Two days after formally resigning his post as head of NASA, Sean O’Keefe appeared in front of a standing-room-only crowd to address questions from the University community on his plans for the campus should he be selected as the next chancellor.
O’Keefe addressed many issues Wednesday evening during a forum in the Coast, Energy and Environment building, the majority of which focused on key points behind the University’s Flagship Agenda.
In an e-mail Monday to the LSU Student Government listserv, SG President and Board of Supervisors Student Member Brad Golson said the timing of O’Keefe’s visit during the semester break “comes at an inconvenient time [for students],” but said he hoped students would understand.
In a telephone interview Wednesday evening, Golson said the Chancellor Search Committee was worried that if they waited for the return of students to invite O’Keefe to campus, they ran the risk of losing him as a candidate and consequently damaging relations with the other applicants.
Golson said the decision to hire O’Keefe could come as early as Thursday evening.
Golson also said the committee would meet Thursday at 2 p.m. to discuss recommending O’Keefe to the Board of Supervisors. Board members were told to be available for a meeting Thursday to vote on whether or not to hire O’Keefe.
“I get a sense that [O’Keefe] is comfortable on our campus,” Golson said. “As with any candidate, I think he has a lot to learn about the day-to-day operations.”
Golson said he hopes that if O’Keefe is hired, he could take over as chancellor in the middle of the spring semester or as soon as possible.