Amid concerns about the future of South Carolina State University, a state senator said recent troubles surrounding the institution are on the path to correction.
“The future of this institution is good,” said Sen. John W. Matthews Jr. during a Monday panel on campus. “It will not be closed; we’ve made that decision and I think the House has concurred.”
Matthews’ comments came as an assurance to many who have been outraged over the Feb. 11 vote by a House panel to close the campus for at least three semesters; a move the state Senate never supported. Alumni, faculty, friends and leaders gathered on campus for a town hall meeting called by conservative political pundit and SCSU alum Armstrong Williams to discuss the future of the institution.
The senator said the legislature will give the institution “the funding it needs to grow.”
“This institution has no problems that good leadership and resources can’t solve,” Matthews said. “I think that State has a beautiful future once we right-side the university.”
The funding will not come without definite changes, he said. Some programs may have to close for the strengthening of others. Leadership will definitely be overhauled. On Feb. 23, the board placed the school’s president, Dr. Thomas Elzey, on administrative leave and appointed interim provost Dr. W. Franklin Evans as interim president. (Elzey is suing the university for wrongful termination. A hearing will be held March 12.) Then on March 5, the legislature voted to remove the board.
Matthews clarified to the audience that the state’s governing body did not vote to remove Elzey as many outlets reported; that authority is not under their jurisdiction.
