Board candidacy of 5 longtime USC trustees will move forward following panel vote

Five longtime members of the University of South Carolina’s board of trustees were approved for four-year terms on the board by a state legislative committee.

The full legislature will give final consideration of their candidacies later this year.

Chairman Thad Westbrook and trustees Charles Williams, John von Lehe, Dorn Smith and Eddie Floyd were deemed qualified and nominated to the board by the bipartisan legislative panel.

Westbrook, Williams and von Lehe received unanimous approval, while Smith’s candidacy was approved 7-1 and Floyd’s 6-2.

The trustees’ candidacy had been in a “carry-over” status since last spring. Trustee Alex English was the only incumbent board member approved for another term last year, along with newcomers vying for two open seats.

The panel last year declined to move the other candidacies forward following a hearing in which board members were criticized for the hiring of former USC President Robert Caslen and the multi-million dollar buyouts of former football coach Will Muschamp and men’s basketball coach Frank Martin.

Board candidates are set to be voted on Feb. 1 during a joint assembly. If chosen, they will remain on the board for another four years.