Kolluru selected as sole finalist for president job Kolluru selected as sole finalist for president job
5 Likes
Outstanding⌠our beloved University finally did the tight thingâŚwe will now have a leader with vision and not part of the Cajun mafia. Athletics should benefit
3 Likes
UL Lafayette presidential committee names Ramesh Kolluru as sole finalist for top job
A search committee in charge of recommending candidates for the University of Louisiana at Lafayetteâs next president on Tuesday named Ramesh Kolluru as the only finalist for the position.
Kolluru has served as ULâs interim president since November and is the former vice president of research, innovation and economic development of the university.
Two other semifinalists, Hitesh Kathuria, a tenured professor and former provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Empire State University in Saratoga Springs, New York, and Richard Ludwick, former president and current president emeritus of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, were not chosen as finalists.
The three semifinalists interviewed on campus Monday for the position and shared their vision for the schoolâs future and how they would address its financial woes during meetings with faculty, staff, students and community leaders. On Tuesday, they fielded similar questions during interviews with the search committee.
Though the UL system board previously promised a transparent process, the search committee did not publicly discuss their decision to name Kolluru as sole finalist.
Search committee members asked a few questions to each semifinalist during public meetings on Tuesday, but they also met privately with each candidate in executive sessions that were closed to the public. Committee members then met privately without candidates during an afternoon executive session ahead of their public vote. None of the committee members commented about the candidates before voting to approve Kolluru as the finalist.
The university has been without a permanent president since last July when then-President Joseph Savoie abruptly stepped down. Since then, the board has named two interim presidents, first Jaimie Hebert, who has since returned to his position as provost, and Kolluru.
The decision to form a search committee came last fall after speculation the UL system board would forgo a search and install Kolluru as president without any input from faculty, staff or students. Professors and the public pushed back against initial plans to fill the job without a search.
UL System President and Presidential Search Committee Chair Rick Gallot promised in January a commitment to âmaintaining transparency at every step.â
But the 21-member presidential search committee selected the three semifinalists last week from a list of 12 candidates after a lengthy executive session and no comment about their decision by committee members during the open meeting.
The search committee handled Tuesdayâs finalist selection in the same manner.
Yet Gallot said that the committeeâs decision-making process was open and transparent, pointing to the public interviews that took place Monday and Tuesday as evidence.
âThere was nothing discussed in executive session that was not discussed by the candidates in the open session,â Gallot said after Tuesdayâs meetings. âMaybe perceptions on answers that were given, but there was nothing that came up in executive session that wasnât discussed openly and in public.â
The full UL System Board is scheduled to interview the lone finalist and name the universityâs next president Friday in Baton Rouge.
Kolluru says he represents both continuity and change
Kolluru said he represents a new era that is turning the challenges of the past into opportunity for the future. He pointed to his vision for growing enrollment and research spending while implementing new budgeting processes and accountability.
âI represent continuity,â Kolluru said. âBut I also represent change.â
During interviews, Kolluru said he projects growing enrollment from 16,100 to 27,500 students and annual research funding growing from $254 million to $500 million within a decade. He said heâd grow enrollment by emphasizing recruiting, along with retention and graduation rates, making sure every graduate has âtwo competing job offers that they can select fromâ by the time they walk across the stage.
Kolluru acknowledged how difficult the past several months have been as the universityâs bleak financial reality came to public light â a $50 million total deficit, with $25 million of that being a recurring structural deficit â and the resulting staff and budget cuts. The university will be in the black by the end of this fiscal year on June 30 and will establish a budgeting process next month that will take the university into a more fiscally responsible future, Kolluru said.
Kolluru pointed to his 33 years at the university as evidence that he was the best fit for the job.
âBeing an internal candidate â being someone who is one of the family â has given me the opportunity to understand what our aspirations are,â Kolluru said. âThat gives me the opportunity to understand what not only our biggest concerns are but also our goals for the future.â
After being named interim president, Hebert announced job eliminations and other cost-cutting measures to try to make up for a $25 million deficit. Kolluru announced in December that the deficit had been reduced to about $10.5 million.
2 Likes
Great news!
2 Likes
Since Iâm out of state I donât have ans much visibility⌠obviously academics is important along with the resolving budget issues, but do know where his stance is on athletics? Is it something he values or is he just an academics guy?
Athletic success drives enrollment and funding into schools and I am hopful we have a president that values this vision
Thank God.
He wants to narrow the margin of expenses and revenue by utilizing the Paciolan ticketing and creating personal relationships with fans and supporters. He also wants to find other ways to generate revenue starting with using Cajun Field as a concert/soccer venue rather than just 6 times out of the year for football games.
3 Likes
Imagine a leader who thinks through problems and comes up with solutions
2 Likes
Seems some of the leftists in the Bookface comments donât like it because Dr. Kolluru is a realist who understands the oil & gas industry is here to stay and in demand worldwide for at least few more decades.
1 Like
Yep. The climate craze is over. Oil and gas is here to stay until Nuclear takes over or some other sort of source like zero point energy.
I sure wish they had taken my advice decades ago and invested in Nuclear engineering.
2 Likes
Need to try to get LAGCOE back and with a long term contract with a annual rise in the fee but not so much that it will make them want to not do it.
1 Like
Very good point here. LAGCOE belongs in Lafayette.
1 Like