University of South Carolina

Kevin J. Bennett is a professor in the department of Family and Preventive Medicine in USC’s Floyd School of Medicine and director of the Center for Rural & Primary Healthcare. He writes this story for The Conversation on how an influx of cash would help stabilize rural health systems, but the program’s focus on technology might leave other major issues unaddressed. Healthcare across rural America is in crisis. In the past two decades, close to 200 rural hospitals have closed – 44 since 2020 alone.

Jabari Evans, an assistant professor of race and media at USC, writes for The Conversation about the rise of hip-hop music and Jay-Z's role in that success. “Reasonable Doubt” was not the first rap album I ever owned. But Jay-Z’s debut was the first hip-hop album I bought with my own money. More importantly, it was the first one I studied as a young writer who aspired to become a rapper, a dream that eventually came true.

Exhibit at the Hollings Library displaying documents from the American Revolution Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video tag.

University of South Carolina trustees approved a 2026-27 fiscal year budget Friday (June 19) and advanced key projects tied to the Columbia campus’s USC Next master plan. 2026-27 budget approved Tuition for South Carolina residents will remain the same for the eighth year in a row (the ninth year for USC's comprehensive institutions). Nonresident student tuition will increase by 3 percent. A $150 per-semester student union expansion fee will start this fall.

Necessity is the mother of invention — and that’s especially true in the underfunded, stigmatized world of mental health services. Ask Margaret Janse van Rensburg, an assistant professor who joined the University of South Carolina College of Social Work in 2025. Or ask any of the 24 human service workers Janse van Rensburg interviewed for her dissertation, which explored the barriers they perceive in supporting their autistic clients’ mental health.

University of South Carolina trustees approved a 2026-27 fiscal year budget Friday (June 19) that freezes in-state tuition systemwide and advanced key projects tied to the Columbia campus’s USC Next master plan, including an expansion of the Russell House student union and construction of a Civil Rights Center.

Sharon Donovan first studied play therapy during her graduate work in counselor education in the University of South Carolina College of Education almost 20 years ago. Many things have changed during the past two decades, but the positive impact of play therapy has been a constant. “My background focuses on high school students, so I had less opportunity to implement play therapy practices,” says Donovan, who now works as director of counseling services for Aiken County Public Schools.

Along Pendleton Street in the heart of the University of South Carolina campus, a unique neoclassical-style building stands out. With its stately white columns, vibrant flower beds and rows of Carolina rockers, it resembles a smaller White House in the middle of downtown Columbia. But the building’s significance goes well beyond its appearance.

The University of South Carolina announced Thursday (June 11) the appointment of Anne Peters as its new vice president for marketing following a national search. She will begin at USC on Sept. 1. Peters brings more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience to the role, most recently serving as associate vice president for marketing and special projects at the University of Texas San Antonio.

Robert Kubenic, an assistant professor of political science at USC, writes for The Conversation about Saudi views on the U.S.-Iran conflict. Since the beginning of the Iran war, Saudi Arabia has been grappling with how best to respond to the expansion of Middle East conflict. Having issued condemnations of Tehran’s strikes on the kingdom – and other Gulf states – in response to the initial U.S. and Israeli action in late February, Saudi Arabia has since reportedly initiated more direct action.