Heather Smith video - watch now!

Heather Smith, the president of Heather Smith and Associates, LLC since January 2023, has had a distinguished career in lobbying and public affairs. Previously a partner at The Southern Group, Heather specialized in various policy areas, including appropriations, healthcare, education, and telecommunications. With over 18 years of lobbying experience, she was pivotal in securing millions in state funding and enacting legislation that significantly benefited the healthcare and education sectors. Notably, she played a key role in the passage of the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) legislation in South Carolina, recognized as a national model for regulation in the pharmaceutical industry.

In addition to her professional achievements, Heather is deeply committed to community service. She serves as the treasurer for Katrina’s Kids, which supports foster children, and founded Race for the Case, a 5K event promoting awareness of adoption and foster care. As the South Carolina Liaison for Guitars 4 Vets, she helps provide therapeutic music experiences for veterans. Heather's contributions to her community and her advocacy work have earned her several accolades, including the 2022 NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame Child Advocate of the Year. A native South Carolinian, she graduated cum laude from the University of South Carolina and continues to reside in Columbia with her daughter.

Hiram Allen video - watch now!

Hiram S. Allen, born and raised on a farm near Blythewood, South Carolina, has dedicated his life to the fields of chemistry and education. After moving to Columbia, he attended Arden Grammar School and Eau Claire High School before enrolling at the University of South Carolina in the early 1960s. He initially majored in mathematics, but the impactful teaching of Professor Joe Bauknight inspired him to major in chemistry. While still a student, he founded a part-time business that manufactured and distributed organic chemicals for pharmaceutical research.

After graduating, he was president of Fairfield Chemical Company, Inc. until he sold it. After selling, he continued to work there until he decided to become a chemical consultant, helping various chemical industries. He then became a Partner and President of Oakwood Products, Inc. Currently, he is President of Matrix Scientific in Columbia, which supplies over 55,000 building blocks and research chemicals to industry and academia worldwide. As he has been taking steps back from the business, his son has been taking a more active role.

Throughout his career, he has been committed to giving back. Hiram and his wife established the Hiram and Lawanda Allen Scholarship for Excellence in Chemistry, among other scholarships, to support future generations of chemists at USC. At 81, he reflects on a fulfilling life enriched by family, friends, and a deep gratitude for the educational opportunities that shaped his career.

Val Littlefield Ph.D. video - watch now!

Valinda W. Littlefield, Ph.D., is an associate professor emerita of history at the University of South Carolina and the interim director of the Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era at USC Beaufort. She received a B.A. in History and a B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina Central University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. Dr. Littlefield specializes in late nineteenth and twentieth-century African American history.  Her current research focuses on African American rural southern women schoolteachers during the Jim Crow era.

Littlefield has provided leadership in a wide variety of committee roles at USC as well as community service. She served as co-chair of the Presidential Commission on University History and as co-chair of USC's 50th Anniversary Desegregation Commemoration Committee. She has been involved in several large oral history projects since coming to South Carolina, including projects in Gadsden and Georgetown. Littlefield serves or has served on the boards of the S.C. Historical Society, S.C. State Museum Foundation, the SC Authors’ Academy, One Columbia, and the S.C. Council for African American Social Studies.

James "Jimmy" Anderson video - watch now!

James “Jimmy” Anderson is a dedicated public servant and veteran whose career has significantly impacted the lives of military personnel and their families. As the director of veterans engagement in the Biden-Harris Administration, he served as a vital link between the White House and over 300 veterans and military-connected constituency groups. In this role, he advised the President and senior staff on important commemorative events such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, while also playing a crucial role in the passage and signing of the PACT Act. Before this, he served as the Deputy White House Liaison and Special Advisor to Secretary Denis McDonough at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he led interagency initiatives and contributed to the Department's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. His exceptional work earned him recognition as one of the Root’s Young and Talented Black White House staffers under 40.

A committed military leader, Anderson has spent fifteen years in the Air Force, including active duty and reserve service, where he last served as Deputy Division Chief for the Reconnaissance Operations Cell at Shaw Air Force Base. He continues to contribute as an intelligence officer in the Air Force Reserve at the Pentagon. His academic achievements include being a Fulbright scholar focusing on U.S.-Canada relations and holding fellowships with notable organizations such as the Center for a New American Security. He is the founder of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association’s Veterans Alumni Council and remains active on the Association’s Board of Governors. Currently, Jimmy is an Associate Partner at IBM and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, holding MA degrees from Queens University in Canada and American University in Washington, D.C., along with a BA in political science from the University of South Carolina. He resides with his wife, Natasha, and their two children, Jocelyn and Liam.

Jane and Tommy Suggs video - watch now!

Jane and Tommy Suggs have played a major philanthropic role at USC. Tommy Suggs has been heavily involved ever since he donned a helmet as quarterback for the Gamecocks football team that won the ACC championship in 1969. He went on to become the president and CEO of KeenanSuggs, and he has been involved in Gamecock radio for over 40 years.

Jane has held many leadership roles as well. In Columbia, she has been President of the Columbia Garden Club demonstrating leadership as Chair of the SC State Christmas Tree, USC Rose Garden, Tour of Homes, Memorial Garden Restoration and Centennial Committee. She is Regent of the Ann Pamela Cuningham Chapter of DAR and has served as a board member of the Palmetto Club, City Year, Richland Memorial Cancer Center and Hickory Top Farm/Therapeutic Riding Non-Profit.

Jane and Tommy cochaired the USC Athletic Department’s Garnet Way Capital Campaign. In their philanthropic success, USC named the gate at Gamecock Park in their honor

The Suggs family also has been involved with the College of Arts and Sciences for years. Their daughter, Betsy Blackmon, was a lifelong dancer and one of the first students to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Dance at the university in 2007. After Betsy died from cancer in 2018, a few weeks before her 34th birthday, her family explored ways to honor her memory. In 2023, they made a gift to the dance program to name it the Betsy Blackmon Dance Program. In her memory, the Suggs have been able to make an impact on each student who passes through the dance program.

• Distinguished Service Award: the Honorable Brian J. Gaines, MPA, CPM
• Dean's Award: Leroy Chapman Jr.
• Distinguished Faculty Award: Frank T. Avignone III, PhD
• Distinguished Alumni Award: Justin Tupper
• Distinguished Young Alumni Award: Jennifer Bartell Boykin
• Institutional Support Award: the Ethel S. Brody Charitable Foundation

• Distinguished Service Award: Kassy Alia Ray, Ph.D.
• Dean's Award: Kelly Adams
• Distinguished Faculty Award: Loren Knapp, Ph.D.
• Distinguished Alumni Award: Richard J. Youle, Ph.D.
• Distinguished Young Alumni Award: Kari Croft
• Institutional Support Award: Jim and Elaine Johnson

• Distinguished Service Award: Major General Cornell A. Wilson, Jr.
• Dean's Award: Karen Painter Randall
• Distinguished Faculty Award: Susan Ellenbast Anderson
• Distinguished Young Alumna: Chanda Jefferson, M.T./Ed.M.
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: State Representative Marvin R. Pendarvis, Esq.
• Institutional Support Award: Zeus

• Distinguished Service Award: Ann Cameron
• Distinguished Young Alumna: Lindsay Richardson
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Allen Klump
• Distinguished Alumnus Award: Neil Jacobs
• Dean's Award: Henrie Treadwell
• Institutional Support Award: The Knight Foundation Donor Fund at the Central Carolina Community Foundation

• Distinguished Alumna Award: Marva A. Smalls
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Ryan C. Holt
• Distinguished Service Award: Vasa W. Cate, M.D.
• Dean's Award: Tommy Hickman
• Institutional Support Award: The Duke Endowment

• Distinguished Alumnus: Major General James M. Richardson, Jr.
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Jotaka L. Eaddy
• Distinguished Service: Gregory Thomas Alia (posthumously)
• Dean's Award: John C. Parry
• Institutional Support Award: DEA Survivors Benefit Fund

• Distinguished Alumna: Ms. Anne Hale Miglarese
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Mr. Tommy D. Preston, Jr.
• Distinguished Service: Ms. Laura Bauld Turner
• Dean's Award: Ms. Carolyn T. Polston
• Institutional Support Award: Michelin North America

• Distinguished Alumna: Ms. Marcia Lee Hale
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Mr. Mike Randal Colter
• Distinguished Service: Ms. Shirley D. Mills
• Dean's Award: Mr. John Kevin Hoey
• Institutional Support: Mr. Jeffrey Leving, Father's Rights
• Institutional Support Award: Bilinski Educational Foundation

• Distinguished Alumna: The Honorable Kathryn S. Smith
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Mr. Robert Temple Samuels
• Distinguished Service: Dr. Jason C. Hu
• Dean's Award: Mr. Michael Tongour

• Distinguished Alumna: The Honorable Lindsey O. Graham
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Mr. Nicholas Ray Morris
• Distinguished Service: Dr. Walter B. Edgar
• Dean's Award: Mr. Scott Howell

• Distinguished Alumna: Dr. Gail M. Morrison
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Mr. Daniel D'Alberto
• Distinguished Service: Ms. Lynn Robertson
• Dean's Award: Dr. Lois Duke Whitaker
• Institutional Support Award: Watson-Brown Foundation

• Distinguished Alumnus: Dr. Janine Anne Davidson, Mr. Mike Randal Colter
• Distinguished Young Alumnus: Mr. Francis John Person
• Distinguished Service: The Honorable James E. Smith, Jr.
• Institutional Support Award: IAVO Research and Scientific