ENROLLED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 150
BY REPRESENTATIVE GLOVER
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Board of Regents and the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State
University and Agricultural and Mechanical College to collaboratively study and
report relative to the status of the Louisiana State University Shreveport
Commitment Plan of 2012, including an update on the needs and strategies outlined
in the 2012 report by Eva Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive Public
University in Shreveport-Bossier: Analysis of Alternative Strategies.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State University Shreveport Commitment Plan was
developed by Louisiana State University at Shreveport (LSUS) in collaboration with the
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) at Shreveport and Louisiana
State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College; and
WHEREAS, published on April 4, 2012, the plan addresses the continued evolution
of LSUS as a major university presence in the Shreveport region; and
WHEREAS, on April 27, 2012, the LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed
the plan and directed its implementation through close collaboration with all institutions in
the LSU System, recognizing that all LSU entities have a stake in the successful
development of LSUS; and
WHEREAS, the plan defined both a series of short-term initiatives designed to
provide immediate impact from new program offerings and longer-term initiatives to grow
selected graduate programs; and
WHEREAS, the plan also identified programs, degrees, and certificates, recognized
the commitment of the responsible university administrators for each program, and
established a timeline for implementation; and
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WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 112 of the 2012 Regular Session of the
legislature expressed support for the plan, urged the Board of Regents and all public
postsecondary education institutions in the Shreveport region to cooperate with the plan, and
requested that the LSU Board of Supervisors report to the legislature over the next three
academic years on matters including details on new programs offered and put into effect as
well as student enrollment and completion data for such programs; and
WHEREAS, the plan is regarded by many to be merely, in the words of LSU-S
chancellor Larry Clark, a "political document", that did not represent the needs of students,
prospective students, or regional employers or embody a realistic or worthwhile vision for
the future; and
WHEREAS, Chancellor Clark noted in past remarks that the plan was "quickly
pulled together" and that "everyone involved in creating that document is no longer in place,
either at LSU or LSU-S"; and
WHEREAS, there is widespread consensus that there has been a grave lack of
investment in LSU-S and that the commitment plan fell woefully short in terms of
realistically addressing the measures needed to strengthen the institution and meet the needs
of its students; and
WHEREAS, there remains an extremely strong need for investment in and support
for LSU-S and further educational opportunities in the Shreveport-Bossier area; and
WHEREAS, prior to the publication of the commitment plan, the Board of Regents,
along with several community organizations, co-sponsored a study conducted in 2011-2012
by Eva Klein and Associates, which analyzed unmet needs in postsecondary education in the
Shreveport-Bossier region; the report resulting from this study was published in February
of 2012; and
WHEREAS, it has been several years since the issuance of the last report from the
LSU Board of Supervisors and the publication of the Eva Klein report, and there is ongoing
discussion as to the progress made in implementing the components of the plan and the
strategies recommended in the report; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate at this time that the Board of Regents and the LSU
Board of Supervisors take the necessary measures to provide an update on these important
issues.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Board of Regents and the Board
of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College to
submit a written report to the House Committee on Education on the status of the Louisiana
State University Shreveport Commitment Plan of 2012, including but not limited to whether
or not the commitments contained in the plan have been fulfilled and if the plan is still in
place.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the plan is not still in place, the report shall
identify what specific vision, plan, or strategy is in place for the future of LSUS that will
result in its establishment as the comprehensive research university that is needed in the
Shreveport area.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such report shall include an analysis of the status
of meeting the needs and implementing the strategies outlined in the 2012 report by Eva
Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive Public University in Shreveport-Bossier:
Analysis of Alternative Strategies, including the following:
(1) Needs: Reconfiguring academic programs so that all are high quality and market
responsive; growing incoming enrollment and improving retention and degree completion
rates; strengthening recruitment and marketing; improving the quality of the student
experience in and beyond the classroom; recognizing and responding to scheduling and
support service needs of adult students; building greater engagement with the community;
and growing both state and self-generated resources.
(2) Strategies for addressing these needs: Assessing all existing programs as well as
proposed new ones; where appropriate, revamping traditional programs to achieve
interdisciplinary structure and content; aligning programs more closely with industry,
service, and professional enterprises in the metro area; building graduate programs in health
care fields based on alliances with the LSUHSC-Shreveport; developing graduate programs
oriented to urban needs; building on existing strengths; aligning the program delivery
calendar and schedule with underserved populations' needs; where possible, restructuring
and revising presently authorized degree programs; and reducing program duplication in the
Shreveport-Bossier market.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such report shall be submitted to the House
Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2022 Regular
Session of the Legislature.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
commissioner of higher education, the chairman of the Board of Regents, the chairman of
the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical
College, and the chancellor of Louisiana State University at Shreveport.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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