Furman men’s basketball strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred, right, works with basketball team member Ben VanderWal using force plates during a workout on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Aldred wrote a scientific paper with Scott Muir that showed the utility of a force plate in informing their training regimen. 

During the 2021-2022 season, Matt Aldred, assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Paladins men’s team, tracked the progress of nine players who played in every game twice a week over an 18-week period, starting before the season and finishing the week of the 2022 Southern Conference Tournament. Aldred worked on the project with Scott Murr ’84, associate professor of health sciences, and athletic trainer Justin Games; their results were published in The American Journal of Sports Science.

To measure performance, Aldred used force plates, highly sophisticated equipment that looks like a pair of over-sized digital scales. He had the players perform a countermovement jump; a player steps on the plates with hands on his hips and jumps as high as possible, then lands back on the plates. The force plates determine the jump height and other metrics to gauge lower-body power and neuromuscular readiness, which reflect how fresh or fatigued a body is.

Previous research into the impact of a competitive sports season on player fatigue and readiness has been inconclusive. The Furman research, Murr said, is probably the first to specifically measure and monitor the jump performance of a basketball team from the beginning of a season through the end. Season-long studies in other sports have measured other factors and showed a decline in physical performance.

But the Paladin men either maintained or improved their physical performance in the metrics being analyzed. Their jump height continued to rise into March. That’s a great sign that the players not only stayed healthy but were getting stronger while juggling the stresses of being full-time students, traveling to away games, practicing, playing two games a week and dealing with normal life events.

“It shows that we got the players to peak performance when they needed to peak,” for the conference tournament, Aldred said, balancing practice and weightlifting with other aspects of physical preparation, like rest, nutrition, sleep and psychology. The data from the 2021-2022 season informed this past season, when players again continued to improve throughout conference play and into the NCAA Tournament, when the team set a record for games won.

Murr said the job of pushing players to get stronger without stressing them too much is “quite a jigsaw puzzle. (Head Men’s Basketball) Coach Bob Richey and Matt have really done an amazing job,” adapting to players’ needs and adopting technology that provides scientific feedback.

Players responded not only to data-driven training, but to the data itself. Aldred shares with them their results, which show continual progress and personal bests. “The confidence they get from that going into the season is super beneficial to them,” he said.

The force plates, which Furman has used for three seasons, give the team an advantage over schools that haven’t adopted the technology yet. They help bridge the competitive divide between larger schools that have even more resources, and they can help players develop over the course of their time playing for the Paladins.

“We want to see young players developing slowly, and seniors not getting fatigued,” Murr said. Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell, stars of last season, didn’t miss a single game due to injury during their five years at Furman, thanks in part to data-driven training plans.

Another competitive advantage the Paladins have over other universities, Murr and Aldred said, is the collaboration among themselves and Games. It’s unusual at universities to have Division I athletic staff, like Aldred and Games, working closely with a faculty member, like Murr. Their work together could also help advance sports science, as the force plate study is likely the first of many more to come.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (courtesy converse.edu) — Aiming to better equip highly skilled educators for success and to support districts in their ability to retain top teaching talent, Converse University has launched South Carolina’s first Master of Education (MEd) program in Advanced Studies with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program is offered entirely online, and certified teachers and educators can complete the degree in 12 to 16 months.

This first-of-its-kind program for South Carolina is designed to best serve students while making a positive impact on the education landscape in our state and beyond, explains Dr. Elena Ghionis, Assistant Professor of Education and Director of Special Education Programs at Converse. “We strive to provide our candidates with a high-quality education so that teachers may serve their students and districts to their fullest potential,” Dr. Kelly Harrison, Associate Dean of Education, says of the program’s objectives.

South Carolina is a great state with many opportunities for educators, Ghionis says. “With a growing teacher shortage, districts are struggling to fill their classrooms with teachers, especially those serving students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Given the varying nature of ASD and its symptoms, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach for addressing children with ASD-specific needs. This is where Converse can make a difference.”

Autism is an early-onset neurodevelopmental disorder impacting socialization, communication, and learning. Current epidemiological data suggests 1 in 36 children has been identified with ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, and it is nearly four times more common among boys than girls.

An accurate understanding of ASD and individualization of learning and teaching is central to Converse University’s MEd program. To appropriately support the growing ASD population in schools, teachers must receive practical and field-based experiences and access to current research and best-practice teaching strategies.

The coursework in the ASD concentration brings together clinical practice and research within a developmental psychopathology framework; major topics in etiology, diagnosis and assessment, and treatment; and teaching methods and interventions. In addition, this coursework provides the knowledge and skills to help teachers build appropriate support for students with ASD.

After completing the program, educators will understand how to support cognitive processing delays, speech, language, and communication delays, sensory perception issues, social skills deficits, and emotional and behavioral problems of students with ASD. This is not the first time Converse has pioneered autism-focused education coursework in South Carolina. In 2018, the institution awarded certificates to its first group of educators from Spartanburg school districts for a specialized course sequence on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

COLUMBIA, S.C. (courtesy ciu.edu) — Columbia International University is getting ready for a huge celebration at Homecoming 2023 on Nov. 3-4. Alumni and friends of CIU will be celebrating with current students, faculty and staff at the Grand Finale, culminating the yearlong celebration of CIU’s 100th anniversary and the God who has answered a century of prayers.

Special events include three CIU alumni: Hear singer/songwriter Laura Story in concert with the CIU Ambassador Choir, have breakfast with best-selling author Rob Morgan, and be encouraged by pastor, speaker and award-winning author Paul Tripp.

Other exciting Homecoming activities include CIU Roots Tours, featuring a visit to the historic Robert Mills House, a part of CIU’s downtown campus prior to 1960. Other Roots Tour locations highlight CIU’s heritage and importance to South Carolina’s capital city.

Celebrate Columbia International University’s “middle name” at the international flag parade on CIU’s International Boulevard led by 50-year alumni. And of course, Homecoming includes class reunions.

The celebration culminates with a 100th Anniversary Gala and Hall of Faith induction.

Register for Homecoming and the Grand Finale today at CIU.edu/celebration!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (courtesy columbiasc.edu) — Over the next few months, a number of notable developments will be happening on and around campus. This summer, we hope to keep everyone updated on the progress on a few of these construction projects.

McNair Window Replacement: All 343 windows, 3 exterior doors, and skylights in the McNair Residence Hall are being replaced in order to improve building efficiency.

Status: Work began on May 1, and will continue through July, just in time for the students’ return to campus.

Ariail-Peele Building Demolition: Because of significant structural damage, the Ariail-Peele building will be fully demolished and replaced with a green gathering space for student use.

Status: Work began in April to empty the building and interior demolition work began on May 1. Once the interior is complete, demolition will begin.

Daniel/Humphries Hall Demolition: Daniel Energy Facility and Humphries Hall will be fully demolished and developed into green gathering space for student use.

Status: The demolition for these two buildings is still in the planning phase. Work has begun emptying the buildings and upon completion, interior demolition will begin. The project is on track to complete by the end of the summer.

Edens Library Ceiling Replacement: Following roof replacement last summer, the Edens Library ceiling will be replaced, correcting years of water damage. Library lighting will also be updated during ceiling replacement.

Status: This project is in the mechanical design phase, and the design will be completed in May. Prior to ceiling work, the contents of the third floor must be relocated.

College Place Church: College Place Church will be renovated to provide office space for the Division of Education as well as additional gathering and event space for college and outside event use.

Status: Interior demolition began on May 1. Following interior demolition, renovation work will begin. Renovation work is planned to continue through Summer 2024.

HARTSVILLE, S.C. (courtesy cokercobras.com) — Five members of the Coker University baseball team have been named to the 2023 Academic All-District Baseball Team, as selected by the College Sports Communicators. Seniors Zack Wall, Ethan Graham and Lawson Otte were named, while sophomores Ashby Vining and Jacob Yarberry earned the academic honor.

Wall, a senior biology major from Johnsonville, S.C., finished his academic career at Coker with a 3.947 cumulative grade-point average. He was a member of the Coker University Dean’s or President’s List in each of his eight semesters in Hartsville. He was a four-time member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and has been a recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award three times.

Graham, a senior right-hander from Beaufort, S.C., finished his undergraduate academic journey with a 3.813 cumulative grade-point average, while majoring in physical education. Graham is a four-time member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, three-time recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award and was more recently on the Coker University President’s List for his 4.0 semester GPA in Spring 2023.

Otte, a senior southpaw from Indian Land, S.C. finished with a 3.934 cumulative grade-point average, while majoring in biology. He was a member of the Coker University Dean’s or President’s List in each of his eight semesters in Hartsville. He was a four-time member of the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and has been a recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award three times.

Vining, a sophomore catcher from Lexington, S.C., currently has a 3.906 cumulative grade-point average, while majoring in early childhood and elementary education. He has been named to both the Coker University President’s and Dean’s List twice during his four semesters in Hartsville. He has been named to the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll twice and has earned D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award honors once.

Yarberry, a sophomore outfielder from Royal Oak, Mich, currently has a 3.946 cumulative grade-point average, while majoring in Business Administration. He has earned Coker University President’s List honors during three of his four semesters in Hartsville. He has been named to the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll twice and has earned D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award honors once.

About Academic All-District/American presented by CSC
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. The cumulative grade-point average may NOT be rounded up to 3.50.

Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable). In baseball and softball, pitchers must have at least 10.0 innings pitched.

No student-athlete is eligible until he/she has completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and been on a college roster in that sport for two years.

The 2022-23 Academic All-District® Baseball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 7 for baseball.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (courtesy claflin.edu) — Four Claflin University freshmen are receiving an intimate look at the challenges, opportunities, and skills necessary to succeed in the hyper-competitive corporate environment of the 21st Century as the inaugural class of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Scholars.

The students also receive full scholarships and free room and board for four years, internships, and mentoring from company executives.

Kamara Chima, Siri Davis, Alexander Mills, and Aiyana Uter are Claflin’s BlueScholars. BCBS also selected students from Benedict College.

They recently began monthly lunch-and-learn sessions with executives from BCBS of South Carolina. The students will begin internships and engage in career development workshops during the program’s second year.

The students share mutual backgrounds as high-achieving high school scholars who arrived at Claflin with impressive academic credentials. Their diverse interests beyond the classroom include sports, music, and community activism.

The scholars are acutely aware that lofty expectations come with full scholarships and access to corporate mentors. The students are preparing for employment opportunities at BlueCross, and all four are envisioning how they can fit into the corporate healthcare arena.

Computer science major Kamara Chima shows little hesitation while pointing out that she is not all she plans to be. Yet, as a BlueScholar, Chima knows who she is now and what she represents.

“Creativity, spirituality, and openness,” Chima says. “These are the values that I constantly live by.” Identifying her value system is one of the takeaways this BlueScholar has gleaned from the lunch-and-learn series, where the students have table talks with a different BCBS executive each month. Chima is especially inspired by the advice she received from Vida A. Jennings, a corporate training and diversity manager.

“She tells us to live life with values and a sense of awareness of what we stand for,” Chima says. “Being a black woman, I look up to these black women in the organization with genuine respect. They have a lot of education and knowledge to share, and they are sharing it with us.”

Chima’s outstanding academic accomplishments include her induction into the National Honor Society as a student at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md.

She was an English honors student who graduated high school with a 4.0 grade point average. At Claflin, she is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), committee chairperson for the Friends of the Earth, a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, and a scholar in the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College.

Chima, who has two older brothers, was initially torn about where to attend college. She was also unsure about attending an HBCU and living in the South. However, she went to a Claflin alumni reception during the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Basketball Tournament in Baltimore, Md. She made Claflin – South Carolina’s oldest HBCU – her choice.

“All of the people at Claflin really made me feel like family,” Chima says, adding that the BCBS Scholarship provided additional financial support.

BCBS is South Carolina’s only state-operated health insurer. She is attracted to the company’s “people-centered” atmosphere – which she finds very similar to the campus culture at Claflin.

“Helping communities is what fuels their mission and drive, and that aligns with what I hope to do in my career,” says Chima, who sees the art in creating online digital systems.

“I’m happy that there’s a place in the world of health care where I can insert my abilities and make an impact,” Chima says. “I just want to be a creator in life. I want to create works of art that speak to me. With faith and collaboration, I hope my work resonates and uplifts communities.”

Siri Davis is an accounting major from Orangeburg, S.C., with a minor in computer science. She believes working at the healthcare company will be symbiotic – matching her skill for navigating technology that constantly evolves with the company’s complex databases.

“This scholarship is fantastic,” says Davis, the youngest of three and the second sibling to attend Claflin.

Both older siblings are college graduates, and her parents were prepared to help their third college student. However, the BlueScholars all-expenses award has been a welcomed bonus to Davis’s self-described “middle-class black family, where education is always important.”

“We meet with an executive every month, and they each have a separate lesson plan for us,” Davis says of the monthly sessions. “We recently participated in an interactive session about self-awareness.” With that session in mind, Davis points out that she enjoys campus life while continuing to excel in the classroom. She is balancing life as a college student with the goal of graduating within four years.

“Many students arrive at college and are unable to balance the social aspects of campus life with their academics responsibilities,” says Davis, who was enrolled in college preparatory courses in pharmacy while attending the Orangeburg High School for Health Professions. Her extracurricular activities include being a scholar athlete on Claflin’s Lady Panthers volleyball team and helping players from her former high school – HSHP – develop their volleyball skills.

Heeding the voice of her parents and her own, achieving academic success is a priority. She was an honor-roll student all four years in high school and has made the President’s List at Claflin.

“Balance is important,” Davis says. “My advice to anyone is to consider what you learn from everything. I’ve taken much of what I learned and needed and applied it to what I’m doing now and as I prepare for the future. I want to be ready for the corporate world.”

When Alexander Mills and his family learned he was selected as one of four inaugural BlueScholars at Claflin, there was a lot of joy and a little “freaking out” in the Mills household.

“I know they don’t give that scholarship to a lot of people,” says Mills, an applied mathematics major from Columbia.”

Humble and hardworking, Mills was in a discovery program for high-achieving students at Spring Valley High School. The advanced placement workload was so rigorous that when he struggled in some courses, Mills considered dropping out. His parents encouraged him “to keep pushing through” and told him his efforts would be rewarded.

“When I got the scholarship, they were very happy for me and said my perseverance paid off,” Mills says. “I was super excited and ecstatic, too – just like my parents.”

Mills is mindful that his success is a beacon to his family, including his 16-year-old sister, who he says “is very bright on her own,” and hopes she considers him a worthy role model.

The BlueScholars award has heightened his experiences at Claflin, where he is a member of the band. His first semester also found him returning to Columbia for a weekend job working with his high school band.

Mills had initially considered attending several other universities, but those memories have faded since receiving the BCBS scholarship and other recognitions since enrolling at Claflin.

“I wanted the HBCU experience,” Mills says. “I’m getting that at Claflin, and the BlueScholars award enhances my experience.”

Through the monthly lunch-and-learn series, the corporate connection also gives him a community perspective. “We get to meet different people in the company, and they talk about how to work in different environments and how to evolve and handle different situations,” Mills says. “They talk about goals, their future at their company, and how the internship can affect our career and personal goals.”

Aiyana Uter openly admits that she wants to leave an indelible mark in academics and her professional career. The marketing major from Fort Mill, S.C., is vice president of Claflin’s Friends of the Earth environmental club. Uter admits that she and another student revamped and revitalized the organization shortly after she joined. Uter also makes and sells copper jewelry as an outlet for her creativity and to stay connected with nature.

As a recipient of the BCBS BlueScholars scholarship, Uter recognizes how the prestigious award has impacted her family, including her parents and three siblings.

“As the oldest, having that full ride and being able to show my younger siblings what they are capable of achieving is very exciting,” says Uter, adding that her parents were exceedingly thrilled by her accomplishment.

They had much to appreciate even before the scholarship award. Uter excelled in advanced placement classes, consistently made the honor roll, and held a student council position for three years at Catawba Ridge High School. In addition to volunteering at assisted living, nursing, and retirement homes and at elementary schools, she was an All-Region selection as a senior for a Catawba Ridge High team that captured a Region 3-4A tennis title.

“I was very ambitious,” Uter says. “The high school I attended opened in my sophomore year, so I was there to help build the culture and establish the school’s reputation. I wanted to distinguish myself and leave a lasting impression.”

She has displayed that same determination and intensity as a scholarship recipient at Claflin. She applies what she learns in her marketing classes to monitor the insurance corporation’s social media accounts. Her duties offer her a preview of how she can contribute to BCBS in the future. Interacting with BCBS’s executives at monthly lunch-and-learn sessions further fuels her intentions.

“Honestly, it still shocks me that we have in-depth conversations with these corporate executives,” Uter says. “It has a big impact. They are leaders who have achieved so much in this corporate environment. Hearing about their experiences helps me understand the correlation between how this scholarship and the internship will help prepare me for career opportunities and personal and professional development.”

Sen. Tim Scott (Charleston Southern Class of 1988) announced his bid for the presidency on May 22 at Charleston Southern University. Photo courtesy Ty Cornett/CSU Media

Scott, a 1988 Charleston Southern political science graduate, was introduced by Republican party officials, his nephew Ben Scott III, and 12-year-old Southerlyn Surratt, a friend from his church. She said, “He is thoughtful, generous, and smart. I want to be like him when I grow up.”

Scott told of overcoming a life of poverty in a single family home in North Charleston. He gave praise to his mother for her hard work and dedication. “When you think about someone who loves unconditionally, for me it’s my mom,” said Scott.

He said America is the land of opportunity, where it is possible for a kid raised in poverty to one day serve in the people’s house and maybe one day the White House.

Scott’s grandfather had to drop out of school in the third grade to pick cotton. “My grandfather’s stubborn faith was not just in America but faith in God and self. He lived long enough to see his grandson pick out a seat in Congress,” he said. “He told me, ‘Son, you can be bitter or you can be better, but you can’t be both.’”

Scott started his collegiate career at Presbyterian College on a football scholarship and then transferred to Charleston Southern University. He became a Christian while in college and credits Ephesians 3:20 which says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,” with showing him Jesus should be the priority of his life, and football was just a game.

Scott said, “With God and a good family, the United States can do all things if we believe.”

GREENVILLE, S.C. (courtesy bju.edu) — On May 16 the Bob Jones University Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Alan Benson acting CEO.

Benson joined the university leadership in 2018 and has been serving as executive vice president for student development and ministry advancement. He earned a B.A. in Bible (1992) and a M.Min. (2009) from BJU, a M.Div. from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary in 2011, and a D.Min. in Expository Preaching from BJU Seminary (2020). Before coming to BJU, he served in senior pastoral ministry for 25 years in Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois. At BJU, he has made significant contributions to student leadership development and the total BJU student experience, and he has expanded the offerings of BJU Seminary.

Teaming with Benson will be Dr. Gary Weier and Dr. Bruce McAllister.

Weier is provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He holds B.A. (1988) and M.A. (1990) degrees in speech communication from BJU and received a Ph.D. (1996) in communication from Purdue University, where he studied communication and political science. He serves on the Board of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools and the Board of the BJU Education Group. He has participated in accreditation visits at nearly a dozen colleges and universities.

McAllister is director of ministry relations at GFA Missions where he oversees church planting and development and provides church staffing assistance. McAllister earned four degrees from BJU: a B.A. in Bible in 1977, an M.A. in Pastoral Studies in 1979, an M.Div. in 1988, and a D.Min. in 1995. Previously, he served as director of ministry relations and director of ministerial training and outreach at BJU for over forty years. Through his work, he taught and counseled thousands of BJU students preparing for the ministry.

“We are confident this is the right team to lead the university through this time of transition,” said BJU Board Chairman Dr. Sam Dawson. “They will oversee all aspects of the university, collaborating with the administration to provide leadership to the faculty, staff and students.”

“Appointing an acting CEO will give the Board of Trustees time to solicit qualified applicants, conduct interviews, and strategically evaluate candidates for the permanent position,” said Dawson. “We trust God will guide our steps as we look for the individual who will lead the university as we approach our century mark.”

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees will comprise the search committee and will initiate the search for a new president shortly. Candidate qualifications, the process for nominating candidates, and periodic status updates will be available on the BJU website when the presidential search is officially announced.