Louisiana governor could hire university system presidents under proposal

The Louisiana Legislature is considering a bill that would give Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and his successors unprecedented power over higher education: the ability to directly hire university system presidents. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

The Louisiana Legislature is considering a bill that would give Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and his successors unprecedented power over higher education: the ability to directly hire university system presidents. 

Senate Bill 462 by Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, gives the governor the authority to appoint chairs and other officers for hundreds of boards and commissions as long as he sends notice to the affected groups within 180 days of taking office. 

The provision in Hodges’ bill that allows the governor to appoint officers of the boards is of concern to higher education leaders, as state law defines university system presidents as officers. 

“There shall be a president of each public postsecondary education system, who shall be the executive officer of the postsecondary system and shall serve as secretary to the system’s governing board and its executive committee and standing and special committees,” the law reads. 

Hodges’ bill is supported by Landry, who has said higher education is the motivating factor for the bill. 

“This fight is all about universities,” Landry said in an interview with WAFB-TV. “The people of this state are ready for these universities to start taking some responsibility for putting out students that are graduating with degrees that they can’t even get a job for.” 

Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. 

Under present law, the respective boards of supervisors have the power to hire system presidents. It is standard across the nation for boards to then delegate much of this work to search committees, which include faculty and student representation. These search committees usually work for months to interview candidates. This search typically includes public forums and campus visits. 

In an interview with the Illuminator, Steven Procopio, president of the good-government group Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, raised concerns about the possibility of the governor having the authority to hire system presidents. 

“If that were true … that would usurp the most important function of the board, which is hiring someone to run the systems,” Procopio said. 

Hodges said this was not the intent of the bill. She added that she is working on amendments to her bill for when it comes up on the Senate floor next week but would not share if they would address this language. 

Procopio also raised concerns about the implications for university accreditation. 

“I do think there probably are good accreditation issues because there needs to be some separation between the academic units that they are self-governing, rather than being run by a political entity,” Procopio said. 

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the accrediting body for Louisiana universities, requires that the governing boards for its accredited schools are free from undue external influence. Giving the governor additional authority over higher education governing boards could violate that. 

University faculty have raised concerns about the potential for increased politicization of higher education.  

“The proposed process would make higher education inherently more political and less stable by leading to larger swings in priorities as governors change, which I think would deteriorate the campus climate and quality of education we can provide,” Dan Tirone, an LSU political science professor who serves as Faculty Senate vice president, said in a statement to the Illuminator. 

Hodges’ bill is one of many the Legislature is considering that would give the governor more authority, although hers is the broadest, Procopio said. Hodges bill was approved by the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee and will likely come up for discussion by the full Senate next week. 

Another bill, Senate Bill 403 by Rep. Mike Fesi, R-Houma, would give the governor the authority to appoint the chair of each higher education board, as well as the commissioner of higher education. The Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in Louisiana, currently hires the commissioner.

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