September 24, 2015

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UNIVERSITY PRESS

The Newspaper of Lamar University

Vol. 92, No. 3 September 24, 2015

Enrollment rises 0.5 percent University head count hits 14,966 Haley Bruyn UP staff writer Lamar University’s enrollment for Fall 2015 set an alltime record with a 0.5 percent increase from last fall’s recordbreaking figures. Enrollment is up to 14,966 compared to 14,895 from fall 2014. “Even though the absolute number of additional students

is fairly modest, we are delighted, as a university, to see the continued growth pattern,” Kevin Smith, senior associate provost, said. “We’re headed in the right direction and we have once again set a new high-mark for the university.” An inconsistency in the scheduling of a graduate-only 5-week term means that it is impossible to make a meaningful comparison between this

year’s fall semester credit hours and the same figures from last year. Credit hours are down around six percent, but this figure is not representative of Lamar’s growth. “Traditionally, credit hours follow head count, and as your head count goes up, obviously, your credit hours go up,” Smith said. “Again, we’ve set a record

See ENROLLMENT page 8

UP Lauren Van Gerven

Students walk in the Quad during a break between classes, Tuesday. Fall enrollmentis up 0.5 percent over last fall’s numbers, to 14,966 students.

Ten Years After

LU file photo

Branches from the live oaks in the Quad immediately after Hurricane Rita. The Lamar campus received approximately $50 milliion of damage.

Hurricane Rita turned campus into ‘warzone’ Grant Crawford UP sports editor Ten years ago this week, students weren’t running to class — they were running away from campus. On Sept. 23, 2005, winds began to increase in Southeast Texas, and not to the joy of local kite flyers. More than 125 mph winds gusted through the city of Beaumont and surrounding areas, signifying the landfall of Hurricane Rita. Just a day earlier, thousands of people sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic, trying to escape the everlooming Rita. Before the hurricane had reached the coast of Texas, Rita reached top wind speeds of more than 175 mph, making it a Category 5. Although it had weakened

to a Category 3 storm when it hit land, it still claimed the lives of 120 people. The damages to the campus were unimaginable, President Emeritus Jimmy Simmons, who was president of the university at the time, said. “It was like a warzone afterwards,” he said. “We had probably close to $50 million worth of damage. The roofs were gone — trees gone — windows blown out. The IT system was completely devastated. Every dorm room had water damage.” Simmons said the wind was so powerful that it blew the writing off street signs. Initially, only a few policemen stayed to protect the Lamar University campus. “Chief Dale Fontenot let everyone evacuate who had children,”

‘In 24 days we were back up…. I’m telling you, it was a miracle.’ — President Emeritus Jimmy Simmons LUPD Sergeant Carl Hollier said. “So it was a skeleton crew. “They stayed in the library until the eighth floor was destroyed. Then the fire alarm went off — making a constant noise, until they finally couldn’t take it anymore. They said it was the See RITA page 5

LU file photo

The reception center on the eighth floor of Gray Library received heavy damage from Hurricane Rita.

Thousands of miles for opportunity Holtzhausen appointed new COFAC dean Lane Fortenberry UP contributor It was time for a change. Derina Holtzhausen has experienced a lot of change in her life. From South Africa to Florida to Oklahoma and now Lamar University, the new dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication has always been open to opportunity. Holtzhausen grew up in South Africa Derina Holtzhausen, College of Fine Arts and Communication dean while the

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country was struggling with the effects of apartheid. “I studied for my Ph.D. when I was considerably older,” she said. “I developed a unique research agenda for public relations in postmodern theory and the concept of activism in that you don’t necessarily advocate for a company, but you advocate for social change and social justice. “That was greatly formed by my experience in South Africa. Practitioners had to help with the transition in government and new ways of thinking.

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Holtzhausen received a grant for international studies and attended the University of Maryland for a semester. “My professors (in Maryland) said I needed to come teach in the States because of the uniqueness of my research,” she said. Holtzhausen has a doctorate in Communication Science, a master’s in Afrikaans Literature, and degrees in Afrikaans-Dutch Literature, psychology and German at the University of Pretoria in her homeland. By the time she had fin-

ished her doctorate, her son had just finished high school in South Africa and her family was ready for a change. Holtzhausen decided to apply for a public relations professor job at the University of Florida. However, things took an unexpected turn. “One day, in the 1990s, my professor emailed me and she said there’s a position open at the University of Florida, which I think you should apply for,” she said. “So I went online and found See DEAN page 2

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