_ Would Steve have been better than T-Joe? "Better" is a tough call... they're apples & oranges.
What I'm hearing, however-- even from faculty that were initially skeptical of T-Joe-- is that we may have gotten 2 for the price of 1.
Steve is supposed to be made Provost, about like 1st or Senior VP in a corporation. And the indications now are that T-Joe is going to give him great latitude in running the academic side.
T-Joe, in the meantime, will serve as a true CEO, working on getting the parts all moving in the same direction; and his main focus will be what he did as VP here, i.e., focus on University Advancement, aka external support: government, fundraising, alumni, public relations.
And to that, let me point out something. When T-Joe was lobbying for UL in BR, then-VP Gary Marotta told me one time, "LSU thinks we have an army over there." T-Joe was that effective at lobbying.
Then, we have brought on Ken Ardoin, one of the most effective lobbyists Louisiana has ever seen.
We have also brought on Jerry Luke LeBlanc, who with Edgar Mouton is probably one of the two smartest politicians we have ever sent to the Leg. With that, Jerry Luke is VERY well-known in national circles, as a great innovator in government accountability, and I think he will do some great things for us.
Anyway, with T-Joe, Ken and Jerry Luke, we have a small but
very potent political team, who can start working on funding for UL.
. _