USCB Says Goodbye to Provost Skipper
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is saying goodbye to its Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Eric Skipper. Skipper is leaving for Southeastern Louisiana University, where he will again pick up the mantle of provost. Skipper came to USCB in 2016 from the University of North Georgia (UNG) where he served in multiple leadership roles.
“Chancellor Panu and I saw tons of potential at USCB. That’s what sold me on the opportunity to come here,” said Skipper.
Chancellor Al M. Panu expressed his appreciation for Skipper's leadership skills and dedication to USCB.
“Dr. Skipper is one of the very best academic leaders I know! In his role as Provost here at USCB, he has made an enduring and deep impact on students and faculty successes and other aspects of our institution," Panu said. "I know he will continue to be successful in all his future endeavors in higher education.”
During Skipper’s tenure, USCB has seen significant progress in the academic realm, including gains in student success, research, external funding and community impact. Skipper and Panu have championed the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) ideal of “Stewards of Place,” which calls on public universities to deeply engage with and contribute to the well-being of the communities and regions where they are located.
“We’ve had tremendous success matching faculty expertise with regional needs,” said Skipper. “Even better, our faculty have been able to bring students along on so many of the projects.”
With a focus on experiential learning, USCB has significantly increased student participation in study abroad, internships, and undergraduate research.
“Through our faculty-selected QEP Students Connected initiative, we have channeled students’ curiosity and desire to create change through community partnerships," Skipper said.
USCB students conduct undergraduate research alongside faculty mentors, preparing them for acceptance into top graduate and professional schools. Many Sand Sharks have garnered competitive scholarships and internships such as Fulbright, Washington Semester Program, and McNair, as well as Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs) programs at top-ranked universities, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Skipper led the focus on cross-disciplinary collaborations, and faculty responded by developing interdisciplinary courses and programs spanning health and the humanities, biology and communication studies, computer science and media arts and many other pairings. Skipper's nine-year tenure at USCB saw a 127 percent increase in students completing a minor in addition to their major.
Skipper spearheaded the university's “Library of the Future" visioning process. The newly renovated Bluffton campus library is a warm and vibrant space that houses the university’s first truly interdisciplinary makerspace. Specialized tech hubs in the library were made possible through partnerships with local foundations.
“We combined a transdisciplinary (outside the university) focus with use-inspired research and found there were no limits," Skipper said.
During Skipper's time at USCB, the university has quadrupled external funding, with faculty securing grants from DOD, NSF, NEH, NIH, USDA, HRSA, NOAA, and ED, as well as regional and private sources. Other collaborative efforts have led to shared Nursing simulation facilities with Beaufort Memorial Hospital, robust research on Pritchards Island, and the transformation of space in the former Bridges Prep school building into a state-of-the-art Cybersecurity Lab.
USCB also elevated its focus on international initiatives during Skipper’s tenure. The university was twice named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution; was one of six institutions nationally to receive the French Embassy 2021-2022 Transatlantic Mobility Program grant; and earned the 2023-24 AASCU Excellence & Innovation Award for International Education. This year, USCB had its highest ever participation in summer study abroad, with students studying in France, Poland, and the Bahamas—as well as “study away” courses in private club management in South Florida and public health and nursing at the Lakota Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Skipper's appreciation for the important role of USCB in Northern Beaufort County — where the university was founded — led him to hone in on the university's historic Beaufort campus. There, he led the creation of Beaufort College Honors (BCH)—a residential, cohort-based learning community that has played a key role in revitalizing the university's presence north of the Broad River.
“We needed to have a plan for the Beaufort Campus to complement the Studio Arts program, which was already there,” said Skipper. “Through our Academic Master Planning process, we determined which programs should go where. In Beaufort, those were Marine Biology, History, Cybersecurity, and Honors.”
Adding to the academic programs located in Beaufort, USCB will launch its first Nursing cohort at Beaufort Memorial Hospital in the fall.
“I’ll miss USCB,” said Skipper. “It’s been a tremendous run. I thank Chancellor Panu for a shared vision and for giving us lots of berth to try new things. I thank the faculty and staff for being relentlessly student-focused and for continually challenging the status quo. The community support has been tremendous.”
