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UL — Though he’s been in office as president for the past three months, Joe Savoie’s mark of change on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was initiated before he took office — not by him, but by its stakeholders.
Earlier this year, Savoie set in motion a transition effort that included advisory teams of faculty, students, staff and community members guided by an institutional review by an outside consultant.
“It gave us a leg up on planning,” Savoie said of teams’ work.
“When the budget came out in July, we were able to make strategic investments when we would have had to wait to implement changes until next year,” Savoie said.
One of those major investments has been in enrollment management.
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By MARSHA SILLS
Advocate Acadiana bureau
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Some of the decisions were based on findings of a review by Noel-Levitz, an enrollment management consulting firm, and include more admission counselors and earlier recruitment of prospective students.
The changes will affect the university’s graduation and retention rates, Savoie said.
“We want to get to the point that we only accept students who we know can solidly succeed,” Savoie said.
This fall, the university admitted fewer students by academic exception and saw a slight drop in its first-time freshmen enrollment.
Despite the freshmen drop, overall enrollment remained steady because of the improved retention of sophomores and juniors.
That trend will continue as the university continues to become more selective, Savoie said.
Change of scene
For the past 12 years, Savoie had policy oversight of the state’s colleges and universities as higher education commissioner.
The move to a smaller venue hasn’t changed his workload.
“The difference is like being a weather man and standing outside in the rain,” he joked.
“Here, you make a decision and it impacts a person and they’re in front of you,” Savoie said.
One immediate effect for students was the extension of library hours this semester. Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the hours were cut back as a cost saving measure. The abbreviated library hours were a shared concern of both faculty and students.
When students returned this fall, they also saw improvements to buildings and sidewalks under way.
While UL Lafayette is fiscally stable with successful academic programs, deferred maintenance has taken its toll on older buildings and possibly student enrollment.
Campus beautification was tagged as a major concern for student leaders, with whom Savoie meets on a regular basis.
Savoie has been responsive to suggestions, said Jamey Arnette, president of the Student Government Association.
“I feel as if our ideas are so similar about what we would like to see on campus,” Arnette said.
Arnette said students are now working closely with UL Lafayette staff to develop a proposal on new signage for buildings and the campus for Savoie’s consideration.
Building improvements will continue with a focus on repair and renovation of older facilities. That meant some new projects had to be put on hold.
“We have to take care of what we have … . Some have had no work in 40 or 50 years,” Savoie said.
A review is also under way to address campus housing. Some dormitories have been padlocked because of costly repairs and maintenance. The university is in the process of expanding its apartment-style housing.
Faculty ‘pleased’
Some changes made by Savoie to the university’s organizational chart have cut through red tape, as well, said John Meriwether, ULL physics professor and president of the Faculty Senate.
“So far, we’ve been pleasantly pleased with the changes,” Meriwether said.
Savoie deleted, created and shifted positions and responsibilities of staff, including vice president positions.
The reorganization equates to more efficiency, Meriwether said. He served on the transition advisory team focused on academics.
One of his team’s recommendations was to create a provost position. Savoie recently named Vice President of Academic Affairs Steve Landry as provost. In that position, Landry is the chief vice president with oversight of other vice presidents and their departments.
“That’s a very good change,” Meriwether said. “It reduces the number of steps in many things. Before, if hiring a person, it would require the approval of the president. Now that approval can come through the provost. It shortcuts a number of things and divides responsibilities.”
Meriwether said a task force also has been formed to more closely examine recommendations made by his team on summer school staffing and compensation.
One of the new positions includes a distance learning coordinator to expand the university’s online offerings.
“We don’t have a coordinated online effort,” Savoie said. “We’re making that investment now.”
More growth planned
Savoie’s growth plan is centered on the economic development of Lafayette and the state with proposals for new master’s degree programs in kinesiology, education and criminal justice. Additional doctoral studies programs are also in development.
The university is one of the state’s three public Doctoral II institutions, while LSU, the state’s flagship, produces the majority of the state’s postgraduate degrees as a Doctoral I institution.
When asked if it was a goal to achieve Doctoral I status, Savoie said, “I’d rather approach program development to responding to the needs and developing our strengths and maintaining high-quality programs.”
Long ago, the university shrugged off its image as a regional university when it changed its name from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. The name change was a long battle, and one of the challengers to earlier efforts was LSU.
But a lot has changed since then, Savoie said.
On certain levels, in-state competition among universities still exists — for students, faculty and even research dollars — but there’s been a marked climate of change among the state’s universities, especially when approaching the Legislature for funding, Savoie said.
While the state’s flagship is in Baton Rouge, “that doesn’t mean you can’t have strong battleships,” Savoie said.
The university will continue to set itself apart in research and programs, Savoie said.
“We shouldn’t be doing what LSU is doing. We shouldn’t be doing what Southeastern is doing or any other university,” Savoie said. “But it all should be coordinated and contribute to all the needs within the state.”
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