Instability abounds at S.C. State

ORANGEBURG — When South Carolina State University's newly configured board rehired the school's president two weeks after the previous board fired him, some trustees said the move would bring stability to the institution.

But with George Cooper back at the helm, S.C. State's course appears as rocky as ever.

Since Cooper's return on July 1, Leonard McIntyre, a key leader at the university who was one of two candidates in line to temporarily replace Cooper as interim president, was demoted. And Evelyn Fields, a former department head who was demoted to associate professor this past spring -- allegedly after being critical of the administration -- has filed a lawsuit against the university, Cooper and Joyce Blackwell, vice president

for academic affairs, claiming they violated her right to free speech.

University attorney Edwin Givens responded via e-mail on behalf of the university on McIntyre's and Fields' cases.

Getting information from university employees on what's going on at the school is tough. Cooper, who returned to the university's top post July 1, sent an e-mail to employees July 13 on the university's media policy. The policy effectively silences staff members by requiring them to refer all media inquiries to the Office of University Relations and Marketing.

McIntyre was demoted this month from his job as special assistant to the president for international affairs.

Givens stated in the e-mail that he could not discuss McIntyre's case in detail because it was a personnel matter. But McIntyre is a tenured faculty member, he stated.

Fields alleged in her lawsuit that Blackwell and Cooper retaliated against her by removing her from her position as chairwoman of the Department of Education for being critical of the administration in her role as chairwoman of the Faculty Senate. The senate is an elected, 38-member group that represents the faculty.

Fields alleged that after sending a resolution from the Faculty Senate opposing an academic restructuring, she was demoted to the position of associate professor of early childhood education. The Faculty Senate's position was that the restructuring would increase administration and perpetuate unpaid furlough time for faculty members.

The Faculty Senate also released a position statement in late June supporting the board's decision to fire Cooper, stating his administration failed to:

--Support the faculty's right to academic freedom and shared governance.

--Develop a comprehensive financial plan to ensure the school's solvency.

--Develop a comprehensive recruitment plan to address declining enrollment.

Givens stated in the e-mail that Fields' lawsuit has not been served on the university.

Fields, whose lawsuit was filed in Orangeburg County July 12, referred questions to her Columbia attorney Ben Mabry and questions that pertain to the university to the Office of University Relations and Marketing. Mabry declined to comment on the case.

But Gail Joyner-Fleming, Fields' former supervisor, who retired from S.C. State in December 2009 after working there for 35 years, said Fields was great at her job. On her last evaluation in December, Fields was rated excellent, said Joyner-Fleming, who conducted the evaluation.

"I'm puzzled as to how she could be removed (as department head) when she got all excellent ratings, and the president could be rehired when he didn't," Joyner-Fleming said.

Joyner-Fleming was referring to Cooper being fired by the school's Board of Trustees June 15 after receiving the equivalent of a D+ on his performance evaluation, then being rehired by a newly configured board two weeks later.

Willie Legette, a political science professor, said he can't speak as a representative of the university, but he could speak about his own observations. Legette, also president of S.C. State's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said in Fields' case, "there appears to be retaliation going on."

What he thinks is happening at the university now, he said, is that "people who express their views find themselves in uncomfortable positions with administrators, unless those views are in lock-step with the administration."

The American Association of University Professors' national office also has weighed in on Fields' behalf.

Jordan Kurland, the group's associate general secretary, said the association strongly supports academic freedom and collegial governance. The group supports Fields because the university violated those standards, he said.

Removing Fields as chairwoman of the Department of Education for work she did in her role as head of the Faculty Senate appears retaliatory, he said.

Actions taken against Fields "cast a chill over the climate for academic freedom at S.C. State," he said.

Reach Diane Knich at dknich@postandcourier.com or 937-5491.