Tobin elected S.C. State trustee chairman

S.C. State University’s board of trustees elected new officers last week – Walter Tobin of Columbia, chairman; Robert Waldrep Jr. of Anderson, vice chairman; and Linda Edwards-Duncan of Gaffney, secretary.

A retired educator and S.C. school district superintendent, Tobin is a 1963 alumnus of the university. Waldrep, an attorney, chairs the governor’s Savannah River Committee and is a board member on the Savannah Maritime Commission. Edwards-Duncan is a retired educator and an alumnus of the university.

Tobin succeeds interim chairman John Corbitt, a Greenville pastor who was appointed this year after Columbia businessman Jonathan Pinson stepped down as chairman. Pinson and Corbitt remain on the board.

Dennis Nielsen, a former S.C. State professor and husband of former state Superintendent of Education Barbara Nielsen, was appointed to the board by Gov. Nikki Haley.

USC wins $2.7 million grant to study emergency psychiatric program

Dr. Meera Narasimhan, vice dean for innovative health-care technologies and chair of the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, has been awarded a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a statewide program that provides psychiatric help for emergency-room patients.

The study also will evaluate whether the telepsychiatry program should be used nationally. As part of the program, a psychiatrist provides assessment and recommendations for initial treatment and works with emergency room physicians to identify resources in the community for follow-up care.

The telepsychiatry program received the American Psychiatric Association’s Silver Achievement Award for 2011. The NIH-funded study is a partnership between USC, S.C. Department of Mental Health, S.C. Office of Research and Statistics, and Emory University.

Borgo to lead Coker honors program

Biology professor Jennifer Borgo has been appointed the director of the Coker College honors program, started this year. Borgo led development of the program and chaired its implementation committee.

Borgo, who has taught at Coker since 2008, has a master’s degree and a doctorate from Utah State University. She is a member of the several different professional organizations, including the Wildlife Society and the American Society of Mammalogists. She also is an editor for several different publications, including Human-Wildlife Conflicts and the Southeastern Naturalist.

Students in the honors program work on a discovery-based research project or creative piece of work alongside a faculty member and can present their projects to the campus. Program requirements include studying abroad, taking a foreign language, leadership classes and participating in community service.

Staff writers Mindy Lucas and Andrew Shain contributed