NSU at odds with Governor Landry 

 Piper Hutchinson Louisiana Illuminator 

 North Louisiana law school proposal puts university leader at odds with Landry, lawmakers 

Northwestern State president says his plan is ‘wasting away in Margaritaville’ 

Northwestern State University President Jimmy Genovese wants to open a law school, despite brushback from Gov. Jeff Landry and state lawmakers. Genovese says the idea originated with the governor but that he won’t publicly support it. 

State Sen. Alan Seabaugh takes credit for ousting Northwestern State University’s president in 2024 and, with the backing of Gov. Jeff Landry, replacing him with former Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Genovese. 

Two years later, Genovese says he isn’t able to count on either of his two supporters to advance his plans for the school, which include starting the first law school in North Louisiana. 

In recent interviews, Genovese said his feud with Seabaugh, a Republican whose district includes the Natchitoches campus, is costing Northwestern State much-needed cash from the state. And it was Landry who came up with the idea to open a law school at the university, but the governor has since dropped his support of the plan, he said 

“It wasn’t my idea,” Genovese said. “When I came on board … there were discussions coming out of the governor’s office regarding a law school, so I just went with the flow.”