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No word on UL president search Next regular meeting of system board is Dec. 11
BY MEGAN WYATT
Staff writer
It’s been about three weeks since the University of Louisiana system board announced it would create a search committee to find UL’s next president, but it remains unclear who will serve on the committee or when it will meet. Leah Orr, president of the UL Faculty Senate and head of the English department, said there has been no communication by the board or system about appointing a member of the senate to the committee, which she Kolluru expects to happen. “I would assume so, based on what the board’s bylaws say,” Orr said. “But we haven’t heard anything since the board meeting that we all were at.” A UL system spokesperson said there’s been no news since the board’s Nov. 13 meeting. That meeting addressed speculation that the board would forgo a search and install a president without any input from faculty, staff or students. The board spent an hour in a closed-door, executive session before emerging and announcing a search committee would be formed. The board also named Ramesh Kolluru, UL’s vice president for research, innovation and economic development, as interim president during the meeting. His appointment came at the recommendation of Jaimie Hebert, who had been serving as interim president since
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
U.S. Border Patrol agents detain and handcuff a man on Williams Boulevard in Kenner as they begin their ‘Catahoula Crunch’ sweeps around the New Orleans metro area on Wednesday. It wasn’t immediately clear why the unidentified man was being detained.
‘Catahoula Crunch’ focuses on detaining immigrants with serious criminal records, official says
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Federal agents on Wednesday launched immigration enforcement sweeps across the New Orleans region, targeting south Louisiana as the next host of the escalating immigration crackdown from President Donald Trump’s administration. Agents detained dozens of people outside home improvement stores, in shopping mall parking lots and at worksites in residential neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses, immigrant rights groups and reporters who viewed some of the arrests. One witness described agents
ä ACLU files suit challenging state law blocking interference with immigration agents. PAGE 5A
rounding up two dozen day laborers outside a Lowe’s. Videos that circulated on social media showed agents surrounding workers atop a house under construction in Kenner. The operation, which is expected to last for an indefinite period, follows immigration sweeps led by the U.S. Border Patrol in Chicago and several cities
Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Gregory Bovino, center, tours the New Orleans metro area on ä See BORDER, page 5A Wednesday.
ä See SEARCH, page 6A
Revenue Secretary Nelson to lead La. community college system BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System on Wednesday selected its new president, giving the top job to Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson.
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Nelson will begin leading the state’s community college system, which includes 12 schools, effective Jan. 1. “Secretary Nelson is a problem solver, a bridge builder, and a leader who recognizes the critical role our colleges play in every region of Louisiana,” Tim Hardy, chair of the LCTCS board, said
in a statement. Nelson has been at the helm of the Department of Revenue since early 2024, when he was tapped to lead the agency by Gov. Jeff Landry. He is a former state representative from Mandeville who ran for governor in 2023 but dropped out and endorsed Landry.
Current President Monty Sullivan in October announced he would retire early next year. He was appointed to the role in 2014. “Under Dr. Sullivan’s leadership, LCTCS nearly doubled its number of
ä See NELSON, page 6A
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