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STATE OF LOUISIANA <br /> pF <br /> w oN STJGS DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE <br /> ,S <br /> LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS <br /> " P.0.BOX 4368 <br /> * - ' BATON ROUGE,LA 70821 <br /> CONrioeN�� (225)219-5600 <br /> FAX:(225)381-7271 <br /> 1-800-842-6630 <br /> www.ethics.1a.gov <br /> November 12, 2025 <br /> Jay Clune, PhD <br /> President,Nicholls State University <br /> P.O. Box 2001 <br /> Thibodaux, Louisiana 70310 <br /> Re: Docket No. 2025-479 <br /> Disqualification Plan <br /> Dear President Clune: <br /> The Louisiana Board of Ethics ("Board"), at its meeting on November 7, 2025, considered your <br /> request for an advisory opinion on behalf of Nicholls State University ("University") and request <br /> to approve the disqualification plan under the Code of Governmental Ethics ("Code") for Dr. <br /> Quenton Fontenot, the Director of Office Research and Sponsored Programs and his spouse Dr. <br /> Allyse Ferrara. <br /> FACTS PROVIDED <br /> Dr. Quenton Fontenot currently serves as the Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored <br /> Programs, within the Department of Biological Sciences a position he assumed on July 1, 2024. <br /> His spouse, Dr. Allyse Ferrara, has served as a faculty member in the Department of Biological <br /> Sciences since January 2002. <br /> PROPOSED DISQUALIFICATION PLAN <br /> r Lacey Hoffpauir Crochet, MBA, Chief Innovation Officer overseeing the Offices <br /> of Advancement, Alumni, Research & Sponsored Programs, and Economic <br /> Development & Innovation, and Dr. Fontenot's direct supervisor, will serve as the <br /> initiator and/or first-line approver for all transactions and decisions involving either <br /> Dr. Fontenot or Dr. Ferrara. <br /> • Dr. Quenton Fontenot will be fully disqualified from participating in the following <br /> matters involving either himself or Dr. Allyse Ferrara: <br /> o Approval of any and all grant or contract documents where either individual <br /> is listed as a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Principal Investigator (Co- <br /> PI); <br /> Page 1 of 3 (BD 2025-479) <br /> AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />