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University of South Carolina President, Dr. Harris Pastides, to Speak at GSSM's 20th Annual Convocation
September 2, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2 p.m.
Hartsville Center Theatre
Hartsville, SC
The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) will hold its 20th Annual Convocation on Thursday, September 11, 2 p.m., to award academic letters to returning seniors and welcome incoming juniors.
Convocation will feature keynote speaker Dr. Harris Pastides, president of the University of South Carolina. Pastides was elected to office in July 2008.
The University of South Carolina's 28th president, Pastides was previously vice president for research and health sciences at South Carolina. He also serves as executive director of the university's Research Foundation.
“USC has made an outstanding choice for its president from among a top-flight field of candidates,” said Dr. Murray Brockman, GSSM president. “He combines the strong collegial working relationships of a USC ‘insider’ with the visionary leadership more typical of an ‘outsider’. As part of his strong commitment to research as an integral part of science education, Harris has encouraged the research program at the Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, in addition to a much broader exposure for other high school students.”
Under Pastides' leadership, research funding and sponsored programs at South Carolina have increased 69.2 percent since 2002, reaching a record $185.2 million for fiscal year 2007.
Pastides served as dean of the University's Arnold School of Public Health from 1998-2003. He was instrumental in helping to secure a $10 million gift from Norman and Gerry Sue Arnold for the naming rights to the school in 2002. The new $22 million Arnold School of Public Health Research Center opened in October 2006.
The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics is a public, residential high school for academically talented and motivated juniors and seniors. GSSM’s class of 2008 averaged 1383 on the SAT, and earned $10.9 million in scholarships. For the third year in a row, the School was ranked a Top-20 “public elite” high school by Newsweek magazine.
For more information on the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, please contact Jacqulyne Pouncey at the GSSM Foundation.
