The LSU Presidential Search Committee has narrowed its search for the next President of LSU. Yesterday, this Committee announced five finalists for this key position: interim President Matt “DEI” Lee, Julius Fridriksson, Robert Robbins, Wade Rousse, and one unnamed candidate.

Back in June, I pointed out that Matt Lee was already angling to become LSU’s next President.

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:

As I pointed out in that same article from The Hayride, Lee has troubling ties to the DEI ideology that has infected Louisiana’s higher education system:

… 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.’

So yes, we’re facing the real possibility that the LSU system could soon be run by another pro-DEI diehard like former president William Tate.

On Monday, Scott McKay made a strong case for why LSU’s Presidential Search Committee should select McNeese President Dr. Wade Rousse as LSU’s next leader. Based on the current list of finalists, I agree with Scott—Rousse appears to be the best man for the job.

One of the other finalists on this list is Julius Fridriksson, who currently serves as Vice President of Research for the University of South Carolina. Interestingly, he was a former work colleague of Tate when they both worked at South Carolina. Fridriksson even retweeted the following post four years ago to congratulate Tate on becoming LSU’s president.

Even more telling, Fridriksson also reposted a pro–Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tweet before the 2020 presidential election.

Of course, it’s perfectly fine for a university administrator to express political opinions. That said, it’s hard to see why a non-conservative academic should lead Louisiana’s largest public university–a university in a deeply conservative state that voted for President Trump by more than 20 points last year.

When’s the last time you saw a conservative president leading the CUNY or SUNY systems in New York or California? It doesn’t happen, folks.

Why should Louisiana support any potential presidential candidate for LSU—whether it’s Matt “DEI” Lee or Julius Fridriksson—who doesn’t reflect the state’s values? Let’s hope the LSU Presidential Search Committee chooses a new president who actually aligns with the conservative principles Louisiana citizens and voters hold.

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