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South Carolina State outlines $136 million campus funding request, cites decades of underfunding
Summary
South Carolina State University told the House higher education subcommittee it seeks about $136 million for campus safety, a new convocation center, dorms and health facilities and said the school has been historically underfunded by roughly $300 million over 30 years.
Retired colonel Conyers, speaking for South Carolina State University, asked the House higher education subcommittee on the university's capital and recurring budget priorities, saying the school seeks roughly $136 million overall with safety and security as the top priority.
Conyers told the panel the university is requesting $8,000,000 for a new police and public‑safety facility and perimeter security enhancements: about $5,000,000 to build a 10,000‑square‑foot replacement facility and $3,000,000 for fencing, gates and cameras to improve campus visibility and surveillance. "A total of $8,000,000 for our police department," Conyers said, describing both facility and personnel needs.
He also outlined a request to replace the aging Convocation Center, built in 1968, saying the existing building is deficient on ADA accessibility and HVAC and cannot be renovated to increase capacity for graduations (current capacity roughly 2,000). Conyers noted the university previously received $5,000,000 for A&E work on that project.
Other items in the ask include a Brooks Health Center replacement (a modern 10,000‑square‑foot infirmary, cited at $5,000,000), a health and wellness center for students, and ongoing dormitory construction. Ken Davis, associate vice president for facilities, told the committee the new dorm project rose from an initial 476 beds to 532 beds and is scheduled to break ground in March; Truth Hall (a 384‑bed high‑rise) is ~92% through abatement with roughly half the beds expected ready by fall 2026.
Conyers framed the requests within a longer history of underinvestment. Citing a letter the governor and HBCU land‑grant institutions received, he said, "South Carolina State University was underfunded almost $300,000,000 over these last 30 years," and explained that matching requirements under the land‑grant framework contributed to the gap.
Committee members pressed on several operational issues: whether the university had sought Department of Defense support for an ROTC facility (Conyers said DOD funds typically do not pay for facilities and competitive grants often favor communities near military bases), local options to meet ROTC swim‑proficiency needs, and potential impacts of H‑1B and visa changes on faculty recruitment (Conyers said the university is monitoring those issues but had not seen terminations tied to recent visa policy changes).
Conyers also said the university will recommend cutting or merging low‑producing academic programs and bring those proposals to the board of trustees: "We will be making recommendations to our board of trustees this year to cut certain academic programs," he told lawmakers.
The committee recessed after the presentation; no formal motion or vote on funding was taken during the session. The SC State presentation spanned topics of capital construction, student services, workforce connections and historical funding disparities.
Next steps: the subcommittee will consider the university's requests alongside other higher education budget proposals as part of this session's appropriations process.
