C of C President P. George Benson hosted a town hall meeting Nov. 4 to give students a chance to hear about the current affairs of the College and ask Benson questions.

The executive team served as a panel for the meeting, stepping in to help answer questions that were asked by students who attended the meeting, as well as those sent in via e-mail before the meeting.

Benson started the meeting by covering several items that the College is working on. One such item was the College’s core values.

“These are the things we believe in,” Benson said. “Things that set us apart from other universities and colleges.”

The core values, which are the College’s educational excellence, student-focused community and the history of traditions of the College and the Lowcountry, are the code that the College will operate by.

Benson also discussed topics such as the College’s new strategic plan, the budget and the planned purchase of McLeod Plantation.

McLeod plantation has been a concern for students because of the cost of purchasing and maintaining the property.

“We have not yet purchased McLeod plantation,” said Benson. “We are in the middle of a 90-day due diligence, and are very interested in purchasing the property.”

Benson said the College is looking at other properties in case McLeod plantation falls through.

“We are always looking at other properties; in fact, we are scheduled to look at a property next week,” Benson said.

Students asked about Dixie Plantation, an existing property of the College.  Dixie Plantation will soon undergo renovations for restoration and the construction of new facilities.

“We are planning to add on several facilities to the property, including an executive training center that we could rent out and possibly housing for students and building a John Henry Price museum," Benson said.

Many of the other questions asked referred to educational aspects of the College, such as future a MBA program.

“We are currently looking for full approval,” said Benson, “and are projecting that next January or the following September to start accepting students.”

Benson and the executive team also answered questions concerning the College’s budget.

“We are very bullish about the future,” said Steve Osborne, Executive

Vice President of Business Affairs and member of the executive team.

“We have all scholarships intact and recently moved to the Investment

Fund for Foundations, which handles institutional investments, and our investment now exceed $50 million.”

Benson said that the College needs out-of-state students to keep the College running.

“We are heavily dependent on tuition and out-of-state students who pay more,” Benson said. “And we have started to think more like a private school, in terms of not relying on the state for funding.”

The College recently lost over $1 million in state budget cuts and lost more state appropriations, which cover 12 percent of the budget.