University seeks chancellor, two deans for new program 
USC will spend $150,000 as it looks to flesh out the leadership of its new Palmetto College.
The new program will shake up the USC system's statewide organizational structure as it marries new online programs with the university's regional, two-year campuses — in Salkehatchie, Lancaster, Union and Sumter — that will be headed up by deans.
Under that structure, Palmetto College will stand on equal ground with USC's four-year campuses.
For now, though, it lacks a chancellor to oversee the new college and deans for the Union and Sumter campuses, according to Chris Byrd, vice president for human resources.
To fill them, Byrd said, the university has contracted Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search — a firm that specializes, in part, in finding candidates for top higher education positions — to conduct a nationwide search for candidates.
Parker, which touts "a really strong national reputation," Byrd said, was chosen from the 11 bids USC received for the job.
"We had a multi-point criteria for evaluating the bids that dealt with the quality of their proposal, and obviously cost was a factor," Byrd said. "It also dealt with their reputation and the background ... of the consultants they assigned to work with us."
But in terms of cost, Byrd said, working with Parker will cost USC $150,000 — $60,000 for the chancellor and $45,000 for each of the dean positions.
The chancellor spot will be filled this fall, Byrd said; USC hasn't yet worked out a time line with Parker for filling the dean jobs.
What, exactly, the chancellor will do when he or she gets to campus isn't yet clear, as USC's search committee hasn't yet finalized the position's job description, said Provost Michael Amiridis, the committee's chairman. It is expected to be finalized this week, Amiridis said.
In an interview in April, Amiridis said the new chancellor will be responsible, in part, for taking over USC's existing Division of System Affairs.
In the past, that division, part of the provost's office, has taken care of financial aid and other services for the regional campuses, even as they've been treated as independent entities.
Palmetto College will combine them with a new slate of online classes.
That side of the program kicked off this semester on a pilot scale with an online liberal arts curriculum, but come next fall, it'll roll out five to seven new programs, Amiridis said.
Like other campus heads, the chancellor will report directly to USC President Harris Pastides, Byrd said.
Unlike them, he or she won't have a dedicated chief academic officer.
Instead, Palmetto College will still keep a relationship with the Columbia campus's provost.
But for now, USC still needs to find someone to take over the new role.
"This is our first priority," Byrd said.