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LSU board approves consent agenda including medical school department reorganizations and DNS-to-PhD conversion option
Summary
The Academic Committee presented three consent items, including a reorganization of basic science departments at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and a petition process allowing prior Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS) graduates to convert to a PhD in Nursing; the board approved the consent agenda without recorded objections.
Provost Drew Blanchard presented a three-item consent agenda to the Academic Committee and to the full Board. The board approved the consent agenda by voice vote after a request for a motion; no roll-call objections were recorded.
Item details presented at the meeting included a reorganization request from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans to reduce the number of basic science departments from four to two. Under that proposal the Department of Genetics would merge with the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology to form a new Department of Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology; the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology would merge with the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics to form a new Department of Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Experimental Therapeutics. Presenters said the reorganization is intended to strengthen translational research, reduce near-term recruitment needs for department heads, and allow more flexible use of tenure-track lines; the trustees were told modest, pre‑existing budgets would cover one-time reorganization costs such as signage and communications.
A second consent item asked the board to authorize an option for alumni awarded a Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS) degree between 1985 (presenters also referenced 1988 in the meeting) and 2021 to petition to convert that credential to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing. Demetrius Porsche, vice chancellor for academic affairs at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and dean of the School of Nursing, told the board, "Every university that offered the D and S degree in The United States has converted their degrees except LSU." Presenters described the DNS as historically research‑intensive and said the conversion process would be available for an 18‑month petition window; alumni who elect to convert must return their original diploma and pay any applicable reissue fees.
A third consent agenda item discussed aligning a counseling graduate degree title with CACREP (the Counseling accreditation body) to avoid licensing and credentialing confusion for graduates; presenters said the change aims to strengthen graduates' access to licensure and employment, but the transcript does not specify the exact current or proposed degree title or the campus that filed the request.
Following presentation and brief clarifying questions from trustees and administrators (including cost and dissertation requirements), a motion to approve the consent agenda was made, seconded, and approved by the board. No separate roll-call tallies for individual consent items were recorded in the public transcript.
