Dive Brief:

• Winthrop University’s Board of Trustees on Friday took a first step toward firing the school’s president, Jamie Comstock Williamson, with her suspension.
• The board’s move came one day after Williamson and her husband, Larry, returned the $27,000 he had been paid to work part-time in her office.
• Williamson had started work at the Rock Hill, SC, university on July 1, signing a five-year contract with a starting annual salary of $169,970.

Dive Insight:

Although the board technically did not fire Williamson on Friday, closing that loop appears to be a mere formality. According to Winthrop University, the trustees voted to give her a notice of termination for cause, and Williamson’s contract requires that she have a “reasonable opportunity to be heard” before further action is taken. Although Williamson attended the end of Friday’s board meeting, her formal opportunity to be heard will take place on June 26, when the board is slated to determine whether to proceed with termination.

In announcing the return of the $27,000, Williamson said that she and her husband had not violated South Carolina’s Ethics Act, which forbids public employees from hiring family members for jobs that they manage. Her office had reported that the university’s trustees were aware that her husband had been hired for governmental affairs work from Sept. 1 to May 31, The Charlotte Observer reported.