BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The search for LSU’s next president has come to an end.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Wade Rousse was selected as the 29th President of Louisiana State University during an LSU Board of Supervisors meeting.
Wade Rousse, Ph.D.(LSU)
Rousse, who currently serves as the President at McNeese State University at the time of selection, said the following about the opportunity during his final comments at the meeting.
“It’s the honor of my life to stand before you today and walk through this process,” said Rousse.
Wade Rousse was selected as the 29th President of Louisiana State University.(WAFB)
According to LSU’s website, which features candidate background information, Wade Rousse, Ph.D., started his career in the private sector. Later, he founded an alternative investment company focusing on market strategy, before being named McNeese State University’s 8th President.
Rousse has been outspoken during the selection process about his background in business and how he hopes to utilize that skillset to bring more funding for research at LSU.
The vote to hire Rousse was 12-1, with LSU Board of Supervisors member Laurie Lipsey Aronson casting the lone vote against the hire.
A press conference is expected to be held Tuesday afternoon following the announcement.
Dr. James Dalton has been named LSU’s “Executive Vice President,” with roles similar to that held by previous chancellors at the university when that position existed in the past.
James Dalton, Ph.D.(LSU)
Dalton, the provost at the University of Alabama, was one of the top three finalists for the presidential position.
Robert Robbins, M.D., the former president of the University of Arizona, was also a finalist.
Since Thursday, the three finalists have faced interviews with LSU students and faculty as well as community leaders.
Interim LSU President Matt Lee and Giovanni Piedimonte, vice president of research at Tulane, were among the other candidates interviewed while trying to fill the vacant position.
William Tate, the last LSU president, left LSU in May 2025 to become president of Rutgers University in New Jersey.
RELATED: William Tate leaving LSU for Rutgers
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