Wade Rousse, PhD
About Dr. Rousse
Wade Rousse grew up in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, and an opportunity to be a part of the football team lead him to McNeese in 1989. He spent the next three years living and learning on the McNeese campus as a first-generation college student.
Before he completed his undergraduate degree, Rousse moved back to Southeast Louisiana to be closer to his family and to work in the marine transportation business. Over the next year, he worked and commuted to Thibodeaux, Louisiana where he earned a bachelor’s degree at Nicholls State University in 1993.
Rousse worked his way up through the ranks in the marine transportation business and was encouraged to further his education for the benefit of the business, so he earned an MBA from the University of New Orleans in 2002. Rousse became a partner in the marine transportation business and played a key role in the sale of that company.
In 2004, Rousse continued his education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he earned a second master’s degree in economics in 2006 and a doctorate in economics three years later. While pursuing his doctorate, he also taught classes as an adjunct faculty member. It was during this time that Rousse and his wife, Angela — then a NICU nurse, fell in love with higher education.
After advancing his academic degrees, Rousse was on staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Initially, he was an economic outreach specialist and then moved into the financial markets group as a policy research specialist. Rousse was the principal of a registered investment advisory firm and was a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
With the benefit of these different professional experiences, Rousse realized his true calling was higher education. He and Angela made the decision to move to Arizona where he became an executive in residence, a program that brought career practitioners to the classroom. At Northern Arizona University, he taught economics and finance classes, and he eventually became the associate dean of accreditation and operations.
Dr. Rousse has a wide array of research interests, which can loosely be categorized into three basic areas: International Trade, Financial Integration and Gross Domestic Product Volatility, and Regional Economics. He has journal and textbook publications but is most proud of several economic impact studies which were used to attract grant money for economic development initiatives on Native American lands located throughout Arizona.
Rousse came back to McNeese in 2019 to become the dean of the College of Business. While in that role, Rousse steered the college through a challenging accreditation process. In 2020, Rousse became the vice president of university advancement. In this role, he transformed the unit, bringing the foundation, athletic department, Banners at McNeese, Alumni Association and the Small Business Development Center all under one unified umbrella, and implemented a new strategic plan with the objective to increase alternative revenue opportunities. Under his leadership, $40 million of “new cash” was raised in four years. Annual corporate sponsorships quadrupled to $2 million, and the Foundation began to change its asset allocation by constructing an Urgent Care facility and the LNG Center of Excellence.
In 2022, Rousse was named executive vice president. In this role, in addition to overseeing the discovery and execution of new and alternative revenue strategies, he also led the effort to address revenue shortfalls resulting from enrollment decline by evaluating administrative processes to appropriately size the university for serving a smaller student body and by performing holistic program reviews to identify programs with a positive return-on-investment.
On July 1, 2024, Dr. Wade Rousse became the eighth president of McNeese State University. “Every life experience, every lesson learned along the way was preparation for this very moment,” Rousse said.
He and Angela are thrilled to be in this leadership role at McNeese, where they are blessed with the opportunity to use their skills and experiences to help change the lives of our students, and to ultimately improve the quality of life in our region.
Schedule of Events
1:00 p.m. Investiture Ceremony Begins | F.G. Bulber Auditorium
2:00–2:30 p.m. Investiture Ceremony Ends
3:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball Game | Legacy Center
Join us at the Legacy Center for men’s basketball, where the Cowboys will take on LeTourneau. Tickets can be purchased online here.
5:00 p.m. 85th Anniversary Celebration | F.G. Bulber Lawn
The community is invited to celebrate the 85th anniversary of McNeese! Come out and enjoy a beautiful evening in the historic F.G. Bulber Auditorium with live music, a beer garden, and food trucks.
5:30 p.m. The Flamethrowers | F.G. Bulber Auditorium
Places to Stay
Check out these accommodations located close to the McNeese campus: https://www.visitlakecharles.org/places-to-stay/
Driving and Parking
Driving Directions from the East
Take Interstate Highway 10 west into Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, then change to Interstate Highway 210 when approaching Lake Charles. From Interstate Highway 210, take exit 6A (Ryan Street) in Lake Charles. Turn left from the exit ramp onto Ryan Street and drive south for one mile. After you cross Sale Road, you will see the University on your left.
Driving Directions from the West
Take Interstate Highway 10 east into Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, then change to Interstate Highway 210 when approaching Lake Charles. From Interstate Highway 210, take exit 6A (Ryan Street) in Lake Charles. Turn left from the exit ramp onto College Street and drive east for 1/10 of a mile to the intersection of College Street and Ryan Street. Turn right onto Ryan Street and drive south for one mile. After you cross Sale Road, you will see the University on your left.