Students jogging around University Lake preparing for swimsuit season may notice a clearly labeled sign for the University bird sanctuary on East Lakeshore at its intersection with Bengal Lane. But tucked across the street, marked only with the number 2959, is another University property – the “official residence of the Chancellor of Louisiana State University.” The LSU Board of Supervisors designated the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom house as the chancellor’s residence in 1999. It has since housed two of the University’s top administrators. The first chancellor to live there, Mark Emmert, stayed in the prairie-style house during his 1999-2004 tenure. Former Chancellor Sean O’Keefe moved into the home in 2005 and will continue living there until June, according to Kenneth Courtade, Facility Services physical plant operations manager. O’Keefe resigned as chancellor Jan. 16 after losing the support of both System President John Lombardi and the Board. He relinquished his duties Feb. 1 to now-acting Chancellor William Jenkins. O’Keefe will remain at the University for the spring semester as a professor of public administration in the E.J. Ourso College of Business. General Electric Aviation announced March 13 that O’Keefe was hired to head its Washington, D.C., operations. He will start at GE Aviation on June 2. The house, which includes a maid’s quarters and a greenhouse, is listed as the “System President Residence” in the State Lands and Building System database. The State of Louisiana owns the house and all other University buildings but transfers management to the System through state legislation, Courtade said. The University purchased the 5,648-square-foot house in 1964 for $46,150, Courtade said. Elwood Reams, the house’s architect, built it in 1948 emulating famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s style. In 2005, it was insured at a value of $364,040. Martin Woodin, the second System president occupied the house from 1972 until 1985, and President Allen Copping lived there from 1985 until Jenkins became president in 1999, according to Charles Zewe, System vice president for communications and external affairs. “Because Dr. Jenkins already owned a home in Baton Rouge, he suggested that the Board designate the residence for use by the chancellor,” Zewe said. Jenkins said he first discussed the idea of allowing the chancellor to use the house with his wife, Peggy. Both agreed they did not need the house, and after reviewing their personal experience of Jenkins’ first tenure as chancellor, both wanted the house to be for the chancellor’s use. “We thought it would be most appropriate for the chancellor to take occupancy and for a host of reasons but principally it was a convenience and that it would help us in recruiting the next chancellor,” he said. He said the house was a job perk that made the position more attractive and feasible for Emmert. Jenkins said he thinks the house will be a benefit in the current search for O’Keefe’s successor. Jenkins and his wife said they have stayed as guests at more than a dozen other presidential residences on college campuses. He said it is typical to have a house available for the campus head’s use not only for living but also for entertaining. “[Our chancellor’s house] is really modest compared to some of the others,” Jenkins said of his stay at the University of Georgia’s Southern mansion in downtown Athens, Ga. “It’s relatively modest but very convenient, and frankly, the surroundings are beautiful,” he said, noting the aged Oak trees and clear view of University lake. D’Ann Morris, assistant to the chancellor, serves as the building coordinator and is responsible for the residence’s general maintenance and upkeep. Beginning in 2000, when the Emmerts moved in, more than $1 million was spent on building renovations and furnishings, Morris said. “Significant structural things had to be changed or the house would have been inhabitable,” Morris said of rotting floors and the aged facility. Jenkins and his wife visited the house with the Emmerts before the new chancellor came to the University. Jenkins said it was immediately obvious to him that work needed to be done – replacing floors, fixing leaks, repairing windows and re-painting. He said the Emmerts agreed and had several other “modest requests” for needed improvements, such as updating the kitchen appliances. After Jenkins asked his personal friends to help complete and pay for some of the renovations, his wife began working to update the house’s furnishings. “People were very sensitive at the time that they didn’t want to spend any state funds on the home, so in order to get this accomplished, we had to have a fundraiser,” Peggy Jenkins explained. “You can’t have leaking roofs on campus and spend a lot of money on the chancellor’s house.” Peggy Jenkins then formed a group of several local women, known as the Chancellor’s Residence Committee, to raise money to update the house. She first hoped to create an endowment fund, allowing periodic updates in the future but was unable to raise such a large sum. The committee instead agreed to spend the money they raised. “What was done to that home made it very livable and very attractive,” her husband said. Peggy Jenkins said some of the women on the committee first wanted to destroy the house and build a new one in the traditional Southern architectural style. The group found this idea would be too expensive and agreed to save the house’s original style. They wanted to furnish the house to accent its unique architecture. “The furnishings are for downstairs,” Peggy Jenkins said. “And the chancellor will have their own personal furniture upstairs for their own use.” Peggy Jenkins said the decor remains the same as occupants change. She said a majority of the art in the house is on loan from the LSU Museum of Art. Occupants may request paintings be switched, she said. The residence has since been used as more than a home, hosting banquets for organizations including Leadership LSU and the LSU Foundation, Morris said. Additionally, the house is often used for fundraising events. “It’s a better venue to be in a residential setting sometimes when entertaining and trying to recruit faculty and fundraising,” Morris said. Peggy Jenkins said she and her husband have been to countless events at the chancellor’s residence. She said there are often 100 to 150 people at these events, as additional entertaining space is created outside by setting up shaded tents. She said in the past, chancellors have had guests over before home football games. According to O’Keefe’s 2005 contract, he was “required to reside in the official residence provided by the University.” Furthermore, the University provides “utilities, insurance for the structure, housekeeping services, care of the grounds and other required maintenance.” Jenkins said he does not foresee the residence being used to house anyone other than the chancellor in the future, although extenuating circumstances may prove otherwise.
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]