USC donor Darla Moore urges trustees to restart president search without controversy

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) – The namesake of USC’s School of Business, and the University’s largest donor, has urged its board of trustees to stop the current search for a president and start over.

Darla Moore has donated more than $75 million to her alma mater and Thursday night emailed the board saying, “… The process should be started over to find a qualified candidate without the current controversy.”

Moore’s email, obtained by ABC Columbia, the night before a potential vote on a new president read:

“As the largest donor to the university and the namesake of one of the largest schools with a broad national reputation, I’m making a final appeal to the Board to reject the rank political influence in selecting the next President. Notwithstanding the political nature of the Board, the university is an institution of higher learning and the surest way to extinguish it’s integrity is to politicize it.

Not one constituency of the university is in favor of the current process including the donors who are the lifeblood of the university’s future. The process should be started over to find a qualified candidate without the current controversy. To do otherwise is to do irremediable damage to the university.”

Nearly three months ago, students and faculty wanted the Board of Trustees to hear their voices concerning their disapproval of General Robert Caslen, the former superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Even though the Board elected to continue their search, trustee Charles Williams said Governor Henry McMaster called other board members last week to arrange a presidential vote as soon as they could.

Following days of unrest from local leaders, students, and faculty, a Richland County judge granted a temporary restraining order to prevent the meeting from happening since the board did not receive five days notice prior to the scheduled date.

The board ultimately rescheduled the meeting for Friday, July 19. A presidential election is listed on the agenda, along with faculty and student comments regarding the presid search.