Maria Hickman Passes the Ball
August 25, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
Maria Hickman was a successful student athlete in college. Now executive associate athletics director at USC, she helps guide the success of the next generation.
Recent Stories
Bryan Bros Tee Off!
August 25, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
Wesley and George Bryan IV made their mark on the greens as Gamecock golfers. The brothers are now teeing off as golf course owners.
Travian Robertson Brings It Home
August 24, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
Defensive end Travian Robertson nearly gave up football when his NFL career ended. Now the Gamecocks D-line coach is giving back — plus more.
Poet, professor and first-generation college student Ray McManus defies the odds
August 17, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
No one expected Ray McManus to go to college. Three USC degrees later, he’s a professor of English at USC Sumter and a celebrated poet with three books under his belt.
King of Video
August 16, 2023, Collyn Taylor
Athletics media mastermind Justin King owes his success to his team, but the USC alumnus has a singular vision and a passion for excellence.
Gamecocks football head coach Shane Beamer looks back, looks forward and charges full speed ahead
August 15, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
In just two seasons, Head Football Coach Shane Beamer has changed the direction of USC’s football program. Entering his third year, fans are excited, his players are pumped, and his staff is ready to win.
Sara Barber pushes long-term change as executive director of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
August 14, 2023, Rebekah Friedman
In South Carolina, 42 percent of women have experienced intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence or stalking. Sara Barber knows the statistics. Since 2014, the University of South Carolina alumna has served as executive director of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, a coalition of 22 organizations that connect survivors with emergency shelter, counseling and other services.
Independent bookstore begins first chapter -- and USC's fingerprints are on every page
August 11, 2023, Megan Sexton
Walk through the doors at All Good Books, a thriving bookstore in the heart of Five Points, and you’ll see neat shelves filled with classics and new releases, a counter for coffee, beer and wine and – perhaps most important of all — a welcoming vibe.
For food service industry veep Stacey McCray, it's always Bo Time!
August 07, 2023, Rebekah Friedman
After 46 years in the business, Bojangles knows how to do fried chicken. And alumna Stacey McCray, the company’s vice president of communications, knows how to promote it.
Give back plus more
July 28, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
Gamecocks defensive line coach Travian Robertson almost walked away from football. But when he came back to the game he loves, he came back hard.
Evolutionary biologist Tim Mousseau studies the ecological effects of radiation at Chernobyl
May 05, 2023, Craig Brandhorst / Illustrations by Dré Lopez
Evolutionary biologist Tim Mousseau has been studying the ecological effects of radiation at Chernobyl for decades, even during wartime.
USC Sumter professor Ray McManus wins Governor's Award for the Arts
April 27, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
Poet Ray McManus won a 2023 Governor’s Award for the Arts, but the USC Sumter English professor’s impact stretches beyond the page.
In the fight against poverty, Chynna A. Phillips strives to do more
April 10, 2023, Rebekah Friedman
As senior director of policy and research at Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, Chynna A. Phillips is taking on poverty one partnership at a time.
Columbia artist Blue Sky paints through challenges, brings beauty to blank spaces
March 31, 2023, Megan Sexton / Photos by Kim Truett
Blue Sky begins a conversation about his six-decade career as an artist this way: “I should have been an engineer.” He swears he’s not joking. But think what Columbia would have lost if Blue Sky had not filled the public arena with color and whimsy and boldness and giant pieces of art that have become Capital City landmarks.
Colonial Life offers key support for College of Education's CarolinaTIP
February 10, 2023, Page Ivey
CarolinaTIP focuses on teachers in their first three years as they transition from learning how to teach to leading their own classrooms. About half of all South Carolina teachers who leave their jobs each year are in their first five years of working in the classroom. The Carolina Teacher Induction Program has reduced the number of new teachers leaving the profession by offering them coaching support from more experienced classroom leaders — most of whom are retired instructors who want to give back to the profession.
Alumna Hope Rivers inspires a new generation as president of Piedmont Technical College
January 30, 2023, Megan Sexton
Hope Rivers, a first-generation college student who earned three degrees from USC, is inspiring a new generation of students as the president of Piedmont Technical College.
Ero Aggelopoulou-Amiridis may be new to the President's House, but the university's first lady is no stranger to USC
January 18, 2023, Craig Brandhorst
First Lady Ero Aggelopoulou-Amiridis holds two graduate degrees from USC — a master’s in art history and a Ph.D. in philosophy. Her intellectual curiosity is how she makes sense of the world.
Alumna Caroline Harper works to bring back indigo
January 17, 2023, Rebekah Friedman
Indigo is tightly woven into South Carolina history, but few have worked with the rich natural dye since it fell out of favor nearly 150 years ago. Alumna Caroline Harper is bringing it back.
USC's women's basketball coach Dawn Staley wins championships, builds champions
January 05, 2023, Page Ivey
Basketball-wise, Dawn Staley has done it all. As a player, she won MVP trophies and gold medals. As a coach, she has won national titles, coach of the year honors and more gold medals. As a mentor, she has watched Gamecock power forward turned WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson win season MVP and a WNBA championship. But Staley also transcends the sport, raising awareness for issues she cares about and money for causes she believes in. At her core, she is an advocate — for her players, first, but also for people whose voices might not be heard.
Circuit Court Judge J. Michelle Childs is more than a trailblazer
November 16, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
School of Law alumna J. Michelle Childs was appointed circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this summer. Carolinian sat down with her to discuss her time at USC and her career on the bench.
Dennis takes the Cake
November 15, 2022, Chris Horn
A lot can change in four decades. Having served six presidents and shepherded more than 160,000 Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Zers to graduation, the longest-serving VP for student affairs in school history is calling it a career.
Former Gamecocks tackle life, literacy beyond football
November 15, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
Langston Moore and Preston Thorne made a big impact on the football field at Williams-Brice. Now the former Gamecock defensive lineman make their impact writing children’s books and visiting schools.
New student government president has past and present Carolina connections
August 05, 2022, Chris Horn
Reedy Newton is the university’s new student government president. Her mom, Rose Buyck Newton, is on the Board of Trustees. Gamecock leadership is a family tradition.
Lessons Earned
July 26, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
This summer, the James Beard Foundation honored Chai Pani with its Outstanding Restaurant award. Three decades ago, owner Meherwan Irani was just starting to cook — as a grad student at USC.
UofSC Anne Frank Center committed to changing the world through education, conversation
June 07, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
The university’s Anne Frank Center is dedicated to the legacy of the famous Holocaust diarist — and is committed to changing the world through education and conversation.
Photojournalist alumnus wins Pulitzer Prize
May 09, 2022, Chris Horn
In his nearly 40-year career as a photojournalist, Win McNamee has documented world history and national calamity — and periodically found himself in the thick of the action.
Illustrator Kev Roché brings artistic wit to the world of sports television
May 05, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
Kev Roche has turned his artistic talent and quick wit into a lucrative "hustle" drawing illustrations for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The 2005 studio art major also has illustrated a book by two former Gamecock football players as well as given UofSC's beloved mascot Cocky a cartoon makeover.
Michael Amiridis has many reasons to return to UofSC
May 02, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
Incoming University of South Carolina President Michael Amiridis is going to miss the University of Illinois Chicago, but he has zero misgivings about the new job. In fact, the former UofSC faculty member-turned-administrator is thrilled to return to the campus where he cut his academic teeth.
Young adult novelist and school librarian turns the page on its head
April 11, 2022, Craig Brandhorst
Romance, historical fiction, sci-fi — for young adult novelist Shanna Miles, it’s all fair game. It’s also rocket fuel for the imagination, whether she’s typing up the next interstellar adventure or turning kids on to reading and writing as a virtual school librarian.
For some alums, a day at the office is a walk in the park
February 24, 2022, Craig Brandhorst; Photos by Kim Truett
In the age of digital overload and the COVID-19 pandemic, we need our public parks and gardens more than ever. Alumni Robin Salmon, Tracy Swartout and Karen Kustafik are here to help us escape.
UofSC alumna Carrie Morey is building a biscuit empire
December 14, 2021, Megan Sexton
Alumna Carrie Morey is the founder and face of Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit, which includes restaurants in three states, a thriving online and grocery store business, a new cookbook and a PBS television show.