Dr. Joel MacClellan, Philosophy, was appointed by Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng to the Ethics and Compliance Commission. Dr. MacClellan was selected from a pool of candidates supplied by President Xavier Cole.

The people of Jefferson Parish (population 432,000, 2nd most populous in Louisiana) voted in 2011 to establish an independent ethics commission committed to good governance. One representative is selected from each local institution: Delgado Community College, Loyola University, Tulane University, the University of New Orleans, and Xavier University. The commission investigates ethics complaints as well as appoints and oversees the Inspector General, tasked with identifying and reporting fraud, waste, and abuse in the Parish’s $966 million budget.