RUSTON — The Louisiana Tech presidential search committee will recommend Les Guice as the school's next leader to the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.

The board meeting is Tuesday in Baton Rouge.

The committee announced its decision this morning on the Tech campus.

If approved, Guice will replace Dan Reneau, who announced in September he will retire as the university's 13th president at the end of June after 26 years in the position.

Guice is executive vice president and vice president for research and development at Louisiana Tech.

The second finalist was Duane Hrncir, acting president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

The men were interviewed at Tech on Wednesday.

Guice, a Louisiana Tech alumnus, has spent the past 34 years of his career at the university in various faculty and administrative positions.

He said his vision for the future is to maintain Louisiana Tech’s status as a top national research university and one that provides an "unmatched" educational opportunity for students.

Guice said during his interview he has learned much from working alongside Reneau, and he hopes to use that experience to build on the university's history of growth and accomplishments.

“I’ve got a great passion for Louisiana Tech and a great admiration of all the things that have happened over its 118-year history," he said. "“I intend for us to be better than we've ever been before.”

Guice said his time working at Louisiana Tech in various capacities has given him experience in establishing relationships within the business and surrounding communities, helping the university work through difficult budget cuts and working collaboratively with the faculty, staff and administration.

“I believe the primary responsibility of the president is to be the one who establishes and communicates the vision of the institution and then inspires and engages the stakeholders to achieve that vision,” he said. “I can carry that forward to the president’s level.”