The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Presidential Search Committee voted today to recommend Steve Landry, E. Joseph Savoie, and Clifford Stanley to the University of Louisiana System Board. The full Board will conduct a final round of interviews before making a decision during its Dec. 7 meeting in Baton Rouge.
The committee chose to conduct today’s deliberations publicly, deciding not to convene in executive session. Reports were given to the committee by community representative James Prince, Faculty Senate representative John Meriwether, and UL Lafayette Student Government Association President Candace Urbanowski, who spent the last two weeks gathering feedback from university constituents.
“Thank you fellow search committee members for giving me time to meet with business and community members,” said Prince. “All were favorably impressed with the five candidates and all are qualified to assume the presidency at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.”
Meriwether reported the Faculty Senate favors Steve Landry because of his history of being engaged and responsive to their needs. “This is a person they could trust,” said Meriwether.
Urbanowski expressed her constituents’ disappointment with the candidate withdrawals yet satisfaction with the remaining candidates. Raymond Flumerfelt and Karen White, two of the five candidates that interviewed in Lafayette on Nov. 12 and 13, withdrew their candidacies prior to today’s meeting.
After much discussion, the search committee concluded their charge by voting to send the three remaining candidates forward for consideration by the ULS Board, although the committee members are invited to participate during the December interviews and discussions.
Voting members on the presidential search committee were ULS Board members Paul Aucoin, Elsie Burkhalter, Jeffrey Jenkins, Renee Lapeyrolerie, Jimmy Long, Sr., Wayne Parker, Olinda Ricard (student member), and Winfred Sibille, as well as UL Lafayette Faculty Senate representative John Meriwether.
Serving on the search committee in an advisory, non-voting capacity was community member and UL Lafayette Foundation representative James Prince and UL Lafayette Student Government Association President Candace Urbanowski.
The UL System Board launched an extensive, national search after President Ray Authement announced April 17 his plans to retire. The search committee held public hearings in Lafayette on June 14 and Sept. 12. The committee selected five candidates to interview out of 38 applicants during an Oct. 3 public meeting in Baton Rouge.
Videos of candidate interviews and all search committee meetings can be viewed at www.youtube.com/ulsystem.
Visit www.ulsystem.net, to access a special search website that includes candidate applications, meeting information and opportunities to submit questions and comments to the search committee.