on the same day in October 2023

The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Wednesday to put current system President Jim Henderson in charge of Louisiana Tech University and move Grambling State University’s president into Henderson’s old job. 

“I am more excited to get back to the work I love, especially at a university with the history, the legacy and more importantly, constituents of Louisiana Tech, working with faculty and staff at the institution to realize its mission at a scale and a level never before seen,” Henderson said after the vote. 

The board appointed Grambling President Rick Gallot, a former Democratic state senator, UL System president without considering other candidates. When Henderson was hired in 2016, the board conducted a national search. While such a search is not required, search committees are standard practice for high level academic administrators. 

Gallot said the move had come together “very quickly.” 

“It was not on my five-year to-do list, but I’m certainly grateful… for the opportunity,” Gallot said. 

UL System board vice-chair Jimmy Clarke said members opted against convening a search committee because of Gallot’s interest and experience. 

“There was a very highly qualified member of our existing presidential team who expressed an interest in when we evaluated the options,” Clarke said. “It seemed like the logical thing to do at that point, right man at the right time.” 

The unusual move at Wednesday night’s special meeting in Baton Rouge comes two weeks after the board voted to suspend its rules regarding presidential searches to make Henderson the sole interviewee for the Louisiana Tech job.  

Henderson’s candidacy for the position was unusual and put the board in a difficult position. 

State law and the board’s own rules ensure the system president is heavily involved in the selection of a university president, serving as the non-voting chair of every search committee. Henderson has served in the role for multiple president searches during his tenure, including two this year. 

Search committees are typically used to fill administrative roles in higher education. The committees ensure the appropriate time is taken to deliberate on the choice, as the president of a university plays an integral and powerful role at the campus and state level. Search committees also generally accept faculty, student and community input. 

By suspending the rules, the board effectively cut out faculty input, although Henderson traveled to the Ruston campus last week to participate in a public forum organized by the Louisiana Tech University Senate. 

The board’s meeting time and venue made it difficult for the community to participate. No one from the Ruston community provided public comment during the meeting. The primary way the community was able to participate was by submitting comments to an online form, although an attorney for the board said a “healthy” number of the submissions may be excluded from the minutes due to their anonymous nature. 

Gallot’s hiring was so sudden that the public had no opportunity to submit feedback. 

The Illuminator has made repeated requests for the public comments, which are considered public record, and has received just nine comments in response, all of which have had the names redacted. 

Of the nine comments, only one was not critical of the search process. 

“The abbreviated selection process smacks of typical Louisiana politics of it’s not what you know but who you know,” one commenter said. 

Another commenter identified themselves as a member of the University Senate, a deliberative body that represents faculty and staff at Louisiana Tech. 

“This is engaging in unfair employment practices and is a disservice to all faculty, staff, and students at Louisiana Tech University,” the senate member said. “You are also removing all credibility of not only Dr. Henderson, but the UL System altogether.” 

In an interview after the vote, Henderson said he had already started working on gaining the trust of the university when he visited the campus last week. 

“I think people will quickly get to gain an understanding of my approach to leadership,” Henderson said. “It’s very collaborative. It’s very open and copious amounts of communication. 

“True shared governance, true engagement,” Henderson added. 

As part of his goal to ensure full faculty participation in shared governance, Henderson said he will open a discussion about having  separate faculty and staff senates, as is typical at most universities. 

Henderson, a former journalist, also said he is planning to initiate conversations about restarting the school’s student newspaper, The Tech Talk, which ceased publication in 2019. When he was a student at Northwestern State University, an institution where he was later the president, Henderson served as the editor of its newspaper . 

“I think student journalism, student media, is essential to a healthy university,” Henderson said. 

Henderson will take over at Tech on Jan. 1. Current president Les Guice is set to retire at the end of the year. Gallot will take over as UL System at the same time. 

Henderson’s salary has not yet been set, although it is anticipated he will take a pay cut. As president of the system, Henderson makes $522,000. The highest paid of the nine system presidents is University of Louisiana at Lafayette President Joseph Savoie at $450,500. UL Lafayette has the top designation for a research university, which is associated with higher salaries, while Louisiana Tech has the second highest. Guice is currently paid $381,500. 

Gallot’s salary has also not been set.