“We don’t say that to scare people. Basically, it is how we are going to survive.” LSU President (The Times-Picayune , READMORE )
Bobby Jindahl, the Governor of Louisiana is a Tea Party sponsored candidate for President of the United States.
Moody’s Investors Service announced that it was lowering LSU’s credit rating in response to an 82 percent funding cut if no extra state money is found by the state legislature. F. King Alexander, LSU President and Chancellor, has announced that the university is putting together the paperwork for declaring financial exigency. Under Louisiana law this formal step that would allow the administration to suspend contractual obligations, including obligation to tenured faculty. Entire programs could be disestablished.
Meanwhile, the financial crisis seems not to have affected the LSU Football program. Devonta Smith, local high school football standout, was excited that he received a full boat offer from the LSU Tigers .
This threat extends to the entire system of public colleges and universities. If the Republican dominated legislature does not take action support per student would fall from just over $3,000 dollars to under the $700 per student in the state’s community colleges. 16 to 20 different campuses would coordinate financial paperwork declarations of exigency.
“If [state funding] doesn’t materialize … we would try to have all the systems going down that path together,” said Joseph Rallo, Louisiana’s higher education commissioner.
One Louisiana higher education system — Southern University — has already gone through financial exigency recently. Meanwhile LSU’s Athletic Dept. seems unperturbed. “Then LSU called right afterwards and that was the one call I was waiting for. I couldn’t believe they offered me. Coach (Corey) Raymond told me they were going to offer me at the spring game .” Devonta Smith, high school athlete.