GSU president checklist

Grambling State University faculty, students and members of the surrounding community had much to say about the search for GSU’s next president when those who will make that selection came calling on Nov. 17.

The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors is slated to appoint the next leader of Lincoln Parish’s own Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in late February, replacing Richard “Rick” Gallot, Jr. as Gallot ascends to the systemwide presidency.

A search committee, composed largely of UL System board members, is currently accepting applications for the position after approving its search timeline at a Nov. 17 meeting on GSU campus.

It was the public’s first chance to weigh in on the qualities and priorities they believe the next Grambling State president should have, and many did just, giving roughly an hour and a half of comments.

From professors and students to wellknown members of the Grambling community, here’s the checklist, of sorts, they identified for GSU’s next leader.

Work with the community

By far the most talked- about quality from this initial meeting was a president who’s community-minded.

At least eight people asked the search committee to find a president who would connect the university to the surrounding community, work with the community, keep them informed, or similar phrases.

“You can’t run that school in an ivory tower,” said Willie Washington, GSU alumnus and retired school district administrator. “You’ve got to be out in the community.”

One speaker specifically said the university needs to work with the city government of Grambling, while two others referenced the “town and gown” working together.

Grambling Mayor Alvin Bradley is one of several non-voting, advisory members of the search committee.

Three people said they’d like to see the next administration make community service a greater priority for the university.

Prioritize student support

The second most common quality that speakers said they desire from Gallot’s replacement is that they be student- centered.

This feedback came mostly, but not entirely, from representatives of the student body themselves.

“We’re blessed to have a president who we see weekly, if not daily, on our campus,” GSU Student Government Association Vice President Morgan Patton said. “Other universities can’t say that.”

Students said continuing that high visibility and personal presence that Gallot established is a big part of what they’re seeking, as well as a willingness to listen to students’ ideas for change and take them seriously.

SGA President Alexa Johnson is a non-voting member of the search committee.

SGA member Elijah Neal said the student body wants its next president to help them lobby local government for a polling place to be located on the campus for greater voter accessbility.

Still others noted the best way to help students is to help faculty.

Invest in faculty

At least four speakers urged the committee to ensure the next leader of Grambling State doesn’t downsize or shift resources away from faculty.

Though that partially came from faculty themselves, students echoed the plea.

“When you go to register, we have a lot of classes that say TBA, where students can’t take these courses, and it pushes us back on our graduation date,” Patton said.

In addition to better serving students, increasing faculty numbers would help allow the university’s best and brightest to conduct more research, some said.

“It’s very hard to do research when you don’t have enough faculty,” said Barbara Lewis, an assistant professor in GSU’s kinesiology department.

GSU history department chair Edward Holt urged the committee to choose a president who won’t “ streamline” or “ right- size” faculty. When pressed by committee members, he agreed it would be beneficial if faculty pay could be boosted to the regional average.

“Could you imagine what more we could do if we were at parity with our sister institutions?” Holt said.

Other attributes

Three people — including renowned former baseball coach Wilbert Ellis — said the next president should be wholly committed to Grambling State, not simply using it as a stepping stone for personal benefit.

Two said he or she should have proven marketing or public relations skills. Along those lines, some said the next president should be skilled at lobbying the state Legislature and advocating for resources for the institution.

Others wanted to see a president with an open-door policy who would be open to ideas from any source. Some wanted to make sure the next chief would carry on the initiatives and direction Gallot started, rather than cleaning house and reinventing the wheel.

Still others said the next leader needs to be an innovative forward thinker. Adrienne Webber, dean of GSU’s Digital Library and Learning Commons, cited the roughly fouryears old Digital Library as an example of Gallot’s thinking ahead and doing the “next best thing” for Grambling’s students.

The search committee is next slated to meet on Jan. 22 in Baton Rouge to look over the applications and choose semifinalists.

Those semifinalists will be brought back to campus to meet with interest groups and be interviewed before finalists are chosen.