Last year, the Southern University System hired former Jackson State University President Ronald Mason as its chancellor. Mason, who developed a plan to merge all three of Mississippi’s public HBCUs together, has arrived just in time to help Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal possibly merge Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) with the University of New Orleans (UNO).Following a meeting with Board of Regents (BOR) Chairman Bob Levy, Jindal announced that he asked the regents to study whether SUNO (a historically black university) and UNO should be merged into a new single university that would then be transferred to the University of Louisiana System.
SUNO and UNO both suffered extensive building damage and enrollment drops as a result of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and are currently in a vulnerable position.
The analysis of the merger idea would be part of a study that the regents were already authorized to conduct through a 2010 law which directed the BOR to look at the “regional coordination, maximization of resources, and quality of postsecondary offerings in the New Orleans area.” The legislation included a March 1, 2011 deadline for the regents to complete the study.
“Our goal is to provide the best service to students,” Jindal said. “That is why I have asked the Board of Regents to study whether students can be better served by a merger of SUNO and UNO and facilitating a greater partnership with Delgado [Community College]. Both UNO and SUNO, which are just blocks apart, are under-enrolled and have empty classrooms, while Delgado is struggling to meet the needs of the community with its limited space.”
The governor added that his office “will wait until we receive the completed study before formulating or recommending any legislative proposals for the upcoming session.”
Tony Clayton, former Chairman of Southern University at New Orleans and a current member of the Southern University Board of Supervisors is not showing any public outrage over the merger idea. “I understand and fully appreciate the bold initiatives that the governor is taking to address the higher educational needs of the New Orleans area,” Clayton said. “We will take this bold study and fully vet it to make sure the needs of African Americans students are addressed.”
A press release from Jindal’s office suggested that SUNO and UNO’s six-year graduation rates, enrollment numbers, classroom usage rates, and physical plant conditions are all problems.
According to the release:
“Currently, UNO graduates 21 percent of its students in six years, while SUNO graduates five percent of its students during that time. Additionally, UNO’s enrollment has dropped by 32 percent since 2005 – from over 17,000 students to 11,700 today. SUNO’s enrollment has decreased by 14 percent since 2005 – from 3,500 students to 3,100 today. By comparison, Delgado’s enrollment has grown without the physical space needed to expand.”
“While all three schools have buildings that remain out of use due to hurricane damage, UNO’s remaining classrooms are full 44 percent of the time. SUNO has not updated this data since before the 2005 storms, but at that time, the school’s classrooms were in use 46 percent of the time – far less than Delgado’s classrooms, which were used 84 percent of the time.”
The Louisiana Constitution requires the Board of Regents to study the “need for” and “feasibility of” mergers, transfers, and creations before they occur.