LSU System officials put the search for a new System president into private hands, closing the door to open hiring practices and transparency in the search process.
Instead of the search being headed by the Board of Supervisors or the System itself, private consultant William Funk is in charge of seeking potential candidates, gathering information and collecting data on hopefuls for the position.
Funk was hired under a contract with the LSU Alumni Foundation. Because of the University’s choice for the search to be headed by a private entity instead of by a public body, information pertaining to the search cannot be obtained by the public.
This practice leaves too much room for closed-door business deals and denies an open process for a very important search. The public is both unable to review the search process to ensure it is fair and barred from even knowing the amount taxpayers are spending on a private search consultant to perform our System’s duty to find a new leader.
The System president oversees 11 institutions and will also be heavily involved in running the Charity Hospital system, which is in desperate need of a good leader because of the current New Orleans health care crisis.
This is a crucial time for our System to step up and make real progress in the state’s well-being in the areas of higher education and health care. It is more important than ever for the System president search committee to find a highly qualified candidate from a diverse pool of potential leaders.
Secrecy must not be an option in this search. Secrecy is a stepping stone to deception, and Louisiana deserves better than to be misled. The public must urge the search committee to hold itself to a higher level of transparency and open itself to public inquiry and input.
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