Created as a partnership of the Conference office and the chief academic officers of the member institutions, the SoCon Academic Exchange was launched in October 2014. The mission statement is as follows:

“The SoCon Academic Exchange is a cooperative educational program of the Southern Conference designed to provide collaborative learning activities and opportunities to benefit students, faculty and staff of the member institutions.”

Chaired by Dr. Scott Davis, provost at Mercer University, the Exchange has had the full support of the presidents and chancellors of the Southern Conference. From its first in-person meeting in January 2015, the Exchange has identified and triggered a number of initiatives.

In the fall of 2016, Wofford College hosted the first SoCon Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF). The event, geared toward students seeking experience in presenting their research projects, had 99 participants and was open to projects in the arts and humanities in addition to the STEM disciplines. Presenters included a Furman student performing a lost 1940s orchestral piece on the piano as well as a Wofford student reading the first chapter of her book on the fictional story of two children of mixed races living in the South during the Great Depression.

The event has remained at Wofford and has drawn more than 100 participants every year since.

The Exchange also created the LEAD (“Leadership, Education & Development”) project, a two-day seminar designed to provide potential provosts and deans of departments on campus with insights into the skills necessary to achieve those positions. The first LEAD conference was organized by The Citadel in the summer of 2016.

A proposal for an international study project in the country of Panama for Southern Conference students is currently being reviewed by the membership, under the leadership of Julie Strecker, director of international programs at Mercer University.

Another byproduct of the Exchange was the creation of the annual Southern Conference Faculty and Staff awards presented by the commissioner at a sporting event on campus. Recipients are determined by the administrations of each campus.