BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV) — The University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) is navigating a challenging period as it awaits the fate of several federal grants that have supported various programs.
With one grant already pulled, the institution now faces uncertainty about nine others, which could bring significant changes to its programs.
“Like all universities that have grants, we are impacted,” said Executive Vice Chancellor of USCB Eric Skipper.
They’re already feeling those impacts through one termination of a significant grant through their Department of Education.
The terminated grant was a $5 million award over five years, which has played a critical role in employing teachers and placing them into high-need areas within Beaufort County. This funding, which helped support local educational outcomes, is now gone, leaving both the university and the community to grapple with its loss.
“That is obviously impacting not only the university and those employees that we've hired, but also our ability to enhance outcomes in education in the community,” Skipper said.
The university now faces the possibility of further impacts as the other nine grants are under review. These funds have been vital in covering day-to-day spending, administrative costs, and research opportunities.
If these grants are affected, it could have a ripple effect on the available opportunities for both professors and students.
“We use those funds to go back into the research enterprise,” Skipper said. "They help our faculty conduct research. They help us to buy materials and equipment for research. They help our students perform undergraduate research and experiential learning opportunities like community-based learning. So, there’s a pool of money there, too, that at this point hasn’t been impacted. But we'll find out.”
While Skipper said that no additional grants have been affected at this time, there is still a possibility of further cuts. Regardless of the outcome, he said that the university’s standards will not be lowered.
“Education outcomes, economic outcomes, health outcomes, all these different things the university does to enhance the quality of life and problem-solving in the region that we want to continue to be able to do at a high level,” Skipper said.
Skipper said that the university is pivoting to explore alternative funding options for the teachers who were employed under the now-cancelled education grant. If any of the other nine are cut, they’ll do the same for those.
“What we'll do as a university is seek alternative funding to bolster our non-federally funded research, and we'll also seek funding to support these research programs and undergraduate research programs,” said Skipper.