A Palmetto State Partnership

Representatives from South Carolina’s seven HBCUs gathered in late July to make plans for SCIII.Fueled by the vision of State Senator John L. Scott Jr., seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have formed South Carolina’s Institutes of Innovation and Information (SCIII), a collaborative of educational institutes that aims to boost state funding, attract corporate partners, and increase scholarships and internship opportunities for students.

The schools are South Carolina’s four-year HBCUs — Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Clinton College, Morris College, South Carolina State University, and Voorhees University.

A 2018 evaluation showed that the seven HBCUs were losing students as they struggled to pay tuition, according to Scott. State funding was relatively small, and Scott began to work on increases.

“The challenge was ‘what do we need to do to be able to get these students more prepared to meet the corporate world and the challenges as [professionals]’,” says Scott. “The other part was what do we need to do so the corporations take an interest in these kids going to HBCUs. Third, we looked at the loss of people in rural counties.

South Carolina State Sen. John L. Scott Jr.“The economic picture was getting worse,” he continues. “I began to look at a model that I thought could help to fix it. That’s when we came up with SCIII.”

The South Carolina General Assembly appropriated $18 million toward the development of educational institutes at each of the seven HBCUs. Each institute is expected to have specific focuses and disciplines and to look at issues affecting South Carolina. The goal is to engage corporate partners to increase scholarship opportunities and internships.