Dr. Pastides: “Carolina is solid and strong.”

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Carolina is solid and strong, those are the words of USC President, Dr. Harris Pastides, who delivered the annual ‘State of USC’ address on Wednesday. Yet, it’s that strength the University may need to get through the next year. USC faculty, staff and students attended the addresss that looked back on the past year including the lows as state funding is now less than 10%. But they also looked at the high’s. “This past year also saw the first rating of public honors colleges,” says Dr. Pastides. According to Pastides, USC made top rank. “The faculty continues to shatter their own enviable record of research productivity,” says Pastides. Other records could soon follow suit. Pastides says right now $146.8 million has been raised for the school. But academic achievements aren’t the only thing getting attention. “Last year we rocked Williams Brice as our mighty Gamecocks realized our first 11-win season,” says Pastides. The Gamecock baseball team once again made it to the College World Series championship game in Omaha. Though, they fell short of a 3-peat. “We’re in a place that maybe we haven’t been for many years, but it’s a great time at the University of South Carolina,” says Ray Tanner, USC Athletics Director. It’s also a time that has Dr. Pastides looking forward, even if the circumstances don’t look so good. “We are nearing a perfect storm for higher education — high tuition, high debt loads, poor state funding, limited financial aid,” says Pastides. But, it’s a storm he hopes the Carolina community will pull together for in order to get through.