Al Panu will step down as USC Beaufort chancellor at the end of June 2027 after 12 years. Enrollment rose 27.8% on his watch, to a record 2,293 students.

Al Panu will retire as chancellor of the University of South Carolina Beaufort at the end of June 2027. The university announced it in a news release Oct. 19.

Panu has led USCB since July 2015. He is its second chancellor, following Jane Upshaw, and was the first African American chancellor in the USC System, the release said. USCB has three campuses, in Bluffton, Beaufort and Hilton Head Island.

The release did not say how or when a successor will be chosen.

What changed at USCB under Panu

The university listed these results from his tenure:

  • Enrollment up 27.8%, and the number of graduates up 43%
  • Economic impact up from $75 million to $141 million a year
  • New degrees: the first graduate degrees, three new bachelor’s degrees and concentrations in cybersecurity and marine biology, plus the Beaufort College Honors Program
  • Bluffton campus: student housing, athletics, library and student center improvements
  • Athletics: membership of the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference and new men’s and women’s basketball programs
  • Funding: more than $15 million in additional state money, $15.9 million in federal grants and sponsored research, and more than $8 million raised through the new USCB Education Foundation
  • Lifelong learning: the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute grew to more than 1,800 members

The university also built its Hilton Head Island campus, about 11 miles east, during his tenure.

“His commitment and foresight have created a lasting legacy, and we are grateful for his dedicated service,” USC President Michael Amiridis said in the release.

“For Judith and me, serving USCB in the leadership capacity has been one of the greatest privileges of our professional life,” Panu said.

A record year to leave on

Fall enrollment reached a record 2,293 students, including 755 first-year and transfer students, USCB said in a Sept. 22 release. Enrollment has grown more than 12% in five years.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 guide ranks USCB No. 7 among top public schools in the South, up from No. 11 last year, the same release said.

What it means for you

Nothing changes for students, families or Osher members this academic year. Panu remains chancellor through June 2027.

The next chancellor will take over a university with record enrollment and the Bluffton campus improvements listed above. We will report the search when USC announces it.

For the schools Bluffton students attend before college, see our guide to Bluffton public schools.