Harris Pastides is introduced as USC's new president during a Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, July 11, 2008. Here, he shakes hands with Board Chair Herb Adams. Pastides, 54, who replaces Andrew Sorensen, was vice president of research and health sciences at USC.
The USC president oversees:
• An $886 million budget
• A main campus in Columbia and seven satellite campuses
• 2,227 faculty members
• 40,000 students systemwide (27,000 in Columbia)
• A $438 million endowment
The president serves: At the pleasure of the board. The president is not under a long-term contract, meaning the board can terminate the president’s employment at any time.
The president’s salary: Is negotiated. President Andrew Sorensen earns $552,482 a year.
Age: 54
Born: New York
Residence: Columbia
Current position: USC vice president of research and health sciences
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University at Albany; master’s degree in public health, Yale University; doctorate in epidemiology, Yale
Professional experience: Professor of epidemiology and chairman of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; senior Fulbright research fellow at the University of Athens, Greece; consultant and adviser to the World Health Organization in Geneva
Harris Pastides became the University of South Carolina’s next president today, as trustees unanimously voted to elevate a university insider to the top job.
Pastides, a research funding expert who has been at USC since 1998 and turned down opportunities to leave, succeeds Andrew Sorensen, who is retiring.
"I'm so deeply honored," said Pastides after the vote. "I have been on 10-year journey with many of you," he said to board members.
Pastides, 54, has served as vice president for research and health sciences and as executive director of the university’s research foundation since 2003.
He will now be in charge of the entire USC system, it’s 27,000-student Columbia campus and seven satellite campuses.
Pastides was appreciative of the board's confidence in his ability to thrive in the university’s top job.
"I will work with you closely to plan and execute our strategies," he said. "While I cannot promise our goals will all be met, I can promise you I will uphold the values of Carolina."
Pastides attended the meeting with his wife. He got a hearty endorsement from Sorensen, who called Pastides "a remarkable man of integrity and vision" who will do an outstanding job at the university.
Board of Trustees president Herb Adams said the search for a new president reached far and wide, involving about a half dozen countries and the United States.
But it became clear Pastides was a serious contender for the job when less than two weeks ago he ended his candidacy to become president at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Then Pastides was named one of three finalists USC announced this week, the first public acknowledgment of who was being considered in trustees’ months long search to replace Sorensen.
Selecting one of the other two finalists — former University of Florida provost Janie Fouke or Geri Hockfield Malandra, vice chancellor for the University of Texas System — would have given USC its first female president.
It is "extra gratifying" to be chosen given the strong competition, Pastides said.
Pastides is a New York native who has had a distinguished career in epidemiology and research.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University at Albany before get-ting a master’s degree and a doctorate from Yale.
From 1980 to 1998, Pastides rose from assistant professor of epidemiology to chairman of the department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Earlier this year, Pastides had a chance to return to that school as its chancellor but, after interviewing, withdrew from consideration.
Pastides said at the time he had made “a personal decision” that was not aided by any assurances from USC board members already looking for a new president. Pastides came to USC in 1998 to work as dean of its public health department. He helped secure the donation that led to the renaming of the Dean Arnold School of Public Health.
From there, Pastides continued his climb up the ladder, serving as interim vice president for research and then having the interim tag removed and adding the job of executive director of the university’s research foundation.
Pastides was Sorensen’s right-hand man as Sorensen set about repairing relationships with the city of Columbia and establishing a vision of USC as a hub of research and innovation.
As associates describe it, Sorensen thought the big thoughts, and Pastides got the ball rolling.
“He was really the operations guy who made things happen,” said MUSC president Dr. Ray Greenberg.
What USC trustees sought:
FUNDRAISING PROWESS. USC president Andrew Sorensen said his successor should oversee a $500 million, seven-year fundraising push.
RESEARCH RESUME. The university wants someone who can attract research funding for its two major research initiatives, Innovista and Health Sciences SC.
ACADEMIC RESPECT. The number of retiring faculty will accelerate. In a competitive market, the president must demand respect among college instructors.
VISION. USC is expanding and rebuilding its Columbia campus, focusing on research and becoming a more academically elite university. The next president must be able to guide the university through uncharted waters.
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The other finalists
Two two other finalists for the USC presidency.
--- Janie Fouke
Age: 57
Born: Ayden, N.C.
Residence: Gainesville, Fla.
Current position: Consultant; recently stepped down as provost at the University of Florida
Education: Bachelor’s degree, biology, St. Andrews College; master’s and doctorate degrees, biomedical mathematics and engineering, University of North Carolina
Professional experience: Dean, College of Engineering at Michigan State University; division director, Bioengineering and Environmental Systems, National Science Foundation
--- Geri Malandra
Age: 58
Born: Chappaqua, N.Y.
Residence: Austin, Texas
Current position: Vice chancellor of strategic management for the 15-campus University of Texas System
Education: Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and archeology, Carleton College; master’s and doctorate degrees in ancient studies, University of Minnesota
Professional experience: Associate vice provost and assistant vice provost, University of Minnesota; department head and associate director, professional development and conference services, University of Minnesota; special projects director, NEH Humanities Institute, University of Minnesota
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