ACADEMICS CUT … ATHLETICS, PRO-GAY PROGRAMS REMAIN
We’ve gotten kind of tired of ragging on the University of South Carolina-Upstate over its government-subsidized advancement of a pro-gay agenda (for the record we hate government subsidization of the advancement of any agenda) …
So … let’s return to the nuts and bolts of the school’s operations. Like … its budget.
USC-Upstate is in trouble, people. It is facing a major shortfall and has reportedly started laying off staff.
According to an email from the school’s vice chancellor (yes, a friggin’ satellite campus has “chancellors”) things have gotten really bad.
“Before spring break I assured you that despite difficult financial circumstances, no across-the-board cuts are planned,” USC Upstate vice chancellor John Masterson wrote in an email obtained by FITS. “That remains true today, but there must be substantial cuts in Academic Affairs and they will hurt.”
Hmmmm …
According to Masterson the school is short by roughly $2 million, and “obvious” reductions have failed to make up that gap.
“While I commend the deans and their faculties for the painful sacrifices they’ve already made, we’re not yet close to the goal,” he writes. “We’ve done the obvious parts; from here it will be painful.”
Really? Then how come there’s still plenty of money in the USC-Upstate budget for pro-gay propagandizing? And sports?
Priorities, priorities …
As we’ve said all along government shouldn’t be in the higher education business. USC-Upstate and every other institution of “higher learning” in South Carolina should be immediately privatized and freed up to pursue their destinies in the private sector.
Then they could advance whatever agenda they choose …
42 comments
“Let’s get away from the gay stuff and talk about their budget.”
“OMG, and they still fund the gay stuff?! Let’s privatize everything, then they can fund whatever gay stuff they want!!”
sigh
Still though, it seems the school is better at gay stuff than its own finances. If you’re looking to attend a school that will teach you a bunch of gay stuff- USCU is the place for you. For business instruction, not so much.
Part of that gay agenda is being pushed by Pastides. He is very well connected in the gay scene in Columbia and enjoys ” sponsoring the arts”. The first thing he pushed as president was a huge dance center at USC, no wonder our kids can’t get decent job skills with such priorities….how about a few more math classes ?
Or even better classes on the constitution as is the law of the land…but apparently that would be “too disruptive and burdensome”… Send this carpet bagger back north…
Pastides gave Merri Johnson a 30 thousand raise last year and she invites Butchy McDyke to speak. $140k in salary and benefits to coordinate homosexual rights in Spartanburg? Pastides must have an agenda. I agree with Purrfect; focus on educationing the students to get jobs.
Pastides agenda is to talk about anything but Innovista. Where are the hydrogen stations? The fuel cell industry that would put us on the forefront of economic growth? Aeronautics will be the same pipe dream…they’ll work with the university of Charleston not USC. So why not football, base ball and gay lifestyle? Look at the guy…
Maybe Pastides is the one that needs more math classes if he can’t handle his own budget.
Common now. Let’s get some perspective. South Carolina is already among the lowest percentage funders of its “state” schools (14% of the USC-U budget) yet still counts ALL of the tuition received as state income. Talk about cooking the books. The place is nealy private now. Given all the “expert educational advice” they get from our legislature, they may well be better off going private. Ya think USC leadership is bad, wait till you see how McConnell performs.
I disagree -“mcConnell is going to get $$$s and be treated well by the state legislators. Pastides will be in the best case ignored ( I.e. Tuition time out) and mostly pushed aside. In Bryan White he has a formidable foe. Pastides can’t walk into the budget and control board like a Glenn McConnell, he will always be ‘not from ’round here’. USC better get Andy Card under contract or that ship will sink….
So the measure of a great college president is how well he(she) influences the SC legislative budget and control board? Really? Not how well they guide the educational excellance of the place?
Not how well they manage the direction of the organization? If you’re right, then Bobby Harrel should be the next president of MUSC.
In these days a university is run by a good provost and deans. The president raises funds, stays out of academic business and keeps the university out of the newspapers – Pastides supports athletics and trade schools and surrounds himself with people who have NOTHING to do with the real mission of a university : education and scholarly work – his influence in SC politics is close to zero after his tuition time out stunt and trying to put pressure on politician – only do that when you really can…YES a president has to influence SC B&CB and the state legislators!
Watch McConnell do that.
So what you’re saying is we should cheer that McConnell will likely take more of our money than Pastides can? Really? Skill at picking the public pocket better than the other guy is the measure of effectiveness of a university prsident? Really?
It is what counts – for academic freedom to survive and the university not continue to be pulled into the maelstrom of state politics yes – I’d like a guy who can hold off these guys and gals and give us the space to teach your kids and continue to do research for the future. The job of a president is to protect the institution and Pastides is not doing a good enough job. He actually let the barbarians through the gate. If you like it our not – besides churches, universities are the oldest institutions man has built and their overall historical impact has been positive – we need to make sure they continue to exist. McConnell might protect and grow U of Charleston as a research university, whereas Pastides is growing athletics and trade schools (hotel and retail, education, business, law). The bachelor means very little- it has been diluted to what the high school diploma once was. Pathetic…
Pastides did not bring Spurrier or Tanner in, nor did he get USC into the SEC. He has been lucky to ride that wave. But at what point is he going to held accountable for all the wasteful spending? This mismanagement at USC Upstate is just the tip of the iceberg.
Are you saying USC Upstate should leave the USC system? Interesting thought! If the school was free of USC Columbia’s control it could develop its own destiny.
Coastal Carolina left USC and has flourished. If people in Spartanburg had any sense they would have done the same years ago.
People in Spartanburg have a great nationally ranked top 30 research university in Clemson, who needs an ex-USC upstate ???? Clemson is quietly moving ahead under a great new president who in contrast to Pastides IS an eminent scholar AND a great administrator. Clemson also does not need a tuition time out, more people than we can admit. USC is starting to see the bottom of the barrel and it ain’t pretty.
Wrong priorities…
I agree that Clemson is moving in the right direction and USC is deteriorating. Wait until everyone finds out what a disaster the Palmetto College is financially and academically. Clemson’s advantage is the criteria for sitting on the board. USC’s board is just a bunch of clown political appointees.
I think you need a new president who has the respect of state legislators and his BOT. Pastides’ shot his load, he comes across as always scheming and pompous. Clements is still in the honeymoon phase and will get stuff done with support of his BOT and state legislators that are Clemson alumni. the new dark horse will be McConnell and the new university of Charleston – they will divert money from Clemson and USC – its a zero sum game!
Yes. At some point the pain of complying with state imposed garbage (from the legislature, not the USC system) outweighs the $s received. Fourteen percent state support has got to make USC-U leadership begin considering the pros and cons of privatization. (Cafeteria and athletic revenues have got be close to the level of state support.)
South Carolina is too small and too poor for all these public universities. They are just monuments to the vanity of local politicians.
Amen to that….think of what combining the best of USC-Clemson and MUSC would give you in scholarly production and teaching and how much you could save administrative costs by getting rid of Chenncellors, Deans, Provosts and Presidents!
That reminds me, has anyone gone up to off-Broadway to see Pastide’s young lady-killer singing show tunes?
Talking about gay agenda on the Columbia campus? A Holdermann renaissance? ?Harris is such a dash dresser and his lady is on her 3rd boob job and cooking book…
Maybe it is time for Harris to step down and get someone that can manage the system. USC Upstate stays in the news, and it is always bad.
What a relief that would be if this pretentious academic lightweight and disingenuous man would vaporize. Make sure he doesn’t leave his ray bans behind.
Make sure he pays all his speeding tickets first !!!
Boob job #1 and I remain good friends to this day.
Is Pastides’ son gay? That certainly would explain USC’s emphasis on “coming out”
We need some ideas to help USC Upstate to close their budget deficit. I’ll start it off.
1. How about a seminar about white men’s attraction to Asian women. They could call it “Yellow Fever”
2. A seminar on mastybating instructed by Jack N. Off.
Typical libertarian stuff here. No funding for anything of any value to anybody.
“You’re on your own” forever and always.
Tom Moore stated in the Spartanburg Herald that the rumors of budget problems are untrue. So there you have it. All this inwuindo is just that! Inwuindo! No of it is true. USC Upstate has the lowest cost for atletics in their conference. Try that on one at the Citatel or SC State universities.
Tom keep your f@&ing mouth shut!
What the hell is inwuindo you moron. People are losing their jobs and that idiot states in the newspaper there are no budget problems. The ones that are laid off are looking for new jobs and now it looks like they are fired because that dumbass states there are no budget problems. He’s the one that shoud be fired!
More inwuindo from another ignorant no nothing. Tom Moore is growing Usc Upstate into really big good things. Nobody is being lade off they are hiring big time. He don’t care about state funds because they don’t need them because of all the money the cafeteria and the sports bring in.
Culture trumps strategy.
Now Tom Moore is shutting down the Burroughs Child Development Center. This is a vital unit of the university and many of the faculty would not have come to USC Upstate without this benefit. It is more than a daycare it provides a vital start through the curriculum for all the precious children of the faculty, staff and students. Athletics is the sacred cow and Moore refuses to cut the athletic budget. Students don’t attend games and the community offers little support, yet Moore, David Ferris and Jim Griffis continue to expand the programs and restrict the faculty and campus from the actual expenses of the athletic programs. With CWGS and BCDC being eliminated, soon the only programs of the university will be athletics. Now the university is going to build a new 30 million dollar arena. Tom Moore must go!!!!
No Moore!!! Pastides does nothing. Faculty must act. No Moore!
No Moore lies! Moore needs to go. If his mouth is moving he is lying!
Vote of no confidence next week! Time to hit the road Tommy boy!
Don’t stop there. Classes start in a few weeks and there is no academic catalog. Word is it sat on vice chancellors’ desks waiting for approval for months. Administration has lost all confidence from all areas on campus.