New McNeese State University President Wade Rousse Ready for ‘Brand New Day’ – American Press

There are three words to describe McNeese State University’s “brand new day”: measured, passionate and winning.

That’s what McNeese’s eighth president, Wade Rousse, told the American Press during an interview on his first day, Monday, July 1.

It is essential to act with intention and maintain a balance between pragmatism and fervor, he said. The two go hand in hand. As data and indicators describe Rousse’s actions, enthusiasm and zeal fill her sails.

“It takes passion to accomplish something difficult,” he said. “I understand the vision, but I also understand that excessive vision without implementation leads to a loss of integrity.”

“I think if you’re built that way, you have to have passion. A lot of the challenges you face make you say, ‘Wow, this is going to take a lot of work. This is going to take a lot of sweat.’ It’s the passion that motivates you to achieve those goals.”

A 1989 graduate of South Lafourche High School, Rousse was motivated by his mother to pursue a college education at McNeese. He fondly remembers the day his mother dropped him off at campus, just outside the dorms, because that was the day his life changed.

He “lived and learned” at McNeese for three years.

However, when his head football coach, Sonny Jackson, resigned, Rousse intended to leave college and take a position overseas. Jackson didn’t let that happen.

“He told me clearly that I could quit football, I wasn’t very good at it, but I was a good student,” Rousse recalls. “He basically told me, ‘If I ever hear that you’re going to quit school, I’m going to kick your ass.’”

He was enrolled at McNeese until he got the opportunity to join a shipping company, which promoted him to vice president.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Nicholls State University while working full time. While his bachelor of science in business was technically earned at Nicholls, the majority of his college experience was spent on McNeese land, he said.

“When I think back on my college experience, I think of McNeese.”

He also holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of New Orleans and a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He considers teaching his passion, even if it is unexpected.

During the decade he spent in Chicago with his wife Angela, he “fell completely in love with teaching.” It wasn’t part of his plans. He hoped to get his doctorate, then come home and run a hedge fund.

He said it was Angela who opened his eyes to his goal. Her recognition and motivation towards Rousse allowed him to move from the private sector to full-time higher education.

“I would come home after school and tell her what they had learned and how excited they were. I was so excited. One day she looked at me and said, ‘Why are we fighting this? You’re always so happy. You’re always so excited when you get out of class. Why are we putting this off?’”

He hopes to “go back” as soon as he is able.

Before returning to southwest Louisiana, they lived in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Rousse was conducting important research on some of the only closed economies in the West, which involved conducting economic impact studies, estimating demand curves, and finding replacement strategies for coal mines that would no longer be operational for indigenous communities.

“It’s a very important job for an economist,” he said. “We were trying to figure out how we could keep the economy alive despite the departure of such an important industry.”

They were happy in Flagstaff, but their family called them home.

“I was in a period of my life where we were living in a very beautiful part of the world and we were doing research that I thought was important. Everything was perfect, and then my mother and my mother-in-law both got sick.”

He and Angela came back when their mothers needed them most. With Angela’s experience as a nurse, Rousse said they were fortunate to be able to care for them effectively and lovingly for three years.

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On his first day in office, Rousse announced a series of changes in the university’s management structure. Along with this announcement, he explained that each member of the teaching staff will have a clear goal, supported and monitored by indicators. Each of the approximately 1,000 employees will have a direct path and, ultimately, common goals. Although it is not always easy, achieving these goals is possible only through complete honesty.

“Sometimes you have to say things that people don’t want to hear,” he said. “It’s easy to just celebrate, but it’s not worth it if it’s just for the sake of celebrating. The challenge of transparency is to tell the facts, and that’s not always popular.”

Transparency is a necessary quality for a good leader, and Rousse said it’s a common practice at McNeese.

“You can’t earn the respect of an organization, especially an organization this big, if you’re not brutally transparent,” he said. “If you don’t tell the story, the real story, the world will tell it for you. Often when that happens, it’s not the real story.”

He and “his wife” Angela will live in Burton Hall until the President’s House renovations are completed in order to connect with students and maintain a presence on campus. He hopes to build strong relationships with McNeese faculty and staff in the same way.

“The title I am most proud of on this campus is that of professor of economics in the College of Business.”

He considers himself “a bit of a hybrid” in terms of experience and perspective.

“I come from the private sector, but I also worked my way up through the ranks of the faculty. … Doing all of this in academia gives me a real appreciation for our professors on this campus, what they do and how they positively impact people’s lives.”

Prior to being appointed president, he served as executive vice president, vice president for academic advancement, and dean and professor in the College of Business at McNeese.

Rousse and her management team plan to have a “strong presence” in the faculty senate, with a mission to “listen and learn.” While he understands he won’t always be able to please every faculty member, he intends to consider all voices on campus.

“Leaders sometimes have to make decisions that are not popular with everyone, and we will not be afraid to make those decisions, but we will certainly involve faculty in the process.”

“I’m confident – maybe a little too confident – that we will succeed, and I can’t wait to get started,” Rousse said.