Silence. It comes after “the big man on campus” causes the room to fill with laughter with his academic humor. Dressed in everything from suits to jeans and casual wear, students wait for the next word from LSU System President John Lombardi whose uniform – a suit and tie – demands the power and respect many of the students have for him. Presidential duties aside, Lombardi has one goal in mind every Monday evening – impart knowledge. Once Lombardi starts the lecture, the students stop talking and turn their focus on him. More than 20 students attend a lecture each week about managing universities. This is material Lombardi exemplifies in his job as president. As System president, Lombardi devotes much of his time to administrative affairs, so he can only spend so much time instructing. Lombardi’s class, ELRC 7890, is a graduate-level course and is one of the few things he can do outside his busy schedule as president. The course illustrates how a research university functions and manages to be competitive.
“The course is a graduate course for students who are in higher education and administration for the most part,” Lombardi said in an interview with The Daily Reveille on Jan. 18. Willis Brewer, financial analyst at the LSU System office, is one of the University employees enrolled in the course. He said he is excited about the course and is impressed with Lombardi’s years of experience in teaching a course like this. “He is a very good teacher,” Brewer said. “He tells you a lot of things the way it is.” Lombardi said he has always continued to teach while serving as a top administrator. “I offered to the education school that I would teach this course that I have been developing over so many years,” he said. The course meets once a week on Mondays for two hours. The third “hour” of the course comes from class participation through e-mail responses to the numerous readings the course requires. The e-mail participation consists of a minimum of three responses per week with the course syllabus stating “more postings are better than fewer.” Lombardi said he tries to talk about everything involving managing a university, including university structure, finances, values and student interests. Although he serves as the president of the System, Lombardi said the course is not aimed to be about current events or his job. “When you do this course and you’re me, you have to be careful that the course is not a substitute for the work of the University,” he said. Lombardi calls it a “general” course in managing universities. “This isn’t a course about LSU … it’s about how all universities work,” Lombardi said. Steven Latuso, executive director of Louisiana High School Rally Association, said Lombardi encourages student participation in class discussions and e-mails. Although the course requires extensive participation, Latuso said he is impressed with Lombardi’s attention to the course and his attention to communication. Latuso said he is also particularly impressed with Lombardi’s performance as an instructor. “He’s very outspoken and opinionated,” Latuso said. “He’s tenured; he can say what he wants.” Blake Winchell, enrollment advisor, said he enjoys having such an experienced person teaching the course. “He is obviously the most experienced professor I’ve had at the University,” Winchell said. “Everybody has a lot of respect for a guy with that experience.” Winchell also said he is surprised with how much time Lombardi dedicates to the class and discussion considering his other obligations to the University.” “Doesn’t he have more important things to do?” Winchell said. Lombardi’s syllabus reminds students that he has other responsibilities and may need reschedule or cancel class. Lombardi further urges students who cannot “adapt to such changes in the course schedule” should not take the class. For a man who knows all about managing a flagship university, the syllabus speaks volumes.
—-Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected]