Uni presidential search committee criticized over men-only finalist list

Article here. Excerpt:

'When the University of South Carolina last week revealed the names of the four finalists vying to be its next president, students and faculty immediately saw that something was off: all four are men.

That concern grew even louder on Monday, when student activists met with university officials and learned that the finalists had been chosen from a larger list of 11 semifinalists -- all of whom are men as well, according to students. The university did not respond to a request to confirm the statement.

“We find it very difficult to believe that there are no qualified female candidates for this position,” said Megan Rigabar, a South Carolina senior who has helped lead a growing protest against the process. “USC didn’t find them -- and we don’t think they were looking hard enough.”

In response, students and faculty have signed on to an open letter protesting the process, if not the finalists themselves.
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Hickman said the committee saw a pool of more than 80 candidates who were "diverse in terms of both underrepresented minorities and gender. These four finalists are the leaders that the search committee believes are best qualified and prepared to serve as our 29th president. While the pool did not result in a female finalist, each of these candidates has expressed a strong commitment to diversity," he said.'