Caption: Interim Executive Vice President & Provost Matt Lee celebrates the accomplishments of our students at graduation, faculty at a recognition ceremony and our university at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. 

Dear Colleagues,

This is my final communication to the campus community via the Office of Academic Affairs Newsletter. I primarily write this month to express my appreciation. It has been a privilege to serve the faculty, staff, students and external constituents over the course of the year in my role as interim executive vice president & provost. The curiosity, intellectual and creative innovation, compassion, grit, collaboration and commitment to excellence that you all bring to LSU reinforces that we are a community like no other. There are other flagships, there are other world-class public research universities, but there is only one LSU. The purple in our color scheme represents passion, and passion is what you bring to this place every day. Thank you for all you continue to do to make LSU a world-class institution.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, we enjoyed many significant accomplishments as a community over the last year. Perhaps most importantly, through careful deliberation and planning, we successfully navigated the pandemic while continuing to deliver the highest quality education. LSU stood out as a national model for effective public health measures in higher education, and for this we should be proud. Our historic experience with various crises positioned us for leadership on this issue, and our success in executing effective mitigation measures has been nationally recognized.

While our success in traversing the pandemic is important, our achievements go well beyond this. In addition to setting a fall freshman enrollment record, we have set year-over-year records for enrollment in LSU Online programs and dual enrollment. In other words, we are excelling at what a modern flagship should do — providing multiple on-ramps to talented students with the aim of educating the citizenry and preparing them for informed leadership in the institutions of civil society.  

Last summer we set a record for new research awards, and we are currently tracking to set another record. This year we re-established faculty seed grant programs in the Office of Research & Economic Development, laying the groundwork for additional records in the coming years. To excel and have impact, we must continue to invest in the promise and expertise of our people.

Eyeing opportunities to improve student success, we implemented a major restructuring of our student support units under the logic of a strategic enrollment management and student success framework. This positions us to improve our student academic outcomes and prepare for national leadership in a rapidly changing student recruitment market characterized by demand for value. [EOH1] We have bolstered this effort with the implementation of curricular pathway analytics and reform, already completed by many programs and in progress in all others. Reducing the complexity of our curricula will help us simplify and expedite a student’s path to their degree while maintaining the academic rigor that is the hallmark of LSU. We have also engaged in authentic conversations regarding the graduate student experience and the need to enhance their funding. This will lead to growth in our doctoral student body, and position us to further accelerate and grow our research program.

While we serve the state and continue our march toward international eminence, we now have the fundamentals of a strategic plan – particularly focal scholarly areas – to guide our investments and prioritize our next high-impact moves. To this end, we have successfully initiated a cluster hire in cyber security. Two eminent hires will join us this fall and there will be more to come. Their international stature will attract additional high caliber scholars and help consolidate our capacity and reputation in this space. We were also one of only 13 schools invited to join the American Council on Education Internationalization Lab, a significant distinction which will yield a thoughtful internationalization plan that will be implemented starting in early 2023. To be a great university we must be a global university.

From my perspective, our momentum is so strong right now that I routinely say “we are winning on every front”. This is not just naïve optimism. Faculty continue to garner prestigious appointments, including Carnegie and Guggenheim fellows, and memberships in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. Additionally, we saw breakthrough success with faculty in new fields receiving NSF CAREER awards.

Four-year graduation rates have improved for the last three cohorts. LSU Online received an award for excellence in innovation, our student athletes have set a new graduation success rate record, and our College of Agriculture Student Poultry Judging team won the National Championship. Indeed, we are winning in so many areas it is nearly impossible to keep tabs on it. When you intentionally cultivate a culture of excellence at every level, this is what you get

Perhaps even more exciting is that we are also preparing for the arrival of incoming Executive Vice President & Provost Roy Haggerty, an accomplished scholar and administrator who is eminently qualified to support President Tate in leading LSU. Provost Haggerty will bring fresh ideas and additional energy to an enterprise that is primed to attain the next level of impact and stature. Provost Haggerty and I are working closely over this summer to ensure he is well prepared to take over the reins in Academic Affairs and to seamlessly transition into the provost role. I know you all join me in welcoming him to campus and supporting his efforts to lead and collaborate with all of our campus constituencies.

In closing, a variety of thanks are in order. First, I must thank the staff in the Office of Academic Affairs. This group of extremely talented professionals is small but mighty. They carry an extremely heavy workload, and support the campus with tremendous expertise, professionalism, and frankly, good humor. Any provost would be unable to discharge their duties were it not for the Academic Affairs team, and their support has made the last year a true pleasure.

Second, I would like to thank the entire LSU family for your kindness, patience and encouragement over the last year. It has been eventful and productive and I enjoyed it immensely thanks to you all. Finally, as you might guess, due to the demanding cadence, this post becomes a de facto family affair. My incredible wife, Mimi, has graciously attended dozens upon dozens of LSU events with me, and has been received with great warmth at every one of them. I must publicly express my appreciation for her, as her unique mix of intellect, professional sophistication, social graces and widely-admired fashion sense has had to compensate for my own shortcomings on these fronts many times over.

This past year has shored up my allegiance to LSU and my appreciation for the powerful role she plays in supporting the needs of our state and shaping the lives of our future leaders. This is truly a magnificent enterprise, one that I have always been proud to contribute to and serve. I am very proud that my oldest child is attending LSU in the fall. He is coming here because we believe in this place, and we believe in it because of you. Thank you for your inspiration, and as always…

Geaux Tigers!

Matt Lee