LSU paid roughly $19,000 in travel expenses to key members of the administration, including nearly $3,000 to send four administrators, including president William Tate IV and athletic director Scott Woodward, to the Washington Mardi Gras in January.
According to expense reports obtained by The Reveille, during the period from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, the university paid the travel expenses of ten administrative staff members, including President Tate, executive vice president and provost Matt Lee and exec. Board of Supervisors Director Jason Droddy.
According to the university’s travel policy presented in Standing Memorandum 13, the university provides travel funds for “authorized travel of staff members who are designated by the appropriate administrative officer as delegates to conventions or association meetings,” the flag includes most travel described in expense reports.
“LSU’s travel procedures and regulations exist to ensure compliance with state requirements, provide a procedural framework for employees and students traveling on University business, and outline fiscally responsible spending practices,” the LSU spokesperson explained , Ernie Ballard.
Total travel expenses for staff members consisted of 51 charges totaling $18,870.08, and the average amount spent on each staff member was $2,096.68.
Below is the reimbursement for each administrator:
Deborah Richards, Assistant to the President:
Thirteen charges totaling $5,686.99. The largest charge in Richards’ report was $1,354.25 for charges related to President Tate’s June 2022 trip to the Harvard President’s event.
Winston DeCuir Jr., Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel:
Six charges totaling $4,174.54. The largest charge on DeCuir’s report was $2,068.72 for the June 2022 trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was a speaker at the annual conference of the National Association of College Bars and the University
Jason Droddy, Executive Director of the Board of Supervisors:
Eleven charges totaling $2,522.49. The biggest charge in Droddy’s report was a January 2022 trip to the University of Georgia for LSU administration and four Baton Rouge business leaders who attended in Athens, Georgia, to tour the campus of the UGA to see where their companies could help in the development of LSU’s agriculture department.
Ashley Arceneaux, Chief of Staff:
Seven charges totaling $2,068.89. The largest charge in Arceneaux’s report was $1,084.54 for a January 2022 trip to Washington DC for the Washington Mardi Gras.
Louis Gremillion Jr., Policy Analyst:
Two charges totaling $2,014.14. The largest charge in Gremillion’s report was $1,473.80 for October 2021 travel to attend the SEC’s government relations conference in Missouri.
Matt Lee, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost:
Three charges totaling $916.85. The largest charge in Lee’s report was $545.40 in reimbursement for expenses from the National Security Forum in Montgomery, Ala., in June 2022.
Mark Bieger, Vice President of Strategy:
Two charges totaling $744.35. The largest charge in Bieger’s report was $540.96 for the November 2021 trip to LSU Shreveport “to discuss strategic planning for the Shreveport campus and the Shreveport Health Sciences Center.”
William F. Tate IV, President:
Six charges totaling $395.03. The largest charge in Tate’s report was $128.05 for a January 2022 trip to Athens, Georgia, to visit the University of Georgia to visit the agriculture department to learn how LSU could improve the its own agricultural department.
Scott Woodward, sporting director:
A single charge of $193.45 for a January 2022 trip to Washington DC for Washington Mardi Gras.
Lucien Laborde Jr., Interim Vice President of Agriculture:
A one-time charge of $153.35 for a January 2022 trip to the University of Georgia to evaluate LSU’s Department of Agriculture for Development.
In particular, the university paid for several trips to LSU’s Shreveport campus for Board of Supervisors meetings and campus tours, as well as assistance in selecting a new chancellor.
Ballard explained that paying to send the administration to Shreveport and Washington, as well as other trips listed in the expense reports, is to enrich the LSU community, “enhancing LSU’s reputation among potential faculty and funding agencies.” .
“These travel opportunities help recruit faculty and undergraduate and graduate students, open doors to funding and partnership opportunities, and provide visibility to the university at large among institutions, associations and the like,” Ballard said. “(It also allows) leadership to develop beneficial relationships with organizations and industry that can support research and scholarship.”
