William “Bill” Jenkins, University interim system president and chancellor, addressed faculty concerns about the restructuring of the LSU System on Thursday on the University’s campus, telling professors and deans his first priority was listening to them.
Student Government President Taylor Cox asked Jenkins whether students would have input in the LSU System reorganization, and Jenkins assured him the advisory board would assemble a student team.
“Nobody recognizes a University’s greatness because of the provost or faculty; it’s always the students,” Jenkins said.
Dean of Students K.C. White seconded this opinion, and added that faculty needs to stay committed to student success despite low resources.
Some faculty members expressed their discontent with the consolidation process, saying the University needs to make sure to stay in touch with faculty. The hiring process for the new CEO of the system includes requiring academic accomplishment, and the University has resources to implement whatever they put into place.
Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope called the movements of the Board of Supervisors, who conducted the recent vote to bring the position of chancellor and LSU system president into one, “capricious,” and expressed concern about a lack of transparency.
Jenkins assured the mostly faculty crowd of all boards’ commitment to community input, and paraphrased Benjamin Franklin at the end of the meeting, saying, “If we do not hang together, we will hang separately.”
The realignment will have its main points in place in six months and should be completed in 18 months, Jenkins estimated.
He addressed the potential cost of reorganization, saying the benefits will “not be in the tens of millions…but will be substantial.”
He also said it is his dream for the University to be the premier research university in the southern region, and believes the future holds many mergers for the 14 four-year colleges in the state.
These reorganizations, and others across the nation, could possibly be modeled on the University’s example as it moves into the future, Jenkins said.
Before giving their input, attendees received bullet points summarizing the planned changes.
The main ideas are: single accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools across LSU System campuses, common course numbering, faculty research, the elimination of unnecessary administrative positions and to do so “as expeditiously as prudently possible.”
Jenkins said he plans to stay at the University until the key components of restructuring are in place.
LSU Interim System President and Interim Chancellor William Jenkins hosted a town hall discussion Thursday, Nov. 29, in the Bo Campbell Auditorium, Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes, on the reorganization and realignment of the LSU System.
