Opinion ID: 743519
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Louisiana Statutes and Case Law Peg Southern as an Arm of the State

Text: 24 Southern University is a creature of state law and is run by a Board of Supervisors established in the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. LA. CONST. art. 8, § 7 (creating the Board of Supervisors of Southern University as a bod[y] corporate); La.R.S. 17:3216 (West 1982) (stating that Southern University system is under the supervision and management of the Board of Supervisors); Moss v. Hall, 133 La. 351, 63 So. 45 (La.1913) (describing the birth of Southern under Louisiana law); see generally Mullins v. Louisiana, 387 So.2d 1151, 1152 (La.1980) (If the office is created by the legislature, or is established in the first instance by the constitution, it is a state office.). However, as we said in Delahoussaye, the fact that Southern was created under state law does not make Southern an arm of the State of Louisiana. 937 F.2d at 147 & n. 5 (comparing Tulane University, which was created by state law, yet does not enjoy Eleventh Amendment immunity because Tulane is a private institution). More is required. We have reviewed the relevant statutes and cases and conclude that under state law, Southern is an arm of the State of Louisiana. At least three characteristics of Southern's legal make-up compel this conclusion. 25 First, the Louisiana Department of Education administers the functions of Southern's Board. La. R.S. 36:642B (West 1985); Muhammed, 715 F.Supp. at 734. Second, the Louisiana Board of Regents (consisting of fifteen persons appointed by the governor with consent of the Louisiana senate) oversee Southern's Board to the extent that the Regents plan, coordinate, and have budgetary responsibility for all public higher education.... LA. CONST. art. 8, § 5(A) (West 1996). 12 Third, although Louisiana courts have held that Southern's Board is a separate and distinct legal entity from the State of Louisiana, Varnado v. Southern Univ. at New Orleans, 621 So.2d 176, 178 (La.Ct.App. 4th Cir.1993) (interpreting La. R.S. 17:1851A (West 1982)), Southern nonetheless is considered an agency of the State. See Varnado, 621 So.2d at 178; Tiensuu v. Board of Supervisors of Southern Univ. & A & M College, 385 So.2d 322, 324 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.), writ refused, 386 So.2d 356 (La.1980); see also Parker v. Breaux, 335 So.2d 488, 490, 492 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.1976) (stating that State of Louisiana is defendant in case in which employees of Southern University were found negligent). 26