LSU Board of Supervisors appoints Wade Roos president, names Jim Dalton executive vice president and A&M chancellor

The Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College voted 12–1 to appoint Dr. Wade Roos as LSU’s next president and to name Dr. Jim Dalton executive vice president and chancellor of the A&M campus.

Chair (Board of Supervisors) announced the decision after the board returned from an executive session, saying, “I am honored to announce the appointment of doctor Wade Roos as the next president of Louisiana State University.” The motion to nominate Roos as president and Dalton as executive vice president and chancellor passed on a roll-call vote, which the chair summarized as 12 in favor and 1 opposed.

The vote followed a comprehensive national search and interviews with three finalists. In announcing the appointment, the chair said the board was impressed with Roos’ record at McNeese State and his vision for the system, and authorized the president-elect to design and implement an enhanced organizational structure for the LSU system. That structure, as described by Roos, will include an executive vice president role that also serves as chancellor of the A&M campus; Roos said external affairs, government affairs and athletics will report to the president and that a detailed organizational chart would be published in the next 30 days.

Dr. Jim Dalton, in his final remarks to the board before deliberation, emphasized a student-centered approach to leadership. “I view the presidency as a student centric position. We have to take students first in just about everything,” Dalton said during his remarks to the board. Dr. Roos said serving LSU “is the honor of my life” and outlined 90-, 180- and 360-day plans to begin implementing his structure proposals.

The board also authorized general counsel Trey Jones to draft amendments to the board’s bylaws to reflect the changes to the leadership structure for consideration at a future meeting.

The decision was announced after an extended public-comment period in which multiple current students and student leaders criticized the search process and urged the board to prioritize student input. Calvin Felt, a Ph.D. student in computer science, spoke in favor of Dr. Dalton and warned against increased corporate influence in research, saying Dr. Dalton “showed a genuine interest in providing for the students and the faculty.” Several student speakers and organizers said the process had been undemocratic and accused the board of being influenced by Governor Jeff Landry. Ryan Spault told the board, “without student accountability, you will pick a Jeff Landry lapdog.”

Student leaders also described recent confrontations with campus police during public-comment events; Yarisa, vice president of Students for a Democratic Society, said the university had arrested seven students during protests earlier in the search process, a detail she cited as contributing to distrust of the process.

Representative Dixon McMakin addressed the board before finalists’ remarks, thanking the board for conducting a national search and urging the new leadership to act quickly to advance LSU’s research and teaching missions.

The board’s announcement said Roos will assume responsibility for systemwide leadership and that Dalton will oversee the A&M campus, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the AgCenter and the two health science centers. The chair said the unified reporting of the research enterprise would reflect a more integrated LSU.

Motion details and vote totals were read aloud after the executive session and the chair noted the motion passed. The board called for bylaw amendments to memorialize the new leadership roles and charged general counsel Trey Jones to prepare those changes for the next meeting. The board adjourned after the announcement and arranged a photograph with Roos and Dalton.

The board’s action concludes the formal search. The board and the incoming president indicated near-term changes to system structure; the proposed bylaw amendments and the organizational chart are expected to be presented to the board at a subsequent meeting.