Martin leaving LSU for CSU System

LSU Chancellor Mike Martin plans to accept the job as chancellor of the Colorado State University System. The CSU System’s Board of Governors voted unanimously today to offer Martin the job. Martin plans to remain at LSU until August, and in the meantime will try to impress upon the Legislature the importance of adequate funding for the LSU flagship, he says. “It has been our privilege to be a part of LSU’s successes, and to watch the enormous impact that the university has on the people of Louisiana,” Martin says in a prepared statement. “[Wife] Jan and I fervently hope that the leadership of this state also realizes the powerful impact of LSU, and supports its flagship university accordingly, now and well into the future.” Martin is the second high-profile LSU official to head for the exits in recent weeks; the LSU Board of Supervisors fired LSU System President John Lombardi April 27. Martin says the changes at the system office had no bearing on his decision to consider CSU’s offer, and that he wasn’t looking for a new job when the CSU System came calling. “The opportunity was one that interested and intrigued me, and in the end, I felt it was an excellent chance for me to have a positive effect on the field of higher education,” Martin says. “Opportunities like that don’t come along very often, and I felt it was best for me to accept it.” Martin and CSU System Board Chair Joe Zimlich are holding a conference call today at 4 p.m. Central time. —David Jacobs