National Educator Gary Reichard to Serve as UL System Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs

BATON ROUGE – National higher education leader Gary Reichard will serve as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for the University of Louisiana System effective Aug. 13. Reichard will be responsible for the vision and overall direction of academic programs at all nine universities in the system.  He succeeds Brad O’Hara who recently retired after 25 years in Louisiana and took a position at Langara College in Vancouver, Canada.

“Dr. Reichard brings over 30 years of experience and an excellent academic record at both systems and institutions across the country.  That, coupled with his previous work for our system, makes him a perfect fit for this interim role,” said UL System President Randy Moffett.

In 2009 Reichard retired after 15 years of service in the California State University system including roles as Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer for the system, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for California State University Long Beach as well as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs-Academic Personnel, Planning and Assessment.  He also served as Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Florida Atlantic University and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland System Administration.

Since his retirement, Reichard has been sought after for consulting work including three projects for the UL System.   He led the institutional review teams for the University of New Orleans in 2011 and the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2010.  He also facilitated strategic planning sessions for the UL System Board of Supervisors in 2009.  His most recent work as Interim Executive Vice President/Provost for Trident University International ended in June.

“I enjoy the challenge of stepping into an interim role because you need to be able to maintain the existing work while assessing opportunities for growth and expansion.  Having worked with the University of Louisiana System Board, staff, and select campuses before, I know there are many strengths in the system including a spirit of innovation and collaboration.  I look forward to working closely with all nine universities,” said Reichard.

Reichard holds a doctoral degree from Cornell University, a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University, and a baccalaureate degree from the College of Wooster.

The largest higher education system in Louisiana, the UL system enrolls about 94,000 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.

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