USC chief financial officer retires

Kelly oversaw big building boom at the university

By WAYNE WASHINGTON - wwashington@thestate.com

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Harris Pastides said it wasn’t long after the University of South Carolina’s trustees named him president last summer that he had a brief conversation with Rick Kelly, the school’s chief financial officer.

The economy was cratering. Cuts in state funding were in the offing, though no one knew how deep, and no one had a clear idea of what it would take to keep the university on a smooth path.

“I basically said, ‘Rick, I’d like you to stay on.’ He said that all new presidents deserve the right to name their own chief financial officer,” Pastides recalled. “I said, ‘Thank you for saying all the right things. Now, will you stay on?’”

Looking ahead

William “Ted” Moore will step in as chief financial officer at USC now that Rick Kelly has retired. About Moore.
The move to CFO. Moore had been interim provost since January, after Mark Becker left to become president of Georgia State University.
His background. Moore has an extensive background in finance. He earned his doctorate in finance from Virginia Tech in 1982.
His history at USC. Moore came to USC in 1986 as an associate professor of finance. From 2000-05, Moore was editor of the Journal of Financial Research. He has taught in the Moore School Business.

Pastides wanted a year from Kelly as he took over and sought to guide the university through turbulent times.

On June 30, that year was up, and Kelly retired, ending an extensive career as a behind-the-scenes money man for two of the most important entities in the state — USC and the state Budget and Control Board.

“He’s clearly not someone who was out there trying to get headlines,” said Mike Sponhour, director of public affairs for the Budget and Control Board, which has final authority over most large-scale financial decisions in the state. “He’s a public servant in the best sense of the word.”

Kelly, 57, graduated from USC with a business administration degree in 1977 and worked in University Printing before joining the Budget and Control Board in 1981.

There, he held a series of administrative posts — director of the division of operations, chief of staff and, eventually, executive director.

Kelly oversaw the renovation of the State House, a monumental task that involved rearranging the workspaces of powerful — and temperamental — lawmakers.

“He was trusted with huge projects because he was someone of great integrity, and he was good at getting big projects done and getting them done well,” Sponhour said.

In 2001, Kelly left Budget and Control to become vice president and chief financial officer at USC. Lawmakers expressed their gratitude by passing a resolution thanking him and noting his accomplishments.

The resolution pointed out that, during his time on the budget board, Kelly helped with or oversaw:

• The renovation of the State House

• The renovation of the Governor’s Mansion

• The largest bond sale in state history

• The implementation of new state retirement legislation

• The first-ever investment of retirement funds in the stock market.

In 1995, Kelly received the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor the governor can bestow on an individual.

Several large-scale projects were undertaken or completed during Kelly’s tenure at USC, including the Colonial Life Arena for basketball, Carolina Stadium for baseball and the new Greek village.

But Kelly is more closely associated with Innovista, USC’s plan to build and operate an expansive research hub.

Tenants have been hard to find. Other aspects of the project have faced delay.

But the project remains a top goal for the university, and it is a focal point for improved relations between USC and the city of Columbia.

Pastides emphasized there is no connection between Kelly’s retirement and Innovista’s problems.

“Absolutely not,” Pastides said. “Rick helped Innovista many, many times when it was facing even tougher times than it faces now,” he said.

Regardless of when he retired, Kelly, who earned $310,000 per year at USC, said there always would be projects he would want to see through to completion.

But now, after more than 30 years of work for the university and the state, he said the time is right to move on.

He said he plans to travel and has just completed a trip to Africa.

“I’ve met some wonderful people,” he said of his career. “People I met at the Budget and Control Board, I hold as lifelong friends. I feel the same way about the people at USC.”

Pastides said people at the university feel as strongly about Kelly as he does about them.

“He has been a giant for the university,” Pastides said.

Reach senior writer Wayne Washington at (803) 771-8385.

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