Chancellor Mark Emmert will be ending a four-year relationship soon – a relationship with Gov. Mike Foster that has been very productive for the University.
Emmert said he and Foster must have a close relationship to balance out educational issues. He has spent his four-year tenure as chancellor working with Foster, who he said is a huge supporter of higher education.
“Almost all of the new initiatives at LSU have been either in conjunction with or led by the governor,” Emmert said. “The information technology initiative brings more than $9 million to our campus, and it was led by Governor Foster and his staff.”
He said replacing Foster is going to be a shakeup for the University and the LSU system.
“This election is critically important for Louisiana and for LSU,” Emmert said. “We are on the cusp of becoming one of those great national universities that transforms economies, but we can’t do it without the drive and support from the governor.”
Tyra Toston, a dietetics freshman, said she plans on voting in the election Oct. 4, and Emmert’s opinion will affect how she votes.
“It’s important to me because I do have TOPS, and they’ve been changing different things with TOPS,” Toston said. “I have a sister who’s in high school so I want to look out for her best interests. Anything as far as bettering education in Louisiana is important to me.”
Emmert said students should be mindful of candidates and their attention to higher education issues.
“We need somebody that everybody has confidence in as a forthright and upright candidate,” Emmert said. “Governor Foster has been fantastic for higher education and LSU in particular. We certainly hope the next governor shares his views and his commitment, but we don’t know that yet.”
He said in more than 45 states there have been large cuts in higher education spending, and as a result, states are raising tuition.
“If the next governor cuts higher education spending, there’s only one way to balance the budget, and that’s tuition increases,” Emmert said. “If he does that the question is, is it going to be covered by TOPS?”
Dustin Aslin, an electrical engineering senior, said he will listen to what Emmert says and weigh the issues for himself.
“They (the candidates) all say that they’re going to encourage education,” Aslin said. “You just have to weigh in the other factors along with it.”
Emmert said the next governor would have the challenge of helping along his flagship agenda.
“He or she needs to help LSU fulfill its promise of becoming a nationally leading academic institution,” Emmert said. “That would greatly enhance the value of an LSU education and provide students with opportunities they might not have had.”