NATCHITOCHES — Louisiana Supreme Court Justice James “Jimmy” Genovese of Opelousas is poised to be named the new president of Northwestern State University.
Genovese, 74, a 1971 Northwestern graduate who is in the university’s Long Purple Line, the Alumni Hall of Distinction, was the unanimous choice Tuesday after a daylong interview process of two finalists by the NSU Presidential Search Committee.
Faculty Senate president Dr. Frank Serio made the motion, and University of Louisiana System board member Joe Salter of Florien seconded, to advance Genovese to a special ULS Board meeting to conclude the search Thursday morning at 11 in Baton Rouge.
The other finalist, Dr. Jose Cantu, also went through a series of open forums with groups of alumni and community leaders, faculty and staff, and students Tuesday morning on NSU’s Natchitoches campus. Overflow crowds were present at each meeting.
In afternoon sessions, Cantu and Genovese were interviewed in public sessions by the search committee, which included eight ULS Board members, Serio and six non-voting NSU alumni along with current student body president Terrell “TJ” Woodard.
The candidates also met with the search committee in executive sessions, with Genovese following Cantu, who most recently was a vice chancellor at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, but otherwise has spent his career in higher education in small Texas colleges.
The committee emerged to convene in its final open session more than four hours after Cantu’s public interview began at 1 o’clock, with Genovese next at 2:30. Serio’s motion advancing Genovese was passed unanimously by him and the eight ULS Board members.
The board will gather Thursday morning to review the results of the search, with Genovese the only remaining candidate from a field of eight semifinalists. The judge was endorsed last month by Gov. Jeff Landry.
He is one of seven Supreme Court justices headquartered in New Orleans. Genovese, an Opelousas native and resident, was accompanied by his wife Martha throughout the day.
Genovese has been a judge since 1975, beginning with Opelousas City Court and being elected to seats on the district and Third Circuit Court of Appeals level before winning a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016. He said he will give up his final two years on that bench to take the helm of his alma mater.
The university has seen its enrollment decline from nearly 12,000 in Fall 2020, dropping by about 3,000 students this decade. The search process was rapid, said ULS System president Dr. Rick Gallot, to get a new president in place before students return to campus in mid-August.
Northwestern has operated a nursing school on its Line Avenue campus in Shreveport for many decades. The nursing school consistently ranks atop state rankings and is one of the largest in the country, with approximately 1,400 students, along with consistently earning top marks in national reviews.
Along with the main campus in Natchitoches, NSU has smaller campuses in Alexandria at England Air Park and in Leesville at Fort Johnson, and has been a leader in online instruction.
Outgoing president Dr. Marcus Jones will be returning to the UL System office as chief financial officer and vice president, a role he held previously before taking over at Northwestern State after his selection in November 2021. He was interim president for four months before being elevated.