SC State Is Rewriting Its Future

Why Black media has to tell the full story of SC State’s growth

South Carolina State University Founded 1896

A headline went out this week from WTOC-TV calling South Carolina's only public HBCU a school that "terminates" programs, with absolutely no context for the opportunities it was making room for.

Its caption? One pulled from a previously published story about an entirely different situation.

Some called it a mistake. Others saw it as exactly why we write for ourselves.

These narratives are intentional. They aren't planted to inform. They're planted to infect Black progress.

This is the kind of framing designed to make a strong Black institution look like it's crumbling.

But it's not.

It's flourishing far beyond its undefeated football team, in the realm of academics.

Here's what's actually happening.

Eight programs at SC State, Business Education, Art Education, Mathematics and five others, were only drawing about eight students a year, year after year.

That's below the enrollment floor the state itself requires. The doors were open, but the student demand wasn't there in strong enough numbers.

With these adjustments, every student currently in those programs gets to finish the degree or move into another one.

This is standard program review, the same process every public university in South Carolina is going through right now under a new state law.

SC State isn't being singled out for doing what it's required to do, and what a school with its eye on the future should want to do anyway.

It means reallocating resources away from programs today's students simply aren't choosing.

Because while eight programs closed, SC State has opened new opportunities.

A master's in cybersecurity is now available, along with bachelor's degrees in computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, degrees in high demand today with the massive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The cybersecurity launch is supported by a $405,000 federal grant.

Last year, the school earned Carnegie's second highest research classification, the only school in South Carolina at that tier besides the state's three research giants.

Ten years ago, SC State was fighting for its life against debt and a shrinking student body.

Today, it's pulling in its best freshman classes since 2012 and building programs that put graduates directly into the industries.

South Carolina State is growing, and the school continues to sharpen itself.

And that's exactly why Black media matters.

It's the difference between a headline built to scare our people and a story that tells them the truth.