Gov. Landry signs bill increasing his power, appoints new UL board chair

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry addresses members of the House and Senate on opening day of a legislative special session focusing on crime, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in the House Chamber at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. (John Ballance/The Advocate-Pool)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill Wednesday giving him the power to appoint leaders of nearly 150 nearly boards and commissions and immediately used it to make two new board chairs.

With Senate Bill 462 by Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, now in law, Landry appointed Mark Romero as chair of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. He also picked Stephen Dwyer as chair of the Louisiana Housing Corp. board of directors.

Romero replaces Jimmy Clarke, who is being forced out before the end of his term in December. Romero, an Acadiana-based insurance executive, previously served as UL Board chair for two years in 2018 and 2019.

The University of Louisiana System includes nine schools and is one of four higher education systems in Louisiana.

Landry has said Hodges’ bill is intended to apply his agenda to higher education, but critics have raised concern that giving the governor more political power over higher education could impact school accreditation.

“This fight is all about universities,” Landry said in an April interview with WAFB-TV . “The people of this state are ready for these universities to start taking some responsibility for putting out students that are graduating with degrees that they can’t even get a job for.”

Governors already appoint members of the four university and college system boards of supervisors. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the accrediting body for Louisiana universities, requires that governing boards for its accredited schools remain free from undue external influence.

Giving the governor the ability to appoint higher education board chairs could impact accreditation if the governor seeks to use that power to influence the operations of a college or university.

Dwyer, a Metairie attorney, replaces Louisiana Housing Corp. chair Alfred Harrell, whose term was expiring at the end of 2025. Dwyer is the husband of Jefferson Parish Councilmember at-large Jennifer Van Vranken, a Republican.

The post Gov. Landry signs bill increasing his power, appoints new UL board chair appeared first on Louisiana Illuminator .