Jim Clyburn and nuclear pork

Eight historically black colleges and universities in South Carolina and another in Georgia will share $9 million in federal stimulus money that will be used to train students for work in the nuclear industry.

This, even though only one of the schools appears to offer any nuclear science-related courses at present.

Allen University, Claflin University, Benedict College, Clinton Junior College, South Carolina State University, Voorhees College, Morris College and Denmark Technical College, all of South Carolina, and Georgia’s Paine College signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Department of Energy.

The goal is to build on the mathematics, science and technology, engineering and research programs at the HBCUs, according to The State newspaper.

US Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Columbia Democrat who serves as majority whip in the House of Representatives, pushed for the HBCUs to get the money.

But the funding raises questions, such as:

• Why are eight schools that appear to have no nuclear-related programs getting money? Why not focus the funds on SC State, which already has such a program? South Carolina already has a bloated system of higher education, with its 30-plus public schools alone spilling across more than 80 campus sites. Does giving $9 million to eight different institutions in the state for what appears to be a duplicative purposes represent a wise use of resources?
• Along those same lines, both the University of South Carolina and Clemson have nuclear science programs – why weren’t they included in the stimulus funding?
• Why is the federal government giving grants to private schools such as Allen, Benedict, Claflin, Clinton, Morris, Paine, and Voorhees?
• Who’s going to fund these programs once the stimulus money runs out? Things aren’t exactly rosy financially for some of the schools listed. South Carolina State, for example, recently stated it could be $2 million short of meeting its budget after fall enrollment fell 250 students shy of expectations.

The Savannah River Site is expanding its cleanup and technology-transfer work and that is expected to create new opportunities, the paper noted.

The $9 million has not yet been divided among the schools. Clyburn noted that the money averages out to $1 million for each school, but that does not mean each school will receive that amount, The State reported.

As majority whip, Clyburn’s job is to marshal votes for Democratic initiatives. That position gives him a say in legislation, and he said he uses that perch to make sure HBCUs get funding.

“I’ve got a tremendous investment in these institutions,” said Clyburn, who graduated from South Carolina State in 1962. “I think they are jewels.”

There’s nothing wrong with having pride in the state’s institutions of higher learning, but spreading taxpayer dollars to nine different institutions for the same purpose appears wasteful, particularly when the money is going toward an area most of the schools aren’t involved with already.