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 2000s
F L Y I N G H I G H
000
Anno Domini
—It was to be the “Year of Disaster.” Well, to those who saw the millennium’s
arrival as an Apocalypse. A cataclysmwould arrive courtesy of Y2K—the “Millennium Bug,” and
the bug prompted Chicken Littles the world over to prophesy doomsday.
And what caused the gloom and doom? Abbreviating a four-digit year to two. The 1900s were giving
way to the 2000s. What if computers interpret 00 as 1900?
“Nuclear plants will melt down.” “Airplanes will plummet from the sky.”
People hoarded water and food. Survivalists sequestered themselves in bunkers. Meanwhile gleeful con
men verifying account “compliance” scammed credit card information.
And when the 1900s’ last second ticked away?
Nothing. No airplanes crashed. Save personal computers, the 2000s arrived with no disasters. Nor did
the South Carolina’s technical training system suffer. It was prepared for Y2K and more. In the 2000s, the
system would send airliners into the firmament and not just any airplanes. Nor did any power plants suf-
fer disasters. Tech-trained people worked in those plants. A former board chair put it well, “I don’t know
anything more technical than running a nuclear power plant.”
In the 2000s, the system would make further inroads into training and higher education. Words like
cluster, bridge, austerity, apprentice, pathway and allied health would enter the system’s lexicon. “Special
Schools” would go away after yet another name dilemma. Biting the budgetary bullet took place too. And
the stubborn issue of what to call the colleges finally transcended talk.
The system’s mission not only remained intact, it broadened and opened doors. Remember that 1959
survey that reported two-thirds of South Carolina’s workforce was functionally illiterate? Over fifty years
later that was not the case. Not at all. From a modest $250,000 budget in 1961, the system had turned out
some sophisticated folk.
2011
Anno Domini
—By the time the system’s 50th anniversary arrived, South Carolina’s workforce was
more diverse and competitive than ever. And it had quite a feather in its cap to prove it—a quill of carbon
fiber reinforced plastic.
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