System officials said they expect to announce this week the members of the search committee that will recommend a candidate to be hired as chancellor. Charles Zewe, LSU System vice president for communications and external affairs, said the System is finalizing the list of members to serve on the committee. He said they are in the process of confirming the availability and willingness of people System President John Lombardi has asked to be on the committee. During a Jan. 16 news conference discussing former Chancellor Sean O’Keefe’s resignation, Lombardi said he hopes to talk with a finalized list of chancellor candidates by the end of the semester and complete the transition to a new chancellor in time for the beginning of the fall semester. O’Keefe relinquished his administrative duties Feb. 1 to Acting Chancellor William Jenkins. Jenkins is also serving as System president emeritus and has previously served as both chancellor and provost of the University. “There is no simple profile [of an ideal candidate for chancellor], except that it’s a profile of accomplishment in complex environments where there is a high level on competition of resources, and there is that intense focus on quality,” Lombardi said during the conference. On Jan. 18, Lombardi told The Daily Reveille the search committee will consist of around 20 individuals nominated by their respective University constituents including alumni, donors, friends, faculty, staff and students. Lombardi said the search committee will review candidates identified by a national search consulting firm and make a recommendation to him. He said he will then make a recommendation to the Board, which will have to approve Lombardi’s nomination and the chancellor’s contract. Former University Chancellor James Wharton, currently a chemistry professor, was hired as chancellor in 1981 through an open-search process and served in the position until 1988. “They’re gearing up to do a big search – all outstanding people,” Wharton told The Daily Reveille on Feb. 20. “This isn’t a rubber stamp operation.” Wharton said when he applied for the position, the list was narrowed to five candidates, including the University of Arizona’s provost, the University of Hawaii’s president and two other LSU candidates. He said the five applicants each gave one-hour presentations in Williams Hall and answered questions from the students and faculty. He said the committee and Board interviewed each candidate as well. The open process that selected Wharton as chancellor was also used in the process of hiring William Davis, who served as chancellor from July 1989 until November 1996. The process has since changed to involve a private search firm. “There is a theory that people who have good jobs won’t apply because it might damage them in their job,” Wharton said of private search firms, which allow candidates to apply for the job unseen by the public eye. O’Keefe was hired in 2005 through a process involving a private search committee, as was Chancellor Mark Emmert who served from April 1999 until June 2004. Wharton said a chancellor has the time and effort to improve only some areas of a large university. He said a candidate’s familiarity with the state can be a benefit as chancellor. “They have to have a thick skin,” Wharton told The Daily Reveille. “You’ll get criticism and lots of it. If you know Louisiana, that’s a big help. If you give a speech in New Orleans and then give [the same] one in Monroe, you could be in big trouble.” The University’s first chancellor, Cecil Taylor, assumed the position in February 1965 after being promoted from being the dean of the College of Arts and Science. In the past, the University has promoted the provost to chancellor. This was the case for William Jenkins, who served as chancellor from November 1996 until becoming System president in 1999, and Paul Murrill, who held the position of chancellor from 1974 to 1981.
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]