As governor of South Carolina from January 20 , 1959 , to January 15 , 1963 , Hollings worked to improve the state 's educational system , helping to bring more industry and employment opportunities to the state . His term in office saw the establishment of the state 's technical education system and its educational television network . He also called for and achieved significant increases in teachers ' salaries , bringing them closer to the regional average . At the 1961 Governor 's Conference on Business , Industry , Education and Agriculture in Columbia , South Carolina , he declared , " Today , in our complex society , education is the cornerstone upon which economic development must be built — and prosperity assured . " During Hollings ' term as governor , the Confederate battle flag was flown above the South Carolina State House underneath the U.S. and state flags . The battle flag was placed over the dome in 1962 by a concurrent resolution of the state legislature during the commemoration of the Civil War centennial . The resolution failed to designate a time for its removal . In 2000 the state legislature voted to move the flag from above the state house to a Confederate soldiers ' monument in front of the building , where it remained until 2015 , when Republican governor Nikki Haley ordered it removed following the murders of nine black churchgoers by a Confederate sympathizer in the state earlier that year
the murders of nine black churchgoers
Charleston church shooting
Fritz Hollings