LSU System President John Lombardi has named a 21-member search committee and enlisted the help of a national search firm “to recommend [a] finalist” to fill the position left vacant by the resignation of former Chancellor Sean O’Keefe.
According to the press release, a pool of applicants will be narrowed to three or four finalists. These candidates will be invited to LSU for interviews and recommendations will be submitted to Lombardi who will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
Bill Funk, of R. William Funk and Associates based in Dallas will help recruit candidates for the job.
According to its Web site, Funk’s firm has conducted searches resulting in the selection of more than 65 presidents and chancellors currently sitting at universities across the nation, including the presidents of Florida State, University of Mississippi, Tulane University and the University of Arkansas System.
John Hamilton, dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication has been selected to chair the panel, according to a news release. Carolyn Hargrave, System vice president for academic affairs, is the committee’s vice chair.
“Great universities require great leaders,” Hamilton said in the statement. “Our committee is committed to helping President Lombardi recruit such a person, in the process involving all the constituencies that share our goal of excellence.”
Six Board of Supervisor members will serve as liaisons between the Board and the search committee to follow their progress and communicate with the Board. These Board members include Chairman Jerry Shea, Chairman-elect James Roy, and Board Members Alvin Kimble, Laura Leach, Hal Hinchliffe and Stanley Jacobs.
The remainder of the committee consist of “a cross-section of faculty, students and staff as well as community representatives.”
Additional members of the committee include:-Cassie Alsfeld, LSU Student Government president and member of the Board of Supervisors, who will serve as an ex-officio member;-Philip Bart, professor of geology and geophysics;-Claude Bouchard, executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center;-Carolyn Collins, associate vice chancellor and dean of the University College;-Kevin L. Cope, professor of English and Faculty Senate president;-Barry Dellinger, professor of chemistry;-Gaines Foster, chair and professor of history;-William Grimes, professor of music;-W. Douglas McMillin, professor of economics;-Dorothy Prowell, professor of entomology-Harry Roberts, professor of coastal studies;-Kelly Rusch, professor of civil and environmental engineering;-Cherie Teamer, chair-elect of the LSU Student Union board;-Donna Tores, associate vice chancellor for LSU Accounting Services;-Elaine Abell, Lafayette attorney-John Barton, Jr., Baton Rouge attorney-Guy Campbell, Monroe attorney;-G. Lee Griffin, retired Baton Rouge bank executive;-Robert Hollier, retired Opelousas oil, gas, and energy executive.
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 Systempresident 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.
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected].