Proposal to remove Gov. McMaster from USC board has backing from top SC Republican

House Speaker Jay Lucas wants to overhaul the University of South Carolina’s board of trustees.

Two people who would not be on the board of trustees, under the proposal, are the governor and the superintendent of education.

The bipartisan H. 4752, sponsored by Lucas, R-Darlington, and four other lawmakers follows criticism of the USC board of trustees that resulted from a contentious presidential search in the spring and summer.

Although the governor would no longer be a board member, he or she would still appoint two of the 12 members.

Lucas spokesman Patrick Dennis said in a statement the bill was not about specifically removing the governor, and not specifically the result of USC’s controversial presidential search.

“This bill is not about one single trustee, group of trustees, decision or event. Instead, this bill seeks to fix a structure and a system that has become antiquated,” Dennis said in the statement. “The USC board is too large and too fractured. This bill reduces the size of the Board by half, gives ample opportunity for representation from all segments of the state and retains the strong voices of the Governor and the Alumni Association.”

A spokesman for McMaster could not be reached Thursday afternoon.

The largest student and faculty protests of the presidential search focused on Gov. Henry McMaster’s involvement, which prompted an investigation, but no sanctions, from the school’s accrediting body.

McMaster has said he pushed last summer for the board to schedule a vote on Robert Caslen, one of four presidential finalists named in April. McMaster pushed for a vote on Caslen after the board had decided to reopen the search. The board voted 11-8 to hire Caslen, with one member abstaining.

McMaster, being an ex officio member of the board, said he was acting only in his capacity as a board member, and not in a political capacity.

There are several proposals from legislators to restructure the school’s board of trustees. However, this bill is sponsored by the S.C. House’s highest-ranking member.

“As those bills are amended and make their way through the process, the governor will keep a close eye on them and work with leadership in the House and the Senate to make sure that if changes are made, they’re made only with the best interest of the university in mind,” McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said in a statement.

The bill would restructure the board and shrink the total number of members to 12 from 21. Should the bill pass, here is what the USC board of trustees would look like:

• two at-large members appointed by the governor
• two at-large members elected by the General Assembly
• one member from each of S.C.’s seven congressional districts elected by the General Assembly
• the president of the MyCarolina Alumni Association (unless the president of the association lives out-of-state, then he or she must appoint a designee to vote in their place).

A spokesman for Spearman, who voted for Caslen, referred questions to the chair of USC’s board of trustees. Board Chair John Von Lehe did not comment on the bill, but said he plans to testify as the legislature holds hearings on potential board reforms.

“Whatever they decide, we’ll abide by,” Von Lehe said.

This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 4:14 PM.