Southeastern student makes history as Louisiana Board of Regents board member

For the first time in its history Southeastern Louisiana University has had a student selected to serve as a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents. Maria Nechaeva of Slidell, two-term president of the Southeastern Student Government Association, has been selected to serve as a student board member.

A biological sciences major, Nechaeva will serve as the 47th student on the board, a state agency created by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution that coordinates all public higher education in Louisiana. She also recently concluded a term on the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors as a student member.

“It’s a huge honor to be elected to the Board of Regents. I’m truly thankful for the confidence placed in me and excited to get to work on representing student voices across the state,” Nechaeva said. “I am looking forward to being part of such an important time for higher education.”

Nechaeva is a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority, where she serves as director of structured recruitment and is the vice president of growth. Before becoming SGA president, she served as the director of Traditions, through which she planned Homecoming, The Big Event, and the back-to-school bonfire.

“I have every confidence that Maria will do a wonderful job as the student voice on the Louisiana Board of Regents,” said Southeastern President William S. Wainwright. “She has done a remarkable job engaging our student body as Southeastern’s SGA President, and she embodies our core values of excellence and caring in every aspect of her leadership role.”

The Louisiana Board of Regents coordinates the efforts of the state’s 32 public colleges, universities, and professional schools. Its constitutional and statutory responsibilities include strategic master planning, budgeting and performance funding, program approval and termination, and the allocation of the Regents Support Fund.