Dr. Nick Bruno surprised ULM students and faculty when he announced his plan to retire on Jan. 14.  Until a new president is chosen, he has agreed to keep his position through June 30.

However, Bruno’s decision to retire was not made in the spur of the moment even though it appears that way.

“It was not like I woke up one morning and said ‘Oh, I’m gone.’ I had planned it for a while,” Bruno said.

Throughout his presidency, ULM has undergone many transformations like the addition of the upcoming medical school, VCOM, which Bruno said he believes to be one of his greatest acomplishments. 

“I wanted to make sure that I saw the medical school open,” Bruno said. “Then, anytime time after that I was ready to go.”

Although Bruno was ready for retirement, he said retiring was like “leaving an adolescent child behind.”

The university has reached new levels of success under the leadership of Bruno with achievements like ULM Online being ranked as the number one online program in the nation.

Bruno became ULM’s eighth president on Nov. 8, 2010 meaning he has served the university for a decade. Before becoming president, he was the UL System’s vice president of business affairs. During his time there, he managed business, financial and facility operations.

Pick up next week’s copy of the Hawkeye or check out our website for a closer look into Bruno’s presidency.