Dive Brief:
- The lieutenant governor of South Carolina has been named the next president of the College of Charleston over the protests of faculty, students, and the NAACP.
- Opponents say Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell’s support of flying the Confederate battle flag and his role in Civil War reenactments will make it tough for the college to recruit minority students. Also, he has no academic experience.
- McConnell won the unanimous vote of the college’s board of trustees, beating out more than 100 applicants. The other two finalists were Dennis "Jody" Encarnation, a Harvard University professor, and University of West Florida Provost Martha Saunders.
Dive Insight:
First the controversy over gay-themed books in South Carolina public colleges, and now this. According to The Post and Courier, McConnell and Encarnation were not among the five top candidates presented to the board of trustees by a search committee. The newspaper also said that McConnell, in his 32 years in the state Senate, had developed a reputation for working well with legislators across party and racial lines. Students and alumni of the school protested on Friday. The College of Charleston has about 12,000 students.
