Nicholls State University Presidential Search Committee will meet Aug. 19 to receive recommendations, select semi-finalists

BATON ROUGE, La. – The committee charged with selecting a new Nicholls State University president will meet in Baton Rouge at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19 to receive search consultant recommendations and develop a list of semi-finalists to interview on the Nicholls campus the week of Aug. 26.

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 at the Aug. 19 meeting. The deadline to turn in applications and nominations to the firm was Aug. 1.

“Past practice has been for the consultants to unveil candidate recommendations during the search committee meeting.  However, as all applications are going through the consultants we asked for a written report and recommended candidate applications ahead of time to allow committee members the opportunity to review them before the meeting,” said University of Louisiana System President and Nicholls Presidential Search Committee Chair Sandra K. Woodley.

“That information is expected on the afternoon of Aug. 16.  As soon as our office receives a report and/or candidate applications we will email them to the committee and post them on the presidential search website (www.ulsystem.edu/NichollsSearch), in accordance with Louisiana’s public records law,” she said.

Two new members were recently added to the search committee: Davante Lewis and Melissa Cloutet.  Lewis is the SGA President at McNeese State University and serves as the UL System Student Board Member.  He replaces previous Student Board Member Will Dearmon and serves as a voting member of the search committee in accordance with board rules.  Cloutet is the current Nicholls SGA President. Woodley appointed her to serve as an advisory, non-voting member. 

A list of committee members, timelines, press releases, selected news articles, Nicholls information, videos of public search committee meetings and other information are all available on a special section of the UL System’s website devoted to the presidential search. It can be found at www.ulsystem.edu/NichollsSearch.

The system will add video links to future meetings, public hearings and candidate interviews as the search progresses.

In addition to UL System Board member Davante Lewis, 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, 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.

In addition to Nicholls SGA President Melissa Cloutet, other advisory, non-voting members are community member Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger, 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.

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-

ABOUT THE UL SYSTEM: The University of Louisiana System is Louisiana’s largest higher education system enrolling over 92,000 students at the following nine universities: 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.