COLUMBIA S.C.
Former South Carolina State University President Andrew Hugine failed to meet the expectations of his board of trustees in two areas, according to his performance review released by the school.
Hugine was fired last month for what the board said was poor performance.
The evaluation released last week shows that the board gave him an overall score of 2.84 out of a possible 5.0.
The board said Hugine failed to improve the university’s infrastructure and that several academic programs, including teaching and nursing, were in danger of being eliminated.
Hugine did not comment on the evaluation, but released his official response to the review after the board released his evaluation. In his response, Hugine said several criticisms were wrong.
“There are challenges in our teacher education program and appropriate personnel changes will be made to provide more effective leadership to address these challenges,” Hugine said.
But the board decided Hugine, who had been president since July 2003, was out of time to make those fixes.
“The (university) continues to be in a state of constant flux and instability,” the board said in its evaluation. “Stabilization of the infrastructure is a critical component to the success of attracting qualified faculty, students, research and corporate support.”
The historically Black college in Orangeburg has about 5,000 students.
Hugine’s firing has drawn criticism from at least two state lawmakers and some alumni. One lawmaker threatened to call for a full audit of the school and another is proposing changes to the way the board is appointed.
But board chairman Maurice Washington said the school owes its students and the state better than they have gotten in the past.
“We owe it to the taxpayers of this state. That’s where we get our money,” Washington said. “We owe it to the citizens that being ordinary at S.C. State is not acceptable.”
State Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, said the programs in danger of being cut have been around a long time and students are simply not being attracted to them.
“We’ve been struggling with the nursing program under three presidents,” said Govan, who has proposed legislation to dissolve the current S.C. State board. “I’m not sure the president got a fair deal on his evaluation.”
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