By Scott Miller
Staff Writer

South Carolina State University is looking for a new president with a sense of humor, according to the first presidential search committee meeting on Monday.

The university’s board of trustees voted not to renew President Andrew Hugine’s contract in December, citing a performance evaluation that charged the president with losing the trust of his staff and failing to advance academic performance, among other criticisms.

On Monday, the search committee set a speedy timeline to hire a president by June and discussed the characteristics for Hugine’s replacement.

The next president will be “a champion of change, fearless, unafraid to take risks,” according to a news release from S.C. State University. To improve academics, the university may need to make personnel or curriculum and degree changes, said Maurice Washington, chairman of both the board of trustees and the presidential search committee.

“That requires courage and it may require some risk,” he said. “We need a CEO that is tough enough to move boldly forward.”

The criteria also puts emphasis on student well-being, the recruitment of high quality students, faculty and administrators and the ability to raise money, all reflective of the criticisms noted in Hugine’s performance evaluation.

The university also is looking for a president with a sense of humor, according to the release.

“I do know that presidents go through annual evaluations and running a university is tough. You’re not always going to succeed,” Washington said. “Sometimes you have to laugh at yourself and not take criticisms so seriously.”

Trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni and state lawmakers have representation on the 15-member search committee, which is expected to give its recommendation in time for the board to hire a president by June. 

The committee intends to advertise for the position in January, narrow the applicant pool in February and March, conduct final interviews in April and complete negotiations with the next president in May.

The university wants a permanent president in place soon, Washington said, as it goes through reaccreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

But the timeline isn’t that aggressive, he said, as advancements in technology have cut the search time in half.

“Presidential searches are generally now completed within five or six months,” Washington said, noting the university hired consultant Academic Search Inc. to assist in the process. “They’re telling us this is a reasonable time period.”

For an in-depth report about Hugine’s evaluation and upcoming efforts to increase oversight of the university’s board of trustees, see the Jan. 21 edition of the Charleston Regional Business Journal.