<p>
[quote]
“I’m worried about what is going on in the mind of that student when we see someone of the Confederate battle flag is now president,” Kelly said. “There are a lot of subtleties to how you commemorate the Old South and a lot of those subtleties can be lost when you’re deciding what college you’re going to.”</p>
<p>Two of the best past presidents at CofC have come from non-academia backgrounds. The advantage that McConnell brings to the table is the influence with the South Carolina legislature and the ability to raise private funds for the college - something he has done on a statewide scale for our universities and for other South Carolina projects, such as the Hunley. The article, linked above, is quite a hit piece on McConnell. If you have a child considering CofC, I urge you to actually research the man before taking this article at face value. </p>
<p>Living in Charleston, I have a bit of a front seat view of it all. The biggest issue, even if they won’t voice it, is that McConnell is a Republican. That’s the REAL issue. However, his history is one of bipartisanship and advocating for the poor in our state (he actually began his career as a legal service for the poor). He is well known through the area as a huge fan of history. I think that’s been somewhat overemphasized by some of these articles. The man isn’t a “Confederate sympathizer”. He’s a person that is interested in the history of our area, which is steeped in the Civil War. As a by the way, he’s also one of the strongest supporters of the Gullah community in our state as well. When he was in the state legislature, he was the committee chair of monuments in our state. He was the guy that helped get the only African American monument on state grounds - in any state - on the grounds of the state capital. He was instrumental in getting the Gullah and their trade craft - sweetwater baskets - to be a protected practice, including the ability to have the roadside stands they have had for years and years to be considered protected.</p>
<p>He is an alum of CofC and has a child there. Given that, I would think he would want to make CofC as strong as possible. So, I would urge everyone to do their research before jumping to any conclusions based on a biased article.</p>
<p>I know it doesn’t seem right, but a college president’s main concern is fund raising these days. Schools are not looking for pure academic candidates anymore. CofC is no different from most publics…they need $$. I think he will be able to raise private money and get every penny he can squeeze out of the state of SC. I like the choice.</p>
<p>H is from the area and we still have many relatives and friends there. Haven’t heard their take on the choice yet. I’ve heard that CofC is trying to draw from a more diverse pool of students and I wonder what kind of effect this will have, considering that he’s a Civil War reenactor. Time will tell. The faculty as a whole doesn’t seem happy with their choice. Regarding fundraising, he does have powerful connections. However, one of the comments in the research report is that McConnell was a “powerful member of the legislature when the College’s funding was cut.” It’s interesting to me, but nothing more than that. S14 will probably not end up attending there because he has some better scholarship offers, although I would be happy if they showed him some more love with a surprise departmental scholarship. I always love another reason to visit the Holy City.</p>
<p>I asked my daughter how she felt about the whole controversy since CofC has consistently been a top choice for her. She kind of shrugged and said as long as the school didn’t dramatically didn’t change, his job was to raise money so what did she care. I know there are some strong opinions about McConnell but I think she’s got a great attitude about it. Bigdaddy88 is right. That job is all about the fund raising now. I also think that if he doesn’t do a good job, he’ll be out of there in no time flat.</p>
<p>I probably feel more strongly about it than my daughter primarily because I have this thing when I see people maligned and it’s not true, it raises my hackles. At the end of the day, my opinion is not the most important though - my daughter’s is since she will be the one possibly attending the college. From what I can tell, she’s somewhat apathetic about it. We’ll see how it impacts the college as a whole with respect to recruitment and funding.</p>
<p>Thank you southbell for the info. Yes, I will have to do some research on McConnell but, I think I was more concerned about the budget cut for the book. I must be naive because I really didn’t think that could happen in 2014. </p>
<p>In South Carolina, we have two basic types of politicians, Republicans and Republicans. One is of the very religious conservative persuasion (generally from the Upstate area) and the other is more fiscally conservative with less concern on ‘social’ issues. This book thing, which CofC wasn’t the only one targeted in the state, was one of those things where we see one type of Republican battling for something they deem morally offensive. It happens - yes. </p>
<p>The good news is that both the Board of Trustees and the faculty are taking it in stride. They are not allowing this small budget cut (the exact amount of the cost of the program) to dictate their choices for future reading selections. Usually these things die down as they often do. The biggest complaint I’ve heard from parents and students alike was just that the book wasn’t that good. </p>
<p>South Carolina is a very conservative state, as are many other states. However, we rarely see our higher educational system impacted one way or the other by politics. Occasionally it happens but the end result is usually the same - it blows over. I imagine politics, both left and right, have impacted other colleges throughout the nation and likely with the same result - it’s a hot button issue for a short time but then just dies on the vine.</p>
I always love another reason to visit the Holy City.</p>