President Elzey: S.C. State Not Closing, I’m Not Quitting

South Carolina State President Thomas J. Elzey says the dialogue sparked is “very negative and is affecting the confidence of our faculty, students, staff and alumni as well as potential donors and corporate entities.”Amid a frenzy of media reports and predictions of doom, South Carolina State University President Thomas J. Elzey expressed confidence Wednesday that the institution would remain open and that a state legislative subcommittee’s proposal to close it for two academic years “will not see the light of day.”

But within hours, the state’s Legislative Black Caucus asked Elzey to resign, saying he has proved he can’t lead the school past its fiscal woes. Its chairman, Rep. Carl Anderson, says the 39 caucus members were devastated by the closure idea and will work to kill it. But he says the proposal itself did a lot of damage to the school’s ability to move forward.

Elzey responded with a brief but firm written statement: “I will not resign. Another presidential turnover at this stage would be detrimental to the University as it relates to our SACSCOC accreditation. It is obvious and unfortunate that our lawmakers have placed politics ahead of the best interest of the students of this great institution.”

In an interview with Diverse Wednesday, Elzey explained that the proviso by a four-member panel must be approved by the several entities in the House and Senate before going to Gov. Nikki Haley.

“It’s way down in the system in terms of the process,” Elzey said. “We’re very confident—and I heard from the highest ranking members of the Senate—that it will not see the light of day and will not result in shutting the university down. But it has started a dialogue that is very negative and is affecting the confidence of our faculty, students, staff and alumni as well as potential donors and corporate entities.”

On Tuesday, the state House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Higher Education voted 3 to 1 in favor of a budget proposal that would shut down S.C. State beginning July 1, 2015 and reopen it to students in fall 2017. The plan also called for the hiatus to allow the university’s bills to be paid in full and students with at least a 2.5 GPA could attend another school within the state.

Also under the proposal, Elzey, who took office amid controversy in June 2013, would be terminated along with the board of trustees, staff and faculty. A panel would be convened to reorganize the institution.