College of Charleston's next president is politician with Confederate sympathies; faculty and students aren't happy

Trustees at the College of Charleston are facing heat from faculty and students for picking South Carolina’s lieutenant governor as the college’s next president. In the process, critics say, the trustees brushed aside warnings that Lieutenant Governor Glenn McConnell’s promotion of Confederate history could damage Charleston’s reputation and turn away prospective students and donors.

In picking McConnell, the public liberal arts college’s trustees reportedly ignored its own search committee, which did not recommend the politician -- who has never worked in higher education -- for president.

Backlash has been swift. Students rallied against McConnell’s selection Monday in the largest campus protest in recent memory. "This is 2014 NOT 1814," one sign read. On Tuesday, the student government voted no confidence in the college's trustees.