Since it was established in 1990, LSU's Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) has been marked by staggering mismanagement. While it was offered to LSU faculty as an appealing alternative to the traditional pension system, the subsequent years have demonstrated that LSU and the state are woefully derelict in their fiduciary responsibilities with regard to the financial futures of the educators they employ. LSU's contributions to ORP accounts continue to shrink, harming the retirement prospects of current faculty, as well as the university's ability to recruit and retain talented scholars and teachers. In addition to playing dangerous games with the futures of faculty, LSU's mismanagement of the ORP brings it conspicuously out of step with prevailign retirement contributions at peer institutions.

In response to these dire circumstances, LSU Professors Kevin Cope and Roger Lane have filed a lawsuit against the LSU Board of Supervisors, the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL), and the state-appointed manager of retirement accounts and services  in order to hold these parties accountable for their disastrous handling of many of our colleagues' retirement. The members of LSUnited, an advocacy group for and led by faculty and graduat students, have chosen to lend financial support for this important endeavor. LSUnited has already committed to contributing $2,000 to this legal effort, the expenses for which Drs. Cope and Lane are currently shouldering themselves. The current attorney's bill is $8,000 and counting.

Any contribution you can make will go a long way in helping the myriad problems associated with the ORP see the light of day and, ultimately, ensuring that LSU follows through on its promises and responsibilities to its employees.