A year in review: President Tate tours the state for anniversary of his ‘scholarship first’ agenda

A year in review: President Tate tours the state for anniversary of his 'scholarship first' agenda
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LSU President William F. Tate IV hopped on a large purple bus on Monday for a 1,000-mile journey of the state.

Tate’s four-day trip, which spanned from New Orleans to Monroe, from crawfishing to surveying hurricane damage, came at the one-year anniversary of his signature proposal for the university’s future.

Tate has promoted what he’s called a “scholarship first” vision of the university since his first day on the job in July 2021. Months later, in March 2022, he formalized that vision into his Scholarship First Agenda.

The plan called for “exceptional academic scholarship” in research and creative endeavors. It called for removing financial burdens that may prevent talented students from reaching their potential. And it outlined five key focus areas: agriculture, biotechnology, coast, defense and energy.

A year on, Tate’s agenda is still getting off the ground, but already has millions of dollars in funding from various partnerships. By design, the plan will roll out gradually, guiding LSU through 2030 and beyond. 

The plan brings both hopes and hesitations. Those who fall under the plan’s focus areas feel hopeful the agenda marks a new start for the university. Some in the humanities, not part of the plan’s five focus areas, worry their disciplines will be left behind.

What’s to gain

Christopher D’Elia, dean of the College of the Coast and the Environment, thinks the plan has set LSU on a new, better track.

“LSU has glided along on the same course it was on for years without making many changes,” D’Elia said. “We’ve been very money limited and that has caused us to simply keep reissuing the same budget we’ve had in the past and doing the same things. The president says, “No, that’s not good for the future, even though it’s going to hurt, we’re going to have to reallocate to be more effective for the future.”

And D’Elia, heading a college encompassing one of Tate’s key focus areas, is already eyeing possible projects under the plan. The most ambitious is a Gulf Center for Environmental Prediction and Synthesis, which D’Elia described as a “nerve center” for storm data that could help predict and analyze severe weather events with incredible accuracy.

He isn’t the only one jumping on the plan’s promises. 

The College of Agriculture has already established its own internal goals to complement the agenda, creating seven focal research areas that align with the agenda and increasing the amount of seed funding awarded to faculty members for various research projects, all in anticipation of when the agenda fully materializes into the academic vehicle it promises to be.

“We’re going to be setting one-, three-, and five-year goals on this very soon,” said Matt Lee, dean of the College of Agriculture, when discussing how his college is planning with the agenda in mind.

Humanities hesitations

While D’Elia and Lee, leading academic programs given focus under the president’s plan, are optimistic for the university’s future, some professors in the humanities don’t see a place for their subjects in Tate’s vision.

“I think a lot of people around here in the humanities and social societies would like to understand why [Tate] didn’t even include a mention of them…and it makes it seem like they aren’t a priority,” said Robert Mann, who holds the Manship chair in journalism.

Mann has served on the Faculty Senate, a representative body for faculty, since Tate arrived at LSU. Still, he said, “nobody that I know of had any input.”

“It was never brought to the Faculty Senate to be discussed in any way,” Mann said. “This clearly came from the system office. This was an initiative that was hashed over there without any kind of significant faculty input.”

Vice president of strategy Mark Bieger, in contrast, said the planning effort has benefitted “from the contributions of over 300 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and our community and will culminate in a strategic plan that articulates a clear path forward for LSU.”

It will take time to see if the agenda delivers on its promises—and if humanities will find a place in the president’s vision of the university’s future. 

A wide-ranging tour

Tate launched his trip from Memorial Tower, wished off by LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey.

On the first day, Tate saw six cities and over 200 people, according to the tour’s website. He visited LSU’s original campus in Pineville, where he announced LSU had a record economic impact of $6.1 billion in Louisiana, and ended the night in Shreveport. 

Tate kept up the pace the next day, visiting five cities. On Wednesday, he visited a sugarcane operation, learned about crawfish farming and walked through empty neighborhoods in Lake Charles, abandoned after devastating storms struck the area.

On Thursday, the last day of his tour, Tate announced a partnership between LSU and five ports in southeast Louisiana. LSU will be involved in developing cyber-defenses for the infrastructure, according to the university‘s website.

Tate also had an intense segment on the New Orleans Neutral Ground radio show on Thursday. The host, Kaare Johnson, an LSU alumnus, opened the segment by asking Tate why the school’s physics program wasn’t as good as its athletics.

Tate shot back hard, asserting the accomplishments of the university system and calling Johnson’s claims “reckless.”

“I’m going to defend the university because I know how hard our faculty work,” Tate said. “They’re really talented, and it’s just not right for you to do that, and as an alum, it’s just shocking frankly.”

Johnson said it’s “hard to find a university in America that has better facilities, better coaches, better teams, better fans, and I think academics fall woefully short to athletics.”

The tension continued to escalate as the show continued.

“The problem is you’re playing into the negative instinct, and that’s just what happens in journalism. Everything is negative, and no incremental growth is ever seen,” Tate said. “We’re not the same LSU that you attended. You couldn’t probably get into LSU today.”

The fraught exchange continued, but the men ended on a lighter note.

“I’m trying to help your ratings so I’ve been a little strident…I want your audience to know I was teasing about the admission,” Tate said.

That evening, Tate had what the university’s website described as an “intimate gathering with area elected officials, donors, alumni, and friends.”

With the close of the tour, the president has become better acquainted with the state he says his agenda aims to help. Time will tell how Tate’s plan shapes LSU and its role in Louisiana.

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About Mary Weyand 15916 Articles
Mary founded Scoop Tour with an aim to bring relevant and unaltered news to the general public with a specific view point for each story catered by the team. She is a proficient journalist who holds a reputable portfolio with proficiency in content analysis and research. With ample knowledge about the Automobile industry, she also contributes her knowledge for the Automobile section of the website.

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