Our University’s president’s job description covers all the typical bullet points. They’re supposed to attend meetings, delegate responsibilities and act as the final judge for all University-related conflicts.
On top of that, though, they’re in charge of our fiscal well-being.
LSU President F. King Alexander is basically our rich, somewhat detached divorcee of a father, and now he’s put child support for the University at the forefront of everyone’s mind by planning LSU Day — a University-specific fundraising event in Washington, D.C.
Thank goodness, because we’re sitting on 15 years of capital outlay budgeting for our crumbling buildings, a lack of decent raises for professors and record numbers of students applying yearly.
So we’ve got more students, and less funding and a president trying to fix that with a strategy that’s helped before. I don’t see a problem, but there’s been some backlash to the idea of Alexander spending time out of state.
For example, he’s in Washington today, attending a White House summit on more affordable higher education along with 100 other university presidents. This could help with an exchange of ideas, but shouldn’t a president be present for the first few days of a semester at his new school?
Being away for events deemed more important than being on campus could lessen his accountability.
It might lead to a lack of knowledge about the University goings-on, and could set a dangerous precedent for Alexander to just be a figurehead who parades around for photo opportunities.
Sound familiar?
We have reason to be alarmed, because Gov. Bobby Jindal gives us daily headaches with his out-of-touch policymaking and official statements about trivial issues like A&E’s personnel decisions.
Jindal has already announced a trip to Japan, kicking off the year in similar fashion to 2013, when he spent most of his time out of state, marketing himself for a national position.
We’ll find out how Alexander can differentiate himself from Jindal next Friday, Jan. 24, when Jindal announces the state’s new budget and how that affects the University. Alexander’s response to Jindal will be telling.
Alexander could fall into the rut of Louisiana higher-ups and end up coercing and stealing money, following in the grand tradition of his political forefathers.
But I’ve got hope for him. For one, he had the audacity to eliminate much of the University’s bureaucracy, and he agreed to come here even though we’re not doing well financially.
At the very least, he’s trying in our state’s hostile academic environment.
As long as he doesn’t try to spin budget cuts as a positive, I think Alexander’s public relations plays and the best interests of the University are on a similar page.
But let’s hold off on too much judgment.
Megan Dunbar is a 20-year-old English senior from Greenville, S.C.