University of South Carolina

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for September 7, 2021, we speak with Dr. Melissa Nolan, professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health and co-lead for the Sampling and Testing Representative Outreach for Novel Coronavirus Guidance (STRONG).

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a mask mandate instituted by the University of South Carolina last month doesn't violate a state budget proviso. University officials withdrew the rule requiring masks inside campus buildings earlier this month after state Attorney General Alan Wilson opined that the mandate was "likely not consistent with the intent of the Legislature." Wilson cited a budget proviso that the high court has now interpreted to mean public universities and colleges can't enforce a mask mandate that only applies to the unvaccinated.

Free tuition, Apple products and coveted tickets to this year's Carolina vs. Clemson game are among prizes the University of South Carolina is offering to campus members who get vaccinated against COVID-19. Interim University President and trained epidemiologist Harris Pastides announced the weekly prize giveaway Wednesday as part of a "vigorous vaccination campaign."

An Anne Frank Center is opening at the University of South Carolina, which will be the first museum in North America and the fourth in the world where visitors can walk through the famed story of the teenage Holocaust victim.

The state's top prosecutor says the University of South Carolina can't lawfully require students and staff to wear face coverings on campus this fall, despite increasing cases of coronavirus, thanks to recent legislative action. University officials said last week they would require "face coverings to be worn at all times inside all campus buildings" except dorms, private offices or dining halls.

The University of South Carolina is requiring students to wear masks indoors this fall as the spread of COVID-19 has sped up across the state. School officials said Friday that masks are again required inside campus buildings given Richland County's high coronavirus transmission rate. The announcement follows recently updated federal guidance that calls for mask-wearing indoors regardless of vaccination status in areas where the delta variant is rapidly spreading.

The University of South Carolina president has indicated he doesn't plan to ask the Legislature for permission to change the names of nearly a dozen campus buildings that a special committee says honors racists and Civil War figures. Instead, interim university president Harris Pastides says in a letter that he'll encourage school leaders to concentrate on honoring deserving people on new buildings with the same committee suggesting a number of prominent Black leaders.

University of South Carolina trustees turned Friday to Harris Pastides to temporarily run the school as they look for a new president after the previous leader Bob Caslen resigned over a plagiarized graduation speech after a tumultuous 20-month tenure.

The embattled president of the University of South Carolina resigned on Wednesday, days after he delivered a commencement address marred by allegations of plagiarism and a misidentification of the school itself.

Trustees at the University of South Carolina have refused to accept the resignation of the school's embattled president following a commencement address marred by allegations of plagiarism and misidentification of the school itself.