Help wanted: University of South Carolina’s presidential search needs public input

Shame! Shame! Shame!

That was the crowd’s response on July 19, 2019 after the University of South Carolina’s Board of Trustees, encouraged by Gov. Henry McMaster, voted 11 to 8 to hire Robert Caslen, former superintendent of West Point, as the school’s next president.

The protests marked the end of a widely-criticized search process and the beginning of a rocky presidency that ended the day Caslen resigned on May 12 of this year after being accused of plagiarizing parts of his graduation speech in which he mistakenly congratulated the students for graduating from the University of California.

Perhaps an appropriate end given that opponents of the 2019 presidential search process deemed it a failure.

It failed to incorporate diverse points of view on the search committee. It failed to operate with openness and transparency. It failed to include any women among its four finalists, a group which included only one person of color.

Trying to avoid a repeat, the 2021 search committee certainly looks different and is operating under a newly-adopted policy, created in 2020, to improve the process.

Will it work?

It’s too early to tell - applications for the position are due Nov. 1, though Dallas-based search firm R. William Funk and Associates described that date as a soft deadline, meaning applications could be accepted until the position is filled.

But it’s not too early for South Carolinians to get involved in the process.

At 6 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 16, the Search Committee, led by Chair Thad H. Westbrook, will host a virtual town hall via Microsoft Teams to inform the University of South Carolina System community and members of the public about the presidential search.

It’s an opportunity to hear how far along the process is and what comes next.

Westbrook, who earned his undergraduate and law degrees at the university, is vice chair of the Board of Trustees.

He was on the Board in 2019 and voted for Caslen, but he was not part of the search committee back then.

“It’s the most important decision the board makes, in terms of hiring,” Westbrook said of the importance of the current 21-member search committee’s work.

Thursday’s town hall will include an update on the leadership profile, developed by compiling the comments and concerns of the nearly 6,000 people who completed a survey that asked USC System stakeholders and members of the public about the qualities they would want to see in potential candidates.

Among the desired qualities participants listed were experience leading a large, complex organization, experience teaching at a college or university, and a doctorate degree.

Survey respondents also said they want a president with integrity, strong leadership abilities, a comprehensive understanding of higher education, and a strong vision for the future among other qualities.

Lowest on the list of desired characteristics? Caution.

“Our goal was to have the survey and listening sessions reflected in the leadership profile,” Westbrook said.

He added that the committee “is going to use those survey responses to help formulate questions for candidates” when interviews begin later this fall.

“It’s personal to me,” Westbrook said, explaining that his parents and brother are all proud graduates of the university. “It’s important we get it right.”

To keep the process on track and avoid the pitfalls of 2019, students, staff and community members should visit the search committee’s webpage featuring frequently asked questions and links soliciting community input.

While there is no hard deadline to fill the position, now is the time to get involved, watch Thursday’s town hall, ask the right questions and make sure the new search avoids the failures that seemingly doomed Caslen’s presidency from the start.

This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 11:10 AM.