LSUE chancellor search narrows

Kimberly Russell and Keith McLaughlin, two of the four Louisiana State University Eunice chancellor candidates, have been invited back to visit the campus, according to Van Reed, director of public relations at LSUE.
“The LSU Eunice Chancellor Search Committee has reviewed the credentials of the four candidates and has listened to input from faculty, staff and students, as well as, members of the community,” Reed said. “The committee has decided to invite two of the candidates back for a second visit. Kimberly Russell, vice president for Advancement and External Affairs at Tyler Junior College, and Keith D. McLaughlin, vice president of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness at Morton College, are being invited back to Eunice.”
“At this time, we are not calling them finalists. The committee would like to have additional conversations with them about their experiences and their vision for the future of LSU Eunice. The search remains open and additional candidates could be asked to visit campus.”
Russell and McLaughlin have been invited back for a two-day visit. One day will be spent at LSU Eunice and the other day will be spent in Baton Rouge with F. King Alexander, LSU president and chancellor. The LSU Eunice search committee will make a recommendation for chancellor, and Alexander will also make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The search committee would like to have the new chancellor in place by July 1.
Russell has 20 years of higher education experience. She previously served as the director of Foundation and Corporate Relations at LeTourneau University. She earned a doctor of education in righer education administration with a minor in economics and a master of arts in English from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in business from the University of Texas at Tyler, Texas. Russell is the chair of the National Advisory Committee for the Center for Community College Advancement, Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Russell talked about branding the campus, reaching out to the community and industries and communicating with groups on campus during her faculty forum at the campus on May 5. The candidate also spoke about putting in place policies to ensure student retention, especially with first generation college students, and working to gain the trust of parents whose children are students at the university.  
Prior to being vice president of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness at Morton College, 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.
McLaughlin 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. The candidate spoke to LSU Eunice faculty about raises, faculty involvement in making decisions on campus, improving the quality of advising, expanding distance learning and services for international students during his faculty forum on May 11.
Scott Amundsen, vice provost and dean of university studies at Trident University International, and Richard G. Shrubb, former president at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, were the other two chancellor candidates.