Two years later, Genovese says he isn’t able to count on either of his two supporters to advance his plans for the school, which include starting the first law school in North Louisiana.

In recent interviews, Genovese said his feud with Seabaugh, a Republican whose district includes the Natchitoches campus, is costing Northwestern State much-needed cash from the state. And it was Landry who came up with the idea to open a law school at the university, but the governor has since dropped his support of the plan, he said

“It wasn’t my idea,” Genovese said. “When I came on board … there were discussions coming out of the governor’s office regarding a law school, so I just went with the flow.”

While he seemingly tilts at windmills for a new law school, Genovese has also feuded with the lawmaker who got him the job at Northwestern State.

Seabaugh, an conservative lawmaker, said in an interview last week his first order of business after joining the Louisiana Senate in 2024 was ousting Marcus Jones, the first Black leader at Northwestern State, who Seabaugh said was responsible for the school “going downhill in many ways.”

After being forced to resign, Jones returned to the University of Louisiana System office as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“The university has not improved and it’s not going to as long as he’s there,” the senator said of Genovese

Read the full story here

What I’m reading

• Colleges Have Paid Nearly $3 Million to Employees Fired for Comments About Charlie Kirk By Aisha Baiocchi | Chronicle of Higher Education

• Is Louisiana giving too much to college football? Some lawmakers are starting to wonder. By Meghan Friedmann | The Advocate

• Stuart Bell wins final approval for University of Florida presidency By Garrett Shanley | Miami Herald

• Air Products cancels $4.5 billion project to inject carbon dioxide under Lake Maurepas By Alex Lubben | Times-Picayune

• Education advocates drop lawsuit challenging Gov. Landry’s teacher stipend plan By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Chaos in New Orleans court as AG Liz Murrill is indicted: ‘I’m gonna start cuffing people’ By James Finn | The Advocate

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President-Senator Mike Reese

McNeese State University’s new president is being paid a $300,000 annual salary and will keep his side gig — as a state senator— for the time being.

Unlike other Louisiana politicians who have landed jobs leading colleges and universities, state Sen. Mike Reese, R-Leesville, will remain in the legislature at the same time he holds the top job at McNeese.

According to his contract, Reese will receive the same compensation as his predecessor, Wade Rousse, who left the job to become the LSU System president. Reese is also paid $16,800 a year as a lawmaker. Reese has no previous professional experience in higher education.

n an interview, Reese said he did not know when he would leave his Senate seat and would not commit to doing so before the next regular session in April. Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said he asked Reese to stay in his elected office so he can chair a study committee that’s looking into the higher education funding formula.

That committee must hold its first meeting by Sept. 1 and submit its report to the Board of Regents and the four higher education systems by Feb. 26.

Reese’s new boss, University of Louisiana System President Rick Gallot, said he told Reese he would have to take leave from McNeese to handle his legislative duties.

Read the full article here

Now, the news.

Whether the University of New Orleans will retain its status as a research university after it rejoins the LSU system is uncertain, LSU System President Wade Rousse said.

Rousse said restoring the UNO’s financial stability is a priority as it becomes LSU New Orleans on July 1.

“I think that faculty is committed to remaining and keeping the [research] status,” Rousse said in an interview. “… From my perspective, from the system level, I worry about finances, so we are 100% focused on how do we increase revenue, how do we manage expenses.”

UNO is the only public research university in New Orleans and one of five public colleges in Louisiana to earn a research ranking from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. UNO’s R2 rating denotes “high” research activity, one step behind the R1 status LSU and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette hold with “very high” research activity.

Louisiana Tech and Southern University are also R2 schools.

Maintaining UNO’s status as an urban research institution has been a top priority of faculty throughout its move from the University of Louisiana System to LSU.

UNO’s transfer back to the LSU System is happening in response to a long-running enrollment decline at the New Orleans school, which has caused a fiscal crisis. The school had a student body of around 17,000 before Hurricane Katrina, with an immediate drop to around 6,000 after the August 2005 storm. For the fall 2025 semester, its total enrollment was 5,670.

Rousse said LSU New Orleans is on track to enroll 6,000 students for this fall semester.

Last year, the Louisiana Legislature gave the LSU System approximately $20 million to aid in UNO’s transition. Rousse said most of that went toward paying outstanding bills.

Last year, the LSU System restructured to absorb all of its research-intensive campuses into its main campus. The leaders of LSU’s medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the LSU AgCenter now report directly to LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton.

LSU New Orleans is not part of the restructuring. But Rousse said that if LSU is successful in stabilizing UNO, in two or three years it would consider folding the school into its research portfolio.

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Ten commandments

Days after most Louisiana university students left campus for the summer, schools across the state began posting the Ten Commandments in vacant classrooms.

The posters, donated by the conservative organization Louisiana Family Forum, have been posted in classrooms across the entire LSU System, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A spokeswoman for the Southern University System has not yet responded to a request for comment sent Wednesday as to whether they have been posted in their classrooms.

University of Louisiana System spokeswoman Katie Dawson said all of their campuses have received the posters and would have them posted by the beginning of the fall semester at the latest.

Louisiana lawmakers passed a law in 2024 requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every K-12, college and university classroom at schools that accept state money. The law was mired in a legal battle until earlier this year, when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it could go into effect.

The statue requires a specific version of the Ten Commandments, one that’s popular among evangelical denominations, to be printed on 11-by-14-inch posters, at minimum, and up to 18-by-24-inches to ensure readability, according to guidance from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.

LSU System President Wade Rousse embraced the posters in comments to the media earlier this year.

Louisiana’s public K-12 schools received donated posters from the Louisiana Family Forum earlier this year, The Advocate reported.

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What I’m reading

• Louisiana just made it illegal to sue oil companies over climate change. So have other states. By Alex Lubben | The Advocate

• UF trustees advance President-elect Stuart Bell to final state board vote By Garrett Shanley | Miami Herald

• Superintendents, advocates push back on Landry’s proposed school funding cut By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• NC State investigating LSU over Will Wade’s departure. Could legal action be next? By Brian Murphy | WRAL

• Paxton’s office threatens legal action if Big 12 penalizes Texas Tech for playing QB who placed bets By Ayden Runnels & Alex Nguyen | Texas Tribune

Higher education law changes

Public universities in Louisiana are walking away from the 2026 legislative session with more authority to increase tuition and fees as well as the ability to punish those responsible for aggressive hazing incidents.

Lawmakers also opened the door to Louisiana leaving the organization from which its college programs have received their academic stamp of approval and possibly joining a conservative alternative.

These and other notable changes are in store for higher education in the state.

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Cleo to Southern?

The team tasked with hiring the next Southern University System president is close to finishing its work, its chairman said Thursday.

New Orleans City Councilman Jason Hughes, a Southern graduate and former state representative, said he believes the committee will select finalists within a month. The finalists will then participate in public interviews before the Southern University Board of Supervisors hires somebody for the position.

The committee had originally planned to present candidates to the board in May and have a president installed by July 1. But the committee extended its timeline in May, citing a delay in hiring a search firm.

The extension came just days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which led Republicans in the state legislature to turn the majority Black congressional district that U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, holds into one that favors a Republican candidate. It led to speculation that Fields was in consideration for the presidency.

When asked about that possibility, Hughes said the search committee hasn’t identified any specific individuals for the job. Fields has not yet responded to a request for comment.

“We’ll consider anybody who ultimately decides to apply,” Hughes said. “But I can assure the public this: No one has been promised a job, no politician, no academician, no person within the United States of America, and I can say that with full-fledged confidence.”

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Three bills have been filed that seek to take on the Board of Regents, the coordinating body for the LSU, University of Louisiana, Southern and Louisiana Community and Technical College systems.

Most states with multiple university or college systems also have an overarching board covering all higher education.

The most severe measure, House Bill 391 by Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, is a constitutional amendment that would be put on the ballot to ask voters whether to completely abolish Regents, a constitutionally established agency.

McMakin, whose district encompasses LSU and who is also the public address announcer for football games at Tiger Stadium, said he would hold a hearing on the bill near the end of session. He intends to call someone from the Board of Regents to defend its functions, but he said he didn’t anticipate his bill would pass this year.

On the other end of the spectrum is Senate Bill 478 by Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, which redefines and strengthens Regents’ financial oversight powers

“I don’t know that I have a lot of confidence that each system can govern themselves,” Boudreaux said in an interview.

The only bill actively moving through the legislature is Senate Bill 484 by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, which gives some, but not all, of Regents’ functions to other state agencies.

In an interview, Abraham said his bill is not a step toward abolishing Regents, as he believes there needs to be some level of oversight above the higher education management boards.

Abraham’s bill and Boudreaux’s bill have one common element. They both move the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium from Regents to the LSU System.

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• Beshear again criticizes U of Kentucky hiring decisions, says ‘real oversight’ is needed By McKenna Horsley | Kentucky Lantern

• Be Careful What You Wish For: Trump’s Order Could Strip the NCAA of a 30-Year Legal Protection By Neal Ternes, Joe Sabin & Sam Erlich | Extra Points

• Rutgers didn’t want a DEI war with Trump so it hired his old lawyer By Ted Sherman | NJ.com

• Inside the Shreveport mass-shooter’s descent into violence: ‘Help guard my mind and emotions’ By James Finn & Justin O’Connor | Times-Picayune

• After deadly Mall of Louisiana shooting, Gov. Jeff Landry lays blame on judges By Meghan Friedmann | The Advocate

• Louisiana lawmakers pause bill to limit openness of university leadership searches By Andrea Gallo | The Advocate

• Democratic voters shut out of picking Louisiana’s new Supreme Court justice By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

College students who use deepfakes to harass could be punished under proposed law

A Louisiana legislative committee has advanced a bill that would add the creation of deepfakes to a list of punishable offenses for college students and employees.

Senate Bill 347 by Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, adds deepfakes to the definition of power-based violence. It was advanced unanimously Wednesday from the Senate Committee on Education.

Power-based violence occurs when someone asserts power to control or intimidate another person. It is more expansive than sexual misconduct or other offenses under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in college settings.

Under Louisiana’s power-based violence law, the Title IX offices at colleges and universities can investigate and punish students and employees for dating violence, domestic or family violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, stalking, unwelcome sex- or gender-based behavior that is “objectively offensive” and has a discriminatory intent.

Current law also prohibits “nonconsensual observation of another person’s sexuality” without their consent, which includes voyeurism, “peeping Tom” behavior and revenge pornography, which is when private images are disclosed without permission.

Barrow’s bill expands the law to include deepfakes, which are manipulated digital images, video or audio intended to be passed off as genuine from the person being depicted.

Deepfakes are becoming more accessible with the rise of generative artificial intelligence. There are many services available online that can freely or cheaply take an authentic image of a clothed person and produce a picture or video that appears to show them naked or even engaged in sexual activity.

Read the full article here

House Bill 1008 by Rep. Chuck Owen, R-Rosepine, advanced unanimously Wednesday from the House Committee on Education. The proposal would create financial penalties for any school that retaliates against faculty for their speech, regardless of their tenure status.

In addition to protecting academic freedom and speech unrelated to their work, the bill would also protect faculty who act as whistleblowers.

“We need to get to a place in Louisiana where we respect academic freedom and personal liberties of professors in all aspects,” Owen said.

In an interview, Owen said he was aware of several incidents at Louisiana universities in which administration retaliated against faculty for their speech but didn’t provide specifics because he didn’t want any one particular incident to define his bill.

“It happens flagrantly on the left and on the right,” Owen said. “I’m actually more concerned about what’s happened to people on the left.”

Owen, a conservative Republican, has a keen interest in free speech on college campuses and has proposed many bills on the topic, including a 2022 law that offers protections for students who may be violently targeted for their speech.

Read the full article here

Bill would require certain students to repay TOPS

A Louisiana legislative committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would require students to repay their state-funded TOPS scholarship awards if they lose eligibility for the program with poor grades or by leaving school.

House Bill 385 by Rep. Dennis Bamburg, R-Bossier City, would only apply to students in the bottom two levels of the program: TOPS Opportunity and TOPS Performance. It requires students to repay the full amount of TOPS money they’ve received.

Students who qualify for the higher levels, and receive more money from the state, would not be required to pay back their awards if they can’t meet state standards.

“If a student accepts TOPS funds, there is a responsibility to meet the program’s requirements,” Bamburg said. “If those obligations aren’t met with good [decisions], taxpayers deserve a mechanism to recover those dollars.”

The bill would also apply to students who lose eligibility by taking a break from school and does not have an exception if those students ultimately end up graduating from college.

Read the full article here

Here, read this:

• Shreveport mourns 8 children, ages 3 to 11, killed in Sunday mass shooting, suspect identified By Brian McCallum | Shreveport-Bossier Advocate

• A disturbing lack of integrity’: Columbia students file complaint against energy thinktank taking big oil money By Dharna Noor | The Guardian

• Kentucky Republicans Override Beshear’s Veto of Faculty Firing Bill By Ryan Quinn | Inside Higher Ed

• Proposed Louisiana budget increases spending on prisons; teacher pay on hold until election By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Longtime Immigration Court Interpreter Arrested by ICE at South Texas Airport By Gaige Davila | Texas Observer

• Louisiana political donors would have addresses redacted from public reports under bill By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Louisiana’s abandoned oil wells surge to record numbers. Is the bill coming due? By Alex Lubben | Times-Picayune

Lawmakers weigh setting new standard for public spending secrecy

Opponents of a bill to shield how Louisiana’s public universities spend their revenue on college athletes warn it’s a slippery slope, as it would be the first time the state hides how public money is spent from public view.

The House and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced House Bill 608 by Rep. Tehmi Chassion, D-Lafayette, on a 9-3 vote Tuesday. The bill would create a new public records exemption to conceal how much public money universities pay directly to student athletes. The payments are allowed under new “revenue-sharing” rules implemented after the NCAA settled a lawsuit last year brought by student-athletes seeking compensation.

Chassion’s bill was amended in the House Education Committee earlier this month to also exempt how much colleges spend on individual teams. LSU’s athletics department has since come under fire from its fans who have criticized the university for not investing enough money in its baseball roster.

Following the backlash, LSU athletics director Verge Ausberry committed to increasing the baseball team’s revenue-sharing percentage.

Members of the committee seemed to not understand the difference between revenue sharing — which is paid directly from universities to athletes with public money — and name, image and likeness deals, which are between student athletes and private companies. NIL deals are already exempt from disclosure under existing public records law.

The money used to pay student athletes comes from public sources. It is a mix of funding from self-generated revenue such as ticket sales, state dollars and, at some campuses, student fees.

There are currently no exemptions in Louisiana law for sharing records with the public that show how state money is spent.

Opponents of the bill cautioned against setting a precedent with Chassion’ bill.

“It is a very slippery slope on which you are climbing,” First Amendment attorney Scott Sternberg, who is representing the Louisiana Illuminator, WAFB-TV and Tiger Rag in a lawsuit against LSU for denying a request for its revenue-sharing records.

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Legislators advanced a bill Wednesday to provide state universities with an alternative to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The organization has evaluated curricula, faculty, governance and other factors for colleges in 11 southern states since its founding 1895. LSU was the first Louisiana school to receive SACSCOC accreditation, getting its initial approval in 1913.

Senate Bill 304 by Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, would require the Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in Louisiana, to develop a policy that would allow schools to switch from the Southern Association to another accreditor. The Senate Committee on Education approved the bill unanimously.

The bill was introduced at the recommendation of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s Task Force on Public Higher Education Reform, on which Edmonds served. The task force suggested Louisiana’s schools seek membership in the Commission for Public Higher Education, a conservative accreditor founded last summer that’s seeking expedited recognition from the U.S. Department of Education.

University systems in six other states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee — are already part of the new group.

Edmonds’ bill stops short of requiring membership in the Commission for Public Higher Education. Instead, it allows schools to seek accreditation from an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that promotes standards such as workforce outcomes, educational quality and affordability.

His legislation also requires that an accreditor “ensures appropriate accountability through a rigorous annual review of the faculty,” which might ultimately limit who would be eligible to set standards for Louisiana schools. No accreditation groups currently require annual faculty reviews as part of their principles.

Read the full article here

Here, read this

• Many of the Education Dept.’s Accreditation Ideas May Be Illegal, Experts Say By Eric Kelderman | Chronicle of Higher Education

• State of sports: Gov. Jeff Landry riffs on rodeo, Saints, Pelicans, Will Wade, Lane Kiffin in Q&A By Jeff Duncan | Times-Picayune

• Is Jeff Landry trying to lure SpaceX to Louisiana? Incentive bills raise questions. By Stephanie Riegel | Times-Picayune

• These coastal Louisiana camps lost power when their utility pulled out. Others could be next. By Sam Karlin | Times-Picayune

• A Louisiana bill would protect employees who misgender people at work By Piper Hutchinson | Louisiana Illuminator

Shorter sentences for degree-earners

A bill is advancing through the Louisiana Legislature with bipartisan support that would shorten criminal sentences for incarcerated people who attain associate’s degrees.

House Bill 111 by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, was advanced unanimously Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Judiciary C. The bill would add associate’s degrees to the list of degrees that incarcerated people can earn to receive 90 days toward the reduction of their sentence.

Current law already allows the imprisoned to reduce their sentences by attaining bachelor’s or master’s degrees.

Landry’s bill has support from a wide range of organizations across the political spectrum, including the conservative Pelican Institute and Louisiana Association of Business and Industry as well as the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center.

Landry said the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections asked her to file the bill. It is part of package of educational proposals with the backing of a coalition of business and criminal justice organizations with the goal to reduce recidivism and improve workforce participation by formerly incarcerated people.

House Bill 274 by Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, would allow more people who have served time to participate in the M.J. Foster Promise Program, which provides financial aid for students to pursue an associate degree or short-term credential in a high-demand occupation.

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It would be the first public records exemption for public spending in Louisiana.

No members on the House Education Committee objected Wednesday to advancing House Bill 608 by Rep. Tehmi Chassion, D-Lafayette, which would create a new public records exemption that would conceal how much public money universities pay directly to student athletes. The payments are allowed under new “revenue sharing” rules implemented after the NCAA settled a lawsuit last year brought by student-athletes seeking compensation.

Revenue sharing is the process by which universities directly pay players, which is separate from name, image and likeness deals athletes enter into with private companies. These NIL records are already exempt from public disclosure.

Regardless of the source of the revenue, it is all public money. For each athletic department, it is a mix of self-generated revenue such as ticket sales, tax dollars and, for some, student fees. There are currently no exemptions in Louisiana law for sharing records with the public how state money is spent.

“It is important to remember these [revenue-sharing] agreements use public money,” Steven Procopio, president of the good government group Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, said in an interview. His organization opposes the bill.

“Reasonable people can disagree on whether that is a worthy use of funds,” Procopio said. “There should be no debate that citizens have a right to see how their tax dollars — or any public money — is spent.”

Chassion said nearly every state university supports his bill, and the same schools have denied the Illuminator’s request for their revenue sharing records citing existing exemptions to public records disclosure in state law. The Illuminator, WAFB-TV and Tiger Rag are suing LSU over the denial of this request

The move to hide how public money is being spent on college athletes comes as higher education officials acknowledge the detrimental impact athletics spending has had on campus budgets and as lawmakers call for increased scrutiny of university finances.

Read the full article here

Harmful hazing to become easier to punish

individuals and organizations that engage in hazing that ends with death or serious harm.

House Bill 738 by Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, was approved by the House Education Committee. It would clear up legislation McMakin got approved in 2024 to require schools to abide by a higher standard of evidence in any student discipline case where the punishment is expulsion or at least a 10-day suspension.

Before McMakin’s law took effect, administrators could hold a student responsible if the evidence suggested it was slightly more likely than not that they violated school policy. Even if there was conflicting testimony, a student could be punished if evidence tipped the scale just past the 50% likelihood.

Now universities need clear and convincing evidence, a standard used in some court cases such to prove fraud or terminate parental rights. The higher threshold requires evidence that points to the student’s guilt being substantially more probable than not, and it might require multiple witnesses, photo evidence or other information to firmly convince administrators.

Clearing that bar can be difficult because, unlike in courtroom proceedings, school administrators don’t have as much power to gather evidence. They say the new standard has made it nearly impossible to hold anyone responsible for hazing.

Under McMakin’s new proposal, colleges and universities can use the older, lower standard of evidence when a suspected hazing incident results in death, the substantial risk of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement or the protracted loss or impairment of the use of a limb, organ or mental capacity.

Offenses that do not reach that threshold, even if they result in bodily harm or trauma, would still have to be decided based on the higher standard of evidence.

Read the full article here

Here, read this

• OPINION: LSU Wants The Advantages of Being Public and The Secrecy of Being Private By Todd Horne | Tiger Rag

• Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done? By Miryam Naddaf & Elizabeth Quill | Nature

• Louisiana scraps some, but not all, AI proposals after Trump threats By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Proposal to ban prop bets on sports dies in Louisiana. It would have cost the state millions. By Alyse Pfeil | Times-Picayune

• Editorial: Exceptions to public records law must necessarily be narrow | The Advocate

• Kentucky Lawmakers Want to Make It Easier to Lay Off Faculty By Ryan Quinn | Inside Higher Ed

Caleb Wilson hazing prevention act advances

Louisiana legislators have advanced a bill to combat college hazing by increasing penalties, training and reporting requirements for schools and campus organizations.

House Bill 636, authored by Rep. Vanessa LaFleur, D-Baton Rouge, advanced without opposition from the House Education Committee. Known as the Caleb Wilson Hazing Prevention Act, the measure is named for the 20-year-old Southern University student who died in a hazing incident last year.

Five people have been indicted in connection with Wilson’s death during a February pledge initiation for Omega Psi Phi fraternity. The chapter has been removed from Southern’s campus, though it has the option to appeal and return.

Caleb Wilson’s death was the first college student hazing fatality in Louisiana since September 2017, when LSU student Maxwell Gruver, 18, died after a fraternity ritual that involved chugging high-proof alcohol. One of the students involved, Matthew Naquin, was convicted of negligent homicide in November 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison with half of the term suspended. He reported to prison in January 2020 and was released in April of that year.

Following Gruver’s death, lawmakers increased penalties for hazing. The passage of the Max Gruver Act instituted a possibility of a five-year prison sentence for criminal hazing if the hazing results in serious injury or death.

If approved, LaFleur’s bill would take effect in the 2027-28 school year and apply to fraternities, sororities and any organization primarily made up of current or former college students. It covers clubs, athletic teams and bands, and it applies to public universities and private ones that accept public funds.

Read the full article here

Even more bills

A handful of higher ed bills were filed in the last days of the filing period. Here are a few (more) to keep an eye on:

• House Bill 1008 by Rep. Chuck Owen, R-Rosepine, prohibits universities from retaliating against or punishing faculty for their free speech, research or teaching of controversial subjects

• House Bill 1063 by Rep. Chuck Owen, R-Rosepine, requires the annual review of any required university courses and gives the university president the power to appoint the faculty senate or council president (members of the faculty body would also have to be full professors)

• House Bill 1084 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, allows campuses to set differential tuition, which is currently a power controlled by the four university systems

• Senate Bill 478 by Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, creates financial reporting requirements for universities and requires corrective plans for those in distress. It also moves LUMCON to the LSU system.

• Senate Bill 484 by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, transfers certain Regents functions to the management boards. It also moves LUMCON to the LSU system.

• House Resolution 80 by Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, directs the Legislative Auditor to do a financial audit of the higher education boards related to the Regents goals to increase minority student completion rates, which as you may recall is the subject of a Trump admin investigation

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Gov. Jeff Landry has boasted of not growing the state budget since he took office in 2024. But while funding has generally stood still, inflation has created the practical effect of budget cuts not just for colleges and universities but all state government.

Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed listed inflation and athletics costs among the key factors leading to financial challenges at several public universities in Louisiana. She laid out the financial picture for state lawmakers this week to the committees that craft the state budget.

If state funding for higher education had kept pace with inflation over the past 10 years, higher education would be receiving approximately $850 million more, Reed said.

That’s more than the entire budget for LSU’s main campus.

“To fully fund higher education is an $850 million price tag, which I know this legislature does not have, but we do need to continue to invest in the education providers who are developing talent so there are more opportunities for our people,” Reed told lawmakers.

That level of investment isn’t coming anytime soon. State spending has been effectively frozen in place for three years, and lawmakers are looking for ways to cut the state income tax, which could make fiscal matters even more difficult.

Read the full article here

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• Mississippi Senate committee kills bill to make NIL money tax exempt By Bea Anhuci | Clarion Ledger

• Louisiana could prosecute more misdemeanor defendants without juries. Here’s why it matters. By Meghan Friedmann | The Advocate

• Should Louisiana DAs have more time to prosecute public corruption cases? By Meghan Friedmann | The Advocate

• As ‘manfluencers’ use smart glasses to secretly record women, Louisiana eyes privacy law By Meghan Friedmann | The Advocate

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Southern requests $19m in one-time money

Southern University’s leader has called on state lawmakers to start making up for decades of underfunding in comparison with Louisiana’s flagship university.

Interim SU System President Orlando McMeans is asking the legislature to pay $19 million toward the $1.2 billion disparity in what LSU has received since the 1980s.

The request would be a one-time investment used for campus security, information technology and student recruitment, McMeans said.

The gap was brought to the forefront of higher education funding discussions in 2023 when the White House sent a letter to 16 governors, including Gov. John Bel Edwards, whose states have historically shortchanged their Black land grant universities.

Southern and LSU are among the more than 100 federal land grant universities in the United States. They were first established in the 19th century to create schools with a focus on teaching agriculture, science, engineering and military science. The colleges receive additional federal benefits, but states must match certain funds with state dollars — a requirement that has not always been met.

The Biden administration found Louisiana had shortchanged Southern University to a tune of $1.2 billion less in comparison to LSU, the state’s land grant institution with a predominantly white student body. LSU did not admit Black students until the 1960s.

Former Southern University President Dennis Shields and former LSU President William Tate both called on the legislature to address the funding disparity.

“I know some people get a little bit uncomfortable when you talk about this issue, but facts are facts. Universities, such as Southern University, have been grossly underfunded,” McMeans said.

Read the full article here

Attorney Scott Sternberg, who is representing us, filed the lawsuit Thursday with the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge. It argues the records should be made public because the revenue LSU spends is public money. We requested the spending records from LSU under the state’s public records law and were denied.

Louisianians have the right to know how public money is being spent.

“The expenditure of public funds is what government transparency laws are all, at their bedrock, fundamentally about,” Sternberg said. “Asking for records of how Louisiana government, including LSU, spends state dollars is usually not a question.”

“These news organizations have joined together to file suit because they believe the public’s right to know how our money is spent is sacred,” Sternberg added.

Following the landmark House v. NCAA settlement last June, athletics departments are allowed to pay college athletes directly. LSU can now spend a maximum of $20.5 million on its players under the new rules.

LSU’s athletics department is primarily fueled with self-generated revenue, such as ticket sales and media rights, though it receives some taxpayer funding. All of this revenue is considered public money, and the spending of these dollars requires legislative approval.

The state has historically treated such spending as a subject to public scrutiny. The Louisiana Constitution protects the people’s right to examine public documents, with certain exceptions to the law.

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If you’re interested in supporting our quest for transparency (lawsuits are expensive), you can make a tax-deductible donation to the Louisiana Illuminator here.

Search secrecy

A Louisiana Senate committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow state universities to withhold records related to donors and leadership job applicants from public records requests.

Senate Bill 289 by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, would create exemptions in the state’s public records law for the names of donors to public colleges and universities as well as applications to “executive” jobs. Public records laws protect the public’s right to know what governments are doing. They’re part of “sunshine” laws that every state and the federal government has put in place to ensure transparency.

Louisiana courts have ruled universities can withhold job applicant records until they are made official, which is typically when semifinalists are selected. Those who express interest but are not deemed official applicants are not disclosed. Abraham’s bill would put that into law and make it more stringent by only allowing the release of applications once the school’s governing board names one or more finalists.

While the bill specifically says the governing board has to name the finalists, Abraham said in an interview he believes it would also count if a board-approved search committee selects finalists, which is how university presidents and chancellors are typically hired at Louisiana’s state colleges.

His bill would also block the names of donors who give directly to universities. Existing law shields the identity of donors to private foundations affiliated with universities.

“There’s a whole lot between president, chancellor and dean, provost, executive vice president,” said Steven Procopio said, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, noting even some athletics employees could be caught up in the definition.

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Here, read this

• Paul Sawyer wins special election for District 69 State Representative seat | WBRZ

• Why Tiger Rag Is Suing LSU Over Athlete Pay Records — And What It Means For College Sports By Todd Horne | Tiger Rag

• Louisiana schools navigate Ten Commandments law after 5th Circuit ruling By Marta Jewson | Louisiana Illuminator

• Louisiana takes steps to criminalize protests at churches By Piper Hutchinson | Louisiana Illuminator

• The Washington Post Is Using Reader Data to Set Subscription Prices. How Does That Work? By Kate Corliss | The Washingtonian

• ‘Choot ‘em!’ Louisiana considers separate alligator season for sport hunters By Elise Plunk | Louisiana Illuminator

• LSU Sweetening Pot For Will Wade? McNeese AD Who Hired Wade Is Up For LSU Associate AD Job By Glenn Guilbeau | Tiger Rag

• What does Denmark think of Gov. Jeff Landry’s Greenland role? We asked an expert from there. By Tyler Bridges | The Advocate

• No easy answers for senators grappling with college sports pay By Shauneen Miranda | States Newsroom

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Undergrad research on display

Students from Louisiana’s universities presented their research to lawmakers, lobbyists and others at the State Capitol this week to demonstrate the impact of undergraduate research.

On the first day of the legislative session Monday, students gave short presentations to anyone who stopped by their poster displays between the House of Representatives and Senate chambers. The setup was reminiscent of a middle school science fair, but the research presented was far more advanced than a baking soda volcano.

The science on show ranged from agricultural research impacting Louisiana farmers to what drugs were present in New Orleans’ wastewater during its most recent Super Bowl.

Lawmakers pursued the posters in between meetings. Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette was engrossed in a UL Lafayette student’s poster about the Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment, a student-run organization that creates miniature observation equipment that can be launched into space.

Rep. Joe Orgeron, R-Larose, who has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas, also spent about 20 minutes talking to a Nicholls student examining the interactions between oil and Vibrio vulnificus, the brackish water-borne bacteria that’s caused fatal skin infections and illnesses in Louisiana and other coastal states.

Lucille Yoes, a coastal and environmental science student at LSU, detailed her work with Professor Nancy Rabalais on the school’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” monitoring project. Yoes’ work examines what worms are able to survive in the annual low-oxygen event off the Louisiana coast. The annual deadzone cruise will cease after this year as a result federal research funding cuts.

Emily Davis, a chemistry junior at Nicholls who plans to go to medical school, shared her research into how pollutants in wetlands cause environmental distress. Her goal is to create a tool that will help environmentalists and crawfish farmers determine the areas where pollutants are most severe.

“That way they can have the most ample time to help crawfish farmers prevent their crawfish from getting even more damage,” Davis said. “It helps them not lose such a large batch of crawfish.”

The sponsor for the event, the Louisiana Undergraduate Research Association, advocates for expanded access and opportunity for the state’s college students, Sherry Krayesky-Self, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette biology professor and president of the organization, said in a statement to the Illuminator.

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Higher education will be a hot topic. As usual, I will have weekly updates here.

Here are a few higher ed bills I’m watching:

• House Bill 99 by Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, would allow the carrying of guns on college campuses. McCormick has introduced this bill multiple times and it has consistently failed. Relatedly, House Bill 195 by Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, would allow students to carry pepper spray on campus. Of the two bills, I’d say Bayham’s has the stronger chance.

• House Bill 104 by Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, allows for the creation of a phased retirement system for higher ed employees. This builds on Bacala’s previous work on higher ed retirement reform. (Bacala previously chaired House Retirement but is now chairing the House Ways and Means Committee)

• House Bill 274 by Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, allows more formerly incarcerated people to qualify for the MJ Foster Promise program, which provides student aid for certain workforce programs.

• House Bill 229 by Rep. John Wyble, R-Franklinton, applies the federal “do no harm principle” to state financial aid. As written, the bill would take state funding away from vey low earning degree and credential programs. An analysis of the principle’s application on the federal level show that primarily for-profit degree/credential programs fail to meet the bar.

• House Bill 385 by Rep. Dennis Bamburg, R-Bossier City, requires students to repay their TOPS award if they lose eligibility.

• House Bill 391 by Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to abolish the Board of Regents.

• House Bill 608 by Rep. Tehmi Chassion, D-Lafayette, would hide records from public disclosure that show how much public money universities pay to college athletes.

• House Bill 636 by Rep. Vanessa LaFleur, D-Baton Rouge, aka “The Caleb Wilson Hazing Prevention Act” implements a number of hazing prevention measures recommended by a task force also named in Wilson’s honor. You can read about those recommendations here.

• House Bills 678 and 935 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, would allow for TOPS awards to certain students enrolled in certain medical or dental-related graduate programs.

• Senate Bill 289 by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, would hide certain records from public disclosure related to presidential searches, any records that identify donors to universities and any records related to proprietary research before publication.

Med school musical chairs to continue

The doctors in charge of LSU’s two medical schools could be replaced following faculty complaints that university leaders acted hastily in appointing them to their jobs.

LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton said last week he plans on conducting searches for the top posts at the medical schools in Shreveport and New Orleans. The process will begin only after LSU hires a provost for its Baton Rouge campus and a director at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, according to the chancellor.

Dr. Lester Johnson, interim senior vice chancellor in Shreveport, and Dr. David Guzick, senior vice chancellor in New Orleans, will be able to apply for the positions they currently hold.

Because these types of searches tend to take more time, it might be more than a year before LSU begins searching for new medical school leadership, LSU system President Wade Rousse said.

Johnson was hired last year on an interim basis to replace Guzick, who had been in charge of the Shreveport medical school since 2023. Guzick resigned in April 2025 after a months-long pressure campaign from LSU Board of Supervisors member Esperanza Moran and was then made chief research officer for the LSU System.

Dr. Steve Nelson, chancellor of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans since 2021, was fired last month. Guzick was named his replacement days later, prompting frustration from the medical school’s faculty senate. Its members approved a resolution in February calling out Dalton and Rousse for making leadership changes without discussion with the faculty. The resolution called on the pair to conduct a search for the position, which Dalton has committed to doing.

The resolution also called for a “transparent, thoughtful and evidence-based approach” to restructuring leadership.

Read the full article here

What I’m reading

• How Trump’s Medicaid, food stamps overhaul could squeeze Louisiana’s budget By Meghan Friedmann | Times-Picayune

• Grambling Scores ‘G’ Trademark as UGA, Packers Give Blessing By Michael McCann & Eben Novy-Williams | Sportico

• ULS files lawsuit against Conference USA on behalf of Louisiana Tech By Malcom Butler | Lincoln Parish Journal

• A Reporter in Nashville, Detained by ICE By Carolina Abbott Galvão | Columbia Journalism Review

• Julia Letlow lands key endorsement in Louisiana Senate race By Greg Hilburn | Shreveport Times

• Louisiana crawfish industry struggles with limited foreign workers, ag commissioner says By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

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Barely in the black

As LSU sports barely breaks even financially, difficult times potentially lie ahead for both its athletic teams and academic programs.

A report earlier this month from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor revealed LSU athletics’ profit margin for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025 was just $28,604. That’s an increase from losing more than $800,000 the previous year.

The current fiscal year is the first under new revenue-sharing rules. The NCAA now requires Division I schools to distribute up to 22% of their intake annually, which comes to about $20.5 million for top-earning programs like LSU’s.

The meager surplus for LSU athletics comes as every other department on campus has gotten used to lean budgets. Last fall, the university mandated a 2% reduction campuswide to support academic and research initiatives. Its athletics department was not be subject to the new money-saving measures.

During difficult budget times in the past, LSU’s athletic department has transferred money to the university. After Gov. Bobby Jindal slashed the state budget, including spending on state universities, the school received tens of millions of dollars from its sports programs from 2012-19, when athletics director Scott Woodward ended the practice shortly after he took the job.

“It’s something that’s very dangerous, when universities rely on recurring money, especially from an auxiliary like the athletic department,” Woodward told Tiger Rag in 2019. “So no, I think, while I will always support the university in some form or fashion, we can not sustain what we’re currently doing.”

But with the cost of revenue-sharing looming, the multi-million dollar surpluses LSU reported in years past could become a relic — and send athletics looking for new sources of income.

Read the full article here

New Landry LSU Board pick

Gov. Jeff Landry has appointed Lake Charles businessman John Condos, who has donated hundreds of thousands to Landry and Republicans, to the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Condos, who owns businesses in the healthcare law and medical marijuana fields, was previously a member of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors and has served as one of Landry’s appointees to the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District since 2024.

Condos is a graduate of McNeese State University and was also previously a professor at the university. He replaces Glenn Armentor, a Lafayette attorney who resigned from the board this week after missing a year’s worth of meetings. Landry said Armentor resigned to focus on his law practice. Former Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed Armentor to the LSU board in 2016.

Condos has donated over $150,000 to Landry and groups supporting him since he began running for governor and has donated over $687,000 to various candidates and political organizations since 2003, according to campaign finance records. Though he primarily supports Republican causes, he is also an occasional donor to Democrats, including New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno.

As chairman of the UL System board’s athletics committee, Condos was a cheerleader for the hiring of former LSU basketball coach Will Wade at McNeese. Wade was fired from LSU in 2022 amid allegations of recruiting violations, though some Tiger fans want him to be rehired.

Read the full article here

Landry’s office announced Monday he had formally requested the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to widen the inquiry it announced Feb. 13 into the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state. At the heart of its probe is an objective in its 2019 strategic plan to increase the number of Black and Hispanic students who receive degrees and certifications at state schools.

Now Landry is asking the Trump administration to scrutinize all state colleges and universities to determine if any have engaged in DEI practices contrary to federal law or policy.

“Let me be clear: Louisiana is done with woke DEI policies. Discrimination against ANY student will not be tolerated,” Landry said in a news release. “This issue began under the previous administration, and we are fixing it. That is why, I’ve formally requested that the investigation be expanded to EVERY public higher education institution in Louisiana.”

“If there are violations of federal law anywhere in our system, we want them corrected,” Landry added.

Though Landry mentioned the previous administration, led by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, DEI practices were put in place decades ago and became standard in colleges and universities in both red and blue states. They were largely uncontroversial until 2020, when a conservative backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement spread to other instances of perceived “wokeness.”

Louisiana Republicans did not begin advocating for an end to DEI practices until 2023.

It is unusual for a governor to actively seek a federal investigation, especially when there are no specific allegations of wrongdoing. Such investigations could lead to financial penalties for the state, including the loss of federal funding, which Louisiana universities rely on for research and other purposes.

It’s also notable that Landry is calling for an investigation only into Louisiana’s public universities, though the U.S. Department of Education can look into any institution that receives federal dollars, including private schools such as Loyola, Tulane and Xavier universities.

Federal education officials have yet responded to a request for comment.

Read the full article here

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Quote of the week

“The president’s going to start talking a lot about this that the desire for us to elevate LSU, elevate into one of the elite research institutions in the United States.

Oftentimes, historically, you’ve heard talk about whether LSU can be elite, countered by “but we need to be accessible.” As the flagship here in Louisiana, we need to have our doors open and provide opportunity for Louisiana students.

Dr. Rousse is fundamentally committed to the idea that those two things are not mutually exclusive,” LSU Chief of Staff Jason French said on The Light Switch, the Louisiana Illuminator podcast. Listen below.

Ramesh Kolluru chosen as ULL president

The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors has hired Ramesh Kolluru as the next president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Kolluru was considered the frontrunner for the position. Before being selected as interim president, he had been ULL’s vice president for research, innovation and economic development since 2012, a position that allowed him to form close relationships with prominent political figures in the state.

Kolluru, an immigrant from India, received his masters and doctoral degree in computer science from ULL and refers to himself as an “honorary Cajun.” Kolluru and his family have lived in Lafayette since he was hired as an assistant professor in 1999. He earned tenure in 2009 and was promoted to full professor in 2017.

“Dr. Kolluru’s story reflects the very best of what higher education in America can make possible,” UL System President Rick Gallot said. “He came to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a graduate student, earned both his master’s and doctoral degrees here, and over more than three decades has grown alongside this institution.”

“He understands this university not only as a leader, but as someone whose life and family are deeply rooted in this campus and the Acadiana community,” Gallot added.

The board has not yet finalized Kolluru’s contract. His predecessor, Joseph Savoie, earned a salary of $510,500.

Savoie abruptly resigned in July, one year before his contract ended. His departure came after an unfavorable state audit earlier that year found the same problems from 2024, which earned Savoie sharp scrutiny from the board that spring.

Savoie had been president since 2008 and oversaw the university’s transformation into a major research institution. In 2022, ULL received the prestigious R1 status in the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions, meaning it undertakes very high levels of research activity. The other R1 universities in Louisiana are LSU and Tulane.

In his interviews, Kolluru highlighted the need to maintain the university’s R1 status while addressing the school’s severe budget crisis. ULL has struggled to correct a more than $50 million deficit by cutting salaries and laying off staff.

Kolluru said the university is $12 million away from ending the year in the black, which would be the first time in nine years the university would do so.

Read the full article here

What I’m reading

• Education Department data shows foreign contracts, gifts to US colleges topped $5B in 2025 By Shauneen Miranda | States Newsroom

• ‘GATOR is not going to grow’: Senate President rejects Jeff Landry’s bid to expand school vouchers By Patrick Wall | The Advocate

• What foods are forbidden under Louisiana’s new SNAP rules? Take our quiz. By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• AI ‘hallucinations’ in legal brief cost New Orleans-area lawyer $1,000 punishment By John Simerman | The Advocate

• Louisiana Dr. Ralph Abraham clarifies CDC departure, RFK Jr. support By Greg Hilburn | Shreveport Times

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LSU to post Ten Commandments

LSU President Wade Rousse said the university will comply with a state law that requires posting displays of the Ten Commandments in each classroom, but he is waiting for posters to be donated.

“Personally, I think shining a light on God is never a negative thing, but that’s just a personal statement of mine,” Rousse said. “We’re going to move as quickly as we need to to stay in compliance with the law.”

Louisiana lawmakers passed a law in 2024 requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every K-12, college and university classroom at schools that accept state money. The law was mired in a legal battle until last week, when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it could go into effect.

Though the law requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in classrooms, it has no enforcement mechanism or penalties for schools or teachers that do not comply.

Gov. Jeff Landry, whose support for Rousse helped him clinch the job last year, praised the LSU president’s announcement in a social media post Friday.

“Refreshing to see this sentiment on a college campus,” Landry posted. “LSU is in good hands!”

Read the full article here

Southern hazing victim Caleb Wilson to receive posthumous degree as lawmakers offer reform

The Southern University System Board of Supervisors voted Friday to confer posthumous degrees to two students who died last year, including one who died as the result of a fraternity hazing incident.

The degrees will be bestowed upon Caleb Wilson, a former member of Southern’s Human Jukebox who died after being punched in the chest as part of a hazing ritual while pledging the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in February 2025, and Kavon Barnhill, who died in a car crash in December.

Five people have been indicted in connection with Wilson’s death. The fraternity chapter has been removed from Southern’s campus though it has the option to appeal and return.

Their degrees will be awarded at Southern’s May 15 commencement ceremony, when both students would have walked across the stage to accept their degrees.

“We have two students that we lost tragically,” Southern Chancellor John Pierre said. “These were both outstanding scholars … Our hearts go out to the families, and we are so sorry for their loss.”

Wilson’s death has catalyzed Louisiana legislators to take action to clamp down on hazing. Last year, lawmakers passed Act 174 by Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, which doubled the hazing prevention training students in campus organizations must receive from one hour to two.

Lawmakers also created a task force named in Wilson’s honor to discuss other hazing solutions and make recommendations for new legislation in this year’s legislative session, which begins March 9.

Read the full article here

LSU no longer test optional

The LSU Board of Supervisors voted Friday to reinstate a requirement for applicants to its Baton Rouge campus to provide standardized test scores, but students will not need to reach a minimum score to be admitted.

LSU dropped the requirement for students to provide ACT or SAT scores in 2018 at the direction of then-President F. King Alexander. He deemphasized standardized testing and placed more importance on recommendation letters, personal essays and extra-curricular activities.

The changes were extremely controversial, with high profile alumni, including Board of Regents member Richard Lipsey, accusing Alexander of tearing down the progress the university had made in academics.

Even without requiring test scores, LSU has had multiple years of freshman classes breaking previous enrollment records.

But according to the university, retention rates for students who were admitted as test-optional applicants from 2021-24 were approximately 4% lower than their peers who submitted test scores. GPAs for those test-optional students were also 0.3 points lower.

The average ACT score among LSU students is 27 out of a possible 36, interim Provost Troy Blanchard said.

At first, the new test requirement policy will apply only to students with GPAs below 3.5, but then for all applicants starting with the summer 2028 semester.

Several members of the board expressed concern that requiring a minimum test score would have a detrimental impact on students from rural areas and poor families who generally do not have the same access to test preparation programs as those who live in larger cities or come from wealthier families.

“There are plenty of kids who we want at LSU who don’t come from households where they can afford to get that additional help on testing,” board member James Williams said. “There seem to be very compelling reasons for us to use test scores as one criteria, but not determinative and mandatory.”

Blanchard assured Williams and other concerned board members test scores will be just one part of what LSU’s admissions team is taking into consideration. The provost said the scores could also be helpful for other purposes, such as placing students with low scores into the right classes so they can catch up to their peers.

LSU’s decision to reinstate the testing requirements is in line with a national trend.

President Donald Trump’s administration has pressured some universities to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that, among other things, directs universities to require applicants to submit test scores.

Trump’s compact includes a wide range of demands, many of which center on clamping down on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

LSU President Wade Rousse said the Trump administration was not a factor in adopting the policy.

“This was an independent decision on our part to try to move towards an idea of being excellent and accessible,” Rousse said. “We think that’s one of the things that we need to do, is just to have the test scores as part of a comprehensive admittance process. And we feel no pressure.”

Read the full article here

The U.S. Department of Education announced in a news release Friday that the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state, is the subject of a probe into an objective in its 2019 strategic plan. It called for improvements in the numbers of Black and Hispanic students who receive diplomas and certifications from a baseline of 14,579 in 2020–21 to 16,000 in academic year 2025–26.

Louisiana’s colleges and universities crossed that line early in 2023-24.

The Regents’ plan is just one of many seeking to address significant higher education attainment gaps in Louisiana, with comparable goals existing for non-traditional adult students, those from rural areas, students who are parents, as well as veterans and active duty military

But the Trump administration alleges the objectives for Black and Hispanic students are discriminatory.

“The Louisiana Board of Regents’ objective to prioritize recruitment and graduation efforts for ‘all races other than white [and] Asian’ appears to blatantly violate not only America’s antidiscrimination laws, but our nation’s core principles,” said Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for the the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights.

The objective Richey mentioned has been a subject of controversy in Louisiana since it was publicized in a series of blog posts on the far-right blog, The Hayride, in September and October.

The Board of Regents has since faced questions from House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, and House Education Chairwoman Laurie Schlegel, R-Metairie, about the policy’s purpose and whether it was being used in a discriminatory fashion. The pair asked for a written response to questions from the education committees.

“The plan does not contain any prohibited DEI preferences, but instead reflects the Regents’ goal to improve the educational attainment levels of ALL Louisiana citizens, including underrepresented minorities as demonstrated in the overwhelming number of objective applying to growth across all student populations in Louisiana,” Regents staff wrote in response to the lawmakers.

Read the full article, and Regents’ full response to the lawmakers, here

Mallett named LSU Board Chairman

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has selected Lee Mallett, one of his largest campaign donors, to chair the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Mallett replaces Scott Ballard, who will remain on the board after stepping down as chair.

Landry announced the appointment in a social media post Thursday.

Mallett is a Lake Charles business owner who has earned his fortune in the construction industry. He has taken an unusually active role in the day-to-day functions of LSU, ranging from hiring and firing decisions in the athletics department to advocating for policies that have given the board more power over faculty and administrative hires.

Mallett was also an early advocate for the hiring of Wade Rousse, who was the leader at McNeese State University, as LSU’s president in November.

Landry is the first governor to choose LSU’s board chair directly after legislation was approved in 2024 giving him broad to select the heads of powerful state panels and commissions. Prior to the law taking effect, governors could only appoint board members who would then select their own chairs.

Mallett has served on the board for many years, being appointed by multiple governors, first by Republican Bobby Jindal, then Democrat John Bel Edwards and again by Landry, also a Republican.

Despite his seniority on the board, Mallett’s peers never selected him to serve as the chair.

Read the full article here

What I’m reading

• Louisiana’s 2 biggest races won’t have a major Democrat: ‘We can’t coerce anyone to run’ By Tyler Bridges | The Advocate

• President Trump pardons LSU Heisman winner Billy Cannon By Piper Hutchinson | Louisiana Illuminator

• Scalise says he won’t endorse anyone in US Senate, 5th District races — yet By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• When universities silence student newspapers, press freedom is at risk By Stuart Brotman | Editor & Publisher

• Louisiana’s Black congressmen react to racist meme shared by Trump By Greg Hilburn | Shreveport Times

Krewe of UNO

You’re really just going to want to click on this one, the pictures are the fun part

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Nelson led the medical school since 2021, first on an interim basis after Dr. Larry Hollier resigned as chancellor amid questions about financial practices at the institution. Nelson was made permanent chancellor in 2024.

“Dr. Guzick led LSU Health Shreveport for several years and was integral in leading the reaccreditation effort and creating a robust research enterprise,” LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton wrote in an email to faculty and staff Friday. “His experience and record of excellence are in keeping with our stated goals of becoming one of the Top 50 research universities in America.”

Guzick resigned as Shreveport chancellor last year after a months-long pressure campaign from LSU Board of Supervisors member Esperanza Moran. He was later made the LSU System’s chief research officer. Moran has not spoken publicly about why she supported ousting Guzick.

Guzick was selected chancellor for the New Orleans medical school without a formal search, which is typically conducted for a senior leadership hire at a university.

Read the full article here

LSU Honors college seeks to combat brain drain

As Louisiana bleeds educated young people to other states, LSU wants to give them a reason to stay.

The LSU Honors College has historically been an add-on option for qualifying students’ existing degree paths, allowing them to take classes that typically have fewer students and more focused subject matter. But the program has struggled to retain students as they matriculate. The value of being an LSU honor graduate has not always been enough to outweigh the effort needed for the required thesis.

Honors College Dean Jonathan Earle hopes to fix this with the creation of a Traditions in Critical Thought and Scholarship (TRACTS) bachelor of arts degree.

The program will admit a small number of high performing students; 28 are enrolled in the first cohort and eventually 100 will be admitted annually.

Though they are bound together as TRACTS students, the program is compatible with all other undergraduate degrees at LSU, giving participating students their own unique focus. As a cohort, they are provided an education comparable to a small liberal arts college but with all the perks of being at a large university, Earle said.

The biggest selling point of the program comes after students graduate. The Honors College is currently lining up employers and agreements with graduate schools in the LSU System to be able to offer every single TRACTS graduate either a job in Louisiana or a placement in a graduate degree program.

The goal, Earle said, is to generate buy-in from students to remain in Louisiana so they might one day become the leaders who tackle the state’s problems.

Read the full article here

What I’m reading

• The Wonder Drug That’s Plaguing Sports By Jason Stallman | New York Times

• ‘Academic hub of the university’: Here’s what students can expect to experience in LSU’s new library By Alayna Ford | LSU Reveille

• Southern University Baton Rouge takes on low graduation rates: ‘Biggest thing we’ve got to tackle’ By Haley Miller | The Advocate

• Trump Education Department bolsters protections for prayer in schools By Shauneen Miranda | States Newsroom

LSU hopefuls could attend UNO

LSU has signed a data-sharing agreement with the University of New Orleans that will allow students applying to the Baton Rouge flagship campus for the fall semester to be offered a spot at what is soon to become LSU New Orleans.

The agreement is part of the transition plan to usher UNO back into the LSU System, which will reverse action legislators took 14 years ago to move the New Orleans campus into the University of Louisiana System after it had been affiliated with LSU since its founding in 1958.

UNO transition committee chairman Rico Alvendia, a UNO alumnus and member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, said the new data-sharing agreement is the first step in growing UNO’s enrollment.

“For those who may not be admitted [to LSU], we are sharing those applications with UNO, and many of those students are choosing to go to UNO,” Alvendia said. “We’re able to redirect a lot of those qualified students, great students, back here to UNO and say, ‘Welcome to the family.’”

LSU requires applicants to have a minimum 3.0 high school grade point average or a 22 composite ACT score. Its acceptance rate is 73% based on a U.S. News and World Report data analysis. The minimum GPA for acceptance at the University of New Orleans is 2.0 or a 23 on the ACT. UNO also accepts 73% of all applicants.

Despite more stringent GPA requirements, LSU has repeatedly broken its own admissions records, enrolling 37,825 students for the fall 2025 semester.

Read the full article here

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Lagniappe

• The Southern University System seeks to hire its next president by May. Read more.

• After last week’s firing of Todd Woodward, the aggressive former spokesman of LSU, President Wade Rousse named Meg Sunstrom, currently chief communications officer for the state legislature, the next head of comms on Monday. Meg’s reinvention of that office made it much more useful to both the press and the public. Such a major personnel shift can only be interpreted as a sign of some sort. As a frequent customer of the LSU comms office, I hope it’s a good one.

• The Louisiana Capital Correspondents Association is still seeking applicants for our annual scholarship. Mass communication students at LSU, Southern, Southeastern and ULL are eligible. More info here.

• Tickets for our annual Gridiron Show go on sale March 4. The show is March 27, which is incidentally my 30th birthday. You can help me celebrate by making a donation to the scholarship fund.

A report on how to move the University of New Orleans into the LSU System has identified tens of millions of dollars in needed upgrades, maintenance and staff.

The report was formulated by a transition committee created to steer the move, which will reverse action legislators took 14 years ago to make UNO part of the University of Louisiana System after it had been affiliated with LSU since its founding in 1958.

UNO’s transfer back to the LSU System is happening in response to a long-running enrollment decline at the New Orleans school, which has caused a fiscal crisis. The school had a student body of around 17,000 before Hurricane Katrina, with an immediate drop to around 6,000 after the storm. For the fall 2025 semester, its total enrollment was 5,670.

The university needs an influx of cash to bring its systems and infrastructure up to LSU’s standards, according to the report.

The biggest investments deemed necessary are to improve UNO’s information technology, as the report claims all of UNO’s critical IT infrastructure is past its useful life and must be replaced.

The report identified more than $46 million in technology upgrades that are needed immediately, including $13 million to transition the central campus software system, $8 million for cable infrastructure and $8 million for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

LSU System President Wade Rousse did not rule out the possibility of seeking additional funding from the legislature. Last year, lawmakers provided an additional $23 million to wipe out some of the struggling school’s debts.

“We appreciate the work of the transition committee and are evaluating the recommendations included in their report,” Rousse said. “However, we know there is not an endless supply of money to support this effort.”

“While additional funding from the state may be needed, we will rebuild UNO primarily through fiscal discipline, stronger management and by making the tough choices a struggling institution demands,” Rousse added.

Read the full article here

UNO students, alumni in favor of joining LSU system

More than 1,000 UNO students and 300 alumni were surveyed on their thoughts about the switch, which goes into effect July 1. The move will reverse the action legislators took 14 years ago to move the school to the University of Louisiana System after being affiliated with LSU since its founding in 1958.

While 65% of surveyed students and 59% of alumni expressed support for the move, both said loss of the legacy UNO brand as a top concern.

Part of the transition includes returning the university to its original name, LSU New Orleans, and adopting purple and gold as the school’s colors, shedding its current blue and silver. Its mascot will remain the Privateers.

Students also named tuition and fees changes and the potential loss of academic programs as some of their top worries. Among alumni, there is also fear that the university could be overshadowed by LSU’s flagship campus.

At the time of the system switch in 2011, UNO alumni and boosters also applauded that plan, as many felt the university was an afterthought in the LSU System.

In their survey responses, UNO alumni also said they are uneasy over how resources will be allocated across the LSU System after the transition. Students and graduates also said the prospect of more stable funding and the prospect of increased enrollments are key allures of the switch.

Read the full article here

What I’m reading

• Landry pushes again to expand LA GATOR private school vouchers, though lawmakers have doubts By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Ice storm left ‘hurricane level damage’ in Louisiana, power outages linger By Greg Hilburn | Shreveport Times

• LSU under investigation for unreported NIL deals by new college sports enforcement arm By Wilson Alexander | Times-Picayune

• New LSU athletics policy aims to keep fans from leaving after basketball giveaways By Tripp Buhler | The Reveille

• Trump plans to cut FEMA workforce in half, court filing alleges By Rachel Frazin | The Hill

• Will Trump’s tariffs affect Mardi Gras throws this year? Here’s what New Orleans krewes say. By Doug Maccash | Times-Picayune

• Corrections costs surge 2 years after Landry, lawmakers vote to keep people in prison longer By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Dixon McMakin to join race for 5th District in Congress; Garret Graves says he won’t run By Greg LaRose | Louisiana Illuminator

Hundreds of ULM students in dorms without power

Approximately 440 students at the University of Louisiana at Monroe were without electricity and had limited access to running water for several days after a winter storm brought sleet and ice to North Louisiana.

The university opened its activity center as a 24-hour warming center with cots, bathrooms and charging capability, university spokesman AdamMcDonald said.

“My entire leadership team is working around the clock with local and state partners and utilizing every resource available to us,” ULM President Carrie Castille wrote in a social media post. “Our priority is keeping our students safe, warm, and fed. I fully understand the discomfort and stress many of our students are experiencing, and I want to assure you that we are pushing for solutions on every front.”

Classes at UL Monroe will remain cancelled at least until Tuesday, Feb. 3.

While ULM residence halls had water, the city of Monroe was experiencing low water pressure as the hard freeze created leaks in its delivery system.

Other universities in North Louisiana were as negatively impacted by the storm. Louisiana Tech, Grambling, LSU Shreveport and Northwestern State University maintained power, university officials said in separate interviews.

LSU Shreveport spokeswoman Erin Smith said some students on campus lost power for a few hours Sunday. Some student apartments have also had hot water issues, though affected students are able to access hot water in other locations, Smith said.

Louisiana Tech spokeswoman Cami Geisman said icy streets have made it difficult for some essential campus workers to make it to their posts, but campus police have been driving food service workers to work to ensure students are fed.

Read the full story here

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LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has appointed Dr. Robert Malone, a scientist and conspiracy theorist who gained fame by spreading vaccine misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, as an adjunct professor.

Malone, a medical doctor, rose to prominence in 2021 for amplifying false information about the COVID-19 vaccines. His fabricated claims include linking the death of a high school athlete to the vaccine in 2021, although the teen had died in 2013. Malone also blamed the vaccine for “causing a form of AIDS,” the Associated Press reported.

Malone has also echoed the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 pandemic was a plot by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Major health organizations, the vast majority of health professionals and government officials consider the COVID-19 vaccines to be both safe and effective.

Malone’s social media posts also promote a variety of other falsehoods, including that there is a connection between pedophilia and the “trans movement.” He has also shared an AI-generated video of Anthony Fauci, the face of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming into a humanoid reptile, a reference to conspiracy theory that shapeshifting reptilian aliens have infiltrated high-level government positions to influence human society.

“Gradually, gradually recovering from five years of being defamed, gaslit and blacklisted for speaking truth to power,” Malone wrote of his Pennington appointment in a social media post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

Pennington spokesman Ernie Ballard said Malone’s appointment is gratis, meaning he will not be paid. Pennington is an academic, health-focused research center known for its work in nutrition, though it also studies other health topics, including epidemiology.

“Over time, Pennington Biomedical has had adjunct appointments with hundreds of faculty from across the globe,” Ballard said. “These gratis (unpaid) appointments help facilitate research collaborations. Dr. Robert Malone’s adjunct appointment will focus on providing insights into the current federal landscape in Washington, D.C.”

Malone’s appointment came as a shock to Pennington Faculty.

“This is a shame that our prestigious institution is now linked to a person like Dr. Malone,” said Eric Ravussin, a diabetes and obesity researcher who holds a Boyd professorship, the most prestigious academic appointment LSU awards to its faculty.

Read the full article here

What I’m reading

• DHS plans to deploy 250 border agents to Louisiana in major immigration sweep, AP sources say By Jack Brook and Sara Cline | Associated Press

• A Louisiana family paid $300 a month for health insurance. Now it’s $2,000 as ACA credits expire. By Emily Woodruff | Times-Picayune

• Louisiana officials will soon be able to sue citizens over internet posts with their personal info By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• A University Gets Dinged for Failing to Involve Faculty in Budget-Cut Talks By Adrienne Lu | Chronicle of Higher Education

• The Current No. 1 Christian Artist Has No Soul By Kelsey Kramer McGinnis | Christianity Today

• U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols By Tara Coop and Michelle Boorstein

Kelly’s $54M buyout more than last decade of buyouts at LSU

LSU has paid more than $43 million to buy out the contracts of its coaches and athletics department leaders over the past decade and soon might be on the hook for more than $53 million more.

Former football coach Brian Kelly is suing LSU to get his full buyout of nearly $54 million, which would be among the largest ever given to any college coach. Kelly’s 10-year, $100 million contract guaranteed him 90% of his remaining salary if LSU fired him without cause, which they did just four years into the deal.

That price tag was a big factor in former LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward subsequently losing his job. Gov. Jeff Landry, who also played a role in Kelly’s firing, publicly blasted Woodward for the coach’s contract.

Significant concern has been voiced recently at LSU over growing buyouts for college coaches.

At a September meeting of the LSU Board of Supervisors, Vice Chairman Lee Mallett, a Landry appointee and major campaign donor, brought up the financial impact to the university of buying out poorly performing coaches. It cost $17 million for the university to part ways with Ed Orgeron in the middle of the 2021 season. Mallet argued LSU should be the first to break the mold and drop the buyouts.

Kelly’s buyout is a significant escalation in buyout spending.

The Louisiana Illuminator and Tiger Rag filed a public records request with LSU for information on how much the university has spent on athletics buyout payments. The documents provided show LSU paid more than $43 million to sever ties with two head football coaches, one athletics director, one head swimming and diving coach and 32 assistant coaches from various sports from fiscal year 2015-16 to present. That sum is more than $10 million less than what the university owes Kelly. See the full buyout data below.

It’s a common misconception among fans that buyouts are paid by the Tiger Athletic Foundation, a private organization that raises money for LSU athletics. The university’s athletics department made all of the buyout payments, spokesman Zach Greenwell said.

Greenwell was unable to provide specific details about the extent private funds, if any, were used in the buyouts.

“There’s no direct line between private donations and the buyouts,” Greenwell said in an emailed statement. “They are all paid directly by LSU Athletics, and obviously self-generated funds and associated private funds are encompassed in athletics’ budget.”

While not tax dollars, the athletics department’s budget, primarily fueled with self-generated revenue, is still considered public money. All public universities in Louisiana are primarily funded with self-generated funds, such as tuition and fee revenue. The spending of that revenue requires legislative approval. Of the LSU System’s $1.2 billion budget for the current fiscal year, more than $800 million comes from self-generated revenue.

Read the full article here

Board vote on coach comes as it seeks more power

The LSU Board of Supervisors’ vote Friday to intervene in the firing of former football coach Brian Kelly is its latest move to give members more power over day-to-day operations at the university.

The board held a special meeting Friday to authorize President Wade Rousse, who just started in the job this week, to review and, if appropriate, send a written termination notice to Kelly. It’s the university’s first response to a lawsuit Kelly filed seeking the full $54 million buyout he’s owed. The only way LSU can get out of paying him is by firing him for cause, which the university has not publicly indicated it will do.

The vote also sets a precedent about the degree to which the LSU System’s governing board, mostly made up of allies to Gov. Jeff Landry, will be involved in hiring and firing coaches.

In a statement after the meeting, LSU spokesman Zach Labbé said the board’s bylaws require them to take action on any personnel action related to a coach with a salary over $250,000.

Historically, the board has not followed this bylaw. Ex-football coach Ed Orgeron was fired without the board authorizing his termination, as have a number of other coaches. Most recently, offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was fired just days after Kelly. Despite being paid more than $250,000, the board has yet to take action on his termination, which raises the question of whether he was officially fired.

If the board continues on the path it set Friday, it would amount to a significant escalation in its day-to-day management of athletics.

The current iteration of the board has been more interested in directly managing the university’s operations than previous ones.

Among the first moves of the Landry-aligned board was to give itself the power to appoint members to any hiring search committee. Taken to its extreme, the new rule would allow the chair to stack any search panel, from a new professor to a football coach, and steer it to a preferred outcome.

The board later rolled back this new power to only apply to searches for high-level administrators, such as the president, chancellor, vice presidents and deans. Though Ballard no longer had the power to force members onto the search committee for Kelly’s replacement, he and Carmouche were appointed to the coaching search committee.

Board members have also independently sought to influence hirings and firings throughout the system.

Most notably, Esperanza Moran openly rallied to oust LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor David Guzick, who later resigned.

Vice Chairman Lee Mallett made an early endorsement of Rousse just days after President William Tate announced his departure from LSU. Mallett’s support was key in influencing Rousse’s hiring.

Read the full article here

The governor’s Task Force on Public Higher Education Reform voted Thursday to request the Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state, ask for state money to pursue membership and a board seat on the Commission for Public Higher Education

The alternative accreditor is being formed by state university systems in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Accreditors are necessary to ensure schools meet minimum educational standards.

The task force did not provide public notice of its meeting, which is a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Law. The statute requires all public bodies to take basic steps to ensure the public’s right to observe government proceedings. The Illuminator, which had requested notice to be sent, only learned of the meeting after it occurred when an attendee shared a copy of its recommendations.

Louisiana’s move to change accreditors comes as conservatives have sparred with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which evaluates colleges and universities in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Conservative politicians have taken issue with traditional accreditors at times because of their standards related to diversity, equity and inclusion. They also require safeguards that are intended to limit the influence of external forces, including politicians, in public higher education.

The Southern Association does not require any DEI measures on its members’ campuses.

The Commission for Public Higher Education is seeking expedited recognition from the U.S. Department of Education, which is required for any school it approves to receive federal financial aid.

The task force also recommended state legislation that would allow colleges and universities in Louisiana to be accredited by any group with the U.S. Department of Education’s recognition. The governor’s panel also recommended the removal of all references to the Southern Association from state law and higher education policy.

Landry’s task force is also seeking legislation to prohibit any accreditor from having required standards that would violate state law. Legislators have previously filed legislation that conflicts with accrediting standards, but typically scale back or pull the bills once they are made aware they could risk universities’ accreditation status.

Read the full article here

UL System to restructure

It seems like reform is in vogue for higher education this season. Following a hurried announcement earlier this month that the LSU System would restructure, pending a board vote within 30 days, the University of Louisiana System has also announced its intention to restructure.

Unlike LSU, the UL System will be undergoing a public process that includes town halls at each of its universities and a website for public comment.

The system’s governing board voted Thursday to create a task force made up of university administrators, faculty, students and athletics officials from each of its nine universities. The group will look at ways to create shared services across the universities, implement a cross-system course numbering system and create long-term financial stability for college athletics.

University of Louisiana System President Rick Gallot said he has been considering this plan since he took the job in 2023.

The restructure is intended to give the system more power to deal with financial problems at its schools. In the past two years, the University of New Orleans and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette have had to dig themselves out of budget shortfalls, totalling $30 million and $25, respectively, that led to faculty and staff furloughs and layoffs.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe has also had to deal with a $12 million budget shortfall but chose not to furlough any of its employees.

Every university in the UL System is running a deficit in athletics, which are contributing significantly to the budget crunch at some schools.

These fiscal problems largely snuck up on the system and its board members.

“UNO was my alma mater, and I was on the board of supervisors, and somehow we didn’t know all that had gone wrong at UNO,” UL board member Julie Stokes said.

“I would say the same thing is true here, that the system by which we are managing these schools is not providing us adequate ability to supervise what’s happening at these schools,” Stokes said of ULL, which hosted Thursday’s meeting.

Though it’s not yet known what actions the board will end up taking after receiving the task force report, if it decides to streamline services, such as human resources, accounting and IT, it is possible some people will lose their jobs.

What I’m reading

• In Louisiana, casinos can’t make political donations, but sportsbooks can, ethics board says By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Student senators question SG President Lavar Henderson about neutrality on recent legislation By Morgan Vannosdall | The Reveille

• UL’s Joseph Savoie to retire Dec. 31, forgoing sabbatical and faculty appointment By Megan Wyatt | Acadiana Advocate

• Brian Kelly lawsuit against LSU is being ‘reviewed’ by Louisiana AG Liz Murrill’s office By Cory Diaz & Greg Hilburn | Daily Advertiser

• Conference USA Accuses La Tech of Hiding the Ball in Public Records Suit By Daniel Libit | Sportico

• LSU and Brian Kelly are at odds over his contract buyout, and his reps have set a deadline By Wilson Alexander | Times Picayune

• The inside story of how Wade Rousse became LSU president — with Gov. Jeff Landry’s help By Tyler Bridges | The Advocate

• The chance of rain is always ‘never.’ Here’s why LSU fans say ‘It never rains in Tiger Stadium’ By Ethan Stenger | The Advocate

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New interim presidents at ULL, McNeese

The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors appointed temporary leaders Thursday for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and McNeese State University.

Ramesh Kolluru will fill the vacant presidency at UL Lafayette for the time being after current interim president Jamie Hebert stepped down to return to his position as provost. Kedrick Nicholas will step in as interim president at McNeese State in Lake Charles after his predecessor, Wade Rousse, stepped down to become president of the LSU System.

It had been rumored that Kolluru would be appointed ULL president on a permanent basis without a formal search from the UL System board. But after backlash from the ULL faculty, Board Chairman Mark Romero announced he would appoint a search committee to find a new president.

Kolluru, who is still favored to get to position after the search, is currently ULL’s vice president for research, innovation and economic development, a position he has held for more than a decade.

Kolluru said UL System President Rick Gallot asked him Monday to apply for the president’s position, though the position had not yet been officially opened to other applicants.

Kolluru said he was glad the board will conduct a search.

“The process to the point has not been transparent, and I’m glad that the process now has evolved to an actual search process that’s inclusive of the entire campus community,” Kolluru said.

Members of the search committee and the timeline for choosing ULL’s next president have not yet been announced.

Nicholas has been senior vice president of student affairs at McNeese since July 2024 and is a two-time alumnus of the university. Board members did not say when they would begin searching for a permanent president.

Read the full article here

Now, the news.

Three days before they were hired, LSU’s next leader and the incoming chancellor of its Baton Rouge campus started discussing a plan they would pitch to the Board of Supervisors to restructure the university’s system of campuses across the state.

Incoming President Wade Rousse, currently the head of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, and newly hired Chancellor Jim Dalton, currently provost at the University of Alabama, were two of three finalists for the LSU presidency. Their discussion did not include the third finalist, former University of Arizona President Robert Robbins, in their discussion.

The pair came to the board with their plan to split the president and chancellor roles, which had been merged in 2012. They also wanted Dalton to become an executive vice president overseeing the research-intensive entities in the system, which include Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the LSU AgCenter and LSU’s medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport.

LSU Board Chairman Scott Ballard had said multiple times he didn’t think the positions should be split, most recently Oct. 29, just after the presidential search committee narrowed the candidate pool down to the three finalists.

In addition to a new president and chancellor, the LSU Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday its intent to significantly reorganize the system to boost the university’s research goals.

While the new plan is in flux and will not be finalized until the board votes next month, Ballard said about 95% of the new structure is solidified.

Rousse said he and Dalton have an “agreement in principle” that Dalton will oversee the academic side of things, while Rousse will manage the public facing aspects of the university, including external affairs, government relations and athletics.

Unifying LSU’s research institutions under Dalton is being done to boost the university’s total research spending figures, one of several research metrics LSU needs to boost to join the prestigious Association of American Universities, an organization of the nation’s top higher education research institutions.

Unifying LSU was a key part of the strategic framework for the system put forward by former President William Tate, who left his job in June to accept the same position at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

In 2023, the most recent year data is available from the National Science Foundation, LSU spent $384 million on research, which ranks 83rd among universities. LSU Health Shreveport spent $35 million, and LSU Health New Orleans spent $68 million. Adding their amounts to LSU Baton Rouge would elevate it to the 69th slot, overtaking Carnegie Mellon University, a member of the Association of American Universities.

But according to the National Science Foundation, LSU can’t compile all of its campuses statewide into a single slot to improve its research rankings.

“Each campus with its own chancellor, president or similar head is considered its own institution, a categorization established in 2010… That allows for more comparable data between private institutions and multi-campus state institutions,” a foundation spokesperson said. “We approach the Louisiana State system as we approach all state systems, per those parameters.”

While details are still sparse about what it will look like, LSU leaders have said they are reworking the system’s organizational chart, indicating they may have developed a new reporting structure that could mitigate the National Science Foundation’s concerns.

Having athletics at the flagship campus report to the system president, rather than that campus’ new chancellor, is an unusual arrangement. Before the two roles were merged, athletics reported to the chancellor of the main campus. Having athletics report to the system president essentially elevates it to being treated as an institution of its own rather than part of the Baton Rouge campus.

The arrangement separating Rousse from the academic side of the university comes as a relief for faculty, who expressed skepticism about Rousse’s qualifications to run a major research institution.

Read the full story here

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What I’m reading

• The inside story of how Wade Rousse became LSU president — with Gov. Jeff Landry’s help By Tyler Bridges | The Advocate

• Editorial Board: The Reveille hopes best for LSU’s new leaders, but the process invites skepticism By The Reveille Editorial Board | The Reveille

• LSU and Brian Kelly are at odds over his contract buyout, and his reps have set a deadline By Wilson Alexander | Times-Picayune

• The chance of rain is always ‘never.’ Here’s why LSU fans say ‘It never rains in Tiger Stadium’ By Ethan Stenger | The Advocate

• Louisiana ethics board raises questions about judges’ campaign transparency By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• Colleges Hide Athlete Pay Data Behind ‘Competitive Harm’ By Daniel Libit | Sportico

LSU New Orleans

The committee tasked with guiding the University of New Orleans’ transition back to the LSU System has kicked off its work, and it’s off to a rocky start.

The news that the university would become LSU New Orleans and adopt purple and gold branding was met with immense criticism on social media, but the committee’s shaky start with open meetings law compliance is really what takes the cake.

LSU did not comply with public noticing requirements for the first meeting of the committee on Wednesday, opening up any actions it took to being nullified in court. Then, committee members were instructed to conduct subcommittee meetings in private over the next couple months, which is very much not allowed.

There may be some better news on that front soon, but in the meantime, you can catch up on what happened in these two stories.

Lagniappe

• From The Crimson White: Incoming LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton, currently provost at the University of Alabama, is among the UA administrators being sued by a former instructor fired over her comments in the wake of the shooting death of Charlie Kirk. The instructor got her PhD at LSU. Read more.

• I hit the radio/podcast circuit to talk about the new LSU leadership. You can listen to me on The Neutral Ground and Power Hour LSU.

LSU has an interim president, provost, medical school chancellor, chief administrative officer, athletic director, head football coach and multiple deans.

As pretty much everyone has noted, that’s not good.

The Board will hold a special meeting Tuesday to hire the next president, but he might not be able to start until the spring semester.

One can assume the university will at least have a football coach by then.

The frontrunner for the presidency, Wade Rousse, will be on campus tomorrow for his public forums. There will be a forum for staff at 8:45, faculty at 10:15 and students at 3:15, with a stop at Pennington at 1:30 to discuss research and healthcare. All forums are open to the public.

The other two finalists, University of Alabama Provost James Dalton (who sadly said he does not have the ability to bring Nick Saban with him) and former University of Arizona President Robert Robbins (who noted the fiscal crisis that spurred his removal was exacerbated by coaching buyouts) met with the same groups Thursday and Friday, respectively.

The forums were very lightly attended, perhaps because LSU never sent an email to campus naming the finalists and sent only one set of emails announcing the forums (but not who would be appearing each day). The forums, which were all held at a prominent theater in the LSU student union, were also not marked by a sign that could be seen by the many, many students walking outside its doors.

I spent all Thursday and Friday observing Dalton and Robbins and will be spending my Monday doing the same with Rousse. Expect another mid-week addition of this newsletter after the final hire is made.

More on the finalists here

More on Scott Woodwards’ ouster here

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If you had asked me yesterday who I thought the three finalist would be (and, in fact, I was asked this on Tiger Rag Radio last night), I would have said Wade Rousse, Matt Lee and the “mystery candidate” who was unveiled today.

About an hour or so before the finalists were named, I realized my prediction was wrong. Lee would be snubbed.

And, as usual, I was right.

The three finalists were Rousse, former University of Arizona President Robert Robbins and University of Alabama Provost James Dalton (the new candidate unveiled today). Lee being left off this list was a bit of a surprise. He has high-level administrative experience, an impressive research background and the support of faculty. He’s also likable with good political connections (his endorsement included the influential Louisiana Farm Bureau). And critically, he had the support of the faculty.

I believe this snub will disappoint a lot of people and put off a lot of faculty and staff who spoke in his favor.

Of the remaining candidates, LSU Faculty Senate President Dan Tirone said he believes the faculty would favor Dalton or Robbins for their experience running major research institutions.

Rousse is considered to be the frontrunner for the position, thanks to the backing of LSU Board Vice Chairman Lee Mallett, a major political donor to Gov. Jeff Landry. Members of the board serve at the pleasure of the governor, who also selects its chair.

In addition to Lee, the search committee also eliminated Tulane Vice President for Research Giovanni Piedimonte, who was previously a finalist for senior leadership positions at two other universities and was also eliminated from their pools.

Thursday’s campus visit will be for Robbins, a physician who left his leadership role at the University of Arizona in spring 2024 amid a significant budget crisis. A miscalculation of the amount of cash the school had on hand led to a $177 million deficit, from which it finally emerged this fall.

Robbins was criticized for accepting a $40,000 bonus after leaving office, despite being in charge while the university’s fiscal problems resulted in hundreds of layoffs.

Friday’s visit will be for Dalton, whose background is in pharmacy and developing prescription drugs. He has been provost at Alabama since 2020 and previously worked at Michigan, Ohio State and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Dalton said LSU should become a student-centric university, with smaller class sizes. One of his priorities would be to improve LSU’s retention rate for students after two years.

As an out-of-state candidate, Dalton said his first priority as president would be to get to know all 64 Louisiana parishes. He advocated for aligning the university’s priorities with those of Landry and the legislature.

Landry’s interest in LSU has been controversial, including calling for the firing of professors who have criticized him and advocating for the university to erect a statue of divisive conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at a Utah university campus in September.

Rousse will visit Monday.

Before becoming president, Rousse served in several administrative positions at McNeese State University since 2019.

Rousse touted his experience turning around McNeese’s enrollment and finances. His background is in economics, having attained a Ph.D. in the field from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Students and faculty who spoke at the search committee meeting noted Rousse’s lack of experience in research and leadership, as president of McNeese, a much smaller, non-research regional university for just over a year.

His critics also noted his perceived connections to the governor and that he lacks several of the key qualifications the search committee established for presidential applicants. Unlike LSU, McNeese does not hold a top research designation, and Rousse did not ascend to his administrative rank though the traditional academic promotion path. He also hasn’t published a significant amount of research..

Rousse addressed these concerns, defending his non-traditional background but assuring faculty they would have his full support.

The schedule for each day’s public forums can be found here.

Read my full article from today’s interviews here

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“Bama isn’t your team. ACT isn’t your test,” the purple and gold billboard reads (referencing LSU’s football rivalry with the University of Alabama). “Louisiana students take the CLT. Now accepted for TOPS.”

This caught my eye also. Yes, it’s true that Louisiana students can now qualify for the TOPS scholarship with their CLT score. So far a grand total of one student has done so, though that is likely to change as the test gains popularity.

But discouraging students from taking the ACT struck me as problematic, as they’ll still need to take it (or the SAT) for admissions to most schools (obviously excluding those that have gone test-optional).

The Classic Learning Test, or CLT for short, evaluates students on math, writing and grammar with an emphasis on classic literature and historic documents that “had a lasting influence on Western culture,” according to the CLT website.

Its primary proponents are conservative educators. In addition to Louisiana, Oklahoma accepts the CLT for qualification for its version of TOPS.

The Classic Learning Test was launched in 2015 by Classic Learning Initiatives. It is accepted for admissions primarily by private Christian schools and a small number of public schools, primarily in Republican-controlled states, including every state university in Florida.

The exam is still relatively obscure, but it has recently received high-profile attention when U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth approved it for acceptance into the U.S. military academies.

Critics of the Classic Learning Test argue it doesn’t meet the same academic rigor and anti-cheating measures as the ACT.

The Iowa Board of Regents released a review of the exam and found no peer-review research supporting the test’s ability to predict student outcomes and subsequently recommended the exam not be used for admissions.

Read the full article here

LSU New Orleans

The University of New Orleans should adopt LSU branding and become LSU New Orleans when it transfers to the LSU system, interim LSU President Matt Lee told the Board of Regents Tuesday.

Lee said the change is necessary to make the transfer successful. UNO was known as LSU New Orleans from its founding in 1958, when it was considered a branch of the Baton Rouge main campus, until its change to the University of New Orleans in 1974.

“I think for this to really work, it’s going to have to be LSU New Orleans because you’re marrying two well known brands,” Lee said, referring to LSU and the city of New Orleans.

UNO was previously part of the LSU System until it was moved into the University of Louisiana System 14 years ago, with proponents of the move saying it was necessary for the New Orleans school to get out of the shadow of the much larger Baton Rouge campus.

State lawmakers earlier this year approved transferring the university back to the LSU System in response to UNO’s long-running enrollment decline, which has caused a fiscal crisis for the school. UNO is the only public research university in New Orleans and is considered vital for the region.

Read the full article here

Quote of the week

“While we do around half a billion dollars annually in research, I think in the next, you know, five or ten years, we’re going to pass the billion dollar mark,” interim LSU President Matt Lee said on this week’s edition of The Light Switch, the Louisiana Illuminator podcast.

What I’m reading

• How will UL leaders close their $25M budget hole? Officials eye cost cutting measures By Megan Wyatt and Ashley White | Acadiana Advocate

• MJ Foster program funds could run dry by end of year By Liam Combs | WAFB

• Most public colleges in Louisiana aren’t affordable, report finds By Aubry Juhasz | WRKF

• LSU Law School names interim leader after asking former dean to step down | Reveille Staff

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Murrill warns against ‘assassin’s veto’

Louisiana’s Liz Murrill and 16 other Republican state attorneys general have signed a letter to college administrators warning them not to impose a “tax on free speech” by asking student organizations to pay high security fees for controversial speakers.

The letter, led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, said that in the wake of the shooting death of ultra-conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University earlier this month, reports have circulated that colleges have used his death as justification to shut down free speech with exorbitant security fees. The letter did not cite any specific examples.

The attorneys general referred to prohibitive security fees as the “assassin’s veto,” a play on the “heckler’s veto,” a phenomenon in which a controversial speaker’s right to free speech is curtailed by an overwhelming negative response.

“We trust that you will continue to take steps to keep your campuses safe,” the attorneys general wrote. “And we also trust that you won’t use safety as a pretext to silence debate, at a time when it is sorely needed.”

Colleges and universities have at times struggled to balance their obligations to protect free speech with their duty to student safety. Universities often have small campus police departments that are stretched thin when high-profile, controversial speakers come to campus.

The AGs’ letter asks schools to confirm their facility use and security fee policies are viewpoint neutral and asks them to develop standards for applying fees.

“There should be clear protocols for event approval and protecting speakers, ensuring security is the responsibility of the institution rather than a financial barrier on disfavored speech,” the letter reads.

Courts have held that exorbitant security fees can violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees a right to free speech. A fee is especially dubious if it’s applied based on the content of the speech.

Read the full article here

Under the new law, schools must abide by a higher standard of evidence in any case where the offense is punishable by expulsion or a suspension of at least 10 days. Previously, administrators could hold a student responsible if the evidence points to it being at least slightly more likely than not the student is responsible. Even if there is conflicting testimony, a student could be punished if the evidence tipped the scale just past a 50% likelihood.

Now universities need clear and convincing evidence, a standard used in some court cases such as proving fraud or terminating parental rights. The threshold requires evidence that points to the student’s guilt being substantially more probable than not, and it might require multiple witnesses, photos or other reports to firmly convince administrators.

Clearing that bar can be difficult because, unlike in courtroom proceedings, administrators don’t have as much power to gather evidence.

“We can’t force anyone to participate or to talk to us,” said LSU General Counsel Trey Jones, a member of an anti-hazing panel that met Tuesday at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “We can’t subpoena any documents. We have to rely on what the police collect for us, and what we’re able to gather on our own happenstance. That just makes the heightened burden of proof impossible to meet.”

The law in question, authored by Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, passed the legislature with no votes against it and after little discussion. McMakin, who is not on the task force, declined to comment for this report.

Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, said lawmakers did not know at the time the new standard of evidence would make it harder to hold someone caught hazing responsible.

Read the full article here

Quote of the week

“Anything I’ve ever said or done for LSU was to try to make it better, to compete with the other flagships,” Rep. Dixon McMakin, the new voice of Tiger Stadium, said of his critical comments on the university. Read more about McMakin’s complicated relationship with LSU here.

UNO enrollment down

Enrollment at the University of New Orleans is down about 800 students this fall as the university deals with an ongoing fiscal crisis from a years-long enrollment slump.

There are 5,670 students enrolled at the university this semester, UNO President Kathy Johnson said in a campuswide email this week. The count is down about 12% from a year ago.

The loss of students means UNO will bring in about $1 million less in revenue than anticipated, though Johnson said the university will not reduce its budget. Johnson said UNO would be “judicious” in replacing students and asked faculty and staff to refrain from purchases unless they are essentially or paid for with external funds.

The enrollment decline comes as the school is preparing to transition back to the LSU System. The Louisiana Legislature passed a bill earlier this year to initiate the transfer, which would undo lawmakers’ decision to move the university from the LSU System to the University of Louisiana System 14 years ago.

The first meeting of a transition committee to begin work on the transfer will be in early October, LSU Board Chairman Scott Ballard said.

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What I’m reading

• Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material By Scott Nover | Washington Post

• Gov. Landry doesn’t expect ‘anybody illegally to be working’ on Louisiana Hyundai project By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator

• LSU law school dean to step down after 'amicable resolution' reached in dispute By Alyse Pfeil | The Advocate

• Liz Murrill calls on former House Speaker to return historic artifact that's missing By Tyler Bridges | The Advocate

• Texas A&M President to Step Down After Controversy Over ‘Gender Ideology’ By Pooja Salhorta | New York Times

• Partisan Fury Got Him a Presidency. And Then It Took Him Down. By Jack Stripling & Nell Gluckman | Chronicle

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Charlie Kirk

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Gov. Jeff Landry were among the participants at a vigil LSU held Friday evening for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.

The event was organized by the LSU chapter of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization Kirk founded and built into an immense political force.

Kirk, 31, was known for holding events at universities across the country where he engaged in debate with students. Though he was successful in mobilizing young people to support conservative causes, Kirk was a controversial figure for his often inflammatory comments about race, sexuality and religion. His events often sparked outrage from students.

“I think Charlie Kirk contributed more positive contributions to the free marketplace of ideas than anyone in his generation, and probably in many generations,” Johnson said about Kirk, who he described as a close friend.

Utah Valley University was Kirk’s first stop on what was meant to be a multi-state debating tour that included a stop at LSU on Oct. 27.

Read the full article here

More on Kirk:

Charlie Kirk’s Watchlist Made Some Professors’ Lives a ‘Living Hell’

Employees and Students at These Colleges Have Been Punished for Comments on Charlie Kirk’s Death

With Charlie Kirk’s Killing, a New Chapter of the Campus Speech Wars Has Begun