Despite reports over the summer that the University would have a new leader by January, the search firm hired by the Board of Supervisors has yet to begin its quest and may not find a candidate until May.
The LSU System and the University have been without permanent leaders since the Board of Supervisors removed former System President John Lombardi from his position in April. Shortly after, former Chancellor Michael Martin announced he was leaving the University for the system presidency of the Colorado State University System. William “Bill” Jenkins has been filling the position of interim system president since May and chancellor since August.
The Board hired Dallas-based search firm R. Williams Funk & Associates on Aug. 3 to lead the presidential search, but they will not formally start the search until AGB — a consulting firm hired to analyze strengths and weaknesses of the LSU System — finishes a follow-up report.
“We are waiting to start the formal search process until the board has finished the organization study that is being conducted … by AGB,” Board member Blake Chatelain said in an email Tuesday. Chatelain was named chairman of the board’s Presidential Search Committee in July.
On Aug. 18, the Board evaluated the initial report submitted by AGB. Chatelain said he is hopeful the follow-up report will be finished by the end of October.
The process could take about six months, ending in April or May, Chatelain said.
With the final report, the Board will build its candidate profile and job description, and the search will commence.
In the initial report, AGB recommended the LSU System’s new leader have good communication skills and a proven track record of innovation and collaboration. The report also posed three future scenarios for the LSU System. Two of them include consolidating the system presidency and chancellorship.
Chatelain said merging the system president and chancellor positions was “still very much a consideration,” and said in an email, “Until a decision is made, there has been no effort to organize a chancellor search.”
Though he did not elaborate much on the candidate profile because AGB’s study has not concluded, Chatelain did say “there are strong feelings from faculty for a traditional president.”
A “traditional” president would come from a background in academia.
In August, Jenkins told The Daily Reveille a “non-traditional” background could work for a system president, but a chancellor needs to have academic experience.
In recent months, other media outlets have speculated the board will appoint Gov. Bobby Jindal’s close adviser Secretary of Economic Development Stephen Moret to the position. Jindal appointed 15 out of 16 of the supervisors, which could allow Jindal to have greater sway in future leadership decisions.
Moret dodged questions about his interest in the position in an email, saying, “I’m totally focused on doing the best job that I can for the people of Louisiana in my current role.”
His email appears to be a carbon copy of the interviews he has given other media in the past month, containing quotes used verbatim in various stories about his interest in the position.
‘We are waiting to start the formal search until the board has finished the organization study.’
