Meador named interim Fletcher chancellor

The search for Fletcher Technical Community College’s next leader has not formally begun, but the director of another regional technical college was appointed interim chancellor of the Houma-based institution.

Earl Meador, director of South Central Louisiana Technical College, will serve both posts concurrently while the state’s community and technical college board of supervisors conducts the search for Fletcher’s first new leader in three decades. Current Chancellor Travis Lavigne announced last month that he plans to retire in June.

“I understand the role that Fletcher has in the community and the great responsibility that comes with continuing the great work that has been started by Chancellor Lavigne,” Meador said. “My commitment is to work with the students, community, industry, and the faculty and staff at both institutions to continue building and investing in the diversity of our communities by finding innovative ways to serve the region from the river to the gulf through education and workforce training.” 

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Meador’s appointment as interim chancellor at the recommendation of system President Monty Sullivan.

“Earl Meador is also a proven leader who understands the needs of the region,” Sullivan said. “He is respected in South Louisiana and is passionate about academic and workforce training. I look forward to working with him in this dual role.”

Meador’s interim appointment will be effective for as long as a year, said Quinton Taylor, executive director of media relations for LCTC.

To start the formal search for a permanent chancellor, the state system’s board of directors will appoint a committee comprised of system board members, Fletcher faculty and students and regional members of the community who represent civic or business interest, Taylor said. 

The committee will draft a list of desired qualifications and publish it nationally via a yet-chosen headhunting firm. An applicant pool will be whittled down and then the interview process will begin. The full LCTC board will ultimately make the hire following public forums and interviews.

It could be January or February 2015 before the search process begins, Taylor said, meaning a new chancellor may not be in place until the start of the 2015-16 school year. The system spokesman said summer is not an ideal time to begin a search because many qualified candidates have already scheduled vacations or other plans.

“Travis Lavigne, let’s face it, the guy left huge shoes to fill,” Taylor said. “What I know for a fact is our board and our president, they don’t want to necessarily be pigeonholed into a specific timeframe. What’s most important to them is doing what’s best for that community and that college in terms of finding the absolute best person.”

SCL Technical College has campuses in Thibodaux, Galliano, Morgan City and Reserve. It offers technical education is traditional subjects like refrigeration, automotive, drafting, nursing and welding as well as programming in subjects tailored to the local maritime and energy industries – commercial diving, industrial marine electronics and process production technology geared toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Prior to becoming director of SCL Technical College in November 2012, Meador was dean of the college’s Lafourche campus, overseeing operations in Thibodaux and in Galliano. He is a former assistant dean of the Morgan City campus and an instructor in the marine department. 

Meador, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a juris doctorate from Loyola University School of Law, is also a former president of an offshore service company and was operations and personnel manager of Aggressor Fleet, which operates scuba-diving yachts in 16 countries.

Fletcher enrolled nearly 2,600 students last fall, a 3-percent fall-to-fall increase, and counted 2,254 this spring, a 9-percent year-to-date jump, according to the school’s director of philanthropy and stewardship. In fall 2005, enrollment was 809.

Fletcher has not been immune to cuts in state appropriations, so while the school’s enrollment has grown, its budgetary growth has been limited. Two-thirds of the college’s $8.2-million spending plan is funded by tuition, Lavigne said.

The school moved its headquarters into its $21.3 million, 99,000-square-foot Schriever campus in August 2012. Opened last month was the new BP IPT building, which sits behind the main campus and was funded with BP and state contributions to train workers primarily in the deep-water oil-and-gas industry. Work on the school’s new $6 million Louisiana Marine and Petroleum Institute building at Dickson Road is ongoing.

Fletcher offers broad programs, such as criminal justice, accounting, nursing and general studies, but the school has become known for educating students in petroleum, manufacturing and marine programs, which are tailored to south Louisiana’s industrial landscape.

Lavigne has led Fletcher for 30 years and will have spent nearly 43 years in various capacities at the school, a period that saw the two-year school’s partnership network, programming, enrollment and infrastructure blossom. He said it is “critical” that the next leader values the programming tailored at churning out workers suited for the local economy.

“Obviously, the academic component is critical, and you will find a majority of (candidates) who have a strong background in strictly academics, but what is really critical for us is someone that values the importance of the technical training programs,” Lavigne said.

EARL MEADOR