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Date Published: February 20, 2004
Sanford visits USC Sumter
Governor tours campus, meets with advocates of 4-year status proposal
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Chris Moore / The Item
Gov. Mark Sanford, second from right, tours the campus of the University of South Carolina Sumter on Thursday.
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By BRADEN BUNCH
Item Staff Writer
bradenb@theitem.com
Gov. Mark Sanford in a quickly scheduled visit with both political and educational implications for Sumter and the state visited the University of South Carolina Sumter on Thursday to meet with officials who advocate the four-year status proposal he has publicly opposed.
"Decisions are always made better when you've had a chance to meet with the other side," said the governor, who had received several written and verbal requests in the past few weeks to come to Sumter. He had not officially decided to do so until less than 24 hours before his visit.
The governor ended up coming directly from an event in Greenville announcing a corporate investment in Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research to listen to the Sumter arguments.
The USC Sumter debate recently came to a crux when Sanford who has proposed restructuring various aspects of state government, including higher education declared he would veto a bill currently in a legislative conference committee because it includes the augmentation of the Sumter campus.
The proposed South Carolina Life Sciences Act is before a conference committee attempting to iron out the differences between the versions of the bill passed by the two chambers in the Statehouse.
Sumter delegation members have said they feel confident the USC Sumter portion of the bill will remain in the legislation when it reaches the governor's desk and believe the final bill will be written in a way that will prevent the governor from using a line-item veto.
That would force the governor in the next few weeks to either make good on his veto promise or require him to offer an explanation for reversing his decision.
After Thursday's tour of the campus and subsequent meeting at Anderson Library, Sanford admitted the Sumterites had made a compelling personal argument for him to reverse his opinion. When asked if the presentation would be enough, however, the governor said, "That's the part I'm still struggling through."
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Chris Moore / The Item
Sanford speaks to officials advocating four-year status for USC Sumter during his visit Thursday.
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Sanford told the crowd during the meeting he was still trying to see how he could allow USC Sumter expansion while continuing the effort to restructure the state's higher education system by removing duplication and inefficiencies.
"What we're trying to get at has nothing to do with Sumter," Sanford said, adding that his position has irked people in some other areas far more than in Sumter.
"If you want to see hate mail, join me on a trip to Union," said the governor, who in his executive budget proposed closing USC Union, as well as USC Salkehatchie, as part of his restructuring plan.
The responding argument by local officials was, in effect, that making USC Sumter a four-year campus would make the state university system more efficient, not less.
"We can offer something that almost looks like a free lunch," said Dr. Anthony Coyne, associate dean of academic affairs, adding that USC Sumter already has the infrastructure, teachers, students and experience necessary to operate a four-year school and basically only needs the governor's signature to begin awarding degrees. "Of course, it isn't a free lunch. It's making use of money that's already been spent."
Coyne and several others said the school has been working toward four-year status since the campus opened in 1966.
"Now is the time to take advantage of that investment and reap the dividends," Coyne said.
In response, Sanford applauded the community's efforts in going through a visioning process for the school, comparing it to his own efforts for government restructuring.
The governor also said no matter what a person's standpoint, it's often difficult to ignore personal testimonies made by the students involved in the campus. Sanford was presented several examples from students during the brief meeting, who said they would not be able to get a college education if it were not for USC Sumter.
David Tresk, an employee for United Parcel Service who said he is close to Sanford's age, is attempting to get his degree via USC Sumter.
"There's no way I could go to Columbia or Francis Marion (in Florence) because of the time involved," Tresk said.
"We don't have too many 18-year-olds who thought they were going away to school and live in a dorm," Coyne said, adding statistics show the typical student at USC Sumter is around 25 years old and working in the community.
"The student body we serve goes to school here, or it doesn't go to school," Coyne said. "The practical problems of going elsewhere would be insurmountable."
Meanwhile, Steve Rust, executive director of the Sumter Development Board, tied the school directly into the fate of Shaw Air Force Base during the upcoming Base Realignment and Closure.
"We think very strongly that we're at a competitive disadvantage because we don't have a four-year campus," Rust said.
"I won't try to stand here and tell you that's the only thing that will make or break us … but they get to the point where they're looking for reasons to cross you off the list," Rust said, adding Shaw provides $700 million to Sumter's economy.
The Gamecock City has lost 1,500 jobs during the past couple of months, and Rust said that while Sumter has been working vigorously to replace these positions and has developed several possibilities with international companies, "If we don't have Shaw Air Force Base, then it all goes away."
In a more positive note, Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen pointed out that the county and the city have pledged more financial support to the campus with the four-year status, and that, "If we get four-year status, you wouldn't believe what will happen in this community," McElveen said.
McElveen told the governor that if he did manage to prevent USC Sumter from becoming a four-year school at this time, that, "we'll probably find a way to get around it, because we're that good."
Not mentioned by either side during Thursday's meeting was the role Central Carolina Technical College might play in the future of USC Sumter.
In his budget, Sanford also proposed combining some of the aspects of the two neighboring schools. That is a move strongly opposed by local officials, saying the schools have incompatible missions.
The governor did praise the steadfast advocacy of two men not present for the meeting state Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, and Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter adding he had recently apologized to the two men for the apparent misunderstanding of his State of the State comments referencing their efforts for USC Sumter.
"Some people took it as a slight to them, but I meant that as a compliment," Sanford said. "When I singled them out, that was a good thing, from my perspective."
Contact Staff Writer Braden Bunch at bradenb@theitem.com or 803-774-1222.
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March 30, 2004
