Landry's game of thrones
The governor's two new board appointments give him control over LSU not seen since Huey Long.
Gov. Jeff Landry added two more donors to the LSU Board of Supervisors this month—neither appointment publicly announced, both replacing Edwards-era members.
Why it matters: A governor reshaping a university board in his second year is nothing new. But few since Huey Long have worked so deliberately to bring the state's flagship university to heel.
Meddling matters: Landry has spent two years remaking LSU to his political and ideological will.
- Pushed out tenured law professors who criticized him in class.
- Oversaw the departure of President William Tate and a wave of top Black administrators.
- Dismantled DEI programs and is pursuing a new conservative accreditor.
- Installed donor and ally Lee Mallett as board chair after changing state law to give himself that power.
- Meddled in the firing of Brian Kelly, forced out AD Scott Woodward, steered the hire of Lane Kiffin and the return of Will Wade.
- Had a borrowed Bengal tiger—owned by an operator under federal scrutiny—paraded onto the field before the Alabama game.
The new members: Chad Moody, a Lafayette nursing care executive and former LSU football player, and Jennifer Settoon of Ascension Parish, whose family owns Settoon Towing and Settoon Capital, both replace Edwards-era appointees. Both have donated to Landry.
- Collis Temple Jr., in a bit of a surprise, was reappointed to the board. The former LSU basketball player, a close ally of former Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, is politically connected and knows how to play the game.
Key departure: Settoon replaces Laurie Lipsey Aronson of Baton Rouge, one of the few board members willing to clash with the governor.
The bottom line: Grabbing control of the board, the university's top administration and the football department in just two years is no small feat—regardless of whatever the long-term impact is on the institution.