Bruce T. Murphy can now add a second Colonel to his title after being unanimously named the fifth President of Nicholls State University by the University of Louisiana System Board Tuesday in Baton Rouge.
After a long process of narrowing down applications from 17 quarterfinalists to 6 semifinalists to two finalists, Nicholls finally has a name and a face to call its next president.
The UL System Board met in Baton Rouge to host public interviews of the final two candidates and ultimately appointed the next leader of he University. In the end, it was the military veteran and current vice president of academic affairs at Air University in Maxwell Airforce, Ala., who wore the Colonel hat and an “I’m with Nicholls” pin.
Over 40 members of the Nicholls community, including faculty, staff and student body, were in attendance. The crowd met the announcement with applause and welcomed the new president and his wife, Jeanne, as he addressed the board.
 “I’m honored and humbled” were Murphy’s first words after hearing he was the new president. “We see great promise and hope for the future, and I look forward to serving the Nicholls community and the people of the bayou region and also the people of Louisiana.”
The atmosphere of the room was optimistic as members of the Nicholls community greeted Murphy and his wife with handshakes, hugs and many “congratulations.”
“My first thoughts were ‘we have two more Colonels,'” Interim President Larry Howell said. “I think it’s a good choice. He brings a lot of experiences from many different areas across, and [Jeanne] is a real asset. I think they will make an extremely good team, and I hope they can continue to move us forward.”
Several students were in attendance, all of whom were happy with the board’s decision.
“I think that he’s going to have a clear direction to take Nicholls State to the next level, to put it as a premiere regional and national institution,” Anthony Naquin, biology junior from Thibodaux, said.
Rusty Bruce, President of Student Programing Association, said that he was pleased with both of the final candidates and knew that the board would make a good decision.
“I’m just excited,” Bruce said. “I think he is the best one for the job. I look forward to working with him and his wife. They are exactly what we need at this time.”
Rob Bernardi, director of athletics, said that Murphy’s commitment to growing Nicholls really impressed him.
“I think that for so long, we concentrate on cutting and not on growing,” Bernardi said. “I think the best way to enhance our University is through growth. He made that very clear. I couldn’t be more pleased, and I think that he will do a terrific job.”
Murphy, who interviewed second in a back-to-back format on Tuesday, said that he and his wife really fell in love with Nicholls after their visits to campus two weeks ago for their first interviews.
“Jeanne and I came away from that feeling really pumped and really psyched about coming back,” he said. “You go on college campuses, and they’re always invigorating, but there is a real sense of belonging, a real sense of family at Nicholls, and I hope that they will accept me and Jeanne as part of that family.”
He went on to say that he and his wife became “Nichollized” after watching the football team play against Oregon University on a national television channel, Fox Sports 1.
“I was excited just to watch and hear national announcers talk very strongly and positively about the school and about the team and so forth,” he said.
While Murphy does not officially take office until a to-be-determined date in January, he said that he plans to come to Thibodaux and begin working as soon as possible.
He also said that his first rule of business is to address the warning Nicholls received from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools this year. With a background in SACS, Murphy believes that he can acknowledge and deal with the issue quickly.
“First of all, I want to find out what’s going on,” Murphy said. “That is something that I can do a little, but from a distance.”
He went on to say that being closer to Georgia, where the SACS headquarters is located, gives him an advantage in resolving the issue. He remained optimistic about the situation.
“It’s not something that we have to light our hair on fire about,” he said. “I think it is very manageable, but we have to be very precise in how we do it. It’s serious, but I think it is something we can deal with.”
Murphy also touched on his main focus during his time at Nicholls.  
“I haven’t found a vision yet, but my vision for a vision starts with student opportunity and success,” he said. “If I could tell students one thing, and it’s kind of a message I have from things I learned over the years: get to know your faculty members very well so that they know you.”
At the end of the day, everyone on the board and in the audience seemed happy and optimistic about Nicholls’ future.
“I am really happy with Dr. Murphy,” UL System President Sandra Woodley said. “Even with the challenges that Nicholls has, it has a great deal of up-sided potential, and I think Dr. Murphy has the skills to really tap into that and take it through these difficult times into what will really be better times for Nicholls.”