6 6
| S C T E CHN I CA L CO L L E G E S Y S T EM ’ S
F I R S T 5 0 Y EAR S
From the 1980s on, Central Carolina Technical College and the
South Carolina Environmental Training Center have trained en-
vironmental professionals statewide. Everyone benefits though
they may know nothing of the center.
You say you want a revolution/Well you know/We all want to
change the world
—“Revolution,” Lennon & McCartney
Bill Dudley, the system’s executive director from 1976 to
1986, said, “We are on the edge of the second revolution of the
technical education program in South Carolina.” Prophetic
words. The eighties would lay the groundwork for notable ac-
complishments. The system was on the edge of major advances
in education and industrial development. Its commitment to
high technology would help lure a global superstar to the state
and greatly expand another high-profile international compa-
ny’s presence. A revolution was underway, and the wow factor
was South Carolina bound.
ASCENDING THE LADDER
The University of South Carolina was founded in 1801.
Eighty-eight years later, visionaries founded Clemson Univer-
sity. South Carolina’s technical training system began in 1961.
Together the two universities had a 232-year jump on the system.
Talk about an uphill climb!
Given the vast gulf in age and original missions it’s under-
standable that some highbrows looked down on the upstart tech-
nical training system. Well, all that Johnny-come-lately did was
start from zero—a future governor’s dream—and evolve into a
network of excellent institutions of higher learning.
Just twenty-three years after its founding, the system grabbed
headlines any university president would envy. In 1984, the state
board co-sponsored the AutomatedManufacturing Conference,
which convened futurist Alvin Toffler, economist Lester Thu-
the South Carolina Environmental Training Center,” continues
Odom. “We added features and training.”
The new and expanded training center proved magnetic.
“Industry would send people there,” said Odom, “and we’d train
them to take care of emerging regulatory needs and trends. You
couldn’t find people out there every day who knew how to do
the technical jobs, arithmetic, and detailed reporting in the early
days of old Commodore 64 computers and spreadsheets. South
Carolina said we’re going to support manufacturing and train
people to do these things.”
Fast-forwarding to today, Odom mentions Aiken Technical
College’s “tremendous environmental-related programs in radi-
ation control, radon, all those kinds of things. I can remember
in the early days when we actually did some work with asbestos
and things like that. The system has had a tremendous influence
on and support of environmental quality, thus the quality of life
in South Carolina.”
Pausing, growing reflective, Odom said that many people
today think the technical college system is here to help South
Carolina become a state with aircraft manufacturing, automo-
biles, tires, transportation, and all that goes with it. That’s true,
but beneath the triumphs, you’ll find values.
“Success,” said Odom, “goes back to core principles woven
into this system.” In the eighties, those core principles broadened
to include a clean environment and safer working conditions.
The 1980s
A D E S I G N F O R T E C H N O L O G I C A L C H A N G E
“We are on the edge of the second
revolution of the technical education
program in South Carolina.”
—Executive Director Bill Dudley, 1979
