New S.C. State board lineup complete

The final four appointments to S.C. State’s interim board include business and academic leaders charged with helping lead a turnaround at the state’s only historically black public college.

The temporary seven-member board, created by a new law, will work to erase a $20 million deficit and help the Orangeburg school keep its accreditation. Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill last week firing the previous board at the 119-year-old college, a drastic step taken after a sharp drop in enrollment and continuing financial deficits.

Five of the seven trustees, who will serve through mid-2018, have business or finance backgrounds. One trustee worked in higher education; another helped win four Super Bowls after graduating from the college.

Three of the seven interim board members are African Americans. Six months ago, S.C. State’s former 13-member board included 10 African Americans.

The new board includes one woman and one S.C. State alum. Five women and three alums sat on the S.C. State board less than a year ago.

“My concern is that this seven-member board be allowed to move the university forward,” said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg. “I have the utmost confidence that they will. I don’t know all of them. I am impressed by what is on paper. I hope what is on paper actually is reality, and that there will be opportunities that the university has never had before.”

The latest interim trustees added to the S.C. State board include:

▪  James Clark, former longtime AT&T executive who sat on the boards of Benedict College and the University of South Carolina Research Foundation, who was appointed by House Ways and Means Committee chairman Brian White, R-Anderson.

▪  Doris Helms, former provost at Clemson University, who was appointed by S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman.

▪  Jeff Vinzani, a Charleston banking attorney with the Graybill Lansche & Vinzani firm who has served on USC boards, who was appointed by state Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

▪  Charles Way, chairman of The Beach Co. real estate development firm and a former S.C. secretary of Commerce, who was appointed by Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence.

They join three earlier appointments:

▪  Milton Irvin, a retired investment banker who worked for UBS and now lives near Hilton Head Island, who was appointed by Haley. Irvin was one of three men that U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Columbia Democrat who graduated from S.C. State, recommended for the board.

▪  Donnie Shell, who played football at S.C. State before a 14-season NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was appointed by Senate Education Committee chairman John Courson, R-Richland.

▪  Steve Swanson, who has run Wall Street trading technology firms and donated $2.2 million to his alma mater, the College of Charleston, who was appointed by state Rep. Jim Merrill, a Berkeley Republican who chairs the House higher education budget panel.

S.C. State student government president Reginald Dupree and National Alumni Association president Vernell Brown will serve as non-voting members of the board.

A date for a first meeting of the interim S.C. State board has not been scheduled. The trustees have the power to make personnel and program changes.

“We are certainly delighted to begin working with our new board leadership,” acting S.C. State president Franklin Evans said. “I look forward to the members of the interim board bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience, and meaningful relationships with individuals and corporations.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 10:20 AM with the headline "New S.C. State board lineup complete."