Theunissen sworn in to Board of Regents

Former state senator and representative Jerry Theunissen was sworn in as a member of the state Board of Regents by District Attorney Michael Cassidy during a ceremony Wednesday morning.

The Board of Regents serves as the state liason to Louisiana’s colleges and universities and has a hand in creating curriculum and making decisions for the system as a whole, a project Theunissen said he’s excited to get started on.

“I’m honored to have been nominated by Gov.John Bel Edwards to the board of regents,” Theunissen said. “It’s a very prestigious board that makes decisions on funding in colleges and the different subjects being taught. They have a great deal of influence on the education of college students and I look forward to attempting to do the best for education in this state, and coming up with an education that will provide students with excellent job opportunities.”

Theunissen said his experience in the state legislature, which included time on education-focused committees, has prepared him for his new position.

“When I was in the senate I was the chairman of the higher education committee and when Gov.Jindal came in, he appointed me the chairman of the education transition team, so I have long been involved with education legislature and have had a great deal of input on education in this state,” he said.

Theunissen said one of his main goals as a board member will be to see that higher education receives full funding in coming budget years after seeing drastic cuts in recent state budgets.

“Higher education has for a number of years not received as much funding as it should, so seeing that budget restored is definitely one of the things I would like to see done,” he said. “We’ve lost professors as a result of the aggressive funding cuts and many subjects had to be cut from curriculums. Proper funding is extremely important and I look forward to working with the legislature in attempting to increase the funding for our institutions.”