The 2019 spring semester at USC will begin on Jan. 14 and will see the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, the 21st Dance Marathon, the 100th anniversary of Darla Moore School of Business, Student Government elections, the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament comes to Columbia, Indie Grits and Harris Pastides' retirement as USC’s president.
MLK Day of Service
USC will host its annual MLK events throughout January to honor the legacy of King and give back to the community.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service will take place on Jan. 19 as a part of Service Saturdays.
On Jan. 21, the South Carolina NAACP and USC Leadership and Service Center representatives will participate in King Day at the Dome, an annual march to the South Carolina Statehouse. Members of the Carolina community are invited to attend.
The Arc of South Carolina, the Best Buddies Organization and the Leadership and Service Center will also host a peanut butter and jelly sandwich-making competition. Sandwiches made during the competition will be brought to the 153 Project, a local organization that serves meals to those in need.
From Jan. 21-25, the Gamecock Pantry will be having a drive where food items, toiletries and school supplies can be donated.
Dance Marathon to host 21st main event
Last October, USC Dance Marathon announced its goal to raise $1,190,000 for the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital after raising $1 million at 2018's big event. In their 21st year, USCDM is uniting under the campaign of “We Promise.”
USCDM’s main event, a 14-hour dance marathon, will take place on March 2 at the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center.
Darla Moore will see 100th anniversary
The Darla Moore School of Business will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year.
The Moore School was founded in 1919 and enrolls more than 5,500 undergraduate students and 800 graduate students.
In his biennial dean’s report, Peter Brews stated that freshman aptitude has grown stronger and the growing faculty has continued its excellence in research. A new Undergraduate Excellence Initiative has been implemented to focus further on developing “business-ready” students at graduation.
The Moore School’s international business program continues to rank No. 1 out of public universities in the United States.
Student Government elections
Student Government elections will take place on the Tuesday and Wednesday two weeks prior to USC’s spring break.
The elected offices to be filled include: Student Body President, Student Body Vice President, Speaker of the Student Senate, Student Body Treasurer and student senators.
All USC students will have the opportunity to vote through the designated online voting system.
2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will come to Columbia
The University of South Carolina will host the first and second rounds of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. This is the first time that the tournament will come to Columbia since 1970.
The tournament rounds will take place at Colonial Life Arena on March 22 and 24.
Indie Grits Festival to take place in March
The Indie Grits Festival is a multi-day experimental film event that will take place in downtown Columbia. The festival will feature film, media and creative culture across the Southeast. Festival attendees will be able to view films, see artwork and listen to music in the streets.
This is the 13th year that the festival will be held in Columbia. The festival will take place from March 28 through 31.
Pastides to retire
In his annual State of the University address that took place last October, Harris Pastides announced his plans to step down as USC’s president.
The search committee formed to find the university’s next president consists of board, faculty, student, alumni and foundations representatives.
On Dec. 7, the committee enlisted Parker Executive Search, a leading executive search firm, to assist in selecting USC’s next president. The committee launched a website late in the fall semester to educate the public on the process of the search.
Pastides will officially step down as USC’s president in July.