With the recent speculation surrounding Chancellor Sean O’Keefe’s job security, it is still not clear who controls the fate of his employment. In an interview with The Daily Reveille in New Orleans on Jan. 4, O’Keefe said his future lies in the hands of the LSU Board of Supervisors.
“I serve at the pleasure of the Board, and I will serve as long as they like,” O’Keefe said. Although O’Keefe is on record saying that he serves at the pleasure of the Board, Board Chairman Jerry Shea wrote in an e-mail that the Board has no say in dismissing the Chancellor. “The Board has the authority to ratify the hiring of a Chancellor but the Chancellor then works for the President who has sole authority over his employment,” wrote Shea in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille on Jan. 10.
When Shea was asked about a discrepancy concerning the fate of O’Keefe’s employment, he wrote that he would consult with a lawyer about the issue. “I will have to have our attorney weigh in and I have copied him on this email. I will advise,” Shea wrote regarding whether the Board has authority over the dismissal of the Chancellor. Ray Lamonica is the general counsel to the LSU System. Upon hearing from Lamonica, Shea wrote that he could no longer speak on the issue. “I have been advised to make no further comment at this time,” Shea wrote. Lamonica said the phrase “serving at the pleasure of the Board” describes the chancellor’s term. O’Keefe’s dismissal, however, may be decided by either. Lamonica said Friday that “termination without cause is by the President or the Board,” which he said would be a simple way to describe the chancellor’s dismissal. According to O’Keefe’s contract, offered Jan. 20, 2005 by then-President William L. Jenkins and signed by O’Keefe Jan. 31, his term as chancellor will continue at the pleasure of both the President and Board. The contract reads as follows: “Term: Your appointment as Chancellor will begin as soon as you are available after February 1, 2005, and will continue at the pleasure of the President of the LSU System and the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College (LSU System).” Shea wrote that he may not be at the Jan. 17 Board meeting due to an infection. “I hope to be well enough for the meeting,” he wrote. In the event that Shea can not make the meeting, Chairman-Elect James P. Roy would serve as chairman at the meeting. The LSU System Board of Supervisors Bylaws and Regulations reads: “Should a vacancy occur in the office of Chairman, the Chairman-Elect will assume the position of Chairman.”
—–Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected].