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The president of the University of South Carolina, Robert Caslen, has resigned after admitting he plagiarised part of a speech by a prominent US military leader during a commencement weekend speech.
“Trust is the most important ingredient of effective leadership, and when it is lost, it is nearly impossible to lead,” Mr Caslen, a former superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, said in announcing his decision.
Mr Caslen, the president at South Carolina since August 2019, said he would leave office immediately, after a few days of trying to quell a growing uproar with an initial apology and an offer to resign that the university’s governing board first refused to accept.
The university s president, Robert Caslen, delivered a speech so bungled with the wrong school name and closing remarks lifted nearly word-for-word from another famous commencement address that it prompted widespread criticism from social media users to state legislators in South Carolina.
Now, less than a week later, Caslen has resigned. I am truly sorry, said Caslen, a retired Army lieutenant general, in a statement announcing his resignation. I was searching for words about resilience in adversity and when they were transcribed into the speech, I failed to ensure its attribution. I take full responsibility for this oversight.
Criticism of Caslen s address, which was delivered Friday night, began immediately after he called students the newest alumni from the University of California to shocked laughter from the crowd.
U of South Carolina President Resigns
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“Trust is the most important ingredient of effective leadership, and when it is lost, it is nearly impossible to lead. I believe that is the case right now between the University of South Carolina and its president. Therefore, I have submitted my resignation to the Board of Trustees this evening, May 12, and they have accepted it,” Caslen said in an email. “I am sorry to those I have let down. I understand the responsibilities and higher standards of senior level leadership. When those are not met, trust is lost. And when trust is lost, one is unable to lead.”
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, pictured in 2014 when he was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. On Wednesday he resigned as president of the University of South Carolina.
Seniors at the University of South Carolina had already dealt with one disaster the pandemic when they took their socially distanced seats at the school s commencement ceremony last weekend.
Then came another train wreck.
The university s president, Robert Caslen, delivered a speech so bungled with the wrong school name and closing remarks lifted nearly word-for-word from another famous commencement address that it prompted widespread criticism from social media users to state legislators in South Carolina.
University Of South Carolina President Resigns After Plagiarizing Part Of Speech
By Becky Sullivan
May 13, 2021
Seniors at the University of South Carolina had already dealt with one disaster the pandemic when they took their socially distanced seats at the school’s commencement ceremony last weekend.
Then came another train wreck.
The university’s president, Robert Caslen, delivered a speech so bungled with the wrong school name and closing remarks lifted nearly word-for-word from another famous commencement address that it prompted widespread criticism from social media users to state legislators in South Carolina.
Now, less than a week later, Caslen has resigned.