The Louisiana State University board of supervisors has selected William Tate IV as the next president of the university and CEO of the Louisiana State Univerity System. When he takes office on July 1, he will be the first African American to serve as a leader of a university in the Southeastern Conference.
The Louisiana State University System enrolls more than 35,000 undergraduate students and more than 12,000 graduate students; it also has 2,000 professional students in its Health Centers. African Americans make up 13 percent of the undergraduate student body on the flagship campus in Baton Rouge.
“What I’m really most excited about is I met students here who really are amazing, and for me, this position is all about what we can do to help students and give people access and opportunity in higher education,” Dr. Tate said when accepting the appointment. “That’s really in my DNA, how do we help people regardless of their background – we find the money, get you here, and give you the opportunity to live your dream. I think there is no better place in the United States to come find your dream and to make it happen than right here at LSU.”
Dr. Tate has been serving as the Education Foundation Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina. He has served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina since July 2020. Before joining the faculty at the University of South Carolina, Professor Tate served as dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Tate also spent time at Texas Christian University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Tate has been elected to the National Academy of Education and is a past president of the American Educational Research Association.
Professor Tate is a graduate of Northern Illinois University. He holds a master’s degree in mathematical sciences education from the University of Texas at Dallas and a doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Maryland at College Park. In 2011, he added to his resume, earning a master’s degree in psychiatric epidemiology from the Washington University School of Medicine.
Wonderful news. Congratulations!
The SEC and particularly LSU have nothing to be celebrating about Finally Hiring the FIRST so-called Black American as President in 2021. In fact, all of the SEC should be embarrassed for the continuation of Jim Crowism in the 21st century. I know the majority of the establishment so-called Black academics will disagree with comment and who cares.
Congratulations!