Tate: LSU research tops $543 million; president warns of federal reimbursement risk, names Dr. Guzik chief research officer

President William Tate reported to the Board of Supervisors that combined research expenditures across LSU research campuses reached $543,000,000 for the 2023–24 academic year, up from $488,000,000 the prior year. He described the increase as exceeding the system’s goal of 10% year‑over‑year research growth and said the figure reflects work at Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport campuses.

Tate warned board members of a possible change in federal reimbursement policies he said would materially affect research finance. "When you have a half a billion dollars worth of research, and you're supposed to be reimbursed at 50%, and it goes to 15, I'm gonna be calling on you all for some gifts," Tate said, arguing that lower reimbursement rates at scale would put scientific infrastructure at risk.

Tate also announced a leadership appointment: he said he had spoken with Dr. Guzik and that Guzik had agreed to serve as chief research officer for the university system. Tate described Guzik as a National Academy of Medicine member and credited him with work expanding biomedical research capacity in Shreveport. Tate said the system will ask Dr. Lester Wayne Johnson to serve as interim leader in Shreveport as part of ongoing leadership planning.

Tate framed the research growth and appointment as part of the university’s broader strategy to protect and scale research capacity amid changing federal support and to pursue designations and major grants. He urged board engagement to preserve research funding and infrastructure.

Ending: The board received the president’s report; no formal board action was recorded on the appointment announcement in the meeting transcript.