USC opens another brief search for a top executive. This time it’s for chief of staff

The University of South Carolina has opened a brief search for another top executive, according to a job posting on the school’s website.

The position, chief of staff, reports directly to President Robert Caslen. The position opened Dec. 2 and will close on Friday, Dec. 6, which is the minimum amount of time for which a job must be posted, according to the posting.

The search for chief of staff will consider both internal and external candidates, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said. That was not the case for the chief operating officer search, which drew the ire of state legislators for being both an internal-only search and for being a brief search conducted near the holidays.

“President Caslen is putting together a team of professionals that shares his priorities —academic excellence, research, diversity and inclusion — led by a chief of staff who is ready to work with university stakeholders and partners to make college more affordable and accessible for students,” said Rob Godfrey, Caslen’s newly-hired communications advisor and former Nikki Haley spokesman.

Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, was one of those lawmakers who blasted USC over its chief operating officer search. Similarly, he was critical of USC’s search for a chief of staff, calling the search an example of “cronyism.”

“This is obviously rigged,” Harpootlian told The State. “I’m tired of this facade of openness when it’s not accurate.”

A proper search should take at least a month, Harpootlian said.

Rep. Kirkman Finlay, R-Richland, joined Harpootlian in his criticism of USC for this hiring practice.

“They lack good judgment,” Finlay said of USC.

Other top-level positions have seen much more elaborate searches. For example, the search for a provost and for a chief diversity officer have been ongoing since shortly after Caslen took office on Aug. 1. The presidential search took 10 months.

The open chief of staff position was originally reported by FITSNews.

The chief of staff’s pay will be set based on his or her qualifications, according to the job posting. The most recent chief of staff was Ed Walton, who also functioned as the chief operating officer. Walton still works at USC as a senior vice president.

This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 11:00 AM.