By The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE — The agencies overseeing Louisiana’s colleges and universities will see a number of new faces including a former gubernatorial chief of staff, a district attorney and a former speaker of the House after Gov. John Bel Edwards made new appointments.
New members include James S. “Jimmy” Clarke of Lafayette, a Louisiana State University graduate who used to be former Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s chief of staff and is now director of state policy for HCM Strategists, a health and education policy consulting firm.
He’s a new appointment to the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, along with Lafourche Parish District Attorney Kristine M. Russell of Thibodaux.
The Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees all state higher education boards, will have two new members. Edwards appointed both Gary N. Solomon Jr., of New Orleans, and Felix R. Weill of Baton Rouge.
Solomon owns the New Orleans firm that designed and built the Road to Tokyo exhibit in the National World War II Museum. He will represent the 2nd Congressional District. Weill, a former member of the LSU Foundation board, represents the 6th Congressional District.
Both Robert W. Levy of Vienna and Sonia Perez of Baton Rouge were reappointed to the Board of Regents. Perez, an at-large member, heads AT&T Louisiana. Levy graduated from both Nicholls State University and LSU’s law school. He is a retired district attorney and represents the 5th Congressional District.
The board that oversees Southern University will have two new members. Edwards appointed Sam A. Gilliam of Shreveport and Arlanda J. Williams, of Houma.
Gilliam was an interim chancellor at Southern University-Shreveport and will represent the 4th Congressional District.
Williams, vice chancellor of Delgado Community College, sits on the Terrebonne Parish council and will represent the 1st Congressional District.
Raymond M. Fondel Jr.of Lake Charles and Leon R. Tarver II will also be returning to the Southern Board after being reappointed by the governor.
The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors will also see new members.
That board oversees nine institutions: Grambling State, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Monroe and University of New Orleans.
The new members are: Joe Salter, first assistant to the Louisiana secretary of state and former Louisiana speaker of the House, of Florien; John R. Condos, president of Access Healthcare Management; Virgil Robinson Jr., retired president and CEO of Dryades Savings Bank; and Mark E. Romero, executive vice president of Brown & Brown of Louisiana.
Raymond M. Fondel Jr. of Lake Charles and Leon R. Tarver II will be returning to the Southern Board after being reappointed by the governor.