History

South Carolina has been led by five state directors since its first year of competition in 1985.

1. Dr. Dalton Gossett, 1985–1986

   Dalton Gossett was the coordinator of the first two editions of the South Carolina Science Olympiad, held at Newberry College in 1985 and 1986. At the time of the first competition, Gossett was a professor of biology at Newberry and chaired the school’s biology department. He was made dean of academic affairs in August of that year. He earned a B.S. and M.S. from Texas State University and holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He joined the faculty at Newberry in 1974. After departing Newberry to teach biology at Louisiana State University Shreveport, Gossett founded the North Louisiana Regional Science Olympiad Tournament in April 1989. At that time, he was already chair of the biology department and he retired as associate dean for arts and sciences. Today, he is a published author and a shepherd at the University Church of Christ in Shreveport.

2. George J. Renwick, 1986–1997

   George Renwick led the organization through some of its most formative years. He graduated from Newberry College in 1954 and went on to earn a Master’s degree from Alabama College (now the University of Montevallo). He joined Newberry’s faculty in 1967 as an associate professor of biology. He was named professor of the year in 1974 and was promoted to assistant professor in 1977. Following his retirement, he was named professor emeritus. In addition to his work with Science Olympiad at the state level, he was a national event supervisor. He sadly passed away on July 14, 2004, at the age of 71. In 2005, the SCSO sportsmanship award was renamed to honor him and his massive contributions to the program.

3. Dr. Bret Clark, 1997–2018

   Bret Clark ran the first of his twenty-one SCSO state tournaments in 1998 after taking over for Mr. Renwick at the start of that academic year. He earned a B.S. from Furman University in 1988 and a Ph.D. from the Medical College of Georgia seven years later. That same year, he joined the faculty at Newberry College as an assistant professor of biology and has since been promoted to assistant and full professor. Since 2017, he has been chair of the department of sciences and mathematics and he is currently serving as dean of sciences, mathematics, and pre-professional studies in addition to his teaching role.

4. Dr. Jennifer Albert, 2018–2024

   Upon SCSO’s move to the lowcountry prior to the 2019 season, Dr. Jennifer Albert was named South Carolina’s fourth state director. Albert, the director of the STEM Center of Excellence at the Citadel and an associate professor in the Zucker Family School of Education, earned a B.S. from North Carolina State University in 2003 and an M.A. from Austin Peay State University two years later. In 2012, she completed her Ph.D. at NC State and shortly after completed a postdoc there. A former coach and event supervisor at regionals and state in North Carolina, Dr. Albert ran SCSO for five state tournaments (with 2020 canceled due to COVID-19).

5. Patrick Nelson, 2024–present

   Patrick Nelson was named SCSO’s fifth state director in July 2024, two months after SCSO’s move back to the upstate was announced. Nelson, an SCSO alum, earned a B.S. from Centre College and is currently a graduate student at the University of South Carolina studying for a M.S. in Epidemiology. He is the founder and tournament director of the Centre College invitational, which ran in 2023, and has served as an event supervisor for invitational and state tournaments in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Kentucky. His first state tournament as director took place March 1, 2025.