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Lombardi Named LSU System President
Friday, July 13, 2007
- LSU System |
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BATON ROUGE - The LSU Board of Supervisors today unanimously selected John V. Lombardi, nationally known both for his candor and expertise in higher education management, as Louisiana State University System President.
"He is more than I hoped for," said Charles Weems III, board member and member of the search committee that last week nominated Lombardi for the post. "He brings to us gravitas, distinction, and credentials that are of the highest standard."
Lombardi's selection as LSU's fifth system president came after the outgoing chancellor of the University of Massachusetts flagship campus at Amherst told the LSU board one his early priorities would be to develop relationships with Louisiana lawmakers whose support he'll need to fund the system's 11 institutions of medicine, research and higher education.
"The first thing you need is to know the legislators," he said. "That is, if you just go see your legislators when you want something, when you want something specific, and you come through the door and have your hand out, it's less effective than if you've spoken with the legislators out of session, in their district, about their issues and about their concerns."
In voting to approve Lombardi, LSU board members praised his academic credentials. "We set out as a committee to get the very best and I¹m convinced we got the very best," said Laura Leach, chairwoman of the presidential selection committee.
The 64-year-old Lombardi, who led UMass Amherst for five years after serving as president of the University of Florida for nearly a decade, succeeds Dr. William L. Jenkins as LSU president. Jenkins is retiring, but will assume the title President Emeritus and concentrate on fund raising for the university system.
With a budget of almost $3 billion, the LSU System includes a range of institutions including its flagship campus in Baton Rouge, the University of New Orleans and schools in Shreveport, Alexandria, and Eunice along with medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport, public hospitals and clinics statewide, and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, one of the nation¹s leading research centers on obesity and aging.
Reacting to his selection, Lombardi told the board he considers his new post as a "honor and privilege and an opportunity of unparalleled distinction."
Lombardi praised LSU, saying it has both the people and capacity to be a top American research institution. But, he noted, attracting high quality students and research grants are not done by accident; they are the result of successfully contending in the mainstream competitive academics.
"We have to make sure that every part of the institution is clear about its mission and how it will achieve it," the new system president said.
Lombardi is expected to assume his duties as LSU System President by September 1st. |
John Lombardi
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• LSU System Website
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