WARNING: LONG ARTICLE
By Ben Szobody
STAFF WRITER
bszobody@greenvillenews.com
A Greenville Technical College official who school leaders say twice referred to New Orleans evacuees in Greenville as "yard apes" has resigned, according to the school.
The college moved Wednesday to show it was an isolated incident and that it is intent on building a work force representative of the black community.
"She's not a member of this institution today," said Greenville Tech President Tom Barton. "Too much damage had been done."
Renee Holcombe, formerly an associate vice president for student services with a staff of about 40, told employees in two separate briefings last week that the school's aid for the mostly black hurricane victims staying at the Palmetto Expo Center would include sending yellow buses to pick up the "yard apes," said Barton and senior vice president Ben Dillard.
Reached at her home Wednesday, Holcombe declined to comment except to say that she was "numb and shocked."
Dillard said Wednesday that Holcombe was referring specifically to the children of evacuees, who were provided separate transportation.
The derogatory term is based on long-held stereotypes comparing blacks to monkeys and is considered "highly offensive" to blacks, said Dr. John Simpkins, associate director of the Riley Institute at Furman University. Simpkins also is an assistant professor at the Charleston School of Law and an author on race and culture in the South.
Paul Guy, president of the NAACP's local chapter, said what disturbs him most is that 15 black workers attended the meetings and none of them reported the remark to the NAACP. He said it could indicate black employees "are afraid to speak up," although he has not fully investigated the matter.
Holcombe submitted her resignation to Dillard and there was no financial settlement, Barton and Dillard said.
She had been employed at the college for 19 years.
"Renee believed in her own mind that the best thing for her and the institution was for her to separate from us," Dillard said. Barton said there was "no doubt" what she had said, and that he was prepared to take action if she did not resign.
"That's where it was headed all along," Barton said. "We're in an era now that we've never been in before. Anybody who can't adjust to that philosophy shouldn't be operating in this institution."
Greenville Tech officials pointed Wednesday to 2004 figures contained in the state Human Affairs Commission's annual report to the General Assembly that show the school ranked in the top 15 out of 77 state agencies for reflecting the diversity of the available labor pool.
One of the 25 executives and managers employed by the school, or 4 percent of the total, is a black male, according to the report. In the labor pool qualified for such positions, about 2.9 percent are black males, according to the report, meaning the school has exceeded its goal in that category.
Greenville Tech also employs one black female in a management or executive role -- also 4 percent of the total -- but since 9.4 percent of the qualified labor force is comprised of black females, the school has "underutilized" black women, the report said.
The report breaks down Greenville Tech's black employment in 12 categories -- six male and six female -- and shows the "underutilization" of blacks in two of them. Four hires would satisfy the requirements.
Guy said while the state figures are reassuring, some blacks have complained that they have fewer chances for advancement and are afraid to speak out on campus. He has not told Barton about the specific allegations, he said, but plans to meet with him this week.
Barton said an organization the size of Greenville Tech is bound to have some employees who are dissatisfied, but that if they systemically feared speaking out, "I would know it."
"I don't know it," he said.
About 25 to 30 people were in the meeting where Holcombe made her remarks, Dillard said, but not her immediate supervisor, who is Nancy Welch.
Simpkins said, "It wasn't so long ago when it would have been socially acceptable to use such language because there wouldn't have been African Americans around to hear it in the first place."
"You're speaking of them as less than human, and it goes to the basic dignity of every human being," he said. "It's unfortunate, but it's also a sign that there's still a lot of work to do in terms of race relations."
When asked why it took five days to reach a resolution, Dillard said he was notified of the remark before lunch on Friday by an associate vice president who was not at the meeting but had been told by someone who was. He said his first priority was to make sure Holcombe apologized to the people affected, which he said took place Friday afternoon and Monday.
Barton said he was informed of the matter late Friday, and on Monday the school set about gathering more information about the incident. Holcombe resigned on Tuesday, although Barton said he didn't have official confirmation until Wednesday morning. He said he considers the matter closed, and that no other employee will be disciplined.
Any time the school loses a staff member, Dillard said, it reconsiders the position to determine if it can do without. Holcombe's post was "critical" and will most likely be filled, he said.
The school has two employees at the associate vice president level who are minorities, said Helen Clarkson, director of human resources, one of whom serves on the school's leadership team.
None of its vice presidents are minorities, although Barton said it's "not because we haven't advertised everywhere."
Currently vacant is the vice president of finance position, which could be split into two vice president posts because of huge administration and facilities responsibilities that come with it, Barton said.
Part of the problem, he said, is finding someone qualified to take on a $75 million budget at the state's third-largest academic institution, behind only Clemson University and the University of South Carolina. The state sets minimum salary and educational requirements for each job, Clarkson said, and not a single minority has applied for the current vacancy.
"We've got to bring them from wherever they are," Barton said. "They might be in Alaska, I don't know where they are, don't care, but if they can come here ... and provide leadership, that's what we're looking for."
At Clemson University, one of nine executive vice presidents is black, said spokeswoman Cathy Sams.
Among all executives at the University of South Carolina -- deans, associate deans, department heads and vice presidents -- 5.51 percent are minorities, according to 2004 figures supplied by spokeswoman Margaret Lamb.
In the 2004 state ranking of its agencies, five technical schools and a handful of agencies, including the Governor's Office and the Department of Commerce, ranked ahead of Greenville Tech's 94.7 percent rate for achieving a work force that reflects the racial makeup of the qualified labor pool.
That rate is an improvement from 60.7 percent in 1986, Clarkson said.
Six state technical schools were listed below Greenville Tech in the rankings, as well as Clemson and all USC campuses.
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