Adams returns to SCSU as vice president; S.C. Research Authority proposes partnership
Dr. Leola Adams has returned from retirement to become interim vice president for research and economic development at South Carolina State University.
Her new duties include oversight of the land-grant university's 1890 Research and Extension Program.
Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr., president, made the announcement at Wednesday's special meeting of the university's trustee board.
"I look forward to this new adventure," said Adams, the former long-time dean of the School of Applied Professional Sciences.
Adams earned her bachelor's degree with honors in family and consumer sciences education from S.C. State.
She earned her master's and doctorate degrees in family and consumer sciences education from Iowa State University in 1970 and 1975, respectively.
Just prior to her retirement, Adams served briefly as interim executive director of the James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center of Excellence at S.C. State.
Now the center must submit research proposals in a competitive process in order to continue to receive federal funding.
"We submit the proposal and we pray and hope for the best," Hugine said. The deadline is Tuesday, Aug. 15.
Continued funding "is critical to the survival of the Transportation Center," said Maurice Washington, trustee board chairman.
SCRA has stepped in to help S.C. State win continued funding, Washington said.
"We lack the full expertise in-house and they agreed to come in and help on short notice, working closely with the president and professional staff," Washington said.
SCRA is providing the assistance for free, he added.
Representatives of SCRA informed the trustee board Wednesday that they would like to increase their collaboration with the university through an employee outsourcing agreement.
"We would like to help you get the right people on the ground to run your research operation," said Jim Stritzinger, executive vice president and general manager of SCRA affiliate South Carolina Public Interest Research.
He proposed that SCRA recruit and hire the university's vice president for research and economic development, the Clyburn Transportation Center director, the 1890 Program director and all supporting staff.
"We'll locate all the staff in Orangeburg," Stritzinger said. SCRA would "review and re-screen existing staff for continued suitability," he said.
The university would have the right to approve and directly manage the personnel, who as SCRA employees would enjoy all of the benefits of other state employees, he said.
Hugine said it would be "a similar kind of arrangement" to the deal by which BWXT Y-12 LLC pays the salary of Dr. Kenneth D. Lewis as an "executive on loan" to the university.
Lewis serves as dean for the College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technology. BWXT Y-12 is the private contractor that runs the federal government's nuclear complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
"We've not had any problems with that," Hugine said.
SCRA was created to compete with the North Carolina Research Triangle. The state Legislature created SCRA in 1983 and gave it $500,000 for start-up expenses and 1,400 acres of prime land in the Charleston, Columbia and Anderson areas.
SCRA has created more than 15,000 jobs and generated nearly $7 billion in economic activity in its 23 years.
"We're one of the best kept secrets in the state," said Bill Mahoney, a former SCRA customer and board member who eventually became its president, director and CEO.
Stritzinger said he hopes to help S.C. State establish a research foundation and to involve the university in a national high-speed, research-only Internet called Lambda Rail.
Washington said the trustee board was not being asked to make any decisions immediately. Wednesday's appearance was designed "to introduce these folks and their fine capabilities," he said.
Trustee Martha Smith said she was inclined to pursue a partnership between the university and SCRA. "I think it's a novel way to get us in the game," she said.
T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.