BATON ROUGE, LA – The University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors Chair Liz Pierre recently announced the Grambling State University Presidential Search Committee. The group is responsible for reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and recommending finalists for the presidency. The finalists will ultimately be interviewed and a president selected by the full UL System Board of Supervisors. Current President Rick Gallot was named president of the University of Louisiana System on Oct. 25. He will assume the role on Jan. 1.

“President Gallot’s leadership at Grambling will be felt for generations to come,” said Chair Pierre. “We greatly appreciate the community members who have agreed to serve on the committee charged with finding the next leader for this historic institution.”

Current UL System President Dr. Jim Henderson will chair the committee and incoming System President Rick Gallot will co-chair, both as non-voting members. The committee includes select System Board members and Grambling’s Faculty Senate president as voting members as well as non-voting community members to serve in an advisory capacity.

“I look forward to working with President Gallot and the search committee members during the coming weeks. Together, we will find the ideal president to lead Grambling State University into its next era,” said Dr. Henderson. “We encourage members of the community to get involved. We will be accepting feedback from the public during next Friday’s committee meeting and throughout the process.”

The committee’s inaugural meeting is public and will take place on Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. on Grambling State University’s campus in the Betty E. Smith Nursing Building Auditorium, Room 104 and will be streamed live on the UL System YouTube Channel. During the meeting, the committee will vote to accept their charge and the search timeline after hearing desired leadership qualities from the University’s constituencies. Information regarding the search will be housed on the System’s website at https://www.ulsystem.edu/gramblingsearch.

The Presidential Search Committee is made up of the following members: 

• Dr. Jim Henderson, Search Committee Chair, non-voting 
• Rick Gallot, Search Committee Co-Chair, non-voting 
• Liz Pierre, UL System Board Chair 
• Dr. Jimmy Clarke, UL System Board Vice Chair 
• Barry Busada, UL System Board Member 
• Steve Davison, UL System Board Member 
• Lola Dunahoe, UL System Board Member 
• Al Perkins, UL System Board Member 
• Virgil Robinson, UL System Board Member 
• Bailey Willis, UL System Student Board Member 
• Dr. Gary Poe, Faculty Senate President 
• David Aubrey, Community Representative, non-voting 
• Alvin Bradley, Community Representative, non-voting 
• James Bradford, Community Representative, non-voting 
• Wilbert “Coach” Ellis, Community Representative, non-voting 
• Alexa Johnson, SGA President, non-voting 
• Dr. Frederick L. Pinkney, Community Representative, non-voting 
• Dr. Tammy Richardson, Community Representative, non-voting 
• Rodney Welch, Community Representative, non-voting 

Since 2016, Gallot has served as Grambling’s 10th president where he has presided over a period of historic growth including enrollment records and a 200 percent improvement in the institution’s fiscal health score.

About Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a comprehensive, historically black, public institution that offers a broad spectrum of undergraduate and graduate programs of study. Through its undergraduate major courses of study, which are undergirded by a traditional liberal arts program, and through its graduate school, which has a professional focus, the University embraces its founding principle of educational opportunity. With a commitment to the education of minorities in American society, the University seeks to reflect in all of its programs the diversity in the world. The University advances the study and preservation of African American history, art, and culture. For more information, visit www.gram.edu.

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