Louisiana Voice

It looks as though there’ll be a few fireworks today regarding the leadership of the University of Louisiana Board when it is expected to take up the status of board President/CEO Rick Gallot.

Rick Gallot

A special board meeting was called on the heels of a Baton Rouge Advocate REPORT that Gallot owes $350,000 in federal income taxes. It’s not a good look for your agency head to be in hock to the IRS.

The IRS has filed a tax lien with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court for $351,312.78. Gallot told the newspaper his former accountant failed to file his federal income tax return for the year 2019 because of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.

The total the IRS claims it is owed includes $114,000 for 2020. Gallot said his new accountant has since filed the 2019 return and is disputing the amount of taxes owed. He said he has been attempting to resolve the dispute since 2024 when he said he first received notice of the missed payment.

Gallot is paid $600,000 per year in his position of President and CEO of the board, a position he has held since October 2023. He served almost nine years as president of Grambling State University prior to that after having served as a member of the Louisiana Legislature. His UL Board salary was nearly double the $334,544 salary he received as president of Grambling.

A native of Grambling and the son of longtime Grambling businessman Richard Gallot Sr., he was elevated to the UL Board after his predecessor, Jim Henderson was named president of Louisiana Tech University in nearby Ruston in a UL Board personnel shakeup. Henderson recently announced his retirement as Tech president, giving his health as the reason for his decision to step down.

Jim Henderson

Today’s meeting, besides dealing with Gallot’s status, is likely to encounter a legal challenge from another source.

Piper Huchinson, a reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator, who refers to herself as a “FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) freak,” has pointed out on X that the board did not comply to state law in scheduling today’s meeting.

“Sorry (not really) to be beating my usual open meetings law drum but the law requires that agencies notify any member of the press or the public that requests meeting notifications at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. That didn’t happen here, again. Not good!”

She also posted on Thursday that the board “seems to have scheduled a special board meeting for tomorrow that was not noticed to the press/public and is still not posted to their normal meetings page.”

It’s refreshing to see a reporter speak truth to power in pointing out these violations of state law. Under the administration of Jeff Landry, it appears officials are becoming emboldened to ignore, even flaunt, laws meant to protect the public’s right to know, as evidenced by the glut of non disclosure agreements (NDAs) signed by elected and appointed officials.