Board of Supervisors members unanimously voted Wednesday at a special meeting to install F. King Alexander as the University’s next president and said they “absolutely” stood by their decision not to release other presidential finalists’ names requested by multiple parties.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Hank Danos said newly installed University president Alexander would be paid around $600,000 in a five-year contract, similar to the salaries of former LSU System President John Lombardi and Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins.
Danos would not release many details about the potential contract, although he said the Board must first approve the terms, which could happen as soon as the Board’s April meeting.
The Board held an executive session at its Wednesday meeting to discuss its next move regarding the public records requests submitted by Andrea Gallo, editor in chief of The Daily Reveille, and The Advocate. The session was scheduled under the threat a of lawsuit from Gallo, whose attorney Scott Sternberg sent LSU a letter last week asking the University to seek an attorney general’s opinion on the secretive search.
“This is the norm in 45 states,” said Presidential Search Committee Chair and Board of Supervisors member Blake Chatelain. “Either way you do it, there are going to be unanswered questions.”
Sternberg said Louisiana’s open meeting laws are the only ones relevant to this case, despite what may be the case in other states.
Withholding the records of the 34 other candidates considered for the LSU president position leaves the question of who else the Board could have hired, but if the record was made public, Chatelain said the issue would be different.
“The question is who would not have applied if the records had been made public,” Chatelain said.
Gallo said the decision to file the lawsuit would depend on the official response from LSU General Counsel Shelby McKenzie, who told the Reveille on Tuesday an official response to the parties involved would be issued Thursday following the Board’s meeting.
“Until McKenzie tells me we’re not producing these records or requesting an attorney general’s opinion, we’re operating under the assumption that that will be their answer, although we haven’t seen that answer yet,” Sternberg said. “If that’s their final answer, that’s disappointing, and we will pursue litigation.”
McKenzie was unavailable for comment.
Alexander said he wouldn’t have allowed his name to be considered by the Presidential Search Committee if he wasn’t guaranteed confidentiality.
“This is probably the fourth lawsuit like this that I’ve seen,” Alexander said. “Often times, these fizzle out, and the Board’s just been put in a very difficult situation of identifying people and bringing them in. If you bring them in, there’s the potential for them to lose their jobs.”
Alexander was recommended by the Presidential Search Committee as the sole finalist for the combined University president-chancellor position after months of searching.
Alexander, currently the president of California State University Long Beach, was present at the meeting and greeted the Board and meeting attendees immediately following the Board’s vote.
“I am pleased and humbled by your faith in me and your confidence in me, and I look forward to working with you closely to build these bonds, to build these bridges and to build LSU to its best capability possible, but also to benefit every single citizen that’s in this state, every person that lives within the state of Louisiana,” Alexander said.
Alexander will officially assume his presidential responsibilities July 1, Chatelain said.
Until then, Alexander will work closely with Jenkins to develop a greater understanding of the University’s weaknesses. From there, Alexander said he will begin building his team of administrators.
Alexander said filling empty administration positions is one his top priorities for his first days at the University.
“I don’t want to tread water,” Alexander said. “I want to begin the search processes as soon as possible and get to work.”
