By FITSNews || Solidifying its commitment to one of the costliest boondoggles in state history, the University of South Carolina on Thursday announced that it was hiring retired businessman Don Herriott to run its “Inept-o-Vista” research campus … or at least the empty buildings in downtown Columbia, S.C. that are currently posing as a research campus.
In fact Herriott, a former chemical company executive, has been hired as the school’s “economic development czar” – reporting directly to University President Harris Pastides on a wide range of so-called “job creating initiatives.”
Sheesh.
First of all, the fact that a taxpayer-funded University has an “economic development czar” is absolutely ridiculous – and a sign of just how out of control government in this state has become.
Seriously, people … don’t we already have a Department of Commerce? To say nothing of a state legislature that’s become addicted to exorbitant “economic development” incentive packages?
What the hell are our colleges doing sucking down millions of tax dollars for this purpose?
Speaking of sucking, “Inept-o-Vista” – a.k.a. Innovista – has already cost S.C. taxpayers over $150 million, with another $154 million en route from the City of Columbia, S.C. and untold millions being routed to the project in the current state budget.
The project has been an unmitigated disaster, too, failing to create anything resembling the job development and capital investment that it promised.
Also, USC reportedly paid $859,000 to the botched project’s second failed developer – a con man with a criminal record who somehow slipped through the cracks and is now walking off with a huge settlement (just like the last failed developer).
Funded with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars at the urging of S.C. Speaker Bobby Harrell, Columbia (S.C.) Mayor Bob Coble and University President Harris Pastides, Innovista was supposed to bring in millions worth of private investment and thousands of high-paying jobs to South Carolina.
The research campus was going to usher in the “hydrogen economy of the future,” we were told.
Of course, it has done precisely none of that … although these same politicians continue to pour millions of additional dollars into the project despite its abysmal track record and despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Energy announced last year that it was recommending further hydrogen fuel cell research be discontinued.
Some washed-up executive is going to turn all that failure around?
Please …
FITS is endeavoring to find out Herriott’s salary.
UPDATE: In addition to Herriott, USC is also hiring a new “Associate VP for Research” whose job will be to “create and implement a strategic plan to expand and improve the research enterprise of the University of South Carolina” in the hopes that “a proactive approach will result in the growth of university research, job creation, and economic development.”
And yes, that sucking sound is more of your tax dollars going down the toilet …
By Rebel January 28, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Yep, they hired Kresovich for the VP slot. Look, this gives Pastides more time for his civility initiative, whereby he can bash citizens opposed government health care as being paid for by special interest groups (according to him) who are exercising their right to free speech. Actually FITS, I think he’s referring to you:
“Many powerful influences, from special interest groups to extremists in the media, have helped fuel a contentious and often divisive environment. Talk radio, cable TV programming, and mainstream news programs have moved from delivering information toward argument and feature conversation whose sole interest is advancing the writer’s or broadcaster’s own agenda and whipping up the support of a political base.
Hecklers financed by special interests have disrupted town halls and forums across the country, and universities are not immune to instances of disruptive behavior, even in the classroom.”
Ok, how’s this for civility? Stay out of our business! We have every right to voice opinions and passion is part of democracy, if you knew anything about American history you’d know that. Your job Pasty is to run the university, not give Miss Manners lectures. I think he was just pissed that the Free Times exposed Innovista as the crap pile that it is. So let’s do away with investigative journalism, citizen participation in democracy and everyone just shut up and go along with the liberal agenda, is that what you want? You wanna run the national media content too? Stay out of my free speech and stay out the city’s tax coffers! Not once have I heard a peep about building anything to actually hold classes in, but they support anything that doesn’t involve academics.
By Rebel January 28, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Sorry for the double post but I’m ballistic: FITS, I hope you ride his ass on the innovista debacle all the way back to Brooklyn. It’s on you friend, because no one else is gonna do it. All I can do is pray the taxpayers of Columbia, who are facing an 11% property tax increase (!) REVOLT in the most uncivil of terms and put an end to this hubris and insanity.
By myles keogh January 28, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Pesticides and the BOT members who support this all need to be run out of town on a rail!
By stimulus January 29, 2010 at 10:20 am
Ino Shita sucks
By Soft Sigh From Hell January 30, 2010 at 7:54 am
“and is not walking off with a huge settlement (just like the last failed developer)”
Is this supposed to be “is now walking off” instead?