David Boudreaux, vice president for institutional advancement, is the first current member of the Nicholls administration to apply for the position of president. Along with Boudreaux’s application, two others have been approved an accepted by the University of Louisiana System Board, and the presidential search committee.
Boudreaux has served Nicholls for 35 years. He came to Nicholls in 1967 as an instructor of English, but soon left due to the Vietnam Conflict, where he served as a second lieutenant for the U.S. Army Reserve. Boudreaux retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in February of 1993 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1969 he returned to Nicholls, and from there he has served as head of the English department, dean of the college of arts and sciences and now as vice president for institutional advancement.
“I was raised in a home that emphasized service, service to one’s community and service to one’s nation and this is an opportunity for me to serve Nicholls at an even higher level. It is an opportunity and a challenge that I would welcome,” he said.
Boudreaux said he has had a wonderful opportunity to grow “professionally and personally” with Nicholls by “tracking through” the ranks of academic and administrative offices.
“In this position (vice president for institutional advancement) I have had the opportunity to learn about matters other than academics on the University campus, and that has been very valuable to me,” he said.
Because of the wide range of qualifications that the community, students, faculty and staff have requested of a president, Boudreaux based his application on the advertisement for the position that is on the University of Louisiana System’s website. Boudreaux wrote his letter of intent, highlighting his qualifications in each of the areas they had asked for.
“I tried to match what I have to offer, or what I think I have to offer, with the qualities there. I think I have a pretty good match there,” he said.
Boudreaux said he would lead by example.
“I would want to continue to teach. I think that is important, for several reasons. One that it keeps me in touch with students, and I think it is important to know the nature of our students, what their needs are. I think I would want to work with the academic vice presidents to facilitate a forum on improving teaching and learning, or to have the opportunity to expand faculty development in the area of teaching. I think all of us as teachers can improve, we can share experiences,” he said.
Boudreaux said teaching in colleges has become a “closed door experience.”
“We go into the classroom as professors we close the doors, and we are just with our students for 50 minutes. Teaching can be a much more open experience. We can invite others in, or we can invite master teachers in to help us improve,” he said.
However, Boudreaux does not think Nicholls is lacking in good teaching skills.
” I think we have excellent teaching. The fact that we are accredited in so many areas is a testimony to the quality of teaching that is taking place on the campus. But, I think it is one area in which you must remain focused and you must constantly strive to improve,” he said.
At this point, there are three things that he said he would focus on if chosen for the position.
” I am still thinking through this process, but first I would want to continue to enhance teaching and learning. That is going to be my primary goal if I am selected for the position. Secondly, I think I would want to build on the University’s opportunities to collaborate with business industry and our school systems. Thirdly, I think I would like to foster a spirit of service throughout our entire University family,” he said.
Boudreaux said the presidential search is a “very involved process,” and he has offered his services to the search committee knowing that another individual may be selected for the position.
“Whoever that individual is, I want that individual to have the complete support of everyone on this campus, and that would include me. I would certainly offer my services to the new president and it would be that president’s option or privilege to accept those services or to ask me to do something else. But, again, I am here to serve,” he said.
In his letter of interest for the position, Boudreaux concluded by stating: “Although the list of desired presidential characteristics does not include the following, I am blessed to say that I can make a roux, shuck an oyster, and boil crawfish, crabs and shrimp; I can speak French with a degree of fluency and have learned to dance the two step and the Cajun Waltz from Waylon Thibodeaux’s mother.
“We live in an unique area of the country. The Cajun culture and the other cultures that are in our region are very special. We have an ability to look at ourselves and be very confident of who we are in our own human conditions; that is why there are so many great Cajun jokes that Cajuns tell about ourselves. So, I think that a knowledge of our culture, a knowledge of our people will go a long way in helping the next president, who ever he or she may be,” he said.
“The University is about the whole region, not just about the acreage that we occupy on the edge of the Thibodaux city limits. If that last paragraph reflects that I do have a knowledge of our people, and a sense of humor to go along with that knowledge, then I am content.”
Boudreaux earned his doctorate in English from the University of Arkansas in 1975. Prior to that he attended Louisiana State University where he earned both his master’s in 1967 and bachelor’s in 1965.
An overview of the two other applicants follows.
William Fannin, Ph.D., currently serves as vice president for academic affairs and professor of management at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He has served as the dean of the college of business and professor of management at various universities. Fannin earned his doctorate in business administration in 1980 from Texas A&M University, and his master’s in business administration in 1976 from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to that he earned his bachelor’s in government from The University of Texas at Austin.
Moses Newsome, Jr., Ph.D., currently serves as vice president for research, planning, community and economic development at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, MS. He has also served as assistant vice president for academic affairs, associate dean and director of doctoral program and professor at many universities. Newsome earned his doctorate in 1976 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in social work. He earned his master’s in 1970 for the University of Michigan in social work, and his bachelor’s in sociology form the University of Toledo.
These applications, as well as the previous 20 spotlighted in the past two weeks, are available for viewing on the second floor of Ellender Memorial Library. These applications can also be accessed through the library website at http://www.nicholls.edu/library/.