THIBODAUX – Lionel O. Naquin Jr., vice president for finance and administration at Nicholls State University, will retire effective Jan. 18, 2011.
“Lionel has served Nicholls for 35 years and is one of the most experienced and highly respected chief financial officers in Louisiana public higher education,” Dr. Stephen T. Hulbert, university president, said in an e-mail to faculty and staff. “While Nicholls has been undergoing a transition in executive leadership and will continue to do so over the next year and more, the loss of such a seasoned and well respected colleague is not easy to accept. After his long years of service, Lionel and his family deserve the years of retirement that lie ahead. I know that I speak for Lionel’s many campus colleagues and friends in thanking him for his financial stewardship of Nicholls over the past 35 years!”
A native of Thibodaux and an alumnus of Nicholls, Naquin graduated magna cum laude in business in 1968 and received his Master of Business Administration from Nicholls in 1972. He became a certified public accountant in 1975.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he landed a position at St. Joseph Hospital in 1968 as an accountant and later as assistant administrator. He worked for one year as assistant administrator following the institution’s shift to Thibodaux General Hospital. In 1976, Naquin joined the Nicholls staff as an auditor and became the controller in 1980. He was promoted to his current position in 1986.
“The regard with which Nicholls and Lionel Naquin are held in the financial world was again recognized this week when the university and its $17 million Callais Recreation Center project received an A- bond rating,” Hulbert said. “In light of the current financial hardship facing Louisiana, such a high rating is a remarkable testament to the university’s stability and the reputation of its financial management team.”
Naquin is married to the former Sharon Metcalf and has a son, two daughters, three stepdaughters, three grandsons, one granddaughter and seven step-grandchildren.
“Certainly my family and I will always be a part of this university,” Naquin said. “We have 13 degrees from Nicholls within my immediate family alone! I love this institution and will miss all of my colleagues and friends. We are so fortunate to have been a part of the Nicholls family.”
For additional details about Naquin’s professional and civic record, go to www.nicholls.edu/admin/naquin.html.
