The future of the University as a flagship institution and state leader is clearer after the LSU Board of Supervisors decided Friday to move forward with a “transformation process” that could result in a merger, but it is still unknown what a reformed LSU will look like.
The Board asserted the necessity for change in a struggling state higher education environment, carrying over a discussion that started Oct. 26 when the Board voted to combine the System president and University chancellor positions.
This comes during a changing and formative time for the University. Former System President John Lombardi was voted out less than a year ago, and former Chancellor Michael Martin announced his new position as chancellor of the Colorado State University System only a month later.
Friday’s special meeting focused on these issues after a report from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, or AGB, recommended structural changes among all of the System’s institutions Oct. 26.
The Board emphasized that a set of “guiding principles” will be followed during the process of change as the AGB report is considered.
“My suggestion to the Board is that we continue this process we began by outlining a statement of principles to an advisory team that would come back to the Board with solutions,” said Board Chairman Hank Danos.
The Board unanimously voted to move forward with Danos’ suggestion. Many of the Board of Supervisors assured the AGB report was merely suggestive and some options not detailed in the report could come into play as well.
The guidelines include creating a single Louisiana State University that boasts a national and international reputation, improving the process to transfer credits among the System’s institutions for students and encouraging research among different faculties.
Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins called the process “a significant discussion to determine the future of an institution that is absolutely vital for the well-being of the state of Louisiana.”
“We’re in a period of profound tectonic change, and we’re going to have to adapt and adopt,” Jenkins said.
But some vested in LSU’s other campuses were not persuaded, as a strong showing of faculty, staff and students proved not all are in favor of the new plan.
While the different leaders of System institutions expressed optimism in the possibilities of convergence, staff of LSU’s medical and law centers said they would like to give more input and ensure that leadership roles will stay intact.
Dozens of students from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center attended in support of a letter asking that their leadership be unscathed if any merger were to occur.
The biggest concern expressed by staff from across the System was a part of a report that suggested equalizing the chancellor positions of other schools with the deans of the Baton Rouge campus’ separate colleges.
Faculty of the Baton Rouge campus said they felt left out of decisions made thus far by the Board, with many suggesting no faculty were asked for input.
Danos said some faculty have been involved, and there are plans to involve more as the process moves forward.
“We will move forward with change and purpose but be sensitive to needs and deliberate about the process,” Danos said.
- April 27: John Lombardi fired from System presidency.
- May 25: Former Chancellor Michael Martin announces new position in Colorado; William Jenkins assumes interim system president and chancellor position.
- Aug. 1: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Stuart Bell begins new position after Jack Hamilton’s two-year stint.
- Oct. 26: Board votes to combine system president and chancellor positions.
