SACS finds ‘adequate evidence of undue influence’ in USC presidential search

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s involvement in the University of South Carolina’s presidential search constituted “undue influence,” the school’s accrediting body said this week.

A letter sent from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to USC said the group found “adequate evidence of undue influence from the governor during the presidential selection process.”

As a result of that, USC will have to submit a “monitoring report” to SACS by Sept. 8, 2020, and will be visited by a special committee from SACS, according to the letter.

Outside the additional scrutiny from SACS, USC will not receive any formal sanctions from the organization, according to a previous article from The State.

McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes defended the governor’s role in the search and issued the following statement:

“Governor McMaster is the ex-officio chairman of USC’s board of trustees by law. To suggest that he can’t make phone calls to fellow board members about such an important decision is ludicrous. This obsession over a clearly legitimate decision raises more questions about inappropriate outside influence by SACS than it does about this enormously successful South Carolina institution,” Symmes said.

Asked for comment, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland referred to a previous statement that said the school is committed to improving its processes and has hired a third party, Association of Governing Boards, to help guide those new processes.

SACS initiated a formal review of USC after its controversial presidential search process that landed former U.S. Military Academy at West Point Superintendent Robert Caslen as the school’s president. In April 2019, USC had named four finalists to replace President Harris Pastides, who was retiring. Caslen was listed as one of the four finalists, but USC’s board of trustees were divided on whether Caslen would be the right fit, so the board re-opened the presidential search that month.

Some students had initially protested Caslen because he does not possess a doctorate degree, for his role in the Iraq War and for comments he made about sexual assault that were likely taken out of context, according to previous articles from The State.

After the board reopened the search, members named USC Upstate Chancellor Brendan Kelly the school’s interim president. In July 2019, McMaster began calling USC board of trustees members asking them to cast an up or down vote on Caslen, who was the governor’s favored candidate.

After news of McMaster’s involvement broke, the protests grew substantially and included a larger demographic, such as faculty and local political leaders.

After widespread protests from students, faculty and alumni, a split board approved named Caslen USC’s next president by a vote of 11-8.

In its letter this week, the accrediting body warns USC is still vulnerable to “undue influence,” something SACS forbids when accrediting schools.

“The institution has not yet demonstrated that its governing board protects the institution from undue influence by external persons or bodies,” the letter said.

USC will have two years to prove to SACS it has reached full compliance with the accreditor’s terms.

This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 11:26 AM.