Final LSUE chancellor candidate speaks at LSU Eunice

Keith D. McLaughlin, the final candidate for chancellor of Louisiana State University Eunice, spoke to faculty, staff and students Monday, and he expressed his eagerness to serve the college as chancellor.
“I’m very ready (to take on the role of chancellor of LSU Eunice) based on my experience,” McLauhglin said. “All experiences I have had in life fit into the role of chancellor at LSU Eunice.”
“I am committed to servant leadership. I am committed to serving others and team building, solving problems as a team.”
McLaughlin is currently vice president of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness at Morton College in Cicero, Illinois, and prior to that position McLaughlin served as the interim dean of Career and Technical Education at the college. During a sabbatical, McLaughlin worked as the assistant director of the Public Library System in Jacksonville, Florida and as an adjunct faculty member and K-12 Teacher Mentor at Florida State College.
The chancellor candidate began his work in higher education at Corning Community College in Corning, New York, as an admission counselor and worked his way up to the acting director of Admissions. McLaughlin earned his Ph.D. in education administration from the University of Texas at Austin, and he has a masters of science in management from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York. He also attended the Executive Leadership Institute sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College.
McLaughlin has professional experience with admissions, advising, financial aid, external affairs, grant writing, recruiting, working with dual enrollment students and has worked as an adjunct faculty member in the classroom and online.
About 20 LSU Eunice faculty members attended McLaughlin’s forum.
History professor Tony Baltakis, who attended all four candidate faculty forums, questioned McLaughlin about how he would work to build morale on the campus.
“We are going into our eighth year with no raises,” Baltakis said. “How would you deal with that? The faculty are pretty upset. UL (University of Louisiana) and LSU get something. We are like the stepchild here.”
“Why are we dealt with differently than other campuses in the system?”
McLaughlin suggested looking for a way to change the lack of raises, but stressed he would need to learn more about the budget situation.
“I can’t promise as chancellor to come in and change that,” he said. “I want to be clear and transparent about how the budget is allocated, but I don’t know the intricacies.”
Baltakis also asked McLaughlin what he thought the role of chancellor entailed and what his philosophy is on faculty and staff being involved in decision-making on campus.
“Us raising funds,” McLaughlin responded to the question of work duties. “It is crucial in this environment to put considerable effort to fundraising and support. It’s absolutely crucial.”
“We need to figure out how to generate legislative support and get that outgrowth of community support, find ways without becoming too political to get the community to reach out to elected officials and find out what it would take to increase their support.”
In regard to campus decision-making, McLaughiln said he would be interested in having councils and open forums on campus on a regular basis. He would be very visible on campus, walking around and talking to faculty and staff, and that he would like to get as many people involved, in an organized way, in the decision-making process, he said.
Another faculty member questioned McLaughlin about improving the quality of student advising on campus and how to help those faculty members who may not be the best at advising.
“All faculty members serve as advisors, but not all are necessarily good at it,” the faculty member said.
“We need to a create structure and improve the quality of advising,” McLaughlin said. “There is software to help track students and an early intervention system. Maybe the really good advisors can become mentors and coaches to other advisors.”
“Also, we need to look at the gaps and see where the breakdown is. What information are students given? Are the being advised by someone outside their program?”
Other faculty members questioned McLaughlin about expanding distance learning and services for international students, like English Second Language courses and English to other language dictionaries.
“This is a great but ineffective school,” another faculty member said. “If I would like to teach an additional (new) class or do research, I have to present the idea to my boss, who presents it to their boss and then a committee has to look at it. I’d like to teach a nutrition course, and I know there are students interested in it, but I feel boxed in.”
Now that the initial visits from the four candidates are complete, the LSU Eunice search committee will meet by the end of this week to decide on two semifinalists.
“The two candidates will spend another day at LSU Eunice and one day in Baton Rouge with Dr. Alexander (Dr. F. King Alexander, LSU president and chancellor),” said Van Reed, LSU Eunice public relations director.
“The LSU Eunice search committee will make a recommendation and Alexander will also make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors,” he said.“We would like the process to be finished and have a new chancellor in place by July 1. That may not be realistic, but that is the plan.”