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My local, regional and national supporters understand and accept my condition to seek the seat as a worthy candidate whose agenda is to seek the optimum for higher education in South Carolina in general and South Carolina State University in particular.
Q. Thank you.
MR. ALLEN: Mr. Inabinett, may I address your prior question about the guns?
REPRESENTATIVE INABINETT: Thank you.
MR. ALLEN: That is a -- that is a situation I hope does not come to pass. I cannot visualize our society as a place where -- wherever people went everybody was armed. I'm just not comfortable with that, and I would hope the wisdom of the legislature, of the state legislature would prevail upon all of us to such a degree that we -- we would get a wave of -- just don't allow it happen. I think all of us would be quite uncomfortable if that happened on any campus. I for one would be.
REPRESENTATIVE INABINETT: Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, sir. Next we go to Seat 6, Edwin Givens. Mr. Givens, raise your left hand, please. Might the record show that his right arm is apparently broken and in a sling.
EDWIN GIVENS, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
MR. GIVENS - EXAMINATION BY THE CHAIRMAN:
Q. Mr. Givens, do you have any health related problems that the screening committee should be made aware that would prevent you from serving on the board in your full capacity?
A. No, I don't.
Q. Considering your present occupation and other activities, would you be able to attend board meetings on a regular basis?
A. Yes, I would.
Q. Do you have any interest professionally or personally that present a conflict of interest because of your service on the board?
A. No, I don't.

Now, on another note, South Carolina State's mission is to create successful citizens in their chosen careers and through their chosen aspirations and to contribute to the dynamics of society and the community is a very important mission for South Carolina State, and I feel that this is more important than a student actually graduating in four years. Creating a productive citizen who can come out and contribute to society instead of take away from society, I think is very important.

But I -- on the other hand, graduating in four years and as fast as possible is a mission that I would definitely take on.
Q. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Senator Giese.
EXAMINATION BY SENATOR GIESE:
Q. Mr. Givens, you're a four-year graduate according to your vita here?
A. Yes.
Q. And then you finished the law school obviously in three years. So, tell me how much did you have to work? Did you work your way through school, and if you did work your way through school, how many hours a week did you, or were you fortunate enough to be able just go to school?
A. Well, as an undergrad at South Carolina State, I was fortunate to go through school. When I went to school law, my parents basically told me

So I would not be in favor of a first year freshman being made to work. I think they need to get really familiar with the new academic setting and the different environment that they're in.
Q. I think without question the fact that some youngsters spend too much time working. I spent 40 years in higher education and the single greatest reason why I found children flunk or students flunking out was that they had spent too much time working and not enough time on their academics. So I guess that's a delicate balance that they have to realize that they're there to get an education and work themselves out of school by some outside job is really economy.
A. Right.
THE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Inabinett.
EXAMINATION BY REPRESENTATIVE INABINETT:
Q. Yes. I'm really enthused over the idea of a tutorial work study program. I had not heard that addressed. How would you address funding for the institution?
A. Well, funding is an area that we have to handle with -- with precision. I understand 1993-94 fiscal budget that was that -- was handed down from the General Assembly was about $18,640,000 and in 1994-95 that was decreased about $324,000. And this year, I understand that there's probably going to be about a two and a half percent decrease also.

So, as far as funding, I would recommend that we tap more sources as far as private contributions, businesses, endowments and grants. South Carolina State has already taken part in those avenues that are available to them, but I believe that we can actually expand in these areas and bring more funding into the school.
Q. Thank you.
SENATOR GIESE: Mr. Chairman, one more.
THE CHAIRMAN: Senator Giese.
RE-EXAMINATION BY SENATOR GIESE:

I feel that South Carolina State has opened doors to me and given me the opportunity to be successful in life and to become a layer, and I would just like to give back some to South Carolina State what was given to me. I would like to share back some of the experiences that I've had and some of the goals I've been able to achieve by serving on the Board of Trustees. I can't think of any other position that I hold that I would feel more comfortable with and more enthused with as far as South Carolina State than to contribute back to the university's Board of Trustees.

As far as affirmative action at South Carolina State, South Carolina State was started back 1896 I believe as a land grant institution primarily to serve African-American citizens of South Carolina, when it was known as South Carolina Agriculture and Mechanical College at that point. Since then South Carolina State has grown to be multicultural. They've grown to be somewhat diverse. The education programs are set up, I understand some doctoral programs were taken from the University of South Carolina to attract more -- more people of other races and cultures to South Carolina State College. So I am in strong support of affirmative action and creating a multicultural, multiracial environment in South Carolina State College.
Q. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, sir. Next we have Doctor Thomas Wilson. Doctor Wilson, raise your right hand, please.
DOCTOR THOMAS WILSON, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:

Hampton has a slot with 3,000 freshmen. Hampton recruit 9,000 freshmen and they get the best 300 -- or best 3,000 from that 9,000 and because of that, 93 percent of Hampton's students graduate. And I would recommend that we follow this same trend. The top students are out there and students who are concerned are out there. We must go out and get those students.
Q. And you would also support the advisors being truly interested in the students and assisting the students who are there in terms of courses to be taken and advice on just generally how to adapt to college life?
A. I think it should be a close relationship with the department deans and the students. I think department heads should meet with their department graduates or department majors, during the course of several times per year to find out where the students are and where you're going, are you

Too often sometimes our department heads just let the student go through and time to graduate, you know, I need some more hours or I failed a course. I think we should stay in touch with our graduates.
Q. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Any other questions.
REPRESENTATIVE INABINETT: Yes. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Representative Inabinett.
EXAMINATION BY REPRESENTATIVE INABINETT:
Q. Doctor Wilson, can you tell us since you've been on the Board of Trustees for a year or two your involvement as it relates to funding for the institution and what you would do in the future as it relates to proposed cuts in higher education?
A. I thank you, Mr. Inabinett. In regard to cuts, we may not have too much control over that. What I'm going to do, I'm going to compensate for those cuts. Now, here where the problem comes in, where are you going to get the funds from? I happen to be a professional fund raiser.

I raised funds for a college, a private college for 12 years, and the budget had to come from what I do. I have experience in that. I've done that. I've knocked on foundation doors. I've knocked on corporation doors. And those doors are still open, but I have no college to go there for since I retired.

I sat in Senator Thurmond's office with a proposal and received grants for 75 and 80 and a hundred thousand dollars because we have a mission, and this mission was sold. We have a good product. When you have a good product, you got to sell your good product to someone who is going to back that product and I -- this is one of the recommendation, you know, I would suggest.

I also would like to be the first person to start a board members check writing contest. You see, if I'm going to sit on a board, you know, I'm going to put mine on the table first, and then I can say, "Members, let's join the force."
Q. I guess my question was what have you done in the past for South Carolina State as it relates to fund raising. I didn't -- maybe you answered that question and I didn't hear you.
A. What I've done in the past, I may have one of my little brochures here. I was the executive secretary for South Carolina State National Alumni Association. First, we set up goals. Goal number one, we're going to endow a scholarship for Doctor M. -- we presented him $50,000 to endow this scholarship here where we get a more top students.

All students may have a different reason why they drop out or fall back.
Q. But if you go after the top students and raise the standard, you're just going to eliminate three, four, five hundred students. What are you -- would you really be willing to do that and to put them into the vocational school, maybe where they need to go anyway? Would you really be willing to do that?
A. This would be what we call an initiation progress -- process. We start this process. In other words, we take the students from both areas, but we work toward getting our top caliber students. Not that we're going to turn all the other students down.
Q. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Any other questions?
SENATOR GLOVER: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Senator Glover.
EXAMINATION BY SENATOR GLOVER:
Q. Doctor Wilson, I think you've already addressed my first question which is why you want to serve on the board, so we'll go to the second one and tell me how important are the affirmative action goals of the university to you.

Reason number two, in my experience of fund raising, I'd like to rechallenge this fund raising idea back to the college, and being a philanthropist, I'd like to give some scholarships and open some new doors and some new funding program to the college.

And number three, one of my primary volunteer jobs is recruiting. I go all over the Pee Dee area high schools and I say, "Give me the list of your top 20 or 25 students." I send those name and addresses down to Miss Freed to the admissions office. Ninety percent of those students are being accepted, and I want to continue doing this.

Now, if I was on the board, I could work with board members and with the alumni to continue recruiting top students. And those are three reasons why I like to serve on the board.
Q. Thank you.
A. Now, as far as affirmative action being on South Carolina State College for about six years, I've only seen fairness. They practice fairness. Everybody has the same opportunity, the same chance, and I think we have a very good, diversified administration, faculty and staff and students there.

However, listening to the questions from one of the senators concerning how would you attract white students to come to the university, you may have to set up some kind of special program, offer more scholarships, let it be open to everybody, and I think if we further this trend, we will attract more students from all aspects to the university.
Q. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Any other questions? Thank you, sir.
A. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Let's see, next we go to the Citadel. Colonel Stephen D. Peper.

One of the reasons for our success I think, and it's really not fair in one aspect to compare because we do have a captive audience where a lot of the undergraduate programs do not, and our cadets are not allowed a work outside of the school. They can certainly do like I did and deliver papers and work in work study programs and things of that nature, but we are not -- you can't get off campus to go to work at someone's insurance agency in the afternoon.
Q. Does the Citadel sort of have a very good advisor program where they work with the students?
A. Our advisor program is not a volunteer program and oftentimes it's difficult to attract faculty to come there for that reason. But we -- we require our faculty members to be assigned a pool of students and they recommend them through the criteria and the curriculum on that. And we don't want mistakes on Monday morning the day after graduation and

And not only do we have that for students, we have academic advisors who are then assigned to each company in the battalion, and so they are familiar with each company's academic officer. And, of course, we also have a required evening study period from 7:00 o'clock until 10:30 where you have to be accounted for somewhere. You can sign out and go to the library. You can sign out to go to one of the study halls. But you're only allowed to go out in town if you've received special privileges based upon academic performance in the previous semester.
Q. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Any other questions? Senator Giese.
SENATOR GIESE: Mr. Chairman.
EXAMINATION BY SENATOR GIESE:
Q. Is there anything in your recent record that would indicate you've had any problems with the law?
A. With the law? No, sir. Not at all.
Q. Any kind of judgments or -- I can't be more specific than that, but --
THE CHAIRMAN: That'd be civil.
Q. Civil. Any kind of -- anything that has to do with the criminal code? I'm not a lawyer, so I can't -- any arrests or appearances before a court?
A. On the criminal side, sir?
Q. With a criminal --
A. Of course not, no, sir. Not at all. Now, if you'd like me to explain what you might be referring to.
Q. Please.
A. About two years ago, I was inaccurately named as part of an investigation by the State's Securities office. I was not involved in that at all, and it was made very clear, and I've got copies that exonerate me totally from that. But I was no where near involved.

What happened was I referred a client to an individual. I had nothing to do with any of the thing and what happened was the -- this individual unbeknownst to me was under investigation by the Secretary of State's office, and I was offered a cease and desist in the securities transaction. I was not even active in the securities business. I had -- was fully employed with the company that I own presently, had nothing to do with it.

By the time I hired my counsel to get the thing straightened out, it was two weeks later. It cost me a couple thousand dollars, and I was totally exonerated, and I can prove that if need be.

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