After overseeing enrollment decline, James Clark ousted as SC State president

James Clark is out as the president of South Carolina State University, the board of trustees voted Tuesday.

The 10-3 vote came after a two-hour executive session. S.C. State might have come close to making a decision on Clark in recent board meetings, in which the board went into closed-door executive session meetings for “discussion of employment, appointment, compensation ... or release of an employee” but did not take action.

“The board thanks President Clark for his service to our university over the last five years of his term and wishes him much success in his future endeavors,” S.C. State board of trustees Chair Rodney Jenkins said during the virtual meeting.

Alexander Conyers, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, S.C. State alumnus and a current vice president at S.C. State, will take over as acting president, according to a news release.

Clark was fired for “cause,” which could include negligence, malfeasance or a failure to meet performance goals, according to his employment contract, which was last amended in July 2020. The board, however, did not elaborate on why exactly he was fired, which drew the ire of Clark, who said through an attorney that “overzealous board interference” ended his presidency early.

“It’s our position he was fired on matters that were orchestrated by board members,” said Donald Gist, Clark’s attorney.

Earlier this year, however, the university’s faculty senate voted 18-2 that it had “no confidence” in Clark’s presidency.

Alumni and faculty have criticized a sharp decrease in enrollment that Clark was unable to reverse. Between 2011 and 2019, enrollment at S.C. State decreased from just over 4,300 to just under 2,500, a 43% decline, according to data from the S.C. Commission on Higher Education.

In the 2021 spring semester, S.C. State’s total enrollment was 1,960, which was 20% lower than the budgeted spring semester enrollment of 2,461, according to documents presented at a June board of trustees meeting.

David Staten, the president of S.C. State’s faculty senate, said Tuesday that the university made the right decision.

“We’re just pleased that the university decided to go in a new direction, and we’re also excited about Col. Conyers taking over as acting president,” Staten said.

S.C. State, in Orangeburg, is the only public four-year historically Black college (HBCU) in South Carolina. Like many HBCUs throughout the country, S.C. State is lauded for its historical, cultural and economic value, but it has struggled to grow in a contracting higher education market.

The school’s recent troubles began before Clark’s tenure, tracing back to at least the mid-2000s, when enrollment was shrinking, revenue was declining and the school faced yearly budget deficits. The university began cutting staff and athletic and academic programs to save money. It even transferred millions of dollars meant to help poor families to instead fill holes in its regular budget, including payroll.

Clark was appointed president in 2016, the year after the university’s entire board of trustees was ousted by the state legislature and then-Gov. Nikki Haley, who were frustrated by the school’s continued financial woes.

S.C. State appeared to find at least some stability under Clark’s leadership. Even after facing pressure on his enrollment record, Clark received an endorsement earlier this year from Haley, who toured the campus in April. During her visit, Haley recalled the not-so-distant history when financial issues nearly collapsed S.C. State and said the university now is “not just surviving but thriving.”

James’ supporters have praised him for inking partnerships with other universities and companies, building new facilities, earning bipartisan support from lawmakers and getting the university through COVID-19. However, the university’s inability to reverse decreasing enrollment and increase fundraising ultimately cost him his job, alumni and faculty told The State.

“In an effort to advance the university from an alumni association perspective, we like results. We like to see that the university is always advancing,” said John Funny, the president of the S.C. State National Alumni Association. “I appreciate the board of trustees making a decision to make certain that the university advanced in the future.”

Not all faculty agreed with the decision. Barbara Adams, an accounting professor at S.C. State, said the university should have kept Clark. It is unwise to fire a president a month before classes begin and unreasonable to expect such profound structural changes to come at a university in a relatively short period of time, Adams said.

“Things don’t happen overnight,” Adams said of changes expected of Clark. “There are a lot of reasons enrollment is down, and it’s not necessarily attributable to him.”

Staten disagreed.

“We felt like the faculty gave President Clark an ample amount of time to right the ship,” Staten said. “Some of the issues were definitely the fact that enrollment has plummeted under his leadership. Even though it had been declining before him, but enrollment really took a sharp turn for the worse under him, and there was no plan to remedy that.”

Clark’s immediate successor, Conyers, is a retired Army colonel from Manning, according to S.C. State.

In 1983, Conyers enlisted in the Army and served two years in active duty before attending S.C. State as a student. He retired from the Army in 2016.

Conyers attended S.C. State while serving four years in the South Carolina National Guard. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the school and went to work for the United States Army Military Police Corps as a commissioned officer.

Conyers earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in public administration from Troy State University, according to the school’s website.

He was named S.C. State’s vice president of strategic alliances and initiatives in April, according to reports from the Times and Democrat newspaper in Orangeburg. The board unanimously voted to name Conyers the acting president pending further action, according to the school.

Sarah Ellis and Laurryn Salem contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 12:11 PM.