SC Gov. McMaster isn’t worried about search after Caslen says he regrets leading USC
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Tuesday the University of South Carolina’s search for a new president will be “fine” despite comments from the college’s former president saying he regretted coming to the school.
The Charleston Post and Courier reported that during a recent interview with Caslen he called coming to the university, “the biggest regret of my life.”
Last week, a former trustee and student body president said those comments could hurt the search for his permanent replacement.
McMaster disagrees.
“The university has a terrific reputation,” he said. “It’s a great school. More and more people want to come to South Carolina. “There’s a lot of talent at the university. I think it will be just fine.”
The governor said Caslen’s tenure is now in the past.
“If you remember there was a lot of disagreement concerning ... President Caslen,” McMaster said. “I know a lot of people think he did a fine job. But that’s history now and we have a bright future ahead of us.”
Caslen resigned in May after he mistakenly referred to the the state’s flagship university as the University of California during a commencement speech. It was later found that a portion of his speech was plagiarized.
In 2019, Caslen was hired to be university president, succeeding Harris Pastides, now interim. He was one of four finalists for the position. But the board, which was divided, opted to continue the search amid protests at the school.
That summer, McMaster, who is ex officio chair of the board, pushed the board to vote on Caslen.
He was hired in an 11-9 vote.
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 4:33 PM.
