4.2.c CEO Evaluation/Selection

The governing board selects and regularly evaluates the institution’s chief executive officer.

Judgment

x Compliance o Non-Compliance o Partial Compliance

Narrative

Selection

The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors (BOS) is responsible for the selection of the chief executive officer of UL Lafayette. The search and selection process is specified in the BOS Rules. The search committee consists of at least six members of the BOS, including the student member on the BOS, and a faculty member of the affected institution. The System President serves as the non-voting Chair of the search committee. Additional guidelines in the Board’s “Policy and Procedures Memorandum: Searches for University Presidents,” address the use of non-voting advisory members to assist with the search, advertisement of the position in national publications, and the use of a search firm or consultants.

The search and selection process was last implemented at UL Lafayette in 2008 when the current President was selected. The process was public, with open meetings and information about the status of the search and candidates available on a page of the UL System website, and proceeded as follows:

• April 27, 2007: President Authement’s retirement was announced at BOS meeting.

• May 18, 2007: The names of 13 members of the search committee (11 voting and two advisory members) were announced, and a date for the first public hearing was set for June 14 in Lafayette.

• June 14, 2007: The first public hearing was held in Lafayette. Following the hearing, “desired qualifications for a new president were compiled from public input . . . and through a special email, a web comment form and phone line [were] set up of the search. Those qualifications [were] also posted on the UL System’s website.”

• July, 2007: The vacancy announcement was published.

• September 12, 2007: The second public hearing was held in Lafayette.

• October 3, 2007: The search committee narrowed the list of candidates from 38 to five.

• November 12–13, 2007: The search committee conducted public interviews with five candidates on the UL Lafayette campus.

• Announcement of public interviews with candidates

• Schedule of public interviews with candidates

• BOS agenda for public interviews

• November 28, 2007: The search committee recommended three presidential finalists.

• December 6, 2007: The BOS held a special meeting to select the President.

• December 7, 2007: The selection of E. Joseph Savoie as UL Lafayette’s President was announced.

Evaluation

The BOS is also charged with the periodic evaluation of the chief executive officer, as specified in the Board Rules section entitled, “Contractual Arrangements, Benefits, and Evaluations of Presidents”:

Evaluations of Presidents. The performance of the institution presidents shall be individually evaluated on a regular basis according to a process approved by the Board. The evaluations are intended to (1) fulfill Board responsibility for making certain that each institution is well managed, (2) help the presidents improve their performance, (3) make certain that sound institutional goals are being pursued, and (4) identify opportunities for improving the management and planning functions of the University of Louisiana System and its constituent universities.

In accordance with the UL System Board Rules, in the summer before each academic year, the BOS submits a request to the University President’s office for the annual self-evaluation (2016, 2017, 2018) with specific metrics to be addressed, including a fiscal health analysis. In the Fall, the University President submits to the BOS President a list of performance goals for the year. At the end of the Spring, he/she submits a report on performance related to the goals (2016, 2017, 2018). Further formal evaluation takes place at the BOS meetings as reflected in recent agendas and minutes.

To gather additional input, the BOS also circulates annually (2016, 2017, 2019) via email, a survey evaluating the President. This survey is directed to representative UL Lafayette employees who work directly with the President (all VPs and Assistant VPs; deans, directors and all direct reports; student government and faculty senate presidents).

The BOS evaluation of the President includes periodic campus visits by the President of the BOS. Beginning in 2015-2016, the BOR instituted a more in-depth review of campus presidents on a three-year rotating cycle. Dr. Savoie was reviewed in 2017-2018. The campus interviews that accompanied this process took place in May 2018.