As the state’s flagship university, we are governed by a board of trustees appointed by the governor and state lawmakers.
President emeritus Harris Pastides is serving as interim president while the university conducts a national search for its 30th president. Pastides, a professor of epidemiology, joined the university in 1998 as dean of the Arnold School of Public Health. From 2003 to 2008, he served as vice president for research and health sciences.
Michael Amiridis has been named the 30th president of the University of South Carolina and will start in the summer of 2022. Amiridis is currently the chancellor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and formerly served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina from 2009 to 2015.
Our board is made up of the governor, the state education superintendent, 16 members appointed by state lawmakers from each of the state’s judicial circuits and the president of the Alumni Association. The governor has an appointee and usually designates someone to fill the governor’s seat on the board.
In addition to our president and board, our leadership includes positions governing academics, research, finances, giving, technology, human resources, student affairs, communications and our extended university.