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Lowcountry Graduate Center ramps up
By Molly Parker
Staff Writer
A row of paper silos sits on Rew “Skip” Godow Jr.’s desk at the Lowcountry Graduate Center where he is executive director.
Each one is marked with a red sticker labeled with the word “no.”
“They’re to try to get people out of the silo mentality,” Godow said. He defined the “silo mentality” as a person’s tendency to think only of himself or herself or his or her department or institution.
Breaking down that way of thinking was necessary in order to form the Lowcountry Graduate Center in 2001, he said, and a focus on nontraditional thinking is the reason the center continues to grow.
Along with expanding the facility’s offices by 6,000 square feet, center officials added three new programs for this fall: a doctoral degree in educational administration and a master’s of social work, both from the University of South Carolina, plus master’s-level courses in urban and regional planning from the College of Charleston.
The three additional advanced educational offerings bring to 12 the list of programs offered in full or part at the North Charleston Lowcountry Graduate Center, a collaboration between the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, The Citadel and the College of Charleston to bring targeted graduate programs to the area.
“Everybody’s got to get out of the silos and think about how we (can) work together to meet the needs of the community,” Godow said. “The world doesn’t come in departments, academic or otherwise.”
Godow is particularly excited about the doctorate program in educational administration that began last month with about 15 students.
“For us, that’s a big deal, because people said, bring (doctoral programs), and at the top of the list was educational administration for public schools,” Godow said.
The classes will be taught by University of South Carolina professors, but Godow said all the college partners may become involved.
The Citadel currently offers an educational specialist degree, and the College of Charleston is looking to add a similar program with a focus on curriculum and instruction, he said.
There also has been significant demand for the center’s new advanced educational programs for social workers, Godow said.
Before the center created its program, people were either earning master’s degrees in other fields that did not quite match their needs, forgoing an advanced degree altogether, or driving several times a week to Columbia to take classes at the University of South Carolina, he
said.
Programs at the Lowcountry Graduate Center are aimed at working professionals wanting to advance their careers, or at businesses that have moved or are considering a move to the area and want to ensure their employees have access to advanced educational programs.
Offering additional advanced educational programs was one of the suggestions in the 2005 Forward Charleston report by Austin, Texas-based AngelouEconomics as a way to attract and retain talent and support and grow the state’s biosciences, automotive, aeronautic, advanced securities and creative industries.
The Lowcountry Graduate Center began offering courses in 2002, with the first degree program commencing the following year. The center expanded its selections in 2004 when state funding became available.
The doctoral in educational administration program joins the doctoral in higher education administration program. The center offers four master’s programs in communication, electrical engineering, computer and engineering sciences. A master’s program in social work is new this fall.
Certificate programs are available in organizational and corporate communication, technical project management, teaching English as a second language and financial planning.
Master’s-level courses, but not complete programs, are offered in business, education and urban and regional planning.
That College of Charleston initiative will offer three courses specializing in urban and regional planning under its existing public administration program. The plan is to have a certificate program in place next year, and possibly a master’s degree in the future for which current students would be eligible.
Molly Parker is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her directly at mparker@charlestonbusiness.com.
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