USC to Rename Leadership Center for Steve Benjamin

The University of South Carolina will honor its former Columbia mayor with a new name for its student leadership center during a November 6 ceremony.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in People

Brick university building entrance with arched windows and a stone step, framed by live oaks draped in Spanish moss under warm autumn light. — The University of South Carolina will rename its student Leadership and Service Center for former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin at a November 6 ceremony. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The University of South Carolina's Leadership and Service Center will be renamed the Stephen K. Benjamin Leadership and Service Center at a ceremony scheduled for November 6, 2026. The center, located in the Russell House University Union, supports more than 700 student organizations.

Why it matters

The renaming recognizes Benjamin's leadership and service and his undisclosed gift to the university. It also ties the center's work to a figure who served as Columbia's first Black mayor.

The center supports more than 700 student organizations, and Benjamin's donation funds an endowed scholarship and a civic engagement lecture series. The gift amount remains undisclosed by the university.

The players

Steve Benjamin

Benjamin is a former Columbia mayor who also directed South Carolina's probation, parole and pardon services and the White House Office of Public Engagement.

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, and the institution that houses the renamed leadership center.

The details

Benjamin's donation will fund an endowed scholarship award and the Stephen K. Benjamin Civic Engagement Lecture Series, which will bring a guest lecturer to campus to mentor student leaders. Benjamin graduated from USC with a political science bachelor's degree in 1991 and earned a Juris Doctor from the Joseph F. Rice School of Law in 1994.

1991: Benjamin earns his USC political science bachelor's degree.
1994: Benjamin earns his Juris Doctor from the USC law school.
2010 to 2022: Benjamin serves as Columbia's first Black mayor.
November 6, 2026, 12:30 p.m.: The center renaming is unveiled at a ceremony.

Market Landscape

Naming campus centers after prominent alumni and public officials is a common way for public universities to attach donor-backed programming to a recognizable name. The renaming places Benjamin's civic record alongside a student leadership program that serves more than 700 organizations.

Students involved in more than 700 campus organizations will use a center with a new name and a new endowed scholarship and lecture series. Students seeking leadership mentorship can expect guest lectures funded by Benjamin's gift.

The takeaway

Campus leadership programs depend on named support and sustained donor investment to serve students. Students who want to build leadership skills can look to the center's programs for mentorship and service opportunities.