Search for next UNO president gets underway with announcement of search committee, Oct. 22 meeting

Published on under 2015 / Homepage Features / News / University of New Orleans / UNO Search 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2015
CONTACT: Catherine Heitman, 225-342-6950 or
ULSnews@la.gov

BATON ROUGE – Plans are in motion for the selection of the next president of the University of New Orleans.

The University of Louisiana System announced members of a search committee today, appointed by UL System Board Chair E. Gerald “T-Boy” Hebert.

Voting members include UL System board members James Carter of New Orleans, Edward Crawford, III of Shreveport, Pamela Egan of Covington, E. Gerald “T-Boy” Hebert of Kenner, Jimmie “Beau” Martin, Jr. of Cut Off, Mark Romero of Lafayette, Robert Shreve of Baton Rouge, Winfred Sibille of Sunset and Gary Solomon of New Orleans. Also serving as a voting member is UNO Faculty Senate President Cherie Courseault Trumbach.

Serving as advisory, non-voting members are UNO Student Government Association President Joy Ballard, UNO International Alumni Association President Al Herrera, UNO Foundation Chair Barry LeBlanc, UNO Research & Technology Foundation Chair Russell Trahan and UNO Alumnus/Former Speaker of the House Jim Tucker. UL System President Sandra Woodley will serve as the non-voting committee chair.

The committee will meet for the first time October 22 in Baton Rouge to review the search committee charge and to approve a draft advertisement and tentative timeline for the process, which will culminate in the selection of the next president, early in 2016.

A common feature of every UL System presidential search is a public forum on the university campus, which allows faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members to voice their desired qualifications for a new president. This is slated to take place in November.

In August, UNO President Peter Fos announced his retirement, effective January 2016. A New Orleans native and UNO graduate, Fos began his tenure in January 2012.

UL System President Sandra Woodley will recommend that the UL System Board approve Randy Moffett, retired UL System President and the immediate past president of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, as the interim President of UNO upon Fos’ departure. In the meantime, she has asked him to work with President Fos over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.

“As president of the UL System, Dr. Moffett welcomed UNO into the UL System family. As longtime president and administrator of Southeastern, he’s well acquainted with the region and its people. UNO is near and dear to his heart, and we’re fortunate that he agreed to come out of retirement to support the campus administration and serve in this way,” said Woodley.

The UL System has engaged executive search firm Witt/Kieffer to recruit qualified candidates, review applications and provide recommendations to the search committee.

The System dedicated a page on its website to the UNO presidential search. There, the public can access information about the campus and its region; search committee members; meeting notices; press releases; information about candidates; and meeting videos, when available. In addition, the public can submit comments and questions to the committee by sending an email to UNOPresidentialSearch@la.gov.

 

The University of New Orleans is a major research university in one of the world’s most fascinating cities. For more than 50 years, it has been one of the city’s foremost public resources, offering a diverse set of world-class, research-based programs, advancing shared knowledge and enhancing the city’s industry, culture and economy. Since 1958, UNO has educated students from all 64 Louisiana parishes, all 50 states in the United States and more than 130 countries. Today UNO offers more than 40 undergraduate and pre-professional programs and nearly 40 graduate programs.

The University of Louisiana System is the largest higher education system in Louisiana enrolling almost 89,000 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the University of New Orleans.