UofSC President apologizes for commencement speech oversight
President Caslen: ' I am truly sorry...I take full responsibility for this oversight.'
Columbia, SC (WOLO) — During graduation ceremonies over the past weekend, University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen spoke to students, staff and parents. Monday however, he started to get flack from some who noticed a few errors in his address Friday. President Caslen has publicly acknowledged the mishaps and issued an apology.
According to U of SC, during his address during the 2021 commencement, Caslen says he was searching for words while speaking to students about being strong in the face of adversity. On that topic, President Caslen used a popular quote, but admits that when message was written into his speech it failed to give mention the person the words came from.
Monday evening, University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen released a statement in response to the mishaps saying in part,
“I am truly sorry. During my remarks in our weekend commencement ceremonies, I shared a well-known quote from Admiral William McRaven and failed to cite him as its original author and speaker. I was searching for words about resilience in adversity and when they were transcribed into the speech, I failed to ensure its attribution. I take full responsibility for this oversight.”
During the same speech Caslen was speaking to the crowd of graduates and referred to the University of South Carolina, which is commonly called USC in the Midlands, saying “California” instead of “Carolina”. Another moment for which he has apologized profusely. University of South Carolina Assistant of Communications and Public Affairs released a statement saying,
“The president speaks at 15 separate ceremonies all across the state during spring commencement season, congratulating thousands of University of South Carolina system graduates. It’s a joyous time for our graduates, their families and the entire university community. President Caslen apologizes for accidentally saying “California” instead of “Carolina” at the end of Friday night’s ceremony and regrets any attention it may have drawn from the accomplishments of our graduates.”
