LSU Board Makes Big Changes for Shreveport Health Campus

Despite a plea from Shreveport State Senator Thomas Pressly, the LSU Board of Supervisors has voted to make a major change that will impact LSU Health Shreveport.

A measure was placed on the agenda just 24 hours before the Thursday meeting doing away with the Chancellor position at LSU Health Shreveport which also includes our medical school and research operations.

This change will also impact LSU Health New Orleans. The chancellors at both of those complexes will now be bumped to Senior Vice Chancellors and they will now fall under the flagship of LSU Baton Rouge.

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Shreveport Senator Pressly voiced serious concerns this change and how it would impact northwest Louisiana.

Pressly tells KEEL News all of the research done locally will now be credited to the overall LSU system and not specifically to LSU Health Shreveport.

Pressly urged the board of supervisors NOT to make this change.

"I implore you, the LSU Board of Supervisors and this administration to pump the brakes on this decision."

He wanted time to properly inform the community and all of those in the LSU Health Shreveport community. He says this action comes as a surprise to them all.

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But LSU System President Wade Rousse pushed ahead with the vote. He says the schools in Shreveport and New Orleans will benefit from this new arrangement. He reassured Pressly and others that the local school will still have autonomy. He has also assured the local community that this will not impact funding.

LSU Sent Out This Statement:

"We realigned LSU's research output that has been distributed across five campuses. This alignment will give LSU an immediate and long-term boost to our research reputation and standing. All we did was change their titles because in our bylaws a Chancellor cannot report to a Chancellor. No composition of the job, or compensation for the job, has changed."

The goal of the change is to put all of the research under one umbrella which could help drive more funding to the state.