Darla Moore blasts USC after it allegedly failed to reach out after her mother died

Lucas Daprile
·2 min read

The University of South Carolina’s largest donor said she regrets donating more than $70 million to the university after the administration and board of trustees allegedly failed to reach out to her after her mother died, according to a letter obtained by The State.

“The deepest regret of my life is the effort and resources I have expended on your behalf,” Moore said.

Moore’s donations to USC founded the Darla Moore School of Business, which U.S. News & World Report ranks as No. 55 best business school in the country and the No. 1 best international business school.

Moore’s mother, Lorraine Moore, 89, died April 1 in a Florence, S.C. hospice house, according to her online obituary. Lorraine Moore was buried Saturday in the family cemetery, according to Moore’s letter.

“We express our deepest condolences to Ms. Moore, who has done much for the university through her generous philanthropy and selfless service,” USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said in a statement. “President (Robert) Caslen and the entire university community are grateful for her lasting contributions and our thoughts are with her and her family during this difficult time.”

While USC had not reached out to Moore following her mother’s death, Clemson University — who has also received millions of dollars in donations from Moore — reached out to the Moore family, the letter said.

“There is not a university in the country that would exhibit this degree of thoughtless, dismissive and graceless ignorance of the death of the parent of their largest donor,” Moore wrote. “I continue to be embarrassed and humiliated by my association with you.”

In the last decade, USC and Moore have occasionally been at odds publicly. Shortly after Nikki Haley took office as governor, Haley replaced Moore — who held a board of trustee seat — with a political donor, The State previously reported. In 2019, Moore publicly rebuked USC’s presidential search that ended with Caslen being president following revelations that S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster had forced a yes-or-no vote on the presidential search.