SC State President Alexander Conyers addresses business and community leaders
SC State leader points to enrollment gains, campus transformation and university’s
role in developing leaders
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina State University is building on enrollment growth and major campus
investments to serve more students and strengthen South Carolina’s workforce, President
Alexander Conyers told the Capital City Rotary Club on Wednesday.
Speaking at the club’s breakfast in Columbia, Conyers reflected on SC State’s 130-year
history while focusing largely on the university’s current momentum and plans for
continued growth.
“What really excites me every day is driving onto campus and seeing the renaissance
that’s happening on our campus,” Conyers said. “We are transforming the campus and
building new infrastructure for our students.”
Enrollment growth and campus transformation
The SC State president told the group that the university’s enrollment has increased
significantly during his presidency, growing from fewer than 2,000 students to more
than 3,500. The university’s goal, he said, is to return enrollment to about 5,000
students.
That growth is being matched by a major transformation of SC State’s campus. Conyers
described about $250 million in new construction, including a $54 million academic
building, $30 million library, $20 million student center, $10 million police station,
$19 million ROTC building and $15 million transportation center. The university also
is building a new residence hall that Conyers said will provide about 500 additional
beds.
The SC State president credited the South Carolina General Assembly for much of the
investment that is allowing the university to modernize its infrastructure and accommodate
more students.
Preparing students and serving South Carolina
Conyers also emphasized the university’s academic strengths and its role in preparing
students for high-demand careers. He pointed to SC State’s engineering programs, including
its distinction as the only historically Black college or university in the nation
with an undergraduate nuclear engineering degree program, along with emerging opportunities
in transportation, cybersecurity and animal science.
SC State’s impact, the SC State president said, extends well beyond the classroom.
He discussed the university’s long record of producing military officers, university
presidents, elected officials, legal leaders, professional athletes and other graduates
who have made significant contributions across the nation.
Conyers also highlighted the university’s land-grant mission and efforts to expand
outreach across South Carolina, particularly to small farmers and communities that
benefit from SC State’s research, education, nutrition and agricultural programs.
At the heart of the university’s mission, the SC State president said, are its students,
including many who are the first in their families to attend college.
“When we graduate one of these first-generation college students, not only do we change
people’s lives, but we change the lives of their families,” Conyers said. “They’re
able now to serve as mentors to younger siblings, or cousins, or nieces and nephews.”
Meeting the enrollment challenge
During a question-and-answer session, the SC State president identified recruitment
as one of higher education’s biggest challenges as the traditional college-age population
declines nationwide.
Conyers emphasized that serving South Carolina students remains SC State’s primary
mission.
“My primary mission is to educate South Carolinians,” Conyers said. “Ideally, I would
like to educate as many South Carolinians at South Carolina State as possible.”
The university also has broadened its recruiting footprint to attract students nationally
and internationally. SC State now enrolls students from more than 30 states and recently
welcomed a cohort of 21 students from the Bahamas.
Conyers said that broader reach will be increasingly important as colleges compete
for a shrinking pool of traditional college-age students while SC State continues
its commitment to educating South Carolinians and preparing the state’s workforce.
“It is really, really exciting times in Orangeburg as we continue to build momentum,
as we continue to assist the state of South Carolina in preparing this workforce,”
Conyers said.
