CHE president and executive director announces retirement

COLUMBIA –The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education announced today that CHE President and Executive Director Rusty Monhollon, Ph.D., will retire in March.

Monhollon has led the CHE since 2019 – he was instrumental in bringing stability to the organization after several years of short-term interim agency leadership and fostered many positive changes in South Carolina’s higher education landscape.

Monhollon expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people of South Carolina.

“We’ve accomplished much over the past four and one-half years, and there’s much left to be done,” Monhollon said in a letter to CHE staff on Jan. 10. “It has been the great joy of my professional career to work with you and lead this agency. I have so much respect and admiration for the work you do and for your dedication to improving the lives of students in South Carolina.”

Under his leadership, the CHE has had numerous significant achievements tostrengthen higher education in the state. These include:

• Development of the Ascend 60×30strategic plan.
• Leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Convenings with strategic institutional leaders across the state through the Council of Presidents, Council of Board Chairs and Trustees training.
• Formation of a statewide Transfer Task Force, which led to the publication of a Transfer Action Plan which is now the blueprint for improving transfer in the state.
• Ensuring full institutional compliance with the REACH Act.
• The first “College and Career Decision Day”, which is now an annual event that celebrates more than 1,000 high school seniors each May at the State House.
• South Carolina’s inclusion in the Complete College America (CCA) Alliance of States.
• Successful implementation of the SC Bold Nursing Initiative.

“Dr. Monhollon’s retirement from the CHE is a huge loss for higher education in South Carolina. He has done an outstanding job in restoring confidence in the agency. Perhaps his greatest achievement is getting our institutions—public and private—to engage with one another for the greater good. Our work will continue but we will miss his leadership,” CHE Board of Commissioners Chair Wes Hayes said. 

“I know there’s more to do and more I want to do, but I think it’s the right time,” Monhollon said. “This is the best job I’ve ever had and has been the culmination of my professional career.”

FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT
Media Inquiries:
Mark Swart, Strategic Communications Manager
SC Commission on Higher Education 
(803) 856-0363 or mswart@che.sc.gov

ABOUT THE CHE

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE), established in 1967, serves as the coordinating board for South Carolina’s 33 public institutions of higher learning. It acts both as an oversight agency on behalf of the General Assembly and as an advocate for higher education. The CHE is responsible for assuring a balance between student and taxpayer interests and institutional policies, aspirations, and needs. The CHE is committed to access, affordability, and quality in the state system of higher education through coordination, regulation, advocacy, and oversight, as directed by the General Assembly.