USC announces big name change in honor of former Columbia mayor Steve Benjamin
The University of South Carolina is naming its campus leadership center after former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. The university announced the move in a media release Thursday, ahead of a Friday ceremony to christen the center inside the Columbia campus’ Russell House student union. The center will now be known as the Steven K. Benjamin Leadership and Service Center. “As a student, I saw firsthand how mentors, service and a community that believes in you can help turn potential into purpose,” Benjamin said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “My hope is that the Stephen K. Benjamin Leadership and Service Center will give students the same opportunities to learn, listen and serve alongside their neighbors while using their voices and talents to create meaningful change.” The center serves as the central hub for more than 700 USC student organizations, student government, the university’s Graduate Student Association and other service and leadership development programs, USC said. The name change recognizes a Carolina alumnus. Benjamin earned a bachelor’s in political science in 1991 and graduated from USC’s law school in 1994. In his time at the university, Benjamin was student body president and president of the Student Bar Association. He went on
