LSU System President John Lombardi told the Faculty Senate on Tuesday that he wants to focus on raising enrollment numbers. Lombardi said, after much research, he has determined the University is ranked about 80 among the top 160 universities. He said one of the main obstacles preventing the University from reaching the level of top public universities is its size. “Small ain’t beautiful,” Lombardi said about enrollment, which is currently about 30,000 undergraduates. He said top-ranked universities often do “more than they have the capacity to do.” He related the size of universities to demand and the amount of money given to supply. “The number of kids force the world to pay you for more faculty,” Lombardi said. “You have to do things that force people to respond.” He said one way to boost enrollment was to focus on recruiting. Lombardi said the University had not focused on recruiting in recent years but “more and more universities have discovered that they too have to get into the recruitment business.” Faculty Senate President and English professor Kevin Cope, addressing the senate, expressed concern that rising credentials discourage “B+ students” from applying to the University. “We have to be careful how we define the very best,” Cope said. “Often times a student who excels in a small world public high school somewhere has overcome formidable obstacles and may not have the same level of credentials or the same index on an evaluation scale but nevertheless may be somebody who is resourceful and who has potential.” He said applicants who do not meet the criteria should not be discouraged because many applications are reviewed. “It’s a misconception that LSU simply has one formula by which to admit everybody,” Cope said. Interim Chancellor William Jenkins spoke about his agenda during his upcoming months as acting chancellor. He said he would spend his first month visiting the different colleges on campus. He said he would “continue to advance our flagship University in the state of Louisiana.” Lombardi said a “broadly representative” search committee will begin their search for a new chancellor by stating the University’s goals and the criteria for potential chancellors. Lombardi said the public will have minimal involvement until the committee has narrowed candidates to a few people. He said people who are not “capable of being beaten up on a regular basis” are not primary candidates. “What the faculty is looking for is somebody who in addition to performing the fundraising and general leadership functions of the chancellor also is able to meet an academic standard,” said Cope. He said many past chancellors focused primarily on fundraising rather than academic issues. The Faculty Senate voted on two resolutions. One resolution, concerning streamlining Faculty Senate activities, was unanimously passed. Another resolution, concerning anonymous suggestion boxes for reporting fraud suspicions, was voted down.
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