SU board questions chancellor’s pact

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Nov 29, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS – Southern University Chancellor Kofi Lomotey’s job was threatened Friday during a Board of Supervisors meeting when some Southern board members took issue with the longevity of his employment agreement.

A handful of board members said that Lomotey should be an “at-will” employee, who can be fired without cause, as opposed to having a three or four-year guaranteed contract.

“If he (Lomotey) doesn’t accept it,” said board Chairman-elect Tony Clayton of Port Allen, “then we move on and find another chancellor.”

The board ultimately decided to postpone a decision until the Dec. 12 board meeting.

Meanwhile, the board approved 10 percent pay raises for the chancellors of Southern’s New Orleans and Shreveport campuses, law center and agricultural center.

In September, the board approved a $295,000 a year pay package in an employment letter for Lomotey that included a four-year term.

Southern University System President Ralph Slaughter said some board members decided four years guaranteed was too long.
Lomotey agreed to shorten his term to three years, Slaughter said.

Clayton and board members Dale Atkins, of New Orleans, and Johnny Anderson, of Baton Rouge, who first brought the issue up Friday, criticized Slaughter for not bringing a formal written contract back to the board for approval.

“There was never a consensus on the term and length,” Anderson said, noting that previous chancellors at Southern have been at-will employees and “served at the pleasure of the board.”

Slaughter said he believed the matter was resolved and did not have to return to the board after the September letter was approved.
The board wanted to give the “appearance” of being unified in support of Lomotey, he said

Anderson attempted to go into a closed, executive session for the discussion, but Lomotey asked that it be kept public.

After the meeting, Lomotey told a reporter, “I don’t have any comment,” before leaving.

Atkins questioned the existence of any formal, written contract for Lomotey.