02/14/2013 10:56 AM
BATON ROUGE – Two sub-committees of LSU’s Transition Advisory Team held a joint meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 13, in the Lod Cook Alumni Center at LSU.
The Finance and Revenue and Operations and Technology sub-committees, composed of
31 individuals from multiple academic, administrative and business-oriented backgrounds,
met, were tasked with their respective priorities and received a presentation from
Huron Education Consultants. Huron Education is known for providing innovative and
strategic transformation solutions to numerous universities nationwide.
G. Lee Griffin, co-chair of the Finance and Revenue sub-committee along with co-chair
Clarence P. Cazalot, discussed the objectives of the committee and of the transition
process that the LSU System is undergoing.
They were joined by William M. Comegys III and William L. “Bill” Silvia, co-chairs
of the Operations and Technology sub-committee.
Christel Slaughter, of SSA Consultants in Baton Rouge, is serving as the sub-committees’
facilitator for meetings, and explained how the format of the meetings will take place.
She also gave a presentation to the sub-committees on why higher education is in need
of a transformation.
“Today’s institutions of higher education are extraordinarily complex organizations
with significant resources tied up in overhead and administrative costs,” Slaughter
explained, noting that the current cost trend is not sustainable.
Her presentation also centered on the growing and changing consumer demand of higher
education and the effects of new technology giving rise to distance-specific groups
that can provide coursework entirely online.
Slaughter stressed four transformational imperatives for the university: to refocus
energy and resources on academics; to develop and leverage alternative revenue sources;
to serve the economic and workforce development needs of the state and students; and
to improve quality through innovative delivery models and collaborative research.
The sub-committees also heard a presentation from Shandy Husmann, John Curry and Malcolm
White of Huron Education Consultants, which focused on how re-aligning resources and
streamlining operations have allowed other universities, such as Kansas and Tennessee,
to realize tremendous savings that can be redeployed toward other university resources.
The two sub-committees will divide into six task forces covering Commercialization
and Technology Transfer; Streamlining Procedures, Rules and Regulations; External
Affairs; Technology; Administrative Services; and Revenue Generation.
The Commercialization and Technology Transfer Task force will meet on Wednesday, Feb.
27, in Shreveport, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at a location to be determined.
For more information about LSU’s re-organization process, visit www.lsu.edu/LSU2015.
Billy Gomila
LSU Media Relations
225-578-3867
bgomila@lsu.edu
Posted on Thursday, February 14, 2013