Dr. Nicholas Named Senior Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. Kedrick Nicholas has been named senior vice president of student affairs at McNeese State University. His appointment was approved at the June meeting of the University of Louisiana System (ULS) Board of Supervisors.  

“Dr. Nicholas is a vital part of the McNeese community and his experience and innovative thinking are catalysts for momentum on our executive leadership team,” said Dr. Wade Rousse, president of McNeese. “I am confident that his leadership skills and student affairs acumen will help us achieve our university goal of stabilizing enrollment.” 

Nicholas received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from McNeese and his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has been a member of the McNeese employee community for 18 years. 

As his career progressed, he witnessed the university grow and evolve and experienced the good times and the challenges. 

“The path forward for McNeese requires innovative leaders who understand how to adapt to the changing dynamics of higher education. It is my pleasure to join Dr. Rousse as we strive to make McNeese a hallmark of higher education,” Nicholas said.  

As senior vice president of student affairs, Nicholas will be overseeing and providing vision for all aspects of the student affairs at McNeese.  

“The initial goals are to establish cohesion, to increase resource allocation efficiency and to effectively meet the student body’s holistic needs,” he said. 

As the senior vice president, Nicholas will work closely with Rousse on broad conceptual efforts on campus, university-wide budget management, partnerships with external entities and relationships with governing authorities on the system and state levels. 

At McNeese, Nicholas was recently the dean of student affairs. He also served as dean of students, associate dean of students, director of campus life, engagement and student retention, assistant dean of student services, coordinator of student activities and a verification officer in the financial aid office. During the 2023-2024 academic year, he guided an institutional transition at the University of New Orleans as a special assignment from ULS. 

Nicholas was recently awarded the Dan Seymour Award for Outstanding Commitment to Student Affairs by the Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (LACUSPA). Nicholas is a past recipient of the LACUSPA Mid-Manager of the Year Award.  

He also received the ULS James Caillier Innovation and Inclusion Award for spearheading the ULS Black Male Summit, an event that fosters community building and networking to exchange strategies focused on success and opportunities for Black male faculty, staff and students. The fourth annual Black Male Summit took place in New Orleans last month.  

“I do not take this opportunity lightly. My goal is to make an impact and leave a legacy that positively affects generations to come,” he said.