BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Board of Regents nominated three individuals to fill a vacancy on the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) during their regular board meeting. The slate of nominees next goes to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House for selection of the new economist.
The REC prepares initial and revised estimates of money to be received by the state for current and future fiscal years, which are then available for appropriation. By law (R.S. 39:22), when a vacancy occurs on the REC in the economist principal position, Regents must approve a list of at least three, but no more than five Louisiana faculty members, with revenue forecasting experience for consideration after consultation with the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (LAICU).
The three individuals nominated by Regents include:
· Dr. Stephen R. Barnes, Louisiana State University
· Dr. Gregory B. Upton, Jr., Louisiana State University
· Dr. Gary A. Wagner, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The REC’s current economist principal, Dr. Jim Richardson announced in November, 2018 his intent to retire. Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed, as well as Board of Regents Chairman Marty J. Chabert, sought recommendations as well as input from both public and private universities across the state in selecting the final slate.
“Today we have advanced a strong slate of candidates who have the expertise needed to serve in this important role,” said Commissioner Reed. “I am grateful to the faculty who expressed an interest in serving and certainly grateful to Dr. Richardson for his long and stellar tenure.”
“This is an important role for the Board of Regents and I am proud to have been part of the process,” said Chairman Marty J. Chabert. “Our universities have tremendous faculty talent who are honored to serve their state when called upon.”
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