Private giving up at SCSU; committee talks efforts to enhance enrollment, athletic facilities

Sonja Bennett-Bellamy, S.C. State vice president for institutional advancement and external affairs, reported during a Dec. 1 trustee board meeting that the university’s private giving was up by 9.5% at a total of $1,279,649.

She noted that approximately $90,000 was given during Giving Tuesday on Nov. 29 alone, with the university still counting money.

“I am leaving the light on and leaving the door open for anyone who may have forgotten and you still want to give,” Bennett-Bellamy said.

“We have not added the Tuesday Giving numbers to this, but we’re still pacing about 9-1/2% over giving from last year. Keep in mind that last year was a record year, as well. So now we’re pacing above last year’s activity,” she said.

Bennett-Bellamy said the university was taking deliberate action to build the infrastructure to support a capital campaign, including with news hires such as chief development officer Adrian Scott.

“And the president has already given us the go-ahead to begin a search for specific firms that will help us cultivate the soil for the execution and planning of that capital campaign,” she said.

Current fundraising initiatives include a FreeWill Rollout to run from December to January, an initiative Bennett-Bellamy described as “the tool which will assist with our planned giving feature component of the capital campaign.”

“We have already also heard the president talk about the reactivation of our student call center, which we’re very excited about,” she said.

Bennett-Bellamy noted that monthly giving makes a difference, and individuals can support the university by setting up recurring gifts at www.scsu.edu, going to Give to SC State, and then filling out the form and selecting the donation amount and designation before selecting recurring gifts.

“You can make a monthly gift just by picking up your cell phone. So we’re continuing to engage tools of this sort that make it easier for our audiences to actually give recurring gifts to the university,” she said.

Bennett-Bellamy also updated trustees on the university’s implementation of Meltwater, a media monitoring and communications tool for reporting, media pitching and insights on social media trends.

“We’re happy to report that we’re getting just some great reach out of this. We have actually been utilizing it to garner more national and international coverage for the stories that we’ve been doing,” she said.

Trustee Jameel Allen Sr., chairman of the board’s public relations committee, institutional advancement and alumni relations committee, said morale among alumni has been at a record high.

“Our national alumni association president, Mr. Hank Allen, is doing a phenomenal job as far as engaging the chapters across North America. I say North America because we have a few chapters outside of the U.S., but it’s just been a phenomenal as far as the level of participation, the level of giving,” Allen said.

“We’re starting to see chapters work together, cross-pollinate as it relates to the common goal there,” he said.

Student affairs and athletics

Trustee Daniel Varat, chairman of the board’s student affairs and athletics committee, updated trustees on a report Dr. Manicia Finch, S.C. State vice president for enrollment management, gave to his committee.

“Dr. Finch and her team are going out on the road not just canvassing South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, but they’re also getting to Florida and Alabama. They’ve gone to Colorado, they’ve gone to Ohio, looking for those students who would be a good fit for South Carolina State University, but might not know about us,” he said, noting that the bus tours by the president and first lady have also brought greater recognition to the university and will hopefully help boost enrollment.

“You gotta have butts in seats because that brings revenue. Well, we’re getting them, and that is a huge testament to Dr. Finch and her team and her efforts. Another component of that … is that we have a very large number of students coming in with very high grade-point averages.

“In fact, we have 1,500 applicants with a 3.0 to 4.0 GPA. Now those are applicants. If those are going to turn into students, and, as was mentioned earlier, they bring with them HOPE Scholarships, LIFE Scholarships,” Varat said, that translates into revenue enhancements, along with a built-up student body.

“Those also are very particular and intentional efforts that Dr. Finch and her staff are making to find not just quantity but quality students, and it’s starting to pay off,” he said.

Varat continued, “What this administration and President Conyers and his team are doing at this university is having an impact in so many different ways. The enthusiasm not just among alumni, or donors, but particularly among the students is noticeable and it is an objective reflection of the quality of leadership that we have at the school.”

In the area of athletics, Varat said that track resurfacing work continues. He said Keisha Campbell, acting athletics director, and Dr. Gerald Smalls, chief financial officer, are working on a plan to upgrade the surface to be placed on the track.

“During the early phases of construction, the consultant noted that the surface that was originally chosen for the track was really not the standard that we wanted to have, especially for the long term. … It’s going to cost more money but it’s certainly an investment worth making,” Varat said.

“It may not make it by the time indoor track season starts … but it still should make it by the time outdoor track and field season starts, which is in March,” he said.

S.C. State President Alexander Conyers said, “We have that money to do that, but it’s better for the long term.”

The president said he also is looking at re-establishing Bulldog Relays, which had previously been held at the university, and naming the event in honor of the late Sharonda Coleman, a S.C. State alumnus who was one of nine killed in the Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston.

“We brought schools in from across the country for high-performing relays at the university. Looking forward to re-establishing our Bulldog Relays, but perhaps renaming it the Sharonda Coleman Relays,” Conyers said.

“Sharonda Coleman was … a standout track athlete that was killed in Charleston as part of the Charleston Nine. … We have not yet honored her at South Carolina State University. So that would be just something small that we can do upon the completion of our track,” he said.

Also during his report, Varat said new seating and other upgrades have been done in the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center and the university is continuing work to be fully compliant with federal Title IX requirements.

“[That] includes hiring some new coaches and some new staff, particularly assistant coaches in the women’s sports field, but not just women’s sports. … She (Campbell) let us know that those efforts to be fully compliant and really ahead of the curve are ongoing and successful,” he said.