USC to begin interviewing candidates Tuesday for next university president. What to know

The University of South Carolina will begin formal interviews on Tuesday in Atlanta with candidates to be the university’s next president.

This is the first time in the ongoing presidential search that USC will be conducting candidate interviews, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said in a text message.

Friday, USC’s Presidential Candidate Search Committee narrowed down a list of 50 possible candidates to a list of 20, whom the committee will begin interviewing during a Tuesday meeting, Stensland said.

During the last presidential search, diversity of search committee members and of finalists drew controversy from campus, as there were no females and only one person of color in the four finalists. Demographic information on the 20 people to be interviewed was not immediately available, but Stensland said the 20 represent a “diverse pool of candidates.”

An earlier pool of 50 candidates was split between white men and women or people of color, The State reported previously.

The Tuesday agenda will consist mostly of a closed-door executive session for the committee — which consists of board of trustee members, faculty, staff, a student and more — to interview the candidates.

As of Tuesday morning, USC scheduled a second round of interviews for Wednesday morning.There is no item on either agenda that would allow approval of a slate of finalists.

While previous presidential search committee meetings have been held virtually, Tuesday’s meeting was scheduled to be in Atlanta at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway, according to USC’s website.

Interviews are being held in Atlanta instead of Columbia “for convenience to the candidates,” Stensland said.

This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 4:30 PM.