USC loses 'a great trustee' in Mungo

When Michael J. Mungo began his first term as a University of South Carolina trustee, the school's Columbia campus had an enrollment of 13,045 - less than half of today's student body.

USC only recently had started to admit black students, and it was a long way from being a center for research.

Now, more than four decades after Mungo's first days on the board in the 1960s, USC's Columbia campus has more than 27,000 students. Its black undergraduate enrollment is declining but still stands at 11 percent. And the school is considered a major research center, pulling in $206 million in 2008.

Mungo, who died Sunday at 82, was there for almost all of USC's transformation from a small state school to a university with regional and national reach.

No one had spent more years on the university's 19-member board than Mungo, who served from 1969 to 1978 and then again from 1982 until his death.

His tenure included some of the university's highest highs - the 1972 renovation of the Horseshoe, the 1977 establishment of the South Carolina Honors College - and some of its lowest lows, principally the scandal that brought down USC president James Holderman in 1990.

Mungo himself later acknowledged he was too slow to recognize Holderman's flaws. "He was a very polished con man," Mungo was quoted as saying in 1992, two years after Holderman resigned. "It took me a while to overcome that myself."

Those who worked with Mungo at USC said he was blunt, old-school about finances and passionate about the university.

"He was a great trustee and a great friend," said Miles Loadholt, chairman of USC's board.

Andrew Sorensen, USC's president from 2002 to 2008, said Mungo was never afraid to say what was on his mind.

"If he thought an idea was indefensible, he'd say so - in a very public way," Sorensen said.

One of those instances occurred in 1993, when Mungo was infuriated by the description of a course on Christian fundamentalism's impact on public education.

The course's stated goal was "understanding the fundamentalist phenomenon and combating its challenge to public education in a secular democracy."

Mungo blasted that description.

"What I see is an incredible amount of stupidity and bureaucracy," he said.

Sorensen said he had his best conversations with Mungo in the president's box at USC basketball games.

There, the Mungo that Sorensen said he encountered was thoughtful, gentle in tone.

"I found him remarkably easy to approach," Sorensen said.

Sorensen's successor, current USC president Harris Pastides, said Mungo's fiscal conservatism helped the university.

"He approached finance more like my father or grandfather did," Pastides said. "That is: If you can afford to buy it, buy it. If you have to borrow for it, it's probably best to try to live without it."

Pastides said he and others at USC understood Mungo simply wanted the university's finances to remain strong.

Loadholt and Pastides said Mungo had a firm grasp of interest rates and the importance of long-term planning.

FINDING A SUCCESSOR

The timing of Mungo's death leaves uncertainty about how his successor will be the selected.

On Wednesday - the day of Mungo's funeral - members of the General Assembly are scheduled to vote on board appointments.

Mungo, whose term expires at the end of June, was unopposed for a new term on USC's board.

Gov. Mark Sanford could make an interim appointment. The governor's office said Monday it will consult with state lawmakers before making a decision on appointing a successor.

If the governor fills Mungo's seat, how long that appointee holds the position will depend on when the Legislature votes to fill the post.

By law, board positions must be advertised for four weeks. Additional time also would be required to screen candidates.

With legislators hoping to adjourn before the end of May, there is a remote chance they could vote before leaving. They also could vote in June, when legislators are likely to meet to address Sanford's vetoes.

If they do not vote then, Sanford's appointee could hold the position until next year, when the Legislature reconvenes.

State Sen. Jake Knotts, the Lexington County Republican who chairs the candidate screening committee, said he is in no rush to determine how Mungo's spot on the board will be filled.

"I'm not going to decide anything until after the funeral, out of respect for the office and out of respect for the man," Knotts said.

This story was originally published April 13, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "USC loses 'a great trustee' in Mungo."