One board to rule them all ...

State Treasurer John Kennedy released an opinion column Thursday, calling for the restructuring of higher education in Louisiana.

In the piece, Kennedy compared the state’s higher education system to conflicts in Iraq.

“Just as the Sunnis fight the Shiites who fight the Kurds for political power and natural resources, the three systems of higher education in Louisiana scrap over turf and scarce taxpayer dollars in a political free-for-all that plays out every year in the Louisiana Legislature,” Kennedy said.

The three colleges systems in the state are the LSU System, Southern System and University of Louisiana System. They each have a board of supervisors group and had to deal with funding cuts because of the recession and slumping state revenues this summer.

Kennedy argued there should be only one board to govern all of higher education. It would be more efficient and effective, he said.

“A single board would be able to make strategic decisions based on data and resources, not politics,” Kennedy said. “This will help Louisiana be better prepared to meet the higher education demands of the future, while enhancing the quality of undergraduate and graduate education programs, facilitating valuable research endeavors and expanding educational partnerships.”

The Advisory Group on Efficiency and Benchmarking for the Commission on Streamlining Government recommended a similar plan in August. Kennedy is part of the group, which suggested that each current system be placed under the complete jurisdiction of the Board of Regents.

“The Board of Regents is responsible for coordinating the higher education systems, but the job is almost impossible under this top-heavy, dueling board structure,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said a single board would be open to the ambitions of all schools, with the understanding that the state can only afford one flagship university — LSU.

“A single board with geographical and institutional diversity would be able to designate each campus with areas of specialization and decide how many schools of architecture—or engineering or nursing or journalism— are really needed and can be afforded by Louisiana taxpayers,” Kennedy said. “Joint long-term planning will help to develop the unique assets of each campus, helping to make higher education a linchpin in our state’s economic development efforts.”