Meet the President
Dr. Kedrick Nicholas was named
Interim President of McNeese State University
on November 13, 2025.
Click Here to See Dr. Nicholas’ Full Bio
Dr. Kedrick A. Nicholas has dedicated more than 20 years of service to McNeese State University, where he has been a champion for student success, institutional effectiveness, and leadership development. A two-time McNeese graduate, he holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from McNeese and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education Administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Dr. Nicholas began his career in higher education as a graduate assistant in Student Services, an experience that sparked his passion for supporting students and shaping the campus experience. He has since held progressive leadership roles across the university, including Coordinator of Student Activities, Assistant Dean of Student Services, Dean of Students, Dean of Student Affairs, and Senior Vice President. He has also served as the university’s Title IX administrator.
Throughout his career, Dr. Nicholas has led transformative initiatives that strengthened student engagement, retention, and success. He established Cowboy Camp, founded the CARE Mentorship Program, launched leadership development programs for faculty and staff, and created McNeese’s first comprehensive strategic plan for student affairs. He also led the implementation of a U.S. Department of Education grant to enhance first-year student success programs and helped form the McNeese Staff Senate to support shared governance.
Recognized as a thought leader in higher education, Dr. Nicholas has presented at regional and national conferences, consulted with peer institutions, and served in statewide leadership roles—most notably as President of the Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (LACUSPA). He is also actively engaged in community service and youth mentorship.
Dr. Kedrick Nicholas
Interim President
Enrollment.
Our initial primary university goal will be to stabilize enrollment. We must stabilize enrollment to stabilize the budget, and to do this, we must prioritize two factors that contribute to our overall enrollment — recruiting new students and retaining existing students.
We will focus on recruitment at all levels: high school graduates, online students, adult learners and more.
We will find opportunities to create exceptional McNeese Student Experiences by leveraging our very unique, family-like Southwest Louisiana culture to facilitate networks that support our students academically and professionally. This will increase persistence rates.
Every employee at McNeese has the power to positively impact student lives, so every employee has an important role to play in stabilizing and growing enrollment. To support this goal, the Executive Leadership Team is redesigning the reporting structure of the university to enable everyone to measure success with clear and quantifiable objectives.
Job Placement.
McNeese is a regional leader in workforce development and we consistently demonstrate our significance in terms of economic impact in Southwest Louisiana.
We will ensure that our academic curricula are market-driven, and that our students leave McNeese with the skills they need to be gainfully employed upon graduation. We also want our graduates to be lifelong learners, so our exceptional faculty will continue to inspire students to be curious, to be pioneers in their chosen discipline, and to achieve more than they imagined.
