University President Stephen Hulbert will close a chapter of his life and begin a new one as he seeks retirement following his 10-year tenure at Nicholls.
Hulbert began his career at Nicholls on July 1, 2003, previously serving as the chancellor of the University of Montana-Western from July 1999 to June 2003.
In an email sent to faculty on Monday afternoon, Hulbert, who will retire effective Aug. 1, recounted his time at Nicholls as riddled with unforeseen events such as hurricanes, but “the past ten years have also been a time of extraordinary growth and maturity for Nicholls State University and the Nicholls family.”
Hulbert’s tenure has been chronicles through countless articles in the Nicholls Worth, documenting his responses to events like budget cuts and University construction projects.
Since his installation as the University’s fourth president in 2003, Hulbert has led Nicholls through six consecutive years of budget cuts, beginning in 2008. The University has faced  millions of dollars in budget cuts since that time, with the most recent cutting $455,349 from the University budget in Jan. 2013.
The cuts caused “unprecedented challenges” for the operation of the University, as Hulbert predicted in a March 25, 2010 Nicholls Worth story.
Students flocked to Baton Rouge to rally at the state capitol in 2010 and everything from shortened library hours to dozens of layoffs were seen on campus as a result of the deficit.
Throughout his tenure, Hulbert worked with the Nicholls and the local community to engage everyone in the fight for funding for the University.
In a letter to the University community on May 25, 2012, he said, “To each of you goes my thanks for your continued effort to keep Nicholls doing the important work for which it was created. I understand only too well just how difficult that effort becomes in light of further threats to the financial stability of the University and to the people who give it life.”
Hulbert also worked to get numerous construction projects completed or started during his time at the University. In Aug. 2007, a renovated Vernon F. Galliano Cafeteria, named after the University’s second president, was unveiled and won an award for outstanding design in American School and University Magazine the following year.
“A true university president leaves the university better off than when he arrived. Dr. Galliano gave us the means to be successful. I consider Dr. Galliano to be a steward of higher education,” Hulbert said of the president who served from 1963-1983, as stated in a Nicholls Worth article from Aug. 23, 2007.
Construction on Scholars, Millet, and Zeringue Halls was completed in 2008 and renovations on one of the oldest University buildings, Bearegard Hall, were completed in Aug. 2010, 26 years after the renovation funds were first requested. Upgrades were also made to Calecas Hall, and several auditoriums were renovated and renamed, including the Harvey A. Peltier Auditorium in Peltier Hall and the Mary M. Danos Theater in Talbot Hall.
The long-awaited Harold J. Callais Recreation Center and the John Folse Culinary Institute also became realities during Hulbert’s 10 years, with a grand opening for the rec center and groundbreaking for the institute happening within the last seven months.
Discussions of a rec center began in 2002, and 10 years later the doors to the $16 million dollar facility opened to on Sept. 29, 2012.
“The University considers the construction of that recreation center and the delivery of the resulting programs to be offered to students to be a critically important aspect of campus life,” Hulbert said in the March 26, 2009 Letter from the University President. “Nicholls students should have health and fitness opportunities similar to that afforded to other university students across Louisiana.”
Most recently, Hulbert, in the company of University officials, students, and area celebrities, broke ground on the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, a facility for those culinary students currently housed in Gouaux Hall. Construction is set to begin in May 2013 and has taken nearly two decades of planning.
“There have been at least a couple of hurricane seasons, the oil spill, economic downturns, and a lot of different challenges to get us to this point in time,” Hulbert said as stated in a March 7, 2013 Nicholls Worth story about the groundbreaking. “We are finally here, and we are finally going to build a building that will house this fantastic culinary institute.”
In 2006, Hulbert led the University through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaccreditation process, which grants the University accredited status through 2015. This status also allows the University to maintain federal funding.
Hulbert also saw the University’s athletics department through an investigation involving players not verified by the NCAA as eligible to play in the 2004 season. Hulbert said in a January 27, 2005 Nicholls Worth story that this investigation resulted when former staff of the University apparently generated coursework and grades dishonestly. Self-imposed penalties for this incident included no football and men’s basketball television appearances for a year, a reduction in the number of coaches’ on-site visits with potential football recruits, the loss of one men’s basketball scholarship, and a one-week delay of fall football practice. Penalties issued by the NCAA included four years probation, exclusion from the Southland Conference television package for the upcoming football and men’s basketball seasons, and the loss of one men’s basketball scholarship for the 2005-2006 school year.
“For all of us this is a personal experience. It has hurt the intercollegiate athletic program, the institution and others. We understand the human cost as well as the cost to the program’s reputation and the University’s reputation,” Hulbert said of those involved in a Nicholls Worth story from Feb. 21, 2008.
The mascots and logos which brand the University were also changed during Hulbert’s first years at the University, following the recommendation of a student organization president who proposed that Colonel Tillou be updated to reflect current history. Hulbert wrote the “Colonel Mascot Resolution” in 2004 to announce the retirement of the original colonel image, affirming that “campus brands, marks and other imagery will evolve that are both more contemporary and more representative of the University in the twenty-first century,” as stated in the resolution.
This decision to retire the beloved colonel was met with much aversion, with some saying the decision was simply a way to “pacify the minority just to avoid any lawsuits that may erupt,” as stated in a letter to the editor from the April 4, 2004 edition of the Nicholls Worth. However, five years later, the University rolled out the package of current branding marks and a new, more aggressive Colonel Tillou mascot for the 2009-2010 school year.
Throughout his University career, Hulbert also made strides toward a more selective admissions process. In Fall 2005, Nicholls transitioned from a mildly selective admissions university to a Selective III category, requiring higher high school grade point averages and ACT scores from those students applying.
Following the implementation of selective admissions, cross-enrollment agreements were made with community colleges such as L.E. Fletcher and Nunez to make the transition to Nicholls easier for students. These changes reportedly increased enrollment and retention rates and diversity has increased on campus.
“From the Bayou Region and beyond, we are welcoming more and more students of an increasingly high academic caliber,” Hulbert said in a press release quoted in a Sept. 17, 2009 Nicholls Worth story. “Their education is our primary mission, and while Nicholls is facing financial challenges, our
commitment to protect and strengthen our academic core will always be paramount.”
As of 2012, 41.88 percent of 2005 Nicholls first-time freshman graduated from the University or another state institution within six years, which is a ten percent increase from the 2004 statewide graduation rate of 32.11 percent.
“Please know that I have been honored to serve in the Nicholls presidency,” Hulbert said in the email sent Monday afternoon. “My commitment to Nicholls remains absolute now and in the future.”