The South Carolina General Assembly took a major step Wednesday in reconfiguring the South Carolina State University Board of Trustees by ousting four incumbent board members and electing five individuals who will become trustees on July 1.
The move by the General Assembly is the latest by South Carolina legislators who are taking measures to set the troubled university on a new path with a leadership makeover. The Orangeburg-based HBCU, which just last month installed a new president, has come under heavy scrutiny while dealing with a $5.8 million deficit, a 22 percent decline in enrollment and falling graduation rates, SAT scores and merit-based scholarship awards, according to the Columbia, S.C.-based The State newspaper.
Among those defeated in elections held during the joint session of South Carolina Senate and House members was Board Chair Walter L. Tobin by Katon Dawson, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. Two other incumbents, Maurice Washington and Jackie Epps, lost to challengers; a fourth incumbent, Linda Edwards-Duncan, while running unopposed, failed to win enough votes to retain her board seat, and a special election will be held to determine her replacement.
In addition, two newcomers approved by the General Assembly on Wednesday will fill two vacant slots on what has been a 13-member board.
For six open board seats, five winners resulted:
