Martin finishes talks at LSU

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: May 22, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Completing a whirlwind, two-day interview process at LSU, a “weary” New Mexico State University President Michael Martin said late Wednesday he would “very seriously” consider a chancellor job offer from LSU.

“I’ve got to decide how my guts feel,” Martin said about his decision process if the LSU chancellor search committee votes on Friday to recommend that he lead the main campus in Baton Rouge.

“I feel pretty good about the way things have gone,” he said. “This will not be a bidding war.”

As the only finalist for the LSU chancellor job, Martin found himself the center of attention during meeting after meeting with LSU administrators, business community leaders and faculty during a public forum and with the search committee during a final interview.

Earlier in the day, the LSU Faculty Senate’s Executive Committee issued a one-page report on the “serious shortcomings” of the chancellor search process.

“The search process lacked transparency and due deliberation,” the report reads. “The expertise of the search committee was not fully used in candidate selection. The search firm (Dallas-based Bill Funk) failed to generate a list of candidates for the committee’s consideration or to provide detailed information on the potential candidates.”

The faculty statement continued: “Dr. Martin’s CV (curriculum vitae) was presented to the committee as the only viable candidate without any comparison to other potential candidates.”

However, the executive committee did praise Martin, 61, as a quality candidate with a strong background and a “forthright style.”

Martin, who was previously hired at the University of Florida by now-LSU System President John Lombardi, said he sees Lombardi as a mentor. But he has denied that the connection made the search rigged in his favor.

Martin described himself during the faculty forum as a true academic who does not believe in the “corporate model” of universities.

He has worked as a Faculty Senate president at Oregon State University, an agriculture dean at the University of Minnesota, a vice president at Florida and president at New Mexico State.

Martin said he enjoys open debates and can get “intense” when the need arises.

“I like to have spirited conversations,” Martin said. “I like to have people challenge me, and I like to challenge back … That’s part of the passion.”