A few weeks ago, I published an article here on The Hayride about the ongoing search for LSU’s next President following Dr. William Tate’s sudden departure.
In that piece, I emphasized how important it is for LSU’s Board of Supervisors to find the right leader for the LSU system—someone aligned with the traditional, meritocratic values of Louisiana citizens:
“The next LSU President must align ideologically with Louisiana’s values in order to lead effectively within our cultural and political context. Voters and legislators alike have made it clear: they favor traditional educational models and merit-based achievement—not “diversity, equity, and inclusion” bureaucracies.
DEI has no place in Louisiana, particularly after the resounding conservative mandate that the people of our state gave to the state legislature and the governor in the fall of 2023. Any leader with a track record of championing toxic DEI initiatives would immediately alienate state lawmakers and other key stakeholders, jeopardizing LSU’s ability to secure critical funding and political support. A leader free from DEI ideology would better serve the state and help refocus LSU on academic excellence.”
In the wake of Tate’s departure, LSU’s Board of Supervisors selected College of Agriculture Dean Matt Lee as the interim President of LSU.
While Lee may only be serving temporarily, his recent interview with The Advocate suggests he has ambitions beyond the interim title.
In the interview, Lee gave an evasive response that hinted at past support for anti-meritocratic, DEI policies:
“I recently spoke with some LSU faculty members who are concerned that the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education are threatening academic freedom. How would you respond?
First and foremost, we’re a public organization, so we are always ensuring that we are following all federal, state and local laws and regulations.
As a public higher education institution whose founding principles include academic freedom, we are always going to continue to ensure that our faculty that are tenured have the appropriate tenure protections and enjoy their ability to work under the umbrella of academic freedom, which gives you the protection to speak freely in your area of expertise
Of course, we’re going to balance that with ensuring that our students are embedded in classroom learning environments that are appropriate and that their own civil rights are being appropriately protected
My own read of our situation right now is that when we remain committed to academic freedom and we maintain our basic responsibilities to follow the law as a public institution, then everybody can continue to do their work in an unfettered fashion.”
Beyond the interview, there are other red flags surrounding Lee’s potential candidacy.
Notably, LSU’s faculty is playing a prominent role in the presidential search committee. Three of the nineteen committee members are current faculty, including Faculty President Daniel Tirone. This raises concerns that LSU’s liberal-leaning faculty will have outsized influence on the selection process—to the dismay of many Louisiana citizens. Let’s not forget that LSU faculty overwhelmingly supported and donated to far-left political candidates, including Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign last year.
We’re already seeing signs that faculty support may be coalescing behind Lee.
During Friday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Faculty President Tirone publicly thanked the board for selecting Lee as interim President. Here is a clip of the faculty president thanking the Board for Lee’s appointment and for allowing the faculty to take part in discussion:
In his time as the Dean of LSU’s Agriculture College, Lee was deeply tied to and supportive of the toxic DEI ideology. For example, the LSU Agriculture College’s website showed him gushing over DEI as recently as November 2022.
The LSU College of Agriculture was ripe with discriminatory, DEI policies and propaganda during Lee’s tenure as Dean of the College of Agriculture. Just look at the screenshots below from the Ag College’s diversity webpage in September 2022. The Agriculture College under Lee’s leadership provided grants that specifically excluded white graduate students in the Agriculture College under the guise of “diversity equity, and inclusion.”
Additionally, Lee’s close ties to the radical Southern Sociological Society is another example of his deep connection to DEI dogma. During the group’s 81st annual meeting in 2018, he served as panelist multiple times–which was titled “Racial Theory, Analysis, and Politics in Trump’s America.”
Based on all of the evidence above, the LSU Board of Supervisors cannot overlook Matt Lee’s longstanding ties to the toxic DEI ideology. The concerning red flags surrounding him should prevent him from running Louisiana’s flagship university system, but only time will tell if the Board finds an outside-the-system reformer to help fix the state’s crumbling higher education system.
Nathan Koenig is a frequent contributor to RVIVR.com, a national conservative political site affiliated with The Hayride. Follow his writing on the Louisiana First Standard Substack, on Twitter (X) @LAFirstStandard, on Tik Tok @la.first.standard & on Instagram @lafirststandard. Email him here: louisianafirststandard@proton.me
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