COLUMBIA  (AP) -- The new chairman of the board overseeing the University of South Carolina's takes over with the Columbia school's enrollment and tuition at record highs and more than $500 million in debt from a building boom.

The State of Columbia reports that Pee Dee attorney Gene Warr was elected University of South Carolina's trustees chairman on Friday.

The 52-year-old says he worries about to keep college affordable. Warr said more than 80 percent of USC's funding came from state government when he started school on the way to a business degree in 1977. State taxpayers now provide less than 10 percent of the funding.

Barnwell attorney Miles Loadholt ended his four-year limit term as trustee chairman citing USC's building explosion and recent athletics success among the top accomplishments.

Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com