Our Views: Moffett leaves at tough time
We congratulate Randy Moffett on his pending retirement as president of the University of Louisiana System. The system oversees nine public colleges and universities across the state, including Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Moffett, 65, recently announced that he plans to retire in the fall.
Moffett’s retirement plans coincide with a challenging time for higher education in Louisiana. His pending retirement is the third departure of a high-ranking higher-education official in Louisiana in recent weeks. John Lombardi was recently fired as head of the LSU System, and Mike Martin recently left his post as chancellor of LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s public colleges and universities have endured several years of large budget cuts as a result of reductions approved by the governor and the Legislature. That’s especially bad news for a state that’s lagged much of the nation in the educational attainment of its residents. Moffett argued against the latest round of budget cuts this year.
We hope that the UL System Board conducts a thorough and transparent search for Moffett’s successor. The next president of the University of Louisiana System will have a tough job. Including the public in the search process is the best way to encourage public support for the candidate who is eventually selected.