CARES Act.
May 13, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward
The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1. Top researchers at the University of South Carolina are available to discuss multiple aspects of the 2020 hurricane season, including forecasting, disaster planning and historical perspectives. To coordinate an interview, contact the staff member listed with each expert entry.
April 27, 2020, Craig Brandhorst
A half century ago, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and seismic shifts in American culture, the campus of the University of South Carolina became a battleground — between students and the administration, between a young generation and the establishment, between radically different worldviews. But the dramatic events of that spring, which came to be known as The Months of May, weren’t strictly destructive. The lessons of that era also changed lives and changed the university itself.
April 14, 2020, Marcia Zug
As millions of people around the world practice social distancing and self-quarantine, they are separating themselves from everyone but their immediate family members. However, for divorced or separated parents who share custody of their children, the definition of “immediate family” isn’t obvious. Law professor Marcia Zug writes for The Conversation on family law in the age of the coronavirus.
March 19, 2020, Megan Sexton
Joseph Seiner, a law professor who specializes in labor and employment law, explains how the coronavirus is affecting workplaces and employees.
March 17, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward
The University of South Carolina’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs has compiled a list of faculty experts who can discuss topics relevant to the coronavirus pandemic.
March 16, 2020, Page Ivey
The University of South Carolina continues to shine with 54 unique nationally ranked graduate programs — nine in the top 25 — in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools list released Tuesday (March 17).
January 22, 2020, Carol J.G. Ward
In the two years the University of South Carolina has been working with The Conversation, more than 40 faculty members have contributed 72 articles on a variety of topics related to their research and expertise.
January 15, 2020, Rob Schaller
A groundbreaking law course tasks students with crafting an original code of laws for the Catawba Indians, the only federally recognized tribe in South Carolina.
January 05, 2020, Jeff Stensland
University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen announced two new hires Monday; new chief of staff Col. Mark Bieger, and James Smith, who will serve as interim special assistant to the president.
December 02, 2019, Chris Horn
Not many professors inspire lofty tribute. Some we forget and others are scarcely remembered. James Cutsinger, a religious studies professor who taught at the university for 37 years, earned the respect and admiration of students for decades while helping them to achieve the most noble of goals: the ability to think.
October 22, 2019, Communications and Public Affairs staff
From growth and innovation on campus to an increasingly bustling city life, the university and the city are thriving together in a symbiotic relationship. In many cases, it’s South Carolina alumni themselves who are leading change in the city as entrepreneurs and community leaders.
September 09, 2019, Kathryn McPhail
For most students, the path to law school doesn’t include a stop in a fourth grade classroom. Well, at least not as the teacher of the class. But law student Brandon Adams says his experience as a teacher will help him become a better attorney, and he plans to combine his love of teaching and the law.
August 05, 2019, Craig Brandhorst and Megan Sexton
You don’t need a degree from the University of South Carolina to get elected mayor in the Palmetto State, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. This summer, Carolinian magazine traveled the state, from the Lowcountry to the Upstate, from the Midlands to the Pee Dee, interviewing South Carolina alumni who hold the esteemed office.
April 24, 2019, Rob Schaller
The Justin A. Thornton Endowed Scholarship Fund in the School of Law was established in 2015, and it’s now grown dramatically larger, thanks to the ongoing generosity of its founder, Justin Thornton, law, ’77, of McLean, Virginia.
April 11, 2019, Chris Horn
As political leaders pay final respects this week to former U.S. Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, who died April 6 at age 97, the University of South Carolina community has much to reflect on in its myriad connections with one of the state’s most beloved public servants.
April 03, 2019, Chris Horn
When Wendy Rothermel’s son Cade was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, her family life was upside down, punctuated by his frequent temper tantrums. But when the family connected with Project HOPE and Cade’s therapy began, positive changes followed. The nonprofit foundation, launched by two university alumnae, is bringing hope to families across the state.
March 22, 2019, Ross Stevens
Students and alumni will compete for $51,000 in startup prize money in The Proving Ground, the university's annual business plan competition March 28 at the Darla Moore School of Business.
March 19, 2019, Rob Schaller
South Carolina Law students work with Uber and Virgin Hyperloop One to help shape the future of transportation.
February 07, 2019, Dana Woodward
In the one-man production, “A Passion for Justice: An Encounter with Clarence Darrow,” actor Paul Morella portrays a selection of Darrow’s most dynamic arguments. The show takes place Feb. 11 at the Karen J. Williams Courtroom in the UofSC School of Law.
January 22, 2019, Megan Sexton
Criminal justice research spans multiple programs and colleges at the University of South Carolina. And the work is taking place a few miles from campus and a world away in Uganda.
December 07, 2018, Diane Parham
Year after year, the number of lives transformed by the University of South Carolina’s Gamecock Guarantee program keeps growing. But numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
November 06, 2018, Page Ivey
Each fall, thousands of new students come to USC from out of state, and a lot of them later make a permanent home here, including Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin.
July 31, 2018, Megan Sexton
The lineup of speakers is set for the inaugural TEDxUofSC conference Oct. 9 at the University of South Carolina Alumni Center.
January 25, 2018, Chris Horn
Insects are regularly consumed by an estimated 2 billion people, a practice that has its roots in culture and sometimes necessity. Law professor Marie Boyd studies the regulation of insects as food as part of her research on the Food and Drug Administration. She says insect-based food has a long way to go, both from a cultural and regulatory standpoint, in the U.S.
January 11, 2018, Dana Woodward
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and the University of South Carolina’s Black Law Students Association intends to mark the occasion with a film screening of "Rikers: An American Jail" and a community forum.
December 07, 2017, Megan Sexton
Thanks to a $5 million gift to the university from an anonymous donor, the country’s oldest freestanding academic library is getting a needed renovation. Work is well underway at the South Caroliniana, with all of the materials moved to the Thomas Cooper Library and other sites around campus.
November 28, 2017, Chris Horn
John Simmons finished his law degree at Carolina 30 years before the opening of the School of Law’s new building. His days as a walk-on for the men’s baseball team were at the now defunct Sarge Frye Field, long before Founders Stadium was built. But the passage of time and campus construction haven’t diminished Simmons’ ties to the university.
November 01, 2017, Craig Brandhorst
Law professor Bryant Walker Smith explores the nexus of law, society and emerging technologies — and how human factors fit into a complex equation.
October 03, 2017, Megan Sexton
Public policy conversations on climate change, coastal development and renewable energy are happening more and more in University of South Carolina School of Law classrooms, led by three Carolina law professors who focus on environmental law.
September 19, 2017, Chris Horn
The School of Law is launching two new legal clinics this academic year. A medicolegal clinic will team law students with medical students, medical residents and physicians to improve health outcomes for pediatric patients, while a domestic violence clinic will focus on protection, advocacy and community education.
September 06, 2017, Craig Brandhorst
The university’s new law school building was designed with today’s law student in mind but with the state’s rich legal heritage on full display.
June 02, 2017, Chris Horn
When the School of Law moves out of the well-worn Law Center on South Main for a spacious new home on Gervais Street, there will be high-fives all around. But this isn’t the first time in the law school’s 150-year history that it has traded old for new.
May 23, 2017, Chris Horn
Established about three years ago in the Children’s Law Center with funding from the Casey Family Programs, Cold Case goes to bat for S.C. children who have lingered in foster care for years. The goal is to help them to be adopted or to establish meaningful contact with a family member or adult friend who will be there for them down the road.
May 02, 2017, Megan Sexton
Cliff Scott is the new director of the University of South Carolina’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs – a job he accepted for its challenges and because it would allow him to contribute to the university in a new way.
March 14, 2017, Melinda Waldrop
Law professor Colin Miller examines controversial convictions with his popular podcast "Undisclosed."
March 01, 2017, Peggy Binette
For the first time in its 69-year history the South Carolina Law Review has elected an African American to serve as its editor-in-chief. Chelsea Evans, a second-year law student from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was elected by peers to lead the esteemed University of South Carolina School of Law publication.
February 22, 2017, Melinda Waldrop and Dan Cook
Professors use blogs to communicate faster with a wider audience.
February 17, 2017
Two law alumni are working to help reform criminal record issues that can plague people who are jailed for failing to pay child support.
February 14, 2017, Page Ivey
Fake news. You’ve heard about it, consumed it, probably even believed it — at least on occasion. But what is it? Why does it exist? How do we combat it and why can’t it just go away? USC Times invited two faculty members and an alumnus who serves as the attorney for the South Carolina Press Association to discuss one of the most vexing of 21st century media problems — the rampant spread of fake news, clickbait profiteering and outright propaganda.
February 06, 2017
There’s no question that having a good mentor can help shape an individual’s career — especially in the field of law. That’s why the University of South Carolina School of Law has devoted substantial resources to take its mentoring program to a new level.
January 30, 2017
This year, the Public Interest Law Loan Fund celebrates 15 years of aiding University of South Carolina School of Law alumni who have chosen careers in public interest law and dedicated their practice to helping those who are often unable to help themselves.
December 15, 2016, USC Times
A is for alphabet, at least according to USC Times. To help close out 2016, the University of South Carolina’s monthly magazine for faculty and staff devoted its entire December issue to the ABCs of 2016 — with each letter representing a different accomplishment, announcement or notable arrival from the past year.
December 07, 2016, Chris Horn
When he’s not working to save the Amazon, Tom Mullikin climbs mountains, hikes volcanoes, dives with sharks, explores the effects of climate change, leads the S.C. State Guard ... and occasionally sits in a rocking chair in his Camden, S.C., law office.
November 15, 2016
Teresa Wilson was never one of those kids itching to leave town. She liked growing up in Irmo, S.C. She chose the Honors College for undergraduate studies and the USC School of Law afterward. Now, as she watches Columbia literally rising all around her, she knows her decision to stay home was right for her.
October 31, 2016, Dan Cook
From bank accounts to presidential campaigns, it seems that nothing is off-limits for computer hackers these days. That's why SC Cyber — a statewide cybersecurity initiative housed in the Office of Economic Engagement — is working to improve our defenses and raise awareness about how cybersecurity issues impact all of us.
September 28, 2016
The School of Law’s new Konduros Leadership Development Program has tasked students with learning different communication strategies and reinforcing their problem-solving and relationship-building skills to equip them with the necessary tools to assume leadership positions in an increasingly complex world.
August 23, 2016, Yolanda Jones
Facilities Management has been hard at work enhancing the beauty of our wonderful campus. Check out our progress.
August 12, 2016, Dan Cook
Tommy Preston could have gone just about anywhere for college, but a trip to Carolina more than a decade ago opened his eyes to the possibilities in his home state. Now, 10 years after serving as student body president, Preston is taking on a new leadership role as president of the My Carolina Alumni Association.
July 25, 2016
Michelle Dhunjishah is replacing Harry Davis as head of the Children’s Law Center at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
July 18, 2016
The legal profession has been called one of the least diverse in the country. And while countless attempts have been made within the legal industry to ameliorate the problem, University of South Carolina School of Law professor Eboni Nelson believes the key to real change starts with law schools.
July 11, 2016, Rob Schaller
“Without marriage, there could be no stable family units, no children, and no future. And without mail-order brides, one could argue, there might not be a United States of America. The entire colonial endeavor hinged on marriage,” says University of South Carolina law professor Marcia Yablon-Zug, whose new book, “Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail-Order Matches,” traces the phenomenon as far back as our nation’s first permanent English settlement, Jamestown.
June 14, 2016, Chris Horn
The Cold Case Project, an initiative in the Children’s Law Center, focuses on a select group of adolescents who have lingered in the S.C. foster system and are at risk for aging out of foster care without achieving legal permanency — that is, without a family. Partnering with DSS and the family courts, Cold Case staff find ways to reunite these at-risk foster children with responsible family members or to match them with a new family. With children’s lives at stake, giving up is not an option.
May 11, 2016, Craig Brandhorst
Maintaining classroom discipline is important, but so is maintaining student civil rights. Carolina law professor Derek Black says in his new book “The End of Zero Tolerance in Schools” that public education’s current hardline approach to the one is a threat to the other.
April 14, 2016, Peggy Binette
Reconstruction was the first chapter in America’s civil rights movement. And its influence on race relations continues across the country and on college campuses, although few may realize its connection. Now 150 years later, the University of South Carolina’s History Center and Historic Columbia hopes to deepen public understanding of Reconstruction’s history and racial legacy with a symposium April 21–22.
March 28, 2016, Page Ivey
For researchers, little else is more gratifying than studying something that helps someone else — whether it’s finding a sustainable healthy diet, a better way to motivate workers or a way to make coursework more engaging. For some professors and researchers that means taking their scholarly work into the blogosphere, where they can reach not just others in their profession, but those who might learn from their work.
November 17, 2015, Craig Brandhorst
One Friday a month the University of South Carolina School of Law welcomes 40 of the youngest law students you’ll ever meet. Welcome to the law school’s Constitutional Scholars Pipeline Program, which pairs seventh and eight graders with USC law students who teach them about the law and coach them for a moot court.
November 11, 2015
Hailed as a huge victory for women’s rights, the Supreme Court of Uganda made international headlines in August when it ruled the custom of refunding “bride price” unconstitutional. However, Aparna Polavarapu, a law professor and scholar with the University of South Carolina’s Rule of Law Collaborative, says changing that practice will be difficult.
October 28, 2015
Law professor Seth Stoughton is a former police officer who understands the many pressures that law enforcement officers face. He wants his law students to understand it as well, that is why he requires his criminal procedure students to take a police ride-along.