LSU’s chief: State cuts imperil higher ed

Louisiana State University Eunice is in peril if steep budget cuts poised in the Legislature become reality, F. Alexander King, president and chancellor of Louisiana State University, said Saturday before delivering the commencement address at the campus.
“It is not whether it survives, it is what status will the campus be in,” he said as more than 200 students waited to receive their degrees.
“How many programs will be involved? How many courses might have to get cut?” he said of budget cuts of up to 82 percent.
“It is not just the campus, but it is the best rice research station in the world over in Crowley,” Alexander said. “We are looking at the possibility of reducing our Ag stations and research stations by 45 percent.”
The Louisiana State University system entered the current legislative session facing a $608 million reduction in the $743 million it receives from the state.
“The campus here will be open,” Alexander said. “The question is how many programs and courses are we going to be able to offer.”
Alexander said legislators and Gov. Bobby Jindal have 28 days to act.
Legislative leaders are concerned higher education is on life-support, he said.
“We need to ratchet back some of the choices we’ve made as a state and start putting it toward investment choices which are the students that are graduating today,” he said. These are investments, not expenditures. To build our economy we need to have a vibrant, strong educational system in particular at the higher education level.”
Students now provide 80 percent of the funding to LSU, he said.
“This state needs to decide about its own choices,” he said. “Are we going to film movies like “Navy Seals vs Zombies,” which is what we did, or provide $21,000 per prison inmate and give $3,000 to educate a student. These are nothing more than societal choices that we are making”
The cutback the LSU system faces is the largest in the history of American higher education since budgets began to be tracked in 1961, he said.
Decisions such as tuition and fees are made by the Legislature, he said.
“We don’t want to raise tuition in Louisiana, in fact, we would rather it be free for everybody,” he said.
“In many ways we are fighting to keep the ‘S’ on our helmet,” he said.
The goal at LSUE would be to increase enrollment and transfers, he said.
“It is one of the best two plus two campuses in the state,” Alexander said, “It is a great feeder four our four-year institutions.”
Students now provide 80 percent of the funding to LSU, he said.
William Nunez, chancellor of Louisiana State University Eunice, presided over his final commencement as chancellor Saturday. Nunez served 19 years as chancellor. He is retiring effective July 1. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)