Few institutions in Louisiana are as influential or carry as much emotional resonance as LSU, the flagship university whose timeless traditions, athletic fervor and academic programs have shaped the lives of countless alumni. LSU’s main campus has been the professional home of Stacia Haynie since 1990, when she was first hired as an assistant professor of political science. Along with years of teaching and significant research, Haynie answered the leadership call, holding a number of positions on campus, including dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and vice provost for academics and planning. She was named executive vice president and provost in January 2019.
“For 30 years, LSU has been a place I care deeply and passionately about,” Haynie says. “I’ve never been more optimistic about it than I am now.”
As provost, Haynie is focused on the university’s academic and research priorities, and on ensuring they are resourced appropriately. It’s the perfect culmination of her skills as a tireless scholar and a data-driven leader who sees endless potential in LSU.
Haynie’s well-known drive was instilled early on. She grew up on her grandfather’s Texas cotton farm, a defining childhood that included driving a tractor with notable expertise by age 10. Those experiences, she says, instilled in her a dogged work ethic and a can-do attitude. Her family didn’t have the money to send her to college, but Haynie earned a scholarship to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. There, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and later earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Texas. Haynie has often remarked that receiving a scholarship endowed by total strangers made a lasting impact on her appreciation for institutional advancement.
Haynie has a reputation for working on challenges methodically, and that’s been her approach as provost. As universities nationwide see more cuts to public funding, enrollment has become a huge institutional objective. Even before COVID-19, Haynie had taken steps to push LSU’s distance learning programs. And having an online component in place helped LSU with the Herculean task of moving 31,000 students to a remote learning format this spring, Haynie says.
While the coronavirus quarantine has brought unheralded challenges to LSU, Haynie is more encouraged than ever that the university has the chops to meet them.
“We have not stopped. We’ve pivoted on a dime,” Haynie says. “That’s been a testament to our incredible faculty and leaders. These are incredibly smart people who are absolutely devoted to their students and a better community.”
Read the full story about Haynie from the latest edition of Business Report.
