17 Candidates in Running for President of Nicholls State University

Search Committee will meet Aug. 19 to select semi-finalists

BATON ROUGE, La. – Members of the Nicholls State University Presidential Search Committee today received 17 applications of candidates recommended by the search firm R.H. Perry and Associates.  The committee will meet in Baton Rouge at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19 to select semi-finalists to interview on Nicholls’ campus the week of Aug. 26.

According to the consultants’ recruitment report, which is available online at www.ulsystem.edu/NichollsSearch along with the candidate applications, there were 39 nominations, 34 inquiries, and 46 complete applications.  Of the 17 recommended candidates, three have been or are currently presidents or chancellors, seven have chief academic officer experience, four have chief student affairs experience, and three are currently deans.

The 17 candidates are listed below in alphabetical order with the highest degree earned and most recent position noted:

1. Allayne L. Barrilleaux (Ph.D. – Louisiana State University), Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nicholls State University
2. Eugene A. Dial, Jr. (Ph.D. – Florida State University), Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services and Associate Professor, Nicholls State University
3. W. Franklin Evans (Ph.D. – Georgia State University), Vice President for Academic Affairs, South Carolina State University
4. Jeanne Marcum Gerlach (Ed.D. – University of North Texas; Ph.D. – West Virginia University), Associate Vice President for K-16 Initiatives and Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
5. Lance R. Grahn (Ph.D. – Duke University), Professor, Department of History, University of Central Arkansas  (former Provost and Dean of Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs)
6. Steven Edward Hardin (Ph.D. – University of Kansas), Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
7. Luoluo Hong (Ph.D. – Louisiana State University), Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of Hawai’i at Hilo
8. Karla V. Hughes (Ph.D. – University of Tennessee-Knoxville), Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor, Morehead State University
9. James M. Limbaugh (Ph.D. – University of Maryland), Chancellor, Montana State University-Northern
10. Mirta M. Martin (Ph.D. – Virginia Commonwealth University), Dean and Professor of Management, Virginia State University
11. Shawn Mauldin (Ph.D. – University of Mississippi), Dean and Cenac Chair in Accounting, Nicholls State University
12. Sam Minner (Ph.D. – The University of Arizona), Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Radford University
13. Robert C. Mock, Jr. (Ed.D. – University of Arkansas at Little Rock), Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Kentucky
14. Juan Sanchez Munoz (Ph.D. – University of California, Los Angeles), Senior Vice President of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement, Vice Provost of Student Affairs, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, Texas Tech University
15. Bruce T. Murphy (Ed.D. – Vanderbilt University), Vice President for Academic Affairs, Air University
16. Carlisle Baxter Rathburn III (Ph.D. – University of Florida), Special Assist to the Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, The Texas A&M University System (former President and CEO, Texas A&M University-Texarkana)
17. Irby (Skip) D. Sullivan (Ed.D. – University of Georgia), President, West Georgia Technical College

“This is a very important decision, and I know the committee is anxious to carefully review the applications before we meet on Monday,” said search chair and University of Louisiana System President Sandra Woodley.  

Voting members of the committee include System Board Members Andre Coudrain of Hammond, David Guidry of Harvey, Board Vice Chair E. Gerald “T-Boy” Hebert of Kenner, Student Board Member Davante Lewis of Lake Charles, Jimmie “Beau” Martin, Jr. of Cut Off, Board Chair Wayne Parker of Choudrant, Robert Shreve of Baton Rouge, Gary Solomon of New Orleans and Winfred Sibille of Sunset.  Also serving as a voting member is Nicholls Faculty Senate President Stephen Michot.

Advisory, non-voting members are community member Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger, Nicholls SGA President Melissa Cloutet, former Nicholls SGA President Matthew Jewel, Fletcher Technical Community College Chancellor F. Travis Lavigne, Jr., and Nicholls Director Emeritus of Alumni Affairs Deborah “Raz” Raziano.  UL System President Sandra Woodley serves as the non-voting committee chair.

Nicholls President Stephen T. Hulbert, who led the university for a decade, formally retired from the university on Aug. 1.  His second in command, Lawrence W. Howell, currently serves as the Interim President. A new president is expected to be named in early September.

To aid in its work, the search committee contracted with R.H. Perry and Associates to collect applications, actively seek candidates to be well suited for the approximately 7,000-student Thibodaux university, and to make recommendations to the committee.  In addition to today’s report, the consultants will attend Monday’s committee meeting to provide additional information about the candidates.

For more information about the search, including a link to the live webcast of Monday’s meeting, visit www.ulsystem.edu/NichollsSearch.  To provide feedback to members of the search committee, email NichollsPresidentialSearch@uls.state.la.us. 

Founded in 1948, Nicholls State University is classified by Carnegie as a Master’s Medium University and by the Southern Regional Education Board as a 4-Year IV institution.

-ULS-

The largest higher education system in Louisiana, the UL system enrolls over 92,000 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the University of New Orleans.