Moving Forward

A new chancellor coming to Louisiana State University at Eunice says she wants to make the school the best of its kind in Louisiana. She may have to set her goals higher. It may already be Louisiana’s best.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has reaffirmed LSU Eunice’s accreditation for another ten years with no follow-up.

That last part is important, and impressive. “No follow-up” status is given to only a handful of the best institutions in the nation. Retiring Chancellor William Nunez compared the results to having a perfect score on a test.

“LSU Eunice scored a perfect paper,” he said. “The paper, however, was nearly 600 pages long responding to 88 different questions some of them with multiple parts.

“Our 15-member leadership team began writing and preparing documentation for SACSCOC in fall 2012,” he said.  The process officially ended this summer with the notification of reaffirmation by SACSCOC.

The good news comes as Nunez, who has been chancellor since 1996, is handing over the school’s administration to Dr. Kimberly Russell, who has been a vice president at Tyler Junior College in Texas.

The rigorous process of accreditation covers everything from the number and type of degrees to student financial aid and the physical space for student learning.

“What this means for our students is recognition of academic excellence along with the acknowledgement of LSU Eunice’s commitment to help students achieve their personal and educational goals,” Nunez said. 

The school has an enrollment of about 3,000 students and 230 faculty and staff members.

Without accreditation, LSU Eunice would not be recognized by the Department of Education, would not be allow to offer financial aid, and the degrees the school awards would not be accepted by other higher education institutions. Every university and college strives for accreditation.  Few receive it with no follow-up.

SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and other international sites approved by the Commission on Colleges that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees.

When her appointment was announced Dr. Russell said she was “excited and honored” by the selection and that she looks forward to “working with the community, business, and industry leaders and the talented faculty, staff, and students to make LSU Eunice the premier two-year institution in the state.”

Russell has been at Tyler Junior College, since 1999, when she was named executive director of the Tyler Junior College Foundation. She had previously served as director of foundation and corporate relations at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas

During her tenure the Tyler foundation has grown from $8 million in total assets to more than $47 million. She assumed the additional role of vice president for advancement and external affairs at Tyler in 2006.