Following Gov. Landry’s appointment of a new chair to the Louisiana Board of Regents, Vice Chair T. Jay Seale III resigned from his position.

Misti Cordell was appointed as chairwoman on Sept. 20, replacing Gary Solomon Jr. Seale said Solomon had not been informed prior to the news breaking on Friday. Cordell had joined the board in January of this year. 

“It would be like taking someone who was just elected to the House of Representatives and after a few weeks in the House, making them speaker,” Seale told The Advocate.

Seale also spoke out about the appointment, calling it “illegal” as it had happened Sept. 20. Act 491 states appointments for positions with terms beginning on Jan. 8, 2024 cannot be made after Aug. 1. The act was passed with time for Landry to appoint a new chair within this window. Landry however still stands firm that this appointment was not illegal.

Seale said he felt Landry put someone who was “loyal to him in charge.”  Landry took issue with Seales’ stance on the matter, asking him a rebuttal question on how the Board has grown since his appointment.

Seale is a Hammond business attorney, who is a part of the law firm Seale & Ross. He was appointed to serve on the Board of Regents in 2017.