From Staff Reports
On Oct. 25, the University of Louisiana System (ULS) Board of Supervisors voted to name current ULS President Jim Henderson as president at Louisiana Tech University and fill that void by moving to elect current Grambling State President Rick Gallot as new ULS President.
During that October ULS meeting it was said both men expected to take on their new roles on Jan. 1.
But today, two days before the start of the new year, the plan for Gallot’s new role with the ULS System and the GSU president remain in a murky limbo, with no interim president for GSU named yet.
The picture was clouded even more last week as it was reported that Louisiana governor-elect Jeff Landry during a press interview on Dec. 20 that he wants to talk to both the board and Gallot before the matter is finalized.
“I’m not opposed to anything,” The Louisiana Illuminator reported Landy as saying during that interview. “I want to be able to meet with the board, and with Rick, to make sure the direction that they want to steer the system is the direction that people of this state believe the system should be directed.”
“When you’ve got a change of governorship — a new governor comes in — he’s taking a new direction, and he or she should be afforded the respect to visit with those folks to make sure that they all align.”
That same day — Dec. 20 — The USA Today network reported that outgoing ULS Board Chair Liz Pierre had said that she intended to present a contract to Gallot last week after conferring with other directors on the board.
But nothing else on a potential contract for Gallot has been reported since.
It has been reported that Henderson was presented a contract for the Louisiana Tech presidency last week and will assume that role on Jan. 1.
But what will happen with the ULS presidency and potential resulting Grambling State presidential void remains unclear heading into the New Year’s long weekend.
The next scheduled ULS meeting is set for Jan. 4 with a stated purpose of installing new officers.
