In October of 2003, I was a member of the Louisiana State Board of Regents. We had a special meeting whereby we honored Governor Mike Foster for making the funding of Higher Education in our state a top priority. Under his leadership, a new community and technical college system was created. The Stelly Plan was also enacted during his administration. Under the bold initiative of the Stelly Plan, Higher Education faculty salaries were funded to the SREB average, the only time in recent history. We concluded our special meeting by honoring Governor Foster with a special video and presenting him with a plaque.
I had the honor of serving on the LSU Board of Supervisors for 18 years and the Board of Regents for three years. From that perspective, I can honestly say that Governor Foster did more for Higher Education than any other Governor and he should be remembered for all that he did for our State.
Stanley Jacobs is a former Board of Supervisors member and LSU men’s basketball star.
Letter to the Editor: Gov. Mike Foster’s prioritization of higher education should be fondly remembered
October 19, 2020
FILE – In this March 19, 2000, file photo, Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster addresses a joint session of the Legislature at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. Foster, a folksy millionaire businessman who pushed major changes in education policy and lawsuit rules through an increasingly conservative state Legislature in the 1990s, died Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. He was 90. Marsanne Goolsby, who was Foster’s press secretary when he was governor, said that Foster died at his home in Franklin. (AP Photo/Bill Haber, File)
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