New UofSC president says he’s eager to work with students, faculty

Caslen says great leadership is contingent on how well he works with "Team Carolina"

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) —In his introductory press conference, Bob Caslen said he is eager to move past the controversy surrounding his appointment and help the students and faculty succeed in any way he can.

After he learned that the Board of Trustees wanted to move on with the search to find their next president, Bob Caslen considered other jobs.

In July, he was on another campus when he got word from some members of the Board of Trustees that they were re-considering his candidacy. 

The former West Point superintendent says he asked himself many times whether or not he should become the successor to Harris Pastides, but he said the one thing that pushed him to accept was the chance to work with the students.

“I love education. Moreover, I love what it does for young men and women from all walks of life, who have bettered themselves through education and want to give back to their communities, and frankly the University motto, which is ‘learning humanizes character and is not permitted to be cruel’ is a motto my values nest nicely within,” Caslen said.

Even though he accepted the presidency amidst student and faculty protests, Caslen says he looked through all the comments back from when he visited campus in April to see how he can improve relationships at the school. 

“If you have very high opinions of yourself, go back and read those comments. I think it’s important for any leader to be humble enough to open themselves up to criticism. When a leader fails to open himself up to criticism, they only look at issues from a very narrow perspective,” Caslen said.

He took his first step towards bridging the gap by meeting with less than 20 students Monday, and looks to keep building relationships by being active on campus.

“If you’re going to be an effective leader, you have the have the humility to listen and to understand and to understand across the entire spectrum of thought,” Caslen said.

Some say Caslen’s initiative in meeting with students on Monday shows his dedication to the university.

“Him being able to come here and say I want to talk to students first, and that’s my first move and I will continue to do that, I think that’s great and I look forward to working with him,” said Luke Rankin, USC’s Student Body President.

Caslen said the three areas he looks to address in the near-term are academic excellence, diversity, and research. He said the university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion will report directly to him, saying that giving everyone a voice is essential to good leadership.

He also wants to be an active presence on campus, already talking about what events and locations he should frequent in order to connect with students. He said he’s also open to spending a weekend night at Five Points.

A big factor of his opening remarks was the importance of beating Clemson. Whether it’s in athletics or extracurricular, he said that any team that beats their in-state rivals can come to his house to have sundaes.

Caslen also addressed his comments in an April forum about sexual assault, saying he never meant to shift the blame onto victims and that there’s no tolerance for it on campus. Some students said the reason they protested his candidacy was because they thought his comments linked sexual assault to binge drinking.

Caslen remarked that after reading more than 600 pages of comments from students and faculty, he said he would be more clear with what he says so that no one could misinterpret his thoughts.

Even though he has a few overseas commitments made prior to his appointment as President, Caslen says he will start his new post on August 1, and looks to be on-campus once students move in as well as for Convocation.