President Joe Biden tapped LSU Ourso College of Business Dean Jared Llorens to join an advisory council that makes recommendations for federal employee pay.
The White House announced Llorens’ appointment to the Federal Salary Council on Thursday. Llorens will be one of three experts joining the committee, which is made up of three policy experts and six labor representatives.
“It’s rare for academics to get to apply their expertise sometimes in these types of environments,” Llorens said. “I’m super excited about the opportunity.”
Llorens, a Baton Rouge native, has been at LSU since 2009, where he has served as dean of the business school since November 2020. Llorens, who holds a doctorate in public administration, specializes in public sector compensation and has published research on salary and recruitment.
“I consider myself that hybrid academic where I’m interested in policy, but I’m also interested in how that impacts business development, economic development and public performance,” Llorens said.
The Federal Salary Council is an advisory committee that makes annual recommendations on federal pay differentials to the U.S. Department of Labor, White House Office of Management and Budget and the White House Office of Personnel Management.
“The goal each year is to create a system that allows you to recruit the best and the brightest and retain the best and the brightest,” Llorens said.
Llorens said he suspected he got on the radar for the appointment because he has done work with the Council in the past.
Llorens is not the only Louisiana native joining the Council. Stephen Emerson Condrey, a Thibodaux native and University of Louisiana at Monroe alumnus, has been appointed to chair the council. Condrey formerly served as the chair of the council during the Obama administration.
“I think the state produces some exceptional talent,” Llorens said. “There are a lot of great people that have come before me. I’m just excited for the opportunity to represent LSU and the state on the council.”
Llorens and Condrey, who have co-authored a number of academic papers, are the latest in a string of Louisiana natives to nab jobs in the Biden Administration.
There are many Louisianians in high profile jobs, like Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Llorens pointed out that one of the most critical roles in the executive branch, the Director of the Office of Budget and Management, Shalanda Young, is also from Louisiana.
“We have a lot of people doing well in both the [jobs] that are high profile positions, but also in the ones that don’t get as much attention,” Llorens said.
Llorens is still waiting on instructions from the administration but is excited to get started with the work. Llorens said he would likely be expected to meet in Washington, D.C. a few times a year.
“When a new administration comes on board, these types of positions are less visible, but really critical to moving the machinery of government forward,” Llorens said. “So, I think there’s definitely a desire to move quickly.”