Update 10/26/2023: The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Oct. 25 to name current system President Jim Henderson as the next president of Louisiana Tech. The board then appointed Grambling President Rick Gallot, a former Democratic state senator, UL System president, without conducting a search.
Louisiana Tech University’s current president, Dr. Les Guise, is stepping down from his position at the end of 2023. As a result, the University of Louisiana System must conduct a search for a new president.
However, someone unexpectedly put his name forward as a candidate for LA Tech: Dr. Jim Henderson, current president of the UL System.
This move has sent waves through the UL System because the statutes and bylaws require the system president to be substantially involved, serving as the non-voting chair, in the university president search process. Henderson throwing his name into the ring has complicated matters.
At one point, it was unclear whether Henderson would be a candidate at all, but the UL System board decided to suspend its rules in a special meeting on Monday, Oct. 9, to allow Henderson to be the sole candidate considered for the position.
His candidacy has been met with some resistance, however. Louis Reis, president of the university senate at LA Tech, said in an interview with the LA Illuminator, “I’m a little disappointed that they have not considered the faculty and staff of Louisiana Tech and their input.”
Henderson expressed sympathy for the LA Tech faculty because of their potential exclusion of a voice in the matter but said he felt the board made the best decision possible.
“If you have a search with a system president in the search, you’re going to have a chilling effect on the applicant pool, because they’ll think that it’s a done deal,” Henderson said. “And then if the system president is selected as part of that search world, the search was just a faux search, it was a facade.”
Henderson cited his personal connection to LA Tech and his desire to work closer with faculty and staff as his primary reasoning for putting his name in as the next potential president.
This move also raises another question: who’s going to fill Dr. Henderson’s role as system president?
There has been no word on this from the UL System, as Henderson has not been officially appointed as the president of LA Tech, but if he were to be appointed, they would need to fill the vacancy as swiftly as possible.
Henderson was Northwestern State University’s former president. If history is any indication, Henderson’s replacement would likely be chosen from among the current presidents, which would cause a massive shuffle of the faces of both the UL System Board and the nine institutions.
Ultimately, regardless of whether Henderson secures the job at LA Tech, his unique candidacy will send ramifications through higher education in Louisiana.
