The Board of Supervisors is making student enrollment a priority as it outlined recruitment plans in terms of current enrollment at its meeting on Friday.
LSU President F. King Alexander said in August the number of students enrolled is critical because of the revenues brought to the University by their tuition. Out-of-state student enrollment is an even bigger priority for the University, as those students bring larger revenues.
Official enrollment numbers will be released today as a part of the 14th Day Enrollment Statistics compiled at the start of every semester. At the meeting, Alexander said enrollment was up at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where enrollment has decreased over the last several years.
Student retention and enrollment are aligned, Alexander said, adding it’s easiest to recruit students at the University.
The Board of Supervisors met for the first time under its new chairwoman, Ann Duplessis. Duplessis replaced former chairman Bobby Yarborough. She formerly served as the Louisiana State Senator for District 2.
She was sworn in Friday along with new Chariman-elect Raymond Lasseigne, who will take over after Duplessis’ term ends.
“I’m very honored to have been selected by this great group of men,” Duplessis said.
She is the only female member of the board, which is made up of 15 appointees of Gov. Bobby Jindal and one student member.
Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim McCrery was sworn in Friday as the newest member of the Board of Supervisors. McCrery, an alumnus of the Law Center, said he has always been a fan of LSU and is honored to be a board member.
“I told several of my former [colleagues] back in Washington I was back in politics,” McCrery said jokingly.
McCrery left Congress in 2009 after serving for more than two decades.
The board approved the operating budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year and the extension of Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva’s contract.
Alleva’s contract was extended for an additional 3 years, and he makes $725,000 a year, according to the NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
Alleva spent 30 years at Duke University before coming to Louisiana. He said he plans to stay at the University until retirement.
LSU System researchers also received help from the Board to turn their research into reality.
The Board received a report on the Leveraging Innovation For Technology Transfer Fund from its Academic and Student Affairs, Achievement and Distinction Committee.
The LIFT Fund gives researchers small grants to help innovative ideas developed at institutions in the LSU System enter the marketplace, where they can turn a profit and be used by the public.
Stephen Perry, chairman of the committee, said the LSU System took a dysfunctional program and made it work. Since LIFT’s start, the program has received 15 grants.
Perry said the fund keeps the board from having to approve every license before things enter the workplace.