The Southern University System Presidential Search Committee has announced the selection of three finalists for the position of president of the Southern University System in Louisiana. The system has a diverse enrollment of more than 12,000 students with locations in Louisiana’s capital city of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport. A law school and agricultural and research center also are located in Baton Rouge.
Following are brief biographies of the three finalists.
Brian K. Bridges is the former Secretary of Higher Education for the State of New Jersey. He served in that role from November 16, 2020 to December 31, 2025. Dr. Bridges previously served as vice president of research and member engagement at the United Negro College Fund in Washington, D.C., where he led the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute and the Institute for Capacity Building. Earlier he was vice provost for diversity, access, and equity at Ohio University. Dr. Bridges is a graduate of Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, where he majored in English language and literature. He holds a master of public administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a doctorate in higher education administration from Indiana University–Bloomington.
Roscoe Jones is the former dean of the Drake University Law School in Iowa. Dean Jones began his tenure at Drake University Law School on July 1, 2024, making him the first Black dean in the school’s 160-year history. Earlier, he taught courses on mass incarceration, civil rights policy, and administrative law at Yale Law School, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Georgetown University, George Washington University, the University of Washington, and Harvard’s Kennedy School. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a juris doctorate from the University of Virginia.
Larissa Littleton-Steib is the chancellor of Delgado Community College in New Orleans. She has served in this role since 2019. Previously, Dr. Littleton-Steib served as chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana. Earlier in her career, she served in various roles at Delgado Community College, including vice chancellor of workforce development and dean of technical education. Dr. Littleton-Steib holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree both from Xavier University of Louisiana and a doctorate in urban higher education from Jackson State University in Mississippi.
The finalists will now advance to the Southern University System Board of Supervisors for interviews and further consideration. The board will conduct interviews with the finalists before making its final selection of the next system president.
The next president will succeed Dennis J. Shields, who concluded his tenure at the end of 2025. Orlando F. McMeans has served as interim president since January 1.
