From Staff Reports
Third Judicial District Attorney John Belton is among six semifinalists being considered to become the next president of the Southern University System.
The Southern University System Presidential Search Committee announced the six semifinalists Thursday following a national search that attracted interest from more than 60 potential candidates.
Belton, who serves as district attorney for Lincoln and Union parishes, is one of three Louisiana candidates to advance in the search. He has served as district attorney since 2014.
Belton also has extensive ties to Southern University.
Belton served on the Southern University Board of Supervisors from 1999 to 2005 and was elected chairman in 2001 and again in 2002.
Joining Belton as semifinalists are Brian Bridges, a senior adviser with Whiteboard Advisors and former New Jersey secretary of higher education; Jaffus Hardrick, former president of Florida Memorial University; Roscoe Jones, former dean of Drake University Law School; Larissa Littleton-Steib, chancellor of Delgado Community College; and Willie Smith, chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College.
Littleton-Steib and Smith join Belton as the three Louisiana-based candidates in the group.
The six semifinalists are scheduled to interview with the Presidential Search Committee on Oct. 7. Following those interviews, the committee is expected to recommend one or more candidates as finalists. Those selected will participate in another round of interviews with students, faculty and other Southern University stakeholders before the Southern University Board of Supervisors ultimately selects the new president.
Southern has been without a permanent system president since Dennis Shields left the position late last year. Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center Chancellor Orlando McMeans has served as interim president.
The search originally was expected to be completed earlier this year, but the timeline was extended.
The Southern University System is the nation’s only historically Black university system. The system includes campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport, along with the Southern University Law Center and Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
The Presidential Search Committee is expected to complete its work in the coming weeks before forwarding its finalists to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.
