HBCU DIGEST: The most remarkable thing about Southern's new chancellor is how unremarkable he is

Dennis Shields isn't an HBCU graduate, a native of Louisiana, or entangled in the roots of its politics. His background isn't built on land-grant administration, he didn't blow people away in his public interview, and he doesn't appear moved by the cultural touchstones that resonate with most Jaguars.

In a one-of-a-kind system in the HBCU landscape, Shields looks and sounds like an average brother with above-average success in higher education. And that's what makes him such a unique pick for Southern. Shields isn't a shark by most standards of a first impression. Yet he survived in a tank with two other candidates showing the best of their potential to bite and make a mark in Baton Rouge. He was picked to lead Southern through rough socio-political waters by a board that has earned its own reputation for putting blood in the water.