By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Less than three weeks after Dr. Jim Henderson announced his retirement as president of Louisiana Tech, State Rep. Chris Turner (District 12) says two people with a hand in the decision have told him the search for Henderson’s successor is not a foregone conclusion.
Turner said he spoke by phone for about 25 minutes with University of Louisiana System Chair Mark Romero Monday morning, and that Romero addressed speculation that a candidate has already been picked.
“There’s certain names out there that people are catching, saying this is an automatic done deal with the search,” Turner said. “Mark Romero assured me (Monday) morning that that was not the case.”
Turner also sat beside Gov. Jeff Landry at lunch after the governor made an announcement at a [Louisiana] Delta Community College campus this past week. According to Turner, Landry told him the search is wide open and that officials will work to get the best candidate.
“We have two people who are highly involved in making decisions in the state saying we’re going to have a full and open search,” Turner said.
Turner is not a voting member of the search committee, but he said he believes the group that is voting is well-rounded.
“If you look at the voting members on the search committee, it’s a good group,” Turner said.
Asked what the public can watch for to gain confidence in the process, Turner pointed to the finalist stage. The names of applicants are not known until the field is narrowed, he said, though he expects a list of the top three or four candidates to be released.
“Once that list comes out, you’ll see some highly qualified people who have put in to be our next president at Tech,” Turner said.
Turner also said Louisiana’s requirement of public disclosure of the presidential finalists could work against the university. He described the state as one of the only ones in the nation that makes those names public, and said that could keep some strong candidates from applying.
“Somebody may not want to put their name in if they don’t get the job, or it would look like they were searching for a new job,” Turner said. “So I honestly think that puts us at a disadvantage.”
The mood in Ruston, as described to Turner, has been cautious. Residents have expressed discouragement over Henderson’s retirement and a sense that Louisiana Tech had been on a positive trajectory, with some worried about friction between the university and the UL System, the Board of Regents and the governor’s office.
Turner said that view doesn’t match what he sees in Baton Rouge on a daily basis. He said he has spent the last couple of weeks working to make sure Louisiana Tech and the state are serving each other’s interests as Louisiana invests in a growing economy.
“One of my main goals has been making sure Louisiana Tech was in all of those conversations as the biggest member we could be,” Turner said.
He pointed to the university’s engineering, aviation, business, education and health care programs as areas where Tech can contribute to workforce and economic growth.
Turner said he works with other lawmakers on Tech’s behalf and wishes more people understood the university’s standing among them.
“People just do not know how respected Louisiana Tech is in that room,” Turner said.
Turner also addressed the debate over how Louisiana Tech fares under the state’s higher education funding formula, which he said works against the university.
He traced part of the problem to Louisiana Tech’s decision to move Tech to selective admissions in the last 15 years, which Turner called a big gamble, and said the university should have addressed the issue sooner as the gap grew over the last decade.
“Now we’re at a point where we’re way underfunded compared to the average,” Turner said, “and it’s because of the avenue we chose to go down as a university (by moving to selective admissions).”
Turner serves on the formula committee, which he sees as a chance to steer the conversation toward the state’s workforce needs. He said he has worked on two studies, one covering four-year institutions and one covering community colleges, to track who is being educated across the state’s higher education systems and how many graduates stay in Louisiana.
“Who’s staying in the state?” Turner said. “Who are we funding, and where are your tax dollars being used best?”
He said the state is looking at how to reward universities that produce graduates in fields that fuel the economy, and he believes Tech is well positioned if it makes its case. He listed speed to graduation, retention and the fields in which its students graduate as strengths.
“I think Louisiana Tech is geared for that,” Turner said. “We just have to show what we’re doing and what we’re good at.”
Turner said he is aware of concerns among faculty and staff about raises. He said he plans to revisit the issue once a new president is in place and that getting cost-of-living adjustments for Tech employees in the near future is one of his top concerns for the university.
Turner acknowledged that the transition has been difficult.
“Change is tough,” Turner said. “We’ve got a lot of growing pains. We’re going to make the best decision for Louisiana Tech.”
