LSU has named an interim chief financial officer after its previous one left as part of a flurry of resignations from top administrators.
Interim LSU President Matt Lee tapped Tommy Smith, current associate vice president of budget and planning, to fill the position Kimberly Lewis vacated in February.
“Because I am committed to ensuring stability and momentum for all of LSU, we will be taking a series of steps in the coming days to shore things up for the Flagship campus and the System,” Lee wrote in a campus wide email announcing Smith’s appointment.
Lewis, who previously served as former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ revenue secretary, served as the university’s CFO starting in 2022 until she resigned earlier this year. Her letter of resignation implied she was asked to step down.
Several other top administrators – including President William Tate, Provost Roy Haggerty, LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor David Guzick and LSU System General Counsel Winston DeCuir – left LSU within a few months of one another. The departures come as Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has gained control of the state’s four higher education boards. His appointees have taken an unprecedented interest in the day-to-day operations of the state’s universities.
Smith will supervise the following LSU departments: Auxiliary Services, Budget & Planning, Accounting Services, Risk Management, Procurement and Trademark Licensing.
A permanent CFO is unlikely to be hired until the LSU Board of Supervisors hires a president to replace Tate, who is taking the same job at Rutgers University.
LSU Board Chairman Scott Ballard said members will soon announce a presidential search committee, which he predicted would work over the next six months or so to conduct a nationwide search for Tate’s replacement.