The end of the fall semester also marks the end of Chancellor Michael Martin’s first semester at the University.And four months later, Martin is looking forward to continuing what he began this fall.Martin assumed the duties of the University’s top position Aug. 1 after a highly criticized search process.Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope issued a report following Martin’s May 20 visit to the campus saying the Chancellor Search Committee “lacked transparency and due deliberation.”Martin, former president of New Mexico State University, was the only applicant the committee decided to pursue after reviewing eight other applications, and the LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Martin during a June 5 meeting.During his first month, Martin focused on two primary objectives — figuring out how the campus works and what the University community wants the institution to be.Then came an unexpected challenge — Hurricane Gustav.Gustav struck the Gulf Coast on Sept. 1 as a Category 2 hurricane, ravaging Baton Rouge as it plowed through the state.Although Martin previously experienced a hurricane’s effect on a college campus while at the University of Florida, he said Sept. 5 that Gustav was his first that disabled the core campus.”The good thing about being a new person is to see this from a perspective that some of you, who have been through this before, may not be able to see,” Martin said. “We have suffered a fairly major natural disaster. It’s remarkable that we’re able to crank it up and go ahead.”But Martin was able to survive, and he continued his work to improve the University to its fullest potential.In a Nov. 14 Daily Reveille article, Martin said he wanted the University to focus its efforts in areas where the institution can show its expertise, such as coastal restoration, disaster management and social work.”Some day somewhere in the world, when someone faces a problem, their first response is going to be, ‘Let’s call LSU,'” Martin said about the importance of global recognition to the University.Martin said his focus now is to become a strong player in the University’s external environment, where he can persuade public policy makers to invest more in higher education.
 
—-Contact JJ Alcantara at [email protected]