The Rumor Mill

[vicupstate]

I attend Tech now, and one of my instructors said the school is looking at adding a mascot and some athletic teams. Basketball would probably go first, he said.

Gov. Sanford and the Higher Ed board might prevent GT from moving closer to 'true' 4 year college/university status.

I personally have mixed feelings on the issue. SC already has a large number of colleges, more tahn it can adequately fund. GT fills a void and is very reasonable, tuition-wise. They should stick to that mission, and not let the other trappings interfere.

[RestedTraveler]

South Carolina is really missing a "Tech" University. Clemson is a good Engineering school, yes, but I can really see Greenville Tech evolving into South Carolina's premiere Technical University - perhaps even a name change (there's another Greenville Tech in Ohio, but I don't think there's a South Carolina Technical University - just the SC Tech/Community College System anywhere). If trappings such as college athletics go with that, sobeit. It's an income source (potentially).

[GvilleSC]

South Carolina is really missing a "Tech" University. Clemson is a good Engineering school, yes, but I can really see Greenville Tech evolving into South Carolina's premiere Technical University - perhaps even a name change (there's another Greenville Tech in Ohio, but I don't think there's a South Carolina Technical University - just the SC Tech/Community College System anywhere). If trappings such as college athletics go with that, sobeit. It's an income source (potentially).

If they became a 4 year institution, most likely they might consolidate into one campus. maybe? a lot of revenue could be generated by selling off the other facilities.

[GSP Tiger]

Greenville needs a public four-year university. Is that what USC Upstate plans to do with their future Greenville campus?

A research unversity focusing on engineering and technology comparable to Georgia Institute of Technology would be a benefit. Does Clemson fill some of that void with something like the International Center for Automotive Research?

[GvilleSC]

Greenville needs a public four-year university. Is that what USC Upstate plans to do with their future Greenville campus?

A research unversity focusing on engineering and technology comparable to Georgia Institute of Technology would be a benefit. Does Clemson fill some of that void with something like the International Center for Automotive Research?

I don't think the number of Students brought in by Clemson, whether it be at the new downtown place or ICAR, or USCUpstate will be significant enough.

[GSP Tiger]

I don't think the number of Students brought in by Clemson, whether it be at the new downtown place or ICAR, or USCUpstate will be significant enough.

The amount of students are greater than you think. We are finally getting a medical university. I would not rule out the upstate getting its own law school and business school to relieve USC of its applicants.

Edited September 21, 2006 by BoDragon

[GvilleSC]

The amount of students are greater than you think. We are finally getting a medical university. I would not rule out the upstate getting its own law school and business school to relieve USC of its applicants.

Ha, not with Sanford only wanting one of everything.

[GSP Tiger]

Ha, not with Sanford only wanting one of everything.

That is one reason for a failing reelection campaign.

[Greenville]

I really like "Greenville University." It's simple, effective, and speaks to the city that has made Greenville Tech a very good technical/community college.

It would be awesome for Greenville to have its first public university. I think it would do wonders for the city, and it could still offer many students the chance to go to college that might not've otherwise. It would not be competing with Clemson and Furman for students, so it would certainly fill a niche that is needed.

[wellen]

I am concerned about this development. My residential property backs up to the trucking company. Question to those who might know. Would this help or hurt my property value? Keep in mind that my back door will have a clear view of the new development.

Welcome to the forum packtrent! I can't speak to your property value, because there are countless unknowns. I would just suggest that you try to learn everything that you can about this and any other development visible from your home, and be involved in the political process with the county.

[btoy]

Email I received from the Shopping Center Group: It was my understanding that the landowner did change his mind about 60 days ago. I have recently understood that the developers, Crescent Resources and Core Properties which my former partner Kivett Williams has just gone to work for, have gotten the landowner back to the table and have the property under contract again and are working with SuperTarget for that site, but the SuperTarget deal is not finalized yet.

Andy

I thought something like that might have been up when the Core Signs went up. Thought about asking Andy but never got around to it. Also on a Side note. Crescent Resources was owned by Duke Power, now Duke Energy. It was recently split off from Duke about the same time the Natural Gas company was. 49% of Crescent is still held by Duke, another 49% was sold to Morgan Stanley, the remaining 2% is held by the Crescent CEO.

[whitehourseview]

The amount of waste and needless duplication in South Carolina's state higher education system is almost criminal.

[GvilleSC]

The amount of waste and needless duplication in South Carolina's state higher education system is almost criminal.

Duplication? How about this: South Carolina, I think, doesn't have enough options. Why can't we have more than one school of *insert name here* in the state? Clemson has the ONLY school of architecture in South Carolina. Because its such a great program and highly ranked nationally, it's difficult to get into. So, why should I have to pay more than three times the amount of money to attend an out of state school because South Carolina only has one option??? An option that may not even be an option for some depending on SAT scores, etc. Should we force Clemson to dumb down the program to give more people the opportunity to attend? That's not fair, but neither is dooming ambitious kids by not providing options. How can we expect the state to grow and be attractive to people if we don't give a damn about the kids (our future)??? Comments?

[linkerjpatrick]

Duplication? How about this: South Carolina, I think, doesn't have enough options. Why can't we have more than one school of *insert name here* in the state? Clemson has the ONLY school of architecture in South Carolina. Because its such a great program and highly ranked nationally, it's difficult to get into.

I think it depend on the program. If their is enough of a demand across the state for a certain kind of training then having it in differernt locations is fine but for something specialized it makes more sense to not duplicate certain programs. If those things weren't restricted you could have a lot of waste. Seriously what to stop each College in the state from duplicating each other. if they wanted to compete with their own money that's fine just as if I wanted to open new burger joint even though the other major franchises were represented well. However using taxpayer money is a different matter entirely. If a university or tech school wants to use government to expand their programs with duplicated services they should be prepared to present their case why it would be good for the state and taxpayers.

[distortedlogic]

I attend Tech now, and one of my instructors said the school is looking at adding a mascot and some athletic teams. Basketball would probably go first, he said.

I think that would be great for Greenville to have a four year public university! And the sports would be great for the city and region as well. Imagine seeing Basketball of Football games on ESPN oneday

I wonder if any basketball team could play their home games at the Bi-lo center. It would be a great way to get more event nights back into the arena, and keep the college from having to build one of their own right down the road.

[linkerjpatrick]

That would be interesting. In addition to traditional 2 year and 4 year programs a LOT of people in Greenville have been Greenville Tech "students" as a result of taking the great variety of certification classes they offer. I myself in addition to the degrees I earned at North Greenville and Winthrop have also earned some I.T. Certifications in recent years on subjects that didn't exist when I was taking my formal education.

It's amazing how large Greenville Tech is. In addition to the main campus on South Pleasantburg they have all but "taken" over a several mile of South Pleasantburg from the Main Campus almost to I-385 plus you have the significant satelitte schools in Greer, Simpsonsville and Berea (and Berea is getting a MAJOR new campus in that regard - I'm practically within walking distance from it. Most of my time recently has been spent at the Buck Mickel Center.

[erm1981]

I just finished up a 2 year degree program there this past spring in computer technology-networking. I had some great teachers and they were very understanding. The curriculum was very challenging, plus if i want to transfer to some 4 - year colleges some of them will take all my credits from my 2 year degree. This is a great step i think.

[whitehourseview]

Duplication? How about this: South Carolina, I think, doesn't have enough options. Why can't we have more than one school of *insert name here* in the state? Clemson has the ONLY school of architecture in South Carolina. Because its such a great program and highly ranked nationally, it's difficult to get into. So, why should I have to pay more than three times the amount of money to attend an out of state school because South Carolina only has one option??? An option that may not even be an option for some depending on SAT scores, etc. Should we force Clemson to dumb down the program to give more people the opportunity to attend? That's not fair, but neither is dooming ambitious kids by not providing options. How can we expect the state to grow and be attractive to people if we don't give a damn about the kids (our future)??? Comments?

Well, let's see, among public state universities:

There are four universities in the state that offer engineering programs (CU, USC, El Cid, SCSU).

The recent decision to place MUSC and the USC Medical school under the same administrative structure was at least a step in the right direction.

There are at least eight four year, teacher colleges in the state, not counting the numerous private options.

Those are two large examples. Smaller examples include the competing mission creeps of the technical college systems and the various USC campuses, often in the same town (like Spartanburg Tech. College and USC Upstate), that provide virtually the same classes and programs.

There is only one architecture school in South Carolina because that is all business demands of it at the moment. You can argue that Clemson's decision in the last decade to pursue nationwide top 20 status is not necesarily in line with its founding mission as a "high seminary of learning" for South Carolina students, but nevertheless, business in the state only demands 1 crop of graduates in arch. programs a year.

I'm absolutely all for the state, if it is going to provide higher ed., to provide the best, most needed educational programs it can. Yet, especially within the USC and technical college systems, there are competing interests that often work against each other more than they work with each other.

South Carolina remains a small state. The strain to provide what is needed vs. what is wanted can be huge. There are not easy solutions, and there are a lot of egos in the state that go against each other.

[goodbye]

Not to stray from the current discussion, but since this is the rumor mill...

I have heard that another Drury hotel may be built behind the Cracker Barrel on 153 at I-85 in Powdersville. This was something I had intended to post quite a while back, but had forgotten until now.

[distortedlogic]

But the demand seems to be there. It is not like these schools are empty, or have failing programs. And the need for higher education in the Greenville area is evident. Just look at the waiting lists at Gville Tech now. Or the success of the University Center. Or the Amazing growth rate at NGC.

[GvilleSC]

Not to stray from the current discussion, but since this is the rumor mill...

I have heard that another Drury hotel may be built behind the Cracker Barrel on 153 at I-85 in Powdersville. This was something I had intended to post quite a while back, but had forgotten until now.

Awesome. This will sort of announce your arrival in Greenville coming from the south, if it's tall enough or have enough of a presence...

[breed]

Some stats to throw at the "Does SC have enough colleges?" debate...

% of population enrolled in higher education

per the 2000 census

1. District of Columbia... 10.8%

2. Rhode Island ...... 7.8%

3. Utah ............ 7.6%

4. Massachusetts ..... 7.4%

5. North Dakota ...... 7.4%

6. California ......... 7.1%

7. New York ......... 6.8%

8. Vermont.......... 6.5%

9. Kansas .......... 6.4%

10. Nebraska ......... 6.4%

11. Illinois ........... 6.3%

12. Maryland ......... 6.3%

13. Iowa ............ 6.3%

14. Michigan ......... 6.3%

15. Hawaii ........... 6.3%

16. New Mexico ....... 6.2%

17. Delaware ......... 6.1%

18. Colorado ......... 6.1%

19. Virginia .......... 6.0%

20. Wisconsin ........ 5.9%

21. Wyoming ......... 5.8%

22. Connecticut ....... 5.8%

23. Minnesota ........ 5.8%

24. Oklahoma ........ 5.7%

25. New Hampshire .. 5.7%

26. Louisiana ......... 5.7%

27. Washington ....... 5.7%

28. Ohio ............ 5.7%

29. Pennsylvania ..... 5.7%

30. Oregon .......... 5.6%

31. Indiana .......... 5.6%

32. Arizona .......... 5.6%

33. South Dakota .... 5.5%

34. Missouri.......... 5.5%

35. Montana ......... 5.5%

36. Idaho............ 5.4%

37. New Jersey ....... 5.4%

38. Alabama ......... 5.3%

39. North Carolina ... 5.3%

40. Texas ........... 5.3%

41. Mississippi ........ 5.2%

42. South Carolina ... 5.1%

43. Maine ........... 5.1%

44. West Virginia ...... 5.1%

45. Florida ........... 5.0%

46. Kentucky ......... 4.9%

47. Alaska ........... 4.9%

48. Tennessee ........ 4.8%

49. Georgia .......... 4.8%

50. Arkansas ......... 4.6%

51. Nevada .......... 4.1%

Of course, there are alot of factors that impact the quality of this stat (age of development, age of population, high-growth areas vs low-growth areas, etc). But it's interesting none the less.

[btoy]

Exactley, look at Florida, I am sure they are lower becuase they have so many retirees.

[packtrent]

Update... I have been told by a fellow resident that the developer of the supertarget area at 85/pelham/garlington will be meeting with people in our community next Thursday night. I'll check my mail for the flyer and let you know if there are other details.

[distortedlogic]

cdude, do you think you can find out from Bob Ellis if the "state's tallest" is still in the works?