BATON ROUGE — First the school's top attorney, then its chief administrative officer and now potentially the provost have all left LSU, leaving many to wonder why the state's flagship university leaders are jumping ship.

Winston Decuir and Kim Lewis's resignations came unexpectedly to many on the outside, but to some, their departures have notable timing.

Though neither gave any reason for leaving, they followed the university's removal of law professor Ken Levy for remarks he made during class that were critical of Governor Jeff Landry. Levy's attorney Jill Craft noted it after news of Decuir's departure broke. 

"Boy, you know surely it seems like a non-coincidental coincidence, and I like to have faith, I like to believe that there are people who stood up and said 'you can't do this'," Craft said. 

During a hearing in Levy's suit against LSU last week, President William Tate testified he decided to remove the professor, and that he had not talked to Landry about it.

After Friday's Board of Supervisors meeting, The Investigative Unit asked Tate if he could shed any light on the recent shakeups.

"Well, people have made decisions to do other things with their lives but I can't comment on it," the university president said.

Rumors have been swirling for weeks that certain high-ranking faculty members were on their way out, including Provost Roy Haggerty. A source close to LSU confirmed Haggerty informed some faculty he's on the job hunt.

When asked if he would return to LSU next semester, Haggerty did not give a straight answer, replying in an email: "I know that there have been some leadership changes lately, and it is difficult when that happens at any institution. My focus through this change is on my responsibilities as provost and ensuring LSU continues to thrive and grow."

Tate also did not have a straight answer when asked about his own job security.

"When you're university president, you're never confident in your position, you're only confident in winning what you can win. You win what you can win and then it's over," Tate said.