By Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
The search process for Louisiana Tech’s next president has been unusual from the start, creating frustration within the university community.
Rather than convene a search committee, as called for in the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors bylaws, its members instead suspended those rules earlier this month and named system President Jim Henderson the sole interviewee for the job, cutting out the usual faculty involvement.
If the board votes to select Henderson without convening a search committee, the faculty will not be allowed a vote. Board bylaws require at least one member of each search committee be a faculty member of the institution appointed by that school’s faculty senate president.
The suspension of standard practice that has accompanied Henderson’s candidacy has led to a frustrated community and a complicated vetting process.
Both state law and the UL board’s own rules and bylaws ensure the system president is heavily involved in the selection of a university president, serving as the non-voting chair of every search committee. Henderson has served in the role for multiple president searches during his tenure, including two this year.
The board voted to suspend its rules regarding presidential searches at a meeting earlier this month, when members announced Henderson would be the sole interviewee at a special board meeting Wednesday in Baton Rouge. That meant that the board would not convene a search committee, which are typically used to fill administrative roles in higher education. The committees ensure the appropriate time is taken to deliberate on the choice, as the president of a university plays an integral and powerful role at the campus and state level.
Louis Reis, president of Louisiana Tech’s University Senate, a public body that represents faculty and staff at the university, invited Henderson to campus for a public forum last Thursday to give the community an additional opportunity to participate in the process. The forum was completely separate from the interview process.
Reis told the Ruston Daily Leader the faculty hoped the forum would restore a part of the typical search process.
“It at least gives us a chance to meet the person,” Reis said in an interview with the Daily Leader. “If he is chosen, our faculty and staff now have an idea of what his vision is… we can get to work day one and not waste any time.”
Several participants in the forum asked Henderson about the nature of the search process, which many treated with skepticism.
Former state Sen. Bill Jones grilled Henderson in a back-and-forth exchange that centered on the non-competitive nature of the search.
“How can we possibly have any confidence that you’re the best person for the job?” Jones asked.
Henderson mostly kept to his talking points, arguing that having him in competition for the job before a traditional search committee would be unfair to other candidates.
A shared Google Sheet that faculty and staff were invited to anonymously collaborate on ahead of the forum was shared with the Illuminator by a university employee. Several versions of Jones’ question were shared, each with a different air of skepticism.
Like Jones, the faculty and staff seeking answers expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the search, pointing out that Henderson’s credibility could be questioned, while others lamented that other candidates were not given an opportunity to apply for the job.
Henderson is likely to be appointed to the presidency Wednesday evening, although the board has the option to convene a search committee and interview other candidates, as it normally does.
The primary way the community, including the faculty, was invited to participate in the official process was by submitting public comment via an online form. The public can also comment in person at the special board meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Baton Rouge — a three and a half hour drive from Louisiana Tech campus in Ruston.
An attorney for the board said that although the webpage gives instructions for submitting anonymous comments, such comments will not be considered true public comments because the identity of the commenter cannot be verified or shared with the board. The attorney said that a “healthy” number of the submissions have been anonymous. If the comments are shared with the board at all, they will be shared in summarization, the attorney said, meaning many commenters may not have their comments entered into the minutes, as implied by the website.
The Illuminator has requested a copy of the comments submitted online.
If Henderson is selected, he will likely take over in the new year, as the current President Les Guice is set to retire at the end of the year. The board would likely appoint an interim president, most likely chosen from among the pool of existing candidates, while a national search for a successor to Henderson is conducted.