The interim president of LSU said the university is ready to accept the task of revitalizing the University of New Orleans if the legislature opts to transfer the school back into the LSU system.

“We’re in the business of educating people, and we’re going to do what the state asks us to do,” newly-named Interim President Matt Lee said.

UNO has had great financial struggles recently, with a reported budget shortfall of $30 million this year. Much of that stems from enrollment, which has dropped from over 17,000 before Hurricane Katrina to around 6,000 now.

After the legislature asked it to review the idea of moving UNO back to the LSU system, the Louisiana Board of Regents recommended the move during its meeting on March 26 after hearing a full report.

“UNO’s fiscal position is one that no institution wants to face, and the issues that have led to its financial woes are ones all of our institutions grapple with,” Board of Regents Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Bentley-Smith said during the meeting.

Since then, the Senate voted on and approved a bill organizing the transfer. It passed through the House Education Committee May 29 and now must be voted on by the House before the legislative session ends Thursday.

The hope is that LSU’s resources could help turn UNO’s fortunes around.

“When you have a great global city like New Orleans, everybody desires for them to have an outstanding public institution,” Lee said. “If our colleagues and friends at the legislature are of the mind that that would be an institution affiliated with LSU to make that happen, then we’re going to step up to the plate and do what we have to do to carry that ball across the finish line.”

UNO previously was a part of the LSU system, but it was transferred to the University of Louisiana system in 2011.