A publication for faculty, staff and friends of the university

USC TimeSAiken BeAUforT ColUmBiA lAnCASTer SAlkehATChie SUmTer Union UpSTATe

University of South Carolina January 17, 2013

When Jennifer Jablonski was a senior

in high school in Virginia she

traveled to South Carolina for the

USC Band Clinic. She had already been

accepted to her top choice for college –

Northwestern University. She was an All-

State saxophonist and planned to continue

her music studies in college.

Then she met James Copenhaver. Within

a few days, Jablonski went from knowing

nothing about South Carolina and its flag-

ship university to “being wowed.”

Copenhaver, director of USC Bands

at the time, approached Jablonski about

auditioning for the school’s music pro-

gram. It seemed, at least to Jablonski, that

Copenhaver really cared.

“I already felt important to him,” said

Jablonski, the School of Music’s director of

admissions. “He wanted me here. He took

the time to learn about me and my family.”

That personal attention didn’t stop when

Jablonski decided to attend Carolina and

join USC Bands. And it wasn’t unique to

Jablonski.

“He was a vested partner in my experience

here,” she said. “When you’re 18, you just

need to feel like someone is on your team.”

Copenhaver’s personal outreach and

recruitment of star students and musicians

like Jablonski became his trademark. Ask

any former band member.

The tenacious director knew everyone’s

name and constantly challenged all of his

students to excel no matter their role in the

band, said Kirk Randazzo, director of the

Carolina Leadership Initiative and former

band member.

“What I believe is truly remarkable

about all of this, is that my story is simply

one of thousands of similar stories,”

Randazzo said. “Jim had the same effect on

everyone. It’s not that he only focused on

a select group of individuals. He worked

with every single person and helped him/

her develop into someone better.”

Copenhaver, who directed USC Bands

for 34 years, will be honored this month

when the band hall on Sumter Street is

named for him. In 2011, he gave a $1

million gift to the School of Music – the

largest in the school’s history – to endow

scholarships for USC band students.

His former students recall his passion

for USC, his precision when running the

program and the indelible mark he left on

their lives.

“I arrived on the USC Campus as a

freshman in August 1976, the same year

Jim became our director of bands.  Both of

us started a new chapter in our lives that

year, and for me, it was the start of having

one of the most influential persons in my

life,” said Ken Corbett, director of USC

trademark and licensing and former band

member. “He is the secret of my success

leAving A legACy By Liz McCarthy

“Through the years, i have been involved with many activities associated with the band and the School of music, including every summer music camp since 1977 and the USC Band Clinic that Jim started in 1977. i saw firsthand Jim’s love of mentoring young people and his love of music.”— ken Corbett, former band member (year graduated) and director of USC Trademark and licensing

and taught me everything I know.”

It was Copenhaver who convinced

Jablonski to return to her alma mater. She

could see the differences he continued to

make in the music school. Copenhaver’s

detailed oversight and management of the

band program from scholarships to the

bands’ music, created stability and respect

from his peers in the field, Jablonski said.

“The USC Bands program has con-

sistently been on the right trajectory. It

has just gotten better and better over the

years,” she said. “Copenhaver built the

program to the point that it was a really

attractive and potential-filled program for

someone like Scott Weiss, [current direc-

tor of Carolina bands], to want to take

it on when Mr. Copenhaver was ready

to retire. We had already demonstrated

that our band program could be success-

ful, so it was a very desirable position

for the country’s best applicants. We are

in a position to continue the tradition of

excellence that Copenhaver brought to

USC Bands.”

The Carolina band performs

during the bicentennial in 1986

(above); Jennifer Jablonski poses

for a photo in her band uniform

in 1991 (above right); Ken Corbett

snaps a photo of Jim Copenhaver

in the 1970s (right); Copenhaver

talks with students during a

football game (below).

2 UniverSiTy of SoUTh CArolinA

Bob Davis believes in thinking big and taking risks. The trick, he

says, will be motivating students to do the same.

As the new chair at the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation

Center, Davis aims to help students — and faculty members — ex-

pand their notion of what’s possible. It’s a subject he talks about with

an almost evangelical fervor.

“You have to ask questions and challenge the status quo, and that

just doesn’t come n aturally to a lot of students,” he says.

He knows because it certainly didn’t for him.

As a child he went to live with extended family on a farm near Florence, S.C., a change that

he says instilled in him an overly cautious world view that favored pragmatism.

“I chose pharmacy because it

was a safe, secure environment,”

he says. “You had a job for life once

you got that license.”

But while earning his pharmacy

degree at the Medical University

of South Carolina, he befriended

a fellow student with an entrepre-

neurial fl air and longtime dean

Bill Golod, who mentored Davis,

encouraged him to take a non-

traditional career route.

“The combination of those two people was critical to me becoming who I am,” says Davis,

who will lead the Innovation Center as a part of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy that

was created to foster new approaches to the profession.

Instead of working behind a pharmacy counter right after graduation, he helped develop

successful pharmacy dispensing and patient education programs for indigent residents of

South Carolina’s Sea Islands. He later founded his own pharmacy practice and went on to

reach the upper echelons of the pharmacy industry, holding executive posts at four multibillion

dollar companies, including FoxMeyer Corp., Health Mart, Inc. and ScripCard Enterprises. He

also served as president of the American Pharmacists Association and held faculty positions at

both USC and MUSC.

Davis says it’s important for future pharmacists to take a multi-disciplinary approach to the

job as the pharmacy profession undergoes rapid change, partly as a result of national health-

care reform. Pharmacists will have a much larger role than they do today in coordinating pa-

tient care and serving as access points for underserved populations of health care consumers.

The Innovation Center will work closely with faculty from the Darla Moore School of

Business, introducing students to the business side of pharmacy management and teach-

ing them how to launch start-ups that meet shifting customer demands. Upcoming projects

include a business plan development competition, a scholarship program and a guest lecture

series.

Davis also would like to explore ways to match individual students with specifi c mentors

based not only on areas of interest, but also personality traits.

“Pharmacy today is more about dispensing manufacturers’ products, but that’s changing,”

he says. “We need to fi nd the best ways to connect with students so they become motivated,

lifelong learners.”

SCienCe on iCeBy Craig Brandhorst

over The CoUnTerBy Jeff Stensland

“you have to ask questions and challenge the status quo, and that just doesn’t come naturally to a lot of students.”

Some people will go to the ends of the earth for a white Christmas.

Okay, so it wasn’t just the snow, ice and subzero temperatures that drew University

of South Carolina alumna Liz Ratliff to Antarctica’s IceCube Neutrino Observatory

this holiday season, but the polar conditions did play a role.

Ratliff, who holds both a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, ’04, and a

master’s in secondary math education, ’08, was at the South Pole studying neutrinos

as part of a PolarTREC expedition funded by the National Science Foundation.

The PolarTREC program pairs K-12 teachers with scientists doing real-world

research. It is designed to raise awareness about climatological issues that affect the

earth’s polar regions and also to spark interest in the so-called “STEM areas” of sci-

ence, technology, engineering and math education.

Ratliff, a math teacher at North Carolina’s Gaston Day School, spent her time in

Antarctica helping researchers explore little-understood subatomic particles called

neutrinos.

“Every second, there are about 10 million [neutrinos] go-

ing through your fi ngernail,” Ratliff said. “But the problem

is we can’t detect them very easily so it’s really hard to learn

about them.” 

However, with the right equipment and under the right

conditions — i.e. through a powerful neutrino telescope —

evidence of neutrinos can be detected as the tiny particles

collide with other particles generating tiny fl ashes of light

under the dark Antarctic ice.

“This is the fun part of science — observing the universe

and trying to make sense of it,” said Ratliff, who returned home just before New

Year’s. “It’s human nature to want to fi gure things out, and that’s what we’re trying to

do with neutrinos right now.” 

While at the South Pole, Ratliff blogged about her experiences through the

PolarTREC website. Now that she’s stateside again, she will continue use her research

experiences to inspire her students to pursue their own interests.

“As a teacher, it’s really easy to get very focused on your subject and to forget the

context and the reason for why students need to learn it,” said Ratliff.  “Going to work

with scientists brings everything into perspective — getting students to pass my class

is not the end goal.  The goal is to help them learn to solve problems, to think logi-

cally, and to build up their toolbox so that they’ll have the skills to do whatever job

they want to do.”

To learn more about Ratliff’s journey check out her journal entries from the South

Pole: http://www.polartrec.com/member/liz-ratliff.

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USC TimeS JAnUAry 17, 2013 3

geT SoCiAlfive qUeSTionS WiTh … mAry WAgner, direCTor of UndergrAdUATe AdmiSSionS

What are you looking forward to most in 2013?

i’m especially looking forward to this August. That’s when we welcome the first class entirely admitted and enrolled via Banner, the new student information system, which will be a huge milestone for our office and the university.

What impact do winning sports teams have on applications?

i certainly don’t think it hurts, but it doesn’t explain all the growth USC has enjoyed over the past decade. in 10 years we have more than doubled our applications. gamecocks have great spirit whether or not we win. A winning program is a great thing, but it’s not the only thing.  

you did your undergrad here. What made you decide to come back as a professional?

There is something about the culture and spirit of Carolina that is infectious and empowering.  When i came back in 2004, i knew it was the right move

because it felt like coming home.

in admissions, how influential is community service involvement?

Students from recent applicant pools are among the most altruistic group i’ve seen in all my years of college admissions. That makes them a good fit for USC where community service is deeply ingrained in the campus culture.

What is USC’s best selling point?

it’s hard to narrow it down to one, but i’m most proud of how welcome we make people feel when they are here. Whether visiting for the first or the 50th time, i love when students tell us they appreciate the care, attention and friendliness they

experience on campus.

know someone we should ask five questions? Send us a tip – lizmccarthy@sc.edu

Congratulations to all of USC’s newly accepted students. See you next fall!

Want to know what’s cooking at McCutchen House? Or know about the latest research? Or

take a stab at some university trivia? The university has numerous social media outlets across

campus and on any platform so you can get social and stay connected.

“We use it for everything from customer service to fundraising,” says Mandi Engram, the

university’s social media strategist.

Here are some of the things the university is using social media to do:

• connect and engage with prospective and

current students, alumni, faculty, staff and

supporters of the university; 

• share photos, videos and stories of campus

life and Gamecocks making an impact

around the world;

• share the latest university happenings, news

and events;

• create awareness and enhance perception of

the university;

• create a sense of pride among the Carolina

community.

instagram: UofSC:Follow the university’s Instagram for scenic shots

of campus and other bits of news. On Tuesday,

Instagrammers are invited to guess some univer-

sity trivia for a prize.

facebook: facebook.com/uofscFacebook is the perfect place to share photos, vid-

eos and get social. Check out what the university

and others are saying about Carolina and join the

conversation.

facebook: facebook.com/USCTimes USC Times’ Facebook page shares the latest news

for faculty and staff. Share your thoughts with

your colleagues here.

pinterest: UofSC The university’s Pinterest is the perfect place to find

beautiful pictures of campus, see some Carolina

décor or find upcoming events.

Twitter: @UofSCThe university’s Twitter account

gives up-to-date news and informa-

tion, a little humor and a great way

to communicate about what you are doing and

seeing around campus. Tweet @UofSC and you’ll

likely get a retweet or response.

flickr: UofSCUniversity communications uses Flickr to share

photos from news stories, events or other shareable

images. The photostream has everything from din-

ner at McCutchen House to historical images from

a recent book release.

youTube: youtube.com/user/southcarolinaOn YouTube you can find videos about university alumni, departments or big

events such as commencement. University news videos can also be found on

the main YouTube channel.

foursquare: UofSCDid you know you can check-in at the university? Share your tips and find out what’s going

on around campus.

Tag @UofSC or use the hashtag #UofSC on any social media platform to keep the university

community in the loop.

USC TimeS JAnUAry 17, 2013 4

USC TimeSvol. 24, no. 1 | JAnUAry 17, 2013

USC Times is published 20 times a year

for the faculty and staff of the University

of South Carolina by the Division of

Communications.

Managing editor: Liz McCarthy

Designer: Linda Dodge

Contributors: Peggy Binette, Craig

Brandhorst, Frenché Brewer, Glenn

Hare, Thom Harman, Chris Horn,

Page Ivey, Steven Powell, Megan

Sexton, Jeff Stensland and Marshall

Swanson

Photographers: Kim Truett

To reach us: 803-777-2848

or lizmccarthy@sc.edu

Campus correspondents:

Patti McGrath, Aiken

Candace Brasseur, Beaufort

Shana Dry, Lancaster

Jane Brewer, Salkehatchie

Tammy Whaley, Upstate

Annie Houston, Union

The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualifi ed per-sons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation or veteran status.

Ask Marguerite O’Brien about her personal reasons for

taking an interest in health and wellness and she’ll

quote Virgil.

“The greatest wealth is health.”

Her initial motivation for maintaining a healthy lifestyle

as an adult was the hedge it provided against a family his-

tory of inheritable illnesses like high blood pressure, heart

disease and cancer. But she also feels better psychologi-

cally and emotionally when she exercises and eats well.

“On paper at least, I’m doomed [by genetics],” says

O’Brien, director of Campus Wellness.

Fitness was part of O’Brien’s childhood in Brooklyn,

N.Y., where her parents often told her to “go outside and

play,” which meant “running around with friends.” The

physical, social, and carefree aspects of the play were

important, says O’Brien.

She later took up tennis in high school because her

mother had played the game and it provided a good aero-

bic workout.

While at Carolina, where O’Brien received her bachelor’s

degree in international studies, she began working out

at The FIRM — now a Lexington gym — as a way to get

exercise and to enjoy its social aspects.

When she started her fi rst career as an organizational

administrator at the Carolina Peace Resource Center, she

became a part-time instructor at the gym, teaching aerobic

weight training. That inspired her to study anatomy,

physiology and kinesiology and became a full-time fi tness

professional, gaining certifi cation as a personal trainer.

O’Brien’s personal fi tness routine varies, but she exer-

cises deliberately six days a week with combinations of

aerobics, strength training, body weight training, indoor

cycling and yoga.

She brings her interest in personal fi tness to her job by

encouraging her staff to stay active and by leading yoga

and mindfulness sessions on campus in addition to her

responsibilities as the unit’s administrator who designs

and oversees its programs.

The core of her job, however, is an emphasis on overall

health and wellness and “to make sure that the university’s

faculty, staff and students are taking care of themselves.”

“That’s what makes me tick,” says O’Brien. “My mission

is to help the folks in our community achieve health and

wellness in body, mind, and spirit.”

Campus Wellness offers faculty, staff healthy activities

drop-in Services:blood pressure screening body composition screening

By Appointment:exercise consultationsfi tness assessmentswork site wellness screeningmassage therapydietitian appointments

other regular programsmindful mondays – one monday of each month topractice mindfulness and meditation

Choose to lose- a weight management program that focuses on creating a solid foundation for losing weight

Sweet Success- a diabetes management program

gamecocks on the move- a program to train for a 5k run/walk

healthy Aging Series - with sessions on topics like fall prevention, hearing loss and bone density

grocery store tours

Cooking demonstrations by dietitians

Campus Wellness offers faculty, staff healthy activities

drop-in Services:blood pressure screening body composition screening

By Appointment:exercise consultations

Acquired by the South Caroliniana library’s manuscript division in 1966, this unusual 19th century rebus ad asks: “What do you get when you combine a bear, a jackass and a man in a top hat vomiting in a bucket?” Solve the riddle, and the joke’s on you! otherwise, watch this space for more curiosities from USC libraries and special collections in the months ahead.

from The vAUlT

Body, mind,

SpiriTBy Marshall Swanson