Nicholls State University is making administrative changes that include starting a national search for a new provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Lynn Gillette will move from his position as provost and vice president for academic affairs to become special assistant to new Nicholls President Jay Clune. Sue Westbrook, dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health, has been named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“Gillette's leadership brought innovative change to increase student retention and improve teaching and advising practices. I look forward to working closely with him to continue that positive momentum moving forward,” Clune said in a news release.

Clune called Westbrook "a well-respected leader who oversees some of our largest and most successful programs. Under her watch, our nursing graduates regularly pass the national licensure exam at rates greater than both the national and state average and have a 100 percent employment rate after graduation.”

A Nicholls alum, Westbrook was named dean in 2004 after working as a nurse and an instructor at Nicholls. She was named one of The Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana in 2016.

Clune, who served as the interim dean for the University of West Florida’s graduate school, assumed his new position Jan. 1. He is the first Nicholls graduate to become president, replacing Bruce Murphy.