Compliance Status

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

Narrative

The laws of the State of Louisiana and policies and procedures of the governing board of Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) exist to prevent undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies, thereby protecting the institution from such influence.

Article VIII, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution permits the governor to appoint 15 of the 16 seats on the LSU Board of Supervisors, with the sixteenth seat held for a student member in accordance with Article VIII, Section 8 [1] [2]. The influence of the governor is muted by the requirement that the appointees must be confirmed by the Louisiana Senate.

(B)(1) Membership; Terms. Each board shall be composed of fifteen members, of whom two members shall be from each congressional district and the remaining member or members shall be from the state at large, appointed by the governor with consent of the Senate. The members shall serve overlapping terms of six years, following initial terms fixed by law [1].

As an example that not all appointees are confirmed is the case of Ann Duplessis. Article IV, Section 5(H)(3) of the Louisiana Constitution gives the governor the ability to appoint members to boards and commissions, which they hold until the end of the succeeding legislative session. Duplessis was appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal on June 25, 2010 [3], and she appeared on the board rolls for the July 16, 2010, meeting [4]. Duplessis last appeared on the board rolls for the June 3, 2011, meeting [5]. Duplessis was not confirmed by the Senate before the June 23, 2011, the end of the regular session, and did not appear on the rolls for the July 2011 board meeting. The most recent Senate confirmation was made on June 6, 2013, for seven board members, including Ann Duplessis [6].

Prior to taking their seat, each new board member must sign an oath to uphold the laws and board regulations, but they also attest to receiving a copy of the Code of Governmental Ethics, as required by R.S. 42:1162 [7]. The Code of Governmental Ethics [8] is structured to prevent members of the LSU Board of Supervisors from engaging in activities that could be construed as conflicts of interest and to prevent undue influence. Members of the board are prevented from using their positions to enrich themselves, promote external causes by using system resources, or to force system institutions or personnel to conduct illegal actions. The State of Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics prohibits board members from using their positions to coerce political action by employees [9]. The president is required to submit annually a financial disclosure statement to the Board of Ethics [10], as are the board members [11], who must also disclose any political contributions given to the appointing authority, in this case, the governor [12].   The Constitution of the State of Louisiana bars the use of state resources for personal or private purposes, which also limits the motivation and ability to assist outside interests [13]. Board members and university employees and their immediate family members are barred from accepting gifts of economic value that may be used to entangle employees [14].

The open meetings laws of Louisiana also prohibit LSU Board of Supervisors decisions from being made covertly, thus complicating the influence of external forces. The State of Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics requires that the board meetings be open to the public, all votes recorded, and no proxy votes permitted to further ensure against concentration of power [15] [16] [17]. The code also disallows the Board of Supervisors from voting while in executive session [18]. There have been no instances of violation of this code.

Additional details related to external influence on the LSU governing board and similar issues can also be found in the narratives in Core Requirement 2.2 and Comprehensive Standard 3.2.4.