And why would he? Do you believe the governor sticks a nose into every hiring at every university in the state? What, for "political" reasons?Quote:
Originally Posted by Membertou
:???:
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And why would he? Do you believe the governor sticks a nose into every hiring at every university in the state? What, for "political" reasons?Quote:
Originally Posted by Membertou
:???:
Do you think RA got his job without the approval of the governor at the time (EWE)? Of course, the governor will stick his nose in this.
Or O'Keefe w/o Blanco's approval for that matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Membertou
But when its down to 5 and one was on the Board of Regents or whatever, I really don't see Jindal throwing a curve ball in or really meddling. If it were earlier in the process, maybe. Which might be a reason why the stepdown and search has timed out the way it has ...
Let me get this straight.Quote:
Originally Posted by LsuULfan
A Hypothetical
The LSUAMCBR "powers that be" consider, evaluate and decide upon O'Keefe and then the govenor disappoves him and says no, it has to be someone else?
Yeah sure.
Thats exactly how it works. The folks at LSUA&MC don't always get their way. Just as with the French House at LSUA&MC they considered it the number one priority but the governing committee that oversees such things disagreed and said no it should be #26 behind much more deserving projects. So that was that and the French House was put behind the other pro...uh, nevermind.Quote:
Originally Posted by DestinCajun
:D
By that time Blanco had appointed several BOS members. They weren't going to select someone the Govenor did not approve of. I'm not saying she meddled-just saying as Govenor I'd bet she was consulted and approved. I imagine Jindal will sign off and approve whoever is selected for the UL posiiton (I don't expect him to meddle).Quote:
Originally Posted by DestinCajun
Lombardi-who did a great job w/Florida-had just come in and he pushed it because he wanted to build up the Honors College. You guys always point out how lowly rated LSU is .... We will see if an outsider-Lombardi-can come in and shake things up and raise the quality of the institution.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammer58
LMAO!!! Can you see the governor (whoever it might be) saying "Okay boys, get your house back in line!".Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammer58
Actually, won't the decision be made and announced before Jindal is officially sworn in? I think I remember the decision announcement date being somewhere around Dec 12. Not sure when the swearing in will be.Quote:
Originally Posted by LsuULfan
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UL Campus — The committee searching for the next president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will interview job candidates Monday and Tuesday.
The interviews are open to the public, and community members may submit their own questions in writing.
Thirty-eight people applied for the job by the Oct. 1 deadline, and the search committee last month trimmed the group to five.
On the interview list are state Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie, ULL Vice President for Academic Affairs Steve Landry and three out-of-state applicants: Karen White, Raymond Flumerfelt and Clifford L. Stanley.
The five candidates are scheduled to arrive in Lafayette on Sunday to tour the campus, meet faculty members, and “get a feel for the university and have some of their questions answered,” UL System spokesman Jackie Tisdell said.
The interviews are scheduled from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the main auditorium of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise at 537 Cajundome Blvd.
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Advocate Acadiana bureau
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The search committee is expected to make a recommendation to the full UL System board by the end of the year.
Tisdell said the committee could make that recommendation at the conclusion of interviews next week or request that certain candidates return for additional interviews.
ULL President Ray Authement, who announced his retirement in April after 33 years leading the university, is expected to work with the incoming president through spring.
The five candidates come from diverse backgrounds.
Flumerfelt teaches engineering at the University of Houston and also serves as vice director of the Texas National Wind Energy Project. He has led chemical engineering departments at three major universities
Stanley is the president of Minnesota-based Scholarship America, a nonprofit group that administers scholarship money. He moved into academic administration after a 33-year career in the military.
White is a regional chancellor at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg and is the only applicant who is a sitting university president or chancellor.
She taught music for 14 years at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond before shifting into an administrative career in 1990.
Savoie has been state Commissioner of Higher Education since 1996 and before that served in various administrative positions at ULL for 18 years.
Landry has been ULL Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2000 and has worked at the university as either a teacher or an administrator since 1975, with the exception of a brief stint teaching computer science at Nicholls State University.
The selection process has drawn criticism, mainly that the search committee should have worked harder to attract a larger field of qualified out-of-state candidates.
In public hearings earlier this year, the open selection process was also criticized by community members who felt qualified candidates were reticent to apply because all of the applicants’ names have been made public.
For information on the presidential search process, including résumés of those who have applied, visit: www.uls.state.la.us and click on “Presidential Search.
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About 20 years ago, the University of Southwestern Louisiana was embroiled in a fight to have its name changed to the University of Louisiana - no Lafayette tag.
It took face time in the Legislature to make it happen.
That face representing USL at the time was Joe Savoie, who was then director of Alumni Affairs.
"The university didn't have any governmental relations person per se, so from being with the Alumni Association, I was designated as the person to come to Baton Rouge and fight for the university's cause," he said.
While it took another effort to get the name change to stick, Savoie continued his role as the university's voice in Baton Rouge and for the past 12 years, he's continued to represent the interests of all of the state's postsecondary institutions as higher education commissioner.
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It's after the first time in the state's history that higher education received record funding from the Legislature that he's considering stepping down from his statewide leadership role to become the next president of the institution where he began his career.
Savoie said he's been offered other positions in other states, but none have felt right before.
"I've been in this position much longer than is typical," Savoie said. "Often, the average tenure is three to four years. Because of that long tenure and the contacts I've made, I've been approached several times about other positions in other places - campus heads, or positions similar to this one in other states and never seriously considered any of them. But UL is my alma mater. It's my home region, so it's very intriguing."
But time will tell if the move would be the right decision for the university -or him.
"Institutions need different types of leadership at different stages of its history and I am what I am," Savoie said. "I have a public record of consistent approach to things and the committee is going to have to decide whether they think that's in the best interest of the university at this time. They have to determine what they think is the right match. I have an interest, but I have a satisfied and comfortable position and I've got to be satisfied that it's the right match, as well."
Savoie began at UL in 1978 as an assistant dean of student personnel, working closely with student groups on campus. From there, he moved to his position with the Alumni Association and in 1990 served as director of university advancement until 1992 when he became the vice president for university advancement.
His role as the governmental relations representative for the university grew as he continued to build contacts at the Capitol and even developed into a volunteer representative for the UL System, who was also without someone in a permanent governmental affairs role.
Within the next 15 years, Savoie would be asked to be the next commissioner of higher education, the representative of higher education for the state. It was a role he thought would be only temporary.
As part of then-Gov. Mike Foster's transition team, Savoie helped recommend a new commissioner, but the Regents declined the appointment.
"And so, one afternoon when we were in the governor's office telling him what happened, he looked at me and said, 'Why don't you go and do that for a few months until we develop a new strategy.' That was 11 and a half years ago, and it's been a very exciting, rewarding, challenging and educational experience."
With nearly 12 years as the state's higher education leader, Savoie says leadership is "action in progress."
"It's not position," Savoie said. "I think it's important to focus on the cause and not yourself, and if you're going to have significant meaningful impact, then others have to agree and support the agenda."
When Savoie became commissioner, one of his first orders of business was eliminating about 100 duplicate programs at universities - programs that had been fought over for the past two or three years.
"I had the advantage of not having the baggage or the scars from the previous few years of fighting over these things," he said. "I visited campus to campus with the presidents and chief academic officers with their list on the chopping block and negotiated what I thought was a reasonable conclusion."
Another first was moving ahead with past failed efforts to overhaul the Regents and restoring its oversight authority that had been muddied by legislative statutes. While the Constitution stated the Board was responsible for the role, scope and mission of the universities, statutes later added stated that the Board needed the permission of the universities to set perimeters.
"That means you had no authority. It neutered some critical responsibilities of the Board of Regents," Savoie said. "We cleaned that up, but what I think really changed was we moved the Board of Regents from primarily a regulatory body to an educational reform leadership body."
Another major change during his tenure was the restructure of the community and technical colleges, moving them under one oversight board. The board has also been focused on reform issues from teacher preparation to increasing graduation and retention rates.
Savoie was also instrumental in helping universities affected by the 2005 hurricane season recover and set their priorities, according to William Jenkins, former LSU System president.
"Administration in higher education is difficult and complex and fragile in some ways, particularly in the post-Katrina, -Rita environment that we're in," Jenkins said. "The commissioner was very good in facilitating consultative meetings where we discussed and deliberated what the issues are."
Because of the progress Savoie has generated in his role as commissioner, if he leaves the office, the appointment of a successor to maintain that momentum would be a crucial one for the state, Jenkins said.
"You have an experienced, capable commissioner that would be leaving that office, so, clearly, it would be important," Jenkins said. "I can't speak for the Board of Regents, but clearly Commissioner Savoie's successor would be a very critical appointment for the Board of Regents to make."
Not many people affiliated with the University of Louisiana don't know E. Joseph Savoie.
Those that do know him don't call him Joseph or Joe - but T-Joe.
Because of his history with UL and his experience as the state's top higher education chief, Savoie has been called a shoo-in for the position. The rumors are just a little younger than Savoie's 14-year-old son.
"If that were the case, I wish someone would have told me," Savoie said. "But there's been speculation for years and years. That's just people being people. ... The day I came here to take that temporary position people said that there was some grand scheme of Governor Foster. He never mentioned it to me. I'm not aware of any plan and it would have been a lot less nerve-wracking had it been. Frankly, I struggled with the decision to participate in this process and didn't make that decision until the final day."
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Interviews for UL's next president began Monday and continue today, but the question-and-answer sessions aren't the end-all, be-all in choosing a new president, advised UL System's search consultant.
"The interview is the least valid predictor of performance," said James Fisher, the system's search consultant. "... The way to find a leader is to find a leader and that's only done through referencing."
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Fisher and committee members have checked and double-checked sources of the five candidates chosen from an applicant pool of 38. The first two candidates to be interviewed were Karen White, current regional chancellor of University of South Florida, St. Petersburg; and Clifford Stanley, a retired Marine who now heads up Scholarship America, a private nonprofit that manages and distributes scholarships.
Of the remaining three candidates, two are the most familiar with the university: Steve Landry, its current vice president of academic affairs with 36 years at the university, and Joe Savoie, the state's higher education commissioner, who started his career at UL and commutes from the Hub City to Baton Rouge daily. The final interview of today is with Ray Flumerfelt, a University of Houston professor of chemical engineering who is also the vice director of the Texas National Wind Energy Project.
Any of the five is capable of leading UL, Fisher said.
"I referenced each of them, including your locals," Fisher said. "Each person would be distinguished in this presidency. There are a lot of different styles and different backgrounds, but each has played a role in bringing change and maintaining relevant harmony wherever that change has been wrought."
Monday's interview sessions drew a small crowd - less than 20, with the majority employed by UL. Though, faculty and staff had an opportunity to meet with the candidates at meetings Monday or at an evening reception at the Alumni Center.
The interviews start at 9 a.m. today.
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I saw the interview list in this morning's paper and could not help but wonder why an engineering professor from the University of Houston would be in the final cut. Does he have pictures on somebody? If all we wanted was to pick an engineering professor, couldn't we pick one of ours?
I must be missing something...
My thoughts are towards Steve Landry, but that's just me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CajunRed
He is innovative, helped to develop the wind energy project in Texas. Recently found out that was a major push by the former governor and now president of the USA. Texas is now one of the leading wind energy produces of the world.
He also has some experience as a Dean at two major universitites.Quote:
Originally Posted by CajunRed
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The final three of five candidates for the UL presidency laid out their priorities and how their experience could enhance UL's future during the search committee's interviews held Tuesday at the LITE Center.
Higher education commissioner Joseph Savoie admitted he's still undecided whether the position is a right fit for him, but that's what the process is about, he added.
Savoie's admission came after a question submitted by retired UL faculty member, Jane Ellen Carstens, who wanted to know why Savoie would leave his current position where he has an impact on the state's higher education.
"Frankly, I have not made that decision in my own mind, but the process is that we have to declare a public interest to go through the process. We're going to have to work through that together, if the board is interested in working through that."
Savoie said he has confidence in his staff, the Regents and the state's system heads.
"I'm still struggling with it, but I think Louisiana is going to be fine with or without me," Savoie said.
Among the candidates, Savoie and UL vice president of academic affairs, Steve Landry, both have institutional knowledge of UL and it showed in their answers.
Ray Flumerfelt, a chemical and bimolecular engineering professor at the University of Houston, is the current vice director of the Texas National Wind Energy Project, a research and training facility. Flumerfelt's held leadership roles at the college of engineering and department level at three other universities during his career.
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Savoie has 18 years of experience at UL and was the vice president of university advancement before taking on the role as higher education commissioner in 1996. Landry has been with UL for the past 36 years and has been in his current role since 2000.
Savoie's and Landry's familiarity shone through their interview as they joked with candidates.
When UL System President Sally Clausen had to cut Savoie's introductory remarks short, he pleaded for a few more minutes.
"I'm on a roll Sally. ... I have only one more page," he said.
"That's what he does with the Legislature," Clausen said smiling.
"That's a strategy. More time I talk, less time you have," Savoie joked back.
When asked how his leadership style differed from the current administration, Landry bookended his answer with a closing remark that brought laughs from the audience, "I still work for Dr. Authement on Wednesday. I want to be diplomatic about this answer, as well."
He told committee members that the university is not the same university Authement took over in 1973.
"The style is not only different, but the opportunity is totally different," he said.
Committee members asked some of the same questions posed to Monday's candidates, Karen White, regional chancellor of University of South Florida at St. Petersburg, and Clifford Stanley, president and CEO of Scholarship America.
The first question: the candidate's top three priorities.
Landry said he'd actually have four, if selected.
"I'd work immediately to replace myself," he said. He added he'd love a shot at the presidency, "but I don't want to do both those jobs."
Then, he'd like to put together teams to examine the recommendations made in the institutional review of the university. Part of that examination will include triaging the recommendations and discovering which ones are irrelevant, according to Landry. He explained that some of the recommendations were made on initiatives that the university had already begun.
"If we don't feel it's appropriate to make the changes, then have the justifications why the report is wrong," he added.
Flumerfelt said his first focus would be in correcting some of the deferred maintenance on campus.
"I would try to immediately invest in some things so that there's a positive view of the campus about what's going on," Flumerfelt said. "I heard that there's a need for facilities. The faculty needs some equipment. ... There needs to be some support."
After his first 60 days in office, he'd like to hold a "convocation" to start the planning process on how to address the recommendations and findings of the institutional review of the university.
Savoie admitted that he'd have to learn more about the campus he's been away from for almost 12 years before surmising what his top three priorities would be.
"I think it's important the first thing that a new person needs to do is engage a lot of conversation with people to get a better sense," Savoie said.
The review also brought about the issue of the university's funding of athletics, which was a hot topic among public questions on Tuesday.
Landry proposed developing a team to focus on funding in the athletics program.
Flumerfelt said he already fielded a question about whether or not he'd shut down athletic programs during his visit to UL.
"I'm not going to come here and shut down and go in reverse," he said. "I'm going to try to have the athletic program go forward."
But there needs to be an appropriate balance when it comes to funding, he added.
Athletics are an opportunity to "engage people who may not have a natural engagement with the university," Savoie said.
Each candidate brings a different background. Though Savoie and Landry have institutional knowledge of the community on and off campus (Savoie still lives in Lafayette and commutes daily to Baton Rouge) - Flumerfelt didn't have to respond to questions about an "ol' boy mentality" or his thoughts on whether or not the university needs an "outside" candidate.
Whether or not an "outsider" is best for the job is up to the committee, Savoie told the members.
"That's a decision you're going to have to make," Savoie said. "I would say I have a unique combination of inside and outside experiences. I was here for 18 years. I have two degrees from here, but I also got a doctorate from an institution in New York City."
When asked how he would make the transition from policy maker to day-to-day campus decision maker, Savoie said he's asked himself the same question.
But that he has helped campus heads deal with challenges they've faced on their own campuses.
Because of his role as the state's "chief educator" committee member Paul Aucoin asked if Savoie planned to overcome the perception some people may have that he wouldn't be approachable to the community.
"I was called T-Joe about 20 times between the door and here and called some names across the parking lot," Savoie said. "I don't think approachability is part of the issue."
Here are the candidates comments to other issues that surfaced in questions posed by both the committee and public during Tuesday's interviews:
On fair market salaries across faculty disciplines
Flumerfelt recommended that that the power of setting salaries be made with the department head with the final approval still in the hands of administration.
"There would be a pool of salary money," Flumerfelt said.
"... I would give that money in pools to the colleges, then the college would go to the departments and decide how much to put in the departments. The chairs would look at these people and decide what to give them. I know you don't do it that way. I still believe the person making the decision on faculty salary should be the department."
On economic development
Flumerfelt recognized the symbiotic relationship between the university and the community and added that the university should work to develop relationships in the community.
He did not elaborate on specific economic development engagement or goals.
The university should make itself available to the community, according to Savoie. UL's done a good job of doing that, he added.
Both he and Landry cited the LITE Center as an example of that important partnership between business and university.
On fundraising
Though Flumerfelt was part of a major fundraising effort for a new Texas National Wind Energy Project that drew donations from major oil companies, he told committee members that it's difficult to pull money from private companies.
The institutional review recommends that the new president consider focusing on fundraising, particularly a capital campaign to respond to deferred maintenance on the campus.
Landry said he'd work to build his own relationships in the community to solicit university support, but would also consider the review recommendation to hire professional fundraisers.
Savoie's background at the university, included development and fundraising.
It takes offering people a vision for the university that they can believe in, Savoie said.
There are really no "secret strategies," he said. "Other than telling people an honest story that people want to be a part of."
On diversity
The university should reflect its community, Savoie said.
But it's difficult for universities to achieve diversity goals, if students aren't able to access higher education, he said.
"Louisiana loses 50 percent of its young black males who never finished high school," he said. "If they never finished high school, (university) can't access those students."
Intervention needs to begin at the K-12 level, he added.
While at Texas A&M, Flumerfelt served as the head of the chemical engineering department and then as deputy vice chancellor and associate dean of engineering. While there, he said he hired the first black faculty member for the department.
"I hired the first female at the University of Alabama (in chemical engineering)," he added. "We were the fifth highest producer of African-American graduates, engineering graduates. The University of Alabama at that time was under some action. We would have to report every year what we did. They also incentifized the hiring of minority faculty and underrepresented faculty. That really helped us We went above the norms there."
On the topic of retention and graduation rates of black students, Flumerfelt said engagement is the answer.
"It's engagement of faculty with students early - freshmen year writing course, small sections," he said. "If you get that engagement, you change that retention."
Landry's a member of the university's diversity task force, which also includes community members.
"We've been looking at what we can do today to improve the opportunities, primarily for African-American students, but all students who want to come to the university," Landry said.
That means looking at high school populations and pinpointing why students are choosing to go elsewhere and then asking how the university can support those students who aren't choosing any higher education opportunity, Landry said.
Replacing senior staffers
Flumerfelt would come to the university with his assistant who followed him to the University of Houston when he left Alabama.
"(She's) probably the brightest person I've ever worked with. She amplified my ability to do things. It's very critical to have outstanding people taking care of things that allow you time to do things (like) fundraising, to give talks, whatever it takes," he said.
Savoie: "I think the most important decisions that you can make are about people and your leadership team. ... From the outside perspective I don't frankly know enough about the inside operation to make a decision on that at this point."
Though he does have an inside perspective, Landry said he wouldn't enter the office with a "preconceived notion."
On international education and international student enrollment
Flumerfelt: Said his past experiences have shown that faculty visits to other countries has helped attract international graduate students, but also undergrads.
Savoie: Recommended networking with institutions to offer opportunities for exchanges for international and UL students and scholarship support for study abroad programs.
Vision for student affairs, accessibility of students to administration
Flumerfelt: "I don't know if I have a vision yet for student affairs. I don't have a vision or anything. Student affairs is certainly important. I'd have to know what are some of the challenges they're having."
Savoie: He'd continue the president's Monday meetings with student leaders. "It's a very good way of staying connected to students. If you're providing a product it makes sense to talk to the customers about their satisfaction with the product, so you can improve that."
Landry: The office of student affairs is designed to take "care of the students needs outside of the academic arena and they do as a surrogate parent." Its also the entry point for students to become engaged on campus, he added.
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White withdraws name from UL presidential candidacy
The field of five candidates for UL president is now down to four.
On Thursday, Karen White, regional chancellor of University of South Florida St. Petersburg, withdrew her name as a candidate for the UL presidency.
In a letter to UL System President Sally Clausen, White was complimentary of her experience in Lafayette and on campus as part of the interview process, however added that her current job best fits her professional goals.
“My administrative career has focused on the urban and metropolitan university and I believe my knowledge and skill set are best applied in that mission,” White stated.
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The University of Louisiana Faculty Senate has endorsed UL Vice President for Academic Affairs Steve Landry for the job of university president.
Landry is one of four candidates on the short list to replace retiring ULL President Ray Authement.
A fifth finalist, Karen White, withdrew from the application process Thursday.
The ULL Faculty Senate approved a motion Wednesday endorsing Landry, who earned his doctorate in computer science from ULL and has worked at the university for three decades.
“I think he is the most qualified candidate, and I think he has the trust of the faculty and has proved himself as an administrator,” said UL sociology professor Robert Gramling, who introduced the motion in support of Landry.
“I just think there has been some frustration with the process, and we wanted to make sure the voice of the faculty was heard.”
The presidential search committee is made up largely of UL System board members.
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Faculty members have only one representative: ULL Faculty Senate President John Meriwether, a physics professor.
The faculty senate also passed a motion Wednesday urging the search committee to send only one name to the full UL System board for approval, rather than the two or three candidates the committee is expected to recommend.
Gramling said the motion is an effort to persuade the search committee “not to abdicate its responsibility” to the full UL System board.
“The faculty senate is clearly an important constituent, and we expect other groups and individuals will also provide valuable feedback to the committee and board as well. We welcome their comments,” UL System Executive Vice President Kim Hunter Reed said in a written statement.
The search committee interviewed five finalists Monday and Tuesday: Landry, state Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie, Raymond Flumerfelt, Karen White and Clifford L. Stanley.
Flumerfelt teaches engineering at the University of Houston and also serves as vice director of the Texas National Wind Energy Project.
Stanley retired from the Marines after a 33-year military career and now serves as president of Scholarship America, a nonprofit group that administers and raises scholarship money.
White is regional chancellor of the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.
In a letter announcing her withdrawal from the selection process Thursday, White wrote: “After careful deliberation, I determined that my current position more closely matches my professional priorities. My administrative career has focused on the urban and metropolitan university, and I believe my knowledge and skill set are best applied in that mission.”
The search committee is scheduled to meet on Nov. 26 to make a recommendation to the full UL System board.
Meriwether said he did not want to speak in detail about the faculty senate’s endorsement because he had yet to inform Clausen of the motions approved this week.
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<center><b>Faculty Senate backs Landry for UL
Candidate pool down to four; White withdraws</b></center>
"The search committee chose to postpone any decision until Nov. 26 to allow time to gather feedback from the university and community," said Kim Hunter Reed, UL System executive vice president. "The Faculty Senate is clearly an important constituent, and we expect other groups and individuals will also provide valuable feedback to the committee and board as well. We welcome their comments."
UL System President Sally Clausen was unavailable for comment.
Faculty gets one vote on the committee via its representative John Meriwether, a UL physics professor who serves as the Faculty Senate's executive officer.
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The UL presidential search committee will hold its next meeting at 1:15 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Claiborne Building in Baton Rouge. At the meeting, the search committee is expected to narrow down the field of five candidates and possibly prepare a recommendation of a candidate for the full Board of Supervisors for their consideration.
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During the past 14 years, my wife, Sue, and I have observed the powerful impact that UL has on all aspects of Lafayette and the immediate region.
We have had the opportunity to observe the evolution of UL and the tremendous job that outgoing President Ray Authement and his team have done in guiding a regional university into one that has earned national acclaim in many disciplines. The leadership team has generally operated in a challenging environment and has accomplished a great deal with limited resources. Today, the institution includes several unique and amazing "islands of excellence" and has a solid foundation upon which to build in the future.
As a former university president, I have observed with special interest, and minimally participated in, the presidential search process at UL. During one of the two public hearings with the Selection Committee, I expressed concern that the open and transparent search process would cause some potentially interested sitting presidents and others to not apply.
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Charles D. "Chuck" Lein
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At the same time, I acknowledged that one could argue against a closed search, where someone is quietly "anointed" and introduced to the constituencies. While some have been critical of the search process format, the board made a decision that the process would be open, and that it has been.
Hiring key associates in any environment is a less-than-perfect process. In reality, we never know what one is going to bring to a new position, until that individual has been on the job for a period of time. This is true in both the public and private arenas and is true whether someone is promoted from within or is hired from outside the organization.
Fortunately, there are now four finalists for the UL presidency who are capable of successfully leading that institution. Each finalist possesses unique leadership and experiential qualities and, like everyone on Earth, each possesses some limitations, as well.
Irrespective of one's opinion of the chosen selection process, it is now extremely important for the students, faculty, administration, alumni and friends of UL to do one thing - give the new UL president our undivided support. The job is complicated, challenging, exciting and extremely important to the city, state, region and, in some disciplines, the nation.
Let's praise and thank Dr. Authement and his team for a job well done while welcoming and supporting his successor. Whoever is selected has a wonderful opportunity to build upon the current solid foundation and to lead UL to the next level.
Charles D. "Chuck" Lein, Ph.D., is a member of the UL Foundation's Board of Trustees. He is president, chief operating officer and board member for Stuller Settings Inc.
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UL — The committee searching for the new University of Louisiana at Lafayette president meets Monday in Baton Rouge to narrow the field of candidates for the job.
On the short list are UL Vice President for Academic Affairs Steve Landry, state Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie and two out-of-state candidates: Raymond Flumerfelt and Clifford L. Stanley.
The UL Faculty Senate passed a motion last week endorsing Landry, who has worked at the university for some 30 years.
UL physics professor John Meriwether, the only faculty member on the search committee, said he plans to push for Landry at Monday’s meeting in accordance with the senate’s endorsement.
“I’m going to make the argument for him. … I’m representing the faculty senate, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Meriwether said.
The remaining voting members on the search committee are UL System board members.
<center><p><a href="http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/11731796.html?showAll=y&c=y" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
By RICHARD BURGESS
Advocate Acadiana bureau
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The search for a new president began after longtime ULL President Ray Authement announced his retirement in April.
Thirty-eight people applied for the job by the Oct. 1 deadline, and the search committee pared the list down to five candidates to invite for interviews.
The committee interviewed the candidates last week in Lafayette but put off making a decision until Monday after two members asked for more time to gather community input.
In the meantime, the fifth finalist, Karen White, withdrew from the process.
White, a regional chancellor of the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, said in a withdrawal letter that “my current position more closely matches my professional priorities.”
The faculty senate passed the resolution endorsing Landry one day after the conclusion of the interviews last week.
Meriwether said the vote for Landry was 24 in favor, 4 not in favor and 5 abstaining.
The faculty senate has about 100 members, Meriwether said, but generally no more than 40 or 50 members attend the regular senate meetings.
Meriwether also said that he conducted an informal e-mail poll asking faculty members to rank the candidates.
Based on about 130 responses — roughly 25 percent of full-time faculty — Landry ranked first, followed by Savoie, Flumerfelt and then Stanley, Meriwether said.
Flumerfelt teaches engineering at the University of Houston and also serves as vice director of the Texas National Wind Energy Project.
Stanley retired from the Marines after a 33-year military career and now serves as president of Scholarship America, a nonprofit group that administers and raises scholarship money.
Some faculty have criticized the search as too narrow and urged the committee to re-open the application process to attract a larger field of out-of-state candidates.
The search committee on Monday is expected to send two or three names to the full UL System board, but the ULL Faculty Senate voted last week to urge the committee to select only one candidate to recommend to the full board.
The full UL System board, which has the final say on the selection, is expected to make a decision at its regular Dec. 7 meeting in Baton Rouge.
Authement, who is leaving after 33 years as head of the university, has said he will remain through the spring to work with the incoming president.
The search committee meeting Monday will be begin at 1:15 p.m. in the first-floor auditorium of the Claiborne Building, 1201 N. Third St., Baton Rouge.
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On Monday, the search committee chosen to find UL's next president will meet for the last time to choose who out of four candidates could best lead the university.
The process is winding down - all too quickly for some in the community who still question the University of Louisiana System's decision not to keep the search confidential, the length of the search and the five chosen candidates.
From the start, the committee had a tentative timeline to have a new president named by December. Longtime President Ray Authement announced his retirement in late April. And since then, the rumors have flown that Authement's replacement had been hand-picked by the gods in Baton Rouge long before Authement said he'd be stepping down.
It's likely not much different than 34 years ago when Authement was named to the office by the state Board of Education over the faculty's favorite, then-USL professor and civil rights activist James Oliver.
Then, the community was asked to support Authement and resist the "temptation to put personal feelings ahead of the good of our great university."
The sentiment appeared 34 years ago in The Daily Advertiser and was the appeal of Richard D'Aquin, then publisher of The Advertiser and a Board of Education member and now on the state's higher education board - the Board of Regents.
While D'Aquin nominated the Board of Regents commissioner Joseph Savoie, who is now one of the four candidates, this time he doesn't have a vote in the process.
But his association has fueled rumors that Savoie is a shoo-in.
It's also a fraction of the reason that now, 34 years later, another community leader is calling for unity - even before a new president is named.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071125/NEWS01/711250364/1002" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Marsha Sills
msills@theadvertiser.com
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In a recent Advertiser editorial, Chuck Lein, a former university president and now CEO of Stuller Place, wrote: "Irrespective of one's opinion of the chosen selection process, it is now extremely important for the students, faculty, administration, alumni and friends of UL to do one thing - give the new president our undivided support."
The search committee asked for two weeks to get feedback from the community about the five candidates who interviewed on campus Nov. 12-13.
Their choices: Stanley; Ray Flumerfelt, a University of Houston chemical engineering professor and vice director of the Texas National Wind Energy Project; Steve Landry, UL's vice president of academic affairs; and Savoie, Louisiana's commissioner of higher education.
The Senate also put its backing behind its vice president - Landry, who may be following his boss' footsteps.
Authement was vice president of academic affairs before his presidency. But unlike Landry, he wasn't the faculty favorite.
Although Savoie and Landry have been dubbed the insiders because they know the university, no one has decried their experience or character. But reservations have been expressed because the two in-state candidates are closely linked to the university and don't offer the "new blood" or outside perspective that some think UL needs.
"I don't think anyone can attack T-Joe's character or his experience," said Phil Rodrigue, a local alumnus. "I think the whole thing is the whole process of it all."
Because of Savoie's start at the university in student affairs and relationship with the state's first family (Gov. Kathleen Blanco's husband, Raymond Blanco, is vice president of student affairs), Rodrigue said Savoie is seen as the Blancos' favorite.
"I see T-Joe as the Blancos' choice. I see Landry as Dr. Authement's choice," Rodrigue said. "It's past time to change our way of thinking, and who's going to be the one to do that? Who's going to say this inbreeding is enough?"
D'Aquin chuckled when told about the rumors of his involvement in the process.
"No, I'm far out of the loop," he said. "At my age, I'm getting away from all of that."
D'Aquin said Savoie is battling perception.
"One thing about T-Joe - that's the problem, he's T-Joe around here," D'Aquin said. "But around higher education circles in the state and in national circles, he's rated highly."
At the final public hearing held by the search committee, Lein admitted his own doubts about the process it was an open search. Lein said he feared qualified candidates would choose not to apply if their names were made public too soon in the process.
Despite the recommendation from even the consultant hired by the system to recruit candidates, UL System Sally Clausen decided to keep the search open. It's the way that searches have been conducted since Clausen has led the system.
She has repeatedly defended her decision saying it allows the public to participate in the process.
More or less, that participation has also included rumor and innuendo that have played out like a soap opera plot - a chosen son pre-destined by the Queen Mother; powerful, manipulative old codgers in Baton Rouge and Lafayette; out-of-towners scared off by powerful politics.
It's unlikely the rumors will come to an end after the search committee meets for the final time Monday.
But it's about time they do, say those who have been actively involved in the search process.
The faculty have made their own opinions about the search. After on-campus interviews with the five candidates, the Faculty Senate made a resolution that appealed to the search committee to submit only one name to the board rather than leave the final decision up to the Board of Supervisors.
The committee will likely take the faculty's sentiments into consideration, but they have one vote via their representative, John Meriwether, a UL physics professor and executive officer of the Faculty Senate.
Meriwether said it's his hope that the committee will choose one candidate's name to submit to the UL System Board of Supervisors to either accept or reject.
"The conspiratorial ideas need to be put to rest," Meriwether said.
The search committee held two public hearings with the second meeting drawing concerns and questions from community members about the success of an open search.
At the meeting, Pauline Lalande, expressed her concern that the committee would be unable to do its job without political interference.
After the interviews of the five candidates, Lalande still isn't convinced.
She urged the committee not to be swayed.
The decision was too important for her not to say her piece, she said.
Lalande's family's roots at SLI go back to 1901 when her father-in-law attended. Lalande's mother attended SLI, as did she, her husband and their six children.
"We've spanned more than a century," Lalande said. "I'm interested in this university and I want the best things for it."
While she said she doesn't have anything against the candidates, it's rumors that have set her off, including a rumor that one candidate is walking through the streets of Lafayette saying he's the next UL president.
Did she hear it with her own ears?
No, she admitted.
"This is just talk on the street. When rumors like that get out, it's tough to try to defend what you're trying to better," Lalande said.
Some have questioned the length of the search, but according to the American Council on Education, which released its study of the American college presidency earlier this year, the typical length of a search is six to nine months.
Since it's been 34 years since UL has endured a search process, the ACE's American College President Study offers some perspective on trends on who's being selected to fill open positions at higher education institutions across the country.
In 2006, 21 percent of newly hired presidents had previous experience as a college president. That number is down by 8 percent compared to 1998.
While the number of sitting presidents with prior presidency experience has dropped in the past six years, the number of chief academic officers who move to the presidency has risen by 20 percent.
Of the new hires, 37 percent served as chief academic officer in their most recent prior position.
Some have criticized the search for a lack of diversity in candidates.
Of the five candidates only two were minorities - Clifford Stanley, a retired Marine officer who now serves as CEO and president of Scholarship America; and Karen White, regional chancellor at University of South Florida St. Petersburg. But White withdrew her name as a candidate.
Less than 14 percent of the presidents at doctoral-granting institutions are women.
Less than 10 percent of higher education institutions have a president of color, exclusive of HBCUs, Hispanic-focused colleges and tribal colleges.
One alumnus, Ron Johnson, has been watching the process unfold from his home in Delaware. Like, Rodrigue, he'd like to see the process start over from scratch with a new search committee chosen.
"There are thousands of colleges and universities across the U.S. You cannot tell me that the best two candidates for the job are already situated in South Louisiana, closely associated with a fourth-tier university. I am sure there is a provost or president of a smaller and more progressive college or university who would relish the challenge of leading UL out of its dark ages," Johnson commented via an e-mail response to questions from The Daily Advertiser. "I believe that in education, and in business, new and fresh ideas are necessary for progress and growth. Thinking outside of the box is a necessity."
The search committee moved forward with their collective decision of the top five candidates out of 38 applicants. Even Meriwether admitted that while his top five choices didn't make the cut, but added the process has been democratic.
"If my five had been the ones picked, why not just give me the job of picking the person?" he asked.
The committee's deliberations before the top five candidates were announced were done in executive session. It's expected that their deliberations on Monday will also be done behind closed doors.
Meriwether said there's no snow plowing going on during committee deliberations and each committee member's opinion is taken under consideration.
"No one is getting squelched for sure," he said. "Anyone can get involved in this discussion and I intend not to be quiet."
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