The 6-month long search for a new President for LSU continues and a consultant reports that it is "going well."

William Funk, president of Funk & Associates, says there is a good-sized pool of candidates that is diverse in ethnicity, gender and geographic location.

He says the job is attractive to candidates because it will combine both System president and LSU chancellor duties.

When the search was launched last November, Funk said the LSU board’s decision to combine the positons had made Baton Rouge a more attractive destination.

The effort to identify candidates is being conducted largely in secret because Funk says the university is pursuing candidates who are not actively looking for a new job and would likely withdraw if there were to be any indication they were pursing an opportunity elsewhere.

When the LSU search committee was created, the general counsel of the LSU Board urged panel members to avoid any written or electronic communications that could identify any candidate by name or description.

LSU has been without a president since last April when the board fired John Lombardi and former Baton Rouge chancellor Michael Martin left LSU last August to become the head of the Colorado State University System.

Former LSU System President and Baton Rouge Chancellor William Jenkins is filling both vacancies temporarily.