SC State ousted its president earlier today. Now, he’s speaking out
The now-former president of South Carolina State University is speaking out following his Tuesday ouster.
Through his attorney, Donald Gist, former S.C. State President James Clark said the school’s board of trustees ignored Clark’s achievements while president and was micromanaging the school. Clark was fired Tuesday by a 10-3 vote for “cause,” but the board did not elaborate on what cause that was.
“They’re not giving us anything as to what the cause was,” Gist told The State, saying “overzealous board interference” ended Clark’s “successful” presidency.
“It’s our position he was fired on matters that were orchestrated by board members,” Gist said.
Clark had faced criticism, including a vote of ‘no confidence’ from S.C. State’s Faculty Senate earlier this year, for declining enrollment at the state’s only public, four-year historically Black college or university.
But Gist, who said Clark was sitting in the same room as him while speaking with The State, said there were “multiple reasons” for the enrollment decline, many of which were out of Clark’s control.
Gist said the board ignored Clark’s achievements when deciding to fire him. S.C. State’s successes under Clark include developing new academic programs, being named one of the most influential historically Black colleges in recent years, earning bipartisan support in the state legislature — including an endorsement from former Gov. Nikki Haley — guiding the university through a probationary period with the school’s accrediting body, and leading during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gist said.
“He went above and beyond in reaching out to students in rural areas,” Gist said of Clark during the coronavirus pandemic.
Clark took over in 2016 following a financial crisis at S.C. State, followed by an entirely new board of trustees being brought in to run the university.
“Mr. Clark primarily has devoted his last four and a half years, almost five years to turn around a very chaotic situation at South Carolina State University,” Gist said.
“This is deeper than just low student enrollment,” Gist said.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 3:38 PM.