Barker back to work at Clemson

President optimistic about legislative measures

By Michael Eads

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Clemson University President James Barker has returned to work full time and hit the ground running — literally.

“My doctor cleared me to start running again,” said an excited Barker, who jokingly adding, “I tried this morning and didn’t get very far.”

Barker has been on leave since January, when he underwent quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery. Provost Dori Helms presided over day-to-day operations in his absence, but the two remained in close contact during his recovery.

“I am officially back as of last Thursday,” Barker said.

Capital projects and preparing for next week’s board of trustees meeting in Clemson are taking up much of his time, but he is also keeping a close eye on the legislature. He is optimistic that the university could get a net gain in state funding for the first time in several years.

“We may be on the positive side of the ledger if it is the budget being shaped in the House,” Barker speculated.

The university has also pitched the Clemson University Enterprise Act to legislators. The bill, which enjoys support from several of the school’s alumni in the House and Senate, would shift state oversight of construction spending, public-private partnerships and the like away from the Budget and Control Board, Commission on Higher Education and Joint Bond Review Committee and put them under the control of a proposed “enterprise division” answerable to the university’s board of trustees.

“This is a complex piece legislation,” Barker said. “There is a lot of duplication in the process ... and there’s some streamlining that we think is appropriate.”

Capital projects and other initiatives often need several passes through those state agencies before they can move forward. Speeding up building projects would also make financial sense, as interest rates and building and material costs are still mired near all-time lows as the U.S. economy recovers from housing collapse and recession of 2008-09.

Barker said the changes could give the university the ability to “be more responsive, more nimble and more cost efficient” in dealing with donors and corporations wanting to partner on projects with the university.

“Imagine a set of donors that has become interested in Clemson and they are successful business people,” Barker said. “We outline the steps we have to go through to make that a reality they look at us and ask, “Why do you have to go through all these steps? That’s crazy.’ There is a disconnect from their world to our world.”

There are precedents for what university officials are proposing. The legislature agreed a decade ago to loosen state oversight of the Medical University of South Carolina’s hospital system in Charleston, a move that has proved successful, according to Clemson and MUSC officials.

And there is the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville.

“It is a direct partnership that began with BMW and has expanded to other partners ... we streamlined the process there as a one-time thing to see if Clemson could handle it and we did,” Barker said.

Barker and university lobbyist Angie Leidinger both said their message is a getting a positive reception thus far in Columbia.

Gov. Nikki Haley told reporters Thursday that Clemson’s enterprise proposal is a step in the right direction.

“I think it should apply to all schools,” said Haley, who added that when it comes to university projects financed with private dollars “government is slowing down what they need to do.”

The measure is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, a Gaffney Republican and 1970 Clemson graduate. Eight Republican and eight Democratic senators are co-sponsoring the bill, including Democrat Vince Sheheen, a former gubernatorial candidate and 1993 Clemson graduate.

Sen. Larry Martin, a Pickens Republican, wonders if there is enough time left for passage in the final two months of the session.

“I get the sense that the university would like to get it passed this session,” said Martin, whose three children have attended Clemson.

Kirk Brown contributed to this report.