As USC’s presidential search continues, dozens of top positions lack long-term employees

While the search for a new president at the University of South Carolina continues, dozens of other top, leadership positions remain in a holding pattern.

USC’s top academic officer, top fundraiser, head of research, dean of its largest college, seven associate deans, seven department chairs and more are all currently being held by employees in interim roles.

Asked if USC is waiting for a new president before hiring top positions, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said the university is involved in “several active, executive-level searches.”

USC appeared close to selecting a new president in late 2021, when a vice president from Purdue University emerged as a favored candidate. That candidate dropped out in early December shortly after he was identified as the finalist. Since then, USC has placed the board of trustees chair and vice chair in charge of coordinating future actions on the search. Little information has been made public regarding their plans going forward.

While there is no deadline for filling those positions, “we have excellent leadership serving in interim roles who remain focused on ensuring a successful spring semester for our students, faculty and staff,” Stensland said.

The number of employees in interim positions “may be higher than in recent history, but it is not entirely unexpected given the leadership transition and the changes in the higher education landscape in general,” Stensland said.

While it’s hard to say how the number of interim positions matches up against previous years, “I’ve been teaching in universities for nearly 30 years. It feels really high to me,” said Carol Harrison, a USC history professor and the president of the university’s American Association of University Professors chapter.

For Robert Kelchen, the head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the number of interim positions isn’t surprising, given the ongoing presidential search, he told The State.

“It’s pretty common when you have an interim president to have a lot of interim officials,” Kelchen said.

While those filling these mid- to high-level roles have long-established positions at USC, the lack of long-term leadership makes it difficult to plan for long-term goals, Kelchen said.

“The biggest drawback is people tend to be in more caretaker positions,” Kelchen said of having multiple, high-level employees in interim roles. “You tend not to see major fundamental change and you may also see other staff members start to leave as well because of the uncertainty.”

For example, since Harris Pastides took over as interim president in May, he has not announced any new, major initiatives that weren’t already in the works. Pastides was USC’s president from 2008 until he retired in 2019 and was succeeded by Robert Caslen. Caslen resigned in 2021 after admitting he plagiarized part of a commencement speech, and Pastides returned as interim president.

Because of financial and political pressure, it is difficult to find people who are both willing and qualified to lead a public university, meaning high-level positions such as president can stay open longer than universities would like, Kelchen said.

“Some of these positions are interim for multiple years because there are so many other searches going on right now,” Kelchen said. “All of these public universities are going after a shrinking number of people who seem to want the job.”

In some cases, a high-level vacancy results in multiple high-level employees working in interim-only positions. After former USC Provost William Tate announced in May he would be leaving to become the president of Louisiana State University, USC College of Pharmacy Dean Stephen Cutler was announced as his temporary replacement.

Taking his place, at least temporarily, as dean is pharmacy professor Julie Sease. Sease had previously served as the senior associate dean at the College of Pharmacy. That position is now held by an interim.

“A lot of these appointments tend to cascade,” Harrison said. “You appoint a new president, who will want to be part of appointing a new provost, who will want to be part of appointing new deans. So filling these holes can’t all be done at one time, or it is unlikely to be done all at one time, so if we kick the can of hiring the president down the road, then all these other positions are likely to remain interim for longer.”

Some high level employees, such as Tate and former USC Provost Joan Gabel — who is now the president of the University of Minnesota — leave for prestigious academic jobs. Other employees leave for a variety of reasons.

For example, USC’s former top fundraising official, Monica Delisa, left in December following “systemic” issues with how USC treats its donors. Delisa’s resignation letter was vague, saying she was leaving to “pursue other opportunities that are better aligned with my long-term goals,” The State reported previously.

Several of these high-level openings happened in 2021 shortly after Caslen’s departure.

Mark Beiger, who served as Caslen’s chief of staff, left in 2021 to serve under Tate at LSU. Former College of Education Dean Jon Pedersen left in 2021 to be a dean at Oklahoma State University, according to a news release from USC. Deborah Beck, USC’s former chief health officer, left in early May after 15 years at the university and accepted a job in the private sector. USC’s vice president for research is held by an interim employee because the previous vice president, Prakash Nagarkatti, was named as a senior research advisor for Pastides.

Other high-level positions, however, have been open for even longer. In December 2020, Lacy Ford stepped down as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences after serving four years in the role. Ford retired Dec. 31.

According to USC’s organization chart and website, the following top positions are being filled by interim employees.

• President
• Provost
• Chief of staff
• Vice president for health and well being/chief health officer
• Vice president for development
• Vice president for research
• College of Arts and Sciences dean
• College of Education dean
• College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management dean
• College of Pharmacy dean
• College of Social Work dean

Lower-level positions, which have more day-to-day interaction with students and faculty, are facing even more vacancies. As of Dec. 29, the following positions are being held by interim employees:

• Interim associate dean for research (College of Pharmacy)
• Interim senior associate dean (College of Pharmacy)
• Chair of chemistry and biochemistry department (College of Arts and Sciences)
• Chair of physics and astronomy (College of Arts and Sciences)
• Chair of women’s and gender studies (College of Arts and Sciences)
• Walker Institute of International and Area Studies interim director (College of Arts and Sciences)
• Associate dean for academic affairs (College of Education)
• Associate department chair, instruction and teacher education (College of Education)
• Chair of mechanical engineering (College of Engineering and Computing)
• Director of the aerospace engineering program (College of Engineering and Computing)
• Associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion (Graduate School)
• Associate dean of academic programs (College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management)
• Director of the School of Information Science (College of Information and Communications)
• Director of the Veterans Legal Clinic (School of Law)
• Chair of obstetrics and gynecology (School of Medicine, Columbia)
• Program director (School of Medicine, Columbia)
• Chair of family and preventative medicine (School of Medicine, Columbia)
• Co-directors, Family Nurse Practitioner MSN and DNP programs (College of Nursing)
• Chair of health services policy and management (Arnold School of Public Health)
• Associate dean for curriculum (College of Social Work)

Editor’s note: the story has been updated to say Lacy Ford retired Dec. 31 and USC’s geography department is no longer headed by an interim department chair as of Jan. 1.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 11:46 AM.