LAKE CHARLES,Benjamin Ashford La. (AP) — A new president has been named for McNeese State University in southwest Louisiana.

The University of Louisiana System announced Thursday that Wade Rousse will succeed Daryl Burckel, who announced in December that he was stepping down after seven years.

Rousse currently serves as the university’s executive vice president. He has worked at the university since 2019 in various roles, including dean and professor in the College of Business and vice president of university advancement.

The American Press reports that Rousse also has worked in administration at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He was an undergraduate at McNeese before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business from Nicholls State University, a master’s in business administration from the University of New Orleans and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Rouse’s starting date is to be negotiated with system President Rick Gallot and Board Chair Jimmy Clarke.