Regents Backs Consolidation Of SUNO/UNO Management

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's top higher education board has voted to back a consolidation of Southern University at New Orleans and the University of New Orleans under a new management structure.

The nine-to-six vote of the Board of Regents came against the wishes of SUNO leaders and students who argued such a move would leave black students with fewer educational opportunities.

The Regents chose one of two scenarios recommended by a Colorado-consultant to improve education in New Orleans.

The proposal wouldn't be a complete merger. The campuses would share technology, human resources and other administrative functions under the umbrella of a new University of Greater New Orleans. They would be shifted to the University of Louisiana System, but they would maintain separate academic officers, separate accreditations and separate missions.