BATON ROUGE — Southern University plans to use the TM2 Executive Search firm to discover its next president. 

The firm specializes in working with historically Black colleges and universities, as it was founded by former HBCU presidents and is currently run by former HBCU executive leaders.

TM2 President Amanda Washington Lockett explained the long history the two entities shared at the Southern Board of Supervisors meeting on Friday.

Lockett said her great-great-grandfather, Booker T. Washington, met with Southern University's first president, Joseph S. Clark, over 100 years ago to discuss the future of the university.

Chancellor of Southern University's Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Orlando McMeans, is currently serving as interim president after the board split from former President Dennis Shields at the end of 2025. Shields will join the Southern law faculty this fall.

The Board of Supervisors plans to consider final candidates at its May 14 meeting, with hopes of having a new president in place by July 1.