University of South Carolina Libraries
Bus tour CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 eled to Cheraw and a new location of Sentry Bank and Trust, where he met former HJSC Board of Trustees members Robert Bennett and John Long and talked over coffee with employees about USC’s research efforts and potential for cooperation with universities like Clemson and the Medical University of South Carolina for the betterment of the state’s econ omy and intellectual capital. Sorensen said USC’s future re search campus could extend as far west as the Congaree River and as far south as Williams-Brice Stadium and incorporate high tech firms to provide resources to university research so that the re sulting discoveries could be made into marketable products. If the expense of these companies oper ating in Columbia becomes too high, Sorensen said, “Our dream is that we will then be able to re fer them to communities like this and say, ‘Please take a look at Cheraw and consider developing your facility there.’” He said this strategy could cre ate jobs in several of the state’s ru ral communities. “I have a responsibility for and am concerned about economic de velopment throughout the state,” Sorensen said. “I am aware of the fact that you all have lost a lot of jobs here in Cheraw as a result of the textile industry’s downsizing and moving offshore, and it’s my responsibility at the flagship uni versity in this state to take steps to directly boost the economy.” About institutional coopera tion, Sorensen said he is especial ly looking forward to increased in teraction with Clemson’s presi dent, James Barker. “It’s fun for us to have a rivalry between Carolina and Clemson when play ing football or basketball or base ball, and it’s important for us to realize that on the 350 or more days a year we aren’t competing on the athletic fields, that we must find ways to work together for all of South Carolina.” More South Carolina students than ever are wanting to stay in state for their higher education, and record-high application totals and enrollment are encouraging administrators to increase com ■ petitiveness with an emphasis on scholarships and the South Carolina Honors College as ways of attracting the most talented stu dents possible. The bank's vice chairman, Herbert Watts, said Sorensen’s in terest in a community like Cheraw is important, because the state’s banking industry receives USC graduates as employees as well as advancements from the business school’s industry research. The next stop was at Dillon High School, where principal and USC doctoral graduate Julie Von Frank greeted Sorensen, as one of her assistants shouted support from a back office, “We’re garnet and black all the way in this office, Dr. Sorensen.” He gets similar re actions often while traveling in South Carolina, except when on a few occasions some Clemson sup porters have told him that he is the president of the wrong university. Sorensen spoke in the'school’s library to students from journal ism, Spanish and history classes about the importance of higher ed ucation in their future career plans. “We used to see a lot of jobs in textile mills and people work ing on farms,” he said, adding that the state is moving away from an agrarian society. Instead, he said, students would need a strong lib eral arts background or laborato ry science classes to be prepared for the jobs appearing locally. By lunchtime, Sorensen was in Florence delivering a speech at the local Rotary Club meeting, where USC Board of Trustees member Mark Buyck Jr., from Florence in troduced him. Sorensen reiterated his opposi tion to a proposal that would turn USC-Sumter from a two-year cam pus to a four-year, degree-offering campus. He said his position is based on its not meeting criteria like size and academic diversity requirements. “I think that given the declining resources we have for higher education in this state, we need to be careful with how we spend our taxpayers’ dollars,” he said. However, Sorensen voiced strong support for the Life Sciences Bill being considered in the state Legislature that would provide $220 million in research support to the state’s three re search universities and $30 mil lion for other public institutions. “We need to be accommodating for the knowledge revolution,” he said, adding that information tech nology and biotechnology would be the leading industries for po tential economic development. Sorensen said finding a balance between attracting top students and making the state’s largest uni versity available to the entire state would be difficult in the coming years. “A real challenge for me is being the president of eight insti tutions,” he said, adding that USC’s regional campuses act as a major form of outreach to the state’s smaller communities. Buyck’s son and fellow Rotarian, Mark Buyck III, said Sorensen’s speech at the meeting showed local leaders that higher education institutions and busi nesses live in a codependent rela tionship in South Carolina. “The university has a big presence here in Florence,” he said. “There are a lot of university graduates here, and we spend a lot of time burn ing up the highway between here and Columbia because of it.” Sorensen wrapped up the day with personal calls to regular donors to the university and an appearance at a Carolina Alumni Association event in Camden in the evening. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocknews@gwm. sc. edu Australia CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The nightlife in Australia, where the legal drinking age is 18, is different too, said Diebert, whose campus had three bars. “Drinking is more like a sport there,” she said. USC sends students to Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia and the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, New South Wales. The USC Study Abroad office can send up to 10 students at any time to either of the study abroad campuses in Australia, Maddox said. “Most students decide to go to Newcastle, which is unusual to me. Seems like the West Coast would be more of an adventure.” Angela Mulchandani, a third year print journalism student at USC-Aiken, is studying abroad for ___ -x _a_i- rt_i_:x.. a jreal ai mui uut/ii univcunj. "I've seen the east coast and I wanted to experience something different, and so far I love it,” she said. In fall 2003 three students stud ied at the University of Newcastle and two studied at Murdoch University. Four additional stu dents went “down under” this semester and are attending the University of Newcastle. “The whole experience was re ally enriching,” Deibert said, “I knew I had faith I could do things on my own, but I didn't realize I could do so much.” Maddox said any student can study abroad, but students should plan ahead and talk with their ad visers. The Study Abroad office is lo cated on the sixth floor of the Business Administration Building, where information ses sions are held Mondays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. Interested stu dents can call 777-7557 for more in formation. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu Crew finds 2 bodies in Inner Harbor BY ALEX DOMINGUEZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BALTIMORE - The bodies of two of the three passengers miss ing since a water taxi capsized eight days ago were pulled Sunday from the murky waters of the city’s Inner Harbor, officials said. Crews searched for the re maining missing passenger until dark, and were to resume Monday. The bodies of Andrew Roccella, 26, of Virginia, and 6-year-old Daniel Bentrem, of Harrisonburg, Va., were recovered Sunday af ternoon, said Fire Chief William Goodwin. The discovery “will allow the families to have their grieving times, their funerals,” Goodwin said. Corinne Schillings, 26, of Alexandria, Va., who planned to marry Roccella, remained miss ing. The bodies were found “a cou ple hundred feet” from where the survivors were rescued, at the bottom of a 60-foot-deep shipping channel that has been closed dur ing the search, he said.