Administration

Bennie L. Harris, Ph.D., is USC Upstate’s fifth chancellor. Harris succeeds Brendan Kelly, who served from 2017-2020, and assumed his new post on July 1.

Dr. Pamela Steinke serves as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and SACSCOC Institutional Liaison.

Daniel Feig was introduced as the director of Athletics and Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics at USC Upstate on May 29, 2018.

Kim Jolley is interim vice chancellor for University Advancement and interim executive director for USC Upstate Foundations. She comes to Upstate from SunTrust, where she served for 11 years as city president and commercial relationship officer in Spartanburg.

Melanie Knight joined USC Upstate in October 2021 to serve as special assistant to the chancellor for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and director of special projects, and Title IX coordinator.

She has almost 30 years of experience in admissions and enrollment services. She is a USC Upstate graduate and has completed the Harvard Admissions Leadership Program and certification in enrollment management.

Sheryl Turner-Watts is the chief financial and operations officer and vice chancellor for finance and administration/Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) for athletics and her responsibilities include all facets of the budget planning process and ensuring the design, implementation and maintenance of systems of control/compliance to ensure the integrity of the financial and fiscal operations.

Adam Long serves as the Chief Information Officer at USC Upstate. Long previously served as USC Upstate’s director of institutional research and business intelligence where he led a professional staff with comprehensive responsibility for institutional research, data and reporting administration, and enterprise applications. 

Dr. Kim Purdy is assistant vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and dean of University College. University College is USC Upstate’s home for its academic support services and special academic programs, including the Student Success Centre, Honors Program, Centre for International Studies and others. 

Dr. Khrystal Smith was named interim dean of students at USC Upstate in January 2019. Since 2015, she has served as the university’s assistant dean of students and director of student life where she oversees several programs.

Christopher Taylor serves as vice chancellor for external affairs and chief of staff in the Office of the Chancellor at USC Upstate.

Kesha Boyce Williams is responsible for providing strategic leadership, oversight and tactical and technical direction to the institutional marketing and communications team in support of the University’s strategic direction. In her role, Williams helps to raise the profile of USC Upstate by fostering a spirit of collaboration and delivering creative, compelling and high-impact content.