BATON ROUGE (AP) — The head of policy for the state’s colleges and universities says he will not seek to renew his contract when it runs out in March 2014.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/18agehe ) Jim Purcell has been commissioner of higher education since February 2011. He made the announcement during a meeting Wednesday of the Board of Regents.

Purcell’s tenure has been characterized by a period of financial distress.

Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Legislature have stripped $700 million in state funding from public colleges and universities since 2008 to keep the state budget balanced.

Purcell has criticized the cuts, making his case to legislators that stable funding is critical to the state’s network of colleges and universities.