LSU students walk in and out of the Student Union on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Highland Road in Baton Rouge. (Matthew Perschall/Louisiana Illuminator)
The LSU Board of Supervisors quietly adopted changes Thursday to its bylaws that would allow its chairman to appoint someone to all search committees convened in the university system.
The adoption of the new rules is the latest flex of a board that has become increasingly political. In the same meeting, the board also passed a resolution that will dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs using legal reasoning favored by ultra-conservative politicians.
Current board Chair Jimmie Woods, an appointee of former Gov. John Bel Edwards, was allowed by current Gov. Jeff Landry to remain in his position. His term as chair expires at the end of this year.
The updates require the chair be made aware of “any search committees for new hires” and allows — but does not require — him or her to appoint members to the committees. The bylaws do not limit the number of appointees or require that they have any specific qualifications.
“Any search committees” include a large number of searches. Search committees are used for nearly every faculty hire, as well as for deans, department chairs and administrators.
Taken to its extreme, the new rule could allow the chair to stack any search committee and steer it to a preferred outcome.
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LSU athletic department searches will also be subject to this rule. While Scott Woodward has preferred to directly hire coaches, previous athletics directors have opted for hiring committees. Any search for Woodward’s replacement would also be subject to the new rules.
The Board of Supervisors’ executive committee met and unanimously recommended the changes to the full board, which adopted their recommendation without discussion.
Until this year LSU board members, who have always been political appointees, chose their own chair. But a state law approved earlier this year gave the governor power to directly appoint the chairman as well as the leaders of other state boards and commissions in Louisiana.
This proximity to politics raises concerns for faculty.
“If I understand this Bylaws change accurately, the new authority, coupled with legislation passed in the spring, makes faculty search committees potentially two degrees removed from the Governor’s office, introducing the possibility that merit will be discounted relative to politics in the hiring process,” LSU Faculty Senate President Dan Tirone said in a statement to the Illuminator.
Tirone was also concerned the board did not consult faculty and said he hoped its members take further action to exempt faculty search committees from the new rules.
During the executive committee meeting, board members were warned the new rules would apply to a large number of searches. They argued the chair would use his discretion as to when he would weigh in with search committee appointees.
No board members shared details about how they would like to see the chair’s new power used.
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