University of South Carolina

On June 29, 2023, USC's President issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on race-based admissions which states the following: "The University of South Carolina remains steadfast in its continuing commitment to compliance with the law and to a campus environment that supports and respects individuals with a variety of life experiences, including first-generation students, active-duty military and veterans, students with disabilities, and those from underrepresented backgrounds. We will continue to welcome qualified students who contribute to our diverse university learning environment and embrace a student body that reflects the people and communities that make up our state and our nation."

The Office of Democracy, Education, and Inclusivity aims to facilitate "the recruitment, retention, and success of a diverse community of students."

The university announced, "To this end, we are assembling a team to work on the implementation of a new diversity module that will be required of all UofSC freshmen as part of their orientation process beginning in the 2020-2021 academic year."

The College of Arts and Sciences hosts a program known as the Welcome Table SC, which incorporates sessions and dialogues that work to “bridge the divide between racial equity and racial healing.”

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s “Inclusive Excellence Education” program features “education sessions designed to help individuals and teams deepen their knowledge and understanding of leveraging diversity, equity and inclusion through education and lived experiences and applying those skills to action.”

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosts the “Inclusive Excellence Institute” which is “an academic semester-long educational opportunity open to faculty and staff designed to help deepen their knowledge and understanding of leveraging diversity, equity and inclusion through education and lived experiences.”

University of South Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences has a program known as the South Carolina Youth Collective Fellows Program which consists of “social justice and civics minded high school students from across South Carolina” who will “participate in community building exercises, learn civil rights history through activities and virtual field trips, plan to lead a workshop on race and reconciliation, and learn how to plan and implement a project in their home community.”

On July 9, 2020, University of South Carolina announced that, “The Office of the Vice President for Research, working in collaboration with the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is proud to launch the new Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund to support research that centers on race, racial justice and racial equity through ASPIRE Program funds.” The funding program consists of $10,000 and $15,000 awards given out on a rolling basis.

The School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment offers several scholarship programs for “students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.”

On January 9, 2024, it was announced that the school would be conducting Social Justice Awards for staff contributions to “racial reconciliation.”

The Inclusive Excellence Grant provides up to $2,000 for "creative programs, events, and academic multicultural initiatives that foster collaborative partnerships and encourage inclusive excellence across all dimensions of identity." The Office of Access and Opportunity established and supported the grant to "encourage new and strengthen existing diversity and inclusion initiatives."

The university hosted an event called "Discussing Antiracism in University 101," which discusses how to "effectively facilitate conversations about antiracism."

The university recently appointed Julian Williams as the "first vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion."

University of South Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences has a page dedicated to providing resources including “A Practitioner's Guide for Promoting Race Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace” and “What Would it Take to Overcome the Damaging Effects of Structural Racism and Ensure a More Equitable Future?”

The school annually hosts the Equity and Inclusion Summit within the College of Arts and Sciences. The EI Summit is a “mini-conference [which] brings together academics and activists to marry theory and action” and “creates a space for those actively engaged in race equity and inclusion efforts.”

The College of Arts and Sciences has a web page devoted to providing a list of “race and reconciliation organizations in South Carolina organized by type.”

The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs has a site dedicated towards providing “a list of resources to encourage you to continue learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion” which includes an “Anti-Racism Training” among many other resources.

The School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment’s Diversity Committee consists of “faculty, students, and staff across the SEOE” who have “formed an ongoing committee to support diversity, equity, and inclusion within the school.”

In Spring 2021, students, faculty, and staff formed a group known as the Unlearning Racism in Geoscience program which “developed a series of deliverables, [each] designed to initiate an anti-racist strategy and set of policies for the SEOE community.”

Fox News reported on the College of Education offering several undergraduate classes which instruct future educators on how to implement anti-racism curriculum in education for middle school.

The library has a film collection of “Anti-Racism Video Resources” within the “Educational Films Collection.”

The Office of Democracy, Education, and Inclusivity aims to advance the College of Education's commitment to equity and justice, viewing them as "matters of academic and institutional excellence." The role of the office is to promote "diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice throughout the College, create programs, practices, policies, and partnerships that address issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion," and to support "high-quality diversity research, teaching, outreach, and advocacy that advances social, civil, and educational rights."

The university president announced, "Today I endorsed and moved forward to the Board of Trustees a resolution from the Presidential Commission on University History to rename the J. Marion Sims residence hall on the Women’s Quad at the University of South Carolina." The name removal requires a 2/3 vote of the state legislature.

The College of Arts and Sciences Collaborative on Race seeks to “foster courageous conversations that are people focused to build a systemic response to injustice” through several programs.

The College of Arts and Sciences hosts the “21 Day Equity Challenge,” which is a three week long challenge that “will offer participants the chance to deliberately focus on issues of equity on a daily basis” through promoting an “equity habit.”

The Educational Leadership and Policies Department released a statement in solidarity, stating, “We recognize that for far too long, schooling, as an institution, has promoted values that function as overt and covert forms of anti-Blackness, racism, antisemitism, paternalism, misogyny, and white supremacy. We assert our disgust with the historical murder of the Black community, and continued violence at the hands of police. We, in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies at the University of South Carolina, reaffirm our commitment to undoing this harm, in our leadership mission to uphold the values of anti-racism, equity, and social justice.”

The SEOE Latino and Hispanic Faculty Caucus “is an advocacy and leadership organization established April 2016 to address critical issues in higher education that focus on the recruitment, retention, promotion, and advancement of Latino/a & Hispanic faculty at the University of South Carolina.”

On August 23, 2023, it was reported by Insight Into Diversity that the terms DEI were removed from the title of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which has been renamed to Vice President for Access, Civil Rights, and Community Engagement.

The Department of Athletics states it is committed "to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, inclusion, and gender equity amongst student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and athletics staff members." Its mission statement continues, "We strive to provide equitable experiences for all student-athletes and staff while offering opportunities and education that support the core foundations of a diverse and inclusive environment."