Northwestern State University President Jimmy Genovese was formally invested on Friday Oct. 25 (Chris Reich / Photo Courtesy of Northwestern State University)
NATCHITOCHES — A devout Baptist, Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jay McCallum doesn’t often pray for demons — much less the “chief Demon.”
But at Friday’s investiture of his former Supreme Court colleague, Associate Justice Jimmy Genovese, as the president of Northwestern State University, home of the fighting Demons, McCallum made an exception.
Giving the benediction for his friends’ ceremony, McCallum was a lone vestige of Genovese’s 50-year legal career on a day celebrating the start of his next — one as an academic, almost.
“It’s hard for me to pray for a bunch of demons, But Lord, I bow my head and I bow my heart now praying for these demons and their chief demon, Jimmy Genovese,” McCallum prayed.
Lacking the usual qualifications of a university president — a Ph.D., experience in higher education or much knowledge of faculty governance and other issues in academia — Genovese began his new job in August amid immense faculty skepticism.
But over two months into his tenure, faculty interviewed say Genovese has some of the most important qualities that even some of the most experienced administrators lack: the willingness to listen, learn and change.
Faculty Senate President Frank Serio, once one of Genovese’s greatest skeptics, has changed his tune on the 74-year-old president.
“When President Genovese was selected, there was some trepidation on the part of the faculty that he wasn’t a career academic,” Serio said at the investiture ceremony. “I reassured anyone who brought their concerns to me that even in my brief appointments with James Genovese, that he understood that the existential purpose for university is to provide a strong educational foundation for students to build their careers and, in fact, their lives on.”
“He has demonstrated, even in the brief time he has been in the office, that he will listen to the concerns of the faculty and support the work of the faculty and advocate for the needs of the faculty,” Serio added.
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‘Bleeds purple and white’
Love for Northwestern State is not something Genovese is lacking.
“There’s a lot to be said for having a president who bleeds purple and white,” Serio said of Genovese.
A 1971 graduate, Genovese attributes much of his success — and his happiness — to his time at the small Natchitoches school. A competitive tennis player, Genovese had the option of attending the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
But as Genovese tells it, his father gave him the option of either going to Northwestern or financing what his scholarship wouldn’t cover.
Genovese said his NSU education gave him the foundation he needed to go to law school Loyola University New Orleans and eventually have a multi-decade career in the judiciary.
And if he can do it, anybody can, Genovese said.
“Every single person can do that because I am not a smart person. I’m just a plain old student,” Genovese joked in an interview with the Illuminator.
His enthusiasm has been obvious from the start, but for many it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the appearance of political interference.
Genovese took the job with the blessing of ultra-conservative Gov. Jeff Landry, whose interest in higher education has left many faculty members nervous about what’s to come.
In the months since Genovese was hired, fears of political interference seem to be quelled to a degree.
“I think his understanding of this place has changed a significant amount,” Mark Medler, an NSU sociology professor said.
Landry had originally planned to speak at Genovese’s investiture, but his helicopter was unable to land due to dangerously thick fog in Natchitoches.
“With President Genovese leading the University, I am confident he will reinvigorate and rejuvenate Northwestern to serve our State more effectively than ever before,” Landry said in a statement to the Illuminator.
Landry didn’t personally talk Genovese into pursuing the job, according to the new president. It was Robert Salim, Genovese’s old college tennis doubles partner. Salim, who donated tens of thousands to political action committees supporting Landry’s bid for governor, was appointed to the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors earlier this month, something Genovese takes credit for.
“He was instrumental in getting me into this, so I was instrumental in getting him on the board,” Genovese said during remarks at the Investure.
Far from making him a liability for the university, Genovese seems to be putting his political experience to work, campaigning directly to local high school students and lobbying them to come to the university.
“What’s the difference between campaigning and pursuing the betterment of Northwestern?,” Genovese said. “I may not be out asking for votes, but I’m asking for support.”
It seems to be working out, according to university officials. Its major recruitment event held every semester brought in over 200 students more than it did the previous fall, and the school has received more applications since Genovese took over, according to Cole Gentry, Northwestern’s chief marketing officer.
A homecoming
The celebration of Genovese’s return to Northwestern State couldn’t have come at a better time; it was also homecoming week in Natchitoches.
The Demons lost their homecoming game, 10-42, to the Lamar University Cardinals. It was Northwestern State’s ninth loss of the season. The team hasn’t won a game since November 2022 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
It’s a rebuilding year for the Demons, Genovese said.
Just 12 players from the 2023 team returned this year after the final four games of its season were canceled in following the October shooting death of safety Ronnie Caldwell. The team also lost its sixth-year head coach, Brad Laird, who resigned shortly after the shooting. The school faces a wrongful death lawsuit from Caldwell’s family.
Canceling the season was the wrong call, Genovese said.
Despite the hurt of the previous year — not to mention consistent failures on the field — the community was undeterred from homecoming exuberance.
Purple, orange and white clad fans packed a downtown amphitheater Friday alongside the Cane River to glimpse hand-decorated homecoming floats and the glitz and glamor of the honor court. Genovese himself walked in the parade, in typical politician fashion, and tossed orange beads to kids lining the street.
“Know this: What I saw last night, I haven’t seen that at any of the seven [Football Championship Series schools] that I’ve worked at,” head football coach Blaine McCorkle said of the pep rally at a post-game press conference.
On Saturday afternoon, hundreds tailgated on the small campus. Though the game was technically sold out, few ticket holders bothered to come to the game. The student section, however, was completely packed.
The fans will come back as the team rebuilds, Genovese predicted.
“We know what our job is to do here: to help grow this entire university through putting points on that scoreboard,” McCorkle said.
While Genovese wishes he had the funds to give every athletics team what they need to really succeed, that’s just not Northwestern’s financial reality.
Faculty are in desperate need of a pay raise, he said. That funding will be a priority for him, and there are hard times for academia ahead.
The Landry administration has called on Louisiana’s higher education institutions to prepare for a $250 million cut, with some schools preparing for the possibility of cuts of up to 20% due to an anticipated state budget shortfall.
Facing that and offering a healing hand to a hurting campus are Genovese’s first major challenges as president.
If Genovese had the funds he really needed, he thinks he could transform Northwestern State into the finest regional university in the South.
“If we get some money, God help them, because, buddy, I guarantee you we’ll do something,” Genovese said.
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