Two New Members Named to SC Humanities Board

SC Humanities is pleased to announce the FY2013 Board of Directors who begin their terms on November 1, 2012.

Two new members will join the Board of Directors in 2013: Portia Cobb of Edisto Island and Randolph R. (Randy) Lowell, Esq. of Columbia.

Portia CobbSince 1992, Ms. Cobb has been Associate Professor in film, video, and media arts at the Peck School of the Arts, Film, Video, Animation and New Genres at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  She also has lived, taught and created art in South Carolina and is becoming a permanent full-time resident living in Edisto.  Her current work focuses primarily on Lowcountry family histories and the legacy of land.  She has conducted study-abroad classes and done her own field production work in West Africa, and she has developed media arts literacy for teachers, children and young adults in underserved communities. She has been an artist-in-residence at the College of Charleston. With degrees from Mills College and San Francisco State University, Ms. Cobb possesses a strong commitment to community, education, the arts and humanities.  She has long been involved in the educational initiatives of SCETV and has served several times as a reviewer for the Southern Humanities Media Fund.  She previously served on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Humanities Council and has volunteered for Causes for Change International in Milagros, Ecuador.

Randy LowellSince 2001, Mr. Lowell has been practicing law with Willoughby & Hoefer, P. A. in Columbia.  Lowell represents individuals, corporations, and government agencies in commercial transactions, administrative law, utility law, and land use and environmental law, as well as litigation for infrastructure and economic development projects.  Lowell holds a B.A. from the College of Charleston, Masters degrees from both the University of South Carolina and The George Washington University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina. Lowell is a published author, contributing chapters to two national legal treatises, and has served as editor and co-author of two legal treatises in South Carolina.  A recent opinion of the South Carolina Supreme Court recognized Lowell as an “environmental scholar,” and he was named a “2012 Super Lawyers Rising Star.”  Lowell is involved in numerous local charitable organizations and is dedicated to continuing education. He serves as an adjunct professor at both the University of South Carolina School of Law and the Charleston School of Law.

Board Members continuing to serve are: Sara Sanders (Chair) of Conway, L. Andrew Westbrook III (Vice Chair) of Greenville, J. Herman Blake of Charleston, Helen Fellers of Columbia, Virginia Friedman of Charleston, Thomas R. Gottshall of Columbia, Ghussan R. Greene of Orangeburg, Samuel M. Hines, Jr. of Charleston, Paul Horne (Secretary) of Rock Hill, D. Delores Logan of Columbia, Walton J. McLeod of Little Mountain, S.C. (Cal) McMeekin, Jr. of Columbia, Maggi M. Morehouse of Aiken, H. Graham Osteen, II of Georgetown, The Honorable Elizabeth D. (Betty Jo) Rhea of Rock Hill, David E. Rison of Summerville, Revonda L. Spratt of Inman, Courtney L. Tollison of Greenville, D. Reece Williams III of Columbia, and Jane Zenger of Blythewood.

SC Humanities bids a sad farewell to two outstanding Board Members who are retiring from the Board. Judy Burke Bynum of Spartanburg and Earl J. Wilcox of Rock Hill served the Council with great diligence and passion and will be sincerely missed. Judy Bynum was the Chair of SC Humanities from 2009 – 2011, and she currently serves of the Board of the Federation of State Humanities Councils and will thus remain involved with the public humanities on the national level.

The Board of Directors of SC Humanities consists of volunteer academic and public members. Board members initiate and develop projects, seek to make the humanities accessible statewide, and take active roles in Council fundraising.