BATON ROUGE, La. – Misti S. Cordell of Monroe was sworn in as the newest Board of Regents member Wednesday.
An At-Large member, Regent Cordell took her oath of office prior to the start of the March Board meeting. Regent Cordell, whose term will expire in December 2029, currently serves as a physician recruiter for Affinity Health Group in Monroe. She served as a member of Governor Jeff Landry’s Health and Hospitals Transition Team and as an outreach representative for the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.
A graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in human resource management, she resides in Monroe with her husband Hardmen. They are the proud parents of two sons.
In addition to serving on Regents, Regent Cordell currently serves on multiple boards including MedCamps of Louisiana’s Board of Directors, CenturyNext Bank Advisory Board, Ouachita Parish Library Board, and Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum Board.
Following Regent Cordell’s swearing in, leaders of the LSU-led Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL) grant presented their groundbreaking work. Funded by a record-breaking $160 million award from the National Science Foundation, FUEL brings together higher education, state agency, industry and capital partners, working together to advance Louisiana’s and the nation’s capacity for energy innovation that will impact everyday lives, provide workforce development to fill current jobs and create new ones, and develop technology that transforms ideas into products for consumers.
“The groundbreaking work of FUEL is a testament to the collaboration of our broad and outstanding partnerships across this state,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed. “Not only will this work place Louisiana on the cutting edge of the ongoing energy transition and development of lower-carbon technologies, it also advances our commitments to both innovation and talent development that will ensure future generations and Louisiana can prosper.”
“FUEL’s collaborations, uniting our institutions and industry partners, represent a winning combination that will drive cutting-edge research while preparing a highly skilled workforce for Louisiana’s future in the energy transition,” said Chair Gary Solomon, Jr. “The success of Louisiana in competing against a national field to secure the FUEL grant, as well as Louisiana’s positive trends in dual enrollment, provide strong models of investments in education and talent development driving advancement in Louisiana.”
During the meeting, Adam Lowe with Education Strategy Group and Regents’ Deputy Commissioner Dr. Susannah Craig presented the 2023 annual Louisiana Dual Enrollment Report to the Board, highlighting both recent successes and 2024 recommendations for improvement. The report, officially released during a February visit of the Dual Enrollment Task Force to the Lake Charles-Boston Academy of Learning, shows that dual enrollment participation over a one-year period increased by 13%, with 32,577 high school students taking courses at public colleges and universities.
Strong progress continues towards the joint goal established by BESE and BOR in December 2019, which calls for all high school freshmen, beginning with the entering class of 2025, to graduate with some college credit, a market-relevant credential, or both. In the class of 2022, 59% of high school students graduated with college credit, marking significant growth from three years prior, when 51% of high school students graduated with college credit.
Click here to read the full 2023 Dual Enrollment Report.
In other action, the Board adopted its preliminary higher education budget recommendations for FY 2024-2025 aligned to the current state standstill budget while staff, campus and system leaders continue to advocate for new targeted investments to support merit-based faculty pay, outcomes-based and workforce funding, and financial aid.