Press Releases
State Housing Authority Announces New Executive Director - 10/25/2004
Eugene A. Laurent has been appointed by the Board of Commissioners of the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority as the agency’s executive director, according to Board Chairman Charles Small of Columbia. Laurent, a Bartow, Florida native, has a distinguished background in government service and economics. He begins his tenure with the Authority on November 1, 2004.
“We have found an excellent leader in Andy Laurent,” Charles Small said. “He has the experience and characteristics the Board identified as priorities for the position and I am confident he will uphold the high standard set by the Authority as one of the leading housing finance agencies in the country.” The executive director reports directly to the nine-member Board of Commissioners, which is comprised of the Governor and the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, or their designees, and seven members with housing and/or finance experience appointed by the Governor.
Andy Laurent’s South Carolina government service includes leadership positions with the Department of Health and Human Services and the state’s Budget and Control Board. He served the state of Florida at the helm of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service as well as the Department of Citrus. His economics background includes serving as a member of South Carolina’s Board of Economic Advisors as well as several prominent private sector appointments.
Dr. Laurent earned his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Georgia, received a Master’s from the University of Nebraska, and his Ph.D. at Clemson. He is a published writer and has taught at Clemson, Georgia Tech, USC, and Florida Southern. His interests are as varied as the Audubon Society and Little League coaching and he is the recipient of many honors and awards, the most recent being the prestigious “Hammer Award” from the National Committee for Reinventing Government. He and his wife have two grown children and will reside in Columbia.
The South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority is a self-supporting agency of state government and operates at no cost to the taxpayers of South Carolina. Last year the agency financed over 4,000 affordable homes and apartments in the state – an investment of more than $282 million for South Carolina’s economy. For more information on the Authority and its programs, visit the agency’s website: www.schousing.com.
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