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Our Agenda

Louisiana’s Flagship Coalition is comprised of a group of business leaders and citizens from across the state supportive of maintaining and enhancing LSU as a flagship university by empowering the school with fundamental business practices to better utilize taxpayer and student dollars.  The 34 individuals in the Coalition are focused on this effort because they believe Louisiana’s parents, students and citizens deserve a nationally-recognized flagship that can compete with other outstanding universities in the South and across the country.

Working with LSU, the Coalition has identified several areas of opportunity to bring fundamental, common-sense business principles to the university.  These potential solutions include:

  • PROCUREMENT:  Allowing LSU to adopt generally-accepted, market-driven methods in procuring goods and services.
  • FACILITIES:  Allowing LSU to take advantage of its unique size and resources to manage certain capital projects.
  • RISK MANAGEMENT:  Providing LSU the option of administering its own insurance program (e.g., worker’s compensation) or continuing to participate in the state’s Risk Management program.
  • INVESTMENT:  Granting LSU limited flexibility on its short-term investments to maximize interest gains
  • CONSULTING SERVICES:  Granting LSU limited flexibility to execute and manage consulting services contracts on campus, as opposed to sending all paperwork downtown for approval.

Based on detailed calculations provided by LSU, the Coalition believes implementing the plan would improve LSU’s financial position by $50 to $60 million over the next five years, with the bulk of that amount coming from savings.  Great public institutions like the University of Michigan, the University of Texas, University of Virginia and Penn State University are state-funded and state-supervised but also have been empowered by their state Legislatures to be more entrepreneurial and innovative.  These autonomies would allow LSU to manage its budget with more consistency and predictability, just like good businesses do.

Allowing LSU to apply some of these principles is not only a responsible thing to do, it will also help reduce the university’s dependence on state general fund dollars while ensuring continued oversight, accountability and transparency.  The Coalition also is committed to assist other Louisiana universities develop a similar set of business practices that fit their campuses and produce better results.

The Coalition’s focus is on a top-tier, research university that continues to improve its performance through admission standards, faculty research and productivity and higher retention and graduation rates.  We believe LSU should be a driving force in the state’s workforce objectives, economic development strategies and innovation opportunities.