Louisiana Tech President Steps Down Early: Board Names Crawford Acting President, Successor to Be Chosen November 19
The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors met in Baton Rouge on October 22 and appointed Dickie Crawford as acting president of Louisiana Tech University, succeeding President Jim Henderson, whose tenure ended early the same day.
Crawford, the university's senior vice president for student advancement and chief operating officer, is a Ruston native and Louisiana Tech graduate who played basketball for the school as a student; he will lead the university until the board selects a new president, and said he appreciates the opportunity to help his university. Henderson had been set to leave on December 31 but said health reasons moved his departure up; he stepped away from daily duties on October 22 and is formally on leave through the end of 2026.
Behind the departure is a public dispute: a faculty and staff raise plan already in the budget — 4 percent raises capped at $2,400 — was rejected by the system board. Henderson wrote to faculty this month apologizing for the undelivered raises, while Board Chairman Mark Romero and System President Rick Gallot sent a joint letter questioning Henderson's financial management. At the October 22 meeting, Faculty Senate President Michael Swanbom said faculty were "discouraged and disappointed" by the two accounts and did not know which to believe; board member Brad Stevens summed up that the board has "egg on our faces" over the raises, and fellow member Steve Davison said he would work to persuade colleagues to restore them.
The search for a new president is under way: applications close November 6, and a 17-person search committee (eight of them voting members) will meet in Baton Rouge on November 13 to review applicants and choose semifinalists, who will interview on campus in Ruston on November 16–17. The board will interview finalists in Baton Rouge on November 19 and select Tech's next president.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：路易斯安那理工大学校园。摄影：Quintin Soloviev，CC BY 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: The Louisiana Tech University campus in Ruston. Photo by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
