LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Higher Education Director Jim Purcell is the top candidate to become the higher education commissioner in Louisiana, he confirmed Monday.
A search committee charged with selecting a commissioner for the Louisiana Board of Regents will interview Purcell on Wednesday. The full board will consider his selection Thursday.
“I did not actively pursue the position, but the consulting firm assisting with the search called several times since September and eventually convinced me to submit materials,” Purcell said in an e-mail Monday.
“They were very interested in our successes over the past few years.”
Purcell is the only finalist for the position, said Meg Casper, associate commissioner for public affairs at the Louisiana Board of Regents.
He submitted his application for the position Friday after a Louisiana Joint Legislative Budget Committee approved a $275,000 salary for the job. His Arkansas salary is $188,699.
If Purcell is offered the position, he expects to start before the Louisiana legislative session in April, he said, noting that the board has not offered an official start date.
Former Louisiana Higher Education Commissioner Sally Clauson resigned June 8 amid public scrutiny after she retired for one day in the previous year so she could collect retirement benefits in addition to her regular salary, Casper said. The retirement had not been approved by the full board, she said.
A search for a new leader began immediately, with the other four candidates submitting resumes shortly afterward.
The board then hired Florida search firm Greenwood/ Asher & Associates, who identified Purcell as a candidate and persuaded him to apply, Casper said.
Gov. Mike Beebe would not comment on Purcell’s plans Monday, spokesman Matt De-Cample said. Beebe did not ask Purcell to leave, he said.
“This is entirely Dr. Purcell’s initiative,” DeCample said.
In Arkansas, the Higher Education Department director develops and recommends state aid for the state’s public two- and four-year colleges and universities, runs student-financial-aid programs and several federal and state grants, and oversees the higher education institutions’ missions and the state’s master plan for higher education.
The director is also a member of the governor’s cabinet, working with college and university leaders, the governor, the Legislature, and students.
Purcell has held the Arkansas position since 2008. He was selected by a unanimous vote of the Higher Education Coordinating Board and formally appointed by Beebe.
Prior to that appointment, he served as vice chancellor for strategic planning and analysis for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Purcell has previously worked in administrative positions at the University System of Georgia, the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Alabama Community College System.
In Arkansas, Purcell helped develop scholarships of up to $5,000 using proceeds from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, developed a streamlined application for state financial aid and implemented a policy that makes it easier for students with associate degrees from the state’s two-year colleges to complete bachelor’s programs at its four-year universities.
In the current legislative session, Purcell has pushed for policies that grant more centralized control to the Higher Education Department and link state aid to an institution’s ability to retain and graduate students.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 02/22/2011