Gov. Nikki Haley signs bill to oust S.C. State trustees

Gov. Nikki Haley signed the law ousting S.C. State University trustees on Thursday and appointed the first of seven interim board members.

Haley appointed Milton Irvin, an investment banker who lives near Hilton Head Island. He sits on the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Irvin was one of three African-American business professionals recommended by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, to sit on the board of his alma mater.

"Milton Irvin is the right person to roll his sleeves up, get to work and move S.C. State in the right direction," Haley said of the chairman of CastleOak Securities advisory board.

Seven Republicans will make the new interim board appointments within the next seven days. The new S.C. State trustees could meet as early as the week of May 18. They will serve until mid-2018.

The temporary seven-member board will be appointed by: Haley; Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence; Senate Finance Higher Education subcommittee chairman John Courson, R-Richland; House Ways and Means Committee chairman Brian White, R-Anderson; House Ways and Means Higher Education subcommittee chairman Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley; state Treasurer Curtis Loftis, R-Lexington; and state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, R-Saluda.

Currently, S.C. State’s 13-member board has just six active trustees after a series of resignations at the state’s only historically black public college.

The new board will work to turn around the 119-year-old school’s deficit, expected to grow to $23.5 million by the end of June, a financial audit said.

The school’s financial troubles stem from its failure to cut its budget as its enrollment has dropped by 40 percent since 2007. Cutbacks in federal financial aid contributed to the loss in students.

S.C. State’s accreditation also is at risk because of its money woes.

Accreditors placed S.C. State on probation last year. Another vote on the school’s accreditation status takes place next month. That vote is important because students at unaccredited schools cannot get federal financial aid.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Gov. Nikki Haley signs bill to oust S.C. State trustees."