After many months, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette officially has a new president. On Feb 27., Dr. Ramesh Kolluru was appointed the seventh president of the University after being the interim president since November 2025.
As president, Kolluru said he wants to focus on expanding student support, increasing enrollment, maintaining the University’s Carnegie R1 designation and decreasing the University’s deficit.
At the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester, the University revealed its $50 million structural deficit, creating uncertainty among the University community and beyond. Kolluru’s unanimous appointment as president marks a new era for the University and has many curious about how it will move forward.
Leah Orr, a voting member and president of the UL Lafayette Faculty Senate, said she voted for Kolluru because of his experience as interim president, his history with the University and his vision for its future.
“I think from the faculty perspective we’ve been, sort of, in a state of austerity for quite some time,” Orr said. “ And I think we’re all looking forward to seeing how this vision of growth and expansion can help to benefit our students and enable us to do our jobs better.”
Kolluru’s history with the University goes back to the ‘90s when he first came as a graduate student. From there, he worked as a research scientist on campus before becoming a tenured professor in the School of Computing and Informatics and then the vice president for research, innovation and economic development.
Having worked and lived in the Lafayette community for more than 30 years, Kolluru expressed gratitude for the support he received during the presidential selection process. As a longtime employee of the University, Kolluru was always in a position to support it, so receiving support from the community was a “full circle” moment for him.
“To have the support of all those people, in all those roles that I had here at this campus, as a student, as a faculty member, as a member of this larger community, is extraordinary,” he said.
Looking forward, Kolluru said he wants to focus on increasing the University’s graduation rate. Only 27% of students at UL Lafayette graduate in four years, and 51% graduate in six years. To better help students navigate the University and graduate on time, Kolluru appointed Andy Benoit as the vice president of student success. That position was made to guide students from recruitment through graduation with things such as financial aid, advising and career preparation.
In part, the University curriculum already integrates real-world experience through clinicals, internships, apprenticeships and more. Kolluru said he wants to “dial in” on those aspects of the University to provide students with the experiences that will prepare them for their careers after graduation.
Along with providing more in-class opportunities for real-world experience, Kolluru said he wants the University to engage with alumni to give students opportunities.
“So that’s the kind of university we are seeking to design, where we measure our success as a university based on your success as a student. By the time you graduate, I want you to have two jobs waiting for you,” Kolluru said.
Despite an emphasis on timely graduation, Kolluru acknowledged that addressing challenges students face outside the classroom while in school is also an essential part of their success.
Understanding how the University can help students with their mental health has become a priority for Kolluru. In coordination with the Student Government Association, the Office of the President created a mental health task force composed of student representatives, faculty, staff and administrators.
Of course, increasing enrollment remains a priority, as most of the University’s money comes from tuition, but providing support to retain students is equally important to Kolluru. “We absolutely, positively need to get focused on making sure that we do everything that we can to retain those students,” he explained. “Because recruiting those students without retaining those students is not delivering on the promise of higher education.”
The Carnegie R1 status of the University also remains a priority for Kolluru. He said the University will not “yield an inch” of the progress they have made as a research institution. Under his leadership as vice president of research, innovation and economic development, the University established three national research centers and obtained R1 status. His goal is for UL Lafayette to eventually be in the top 75% of public universities in the country.
According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, to maintain R1 status, the University must award 70 research doctorates annually and have at least $50 million in annual research and development spending. The University currently awards 80 doctoral degrees annually, and it was last reported that there is $225 million in its research fund.
Despite the security of the research fund, the University is still working on decreasing the structural deficit. At the time of writing this article, the University reported that only $12 million remained of the initial $50 million deficit.
Kolluru said the University will “keep climbing out of that hole” to reduce the $12 million to zero by the end of the fiscal year in late June. During the months ahead of that deadline, the University will continue monitoring the effects of the cost-cutting strategies previously implemented and start considering options for revenue generation, fundraising and assets the University no longer needs.
Kolluru also said he has started to have weekly meetings with deans, department heads, account owners and anyone who spends money on behalf of the University to better understand their budgetary needs.
“It will take us all working together,” Kolluru said. “Not just now to dig our way out of the hole, but make sure that we don’t ever find ourselves in this situation again.”
Though there is work to be done to execute his plans for the University, Kolluru said he sees it as a chance to give back to the University that has given so much to him throughout his years here. “And so now, the opportunity is to… give back and to make this University all that it can be.”