Pastides: ‘Come back with a different approach’
Clemson University is gunning for some independence from state oversight with a proposed bill before the state Senate, but USC isn’t interested in signing on, USC President Harris Pastides said.
The legislation would create a new division at Clemson with oversight of land deals and construction projects, and it would remove those powers from state government in an effort to give the university more flexibility and let independently funded plans move more quickly. The “enterprise division” would be required to submit an independent audit each year.
It’s an attractive plan to state schools — others have asked for the same independence — but USC’s Statehouse advisers do not expect it to gain traction during the current legislative session, which ends June 6, Pastides said.
“I worry right now that it’s too late in the legislative season for this to gain a lot of traction,” Pastides said. “I think we’ll probably be working with Clemson and other universities in the off-season to come back with a different approach, maybe next year.”
Still, USC wants that same in-house oversight, and if the bill gathered momentum, the university would request to be added, he said. The bill, introduced last month, is before the Senate Finance Committee.
Pastides said the university will pursue independence in construction projects, buying processes and hiring, and it plans to approach lawmakers to write new legislation and see how much control they’re willing to cede to the university.
If USC signs on with the Clemson bill, university officials worry they’ll lose leverage, saying joining it could close the door on conversations with legislators.
USC faces regulation Pastides said inhibits its ability to build, buy and hire what and who it needs quickly.
Construction projects — with or without state funding — are usually delayed about a year and a half. USC is required to take the lowest bidder for supplies and equipment, although it might prefer other offers, and it can’t hire short-term faculty for longer than a year because of “pretty stodgy” state rules, Pastides said.
If USC wanted a new microscope, he said, it would have to take bids and accept the lowest offer, even if it didn’t meet a researcher’s needed specifications or another required less maintenance.
“Sometimes going through that state procurement process might tie your hands unnecessarily,” Pastides said. “We don’t want to spend more than we have to on supplies … but you don’t want to treat that expensive technical equipment the same way you would treat paper.”
State oversight’s effects on building projects was on display Wednesday, as university trustees approved three projects — for much-needed training laboratory space, a studio for broadcast journalism students and pedestrian safety on Greene Street — that USC had hoped to move forward with months earlier, said Derek Gruner, USC’s campus planning director.
They were pushed back, though, because USC, along with other state agencies, couldn’t get state approval in December, Gruner said, moving them back a cycle.
If projects don’t get immediate approval from the state Commission on Higher Education or Budget and Control Board or are held up with questions from their members, they’re deferred to the next meeting, which can be months out.
Such delays can prove costly for the university, Pastides said.
“Time is money, as they say,” he said.