South Carolina State University is launching a new $41 million fundraising campaign on Wednesday, amid recent controversies at the Orangeburg campus.
SC State, the state’s only publicly funded, four-year historically Black college, said the campaign is “designed to transform the student experience and solidify the university’s position as a premier research institution.”
Known as “The Power of SC State: A Capital Campaign to Elevate Excellence,” the school says the five-year initiative will focus on scholarships, athletics, support for faculty and staff, as well as program opportunities and facilities.
SC State said it also saw a record year for private contributions in the 2024-25 fiscal year, with donor participation rising by 34%.
Donors have already contributed more than $17 million. The money will support scholarships and campus improvements, including a $10.4 million stadium renovation.
President Alexander Conyers said the campaign will also help cover scholarship gaps.
“As the state talked about doing away with tuition mitigation, we must step up to the plate and replace those dollars,” Conyers said.
Student Jada Gittings said the funding is critical.
“It’s always hard to get funding as an HBCU. There’s many ways to get funding,” Gittings said.
RECENT CONTROVERSY
The announcement does come, however, after the school made other headlines over the past week.
After initially inviting South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to speak at its May 8 commencement, SC State reversed course following student protests and concerns about security. Students argued that the decision to have Evette, who is running for governor as a Republican, did not align with the university.
A group of Republican state lawmakers then called to defund SC State over the decision, a move that was backed by Evette. No official action has been taken on the matter as of Wednesday.
Campaign co-chair Patrena Rice said despite the defunding request, they’re moving forward.
“I am very saddened by that but at the same time I’m trusting and believing that more good can come out of this. Why? Because of who we are. We are determined to do well,” Rice said.
On Tuesday, Governor Henry McMaster weighed in on the commencement speaker controversy, saying calls to defund the HBCU are not the right reaction. He also addressed the state’s millions of dollars owed to the university.
“I don’t know what plans are being made in the House and the Senate. I think it’s unlikely that that plan will develop, specifically for paying $500 million over some period of time. It could. I doubt it,” McMaster said.
SC State was also hit with a lawsuit from its foundation on Monday. The private nonprofit, which operates independently of the school, claimed that the university pressured them for thousands of dollars over two years.
The lawsuit also alleges SC State retaliated when those requests were denied, including evicting the foundation from campus, working to terminate an agreement between the two parties and sending a cease-and-desist.
SC State said Tuesday that it had been served with the lawsuit and was reviewing the claims.
