In January 2016, I will be setting sail around the world as part of the faculty for Semester at Sea, a shipboard campus that has a mission to ‘integrate multiple-country study, interdisciplinary coursework, and hands-on field experiences for meaningful engagement in the global community.’ I was lucky enough to teach on a Semester at Sea voyage back in 2006, and it’s an old cliché but it really was a life-changing experience. You can join me next year as a student or a ‘life-long learner’ as we visit 10 different countries including Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and South Africa. For more information, go to: http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2016/

Hats off to another bright young intern, Alex Sizemore

On July 17th, 2015, Alex Sizemore, rising senior at the SC Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, presented a research poster titled “African American Tourism Patterns and Marketing Ethnically Focused Tourism in South Carolina.” Alex spent this summer conducting research on current trends and patterns within the African American tourism sector and identifying appropriate research methods to further explore the sector for the purposes of promoting quality of experiences while optimizing the economic impact. Alex’s research will contribute to the research base for an upcoming project schedule to launch in the fall of 2015, that shares the same focus. Great job, Alex!

Is South Carolina Retirement Friendly? New award hopes to find out.

Is South Carolina retirement friendly? The Center has been awarded a grant by the Economic Development Administration to explore that question and take it a step further by providing recommendations to strengthen South Carolina's brand as a competitive retirement destination. The results of this project will lead to a marketing plan to help rural counties state wide to better strategize and position themselves to utilize their resources effectively to attract migrating retirees. This year long project is scheduled to begin in August 2015.