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
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The 1990s
A H I G H E R R O L E I N E D U C A T I O N
time they get the chance, they add some more onerous record
keeping, testing, auditing, and reporting requirements.”
Still, the business of running the state went on and so did the
business of training South Carolinians, and the fusion of educa-
tional missions between the technical colleges and the universi-
ties seemed unavoidable. That old cliché “turf war” just doesn’t
work here. It wasn’t an invasion either; it was the filling of a void
borne out of necessity.
Ed Zobel’s words illustrate this. “I had so many parents in the
legislature, friends, and acquaintances who would come and say,
‘My child is not doing good in the four-year university, can you
help me?’ And we could send them toMidlands or wherever they
were from, they would be interviewed and tested.” The technical
colleges would get these students on track.
“I’ve had more students come back and say, ‘Thank you, be-
cause I am doing what I want to do now.’ One good friend sent
his daughter to Columbia College for two years, and you can
imagine the cost there compared to what he would be paying in
technical education. She went to Midlands, graduated, and did
great.”
And so did others, adding fuel to the fire that boiled this con-
troversy’s tempestuous waters.
As college presidents go, Dr. Merrell possesses a unique per-
