By Shilyn Carheel and Dubem Akukwe

The Poke Press

McNeese State University is again searching for a new president after the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors said it was finalizing preparations for the search at Wednesday’s meeting. 

“Pretty exciting opportunity to go forward,” chairman Mark Romero said at the meeting held in McNeese’s new Richard Student Union. “I look forward to seeing you back on this campus in the coming months. We’ll provide a press release that will make that announcement and announce the members of the committee and the timeline.” 

There is no specific information on who will be members of the presidential search committee or possible candidates in the search for McNeese’s next president.  

The last president of McNeese, Dr. Wade Rousse, took the reins as president in July 2024 before resigning in Nov. 2025 to take a job as president at Louisiana State University. Dr. Kedrick Nicholas was named interim president on Nov. 13. 

The UL System Board appoints both interim and permanent presidents in a five-step process.  

The UL System Board of Supervisors holds a national search, appoints a search committee to review applications and interview candidates, gathers stakeholder input as needed, narrows the field to finalists, and ultimately selects and appoints the permanent president through a formal board vote. 

McNeese State University is part of the University of Louisiana System, which is one of Louisiana’s public higher education management systems. It operates under the authority of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. 

This system includes McNeese, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Grambling, Nicholls, Northwestern, the University of Louisiana Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana University. The UL System governs policies and leadership for each college.