The LSU Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Thursday further limiting the scope of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
This resolution calls for LSU to conduct a review of all its programs, with those using classifications of race, sex, ethnicity or political views to be eliminated. The resolution explicitly named diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
According to Chairman Jimmie Woods, the resolution aimed to codify the U.S. Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admission vs. Harvard, which prohibited the consideration of race in college admissions decisions.
The resolution was vaguely worded on the agenda and was not included in the information packet distributed prior to the meeting, the Louisiana Illuminator reports. The resolution was made public immediately before the board voted. It was passed without objection. All Black board members apart from Woods left the meeting before the vote.
This resolution follows LSU’s removal of all DEI statements from their website in January.
The board addressed other items at the meeting, including approving a maximum 10% tuition and 10% fee increase for the 2025 fall semester.
Joe Ramos, the director of the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center and executive officer of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, gave an update on both centers’ progress. Ramos hopes to be a national leader on cancer research within the next five to six years, but said he’s “thinking we can get there faster,” The reason for this is that, according to Ramos, recruitment is going along well.
“This is absolutely one of the most pressing medical matters we have to deal with in this state,” LSU President William F. Tate IV said.
College of Engineering Professor Ali Kazemian presented on robotic-construction 3D printing, an emerging technology said to be less labor-intensive, dangerous and expensive than concrete construction. Kazemian said that they are hoping to build such a device, “but in reality are not quite there yet.”
Tate closed out the meeting discussing the plans for a new library and the results of several social media polls on its potential design. The voting was a success according to Tate, with about 13% engagement on Instagram and almost 500,000 votes on X. Choice B won, with voters deciding they wanted the appearance of the building to look like “traditional LSU-styled buildings.”
Tate stated that they have a good plan going forward to remodel the library, and that there will be more things coming out about the project going forward.
