New leadership at SC State? Faculty clash over whether President Clark should leave

South Carolina State University faculty have clashed over a recent effort to oust President James Clark.

The group in favor of replacing Clark cites declining enrollment figures, raises to top administrators during a pandemic and a perceived lack of faculty input on key hires. The effort is led by the university’s faculty senate, which voted 18-2 earlier this month to express “no confidence” in Clark and Provost Learie Luke, according to the letter of no confidence.

“It is clear that the majority of the faculty of South Carolina State University are interested in a process of change in leadership at S.C. State University,” Faculty Senate President David Staten told The State.

In a response letter, Clark noted he: oversaw S.C. State as it recovered from a financial crisis that threatened the school’s accreditation, inked partnerships with corporations and other colleges, bolstered internship programs and broke ground on new facilities.

The group opposing the ‘no confidence’ vote are fellow faculty members who say the coronavirus pandemic has hurt enrollment at schools throughout the country and that Clark has done a good job by winning grant funds and partnering with other institutions.

The faculty senate vote was driven by “disgruntled” faculty members and “personal agendas,” said Barbara Adams, the dean of the College of Business.

“It’s not representative of the faculty as a whole,” Adams said of the faculty senate vote.

S.C. State’s board will discuss the matter, but since it is a personnel matter, will likely do so in executive session — which means the discussion is closed to the public — at an upcoming meeting, S.C. State Board Chairman Rodney Jenkins told The State.

As a matter of policy, the board of trustees reviews the president annually using guidelines established by the state, Jenkins said. Jenkins did not comment on the no confidence vote nor the faculty response.

Clark took over as president in June 2016, when financial problems had threatened to shutter the state’s only public, historically Black four-year university. Clark, a former vice president at AT&T, was brought in to restore the university following the crisis.

Enrollment

The faculty senate and the administration are using slightly different figures for actual enrollment numbers. For example, the letter of no confidence asserted there were “roughly 400 freshmen” in the fall 2020 class, while a fact sheet provided by S.C. State spokesman Sam Watson says there were 677 freshmen in fall 2020. However, the administration’s data is not final and awaits an audit, Watson said.

“We’re all going through difficult times with enrollment,” said Donald Walter, a physics professor at S.C. State, who said he opposed the ‘no confidence’ vote. “A lot of our students have gone back home, they’re working while they’re trying to learn remotely and some of them have just not come back because they need to work full time.”

While it’s true that many colleges are seeing decreased enrollment because of COVID-19, S.C. State’s enrollment woes precede the pandemic, data show.

State Commission on Higher Education data show enrollment between fall 2011 and fall 2019 at S.C. State declined from 4,362 to 2,479 students, a decrease of 43%. During Clark’s tenure, S.C. State did see minor boosts in enrollment in fall 2017 and fall 2018, but S.C. State’s enrollment increased no more than 80 students in either year, according to Commission on Higher Education data.

The fact sheet S.C. State provided listed the fall 2020 enrollment at 2,339 total students, a further decrease from fall 2019. In Clark’s response letter, he said S.C. State was on track to increase enrollment for fall 2021.

“I think the faculty’s position is clear. We feel as this administration has had five years to show some growth and improvement in regards to enrollment,” Staten said.

‘No confidence’ vote

Several faculty members who spoke to The State said they were not aware the faculty senate was even considering a no confidence vote until it happened.

Stanley Ihekweazu, an engineering and computer science professor, said typically when faculty senate debates an issue, each department’s faculty representative goes back to the department to discuss the issue before a vote is cast.

“This was not done,” Ihekweazu said.

Staten painted a different picture of how the process was handled. He said the faculty senate met on Feb. 2 to consider the vote of no confidence before casting votes exactly a month later on March 2. Many of those faculty senators did speak to their colleagues before voting, Staten said.

“Most of the faculty senators came back overwhelmingly stating they favored a no confidence vote,” Staten said.

Faculty who opposed the no confidence vote said a faculty rebellion against the university president could dissuade students from attending S.C. State. In response, faculty formed their own ad-hoc committee of roughly a dozen faculty to publicize the positive things S.C. State has been doing.

“By no means are we saying the university does not have challenges. It does, like every other institution I have been to or know of,” Ihekweazu said, noting he was speaking for the ad-hoc committee. “The crucial point is an action of this nature, this magnitude, is not one that should be taken very lightly.”