The search for LSU’s next athletic director moved forward Friday when the 14-person search committee convened for the first time. The committee adopted a Code of Ethics and discussed ideal qualifications for the candidate to replace Skip Bertman, who will step down in June after serving as athletic director since 2001. Parker Executive Search representatives Dan Parker and Laurie Wilder were on hand to field any questions about the timetable, finances and ideal candidate qualifications. The University paid the Atlanta-based search firm $75,000 to assist in developing a candidate list. Parker, who has represented about 20 universities in athletic director searches, said the firm will avoid conflicts of interest by not representing any other universities searching for athletic directors. “This is the premier director of athletics search in America,” Parker said. LSU System President John Lombardi, ex-officio member of the committee, classified the search as a “critical appointment.” “This person will have an extraordinary impact on the perception of the University,” Lombardi said. The committee is scheduled to recommend its selection to the chancellor by the end of March. Since Chancellor Sean O’Keefe announced his resignation Wednesday, he did not attend Friday’s meeting and will not be active in the process. William Jenkins, future interim chancellor, attended the meeting in O’Keefe’s behalf but said he would not be active in any deliberations. Lombardi told The Daily Reveille he plans to work with Jenkins in receiving the committee’s recommendation at the end of March. Then, Lombardi will seek the Board of Supervisors’ approval. “In this case, I will stay pretty close to the search and try to be as helpful and supportive as I can,” Lombardi said. Jack Weiss, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center chancellor, serves as the committee’s chairperson. Weiss sparked some lively discussion when he read a passage from “Intercollegiate Athletics and the American University,” a book by former University of Michigan President James Duderstadt. The passage focused on the challenges of hiring an athletic director who has “worn a whistle around his neck.” Weiss said the passage was not meant to refer to Bertman, who served as LSU’s baseball coach for 18 years prior to becoming athletic director. “It was just an interesting point of view that I wanted to share,” Weiss said after the meeting. Committee member and former LSU basketball player Collis Temple Jr. then asked Parker how many coaches he had facilitated in hiring. Parker said he had never helped hire a coach as an athletic director. Weiss concluded the meeting when he appointed a sub-committee to list criteria for an ideal candidate. Weiss said sub-committee members should circulate the list of qualities to other committee members by Friday.
—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]