USC’s Caslen became president amid controversy. After 100 days, how is he doing?

The unlikely duo posed next to each other, smiling for a Twitter-ready photo.

University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen was presenting senior Lyric Swinton with one of his signature Excellence coins for her being named to the Forbes Under 30 Scholars program.

Three months earlier, Swinton led a group of students to protest Caslen and the process by which he was named president of S.C.’s largest school.

In Caslen’s first 100 days as president, this interaction typifies the sort of relationship Caslen has had with the university community that largely opposed his candidacy and the process by which he was selected president. Caslen has been trying to build bridges with the university, and many — even some who protested his candidacy — seem hesitant but willing to give him a chance. In the process, they are learning that Caslen is a different type of leader than his predecessor, Harris Pastides.

Caslen has tried to reach out to his critics, and most, but not all, have met with him, Caslen said.

Swinton, who has met with Caslen, still opposes the process by which Caslen was named president, as do many of those who criticized the process over the summer. The criticisms focused on what some say was the inappropriate support of Caslen by Gov. Henry McMaster.

“At the end of the day, I’m an advocate for the University of South Carolina, so I’ll do what I have to do,” Swinton said.

Since being named president, Caslen has tried to build an image of himself as a president willing to meet with students and local leaders. He has attended five of USC’s campuses (with plans to visit the rest), corporations such as BMW, newspaper editorial boards, Hip Hop Wednesday, and sorority rush. He has met with multiple sports teams, held office hours in front of Russell House, met with Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, spoke at the Columbia Rotary Club, and more.

“I think he’s done fine. Like anybody just coming in, he’s just trying to learn what he can about the university,” said Charles Williams, a USC board of trustees member who was outspoken against McMaster’s involvement in the presidential search and who voted against Caslen. “I don’t have any criticisms of him.”

For those who already supported him, Caslen’s efforts have given them something to point to.

“I think he has been doing an excellent job, especially considering the circumstances of how he came in,” said A.J. Abate, a junior at USC and supporter of both the retired three-star general and S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s efforts to push for a vote on Caslen. “I appreciate the effort he is putting in to meet students.”

Those who were skeptical about whether Caslen would be the right fit give him credit for acting quickly on some things.

Bethany Bell, a founding member of the faculty-led Gamecocks 4 Integrity and a critic of Caslen’s, praised him for moving along the search for a new provost and for bringing in the Association of Governing Boards to conduct a formal review of how USC’s board of trustees operates. Gamecocks 4 Integrity was formed after McMaster’s involvement in the search and opposed the search process.

Both Caslen and his critics deserve credit for burying the hatchet after a controversial presidential search process, said John Von Lehe, the chair of USC’s board of Trustees.

“I think he has done a great job. He did not have an easy road getting here and there were quite a few people who preferred someone else,” Von Lehe said. “He’s been warmly received and that’s a credit not only to him but also the people who were not enthusiastic about his candidacy.”

Microcosm

Caslen’s first 100 days in office have presented him with a microcosm of the challenges and hardships of being a public university president.

As for challenges, Caslen has an ambitious plan to keep tuition down, but some question if he will be able to do that. USC continues its struggle against Five Points bars it deems problematic. The school is searching to fill top positions, including chief diversity officer and provost, the university officer who approves the curriculum, sets faculty hiring policies and maintains accreditation.

“A president is important... (but) for faculty a strong provost is critical,” Bell said.

Caslen wants the provost and chief diversity officer searches to be completed faster, but said he has been told there has been an “impressive turnout” for provost applicants.

“Any thought that the presidential search and the problems with the presidential search was going to dampen interest in the provost — that’s not” happening, Caslen said.

As for hardships, there has been at least one student death, an apparent suicide. Former President Pastides said student deaths weighed on him throughout his presidency.

There’s also a degree of business as usual. The school has approved a $7.5 million project to fix its notoriously bad parking issue in Greek Village. USC is moving forward with its massive, $240 million, 1,800-bed Campus Village dormitory project, according to a previous article from The State.

If it seems Caslen is waiting to roll out his specific plan for the university, he is.

Caslen was waiting to develop a specific plan until he could get all of the school’s top administrators and deans under one roof, which he did on Nov. 4 and 5. Caslen said that was “most important thing I’ve done” while USC president.

During that meeting, Caslen received input from faculty and staff that will help shape his strategy for USC. Once he has processed all of the feedback, he will publish it to solicit a second round of feedback from students, he said.

Though his plan is still in the works, Caslen said it will include recruiting nontraditional students, tapping into the demand for education among military personnel and increasing diversity among students and faculty, he said.

A different type of leader

The University of South Carolina is still getting used to its new president.

It is used to Harris Pastides. USC’s loudest cheerleader. The former Arnold School of Public Health dean who would twirl his handkerchief during Sandstorm. He drove around in a custom Mini Cooper with football coach Will Muschamp and women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley. He’s the guy who took a selfie with an arena full of students from his podium during his last commencement address.

“We’re used to our president being the center of campus and culture...being charismatic and approachable,” Swinton said.

Bob Caslen is a different type of leader, students and faculty say. The former Superintendent at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is up early, pumping iron with students in the Strom Thurmond Center and awarding Excellence coins to people who get up to join him. He’s often flanked by fellow combat veteran and former gubernatorial candidate James Smith, one of Caslen’s advisors.

A quick glance at Pastides’ and Caslen’s offices shows their different personalities and life experiences. When The State interviewed Pastides in July, his office was adorned with a large, bright painting and Pastides’ beloved, autographed baseball collection. Caslen’s office is decorated with military medals, a picture of him flying over Iraq, a painting of Union officer and Battle of Gettysburg hero Joshua Chamberlain and a framed photo his friend took outside the Pentagon on 9/11 — Caslen was at the Pentagon on 9/11 — where a single ray of light illuminated a still-standing American flag despite the rubble and smoke.

“He’s a more taciturn person,” said board chair Von Lehe. “He’s not as much an orator as President Pastides was, but he is a great listener...both of them are great leaders in their own way.”

Caslen’s more sober nature took Von Lehe off guard, he said.

“He’s a quiet person,” Von Lehe said. “This is not something we would expect from a three-star general.”

At USC, Caslen may be seen as a more stoic and sober leader than Harris Pastides, but at West Point, Caslen was known as the motorcycle-riding “supe daddy,” short for Superintendent, West Point’s equivalent of a president.

Once, at an Army football game, he even commandeered the t-shirt cannon, according to an article from the Independent Journal Review.

“At football games, you wouldn’t find him in the Superintendent’s Box but rather in the student section leading cheers, giving high fives, taking selfies, or firing up the crowd,” Austin Welch, a former West Point cadet, wrote in an op-ed for The State.

Some of this difference in leadership style can be attributed to experience, said former Student Body President Taylor Wright.

Caslen is “absolutely” quieter and less relaxed than Pastides, but that’s in part because by the time Pastides had served a decade as USC president, “he felt he had the trust of everyone,” said Wright, who served as student body president in the 2018-2019 school year.

“I think the biggest difference is experience,” Wright said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 3:54 PM.