USC board’s longest-serving member retired. Gov. McMaster picks his daughter to fill seat
Eddie Floyd, the longest-serving member and former chairman of the University of South Carolina board of trustees, has quietly retired. Floyd had served on the board since the early 1980s.
Gov. Henry McMaster has appointed Floyd’s daughter, Coleman Floyd Buckhouse, to fill his seat.
McMaster, who in certain circumstances can appoint trustees, told reporters at a Tuesday afternoon press conference after The State newspaper reported on Floyd’s departure that Floyd had wanted to step down and for his daughter to get his seat if possible.
“Dr. Floyd recommended his daughter, who is also a doctor in Florence. I’ve known the family for years, and I asked her if she would be willing, if she wanted it. She said she did. (I said) your father wants you to have the seat. You’re qualified, so I will appoint you temporarily,” McMaster told reporters.
“No one else expressed interest. There may be some, of course, when the legislature comes back, the question will be up for a vote, and they will have to vote. But this is an interim appointment,” the governor said.
Publicity about Floyd’s departure and his daughter’s appointment had been kept to a minimum.
On the USC board of trustees’ website, Floyd’s photo has been replaced by a generic photo of the university Horseshoe lawn and his daughter’s name instead of his.
Her biographical information says, “12th Judicial Circuit | Physician | B.S., biology, USC, 1981 | M.D., Medical University of South Carolina, 1986 | Board member since 2024; current term, 2024-2026.”
“For more than four decades, Dr. Floyd’s service to the USC Board of Trustees ensured consistent wisdom and oversight,” board chairman Thad Westbrook said in a statement to The State on Tuesday afternoon after The State first reported Floyd’s departure.
.“If I were to attempt to calculate the number of hours that he has dedicated to Board matters as a trustee, I’m certain that the total would be staggering; a sufficient amount of time to measure the entire life of a lesser man with lesser dedication. All of us will miss his presence on the Board, along with his warmth and kindness,” Westbrook said.
Asked about Floyd’s departure on Tuesday morning, officials had no comment.
Floyd, a former heart surgeon who lived in Florence, was also a tobacco farmer who at one time grew a sizable crop in the Pee Dee section of the state, an area known for tobacco cultivation. It was as much as 932,000 pounds at one point, according to reports.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from USC in 1956 and was first appointed to the board in 1982, serving as chairman from 1992 until 1996. The Floyd Football Building near Williams-Brice Stadium, which houses the staff and support team for the Gamecocks, was named for Floyd and his wife Kay.
Floyd has been a prominent figure in the Florence area and South Carolina cultural and political life.
In his position as chairman of a wealthy local foundation, Floyd has sent millions of that charity’s money to Francis Marion University. He also funneled money to build a new county library, a museum, a county performing arts center and a university health science center that educates nurses and other health care professionals.
Over the years, he helped raise millions for Republican state and national presidential candidates.
But he also supported Democrats, such as Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.
Floyd most recently made news in 2017, when The State newspaper reported that he had a picture painted by Adolph Hitler, architect of the World War II Holocaust, hanging in his home.
Floyd, an avid art collector who also displayed paintings by World War II Allied leaders Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower, said he was shocked to learn that people might be offended by his displaying a painting by Hitler. He apologized, took it down and said he was going to sell it.
After he acquired the Churchill piece some 35 years ago, and later the one by Eisenhower, Floyd said he bought the Hitler painting about from an auction house in England. In all, including commissions and shipping, the painting cost about $10,000, Floyd said.
Floyd — along with fellow board members Thad Westbrook, John von Lehe, Dorn Smith and Charles Williams — had been in danger of losing their seats in 2022 when a panel of state lawmakers refused to advance their candidacies to the General Assembly for a vote.
The board was embroiled in controversy at the time after multi-million dollar buyouts of former football coach Will Muschamp and former men’s basketball coach Frank Martin and the messy hiring of former university President Bob Caslen, who quickly resigned after a rocky, two-year tenure as USC’s top leader.
The five USC board members, who spent months in limbo, were eventually approved for another term in early 2023.
USC’s board of trustees, which traditionally has 20 members, still has three open seats.
(Reporter Joseph Bustos contributed.)
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 12:38 PM.
