Exactly 10 years after joining the university as dean of the Arnold School of Public Health, Dr. Harris Pastides became the University of South Carolina’s 28th president Friday (Aug 1).

Pastides, 54, who was the university’s vice president for research and health sciences and executive director of the South Carolina Research Foundation since 2003, was unanimously elected by the university’s Board of Trustees July 11.

After a ceremonial walk from the President’s House to his new office in Osborne Administration Building, Pastides attended a coffee in his honor and began a day of meetings with students, faculty, alumni and state and local officials.

In a video shared with faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the university, Pastides said “Our Carolina values will guide everything that we do.”

He pledged “to work every day to keep the University of South Carolina affordable and accessible and to increase the value of a Carolina education.”

Pastides also said he would announce a strategic planning initiative that will focus on what matters most to the university and build on pioneering and outstanding programs that ensure student success.

As vice president for research, Pastides oversaw the university’s research initiatives and priorities. He was the university’s chief liaison with business and industry and has been pivotal in some of the university’s most visible partnerships and outreach and economic development initiatives.

Pastides has played a key role in the establishment of, and the university’s involvement in, Health Sciences South Carolina, a consortium of the state’s research universities and leading hospital systems created to transform the health status and the economy of South Carolina. He also has been intimately involved in the development of Innovista, the university’s innovative research district designed to integrate high-tech research with recreational, retail and residential space through public and private partnerships.

Pastides earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University at Albany, State University of New York, his master’s in public health, his master of philosophy in epidemiology and his doctorate in epidemiology from Yale University.

A native of New York City, Pastides is married to the former Patricia Moore, a native of Middletown, Conn., and an alumna of Holy Cross College and Yale University with a master’s degree in public health. The couple has two children. Katharine is an education specialist for gallery teaching programs at the Getty Villa in Malibu, Calif., and Andrew is an actor in New York City.

For more information on President Pastides, visit http://president.sc.edu.