BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday announced new appointments to the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, the Board of Regents and the State Police Commission.

Robert L. "Skeeter" Salim was named to the Board of Supervisors, Khader Samer F. Shamieh was named to the Board of Regents and James M. Kowalski was named to the State Police Commission.

“Skeeter, Samer, and Jim provide a unique background and skill set that will be incredibly useful to each of the boards they will serve. I’m looking forward to the leadership they will provide as we continue our mission to reform our education system and make our communities safer for all,” Landry said.

Salim practiced personal injury, product liability and mass torts at his namesake firm before joining Barrett Beasley to form Salim-Beasley, LLC. Salim has represented attorney generals from California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Hawaii, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois and New Mexico in various consumer fraud case, as well as working to litigate against pharmaceutical giants.

Shamieh is a minimally invasive spine surgeon and is currently the appointed legislative chairman for the Louisiana Orthopedic Association and serves as chairman of the board and chief medical officer of AVALA Hospital in Covington.

Kowalski is a retired Lieutenant General in the Air Force who, in January 2009, led the organization and activation of the Air Force’s first new major command in 27 years and subsequently served as the second Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.

After his military service, Kowalski was a vice president of the Northrop Grumman Corporation, which sold various defense systems to the military. In 2023, he retired from Northrop Grumman and now advises on management and defense issues.