Southern board delays vote on financial emergency

Faculty members at Southern University’s main campus are trying to pull together enough support to stop the university’s governing board from declaring a financial emergency for the Baton Rouge school. Southern leaders say “financial exigency” can be avoided if 90% of the professors agree to two years of consecutive furloughs of up to 10%. The Southern University System Board of Supervisors met this afternoon to make a decision on the emergency declaration. The board voted to back a substitute motion by Board member Tony Clayton to reconvene at 1 p.m. Tuesday. This delay gives faculty more time to collect signatures for the furlough petition. The financial emergency declaration would give the historically black university more leeway to lay off professors but would be considered a negative mark against the school that could harm recruiting and accreditation. No public Louisiana university has declared exigency since the University of New Orleans did after Hurricane Katrina.