James Genovese will be the next president of Northwestern State University (Chris Reich/Courtesy of Northwestern State University)
James Genovese, a former Louisiana Supreme Court justice with no higher education experience, will make $350,000 as president of Northwestern State University — $61,000 more than his predecessor Marcus Jones, who has worked in higher education for nearly two decades.
Genovese, who is white, will receive a base salary of $315,000 from the state and $35,000 from the Northwestern State University Foundation. Jones, who is Black, received a base salary of $291,200 with no supplement from the foundation.
In interviews, University of Louisiana System President Rick Gallot, who is also Black, and UL System Board Chairman Mark Romero, who is white, deflected concerns the salary difference could be attributed to race.
“I’m sensitive to how we compensate leaders throughout our system,” Romero said. “I can say that if that perception exists, I very strongly refute that because it’s not accurate.”
“I don’t think there’s any racial implications behind that,” Gallot said. “I certainly would not want anybody to come to that conclusion.”
Genovese was selected for the job last month after a whirlwind search process. He had the backing of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry .
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With a salary of $475,000, Gallot earns less than his white predecessor as UL System president, Jim Henderson, as well as two white campus presidents who report to him. Prior to taking over from Henderson, Gallot served as president of Grambling State University for eight years, before which he was an attorney and longtime state legislator. Henderson has worked in high-level college or university administrator roles since 2009.
Gallot said that several of the new presidents at UL System schools that have started in the past two years earn more than their predecessors, and that Genovese’s pay falls into that trend. Both Romero and Gallot said the Northwestern State University Foundation expressed interest in supplementing Genovese’s pay.
In an interview, Drake Owens, executive director of the foundation, said the organization was asked by the system to supplement Genovese’s salary, a request he said was not made for Jones or several of his predecessors.
Genovese’s salary is the highest among schools in the UL System that do not have a prestigious research designation.
Making more than him is University of Louisiana Lafayette President Joe Savoie, who leads the only Carnegie R1 institution in the system, as well as Henderson, who now leads Louisiana Tech University, one of the Carnegie R2 schools in the system. The Carnegie Institute of Higher Education gives R1-status to those with very high research activity and R2-status to those with high research activity.
Kathy Johnson leads the University of New Orleans, the only other R2 institution in the UL System. She receives a $350,000 salary but announced she will be taking an unspecified paid cut due to budget cuts at the university.
Genovese’s salary is $25,000 higher than Southeastern Louisiana University President William Wainwright, although Southeastern enrolls nearly double the students than Northwestern State. Wainwright has been at SLU since 2023 and has 23 years of higher education leadership experience.
Genovese will also make $45,000 more than University of Louisiana Monroe President Roland Berry, who has been in charge since 2020 and worked at the university for nearly 30 years.
Jay Clune, who has been Nicholls State University president since 2018, makes $65,000 less than Genovese will be paid and has more than two decades of experience in higher education.
Another job perk for Genovese, who starts as president Monday, is the use of a residence on the Natchitoches campus and either a vehicle or a $1,000 per month vehicle allowance.
His contract is good for two years and can be renewed in 2026.
Genovese will also receive a substantial retirement income from his years as a judge. As a state Supreme Court associate justice, he was paid $212,000 a year, according to his financial disclosure records. He also is eligible for a controversial $15,000 stipend that would factor into the retirement pay he will receive from his time in the judiciary.
In an interview, Genovese said he has already received the stipend and does not intend to return it, though he will not serve the full fiscal year for which the stipend was intended. Genovese argued the payment was not intended for work done the current fiscal year, but rather was meant to be a payment for past work.
“Why would I return it?” Genovese said. “It was not prospective.”
Critics of the stipend, which the Legislature approved earlier this year, have leaned on past attorney general opinions that argue such payments must be earned before they’re paid. Otherwise, it amounts to a donation that violates the Louisiana Constitution.
“I have served 29 years as a judge, I’ve earned it,” Genovese added.
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