Jumping Ship? USC Provost Named Finalist For LSU President Despite Ongoing Abuse Scandal

Less than a year after he started working at the embattled University of South Carolina (USC), it appears like one of the school’s top officials is trying to jump ship.

Provost William F. Tate is one of three candidates selected as finalists for the University of Louisiana (LSU) President position, the Advocate reported. LSU has been desperate for leadership following a damning report in March that contained allegations of sexual misconduct by football coach Les Miles and coverups by LSU administration.

Which is why it’s interesting LSU chose Tate as a finalist...

Readers of this news outlet will recall that USC has a big problem of its own — students on campus don’t feel safe after multiple allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct.

Tate and President Bob Caslen have been widely criticized for their “do-nothing” approach to the sexual abuse allegations.

In the last six months, three of the professors accused of abuse — David Voros, David Snyder, and Robert Richmond — have all been “removed from campus and teaching duties” while still getting paid salaries from the university (considered by many as paid vacation).

After more than 100 students and staff members protested last month, Tate posted a video and statement on Twitter in response to the protest.

“I want you to understand, when I see these kinds of problems, I act immediately,” Tate, who was hired last March, said. “In the most recent case that happened under my watch, in less than 12 hours, we moved to remove that faculty member from the environment.”

In the statement, Tate was referencing USC history professor and Faculty Principal of Maxcy College Dr. David Snyder, who is accused in a lawsuit of sexual harassment, grooming and abuse from 2018 to 2020. That lawsuit was filed online on March 22.

FITSNews broke the story on Snyder on March 23 and Snyder was removed from campus duties on March 24 — two days after the lawsuit was filed.

While it’s unclear whether or not USC was internally alerted of the lawsuit on March 22, but considering the amount of public attention focused on sexual harassment at USC, someone at the university should have been checking Richland County lawsuits daily. And certainly, someone at USC administration should have found out about the lawsuit before media.

What if FITSNews didn’t find out about the lawsuit? How many days would have gone by with Snyder still on campus?

And where was Tate when the new Voros accusations were made in a lawsuit last December?

It took a lawsuit, several media stories, public pressure, and a group of students forming the Coalition to fire David Voros before administrators removed him from campus.

A lot of USC students did not buy into Tate’s statements.

“Perhaps remove them from the payroll altogether if you want us to feel safe, William,” one student said on Twitter. “Don’t give them a paid vacation.”

Tate began working at USC in July 2020. He was a Dean at Washington University in St. Louis before he moved to South Carolina last year.

When he was hired, Caslen claimed he was a “game-changer.”

Tate will compete for LSU’s top job along with Jim Henderson, president of the University of Louisiana System, and Kelvin Droegemeier, former director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Donald Trump, the Advocate reported.

FITSNews will continue to cover the sexual abuse scandal at USC and Tate’s possible position at USC. Stay tuned…

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