ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ

Dear Faculty, Staff and ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs:

Last week we welcomed a special guest to our ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ, Dr. Sandra Woodley, who became president of the ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ of ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ System earlier this month.  Dr. Woodley has a background to which many hard-working ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs can relate.  She married at 18 and had two small children in her early 20s.  Her path to a college degree included concurrently juggling work, changing diapers, and trying to study.  And, she admits, it was a struggle.

Her ability to overcome barriers has served her well throughout her college and professional career.  Dr. Woodley earned her master’s degree in business administration from Auburn ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ. She earned her doctorate from Nova Southeastern ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ in Florida.  She’s held a number of high-ranking positions across higher education.  Her most recent position was vice chancellor for strategic initiatives at the ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ of Texas System.

We were honored to host her first official visit to our campus as the newly appointed ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ of ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ System president.  In addition to being an advocate for non-traditional ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs, she is committed to improving access to higher education for all.

She has a measured approach to finances and strategy.  We share a respect for data-driven inquiry, and I welcome her plans to develop analytics systems for all UL campuses to be more productive and effective.

Dr. Woodley met with several of our ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs and faculty to hear directly your hopes and concerns for the future of higher education in ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ and especially at our campus.  She shared with me that she was very impressed with the caliber of our ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs and the passion held by our faculty to help ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs succeed.   She appreciates that passion as she admits she would not have made it through college without encouragement by supportive professors.

She toured our campus.  We showed her the incredible progress we’ve made despite limited resources, as well as explained our needs and challenges that lie ahead.  Several staff members briefed her on academic, economic and research aspects of the ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ.  She heard from local legislators, community leaders, education partners, Board of Regents and UL System board members, and ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ administrators.  As a usual highlight for many first-time visitors to our ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ, she was delighted to take .

In my conversations with Dr. Woodley, I shared with her our plans for making our great ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ better, our concerns over the negative effects of continuing budget pressures on faculty, staff and ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs, and our commitment to making progress despite those challenges.

Dr. Woodley is thoughtful, seasoned and engaging.  She will do a great job leading our system.

To our ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵs, I hope that you will take some time today to explore ÑÇÖÞ×ÔοÊÓƵ Organization Week.  By getting involved, you not only improve our campus, you also enhance your academic learning, grow your personal network and widen your career opportunities.

I wish each of you a great semester ahead.

Sincerely,

Joe Savoie
President
president@louisiana.edu