Another attempt to shake up USC’s powerful board of trustees is coming to the State House
The University of South Carolina’s powerful board of trustees could get shaken up in the coming year, following several years of controversial decisions by the state flagship university’s governing body and a failed effort to restructure the board last year.
State Sen. Greg Hembree and state Sen. Gerald Malloy have pre-filed separate bills to potentially restructure USC’s board of trustees, including possibly changing the number of trustees and how to select them.
The bills aim to revise the composition of the board. Other key changes might include staggering elections of board members, limiting terms and revising “certain powers.” The bill may also address how the board can call special meetings.
The board is too big, Hembree said. And having members who serve for decades is “not the healthiest,” the Horry County Republican added.
The USC board has 20 voting members — the governor’s designee, the governor’s appointee, the state education superintendent, the president of the USC alumni association and a representative from each of South Carolina’s 16 judicial circuits. It is unclear how the bills want change this makeup.
Assuring the board is representative of South Carolina and promotes progress is important to keeping USC a “viable flagship institution,” said Malloy, a Darlington Democrat.
Rethinking the board might allow for some other changes too.
Current laws dictate that all USC board members must live in South Carolina. But Hembree and Malloy said allowing an out-of-state alumnus could be beneficial and bring fresh perspective.
An updated law also might allow the board to recommend potential trustees to the General Assembly based on needs for certain skill sets or more diversity, Hembree said.
“Will it pass? Who knows,” Hembree said. “But even the most ardent supporters of the USC board realize the board has problems.”
He said he believes the bill will be well-received. While it won’t be an immediate priority in the State House, Hembree expects it will be discussed during the first half of the 2023 legislative session, though he’s unsure if anything will come from it.
“This is an issue some people get passionate about,” Hembree said.
Malloy said he wants to keep board conversation going and hopes it isn’t dampened by a good football season or a successful women’s basketball program.
“There’s work to be done,” Malloy said.
The clock ran out on an attempt to revise the board’s composition during this year’s legislative session after board members came under fire for controversial hiring and financial decisions. A proposal would’ve reduced the board to 18 members and taken voting powers away from the board’s ex officio members.
Lawmakers were discontent with the board’s controversial 2019 hiring of former USC President Robert Caslen. The board also approved expensive buyouts of former football coach Will Muschamp and former men’s basketball coach Frank Martin, which required nearly $10 million in borrowed money from the university’s general fund. The board also alienated major university donors Darla Moore and Lou Kennedy in very recent years.
Former USC board chair Dorn Smith received sizable backlash for his treatment of Kennedy during his tenure. Smith was not reelected to his chair position in August.
During the upcoming session, the General Assembly also will decide whether to reappoint several USC board members in carryover status, said Macey Webb, an attorney for the College and University Trustee Screening Commission. USC board chairman Thad Westbrook and trustees C. Edward Floyd, John von Lehe, Smith and Charles Williams have not yet been approved for their next terms. Webb said this likely will happen in early 2023.
