Chancellor addresses university achievements, family fund total at luncheon
Dr. Sandra Jordan, chancellor of USC Aiken, hosted the annual State of the University luncheon Tuesday afternoon in the Student Activity Center (SAC) gym.
Faculty, staff and a few students attended the barbecue luncheon in order to hear Jordan’s speech on the university’s achievements, along with plans that have been made for improvements over the next year.
“There are still plenty of opportunities for success,” she said, before listing the accomplishments that the university has attained over the last year, including statistics on student diversity.
According to Jordan, 86% of USC Aiken students are from South Carolina, 23% are non-traditional students, 40% are “ethnic minorities,” and there are “36 states and 38 countries represented.”
This Fall, a collaboration of the Office of the Registrar and the Division of Student Life and Services allowed for better orientation services for new students.
She also mentioned the addition of new outdoor cameras– bringing the total to 142— by the Division of Computer Services, who also upgraded the wireless protections for the campus last year.
The current strategic plan, which is available on the USC Aiken website, is moving forward, prioritizing the recommendations of various task forces, like “advancing inclusion and belonging,” “campus communications,” and “integrated 360 student support.”
These changes will include an adjustment to the current advising structure for freshmen students. The hiring of professional advisors, establishing of an advising center and the creation of advising teams will benefit next year’s freshmen. Jordan hopes that this will address the retention difficulties that USCA has faced.
Jordan also addressed the university’s fair wage plan, which looks to address the discrepancy between the salaries of USCA faculty and the salary benchmark for faculty at similar universities. Originally, 300 faculty and staff members were below that benchmark.
“When I came in as chancellor in 2012, this was one of the most significant issues on the minds of employees,” she said.
In order to adjust this issue, the university devoted over $5 million to both increase faculty numbers and the salaries of existing faculty. Now, only 82 employees need a salary increase to meet the benchmark.
“There is more work ahead,” continued Jordan, “We need to bring the cohort fully up to the benchmark, address adjunct salaries, update the benchmark, and include the people who joined us after the FWP was initiated who may not have been hired in at the benchmark.”
Also addressed at the luncheon was the final amount raised by the annual USC Aiken Family Fund this year. The $60,000 total was compiled of donations from faculty, staff and retirees.
“This is a tremendous demonstration of the commitment of our campus community,” said Randy Duckett, director of alumni relations. “It truly shows how much they care about the university and the success of our students.”
