(Oct. 30) It’s time for the whole state of Louisiana to recognize the great asset it has in the University of New Orleans.
Registration opens Nov. 3 for UNO’s Spring 2026 semester, perhaps the last full semester before the school moves back into the Louisiana State University system. What LSU is getting is a Privateer ship that was listing dangerously, but now is stabilized and sailing briskly in the right direction.
The turnaround is largely due to a dynamic duo, University President Kathy Johnson and Rebecca Conwell, president/CEO of the UNO Beach Research and Technology Park. Saturday marks the second anniversary of Johnson taking the university’s helm.
Before looking at what a gem UNO is, let’s understand the dire straits into which it had fallen. Once thriving with some 17,000 students, UNO took huge hits from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and from state budget cutbacks later that decade. Now at less than 6,000 students, UNO two years ago faced a debt of $30 million and an annual operating deficit of $15 million.
Johnson eliminated the latter by implementing numerous tough but necessary savings measures (not worth detailing here) while showing great transparency and instilling confidence in her leadership and vision. The LSU takeover of the school, over time, should help with the back debt.
Michael Hecht, the GNO Inc. president and CEO who is the secretary/treasurer of The Beach (research park), is a Johnson fan.
“Under Kathy’s leadership and with the support of the governor’s office and the Legislature, UNO has cleaned up its balance sheet,” he said. “Kathy is characterized by being accessible and inclined towards partnership.”
Meanwhile, The Beach is an impressive facet of UNO life. With 800,000 square feet of space on a 30-acre property, The Beach is where more than 30 entrepreneurial companies lease space, often for high-tech research of the sort where business and science students can learn and contribute…. [The full column is at this link.]
