Interim SC State Board Holds First Meeting

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Columbia , S.C. (WOLO) — On Wednesday, the Interim South Carolina State University Board of Trustees met for the first time. During the meeting the board elected Charles Way as Chair and James Clark as the Vice Chair. Way said it is time to get the University back on track moving in a positive direction. “As my father used to say, this Ox is in the ditch and we have to get this Ox out of the ditch and that’s our job today and going forward,” said Way. The 7 member board, appointed after state lawmakers passed a law firing the previous board, is facing a tall task to fix the school’s financial crisis and secure it’s accreditation. Calling it a ‘new day’ for the University, the interim board learned the in’s and out’s of the school including why it’s currently on probation. Officials attribute their probation in large part to it’s financial hardships. Moving forward, the board is asking for complete transparency and honesty to avoid any financial surprises in the future. “It‘s a time to accept that yes things in the past were not necessarily in the up and up, right whatever it was, but the new day is this and the new way is this and the new opportunity is this,” explained Vice Chair James Clark. Several of the newly appointed board members have experience in finance and education. On Wednesday, they showed they are eager to help get the university back on the right track, but need to find the right solutions.