Members of the LSU Board of Supervisors have concluded their day of interviews with the three finalists for university president and are meeting at this hour to discuss whether to offer the position to University of Louisiana System President Jim Henderson, meteorologist and former White House adviser Kelvin Droegemeier or University of South Carolina Provost William Tate.
Each candidate was questioned by the board for more than 90 minutes today in interviews that were streamed live and followed two days of meetings, group interviews and after-hours cocktail gatherings with the candidates and key stakeholders.
The state Capitol, where the Legislature is in session, was awash today in speculation about who might have the inside track for the job and which way the notoriously divided supervisors might vote.
Henderson, who has led the state’s largest higher ed system since 2017, has a faction of supporters on the board, according to those familiar with the process, as well as the support of many lawmakers.
Tate, who would be LSU’s first Black president, also has support among a faction of the board and also has a powerful advocate in search committee chair and former board chair James Williams, who has been drumming up support for Tate all week, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
Droegemeier was considered something of a long shot, though board members were appreciative and, in at least one case, pleasantly surprised by the way he answered questions about the need to better connect the various entities within the LSU system.
“Your credentials are very impressive,” board member Lee Mallett told Droegemeir. “You’re much more impressive in person than you were in the televised interview.”
In short, there was no way to tell what the board might do, though the questioning today for the most part was congenial and sprinkled with occasional humor.
All three candidates spoke to their strengths, past experiences, plans for battling constant funding challenges and, above all, LSU’s ongoing Title IX scandal.
All three professed to be undaunted by the challenges of stepping into a role where, as Mallet told Tate, “every day is a battle. This thing is mean.”
While most board members played their cards close to their vests, board member Jack Blossman made no secret of his preference for Henderson, thanking the UL president at the conclusion of his session and telling him, “I’m for Louisiana people and I hope you get the job.”
Williams followed up on Blossman’s comment with one final “quick question” for Henderson about the university from which he received his Ph.D.: “Was that at a physical campus, or did you earn it online?”
Henderson received a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland University College in a program that was mostly virtual, but included on-campus seminars as well, he said.
But the intent of the question—coming at the end of Henderson’s interview after he’d just received a plug of support from Blossman—was clear, a point not lost on Henderson.
“I get it,” he said. “That’s my degree. I’m very proud of that degree … and in many ways, there’s no skating in online programs. But I do understand the question.”
The board went into executive session at 3:15 p.m. to discuss the candidates, and is expected to hold a news conference to announce its selection later this afternoon or tonight.
(Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from an earlier version to correct Kelvin Droegemeier’s name. Daily Report regrets the error.)
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