Southern University starts semi-finalist interviews for Baton Rouge Campus Chancellor

Ana Conejo
·3 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Southern University started its first session of in-person interviews for the next Chancellor of the Baton Rouge Campus.

Interviews consisted of two of the semi-finalists, Dr. Calvin McFadden, the former president of Arkansas Baptist College, and John Pierre, the current Chancellor of the Southern University Law Center.

McFadden and Pierre presented their vision and what they plan to bring to the table if chosen for the position.

Interview sessions also consisted of an open forum with questions regarding faculty pay, mental health, ways to enhance the Southern University brand and more.

Both semi-finalists said many items attracted them to the position, and emphasized they would be a great fit for the Chancellor position.

“Southern University, I deem it as one of the premier institutions in the South and certainly the system has a great history. And I want to be a part of that and certainly,” said McFadden. “I want to become a part of the great legacy of Southern University. I want to find out what President Shields, the president of the institution, what his vision is for this campus, and how I can make that vision become a reality with the help and collaboration of faculty, staff and students.”

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“What inspired me to apply was that I saw that Southern University and A&M College needed to have someone who could help guide it through the next several years as it continues to grow and be a significant institution,” said Pierre. “I thought that once I got the opportunity to work with the Southern University and the A&M College University students and faculty and staff, this would be a great opportunity to add to the legacy of Southern University.”

McFadden has held several leadership roles such as executive director in a charter campus, dean of students in high institutions, and more. When asked what his vision is for the leadership role, he mentioned items such as academic excellence and interacting with the community and alumni.

“Some of my goals would be to help increase our retention, particularly from first-year students to second-year students in community engagement, giving our students global opportunity for academic excellence,” McFadden said. “And I really want our alumni to understand that I’m here to support them and to help advance the institution and the other front line of persons as ambassadors for the institution. So I believe I bring a great level of experience, but not only experience, I bring a heart for this institution. And I think partnering together we can make it a great success.”

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Pierre has been at Southern University for three decades, he talked about his experience as a Chancellor in the Law Center and said a very important part of his vision is the students and establishing a ‘comm-university.’

“I want Southern University to be the leading higher education institution for access and opportunity, we have the ability to do that. We have to focus on student-centered outcomes, our students are our most valuable assets. We have to make sure that they succeed and that we have to do all the things necessary for them to succeed. All our decisions, investments and outcomes are related to students,” Pierre said.

Wednesday is the last semi-finalist interview and will be with Dr. Carmen Walters, former president of Tougaloo College. An open forum and presentation is open to the public and will be at 9:30 a.m. at the Valdry Center for Philanthropy in Baton Rouge.

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For the full open-forum video of semi-finalists, you can watch here.

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