The search for the next president of Northwestern State University of Louisiana is coming to an end as a new president will be selected by the University of Louisiana System Presidential Search Committee next week.
On Monday, July 8, the committee met to select semifinalists for the position. Out of the five applicants presented before the board, only three advanced as semifinalists. However, a spokesperson for the University of Louisiana system confirmed to The Current Sauce that one of the semifinalists withdrew from the process on Tuesday.
The candidates chosen to advance were Jose Cantu, former Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs; James Genovese, Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court District 3; and Richard Riccardi, Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs and Student Success, Department of Higher Education Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Since Riccardi withdrew from the search, Cantu and Genovese will be attending NSU’s campus next week on July 16 for in-person interviews. A schedule for this visit can be found in the UL System Presidential Search website. A decision of who will be the next NSU president will be made on July 18.
The Presidential Search
Unlike previous presidential searches, this search has an expedited timeline to choose a president before the fall semester.
The timeline started by forming the search committee and advertising the position on June 14. The search committee then hosted a public forum at NSU’s Magale Recital Hall to introduce the voting and non-voting committee members on June 24.
The UL System staff explained that searches do not always coincide with a particular time of year. “The timelines are established according to the availability of the search committee members in coordination with necessary system staff personnel,” the staff said.
The committee only reviewed five applications, as three other applicants withdrew from the process before the meeting on Monday.
During the 2021 NSU presidential search, 13 candidates were considered by the committee and they selected 6 as semifinalists. The 2021 search committee started with a meeting in August of 2021. They then selected semifinalists in October, selected finalists on Nov. 2 and voted on President Marcus Jones on Nov 8, 2021.
Despite the difference in applicants from the 2021 presidential search, UL System staff said the number of applicants this time were similar to other presidential searches by sister institutions. Recently, McNeese State University and the University of New Orleans have held presidential searches.
This presidential search has also been circulating around the state as a reporter from nola.com first reported that one of the semifinalists has the support from Louisiana’s Gov. Jeff Landry.
According to the reporting by Tyler Bridges, if Genovese becomes president, this would leave a seat open that could be filled by someone that Gov. Landry supports. Additionally, Bridges’ reporting explains that a non-voting committee member of the board is set to run for the justice spot if Genovese is chosen as president.
In an article by the Louisiana Illuminator, they reported faculty and staff concerns and tried asking Gov. Landry in an unrelated news conference about his support for Genovese, but was interrupted and only responded to the search in general.
Frank Serio, who is a committee member for the presidential search and the faculty representative for NSU, said in an interview with The Current Sauce that the support of Gov. Landry has not affected the search process.
“Every possible step has been taken to solicit applications from a wide range of qualified candidates,” Serio said. “The applications have been reviewed fairly and impartially with regard to their fitness for the position.”
The next NSU president faces enrollment decline and comes into the position nine months after the death of former football player Ronnie Caldwell Jr. His death prompted the Caldwell family to file a lawsuit against former head coach Brad Laird, the Quad Apartments’ parent company Campus Advantage Inc. and NSU. While Brad Laird has been dismissed in the lawsuit, other parties, including NSU continue to be in litigation.
Fall enrollment data from the university shows that in the Fall of 2020 11,447 students were enrolled in the university. Compared to the 2023 fall semester that only saw 8,847 students enrolled.
Meet Jose Cantu
Jose Cantu is a native of Port Isabel, Texas and now resides in Boerne, Texas. He comes from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs where he was the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management.
Cantu has been in higher education for 30 years, and the last 12 years he’s been in higher education administrative roles, he told The Current Sauce in a phone interview.
When he was looking for his next job opportunity, Cantu said he was looking to go home. Since his wife is from southwest Louisiana, he thought NSU was a perfect opportunity as they could be close to family and friends.
“The mindset of who I am as a person, as a leader, community-based and what I like to do, Northwestern State has all those elements and more,” Cantu said. “It’s an incredible town and university, and it’s just one of those places I thought, this is great, this is exactly who I am as an individual.”
In his last role at UCCS, Cantu was able to stabilize enrollment as they also suffered a decline, he said. This stabilization includes a 2.2% increase in new student enrollment and a 1% increase in first-year student retention, according to his CV.
Cantu shared that UCCS also suffered from student tragedies last year. He explained that in times where universities suffer from losses, leadership should approach it in a mindful way. “The human aspect of who we are is in the forefront and that’s highly important,” he said.
Despite the state of NSU, he looks to advance the university forward. “I want to figure out how we as an institution come together and really work towards a progression of what the future of Northwestern State University will be,” Cantu said.
One of President Jones’ biggest successes was his international student experience plans and Cantu will continue to build on those efforts if chosen. “What’s important now is to revitalize and reenergize the institution to move forward,” Cantu said. “We want students to have a full round experience and that experience, to me, is to have students from all walks of life come together and learn from each other.”
With most of the search taking place during the summer, Cantu plans to connect with students in the fall, if chosen as president. He said attending events hosted by student organizations, Student Government Association meetings or other events where students can be found is one way he would connect with the student population.
Additionally, Cantu hosted focus groups during class at UCCS with surveys asking students what they would like to see change and report those findings with the student affairs office. The goal he explained is to have an open conversation with the student body.
Ideally, he wants to attend a place “where there is a good amount of students from across the board that can have a voice behind what they’re experiencing because that’s going to be very critical to my leadership and the support that I’m going to give the institution,” he said.
Cantu said he is excited to go on campus next week and has done research on the university, and is ready to meet the campus and local community he hopes to serve.
In regards to the support Gov. Landry has given to justice Genovese, Cantu provided The Current Sauce with this response:
“Yes, I’ve been following the recent media coverage regarding the presidential role and understand that the Governor has endorsed another candidate. However, this endorsement doesn’t impact my commitment as a leader and my deep passion for this industry. The landscape of higher education has undergone significant changes post-COVID, with many institutions facing challenges. What universities need now are leaders with proven track records in enhancing overall university success, stabilizing enrollment, addressing budgetary issues, and planning for future infrastructure. It’s crucial for the campus and local community to choose the right leader who can elevate Northwestern State University to the next level of excellence. Experience and expertise in the field bring undeniable credibility to this decision-making process.”
Meet James “Jimmy” Genovese
James “Jimmy” Genovese is an Associate Justice in the Louisiana Supreme Court. He has served in that position since 2017. Genovese is a native from Opelousas, La and graduated from NSU in 1971.
Genovese has 50 years of law background, according to his CV. He was inducted into NSU’s Long Purple Line Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2018. While at NSU he was on the tennis’ team and played all four years.
In an interview with The Current Sauce, Genovese said when someone told him to apply for the position he thought it was a joke. As he thought more about it, and as his time in the state Supreme Court will end in two years, he thought it was time to give back to his alma mater.
“It’s the perfect time for me to go and pay back the debt I owe to Northwestern for what it has done for me,” he said. “I hate to see Northwestern not living up to its prominence that it had and we need to stop the bleeding, we need to work real hard towards reinvigorating and rejuvenating Northwestern.”
His main interest in the position is to “stop the decline of Northwestern,” he said. Genovese attributes declines of the university to a surge in online enrollment from COVID-19 and decisions that harmed the university. In response to a question about the death of Ronnie Caldwell Jr., he said his death was critical, and contributed to the bleeding of NSU.
This is why he wants to “get out in public and show the people that Northwestern is one of the finests universities that you have and that offers so much to so many people, it is very accessible, financially reasonable and it has some great programs that other universities don’t have,” he said.
While Geovese doesn’t have experience in higher education, he said he would be able to take a role in higher education as his role as an associate justice in the state’s supreme court has given him administrative experience. “We are called upon to discipline over approximately 20,000 lawyers, approximately 372 judges, we have to administer over 200 employees and handle that. We have a budget of about 208 million dollars that we have to disperse amongst various courts to run the judiciary branch,” he said.
In terms of expanding on the international experience for students, Genovese said he welcomes anything to bring more students to the university and will continue to work on.
Genovese also said he would attend campus events if chosen as president to connect with the student body. “I’m a people person, and I like to get out in public, I don’t sit in an office,” he said. “I want to be there at the football games, I want to be there at the basketball games, at the softball games, I want to be there and I want to be a part of that university.”
He also said he’s received a lot of questions from alumni about the status of the university and wishes to turn the university around by going out and telling the public all the university has to offer. “We need to get out and tell people what Northwestern has to offer, the programs and the people and what a good education we can provide for them,” Genovese said.
He plans to turn the university around by talking to people about what NSU and Natchitoches has to offer. He wants to “let people know that they have a president that’s there and cares about the university and that’s going to go out and meet the public and work hard to bring it to its former prominence,” he said.
In response to the articles reporting about the support he’s receiving from Gov. Landry, Genovese said he’s known the governor for many years and is a friend but that he has not talked to him about the position.
“It was not his idea in any way, shape or form,” Genovese said. “When the alumni contacted him, and they said ‘we’ll look at Jimmy Genovese and see if he would be interested in the position’, he [Gov. Landry] said ‘I’ve known Jimmy for a long time, he’s been a good friend, and he’s done his job in the judiciary and of course I would support Jimmy Genovese.’”
Genovese said when he saw the reports that Gov. Landry gave him his support, he sent one text saying thank you.
He explained that if he was chosen as president he would resign from his position as an associate justice. He also said a temporary replacement would be put in place and an election in Spring of 2025 for a new justice would happen.
Genovese also expressed excitement for the interviews next week, and is ready to give back to NSU.
The Current Sauce reached out to Gov. Jeff Landry’s office to confirm the support he has for Genovese, but did not receive a response in time for this story’s deadline.
