A new bill that would change the way South Carolina State University board members are selected has emerged in the State Senate.
The legislation sponsored by S.C. State alumnus and state Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman, differs from a similar bill proposed by Orangeburg Democratic Rep. Jerry Govan earlier this year.
Matthews' bill calls for nine trustees of the 13-member S.C. State board to be selected by the General Assembly. Of those nine, six would be elected from the state's congressional districts and the remaining three would be at-large selections.
The S.C. State National Alumni Association would select three trustees, all of which must be graduates of the university. The governor would select the final member to round out the board.
"It will bring together a cohesiveness between the alumni and the board," said Matthews, who added the same process is in place at Winthrop University. "I've seen the Winthrop process work and it's worked well."
The fundamental difference between Matthews' bill and Govan's is that it does not remove any current trustees. Govan's bill called for the entire board to be removed by July 1 but did allow for current trustees to be re-elected back on the board. Under the new legislation, individual trustees would have their terms expire on June 13 of whatever year those terms are set to end.
Currently, the Legislature elects 12 of the university's trustees with the governor appointing one.
Govan will revamp his original bill in the House to reflect Matthews' in the Senate. He said the adjustments are part of a coordinated effort and that a new version of his bill will be the same as Matthews'.
"It enhances the chance of the bill passing," said Govan of both chambers having versions of the same bill. He noted that time is of the essence to get the legislation passed and the changes will cut down on the time the bills spend in committees.
Govan's original bill also proposed that six trustees would be selected by the Legislature, with the alumni association picking six as well. Govan said he would submit the amendments to his bill during a House Higher Education Subcommittee meeting next Thursday.
The last time that subcommittee met to discuss the bill, a heated verbal exchange broke out between Govan and S.C. State Board Chairman Maurice Washington over the merits of the legislation.
During that meeting, Washington suggested the bill was created to retaliate against the board for ousting former S.C. State President Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. last December. Govan has said repeatedly that is not the case and the bill was formed to give the university's stakeholders more say in who runs the institution.
Washington did not have much to say regarding Matthews' bill other than it is the right of the General Assembly to draft such legislation.
"Our focus is beyond that. We're trying to appoint a president by July. We're committed to focusing on our duties, responsibilities and obligations to South Carolina State University," he said Wednesday.