USC names new president

PastidesUpdate: The AP is reporting that the vote has been taken and Pastides is the board of trustees' unanimous choice for USC's next president. Read the story here.

Original post: The State newspaper reports that Harris Pastides will be chosen by the board of trustees to lead the University of South Carolina, according to "sources."

Pastides current role with the school is as vice president of research and health sciences, as well as executive director of the USC Research Foundation. And apparently he's been behind some pretty big results on the money game. Last year alone, research funding hit $185 million, an increase of more than $50 million from the year before.

From The State:

Pastides, a research funding expert who has been at USC since 1998 and turned down opportunities to leave, succeeds Andrew Sorensen, who is retiring.

...

As associates describe it, Sorensen thought the big thoughts, and Pastides got the ball rolling.

“He was really the operations guy who made things happen,” said MUSC president Dr. Ray Greenberg.

Members of the board of trustees are staying mum on the issue, though, reiterating that nothing is set until today's vote is taken and the announcement is made this morning. But, as The State also reports, Pastides seems to fit perfectly what the board is looking for in a president, primarily the abilities to raise research money and to continue the development started under Sorensen.

Also, you can watch the streaming video of the announcement at 10:30 a.m. today from USC's Web site.

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