Louisiana Voice

I don’t like to say I told you so, but….

Oh, hell, yes, I do. I love being able to say I told you so. Everybody does if they’re honest.

There’s just something inherent in our DNA that gives us that warm fuzzy feeling when we’re able to do that.

Take, for instance, my LOUISIANA VOICE post of last Tuesday (Feb. 17) in which I discussed the trend toward political control of higher education and the fact that Gov. Squeaky Toy Landry has, in two years, made five political appointments to heads of Louisiana colleges and universities.

Well, now you can make that six.

Just as I predicted, Ramesh Kolluru was named as the only finalist for the presidency of University of Louisiana Lafayette.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult prediction, though. Here are some excerpts from that Feb. 17 post:

Kolluru was approached last year by an industry-friendly lobbying group called “Committee of 100 for Economic Development, Inc.,” or C100. That was following the Environmental Protection Agency’s three-day public hearing in Baton Rouge about whether Louisiana should be given enforcement responsibility of carbon capture and storage projects in the state. Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is a method of reducing greenhouse gases by capturing carbon dioxide from the pollution of industrial smokestacks. The captured carbon is transported via pipeline and, ultimately, injected deep underground.

One of the proposed injection sites is in Lake Maurepas in Tangipahoa Parish where a professor has already been reined in for adverse findings of that proposition. The funding for that research was provided by one of the industries proposing to store the carbon.

C100 desired to continue recruiting support for state control of CCS so, Michael Olivier, former head of C100 ASKED KULLURU TO HELP. “We will be seeking influential business leaders in regions of the state to sign OpEds and we will use social media to influence public opinion in the upcoming EPA ruling. Would you be that person in Acadiana? He asked, according to emails obtained through a public records request.

Kolluru’s response? “Absolutely!” So much for objectivity and non-bias in research.

Kolluru was already serving as interim president following the abrupt resignation of Joseph Savoie last July, But guess what his job was before that? He was the university’s vice president for research, innovation and economic development. His eagerness to assist in the promotion of a controversial matter like carbon capture pretty much throws his objectivity into serious question and automatically tarnishes any research from the school.

Climate scientist and Penn State University professor Michael Mann called the relationship between C100 and ULL “deeply problematic,” according The Lens, a respected New Orleans online news service.

Just remember who told you Kolluru was a sure bet for the ULL job.

After all, this is Louisiana.