Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU), the flagship research institution of the state of Louisiana, is one of four higher-education institutions, two health science centers, and a law center within the Louisiana State University System. Each of these degree-granting, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accredited institutions has a chancellor who is presiding officer and who reports directly to the president of the LSU System [1].

Dr. William L. Jenkins, who had retired from LSU in 2007, was appointed as Interim President of the LSU System on April 27, 2012 [2]. Prior to his retirement, Dr. Jenkins had served LSU as Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine from 1988 to 1993, as executive vice chancellor and provost from 1993 to 1996, as chancellor from 1996 to 1999, and as LSU System president from April 1, 1999 to August 31, 2007 [3].

Dr. Michael V. Martin announced his plans to resign as chancellor of LSU on May 25, 2012, with the effective date of his resignation to be determined. At its next meeting on June 8, 2012, the LSU Board of Supervisors approved Interim President Jenkins to serve as the Interim Chancellor of LSU upon the date of the resignation of Chancellor Martin [4]. Chancellor Martin accepted the presidency of the Colorado State University System, and his resignation became effective on August 15, 2012 [5].

During his previous term as president (1999 – 2007), Dr. Jenkins also had served the dual positions of President and Interim Chancellor of LSU from April 2, 2004, until February 21, 2005 [6]. In accepting the duties of the interim chancellor for 2012-2013, Dr. Jenkins maintained the separate offices and staffs of the president and the chancellor, which are located in different buildings on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.

During Dr. Jenkins’ term, LSU communicated with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), completed all information pertaining to Core Requirement 2.3 Alternative Approach, addressed all questions, and received communication from SACSCOC indicating approval [7].

Dr. F. King Alexander assumed the duties of LSU chancellor and LSU System president on June 26, 2013 [8]. For convenience, Dr. Alexander co-located both the chancellor’s office and the president’s office at the same location. However, there were no changes in policies or processes after he took office.

Job Description for the Chief Executive Officer of the Institution

The authority of the LSU Board of Supervisors to employ personnel is specified in Louisiana Revised Statute (R.S.) 17:3301 [9] and is outlined through the Bylaws & Regulations of the LSU Board of Supervisors (adopted in 2006) [10]. The Board of Supervisors appoints the president of the system, who also serves as the secretary of the board and who is responsible for the implementation of board policies and operations of the system office and institutions. In Article I(E) of the bylaws, a chancellor refers to the head of a campus or major subdivision, and Article VII, Section 4 outlines the general duties of the chancellor. As an institution of the Louisiana State University System, LSU has a chancellor who serves as the chief executive officer. The chancellor is also responsible for the implementation of board policies and is primarily responsible for all activities at the institution. The university’s Policy Statement 50: Responsibilities and Concerns of University Personnel outlines the authority of the chancellor and the reporting structure of the university [11].

According to the Board of Supervisors Bylaws [12], the job description of the chancellor is as follows:

1. There shall be a Chancellor for each campus or major administrative subdivision of the System who shall be appointed by the Board upon the recommendation by the President, and who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Board. The Chancellor shall administer the division for which he is appointed and shall exercise complete executive authority therein, subject to the direction and control of the President and the Board.

2. As the administrative head of a campus, the Chancellor shall be responsible to the Board through the President for the effective execution of: all laws relating to Louisiana State University System; all resolutions, policies, rules, and regulations adopted by the Board for the administration and operation of the System, and for the governance of all of its campuses; and all policies, rules, regulations, directives, and memoranda issued by the President. The Chancellor's discretionary power shall be broad enough to enable him to meet his extensive responsibilities. In the performance of his duties and responsibilities, the Chancellor shall have direct access to the President. He shall be the official medium of communication between the President and all personnel of his campus.

3. Unless otherwise directed by the President, the Chancellor shall attend the meetings of the Board and its various committees. The Chancellor may invite members of his administrative or academic staff to aid him in his presentations to the Board.

4. The Chancellor, after consultation with the appropriate academic and/or administrative staff, shall make recommendations to the President for appointments, suspensions, and dismissals of all campus administrative officers holding positions at the pleasure of the Board. He shall make all other appointments, promotions, transfers, suspensions, and dismissals of all academic, administrative, and professional employees subject to the approval of the President and confirmation of the Board. He or his designated agent is authorized as the appointing authority to take and approve personnel actions relating to classified and unclassified personnel in positions exempt from the classified service by special action of the State of Louisiana, Department of Civil Service, including disciplinary actions.

5. The Chancellor shall be a member of all faculties on his campus and shall be Vice-Chairman of the Faculty Council of his campus.

6. Within the framework of the functions and programs assigned to each campus by the Board and the President, the Chancellor shall implement educational and administrative policies for his campus. He shall prepare an organizational chart of the major divisions of the campus and shall designate such duties and responsibilities as he deems proper.

7. The Chancellor shall be responsible to the President for the budget of his campus. This shall include the functions of review and recommendation concerning the budgets of all divisions of the campus and the preparation of a consolidated budget, as well as execution of the budget as approved by the President and the Board.

The university further outlines the duties of the chancellor in Policy Statement 50, item D.1.:

1. The Chancellor is the chief executive officer of the University and exercises complete executive authority therein, subject to the direction and control of the Board of Supervisors through the President of the LSU System. Specific responsibilities and prerogatives of the Chancellor include:

1. Attend the meetings of the Board of Supervisors and its various committees.
2. Define the organizational structure of the University and designate duties and responsibilities as he deems proper.
3. Execute or recommend personnel actions as delegated by the President and the Board of Supervisors.
4. Execute all laws relating to the University; all resolutions, policies, rules, and regulations adopted by the Board for the administration and operation of the System, and for the governance of all of its campuses; execute all policies, rules, regulations, directives, and memoranda issued by the President.
5. Prepare the budget and execute the budget approved by the President and the Board of Supervisors.
6. Hold membership on all faculties and serve as Vice Chairman of the Faculty Council.
7. Serve as custodian of all official records of the University except those assigned to a particular college or school or maintained within an academic department.
8. Serve as the final appellate authority in all grievances and disputes within the University.
9. Supervise and certify compliance with all equal opportunity provisions and regulations of federal agencies.
10. Provide for the control, maintenance, and supervision of movable property.
11. Adjudicate third step grievances in accordance with PS-80 [13].

Job Description for the Chief Executive Officer of the System

The duties and responsibilities of the president of the university system are enumerated in the Board of Supervisors Bylaws, Article VII, Section 2 [14]:

1. The President shall be the executive head of the System in all its divisions and campuses, and shall serve as Secretary to the Board. Except as herein otherwise provided, the President shall be responsible to the Board for the conduct of the System in all of its affairs, and shall execute and enforce all of the decisions, orders, rules, and regulations of the Board with respect to the conduct of the System. The President shall be appointed by, and shall hold office at the pleasure of, the Board. The President’s salary shall be fixed by, and recorded in the proceedings of, the Board. The President’s discretionary authority shall be broad enough to enable him to meet his extensive responsibilities.

2. The President shall attend the meetings of the Board and its various committees.

3. The President shall make all nominations for appointments, suspensions, and dismissals of all administrative officers holding positions at the pleasure of the Board, after consultation with the appropriate academic and/or administrative staff concerned. Upon recommendation of the Chancellor of each campus, the President shall have the authority to make all other appointments, promotions, transfers, suspensions, and dismissals of academic and unclassified employees, subject to the approval of the Board. The President, or the President's designated agent, is authorized as the appointing authority to make and approve personnel actions relating to classified and unclassified personnel in positions exempt from the classified service by special action of the State of Louisiana, Department of Civil Service, including disciplinary actions required to be expressed in writing.

4. Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the President shall
   1. Define the mission of each campus or institution and allocate functions and programs to each.
   2. Establish administrative policies and procedures.
   3. Implement educational policies.
   4. Coordinate the activities among the various campuses.
   5. Prepare and present a consolidated budget.
   6. Serve as governmental liaison and spokesman for the System to the alumni, news media, and the general public.
   7. Promote the general welfare and development of the System in its several parts and as a whole.

5. The President shall establish and maintain lines of communication with the chief administrative officer of each campus. The channel for official communications between the President and the various campuses shall be through the chief administrative officer in charge of each campus.

6. The President, as the chief financial officer of the System, shall assume and retain control at all times over all budgets of the System.

7. The President may, by written order, delegate to the Chancellor of each campus, authority to take action provided in Article VII, Section 2c. Any appointments so made shall be in accordance with existing policies of the System in effect at the time of such appointment.

8. The President shall have authority to appoint such committees from among the academic and nonacademic staff of the System as deemed desirable for the purpose of advising the President in connection with any problems of the System. The Chancellor of a campus shall be notified of all such appointments of personnel on his campus.

9. The President shall be a member of all faculties and shall serve as Chairman of all Faculty Councils.

Narrative Describing the Extent to which the Chief Executive Officer Might Be Said to Have Primary Responsibility to the Institution

The chancellor is the chief executive officer of the university and retains all of the duties and obligations conducted by the chancellor. The support staff for the Office of the Chancellor [15] remains budgeted separately and includes the following positions: Executive Assistant to the Chancellor; Assistant to the Chancellor; Executive Director of Institutional Advancement; Director of External Affairs; University Ombudsperson; Event Coordinator; and Office Manager [16].

The chancellor continues to conduct all business as previous chancellors have done. The chancellor’s executive cabinet, which includes the executive vice chancellor and provost and all of the other vice chancellors, meets frequently. The vice chancellors have unfettered access to the chancellor and talk or correspond with him almost daily. Additionally, the chancellor periodically holds meetings (monthly being the preferred time period) of an expanded executive staff, which includes the executive vice chancellor and provost, all of the vice chancellors, vice provosts, athletic director, presidents of the three LSU fund-raising foundations, and the presidents of the Faculty, Staff, and Student Senates.

Beyond these regularly scheduled group meetings, the chancellor meets individually with his administrative team members on specific university issues. In preparation for the fiscal year, Dr. Alexander met frequently with LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Stuart Bell and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administrative Services Bob Kuhn to discuss the budget [17]. Dr. Alexander has also met with elected officials, donors, media, and other stakeholders for the purpose of discussing the university. The primary discussion point has been student affordability, and he uses LSU as the primary example [18]. Authorizations and commitments that require the chancellor’s approval, according to policy, continue to route to Dr. Alexander as they would for previous chancellors. Since assuming the position, Dr. Alexander has approved the following: capital outlay requests to the board, financial documents to the board, and pay raises for personnel. Dr. Alexander has primary responsibility to LSU as its chief executive officer.

Narrative Describing How, if the Chief Executive Officer Has an Institution as His/Her Primary Responsibility, the Interests of the Other Institutions in the System Are Provided For and How a Conflict of Interest Is Avoided

The duties and obligations of the president of the system are listed in the LSU Board of Supervisors Bylaws Article VII, Section 2 (see [14]).

The duties of the president are supported by the following LSU System staff positions: Executive Secretary to the President; Special Assistant to the President; General Counsel; System Director of Internal Audit; Vice President for Academic Affairs and Technology Transfer; Vice President of Communications; Chief Financial Officer/Assistant Vice President for Budget and Finance; Director of Employee Benefits; and Director of Facility Planning. Dr. Alexander meets intermittently with the system office staff, preferring as-needed visits over formally scheduled activities. The governmental affairs staff meets monthly. 

Dr. Alexander abides by the responsibilities and performs the functions just as prior presidents. He holds regular meetings with the chancellors of the various institutions within the LSU System. Regular meetings with the chancellors are scheduled on the mornings of the Board of Supervisors’ meetings [19]. During these meetings, Dr. Stuart Bell, the LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, represents LSU, allowing President Alexander to separate his two roles. Dr. Alexander also conducts individual meetings with the chancellors, either based on requests or to obtain periodic updates [20]. Dr. Alexander has already visited or is currently scheduled to visit each institution at least once before the close of the calendar year [21]. He also has plans to attend the board meetings of the institutions’ affiliated fund-raising organizations.

Dr. Alexander serves as President of the LSU System during all Board of Supervisors meetings, again assigning Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Bell to represent LSU when necessary. Dr. Bell offers status reports and answers questions related to the university, but formal submissions from the university to the board are under the signature of Dr. Alexander. Dr. Alexander continues to conduct business as the system president. The president meets intermittently with the Board of Regents, as he has done regarding endowment support, budgets, and K-12 course offerings [22].

Dr. Alexander also performs certain statutory duties in his role as president, such as serving on the boards of the Louisiana Innovation Council [23] and the Research Park Corporation [24]. The president also serves on the board of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce, representing the numerous LSU System components based in the nine-parish service area [25]. Each of the institutions in the LSU System maintains its unique role, scope, and mission [26].  On October 26, 2012, the board reaffirmed the mission statements for four institutions within the LSU System, including LSU [27]. These mission statements were reviewed and approved within each institution prior to submission to the LSU System. The reaffirmation of the separate mission statements for these institutions demonstrates that the interest of each institution is provided for in the relation between the institutions and the LSU System.

Dr. Alexander is fulfilling his duty to identify candidates and make recommendations for filling vacant chancellor positions to the Board of Supervisors consistent with Bylaw Article VII, Section 2c (see [14]). Currently, the chancellorships at LSU-Shreveport and LSU-Alexandria are held by interim appointments, and Dr. Alexander has initiated the search process and employed a search firm for seeking qualified candidates.

Dr. Alexander is clearly delineating his roles as president and chancellor. By adhering to the LSU Board’s Bylaws and Regulations and other established policies and procedures, conflicts of interest are avoided.

Description of the Relationship between the Chief Executive Officers of All Institutions in the System and the Board, to Include Processes for Hiring and Firing of Chief Executive Officers of the System Institutions and Processes for Approval or Authorization of Programs and Missions of the Institutions

The LSU Board of Supervisors Bylaws & Regulations are very clear on the relationship of the chancellors and president to the board. The chief executive officers of the LSU System institutions are titled chancellor, and they hold office at the pleasure of the LSU board ([12], Article VII, Section 4a). The president is responsible for recommending candidates for the position of chancellor and for recommending termination, but the Board of Supervisors holds the authority to hire and fire chancellors ([14], Article VII, Section 2c).  According to the Board of Supervisors’ bylaws, the chancellors have significant jurisdiction to operate their respective LSU System institutions (see [12]). The president of the system, “subject to the direction and control of the board,” defines institutional mission and allocates academic programs. Dr. Jenkins exercised that authority by recommending re-affirmation of mission statements for LSU, for LSU-Eunice, for the LSU Health Science Center – Shreveport, and for the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center pursuant to LSU System Permanent Memorandum 38 [26].

The mission statements were submitted to the LSU System Office from the individual campuses, and Interim President Jenkins recommended the statements as submitted. Each mission statement was approved by the board on October 26, 2012 [27]. New academic programs or alterations to existing programs must be submitted by the chancellor to the president, and the president presents them to the board for approval or rejection. LSU Policy Statement 45: Courses & Curricula outlines the procedures for establishing a new degree program [28]. The program is initiated from the faculty and processed through the university to the LSU System for approval by the Board of Supervisors. The chancellor of each campus must approve new academic degree programs prior to submission to the LSU System office.  By virtue of its authority given in Article VIII, Section 5(D)(2) of the Louisiana Constitution [29], the state’s postsecondary coordinating body, the Board of Regents, has the power to “approve, disapprove, or modify a proposed degree program, department of instruction, division, or similar subdivision.”

Each institution of the LSU System has its own inventory of degree programs approved by Louisiana’s postsecondary coordinating board, the Board of Regents [30]. The most recent academic program approved from the LSU System was the Doctorate of Education in Leadership Studies on May 22, 2013, and prior to that a Bachelor of Science in Elder Care Administration was approved on April 25, 2013.

Description of the Administrative Structure of the System, Detailing the Reporting Structure and the Funding Structure for All Institutions in the System

The chancellors of the LSU System report to the system president. Each LSU System institution has autonomy, and each degree-granting institution maintains separate SACSCOC accreditation [31]. The organizational chart for the LSU System is included in this report [1].  As shown in the chart, there are ten independent units that report directly to the LSU System. Included among those units are the seven SACSCOC-accredited, degree-granting institutions: LSU; the Paul M. Hebert Law Center; the LSU Health Science Center–New Orleans; the LSU Health Sciences Center–Shreveport; LSU in Alexandria; LSU in Eunice; and LSU in Shreveport. 

The chancellors meet collectively [21] and separately with the LSU System president on a regular basis. The funding of each institution is through the legislative appropriation process, with the appropriation going to the LSU Board of Supervisors for allocation within the system. Subsequent to the completion of the legislative session, the chancellor of each institution presents the institutional proposed budget outlining the use of state appropriations, tuition and fees, federal funds, interagency transfer (e.g., intergovernmental contracts), and statutorily dedicated funds for particular services.

Using 2012 as an example, the board discussed the proposed institutional budgets based on the governor’s statutorily required preliminary budget proposal [32] and on the state budget for fiscal year 2012-2013 [33]. The state’s official appropriation letter for the LSU System was distributed to the president [34], and the proposed institutional budgets were approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 7, 2012 [35]. Similarly, the board discussed the preliminary 2013-14 budget based on the governor’s proposal for the 2013 Regular Session of the Legislature [36], and the appropriation letter was distributed [37]. However, the board had not taken action on the budget at the time of submission of this certificate.

Board oversight of fiscal matters includes its recommendations for the five-year capital outlay budget request [38].  The board’s Property and Facilities Committee, chaired by board member Mr. Raymond J. Lasseigne, reviews the capital outlay requests from each institution and prepares the system’s priorities. During the last capital outlay submission in 2013, the board’s resolution that approves the budget request authorizes the president to make changes to the request “as circumstances dictate” within certain limits, but such changes must be reported to the board [35].

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that William L. Jenkins, LSU System President (Interim), be and he is hereby authorized to make adjustments as necessary in this request as circumstances dictate, including technical corrections, increasing or decreasing the amount requested for individual projects by not more than twenty percent (20%) of the amount approved in this resolution, combining or renaming projects and/or changing sources of funds and to add self-generated projects with individual project costs of less than $1 million without further approval by the Board, provided, however, that such project additions be reported to the Board.

Description of the Extent of Autonomy of the Other Institutions in the System

The autonomy and flexibilities of the LSU System institutions are evidenced within the description of the chancellors’ duties in the LSU Board of Supervisors bylaws (see [12]: Article VII, Section 4). The special relationship of the chancellors to the board is indicated in Section 4a, which states that the chancellors are hired by and serve at the pleasure of the board. As long as the actions are within the laws of the state and policies, directives, and rules of the board of supervisors [10], each institution manages its own academic programs, organizes academic and service units, employs faculty and staff, creates its own policies and procedures for internal operation, recruits and teaches students, procures necessary resources through public or private means, and manages its internal operations.  The chancellor administers and exercises complete executive authority within the institution, subject to the direction and control of the president and the board of supervisors. Each chancellor is required to represent her or his institution at all meetings of the board of supervisors (see [12]: Bylaw Article VII, Section 4c).

Each degree-granting institution of the LSU System is separately accredited by SACSCOC [31]. Because each institution is different within the LSU System, each of the degree-granting institutions has its own role, scope, and mission. The roles, scopes, and missions of the institutions are approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors [39], ensuring that each institution maintains its own identity and autonomy within the system.