NEW ORLEANS — LSU Health New Orleans has announced that Chancellor Dr. Steve Nelson is stepping down, ending nearly four decades of service to the institution. Nelson most recently led the roughly 3,000-student academic health center. He was named interim chancellor in 2021 and appointed to the role permanently in 2024.
University leaders said the change reflects a new phase for the institution. “As our university moves into a new phase shaped by evolving goals, updated structures, and new leadership priorities, we have reached a point where a change in direction is appropriate,” Jim Dalton, chancellor of LSU, and Wade Rousse, president of the LSU System, wrote in a message to faculty and staff.
They emphasized that the decision is not related to Nelson’s performance. “This decision is not a reflection of Dr. Nelson’s performance or dedication — both of which have been exemplary — but rather a recognition that the institution’s next chapter is upon us,” Dalton and Rousse wrote.
Leadership Tenure and Institutional Impact
Nelson joined the faculty in 1984 and spent nearly four decades at LSU Health New Orleans, building a career that combined clinical practice, academic scholarship and senior administrative leadership. Over that time, he rose to the rank of Professor of Medicine and the John H. Seabury Professor of Medicine and held multiple leadership roles, including Vice Chair of Research, Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine and President of the LSU Healthcare Network.
He earned his undergraduate degree with honors from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, received his medical degree from McGill University and completed his residency and fellowships at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
During his tenure, Nelson advanced efforts to secure National Cancer Institute designation for the LSU–LCMC Health Cancer Center and played a founding leadership role in the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center, a long-running collaboration with Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Tulane that supports clinical and translational research across the region.
Throughout his career, Nelson maintained significant funding from the National Institutes of Health, continued caring for critically ill patients and mentored hundreds of physicians, researchers and healthcare professionals, while helping shape healthcare policy and delivery across Louisiana.
His scholarly record includes more than $55 million in extramural research funding, more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, and contributions to multiple books and book chapters. Most recently, he oversaw the successful completion of LSU Health New Orleans’ 10-year reaccreditation review cycle, an intensive 18-month process critical to maintaining institutional standing and reputation.
“His leadership has provided continuity, credibility, and care through periods of growth, challenge, and transition, and his impact will be felt here for years to come,” Dalton and Rousse said in the written statement.
LSU Health New Orleans – Next Steps and Transition
Dalton said he will visit the LSU Health New Orleans campus on Feb. 9 to meet with leadership. He is expected to visit with faculty, staff and students afterwards. He said additional details regarding the leadership transition and next steps will be shared soon.
Dalton and Rousse also expressed gratitude for Nelson’s scholarship, mentorship and decades of service. “His contributions to LSU Health New Orleans have been significant and lasting,” they wrote, encouraging faculty, staff and students to join in thanking him for the role he played in shaping the institution.
