[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.20.1″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|”]<\/p>\n
One question has dominated campus discussions since the names of four candidates for the University of South Carolina presidency were announced on April 17: \u00a0How will the next president commit to making USC a more diverse and inclusive institution?<\/p>\n
William Tate, the vice president of graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis, attempted to answer that question Tuesday as he met with faculty and students. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cMy job as president is to set tone. If you feel like, \u2018I\u2019m welcome here and I\u2019m supposed to be here and I\u2019m supposed to flourish here,\u2019\u2026 I have to beat that into every communication and every engagement,” Tate said. “You belong here. And that has to come from the top all the time.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he emphasized: \u201cThat\u2019s a hard job, but I think that\u2019s the job of the president.”<\/p>\n
Tate is the only person of color in the all-male group of finalists for the position.<\/p>\n
He fielded questions from about a dozen students during an hour-long forum Tuesday afternoon, including inquiries about K-12 education in South Carolina, undergraduate research opportunities and sustainability on campus.<\/p>\n
Tate is\u00a0the second of the four finalists to meet with students and faculty, but students said the easy atmosphere Tate created during the forum set him apart as a people\u2019s candidate for the presidential search.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the candidate was extremely qualified, but was also very approachable,\u201d Lyric Swinton, a 21-year-old junior at USC, said. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that he\u2019s done his research on our institution and that he\u2019s very respectful of our traditions, but he also has some ideas of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday, Joseph Walsh, vice president of research at Northwestern University, met with students and faculty. Swinton, who attended both forums, said Tate\u2019s approachability sets him apart from Walsh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like yesterday, the candidate [Walsh] was very qualified, but kind of rested on those qualifications. The approachability really wasn\u2019t there, in my opinion,\u201d Swinton said.<\/p>\n
Tate, who serves at the dean of the graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis and has a litany of research and teaching roles under his belt, relied heavily on his background in mathematics and public health to explain how he would approach the role of president.<\/p>\n
Tate said he is interested in generating more funding opportunities for graduates students, but said that would mean smaller admittance numbers for graduate programs that receive research funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also emphasized his love of athletics and said his time spent as a track and basketball coach informed his leadership style.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty much a relationship guy\u2026 I really believe in mentoring and being a part of the lives of students,\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n
The legacy of retiring USC President Harris Pastides\u00a0loomed over the forum. Tate lauded Pastides\u2019 interpersonal achievements as president.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody will ever replace him. He is viewed as one of the very best presidents, potentially in the history of American higher education,\u201d Tate said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Tate said he wouldn\u2019t try to copy Pastides\u2019 leadership style, but instead use his own background to connect and mentor Gamecocks. Tate also said he wants to be a proactive force on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get to a point in life where you ask yourself, \u2018What do you want to be a part of? Do you want to be a part of the do\u2019s or the don\u2019ts?\u2019\u201d Tate said. \u201cMy strong preference\u2026 is to be involved with the do\u2019s. And that\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Tate is selected, he will be the first non-white president of the university in its 218-year history.<\/p>\n
The lack of female representation in the final candidates was noted by many students and alumni.<\/p>\n
Lauryn Workman, a 19-year-old sophomore, held up a sign asking why 82 percent of the search committee, 100 percent of the 11 semifinalists for presidents and all four of the final four candidates are male.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think the process should be looked at once more to see, what were the institutional and systemic issues that led to only four finalists, and all of them being male?\u201d Workman said.<\/p>\n
Although Workman wanted a more inclusive group of candidates, she said Tate is her current pick for president.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think someone who represents more than just the status quo of what this presidency has looked like can be important and would be beneficial to the students on this campus,\u201d Workman said.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.20.1″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/forumw1.jpg”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.20.1″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n
USC presidential candidate William Tate fielded questions from more than a dozen students at his forum Tuesday afternoon. Undergraduate research, diversity and inclusion, leadership style and mental health resources were among the topics students asked about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.20.1″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/forumw3.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.20.1″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n More than 100 students showed up to William Tate\u2019s presidential candidacy forum Tuesday afternoon. Tate\u2019s forum is the second of four, and the most attended thus far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.20.1″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/forumw4.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.20.1″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n William Tate, one of four candidates for the presidency of USC, was lauded for his approachability at his student forum.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" USC presidential candidate William Tate talked about leadership and making every student feel welcome on campus. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":21231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67,62,39],"tags":[814,419,813,628,92],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21223"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21262,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21223\/revisions\/21262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}