State is watching as USC selects its next president

ANDREW SORENSEN’S tenure at the University of South Carolina has been a successful one, and transformative for the university and the state. It’s understandable that the community will be watching closely as his successor is chosen. To best serve USC and South Carolina, the search needs to be undertaken with the goal of extending his successes, and in a process that’s open for all to see.

Many university presidents act as caretakers, striving to keep all sides happy. Dr. Sorensen has been a change agent, shaking USC out of its complacency:

• He drove the university to embrace its research mission, pushing for projects that would build its academic credentials and, in many cases, South Carolina’s economic prospects. His vision of the university as a high-tech magnet is redrawing Columbia, with new buildings going up as part of a public-private partnership. The full scale of this new vision, the Innovista project, is only beginning to take shape.

• To change the community, he had to change USC’s distant relationship to the community. At times, Mayor Bob Coble and Dr. Sorensen seemed to be reading from each other’s notes. Given the town-gown estrangement of years past, that’s extraordinary.

• Just as remarkable is his success collaborating with the state’s other research universities, Clemson and MUSC. Rivals became partners, even when it came to requesting state dollars, and the state benefited.

• He was a strong booster of USC athletics, but he never gave the impression that sports ran the institution.Andrew Sorensen’s tenure has been a considerable achievement — USC is a more focused, energized and ambitious institution thanks to him. Costs to students have gone up sharply, but the main culprit for that is next door, under the State House dome. Dr. Sorensen has fought to keep the university ambitious even as lawmakers were reducing state support.

Will changes he launched continue? That question rides on the selection of a successor.

While President Sorensen has been a success, the process by which he was hired left a lot to be desired. The search was insular; by the time three “finalists” were announced, as state law requires, the search was over. One of the three had withdrawn from consideration more than a month before. No women or minorities were among the finalists, and the closed process offered no real reassurance that any had been considered.

A better, more open search is needed this time. Dr. Sorensen’s very achievements make that necessary. He has put USC at the center of change in Columbia’s and South Carolina’s academic and economic life. The interested parties extend far beyond the USC boardroom.

The next USC president will have to cement into permanence Dr. Sorensen’s solid relationship with Columbia. He or she will need to continue the strong ties established with other research universities and lawmakers. The next leader will have to shepherd the Innovista project from the drawing board into life. USC will have to continue its work to become a top-flight research institution, with commensurate benefits for the state’s economy.

South Carolina will be watching to see who is considered to fill this vital post — as state law intends. If the search is going to be truly successful, it will invite the state to watch, consider and speak out — before the die is cast.