LSUA narrowing provost search as building projects near
By JIM BUTLER
Finalists in the search for LSU Alexandria’s next provost will be on campus later this month for the final part of the selection process.
The post will be officially vacated June 30 by Dr. Elizabeth Beard, who officially becomes chancellor on July 1.
The provost is the university’s chief academics officer and second in its chain of command.
The candidate selected will be on a campus bursting at the seams and bustling in its corridors.
The most-recent available enrollment count for the Fall semester is about 5,200, which is 20% over the same point last year, records indicate.
Three capital projects are about to get underway, two on campus and one in Alexandria proper, in addition to work in various stages of completion.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2 p.m. June 30 on the Downtown Health Education campus on Jackson Street.
M.D. Descant of Bunkie has the $32.995 million contract. (The Capital Outlay budget adopted by this year’s legislative session includes $6.75 million in Priority 5 for a downtown parking garage.) Rhodes Property & Development has an $896,000 contract for baseball and softball locker rooms construction and facilities.
An $855,500 bid has been accepted from Pat Williams Construction for building new tennis and pickleball courts.