New SCSU building sits idle because of a lack of funds

The new 8,500-square-foot, $4.8 million Transit Research Center at South Carolina State University sits empty and unused nine months after the building was completed. The building has space for automotive research and education, underground fuel tanks, three automotive research bays for cleaning and preparing vehicles-- is the first phase of the James E. Clyburn Transportation Center was completed last December after 13 years of delays.

Cash strapped SCSU, which has faced multiple state budget cuts, says it lacks the money to operate the center. 

SC State president resigns amid rampant allegations

South Carolina State University President George Cooper announced his plans to step down at the end on the month, to hundreds of students, faculty and staff this morning.

The announcement came amid wide spread speculation on the nature of an ongoing, but unspecified, internal investigation; a call from faculty leaders that the board remove Cooper, and the recent firings of eight top-level employees. However, Cooper said he was stepping down March 30 to spend more time with his family and to pursue other interests. “Please note my departure is voluntary,” he said.

Cooper also said he would be paid $268,000 from non-state funds, and that he had entered into a “standard mutual legal release.”

“In the last three months, this university has been challenged by many issues beyond my control,” Cooper said.

Cooper has been president since 2008. The Board of Trustees fired him in May 2010, but rehired him two weeks later, when two new members took seats on the board.  

$4M deficit catches SC State trustees off guard

South Carolina State University board members were stunned to learn about a projected $4 million budget shortfall, a deficit so severe that one trustee said the school was on life support.

Joe Pearman, interim vice president for finance and facilities, told the Board of Trustees' Finance Committee about the projected shortfall.

University leaders had hoped to have a $2.5 million surplus by June 30, the end of the school's fiscal year. Instead it will fall short about $4 million of breaking even.

Pearman told committee members that he expected a shortfall of about $3 million, which he attributed largely to the school's drop in tuition revenue from declining student enrollment. The University would also have to cover a $750,000 shortfall from the school's dining hall.

The Finance Committee and university President George Cooper will meet again to continue developing plans to deal with the shortfall.

The full board will meet Feb. 16. In a presentation to the committee, board member Maurice Washington said enrollment dropped from 4,933 students in June 2008 to 4,362 students in June 2011.

The school isn't bankrupt, he said, "but it's on life support."

State Senator Calls for Dismissal of SC State President

SC State Sen. Robert Ford, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, has asked the Board of Trustees at South Carolina State University to remove President George Cooper, citing the board's grade of D+ for the university's leader.

"It is time for a change," said state Sen. Robert Ford in a statement.

Sen. Ford says Cooper has had ample time to enact an agenda, but he "instead continues to earn poor grades on his leadership abilities."

This latest turn of events with Cooper is in a long line of events stretching back to 2010. In July 2010, the Board of Trustees voted to fire Cooper, but he was later reinstated after two new board members voted to reinstate him.

Ford is threatening to get Gov. Nikki Haley and members of the General Assembly involved if the board does not act in removing Cooper.

SC State plans $100 million Capital Campaign

South Carolina State University is planning its first capital fundraising campaign.  The full University Trustees will consider the idea on September 29, after a trustee committee approved the plan last Thursday.

Trustee Matthew Richardson says the campaign probably will start next year.

South Carolina State vice president Anthony Holloman says state support for the school has dropped dramatically.

Money raised from the campaign would go for need-based scholarships, building an endowment, as well as faculty development and perhaps a new student fitness and wellness center.

Faculty gives SC State President vote of no confidence

For the second time in nearly six months, South Carolina State University president George Cooper is under fire again, this time from the faculty senate has given Cooper and his administration a vote of “no confidence.”

The group voted 19-3 with one abstention at a meeting last Thursday. Faculty Senate members are elected by their respective departments.

The Faculty Senate outlined what it thinks are Cooper’s shortcomings. They include his failure to:
• Provide and implement a compelling vision for the university
• Adhere to shared governance by refusing to communicate with the elected representatives of the faculty
• Uphold policy and properly oversee the financial status, including the cash flow, of the university, as found by the outside financial consulting firm Elliott Davis

The document also states that Cooper has “ignored public scrutiny regarding the university’s financial status and has provided no answers or embarrassing answers to the public, particularly regarding the James E. Clyburn Transportation Center.”

Attorney Donald Gist, who said he is Cooper’s personal attorney and does not represent the university, said, “Dr. Cooper takes the position that the Faculty Senate does not reflect the full faculty at South Carolina State University.”

Jonathan Pinson, chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, in a prepared statement Friday said, “The majority of the Board of Trustees’ members do not feel that the action is representative of the entire faculty and supports the president and his administration. Thus, the majority of the Board of Trustees’ members continue to express confidence in the president and his administration.”

This is not the first time the university’s Faculty Senate weighed in on Cooper’s leadership. The university’s board in June voted not to renew Cooper’s contract, effectively firing him. The Faculty Senate released a position statement supporting the board’s actions.

Then two weeks after letting Cooper go, the terms of two board members expired, and two new members took their places. The newly configured board rehired Cooper.

Board hurting SC State

from the State Newspaper
They have hired and fired presidents with head-rolling dispatch. They have publicly feuded. And they have passed the chairman’s gavel like rolls at a Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Along the way, South Carolina State University’s board of trustees has damaged the university in the eyes of key supporters in the General Assembly and some disappointed and embarrassed alumni. The trustees also have raised a new set of questions about the school’s leadership just months before the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools launches its re-accreditation examination.

“I have consistently fought for resources for S.C. State,” said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg. “They make it tougher and tougher to convince people that we are worthy of assistance.”

While Cobb-Hunter and others have been vocal about their frustrations with the university, there was an eery silence from the school’s most prominent graduate, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., as the board decided against renewing the contract of President George Cooper and then, two weeks later, reversed that decision.

Clyburn has offered no public comments about the goings-on at S.C. State despite several requests for comment.

As the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Clyburn is well-positioned to direct federal money to S.C. State. And he has. But Clyburn was furious with the board’s decision in 2007 not to renew the contract of Cooper’s predecessor, Andrew Hugine. The congressman has been equally frustrated with how the university has proceeded with plans for a new transportation center that bears his name and not accounted for millions of dollars it has received.

Board members, prompted by questions raised by The (Charleston) Post and Courier, voted last week to review spending on the transportation center. State Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, said Friday that he had the required five signatures from lawmakers to launch an audit by the state’s Legislative Audit Council, the investigative arm of the General Assembly.

Meanwhile, legislators, who already have imposed large budget cuts on S.C. public colleges and universities, said next year could bring even bigger cuts. That would make S.C. State’s financial situation – it was one of the few schools in the state to order faculty and staff furloughs to deal with budget cuts and an unexpected drop in student enrollment last fall – even more strained.

Into this vortex again steps Cooper, the fired and rehired president.

Thursday’s vote may have extended Cooper’s stay at S.C. State, but board members – even those who initially voted to renew his contract – have been far from effusive in their praise of the president they hired two years ago.

SC State rehires president it just fired

The South Carolina State University Board of Trustees has agreed to reinstate Dr. George Cooper as its president, officially revoking the appointment of Interim President Judge Merl Code.

The board voted not to renew Cooper's contract on June 15, and on Monday appointed Merl Code as interim president.

School officials say the addition of two new board members, attorney Robert L. Waldrep Jr. and alumna Patricia Lott, changed to the vote to reinstate Cooper, 8-5. Previously, the board had voted 7-4 not to renew Cooper's contract which expired yesterday.

Cooper had an earned a D+ on his performance evaluation
Cooper had earned an average score of 2.56 on a scale of 1 to 5 on his more recent performance evaluation. The evaluation required trustees to rate Cooper on 15 aspects of his performance including whether he: maintains a professional image in state government; is prepared and informed when making budget and program requests to the state legislature; and has a positive influence on employee morale and performance.

Judge declines to serve as SC State interim prez

Merle Code, the South Carolina Municipal Judge that SC State officials recently appointed to serve as the schools interim president has decline to take the position.

With several new board members in place, the SC State is seeking to reinstate George Cooper who was fired last month.

S.C. State faces $6M shortfall

S.C. State University efforts to meet its funded enrollment of 5,102 students this fall fell short 557 students short. At final count SC State's fall enrollment total 4,545 students, 343 fewer than last fall.

State enrolled fewer new students than expected and had fewer returning students come back. The enrollment drop was a jolt to the school's goal of having 6,000 students by 2014.

The drop in enrollment is contributing to the school's already nagging financial challenges and raising questions about its enrollment procedures and 2014 plans.

"I'm concerned about the number," S.C. State president George Cooper said during an interview in his office last week.

Roughly 300 new and transfer students who were expected to enroll never did, said Charles N. Davis, S.C. State's vice president for student affairs. Another 900 full-time and part-time students - including 118 seniors - who were expected to return to school did not, David said.

"A lot of it was finance," Davis said. "They just didn't have the finances to close the loop."

Some students, Davis said, did not attend because they were as little as $1,200 to $1,800 short of what they needed to attend S.C. State.

Cooper said the school looked for ways to help, but, ultimately, could not enroll students who could not pay.

"We show compassion," he said, "but we also have to make a business decision."

SC State has relied on state money, in large part, that has been cut as legislators struggle to balance the state budget.

The most recent cut, which erased $729,343 from the school's budget, gave the university less flexibility to help its students, which traditionally have come from some of the state's poorest households.

Cooper said student surveys have shown the university needs to improve its enrollment process.

"(Students) tell us they have to go to too many places to get things done," he said. "We've had some customer service sessions on campus with faculty and staff. We can do better."

There are plans to centralize student services, but Cooper and Davis also said the surveys showed some factors are beyond the university's control.

BUDGET CUTS AHEAD

Now, the university must focus on closing a $6 million deficit in its $70 million education and general budget, caused, in part, by the drop in enrollment.

A budget committee of the school's board of trustees recently suggested a series of actions - 10-day furloughs, job cuts, position freezes and the use of contingency and federal stimulus money - to plug the gap.

The full board is scheduled to consider those recommendations at a meeting next month.

That meeting is also likely to continue a conversation administration officials and board members have been having about the appropriate size of the university.

To get to 6,000 students by 2014, the university would have to increase its enrollment by 1,455 in five years - a tall order considering the school's enrollment has decreased in each of the past two years.

A bigger enrollment, Cooper said, does not necessarily mean more revenue, especially if the additional students have unmet financial needs the university would be compelled to meet.

"That could be a train wreck," Cooper said.

One source of support the university has been able to count on is its alumni, Cooper said.

S.C. State's alumni, some of whom have endured furloughs and cuts in their own pay, gave the university $770,000 during the fiscal year that ended on June 30. That was an increase of 23 percent from the previous year.

As he sat at a conference table in his office Thursday, Cooper said he was looking forward to the Homecoming game on Saturday, when the university planned to announce an anonymous donor has given $250,000 to S.C. State.

That gift is the largest one-time gift from an alum in the university's history, Cooper said.

The gift is particularly important, Cooper noted, because it is unrestricted, giving administrators the discretion to use it in whatever ways they think best serves the university.

Three-quarters of S.C. State's unrestricted gifts go to need-based aid, helping the university prevent the type of sharp enrollment declines it is dealing with now.

Cooper said increased alumni giving is part of the answer to the challenges faced by S.C. State, but the difficult economic climate leaves him with no clear blueprint for success.

S.C. State strives to diversify student body

South Carolina State University president George Cooper says he plans to market the historically black school to students of all races as a way to increase enrollment in tight budget times.

Cooper told The Associated Press he expects diversity to increase as soon as next year. Currently, about 97 percent of the students at SC State are black.

He says the school has an opportunity to recruit and educate students of other races, particularly as the state's Hispanic population grows.

More than 4,500 students currently attend South Carolina State. Cooper expects enrollment to top 6,000 within three years.

Former SCSU VP sues school

The former chief fund-raiser for South Carolina State University says the university retaliated against her, and stuck her in a make-work job, because she tried to expose wrongdoing.

Former Vice President for Institutional Advancement Mechelle English has sued the university, saying officials failed to act when she questioned the handling of a $200,000 check, the hiring of a lobbyist and the lease of vehicles for coaches.

University attorney Edwin Givens said S.C. State “has not taken any unlawful action against the plaintiff. It is the position of South Carolina State University that this lawsuit is without merit.

“South Carolina State University will file its formal response at the appropriate time; however, at this time the university has no further comment.”

University spokeswoman Erica Prioleau said President Andrew Hugine would have no comment beyond the university’s statement.

SCSU Board Chairman Maurice Washington says the university follows high ethical standards and the lawsuit is merely an attempt to tarnish its image.

“We’re running an institution that’s driven by integrity and we will continue to focus on what is required to continue to move the university forward. When you’re focused on what’s in the best interests of the university, things like this would be minor distractions,” he said.

English stepped into the position in January 2004, coming to S.C. State from the Trident Urban League Inc. in Charleston. As the university’s vice president of institutional advancement, she was in charge of fund-raising, alumni relations, development, news and communications, WSSB radio station and the SCSU Foundation.

She sued the university on March 1, saying she is entitled to actual and punitive damages, plus reinstatement to her job if it’s practical.

She says her problems began over a $200,000 payment a vendor made to S.C. State. She alleges that Hugine asked that the check be supplied directly to him, rather than the SCSU Finance Office, and that he held onto the check for nine months. She says he did not endorse or negotiate the check, but she still questions its handling.

In her complaint filed in the Orangeburg County Courthouse, English says she “became involved in this situation after defendant Hugine repeatedly directed her to open a bank account on behalf of the SCSU Advancement Foundation.” She says Hugine shouldn’t have been involved with the foundation because his salary supplement came from the funds, and he should have maintained his distance to avoid any conflict of interest.

She claims she told Washington about the incident, but because he and the board did not take “appropriate steps,” they created a sense Hugine was exempt from accountability.

Of that incident, Washington said, “I have no comment on that other than these allegations obviously will be given the opportunity to play themselves out in a court of law. The truth is something we will all look forward to at the end of the day.”

But he added, “Her rationale the president allegedly did something wrong is exactly that – alleged.”

English also claims that Hugine in 2006 “deliberately concealed a relationship with a lobbyist to prevent the SCSU Board of Trustees and the general public from becoming aware of this affiliation which, upon information and belief, was established to influence the outcome of an April 2006 trustee race.”

While English’s lawsuit does not name the lobbyist, the Associated Press reported in January that in 2006, Hugine hired Jerome Heyward for $12,500 from an account Hugine controls. While a contract called for Heyward to do lobbying work, he and Hugine said he did no lobbying. Lobbyists must be registered with the state, but Heyward was not listed as a lobbyist for S.C. State.

Heyward was involved in a scuffle with lobbyist Ray Corley last year, which Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter said was over a board of trustees election. Cobb-Hunter said she was shoved into a wall and injured during the incident.

English says Washington knew about the lobbyist and did nothing.

Washington says the State Ethics Commission looked at the issue and found no reason to sanction the university. Herb Hayden, director of the Ethics Commission, did not return a call Monday.

English also claims that Hugine and Washington retaliated against her because she told them it was inappropriate for the university to lease automobiles for S.C. State coaches. The foundation entered into a three-year lease on behalf of the athletic department in December 2005, she says.

“Leasing private vehicles for the coaches for their own business and personal use represented a violation of Internal Revenue regulations because the value of the vehicles represents supplemental income to the employees and is taxable,” English says in her complaint.

English said she gave Hugine a legal opinion from a private attorney arguing against the leasing of vehicles for coaches, plus learned other university foundations were not taking the approach SCSU did. She says SCSU attorney Givens provided an opinion that was favorable to the university and contradicted the private attorney.

English said she then submitted a summary of the reasons behind the foundation’s proposal not to lease the vehicles and, on Oct. 24, Hugine ordered her to raise $50,000 by Dec. 31 to cover the cost of providing vehicles to the staff. If she did not raise the money, Hugine “would subject her to disciplinary action based on ’insubordination,’” she said.

“On Oct. 30, 2006, the plaintiff was relieved of her duties as vice president for institutional advancement and transferred to the Athletics Department in a make-work position. Thereafter, the term of her contract which had eight months remaining, was reduced to four months,” she claims in her complaint against SCSU.

Washington said the issue surrounding the cars “is a matter of interpretation. That’s a legal issue.” He received a copy of the complaint Saturday, and “I read it and I had no trouble whatsoever sleeping at night.”

“You have a situation here where a president has exercised in a very appropriate way his authority with an at-will employee,” Washington said.

The lawsuit does not bring Hugine’s character and integrity under any scrutiny whatsoever, and “the board will continue to support him as president of S.C. State.”