The Daily Reveille editor in chief is continuing legal action against the University’s secretive process to identify and select potential candidates for the LSU System president and chancellor position.
Although a final candidate for the position, F. King Alexander, was identified Monday afternoon, Daily Reveille Editor in Chief Andrea Gallo said exposing the steps of the selection process is still essential. Gallo’s attorney, Scott Sternberg, sent a letter telling the University to seek Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s opinion on whether the names of at least 30 potential candidates are public record, or face a possible lawsuit.
Gallo originally filed public record requests with Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins, Board of Supervisors Chairman Hank Danos, the LSU Foundation and search firm R. William Funk and Associates.
Those requests were denied, with officials citing private funding for the search as a reason not to release the information to the public. A similar attempt by The Advocate met the same fate in February.
But Gallo insists the information is vital for the University community and the state.
“LSU’s status as a public research institution means students, faculty and residents of Louisiana have the right to know who the possible leaders of the University and system could be,” she said.
Sternberg said it is important to continue this effort because the process has been shrouded in mystery.
“It’s not just a ‘gotcha’ question,” he said. “We don’t think this is a good precedent to set for future searches.”
Sternberg said a statute in Louisiana’s law demands potential leaders of public office be identified. However, names were not turned in to the state — instead, potential candidates applied directly to the search firm, skirting the statute.
 “LSU’s status as a public research institution means students, faculty and residents of Louisiana have the right to know who the possible leaders of the University and system could be.”