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The new president of Northwestern State University in Louisiana is going to be making tens of thousands of dollars more than his predecessor, despite having no higher ed experience, The Louisiana Illuminator reported.
James Genovese, a former Louisiana Supreme Court justice backed by Governor Jeff Landry, will earn $350,000 per year, which includes $315,000 from the state and $35,000 from the Northwestern State University Foundation. The previous president, Marcus Jones, who worked in higher education for almost two decades, made $61,000 less. Genovese is white and Jones is Black.
University of Louisiana system leaders pushed back on the idea that race played a role in the wage difference.
“I certainly would not want anybody to come to that conclusion,” University of Louisiana system president Rick Gallot told the Illuminator, noting that several new campus presidents in the system also earn more than prior presidents and Genovese’s salary is in line with that trend. (The news outlet pointed out that Gallot, who is Black, also earns less than his white predecessor and two white campus presidents who work under him.)
Genovese, chosen for the position last month, earns the most of any president in the system at institutions without R-1 status, the Carnegie designation that connotes the highest level of research activity.
