Gardner, Smalls to receive honorary degrees
The man behind generations of students’ first-year experiences at USC will also be the one to usher them out at August’s graduation ceremony.
John Gardner, former director of University 101 and founder of the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, has been chosen to address USC’s 1,502 graduates at commencement exercises August 4. Gardner will also receive an honorary doctoral degree from the College of Education.
“Every once in a while a university of national prominence should stand still to honor one of its own — someone who, from the inside, toiled and labored and created a better life for his students,” University President Harris Pastides said. “In John Gardner, we found such a deserving person. He is a pioneer whose programs at USC are now a national model for how students learn to navigate college and life.”
Gardner’s roots at USC date back to 1967, when he arrived in South Carolina as a psychiatric social worker for the U.S. Air Force. He says he was convinced to lead an evening course at USC Lancaster by one of his commanders, but quickly fell in love with teaching and was a full-time professor by 1970. Gardner was 28 years old. That’s the year that then-University President Thomas Jones approached him about developing an introduction to university life, after a peaceful student protest on the Horseshoe got out of hand and ended in a riot at the president’s house.
“We set out to create a whole new experience to teach South Carolina students to love their university. Large urban universities can be very impersonal,” Gardner said. “Many don’t care about beginning college students, so it was an effort to make the school more student-focused and student-friendly.”
In 1972, Gardner became director of University 101, one of the first freshman-geared programs of its kind. This year, University 101 celebrates its 40th anniversary at USC, and Gardner, who currently serves as president of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, continues to advise other schools in starting their own freshman experience programs. Gardner has also received USC’s highest award for teaching excellence and continues to teach as a distinguished professor emeritus in the College of Library and Information Science.
Board of Trustees Secretary Amy Stone, who is in charge of bringing in graduation speakers, said Gardner had already been on file as a nominee for an honorary degree.
“His name may not have been recognized by all students, but every student has been affected by what he began on this campus,” Stone said. “What he started made USC famous, not in just in this country, but internationally.”
On graduation day, Gardner will join Marlena Smalls, founder of the Hallelujah Singers, whose tours have highlighted the Gullah culture from the South Carolina Sea Islands. Smalls will receive an honorary doctoral degree from the School of Music.
Also known for her portrayal of Bubba’s mother in the movie Forrest Gump, Smalls has travelled the nation with the Hallelujah singers, teaching the history of West-African-influenced Gullah culture through music.
“She has given voice to the rural and coastal people and communities of our state. She elevates our stature every time she sings. Her voice sings the truth in a most beautiful way,” Pastides said.