by Malcolm Butler
Ronny Walker knows the importance of the next Louisiana Tech University president.
Not only for the institution, but for the City of Ruston as well.
“The university is the economic driver of this city and this parish,” the Ruston mayor said Monday afternoon. “And I think the entire north region of our state.”
With Louisiana Tech President Jim Henderson set to retire at the end of the calendar year because of health concerns, the University of Louisiana System will soon begin the process of identifying the 16th president in Tech’s history.
And Walker wants Ruston to have a voice in that process.
Walker said he spoke with UL System President Rick Gallot over the weekend about the upcoming search and stressed the importance of the selection to both Louisiana Tech and the community.
“I just stressed the importance of the fact that Tech was the economic driver of our city,” Walker said. “I flat out said I’d love to be a part of that search committee.”
Walker, who worked at Louisiana Tech as a fundraiser in the athletics department two decades ago, has pushed for a stronger relationship between the university and city since first running for mayor 12 years ago.
“I ran 12 years ago on the fact that we didn’t need to be a town that just got lucky and had a college in it,” Walker said. “We needed to be a college town.”
It’s a relationship Walker believes has grown significantly during his time in office.
He pointed to Tech Pointe II as one example, with the city investing $1 million in the project on Louisiana Tech’s Enterprise Campus.
“All you have to look at are the things that we’ve done partnering with the university,” Walker said. “Show me one other city in the state that has put $1 million into a building that we knew would create jobs. That was Tech Pointe II.”
And then there are others to point to.
“Look at Radiance Technologies,” Walker said. “That came about because of a partnership between the university and the city. We got state money, we got federal money. But the piece that people forget about that was the city is donating the land to the Louisiana Tech Foundation.”
Walker believes that project could provide a blueprint for similar partnerships moving forward.
“We’ve been actively involved in a lot of different things going on at the university and will continue to be,” he said.
And Walker believes the next president needs to understand and embrace that relationship.
“Someone who understands that you have a college that is literally in downtown of a city and how those two relate together moving forward,” Walker said.
Walker said he and Henderson have discussed additional ways the city can assist Louisiana Tech, including potential projects that remain under consideration.
But for Walker, understanding the relationship between the city and university is only part of what he hopes to see in Tech’s next president. He also wants someone who understands Louisiana Tech.
“I think it needs to be someone who understands what Louisiana Tech actually represents,” Walker said. “We’re not LSU. We’re not ULL. We’re not some of the other schools or universities in the state. We are a very unique university that has continually shown that we can produce some incredible students and faculty that have done some incredible research.”
Henderson’s departure will also be personal for Walker and his wife, Kay.
Walker said he and Henderson have become close friends during Henderson’s time in Ruston, while Kay Walker and Henderson’s wife, Tonia, have also developed a close relationship.
“To me, they were the perfect match for our city and our school,” Walker said. “Can somebody else be just as good? Sure, I’m sure somebody could, but just look at what’s happened with our university since he’s been here.”
Walker pointed to Louisiana Tech’s enrollment numbers and student success during Henderson’s tenure, including graduation and retention rates.
“They have been incredibly involved and invested in the university and the city,” Walker said.
Soon the process of finding Henderson’s successor will begin. For Walker, whoever becomes Louisiana Tech’s 16th president will inherit more than a university.
He or she will inherit a relationship with a city that Walker believes has become increasingly intertwined with Tech during his 12 years in office. And he wants that relationship to continue growing.
After all, it goes back to the same philosophy he brought with him into the mayor’s office more than a decade ago.
“We need to be a college town,” Walker said.
