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Matt Lee steps in as LSU’s new interim president; why Louisiana children rank low in well-being

The sun shines on the LSU Law Center on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Highland Road in Baton Rouge, La.
Matthew Perschall
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Louisiana Illuminator
The sun shines on the LSU Law Center on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Highland Road in Baton Rouge, La.

At the end of June, LSU president William Tate IV will step down and become president of Rutgers University in New Jersey. While LSU looks for a new leader, Matt Lee, vice president for agriculture, will serve in the interim.

In addition to his new role, Lee is also the dean of LSU’s college of agriculture and oversees research at the AgCenter. He has also worked as a public health expert, specializing in rural crime and community development. He joins us to talk about his career and goals in this new position.

According to a new report, Louisiana children rank near last in the country in overall well-being, despite some notable gains in education.

Louisiana fell a spot from last year to 49th out of 50 states on the Kids Count Data Book, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It considers how children are doing in four main categories: economics, education, health and family.

Teresa Falgoust, director of data and research for Agenda for Children, Louisiana’s member of the KIDS COUNT network, joins us to break down these findings.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Karen Henderson is an award-winning journalist whose stories have aired nationally on NPR.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WWNO from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.