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Fall 2013, Volume 89, Number 3
President and Chancellor
F. King Alexander
From the
President/Chancellor LSU - Quality Grads with Superb Earning Potential It has been a real pleasure for me and my family to join the LSU community. Sampling the food and experiencing the Louisiana culture has been fun, and nothing compares to the more than 5,400 freshmen who converged on the campus with their wealth of enthusiasm and aspirations. Moving through Louisiana, I have learned a lot about what LSU means to every citizen of this state. But, I have learned that our alumni and supporters do not quite know what a great value LSU is when compared to other top universities nationwide. The recurring news nationally seems to focus entirely on the high price of college, which is generally based on the price tags of private, elite universities or public universities that have privatized themselves beyond their state commitments. As someone who has studied these issues and cost trends nationally for more than twenty years, I can assure you that LSU offers one of the most affordable flagship university degrees in the nation. This fact is evidenced by very low student indebtedness and excellent starting and mid-career earning potential measured annually. This is quite an accomplishment in this day and age, when state support for public universities is shrinking dramatically and student debt has surpassed credit card debt for the first time in this country’s history. In other words, LSU alumni should be proud that their alma mater is not the cause of the college cost crisis but is at the heart of national discourse regarding the value of college today. LSU’s tuition and fees for the upcoming year will total $7,829, which is 21 percent below our Southern peers. It’s also lower than the national average, which is expected to exceed $9,000 this year. On top of low tuition, LSU provides financial aid to students, mostly through the Pelican Promise program, but also through scholarships and hardship waivers. And virtually all Louisiana residents admitted to LSU qualify for the state’s merit-based aid program, TOPS. There are also a number of federal programs and tax credits available, including Pell Grants and the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This means that LSU students typically graduate with less debt than students from other universities. I found that LSU is 34th in the country among all public research universities for midcareer earnings of graduates. That’s well above many prestigious public and private universities. So our students pay lower tuition than most, have more opportunities for student aid, graduate with less debt and have higher starting and mid-career earnings than most of our peer institutions. All this makes the rate of return for LSU graduates among the best in the nation. The most impressive part of all this is that LSU has not sacrificed quality. We continue to produce top national scholars, such as Goldwater, Truman, Udall, and Rhodes scholars. In fact, the nation’s leading producer of Truman student scholars last year was LSU. Thus, I have no doubt that our alumni will continue to be in high demand with employers around the world. Some universities are proud of their high price tags because many will pay those rates. More than 100 universities in the U.S. charge $50,000 or more per year. But I’m proud that LSU produces quality graduates with superb earning potential who can graduate without substantive debt, and you should be, too. Looking forward to meeting many of you soon. Sincerely,
F. King Alexander LSU President and Chancellor LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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Publisher Charlie W. Roberts
Contents
Editor Jackie Bartkiewicz Advertising James Fisher Art Director Chuck Sanchez STUN Design & Interactive
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Features
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20 President and Chancellor F. King Alexander F. King Alexander comes to LSU in the newly created position of president and chancellor ready to put into practice here some of the successful strategies that he has employed in other university systems. He plans to meet the challenges of bringing together all of the groups that make up the LSU System by building a stronger network among these entities and in five years, to see the system reap the benefits of this reconciliation among the campuses through better funding and more collaboration. He intends to have the system as a whole, and the flagship in particular, back “on the offensive,” challenging peer institutions across the U.S. and competing for the best and the brightest in all areas.
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24 University College Celebrates 80 Years For the past 80 years, students have come to know LSU’s University College under many names: Lower Division, General College, Freshman College, Junior Division, and University College. No matter the name, University College’s mission has remained the same – to serve as the entry point for students by providing academic advising and support services that assist first-year and some continuing students in defining their educational goals, pursuing admission to a senior college, and ultimately earning a degree.
In Each Issue 1
From the President/Chancellor
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President’s Message
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LSU Alumni Association News
30 Around Campus 38 Focus on Faculty 40 Locker Room 44 Tiger Nation
Cover photo by Jim Zietz. Design by STUN Design.
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Editorial Assistants Patti Garner; Hannah McLain, Brenda Macon, Copy Editor Contributors Barry Cowan, Jacqueline Craddock, Rachel L. Emanuel, Damian Foley, Bud Johnson, Charlotte Kelley, Danielle Kelley, Brenda Macon, Norm Marcocci, Judson Moore, Gil Rew, Jayna Rowden Photography Steve Franz, Johnny Gordon, Jolesch Photography, Larry Hubbard, Tom Hughes, , Paula Ouder, Eddy Perez, Julie Rew, Gilbert Stone, Rory White, Jim Zietz Printing Baton Rouge Printing Editorial and Advertising Office LSU Alumni Association 3838 West Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686 225-578-3838 • 888-RINGLSU www.lsualumni.org / e-mail: jackie@lsualumni.org LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE is published quarterly in March, June, September and December by the LSU Alumni Association. A contribution of $50 or more for an annual subscription includes membership in the Alumni Association. Letters to the editor are encouraged. Please write to the address listed above. LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE reserves the right to edit all material accepted for publication. Publication of material does not indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by the magazine, the LSUAA or LSU. © 2013 by LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE, 3838 West Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686 The mission of the LSU Alumni Association is to protect, promote, and foster the welfare of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College and to create and nurture mutually beneficial relationships between the University and its alumni and friends. The Association, using the talents and resources of alumni and friends of Louisiana State University, supports the University in pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and public service to future and current alumni. NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jack Andonie Chair, Metairie, La. Gil Rew Chair-Elect, Mansfield, La. Michael H. Woods Past Chair, Shreveport, La. Scott L. Anderson, Monroe, La. Ted A Martin, Baton Rouge, La. Mary Lou Applewhite, New Orleans, La. Louis R. Minksy, Baton Rouge, La. Jon D. “Jay” Babb, Baton Rouge, La. Richard C. “Ricky” Oustalet, Jennings, La. Gil Rew, Mansfield, La. J. Hals Benhard, Palmetto, La. Beverly Shea, New Iberia, La. C. A. “Buddy” Brice III, Biloxi, Miss. John T. Shelton, Jr., Houston, Texas Guy Campbell III, Monroe, La. Carl J. Streva, Morgan City, La. Gregg Cordaro, Baton Rouge, La. Susan K. Whitelaw, Shreveport, La. Theresa M. Gallion, Tampa, Fla. Lodwrick M. Cook, Director Emeritus Ronald M. Johnson, Baton Rouge, La. Sherman Oaks, Calif. Jan K. Liuzza, Kenner, La.
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President/CEO’s
MESSAGE
Working Together for One LSU We welcome Dr. F. King Alexander as President and Chancellor of Louisiana State University. He arrived on campus in July and has been actively engaged with all segments of this great university – from Shreveport to New Orleans, from Baton Rouge to Alexandria and Eunice, and all points in between. His efforts are directed toward reorganizing and restructuring the LSU System into One LSU. With this focus, there are exciting times ahead for LSU. At its August meeting, following a discussion with President Alexander, the Association’s National Board of Directors doubled the number and amount of various awards for faculty and also created ten research awards, valued at $5,000 each, for assistant professors. The first of these, intended to assist young faculty at the start of their academic careers in research, will be awarded this fall. At the encouragement of President Alexander, we have been meeting with the LSU Shreveport alumni officials to explore ways that our two groups can work together toward One LSU and to share with and benefit from various programs on each campus. LSU Shreveport Chancellor Paul Sisson and Director of Alumni Services Dianne Howell have been most cooperative in this endeavor, and numerous positive actions are being developed. Summer chapter activities focused on three outstanding groups. The DeSoto Parish Chapter, under the leadership of Dr. Gil Rew, held a hugely successful golf tournament and awards banquet at Toledo Bend Resort. Then Gary and Sarah Haynes led the way for an exciting golf tournament and delicious fish fry for the Webster-Claiborne Chapter, which featured keynote speakers former Director of Athletics and Head Baseball Coach Skip Bertman and Tiger Athletic Foundation CEO Gen. Ron Richard. Finally, the Caddo-Bossier Chapter, under the leadership of Ann and Larry Higdon, attracted a standing-room only crowd for repeat presentations by Bertman and Richard. And now we are in our “fifth season” – football! The LSU Alumni Association and Tiger Athletic Foundation have joined together for the Traveling Tigers trips to away games, as well as for the Pre-Game Tailgate Party at the Maravich Assembly Center. We hope you’ll join us for the activities. Finally, in May, we lost a great man, a great staff member, and a great friend – Larry Jones. We miss seeing him at his desk, diligently writing notes and making calls. He was a Tiger! Many, if not all of you, have remained faithful to his call, and we thank you. To attempt to do what Larry did, seven staff members are contacting “his people.” It’s an outstanding effort, and I salute them for their caring and diligence. The Association exists because of YOU – our alumni and friends or former students and friends. You have “kept us in the ball game” with your continued strong support, and with that support we will keep our university “in the game.” Thank you for always being there.
Forever LSU!
Charlie W. Roberts President/CEO
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LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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Golden Tigers Celebrate
LSU Alumni Association
news
Class of ’63 Gathers for 50th Reunion Photos by Johnny Gordon
Pi Kappa Alpha brothers Tommy Rankin, Pat Blackman, Tom Stephens, Al Hodapp, Cleve Fair, and Cary Owen. The 2013 Golden Tigers.
Members of the Class of 1963 returned to campus on May 15-16 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation at the Golden Tigers Reunion. The two-day annual reunion honors graduates of 50 years or more.
Tom C. Lofton, Jane Sims Dendy, Martha Gillespie Ferguson, and Tom Bowen.
Following registration and a tour of campus on Wednesday, guests were treated to ice cream, lemonade, and cookies and had an opportunity to take advantage of a special sale at the Shelton Gift Shop. During the evening banquet, members of the Class of ’63 received their Golden Tiger Medallions, and following brunch on Thursday, the honorees donned gold caps and gowns to participate in spring commencement. Those receiving 50-year medals were Diane Hebert Bergeron, Hilda Levy Bourg, Patty Guay Bradford, Patricia Byrd, Charnia Cheatwood, Richard Cullerton, Troy Duplessis, Jr., Cleve Fair, Bonnie Babin Gautreau, Doug Gonzales, William C. Hinkel, Jr., L.R. “Pug” Lorren, Frances Hochenedel Monroe, John Monroe, Cary Owen, Richard Smith, DeWitt Sumners, Brent Tregre, David Treybig, Guy Vicar, Yvette Bergeron Winston, and Sue Hodgeson York. Sharing the limelight with the Class of 1963 “youngsters” was the oldest Tiger in attendance, John Greene, of Monroe, La. Greene, who earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1941, celebrated his 100th birthday on May 5. He was unable to attend the “Golden Oldie” reunion – for Tigers 90 and older – in 2012 and was presented his Golden Tiger Pin, a Golden Tiger Medallion, a certificate, and a purple sash emblazoned with “LSU” to wear with his gold cap and gown at spring commencement. Also receiving special recognition was Henrietta Culpepper Harris, of Mobile, Ala., a 1951 business graduate, who was attending her 13th Golden Tiger Reunion.
Bill Harris, Henrietta Culpepper Harris, and Charnia Cheatwood.
ON THE WEB www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_o_vPSjms
Yvette Bergeron Winston, Roy Winston, Glynn P. Gautreau, and Bonnie Babin Gautreau.
Golden Tiger John D. Greene and his niece, Cheryl Greene.
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Seated, Pat Adams and T. Edward Spillman; standing, Pat Blackman, Rodney Adams, Jacqueline Gromatzky Blackman, Gary Owen, Rosie Hodapp, and Al Hodapp.
Mary Ello Thomas, Irwin Thomas, LSU Alumni Association Executive Vice President Cliff Vannoy, Rosemarie Pecoraro, and Association National Board of Directors member Carl Streva.
Gwendolyn Himel Hinkel and William C. Hinkel.
A final wave before boarding the bus for commencement.
In Purple and Gold – “Thank you for arranging for my gold cap and gown so I could be part of the graduation ceremony with my grandson Andrew Touchstone,” writes Evelyn Humphreys Quinn (1956 BACH HS&E). “Sharing this event is something we will always remember. I graduated from LSU in 1956. Three of my daughters, one being his mother, graduated in the 1980s. Two grandsons have graduated from LSU, and two grandchildren are attending now. More will be coming.” Touchstone (2013 BACH BUS) graduated cum laude.
Andrew Touchstone and Evelyn Quinn.
The Class of 1963 at the Golden Tiger Reunion.
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LSU Alumni Association News
Snapshots Independence Day – More than 200 retired LSU faculty and staff celebrated the Fourth of July at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on July 1. Those attending the 2013 Independence Day Celebration played bingo after lunch and many walked away with some of the dozens of door prizes. Taking top honors for most festive apparel were Daniel Fontenot and Susan Severance. Photos by Johnny Gordon and Larry Hubbard
Singing the national anthem kicks off the festivities.
Margie Whitehead, Dorothy Howell, LSU Alumni Association President Charlie Roberts, and Lucile and Charles Martin.
Richard Norem, Victor Klimash, Wallace and Elaine McKenzie, and President Charlie Roberts.
Best Dressed winner Daniel Fontenot.
Best Dressed winner Susan Severance.
LSU Alumni Association and The Cook Hotel staffers gather for a photo op. Dot DeBosier and C.J. Naquin.
New Bricks on Tiger Walk – Over the summer, the tiles on the Lod Cook Alumni Center patio, many of which were in disrepair, were removed and replaced with bricks emblazoned with names, dates, and logos matching the tiles initially purchased by alumni and friends. “Many of the 20-year-old tiles were cracked and faded, and the foundation was weak,” said project director Thom Fronek, who added that the newly etched bricks can be found in the same sections Project director Thom Fronek double-checks names on Tiger Walk tiles, which are being replaced with bricks. as the original tiles. For information on the project or to purchase a brick in your name or in memory of a loved one, contact Fronek at 225-578-3856 or thom@lsualumni.org.
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MOAA at the Andonie – The Louisiana Council of Chapters/ Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) held its 2nd triannual meeting at The Cook Hotel and Conference Center on May 18. The general meeting was followed by a tour of the Andonie Sports Museum led by museum director Bud Johnson. Interim President and Chancellor William L. Jenkins, keynote speaker at the dinner, was recognized by the group for his unwavering support of the LSU Corps of Cadets and Cadets of the Ole War Skule. Photo by Johnny Gordon
From left, front row, Jerry Juneau, Ray Fonti, Brooks Adams, Lessie Griffith, and Robert Griffith; back row, Bob Douville, Ted Grant, Buddy Guidry, Bud Johnson, Reggie Brown, and Mark Corda.
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LSU Alumni Association News
Rings – Old and New! More LSU Rings – During the
LSU Alumni Association Vice President Cliff Vannoy and Mamie Barbera.
Robert Eakin and Vice President Cliff Vannoy.
Vice President Cliff Vannoy with Dave and Mona DeFelice.
Annette Ballard, Heather Bernard, LSU Alumni Association President Charlie Roberts.
spring and early summer, several more LSU Rings were donated to the LSU Alumni Association for the permanent ring collection. Mamie Barbera, of Thibodaux, La., presented the ring worn by her late husband, Sam C. Barbera (1940 BACH H&SS), and Robert E. Eakin (1961 BACH ENGR), of Traveler’s Rest, S.C., donated his 1961 ring. Dave J. DeFelice, Jr., dropped off his father’s ring for the collection. The senior DeFelice earned two degrees from LSU – in 1938 and 1952 – both in agriculture. Annette St. Dizier Ballard, of Lake Charles, La., donated her father’s ring: Albert Joseph St. Dizier earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1931 and a master’s in agriculture in 1942. Todd Schexnayder (1981 BACH H&SS) donated his ring, and Susan Pfeffer Latham and her brother, Phil Pfeffer, gave the ring belonging to their father, Philip E. Pfeffer (1931 BACH H&SS). Pfeffer’s granddaughter and great-granddaughter, Emily Latham Aucoin and Grace, presented the ring. Photos by Johnny Gordon and Larry Hubbard
Todd Schexnayder and President Charlie Roberts.
President Charlie Roberts with Emily Latham Aucoin and her daughter, Grace.
Spring 2013 LSU Ring recipients.
Spring Ring Day – Two hundred and ten soon-to-be LSU alumni gathered at the Union Theater on April 21 to receive their LSU Rings, symbols of a successful college career and a cherished common link with Tigers worldwide. Prior to the ceremony, the rings spent the night in Mike the Tiger’s habitat, a new tradition started in the fall of 2012. LSU alumnus Chad Sabadie, a former WBRZ-TV sports reporter, was Master of Ceremonies, and Interim System President and Chancellor William Jenkins and LSU Alumni Association Executive Vice President Cliff Vannoy addressed the students. The Ring Ceremony is co-sponsored by the offices of Student Life & Enrollment and Finance & Administrative Services along with the Association. Visit www.youtube. com/watch?v=wCdEnPCZYec Grads-to-be receive their LSU Rings from Mike.
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Photos by Jolesch Photography
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LSU Alumni Association News
Chapter Events A First for the New President and Chancellor – Braving cold, windy
Alumni staffers, from left, President Charlie Roberts, Jamie Berthelot, Lauren Regner, and Executive Vice President Cliff Vannoy.
LSU President and Chancellor-elect F. King Alexander at the SoCal crawfish boil.
Chrystal Musgrove, Derek Ponamsky, Laura Parr, Kathleen Garrison, Jim Parr, and Shea Dixon.
Juan Carrillo, Kari Walters, and Nancy and Bobby Doxey.
Mary Manhein, Riley Stewart, and Sharon Smith.
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weather, Tiger faithful in Southern California turned out to enjoy crawfish with all the trimmings at the SoCal Chapter’s Annual Crawfish Boil. LSU President and Chancellor-elect King Alexander and his wife, Shenette, were special guests at the event, held at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach on May 5. In his first appearance at an alumni event, Alexander made brief remarks and visited with alums at the gathering.
Gail Gaiennie, Wayne Leader, Sharon Pol, and Laura Deavers.
Greater Baton Rouge – Local Tigers, whose meetings take advantage of the myriad opportunities available at LSU, dabbled in fashion, forensics, info technology, and softball (along with a crawfish boil) this past year. The group visited the School of Human Ecology to hear Lisa McRoberts, assistant professor Lisa McRoberts, Jack and Judy Burk, Diane and of textile science, apparel design, and Wayne Leader, June Guillory, and Jane Baudry. merchandising, talk about using alligators in fashion; visited with forensic anthropologist Mary Manhein, who spoke about her book Floating Souls; toured the Business Education Complex; heard a football update from Derek Ponamsky and Shea Dixon and were treated to a style show of fashions available from the Shelton Gift Shop at The Cook Hotel; and toured the softball facilities and enjoyed a crawfish boil before the LSU vs. Missouri game.
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LSU Alumni Association News
Chapter Events
Panhandle Bayou Bengal Tigers gather at Shoreline Park Gulf Breeze for the annual crawfish boil.
John Spurny, Panhandle Bayou Bengals Chapter president, left, with special guest Michael Papajohn, and Larry Scheetz, president-elect.
Panhandle Boil Sets Records –
A young guest draws the name of a prize winner with, from left, Jason Ponti, vice president-elect, Michael and Sean Papajohn, and Larry Scheetz, president-elect.
With the sound of Cajun, Zydeco and LSU music playing in the background, a record 250 alumni and friends feasted on 1,400 pounds of crawdads and all the trimmings at the Panhandle Bayou Bengal Chapter’s annual crawfish boil held on April 20 at Shoreline Park Gulf Breeze. Rounding out the menu Chapter member Ted Mansfield’s catering rig. were boiled pineapple and pork roast, andouille, boudin, and hotdogs. Special guests at the event were actor and stuntman Michael Papajohn and his family. “We set a few records – the largest attendance ever and the most sponsorships and funds raised for scholarships,” writes John Spurny, chapter president. Funds were raised through raffles, drawings, and a silent auction.
Grand Ole Tigers –Members of the Atlanta Grand Ole Tigers met for their annual luncheon in July at the Brio restaurant. “This seems to be ‘our place’ for these gatherings – they love the Tigers,” writes Sarah Clayton. Special guests at the event were Mary Feduccia, director of LSU Career Services, who talked about the new Olinde Career Center, and Krista Allen Love, associate director of the E.J. Ourso College of Business Office of Advancement.
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Liberty Mutual
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Tureaud Chapter Hosts Reunion Publicity Launch Party
LSU Alumni Association News
By Rachel L. Emanuel
Carolyn Collins welcomed members of the executive planning committee, officers and board members, and alumni supporters to her home on May 29 for the 2013 Reunion Publicity Launch Party for the A.P. Tureaud, Sr., Black Alumni Chapter.
Those in attendance were greeted by President Brandon Smith and Presidentelect Rachel L. Emanuel, reunion cochairs. Smith and Emanuel discussed plans for the two-day chapter reunion celebration set for Sept. 6-7, which includes the first reunion of the LSU Gospel Choir. Everet Parker, recently retired director of the choir, discussed the choir’s history and its upcoming feature performance in the reunion’s Friday opening musical production, Here’s To You, Mr. Tureaud. Through musical, dance, and oratorical performances, the event will walk the audience through Melody Robinson introduced the 2013 A. P. Tureaud, Sr., Black Alumni Chapter Reunion website and LSU and Louisiana history, identifying demonstrated on-line registration for the Sept. 6-7 event at a publicity launch party. those who had an impact on creating and enhancing African-American life on campus and forever shaping diversity at LSU. The production, which is open to the public, will kick off the reunion celebration on Sept. 6 at the Manship Theatre. It is directed by Femi Euba and Mari Kornhauser and written by Emanuel, Faye Hinton, Jacquee Minor, and Ayan Rubin. Featured presenters will include former coach Ron Abernathy, Dr. Derrick Brooks, 2012 LSU Alumnus of the Year John S. Butler, former state Sen. Donald Cravins, Jr., Maxine Crump, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, Daniel Druilhet, Jim Engster, LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences Dean Gaines Foster, Mario Garner, Yosheka GastonGreen, Gail Grover, Chris Hebert, Kyla D. Pitcher, Collis Temple, James Williams, and Sevetri Wilson. Melody Robinson, chapter webmaster, introduced the reunion website and demonstrated on-line registration for the event. Kim Hunter Reed, reunion outreach committee chair, and Bridgett Brister, reunion registration committee chair, provided information on other reunion events and began the registration process. Other members of the planning committee in attendance were Gresdna Doty, Kenyatta Esters, Leo Hamilton, Carolyn Hargrave, John Horton, Judge Luke Lavergne, Jada Lewis, Laura Lindsay, Mary Scott, A.P. Tureaud Jr., Cliff Vannoy, Chante Warren, and Sylvia Weatherspoon. Alumni and supporters in attendance were Brooks, Druilhet, Crump, Breana Harris, Felicia Harry, Chris Hebert, Faye Hinton, Joyce Jackson, Ronette King, Ernest LeBlanc, Jeannie Luckett, Nicole Moliere, and Gwen Snearl. Honorary co-chairpersons of the event celebrating the Tureaud legacy are Cissy Marshall, wife of the late Thurgood Marshall; Mayor Kip Holden; and National Urban League President Marc Morial. Reunion sponsors to date are the LSU Alumni Association, Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society, Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana; and individuals Fernin Eaton, Hamilton, Allen Lee, Ayan and Mike Rubin, Scott, Tureaud, Jr., and Kenneth West.
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ON THE WEB www.lsublackalumni.com
St. Louis Alums Enjoy Mudbug Madness On May 18, 255 St. Louis-area LSU alumni, friends, and supporters attended the St. Louis Chapter’s 26th annual crawfish boil at the Logan College of Chiropractic Pavilion in Chesterfield, Mo. There was plenty of food for everyone to enjoy, including nearly 1.000 pounds of crawfish, as well as corn, onions, potatoes, garlic, hot dogs, andouille, chicken fingers, red beans and rice, and LSU-themed cupcakes. The event featured music by Social Distraction and raised $1,800 toward establishing a scholarship fund for a St. LSU alumnus and crawfish boil chair, Brent Beckman, Louis-area high school graduate who plans takes a rare break to pose with his wife, alumna to attend LSU. Special guests at the boil Jayna Rowden. were LSU Alumni Association staffers Jason Ramezan, James Fisher, and Tracy Jones, who also made time to take in a Cardinals game. “Due to the organization of the LSU Crawfish Boil committee, the event went very smoothly” said Brent Beckman, committee chair. “We’re already looking forward to the 2014 crawfish boil.” In addition to the annual mudbug fest, chapter members gather for football view-ins, and travel to see the Tigers play in person. During the spring, the chapter organized a road trip to Columbia, Mo., to watch the baseball team play the University of Missouri. For more information on St. Louis Chapter events throughout the year, contact Beckman at lsucrawfishboilstl@gmail.com.
By Jayna Rowden Photos by Tom Hughes
LSU alum Scott Cusimano, center, his son and future LSU Tiger, Nico Cusimano, and LSU alumnus Steph French have fun cooking and delivering crawfish.
St. Louis alums at Logan Pavilion .
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LSU Alumni Association News
By Gil Rew Photos by Julie Rew
LSU Alumni Association Vice President Cliff Vannoy, center, with DeSoto Chapter Purple & Gold Award winners Scott Gurley, left, and Ricky Weeks.
Golf Classic, Awards Banquet Top DeSoto Chapter Calendar The DeSoto Parish Chapter hosted the 12th Dr. Don Taylor Golf Classic at Cypress Bend Golf Resort on July 12-13, with 50 four-person teams competing in the scramble. Following the Early Bird Tournament on Friday, the group attended a welcome reception at the homes of the William Dorroh and Jimmy Granger families. The annual banquet took place at the resort’s Grand Ballroom after Saturday’s competition. Keynote speaker for the awards event was LSU Alumni Association Vice President Cliff Vannoy, who updated members on the many changes happening at LSU and Haley Lawson, left, and Timothy Lawson present challenged members to get involved and the L.L. and Mary Wimberly Golson Memorial Scholarship to Cliff Vannoy on behalf of the stay involved to support the University. Lawson family. Ricky Weeks and Scott Gurley were presented Purple & Gold awards for their contributions to the chapter and the scholarship fund. Each year for the past seven years, the duo has designed and raffled an LSU golf cart, raising more than $30,000 in chapter scholarship funds for local students.
National Capital Chapter By Norm Marcocci
The National Capital Chapter wasted no time getting 2013 off to a flying start. On Feb. 12, members participated in the annual Mardi Gras parade held in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, Va., and throughout the baseball season gathered for view-ins to cheer on the Tigers. The chapter was represented among other SEC schools at the annual Gold Cup Steeplechase on May 4 at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va. On June 1, the chapter, along with other Louisiana university alumni, held the annual crawfish boil, Bayou Fete X, at Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria, Va. The sold-out crowd of 1,500 Louisianans and their friends and family members feasted on five tons of crawfish and jambalaya, along with andouille, red potatoes, corn on the cob, and snow cones. The Dixie Power Trio provided live music, and while alums from various universities took part in a softball game, the kids enjoyed a moon bounce. Summer got into full swing on June 12 with a dinner at the Bayou Restaurant in Washington, D.C., and on July 8, members attended a viewing of The Blind Slide, held in Arlington’s Crystal City. Baseball was next on the agenda, with members attending the Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets baseball game on July 27 at Nationals Ballpark. On Aug. 3, the chapter undertook a community service project – assisting National Park Service staffers in cleaning up the National Mall. Other summer events were an LSU Capitol Hill Intern Staffer Luncheon, a professional alumni networking event, and attending the Marine Corps Parade. Also in August, alumni and faithful of 14 SEC universities geared up for football season at a kick-off party. View-in locations in the fall are Molly Malone’s in Washington, Velocity 5 in Arlington, and Primetime Sports Bar and Grill in Fairfax, Va. Check out chapter news and happenings, including fall/football happy hour gatherings at dclsualumni@yahoo.com, www.lsudcalumni.com, or www.facebook.com/lsudcalumni.
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Herman Lawson, of Mansfield, La., was tapped DeSoto Parish Alumnus of the Year, with the award being presented by 2012 recipient Donnie Dufour. The theme of the banquet was how the chapter seeks to “honor the past and bless the future,” a mission carried out by establishing scholarships to “honor those who came before and bless the LSU scholars who follow.” Chapter social chairperson Amy Garsee, left, Cliff Vannoy, and Beverly Bedsole at the presentation of During the banquet, presentations the Billy Ray Bedsole Scholarship. were made recognizing three $40,000 scholarships for area students. The funds were donated by individuals, families, and the chapter to honor individuals who were “bigger than life” while living and who remain “bigger than life” as they help students and the University. The Walter Dorroh Scholarship was funded by the chapter to memorialize a great friend of LSU, renowned banker, civic leader, and family man whose service to this country in World War II made him an outstanding man of America’s greatest generation. The L.L. and Mary Wimberly Golson Memorial Scholarship, established by the Herman Lawson family, was presented by the Golsons’s great-grandchildren Haley and Timothy Lawson. The Bedsole family established the Billy Ray Bedsole Memorial Scholarship. Beverly Bedsole represented her family in the presentation of the scholarship noting Bedsole’s generosity to those who needed support to obtain an education.
Cliff Vannoy, left, with 2013 DeSoto Parish Alumnus of the Year Herman Lawson.
Among those attending the DeSoto Chapter events were, Bryce Giddings, seated, with, from left, Michele Ball, Vicki Stoma, Gilbert Stoma, Dustin Stoma, and Stefanie Calvert. Photo by Gilbert Stoma
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One of President/Chancellor King Alexander’s first activities on campus was addressing incoming students and their parents during orientation.
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By Brenda Macon
Ev ery t hing begins
TODAY Photos by Jim Zietz and Eddy Perez
We have bridges to build, support to generate, and citizens to reach. We have to regain their belief in the significance of higher education in Louisiana.
F. King A l e x a n de r
Joins LSU in the Newly Created P r e s i d e n t / C h a n c e ll o r P o s i t i o n LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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The timing is right to excel in new ways in a new environment and to redefine ‘land-grant university’ for the next 50 years.
W
ith an extensive background of leadership in higher education at the relatively young age of 49, F. King Alexander comes to LSU ready to put into practice here some of the successful strategies that he has employed in other university systems.
The son of educators and university administrators – his father, Kern Alexander, holds an “Excellence Chair” professorship in the College of Education at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and his mother, Ruth Alexander, is an emeritus professor and is considered the founder of the “Lady Gator” athletic program at the University of Florida, where she was the first women’s athletic director from 1967-1980 – Alexander has literally been part of university communities, on one campus or another, all of his life. He also has two brothers engaged in academia, one who teaches international law and coordinates the pre-law program at Vanderbilt University and another who teaches international law at Zurich University in Switzerland. Perhaps that’s why he is attuned to the student populations at the universities he leads. Known for his rapport with
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students, he has already become familiar with the basketball courts at LSU’s UREC, playing pickup games with whoever shows up. Each time he meets a student, he repeats the mantra “Graduation begins today!” and asks, “Did you do something today to get one step closer to graduation?” His face brightens when he talks about students. “They’re great,” he said. “No matter what, they have a degree of optimism that will re-energize anybody!” Taking pride in the success he has had in improving the graduation rates at Murray State and California State, Long Beach, he emphasizes the importance of keeping students in school long enough to finish their degrees. “We didn’t just recruit students,” he recalled. “We did everything possible to be sure they graduated because society has changed. The earning capacity for a university dropout and a
We are working on getting LSU in its entirety to collaborate more for the advancement not only of the university system, but also for the state as a whole. We have the collective capacity to build a better Louisiana. high school graduate is roughly the same, so success depends on getting that degree—not just for the first job, but all subsequent jobs.” Statistically, not only earning potential but also other lifelong factors, such as job satisfaction, use of new technologies, volunteerism, and health, are impacted by whether or not one receives a college degree. The population least affected in the recent economic downturn, Alexander explained, were college graduates. He cited the support he enjoyed at his previous schools as the reason for their successes in increasing graduation rates. “It’s everyone’s job to support this essential effort,” he stated. In addition to his determination to bring to LSU this same level of enthusiasm for helping students graduate, Alexander will also be uniting the various campuses within the LSU System. He understands the complexity of this challenge. “We are working on getting LSU in its entirety to collaborate more for the advancement not only of the university system, but also for the state as a whole,” he explained. “We have the collective capacity to build a better Louisiana.” Alexander subscribes to a concept which, briefly stated, dictates that the endeavors of a state university through its research discovery, teaching, and service should enhance and improve all aspects of life in that state.
“The boundaries of our campus are those of the state,” he continued. “Louisiana’s socioeconomic issues are issues that we should be addressing in our classrooms and our research activities. Land-grant universities were not founded on isolated principles and values. They were founded to address the most profound and important needs of their communities, states, and regions in both a national and international context.” He plans to meet the challenges of bringing together all of the groups that make up the LSU System by building a stronger network among these entities. “We have bridges to build, support to generate, and citizens to reach,” he tallied. “We have to regain their belief in the significance of higher education in Louisiana.” In five years, he plans to see the system reap the benefits of this reconciliation among the campuses through better funding and more collaboration. He intends to have the system as a whole, and the flagship in particular, back “on the offensive,” challenging peer institutions across the U.S. and competing for the best and the brightest in all areas. “The timing is right,” he concluded, “to excel in new ways in a new environment and to redefine ‘land-grant university’ for the next 50 years.”
Brenda Macon is a writer/editor in the LSU Office of Communications & University Relations and former editor of Kaleidoscope, the magazine of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences. Left photo: President/Chancellor King Alexander visits with Boyd Professors Gerald Kennedy and Robert O’Connell. Above poto: Each time he meets a student, the President/Chancellor repeats the mantra “Graduation begins today!”
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University College’s Summer Scholar program lets students adjust to academic, personal, and social challenges they may encounter on campus.
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Celebrating 80 Years of Service and Impact By Jacquelyn Craddock Photos by Jim Zietz
F o r t h e pa s t 8 0 y e a r s , students have come to know LSU’s University College under many names: Lower Division, General College, Freshman College, Junior Division, and University College. No matter the name, University College’s mission has remained the same – to serve as the entry point for students by providing academic advising and support services that assist first-year and some continuing students in defining their educational goals, pursuing admission to a senior college, and ultimately earning a degree.
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Academic and personal success is the hallmark of a well-rounded student, and University College provides a foundation of support services for students beginning their academic careers.
It’s for the students - to make sure they have the best chance of success, not only in their senior colleges but also in their first-choice major.
Establishing Roots
While LSU had always welcomed new students, it was felt that a more scientific and methodological approach was needed. In 1933, President James Monroe Smith appointed Benjamin F. Mitchell as the first dean of the Lower Division. Lower Division provided orientation and adjustment for firstyear students. It became Junior Division in 1938 and contained a testing bureau and a vocational guidance department for testing and counseling students. Junior Division was absorbed by the College of Arts & Sciences in 1941 and renamed the Freshman Division, but it achieved independent status and returned to the name Junior Division in 1942. It was an administrative division of the General College between 1974 and 1982, after which it again became an independent unit. It is now the Center for Freshman Year within the University College.
Creating Rings
Over the years, University College has grown by adding new pith to its programs. The unit has always been an innovator on campus, and many programs and administrators got their start within the college. In 1984, Laura Lindsay was appointed the first female dean of University College, followed by her successor and the first African-American dean, Carolyn Collins in 1989. According to Lindsay, the two analyzed scholarships and
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University College leaders Professor Emerita Laura Lindsay, Executive Director Paul Ivey, and former Dean Carolyn Collins.
looked into retention efforts to find out what needed to be changed about the requirements to better help students succeed, especially the University’s African-American population. “No one had looked at it from the standpoint of listening to the students, finding out what barriers they were facing and how we could remove those barriers,” Lindsay said. “Retention is a big deal, and we began to focus on not only those students who were struggling but also the students who needed to get to a higher level to maintain their scholarships,” added Paul Ivey, executive director of the college. One important University College program that was established to help the African-American student population was Summer Scholars, which was part of LSU’s resolution to the consent decree on desegregation in the 1980s. “We did things that are still alive and well and helping the University decades after the consent decree ended,” Lindsay said.
Forging
Branches
To expand its reach on behalf of its students, University College branched out with new programs that provide a wide range of services, and the college was the birthplace for many well-known University initiatives. Some programs that got their start or branched out of University College’s efforts include Orientation; Parent & Family Programs; Spring Testing; Center for Community, Engagement, Learning, and Leadership, or CCELL; Disability Services; Career Services; Athletic Counseling; Center for Academic Success; and the Honors College. “Disability Services did not exist when I came to campus,” said
Ivey. “We worked with the dean of students to make sure we were addressing the needs of disabled students. Back in those days, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was not a major force that we were responsible for addressing, but University College knew it was something we could help with.” “University College had a number of very important programs that the University recognized and used,” said Collins. “I think that just shows the importance of the freshman college and University College. We were able to look at needs and develop trends for all students early on.” University College originated LSU Parent & Family Programs as an avenue to engage parents and let them know what was happening academically at LSU. Similarly, the college engaged high school counselors and principals to reassure them that their students could in fact be admitted to LSU and were wanted. University College provides LSU students the comfort of exploring various disciplines and career paths within their first two years of enrollment. It also provides a “double screen” for senior colleges, increasing those colleges’s retention and graduation rates. “University College is supporting the students, guiding them into suitable disciplines,” Ivey said. “It’s not for us, it’s for the students we work for; to make sure they have the best chance of success, not only in their senior colleges but also in their firstchoice major.” University College’s productivity is exceptional. It continues to leave an imprint on the LSU community, producing several events, programs, and workshops designed to aid incoming students in utilizing the wide range of resources available at LSU.
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University College counts among its staff some of the finest licensed counseling professionals anywhere. With two enrollment divisions, University College’s Center for Freshman Year, or UCFY, enrolls approximately 6,400 students each fall, and the Center for Advising and Counseling, or UCAC, serves 2,800 students. During the 2012-13 academic year, University College academic counselors logged more than 24,500 face-to-face advising sessions. In addition to UCFY and UCAC, a variety of retentionspecific programs focusing on particular student populations are a significant part of the role and mission of University College, including Student Support Services, Ronald E. McNair Research Scholars, and Summer Scholars. Through its strong roots and wide, embracing branches, the tree that is University College gives students the opportunity to create their own strong roots and to succeed in reaching the goal of university degrees that will serve them well all their lives. Jacquelyn Schulz Craddock is assistant director of development and public relations for University College.
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A Look at Leadership Benjamin F. Mitchell 1933-1941 William B. Hatcher 1941-1944 Stephen A. Caldwell 1944-1956 John Hunter 1956-1966 James H. Perry 1966-1973 James H. Wharton 1973-1975 Vincent Cangelosi 1975-1984 Laura Lindsay 1984-1989 Carolyn Collins 1989-2009 R. Paul Ivey 2009-present
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Noteworthy
Around
campus
Damon Andrew
Bradley E. Cantrell
Max Conrad
Karen Deville
Damon Andrew, professor and dean of the College of Health & Human Services at Troy University in Troy, Ala., has been named dean of the College of Human Sciences & Education. Prior to his tenure at Troy, he worked at the University of Tennessee, the University of Louisville, and Florida State University. He received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of South Alabama in 1998 and earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology the following year. He earned two more graduate degrees in sports management and biomechanics from the University of Florida before receiving a Ph.D. in sports administration from Florida State University in 2004. Bradley E. Cantrell, associate professor and director in the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, was named as a winner of the 2013 Garden Club of America Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture for his proposal “Synthetic and Responsive Ecologies.” The Rome Prize is awarded to approximately 30 individuals who represent the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities. Recipients are provided with a fellowship that includes a stipend, a studio, and room and board for a period of six months to two years in Rome, Italy. Cantrell’s work will translate his research in responsive technologies in the Gulf coast to the rich cultural and historical urban systems of Rome. Max Conrad, professor of landscape architecture, has been selected as a recipient of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal, recognizing his sustained and significant contribution to landscape architecture education. Conrad will receive the medal during the president’s dinner on Nov. 18, as part of the ASLA annual meeting in Boston. During his 40-year teaching career, Conrad has taught thousands of students who are now practicing landscape architects. His leadership of his school’s student travel program has allowed students to experience other ideas, places, and cultures. Karen Deville, senior director of the office of advancement for the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business, was named one of nine 2013 Influential Women in Business by The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Among other professional and philanthropic efforts, Deville helped lead the push for college’s new home – the Business Education Complex. Prior to her tenure with LSU, she worked in marketing and communications before earning her M.B.A. from LSU. Following her graduation, she was offered a position aimed at developing relationships between the college and corporate communities.
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R. Eugene Turner, an internationally renowned coastal scientist and an expert on both the northern Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone as well as the ongoing impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, was awarded a Boyd Professorship by the LSU Board of Supervisors on April 17. Turner, who holds the Shell Endowed Chair in Oceanography/ Wetland Studies, has been a faculty member at LSU for nearly 40 years and has mentored nearly 100 students toward master’s or doctoral degrees. He has been recognized as both an LSU Distinguished Research Master and an LSU Rainmaker and in 2012 was awarded the Wetland Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Wetland Conference. A designation as Boyd Professor is the LSU System’s highest and most prestigious academic rank, and is only awarded to faculty who have achieved national and international recognition for outstanding research, teaching, or other creative achievements.
R. Eugene Turner
Kalliat T. Valsaraj
Kalliat T. Valsaraj, Associate Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development, has been named Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development. He assumed his new position on July 1. Valsaraj arrived at LSU in 1986. He holds a master’s degree in chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Vanderbilt University. He received the Charles E. Coates Award, which is jointly awarded by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Chemical Society professional chapters in Baton Rouge. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He has been recognized as a Distinguished Research Master and a Rainmaker at LSU. In addition to his current administrative role, Valsaraj is the Charles and Hilda Roddey Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Ike East Professor of Chemical Engineering. LSU’s student newspaper, The Daily Reveille, has been honored as the nation’s best allaround student newspaper by the Society of Professional Journalists at its recent Mark of Excellence (MOE) Awards banquet in Indianapolis. The MOE Awards honor the best of collegiate journalism from a calendar year. The 2012 contest received more than 4,600 entries. LSU has been selected as a university that demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability in terms of campus infrastructure, activities, and initiatives in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition. Developed in collaboration with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, the publication profiles 320 schools in the U.S. and two in Canada that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation. In its 2013 listing, the guide highlights LSU’s numerous programs and progress in creating a more sustainable environment. All 20 of LSU’s varsity sports performed well in the NCAA’s annual report of Academic Progress Rates (APR). NCAA sports falling below the established cutoff point of 900 are subject to penalties including scholarship reductions, and a perfect APR score is 1000. All LSU teams scored above 900 and 12 LSU teams scored 980 or above, including women’s cross country with a perfect score of 1000 for the fourth consecutive year. Other LSU teams with APR scores of 980 or above were men’s tennis (992), men’s swimming and diving (989), men’s golf (987), softball (987), women’s golf (984), women’s soccer (984), women’s tennis (984), women’s indoor track & field (984), women’s outdoor track & field (984), volleyball (984), and gymnastics (982).
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Around Campus
In Focus
Science Stars – Five outstanding alumni – Patricia Bodin, George Boudreaux, the late John Franks, Gary Grest, and Michael Griffith – were inducted into the College of Science Hall of Distinction on April 26. Bodin (1972 BACH SCI) retired from ExxonMobil in 2008 as chief information officer and vice president of global information services organization. Boudreaux (1971 BACH SCI), creator of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste and owner Left to right, Gary Grest, Michael Griffith, Patricia Bodin, College of Science Interim Dean Guillermo Ferreyra, of G.L. Boudreaux Properties, made John Franks’s daughter Karen Franks, and George Boudreaux. history with the creation of the popular ointment. Franks (1949 BACH SCI), founder of Franks Petroleum Inc., was one of the first oilmen to recognize the benefits of the tighter gas sands in the Houston and Cotton Valley trends of north Louisiana. Grest (1971 BACH SCI, 1973 MAST SCI, 1973 PHD SCI) is a scientist for the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia National Laboratories. Griffith (1968 PHD SCI) retired in 1998 from ARCO Chemicals as vice president of R&D worldwide.
From left, Renea and Harman Chandler, College of Human Sciences & Education Dean Laura Lindsay, Brett Furr, Janie Spaht Gill, and Joe Dean.
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Education Honors – Those recognized at the College of Human Sciences & Education awards banquet on May 9 were Distinguished Alumnus Joe Dean, Sr. (1955 BACH HS&E), former star LSU basketball player, LSU Athletic Director, and on-air analyst; Philanthropists of the Year Harman & Renae (1972 BACH HS&E, 1978 MAST HS&E, 1982 +30 HS&E) Chandler; Outstanding Service Award Winner Brett Furr (1983 BACH H&SS, 1986 JD); and Distinguished Alumna Janie Spaht Gill (1966 BACH HS&E, 1980 MAST HS&E, 1991 PHD HS&E), teacher, writer, and performance artist.
Tiger Trivia 1. Who was LSU’s first athletic director? Bob Brodhead H. Russell Cohen
Paul Dietzel Thomas P. Heard
2. Who was athletic director when the Tigers won their first national championship in football in 1958? James Corbett Carl Maddox Joe Dean Paul Dietzel
Building on History – Ribbon-cutting ceremonies took place in May for the LSU Women’s Center and African American Cultural Center at new facilities at Union Square along Raphael Semmes Road. Located on the historical sites of the previous centers, Elaine Abell which were blessed as part of a Sherehe Ya Kuanzisha – an African ground blessing ceremony – the new facilities attest to the dedication of those who paved the way for the establishment of both centers and serve as a tangible illustration of the University’s ongoing commitment to diversity. Elaine Abell, LSU’s first female Student Government president, made keynote remarks at the Women’s Center, and LSU alumnus Donald R. Cravins, Jr., chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, gave the keynote speech at the African American Cultural Center.
4. What was the original name of the building now known as the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes? The Field House The Gym Armory The Dining Hall The Indoor Firing Range 5. During the late 1940s, how many meals per day (approximately) were served in the Foster Hall cafeteria? 10,000 5,000 3,000 None 6. What was Troy Middleton’s first position when he arrived in 1930? Comptroller President Commandant of Cadets Dean of Men 7. Who was the first alumnus to become president of LSU? David Boyd Thomas Boyd James Nicholson William Preston Johnston 8. Who was the last alumnus to become president of LSU? Martin Woodin Allen Copping William Jenkins John Lombardi 9. How many alumni have become president of LSU? One Three Five Seven 10. When was the LSU Woman’s Faculty Club founded? 1906 1928 1935 1958 11. How much did the ROTC cadet uniform cost in 1941? $38.85 $50.00 $64.25 Nothing, it was included with tuition 12. What was the 500 Club? The freshman class of 1938 An organization founded in 1938 to foster school spirit at athletic events
The membership of fraternities and sororities The total number of students in the School of Medicine in 1938
Tiger Trivia is compiled by Barry Cowan, assistant archivist, Hill Memorial Library. Answers: 1.c, 2.a, 3.d, 4.b,5.a, 6.c, 7.b,8.a, 9.d, 10.b,11.a, 12.c
Donald Cravins, Jr.
3. Which athletic facilities on campus are named for former athletic directors? W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium and Bo Campbell Auditorium and Bernie Bill Lawton Room Moore Stadium Maravich Assembly Center and Skip Bertman Alex Box Stadium Field and Maddox Field House
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Around Campus
In Focus
Interim LSU System President and Chancellor William Jenkins and his wife, Peggy. Honorary degree recipient Jasper Welch, center.
2013 commencement speaker Cokie Roberts.
Graduation 2013 – ABC News and NPR’s Cokie Roberts spoke at the main spring commencement ceremony on May 16, during which 3,735 students received degrees and two honorary doctorates were awarded. An honorary doctorate was given to Interim LSU System President and Chancellor William Jenkins for his service, unwavering loyalty and dedication to LSU. An honorary doctorate was also presented to U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jasper Welch, who graduated from LSU in 1952 and went on to a distinguished career in the Air Force, serving as chief of theoretical physics at the Air Force Special Weapons Center. Photos by Eddy Perez
Front, from left, Thomas Klei, Prosanta Chakrabarty, Kam-Biu Liu, Rongying Jin, and Dawn Harris, with Campus Federal Credit Union (CFCU); back, CFCU board member Ken Paxton, Rudolph Hirschheim, Ashok Mishra, and Julia Buckner.
Rainmakers – The LSU Office of Research & Economic Development and Campus Federal Credit Union presented Rainmaker Awards for Research and Creative Activity on March 13. Recognized as Rainmakers were Prosanta Chakrabarty, Department of Biological Sciences, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Emerging Scholar; Julia Buckner, Department of Psychology, Arts, Humanities, Social or Behavioral Emerging Scholar; Rongying Jin, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Mid-Career Scholar; Ashok Mishra, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness, Arts, Humanities, Social or Behavioral MidCareer Scholar; Rudolf Hirschheim, Department of Information Systems & Decision Sciences, Arts, Humanities, Social or Behavioral Senior Scholar; and Kam-biu Liu, Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Senior Scholar.
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Around Campus
Legislative Session Has Mixed Ending Alumni Join in Fight During the 2013 Louisiana Legislature’s Regular Session, the LSU Alumni Association jumped to the support of the University by reinstituting the Alumni Grassroots Network. LSU alumni across the state and beyond clamored to be more active in backing LSU, believing that performance was not being rewarded appropriately. The network will continue to build before the next session begins and your help would be greatly appreciated. The results of the 2013 session were mixed for LSU and higher education. The budget was the focus of debate this year, and LSU’s state funding decreased by another $24 million, the largest reduction in higher education. For the next fiscal year, LSU’s state support will be roughly $107 million, about the same as it was for the 199091 fiscal year. For next year, the state is expected to provide 28 percent of the operating budget. Tuition and fee revenue from students will increase by about $20 million to offset most of the budget reduction and internal reallocations. Representative Franklin Foil, Baton Rouge, successfully guided his House Bill 671 to passage. The bill provides for many small assessments, including a $48-persemester building-use fee that LSU intends to put toward maintenance of its iconic facilities, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. “The greater dependence on student tuition was a recession-era reaction to less state funds,” commented Jason Droddy, director of LSU’s external affairs office. He further explained that Louisiana state government is confronted with the question as to how much of the higher education cost it wants taxpayers to put up.
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“Legislators do not like tuition increases, but existing budgetary restrictions decrease the degrees of freedom legislators have to help higher education,” he said. Nationally, the trend that once leaned toward students paying more is now going back the other way. States such as Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, California, Washington, and Wisconsin are now investing more in public universities in exchange for no or lower tuition growth. The most notable success was the state’s capital investments in academic facilities. House Bill 2, which included the Patrick F. Taylor Hall renovation and expansion project, was authorized for a $50 million state match. Also on the approved list was $25 million for the Nicholson Gateway project that will revamp the Nicholson Drive corridor and family student housing located at the northwest entrance. Money was also allocated for the French House renovation for the Honors College and the Old Shops for Art. Looking ahead, LSU will be requesting resources to increase the number of faculty, provide competitive salaries, continue to protect financial accessibility for students, improve LSU’s research competitiveness, and develop facilities and computing infrastructure suiting future needs. “LSU’s success is based on its people and the tools they are given to fulfill our academic mission,” Droddy said.
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Loren Marks
Focus on
Faculty
Kathryn Norwood & Claude Fussell Alumni Professor By Danielle Kelley Photo by Johnny Gordon
Loren Marks
“If you choose marriage and parenthood, why not be a championship spouse and parent?”
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In a culture where divorce is prevalent, Loren Marks focuses his research on strong marriages and families. “There are literally hundreds, even thousands, of articles on divorce and dysfunction in families, but there are very few that address family strength,” said Marks, associate professor in the School of Human Ecology. He and his research partner, David Dollahite of Brigham Young University, interviewed “more than 200 families from all eight major geographic regions” of the U.S. to find the secret to a successful marriage as part of the American Families of Faith Project. All couples had been married for at least 20 years, and both spouses reported being “really happy” with their relationship. “The best 12 years of my life have revolved around combing carefully through those interviews to learn what makes strong families strong in the hope that we can pass that information along to young adults in a way that will benefit their futures, marriages, and lives,” Marks said. The child and family studies professor found two commonalities in all the families he interviewed. “One issue is a deep level of commitment to the marriage,” he said. “The second is what I’d call a shared family vision, where both spouses have similar goals for their marriage and for their family.” “College students emerging into adulthood must make important life decisions that will affect their future family, if they even choose to have a family, “ Marks explained. “The college years are an interesting time to sort through a number of questions, what philosophers call the terrifying questions. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?”
Marks is grateful that he grew up in a home with two parents who loved and appreciated each other, but many of his students weren’t so lucky. “I do not urge students to get married. That’s a deeply personal decision. The question I ask them is if you choose marriage and parenthood, why not be a championship spouse and parent? If you choose to do it, why not do it as well as you possibly can?” Marks continued. “If I could have one hope realized, it would be to put them in a position to provide their future children with the blessing that life denied them.” Marks said he views teaching as a “sacred calling,” and he has no single favorite class to teach. His preferred class is the one he is teaching at the moment. “Whether I’m teaching the socalled ‘family boot camp’ class, which is a marriage preparation class at the undergrad level, or if I’m teaching a graduate level course, my hope is that both [my students and I] leave the course as more intelligent, nobler, and better people,” he said. Marks is the author of about 60 articles and book chapters, and is the co-author of Sacred Matters: Religion and Spirituality in Families. He is currently contributing to three related books, including an undergraduate-level family studies textbook. He and his wife of 17 years have five children. “I often tell students that I’m not just in love with my wife. I am in love with marriage. In a world with myriad heartbreaking problems, a great source of hope to me is that an imperfect woman and an imperfect man can make and keep a perfect promise to each other,” he said. Danielle Kelley, a junior and a Manship Ambassador in the Manship School of Mass Communication, is concentrating in public relations.
In Me mory of
Larry B. Jones December 18, 1933 - May 30, 2013
The LSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors and The Cook Hotel Board of Managers extend deepest sympathy to the Jones family. Scott L. Anderson, Dr. Jack A. Andonie, Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite, Jon D. “Jay” Babb, J. Hals Benhard, Calvin Braxton, Dr. C.A. “Buddy” Brice III, Guy Campbell III, Lodwrick M. Cook, Sam J. Friedman, Gregory J. “Gregg” Cordaro, Theresa M. Gallion, Ronald M. Johnson, Jan K. Liuzza, Ted A. Martin, Dr. Louis R. Minsky, James Moore III, Richard C. “Ricky” Oustalet, Dr. Gil Rew, Beverly Shea, John T. Shelton Jr, Carl J. Streva, Michael Valentino, Susan K. Whitelaw, Stan Williams, and Mike Woods.
Larry B. Jones – friend and colleague, LSU alumnus, military veteran, Tiger center and linebacker, football coach, sports administrator and chief fundraiser for the LSU Alumni Association. Though Larry is no longer with us, his legacy will live on forever at LSU. During his 23 years with the Association, he raised more than $35 million dollars in contributions for scholarships, professorships, and facilities at LSU. In recognition of his loyalty and outstanding success as an ambassador for the University, the Association’s National Board of Directors conferred upon him the title LSU 2013 Alumnus of the Year.
“Any success that I’ve had in raising money comes from these donors and what they did for me, and the way they accepted me, and the way they helped me. These donors made my job very rewarding. These donors made my job one that made me proud to work at LSU. The reason for my success was my desire to make LSU a better place.” – Larry Jones
If you would like to make a gift to the Larry B. Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund, please contact Tracy Jones at 225-578-3818. LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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Cam Cameron Takes Over Tiger Offense
Locker
ROOM By Bud Johnson Photo by Steve Franz
Tiger offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
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There is a new play caller in Tigertown. Cam Cameron, a highly respected NFL offensive coordinator, is Les Miles’s pick to ignite the Tiger offense. LSU’s offensive pace may be faster this season. Some of the formations have not been seen in purple and gold. When Les Miles handed the offensive reins to Cameron in February, even the most cynical in Tiger Nation perked up. Cam’s offenses at San Diego and Baltimore made the NFL sit up and take notice. Cameron coached such high profile athletes as Drew Brees and Stephen Rivers at San Diego and Joe Flacco in Baltimore. Miles may have hit the bullseye again with this hire. His selection of John Chavis in 2009 solidified the defense. No one has worried about LSU’s defense since. Frank Wilson settled in as recruiting coordinator in 2010, and some reluctant outposts suddenly warmed up to “Hey, Fightin’ Tigers.” The choice of Cameron could calm if not quiet the critics of the LSU attack. The Tigers finished 10th in the SEC in offensive yards per game last season. It was the third time in four years that LSU finished near the bottom of the conference offensively. Who is this man and how did we get him? Miles and Cameron once shared an office as young assistant coaches at Michigan. But you knew that. Cam became available when the Baltimore Ravens fired him en route to a Super Bowl championship. That story was in all the papers. A call from Miles lured Cameron back to the college game. On his way to becoming a famous offensive coordinator in the professional ranks, Cameron had many teachers. Larry Bird. Bob Knight. Bo Schembechler. Gary Moeller. Just to name a few. Cameron grew up in small towns in the Midwest. Most of his major influences made their mark on Cam before his
30th birthday. Tom Harp, his stepfather, taught him the game, good work habits and the importance of thinking outside the box … when Cam was just a teenager. Harp, a noteworthy Indiana high school and college coach at Indiana State, invited Cam to go to the office one day. There was one catch. Departure time was 5 o’clock. That’s a.m. He was only late once. “I learned to get an early start on the day at a young age,” he said. As a 13-year-old, Cameron would often play pickup basketball games on the same team with Larry Bird, a great college player at Indiana State. If Cam was open, Bird would pass him the ball. From that experience, he learned to share the ball with his football teammates. He has employed this lesson in coaching jobs ever since. “Players will play harder if they are involved,” Cameron says. So, teamwork, an essential in team sports, was learned from basketball icon Larry Bird. And Bobby Knight? What does he know about football? From Knight, his college basketball coach at Indiana, Cameron learned discipline, mental and physical toughness, preparation, and the importance of teaching in sport. “I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for Bob Knight,” Cameron said. “He didn’t give us a typewritten handout. He lectured – just like in a class – and we wrote down everything he said about an up-coming game. We had to study it and be quizzed by him about every opponent. He believed in thorough preparation in everything.” It was Knight, the Indiana basketball coach, who recommended Cameron to Bo Schembechler, the Michigan football coach. Schembechler was also noted for his toughness, but he had other important qualities that Cameron admired. “He was tough,” Cameron said. “But he loved his players and his coaches, and he made sure that they knew it. They loved him, too. He was a great motivator. He
could get his players to play beyond their capability every week.” It was from Schembechler that Cameron learned that a family atmosphere was an advantage in a team environment. Gary Moeller, a defensive guru, succeeded Schembechler at Michigan, and strangely enough, it was Moeller who helped Cameron become more creative on offense. “He was famous for his creativity on defense,” Cameron recalled. “He encouraged me to experiment more on offense.” It was Les Miles who impressed upon Cameron the importance of recruiting in the college game when the two young assistants worked together at Michigan. “We had gotten far behind in recruiting at Michigan, and only after Les joined our staff from Colorado did we start to do things differently and improve our recruiting,” Cameron said. “We turned our recruiting around. But it was Les and some of his ideas that helped make the difference.” Cameron remembers Miles as an intense recruiter at Michigan. “One day, Les was showing a recruit around campus with his usual enthusiasm,” Cameron said. “He pointed out one campus landmark … and another … then ran into the car in front of him.” Will recruiting be a problem for Cameron? Most experts believe his knowledge of high-tech pro offenses will be an advantage for Cameron. Most young quarterbacks have NFL ambitions. Cameron was hired to bring fresh ideas to the offense. But he believes it will be the execution of certain playmakers that will make the Tigers more productive. Zach Mettenberger, Odell Beckham, Jr., Jarvis Landry, Alfred Blue, and some broad-shouldered guys up front will have a lot to say about the success of Cam Cameron’s playbook. Bud Johnson, director of the Andonie Sports Museum, is a former LSU Sports Information director and author of The Perfect Season: LSU’s Magic Year – 1958.
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Locker Room
Skip Bertman on Skip Bertman Field.
The House That Skip Built – During a pregame ceremony on May 17 that also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Bertman’s 1993 national championship team, the field at Alex Box Stadium was officially dedicated “Skip Bertman Field.” “This is truly the house that Skip built,” said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva, who officially christened the field and signaled the unveiling of a new sign above the stadium’s press box that reads, “Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.” Although the field will be called “Skip Bertman Field,” the name of the stadium remains “Alex Box Stadium” in honor of the late LSU student, baseball player, Purple Heart and Distinguished Cross recipient who was killed in North Africa during World War II. Bertman helped grow interest in the sport of baseball from an average attendance of fewer than 500 fans per game in 1983 to more than 10,000 fans per game, making LSU the NCAA attendance leader. The new stadium was constructed during Bertman’s tenure as athletic director. Photo by Steve Franz/LSU Sports Information
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NATION
1940s
John P. Laborde (1947 BACH H&SS, 1949 JD, 1995 HON) received the LSU Law Center Distinguished Service Award on May 2 during a ceremony honoring him for his historic gifts. Laborde’s $2 million gift to LSU Law, the largest in the school’s history, created a double endowed chair in energy law and a programmatic support fund to establish the John P. Laborde Energy Law Center. Law Center Chancellor Jack M. Weiss made the presentation.
1950s
Ann Olivia Boudreaux Metzinger (1958 MAST AGR), associate professor emerita of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, was
Degrees BACH Bachelor’s Degree MAST Master’s Degree PHD Doctorate DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine JD Juris Doctorate (LSU Law School) MD Medical Doctor (LSU School of Medicine) DDS Doctor of Dental Science (LSU School of Dentistry) Colleges/Schools AGR Agriculture A&D Art & Design H&SS Humanities & Social Sciences SCI Science BUS Business HS&E Human Sciences & Education ENGR Engineering M&DA Music & Dramatic Arts MCOM Mass Communication SCE School of the Coast & Environment SVM School of Veterinary Medicine SW Social Work
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honored with the Lifetime Achievement in Global Health Award at the school’s Centennial Celebration. Metzinger founded and was the first director of the dietetic internship program at the school, has served as a reviewer for numerous professional journals, and performed formal reviews of examinations for certified testing facilities. She earned her bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1951, completed an internship in dietetics at Vanderbilt University Hospital in 1951, and received a master’s degree in public health in 1975 and a doctorate in public health/ international health in 1980 from Tulane. Metzinger serves as secretary-treasurer of the school’s alumni board. Her late husband, Walter F. Metzinger, graduated from LSU in 1963. Gurvis J. Post (1953 BACH BUS), Fort Worth, Texas, was recognized in May at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial for 55 consecutive years of service as a volunteer at his hometown event. He received a pin with five diamonds and a half emerald chip. Post is a retired stockbroker.
1960s
Ava Leavell Haymon (1967 MAST H&SS) was selected as Louisiana’s new poet laureate. She will serve a two-year term from 2013-2015. Haymon is the author of the poetry collections Why the House Is Made of Gingerbread, Kitchen Heat, The Strict Economy of Fire, and the forthcoming Eldest Daughter, all published by LSU Press. She teaches poetry writing in Baton Rouge and directs a writers’ retreat center in the mountains of New Mexico.
Bernette Joshua Johnson (1969 JD), chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, received a 2013 Women of Excellence Award – the Louisiana Hero of Excellence – from the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus Foundation (LLWCF). The award recognizes “the exemplary achievements and contributions of extraordinary Louisiana women who personify excellence in leadership, profession, academics, community service, character, and integrity.” The award was presented in May at the LLWCF Annual Women of Excellence Awards and Scholarships Gala. Laura Leach (1961 BACH BUS), a principal owner and chair of the board of Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company, Lake Charles, La., was named 2013 Cenla-ian of the Year by Cenla Focus magazine, recognizing her impact on Central Louisiana and the state. Leach served on the LSU Board of Supervisors for 18 years and is a member of the boards of the LSU Foundation, Cadets of the Ole War Skule, and the Lacassane Company. She has served as state president of Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana and president of the Leesville Lions Club Auxiliary. She serves as chairman for Education First Louisiana, is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lake Charles, and is a member of the Lake Charles Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club. She received the LSU Foundation President’s Award, was named LSU Alumna of the Year by the LSU Alumni Association, received Best Patron of the Arts Award five times in a Southwest Louisiana Readers Poll, and was named Woman of Distinction by LSU Women’s & Gender Studies Program. She was designated a Louisiana Legend Honoree by Louisiana Public Broadcasting, given the Civic Service Award by the Chamber Southwest Louisiana, received the Louisiana Pathfinder Award at the Louisiana Women’s Summit, and was
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named Lake Charles 2010 Dancing with the Stars Champion. Jamie M. Manders (1967 BACH H&SS, 1979 DDS) was named the 2012 Honor Dentist by the New Orleans Dental Association (NODA). Manders’s legacies to the dental profession are her work as chair of the Dentist Well-Being Advisory Committee for NODA and the corresponding Louisiana Dental Association (LDA) committee. For her work, she was elected to the Pierre Fauchard Academy and earned the LDA and American Dental Association Gold Apple Award for Excellence in Dentist Well-Being Activities. She spearheaded a legislative effort to transition much of the committee’s work to a professional mental health organization that will provide these services to the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry. She has served in many capacities in the NODA, LDA, and American Dental Association and is actively involved in the community. Manders and her husband, Dr. James Riopelle, are active animal rights advocates and have rescued scores of companion animals. Mary Olive Pierson (1966 BACH BUS, 1970 JD), an attorney in Baton Rouge, received the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s 2013 Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. Pierson was selected for her longstanding devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the courts, litigants, and all counsel in her practice of law. She received a plaque, and $1,000 will be donated in her name to the Louisiana State Bar Association Lawyers Assistance Program.
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1970s
Daniel Adams (1978 BACH M&DA), professor of music at Texas Southern University in Houston, presented a paper entitled “Sardanes: The Catalan National Dance as the Thematic Basis of Alberto Ginastera’s Glosses Sobre Temes de Pau Casals Opus 48, Movement Three” on June 19 at the College Music Society International Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Adams also had the opportunity to meet Georgina Ginastera, daughter of the composer, and converse with her about the topic of his paper. Kathleen Bailey (1978 BACH BUS, 1981 MAST BUS) has been named small business banker by Washington Federal. Bailey, a resident of Bend, Ore., previously served as branch manager at South Valley Bank & Trust. With 14 years of experience in the banking industry, she previously served as a branch manager and small business specialist with Wells Fargo and as a merchant services representative with First Data. Active in the community, Bailey is vice president of the Boys & Girls Club of Central Oregon board, secretary of the Rotary Club of Bend, and recently served as treasurer of the Education Foundation for Bend – La Pine Schools. She has been honored as Rotarian of the Year twice and as Volunteer of the Decade by the Boys & Girls Club. Jesse D. Cannon, Jr., (1972 BACH A&D), Circuit Architect at the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, has been named to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows. He will be honored during an investiture ceremony at the 2013 National AIA Convention in Denver. Cannon, a member of AIA New Orleans (Government/Industry
Organization category), manages the federal courthouse design and construction program in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. As the first United States Courts Circuit Architect, he established the vision and leadership that set the course to shape a national model for courthouse construction. The Fifth Circuit was on the leading edge of a national agenda projected to build 160 new courthouses at a cost of $15 billion under the most ambitious federal building endeavor since the 1935 Works Progress Administration plan. Michael A. DiCarlo (1977 MAST HS&E) retired on June 30 as Dean of Library Services and Thomas Jackson Magee Ross Endowed Professor at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La. Cecile Charleville Guin (1974 BACH H&SS, 1978 MSW), director of the Office of Social Service Research and Development in the LSU School of Social Work, received a 2013 Women of Excellence Award (Education & Research) from the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus Foundation (LLWCF). The awards recognize “the exemplary achievements and contributions of extraordinary Louisiana women who personify excellence in leadership, profession, academics, community service, character, and integrity.” The award was presented in May at the LLWCF Annual Women of Excellence Awards and Scholarships Gala. Guin holds a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas-Arlington. Leo C. Hamilton (1973 BACH H&SS, 1977 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson LLP in Baton Rouge, was installed as president of the
Louisiana Bar Foundation during the organization’s Annual Fellows Gala in April in New Orleans. Mauricio Jarrin (1972 BACH ENGR) has been named head of global sales and marketing at Ingrain, a digital rock physics lab. Mauricio joins Ingrain with 40 years of executive oil and gas experience with service companies San Antonio Internacional, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton. He holds a master’s degree in petroleum engineering from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Gary S. Mathews (1975 BACH H&SS), superintendent of the Newton County School System in metro-Atlanta retired on June 30, after 38 years in public
education. A 21-year veteran of the superintendency in six states, including the East Baton Rouge Parish School System (1995-2001), Mathews was recently named the 2012 Georgia Outstanding Leader in School/ Community Relations by the Georgia School Public Relations Association. Previously, he was named the 2007 Virginia Curriculum Leader of the Year by the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and recipient of the 2006 ET3 TEC Champion Leadership Award by the Education Technology Think Tank in Washington, D.C. While an educator in his home state, Mathews was named Communicator of the Year in 1996 by the Public Relations Association of Louisiana and in 1998 was named Louisiana Superintendent of the Year by the Louisiana Association of School Executives. Having served as a teacher,
principal, assistant and associate superintendent, instructor at the University of Houston, and school superintendent, Mathews plans to retire in Baton Rouge and resume his lifelong passion for Saturday nights in Death Valley. Charles “Wally” McMakin (1976 BACH HS&E) is a partner at Altus Wealth Management financial services firm in Baton Rouge. A member of the LSU Foundation and Tiger Athletic Foundation (TAF) and supporter of LSU Alumni Association programs, he has helped direct significant donations to LSU academic and athletics units, including the Honors College, Manship School of Mass Communication, College of Science, LSU Baseball Coaches
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Committee, TAF, and the Association. A four-year letterman on the LSU baseball team, McMakin received special recognition in 2008 when he became a member of the LSU Baseball Foundation Era Team. He was named LSU Baseball Alumnus of the Year in 1991 and inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Distinction in 1996. Frank X. Neuner, Jr. (1972 BACH BUS, 1976 JD), senior founding and managing partner of Laborde & Neuner, Lafayette, La., announces that the firm officially changed its name to NeunerPate effective July 1. The change comes as the firm expands with new offices in New Orleans and Metairie. Neuner will continue to lead the firm, along with senior partner
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James L. Pate. Neuner was invited to speak about disaster recovery of legal systems at the World Justice Forum held in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 10. This recognition is the result of Neuner’s leadership in restoring the legal system in South Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For the past six years, he has also chaired the Louisiana Public Defender Board and is spearheading efforts to seek more stable funding for the Louisiana public defender system. Stephen Plunkard (1978 BACH A&D), of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has been promoted to senior principal for planning and landscape architecture at Stantec. An award-winning landscape architect and urban planner, Plunkard, who is
marking 35 years in the profession, established himself in New England as an authority on “New Urbanism.” He is working with the city of Calgary on the adaptive reuse of the McCall Lake Golf Course, transit-oriented development for Whitehorn station, and planning for the North Central Light Rail Transit Line and a master planning study for Stanley Park. Plunkard is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Council of Fellows and a founding member of its Vermont chapter. He has designed community spaces in urban and rural settings across the U.S. and Canada, including the preliminary concepts for Mashpee Commons on Cape Cod, Mass., regarded as one of the first New Urban communities in the country.
you r Alu m n i Dolla r s at Work
Among those recognized at the University-wide Distinguished Faculty Awards Ceremony on May 1 were faculty and a graduate student who received awards funded by the LSU Alumni Association. LSU Alumni Association Professorship $6,200 of the professorship stipend Congratulating new Alumni Professors Sarah Liggett, second from left, and Robert Tague, center, are LSU Interim President and Chancellor William Jenkins, Vice Provost for Human Resources & Facilities Management Jane Cassidy, and LSU Alumni Association Executive Vice President Cliff Vannoy. Liggett, a professor of English, was awarded the Donald and Norma Nash McClure Alumni Professorship, and Tague, a professor of geography and anthropology, received the Earleene Nolan Sanders Alumni Professorship. Not pictured is Bradley E. Schaefer, a professor of physics and astronomy, who was awarded the San Diego Alumni Association Chapter Alumni Professorship. Photo by Eddy Perez
LSU Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Awards $1,000 Pictured are, first row, from left, LSU Interim President and Chancellor William Jenkins, LSU Vice Provost for Human Resources & Facilities Management Jane Cassidy, LSU Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award recipients Robert Tague and Christopher Austin, and LSU Alumni Association Executive Vice President Cliff Vannoy; back row, from left, LSU Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award recipients Ram Devireddy and Michael Hegarty. Photo by Eddy Perez
LSU Alumni Association Teaching Assistant Award $250 Laura Marks, Department of English
Phi Kappa Phi Non-Tenured Faculty Award $500 Benjamin Kahan, Department of English Donghui Zhang, Department of Chemistry
www.lsualumni.org/contribute | 1-888-RING-LSU LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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John W. Portwood, Jr. (1977 BACH H&SS, 1980 DDS), Baton Rouge, has received the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) Distinguished Service Award recognizing his outstanding leadership capabilities and contributions. Portwood has served the organization as a member of the Dental Education Council, a delegate or alternate delegate to the AGD House of Delegates, chair of the Investment Committee, and president and currently serves as secretarytreasurer. In 2004, after completing more than 1,100 hours of continuing dental education, he earned his AGD Mastership Award, the academy’s highest honor. He holds a master’s degree from the College of Financial Planning and is co-author of the AGD book You’ve Graduated, Now What? A Guide to
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Navigating Those First Years in the Dental Profession. He is a member of the Louisiana Dental Association, American Dental Association, and past-president of the East Baton Rouge Parish Dental Association, and is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, American College of Dentists, and Pierre Fauchard Academy. Portwood and his wife, Sherrie, have three children, Meredith, Sabrina, and John. Douglas Reed (1978 BACH A&D) is a principal in and founder of the firm ReedHilderbrand, Watertown, Mass., which will receive the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Landscape Architecture Firm Award. The award, which will be presented in November, is the highest honor ASLA bestows upon a landscape architecture
firm and recognizes distinguished work that influences the profession. Reed is an ASLA Fellow, a founding board member and co-chair of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, served two terms as the landscape architect representative on the Design Review Board of Ohio State University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and held residency at the American Art Academy in Rome. Since 1997, the collaborative work of Reed and partner Gary Hilderbrand has been recognized for its design, craftsmanship, and extraordinary use of plants and has garnered 12 national ASLA awards just in the past decade. He received a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University in 1981. William A. Sawyer (1970 BACH ENGR) became president and chief executive officer of Matmown, Inc., in February. Sawyer has more than 35 years of experience in the energy industry with
such firms as ARCO, Houston Oil & Minerals, and Superior Oil Company. He is the former president, CEO, and cofounder of Lucas Energy, Inc. He earned an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1976. E. Jane Sherman (1979 BACH H&SS, 1982 JD), an attorney in Baton Rouge, was installed as secretary of the Louisiana Bar Foundation on April 12 at the organization’s Annual Fellows Gala in New Orleans. Ron Thibodeaux (1979 BACH MCOM), associate editor for Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine and KnowLA. org, the digital encyclopedia of
Louisiana history and culture, writes, “My book, Hell or High Water: How Cajun Fortitude Withstood Hurricanes Rita and Ike, has won two national awards within the universe of independent and university presses. It earned a silver (second place) Independent Publisher Book Award (a/k/a the IPPY Award, I’m told) in the category of Southern Regional Nonfiction. And, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards declared it this year’s National Grand Prize Winner for the category of Regional Nonfiction.”
1980s
John D. Clayton (1986 BACH ENGR) has been appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer of Rosetta Resources, Inc. Clayton joined Rosetta as vice president of asset development in 2008 and was named a senior vice president in 2011. He has more than 25 years of industry experience, including reservoir, production, and
drilling engineering, as well as business development activities related to strategic planning, mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. Prior to joining Rosetta, Clayton held various leadership and managerial positions with Burlington Resources and ConocoPhillips. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas. Susan Halsey (1980 BACH BUS, 1983 JD), an attorney in Jackson Walker LLP’s Fort Worth office, was selected for inclusion in the 2013 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business guide. Ranked for Real Estate (Texas), Halsey received praise for her “extensive knowledge of real estate.” She chairs the firm’s real estate practice group and recently acted for JPMorgan Chase on several lease transactions in Texas.
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Brian K. McKinney (1986 BACH H&SS), fire chief at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), has transformed the airport’s fire training program from a small, portable building and once-a-year classes into one of the most advanced firetraining centers in the world. McKinney joined DFW as a public safety officer in 1987 and in 2007 became the airport’s first African-American fire chief. Under his leadership, DFW recently unveiled the $26 million DFW Fire Training Research Center featuring industryleading training simulators, online classes, and a comprehensive curriculum led by certified firefighters. The center is one of few worldwide to provide a 5,000-squarefoot fuel spill burn area that burns both environmentally friendly hydrocarbon fuel and propane. Married with three college-aged children, McKinney lives in Grand Prairie, Texas. Kim A. Perret (1984 BACH H&SS), chief marketing officer of Jones Walker LLP, was inducted into the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Hall of Fame in April. The honor represents the highest levels of experience and leadership in legal marketing. Perret directs the firm’s business development, client service, marketing communications, and marketing technology initiatives. Prior to joining Jones Walker, she was director of marketing at Hunton & Williams and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, where she was also chief marketing officer. She served two successive terms as president of the LMA Capital Chapter and was the
sole inductee to the chapter’s 2012 Hall of Fame Class. In 2006, she was elected president of the international LMA. She is an associate member of the American Bar Association and a member of the Zeughauser CMO Leadership Roundtable. She is involved in a number of community groups and now serves as a board member and chair of the Resource Development Committee for the Pro Bono Project. Stephen Rolfe Powell (1983 MAST A&D) exhibited Psychedelic Mania: Stephen Rolfe Powell’s Dance with Glass at the Huntsville Museum of Art in Hunstville, Ala., this summer. Lisa Traina (1982 BACH SCI), president of Traina & Associates in Baton Rouge, was honored as one of the world’s most innovative risk, compliance, finance, and audit professionals at ACL’s 15th Annual Impact Awards in Atlanta. Traina received the Best Use of Audit Management Technology Award for her company’s innovative work. Each year ACL, an audit and risk management technology developer, celebrates the outstanding achievements of those who have made a significant impact on business processes and operations through the use of ACL solutions. Traina & Associates was recognized along with corporate giants such as Phillips 66, Coca Cola Company, and seven other companies around the globe. In April, Traina & Associates was honored for the third consecutive year as a member of the LSU 100 list of the top 100 fastest-growing Tiger-led businesses. In 2012, Traina was named as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. She
currently serves as president-elect of the Society of Louisiana CPAs and assumed the association’s top position on June 17.
1990s
Brian M. Ballay (1997 BACH H&SS) has been elected a shareholder in Baker Donelson law firm. Ballay, in the firm’s New Orleans office, focuses his practice on commercial litigation, unfair trade practices and trade secrets, employment disputes, and construction law. A 2004 magna cum laude graduate of the Loyola University School of Law and editor-inchief of the Loyola Law Review, he serves as treasurer and membership chair for the Thomas More American Inn of Court and is a member of the New Orleans, Louisiana, American, and Federal bar associations. Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Ballay served as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Carl J. Barbier, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. Luis Manuel Botello (1990 BACH MCOM, 1998 MAST MCOM), senior director of special projects for the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), was recognized for his long-time commitment to “strengthening independent journalism in the Americas,” at Panama’s National Journalism Awards gala. Simón Bolívar Alemán, president of the Forum of Journalists for Freedom of Expression, singled out Botello for defending and promoting “democratic values” by empowering news organizations across the region. Botello, who is originally from Panama, has
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worked at ICFJ for 15 years. He recently helped develop programs to improve investigative reporting using digital technology. In one initiative, Mi Panama Transparente, he helped create an interactive map that aggregates reports from citizens on crime and corruption. He has organized multiple exchange programs, giving Latin American journalists the chance to work in U.S. newsrooms, and has overseen initiatives on journalism ethics, press freedom, and environmental reporting for Latin American reporters and editors. In 1998, he launched the International Journalists Network and continues to train journalists throughout Latin America, specifically through a new investigative reporting initiative for Mexico and Central America. Joshua Caffery (1999 BACH H&SS), chair of the Episcopal School of Acadiana English department, has won the Alan Lomax Fellowship in Folklife Studies, a post-doctoral fellowship for advanced research based on the Alan Lomax Collection at the Library of Congress. He is the first high school teacher and first U.S. citizen to earn the distinction. Caffery, who holds a doctoral degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will move to Washington, D.C., in September with his family for the oneyear appointment. An accomplished musician, he has played with the Red Stick Ramblers and the Grammynominated Feufollet. The Alan Lomax Fellows Program provides an opportunity for scholarly research for a period of up to eight months, using materials from the Lomax Collection and other collections of the Library of Congress, through fulltime residency at the library.
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Fredrick R. “Fritz” Embaugh (1996 BACH A&D), chief executive officer, and David J. Pickens (1996 BACH A&D), vice president, of +one Design & Construction, were recently selected by the Gulf States Region of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to receive a 2013 Gulf States AIA Honor Award for the Scissor House project. The Scissor House joins two long, metal-clad forms that bisect its lot, mimicking the cutting action of a pair of scissors. Embracing a clean, unpretentious aesthetic, the Scissor House is wrapped with corrugated metal sheets and cement board siding punctuated with large expanses of glass. The AIA Gulf States Honors Program identifies built works of distinction in the Gulf States region. Sixteen award recipients were recognized from 120 submissions from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Patrick Goldsmith (1991 BACH BUS, 1993 MPA), director of the House of Representatives Fiscal Division, was named the 2013 Master of Public Administration Alumnus of the Year by the LSU Public Administration Institute (PAI). The institute and the Public Administration Institute Student Association (PAISA) co-hosted PAISA Day on April 17 at the Business Education Complex. Goldsmith is the former director of performance auditing and actuarial service for the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office. In addition to serving on the Southern Legislative Conference Government Operations Committee, he is a past member of the executive committee of the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society and a past chairman of the performance audit committee of the Southwest Intergovernmental Audit Forum and served on the Performance Measurement Advisory Committee.
Roger Jenkins (1993 BACH ENGR) has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Murphy Oil Corporation. He was previously Murphy’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Jenkins joined Murphy in 2001 and was named executive vice president of exploration and production in 2009. He played a critical leadership role in the company’s worldwide exploration and production operations, including the development of the Kikeh field in Malaysia and the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. Prior to joining Murphy, Jenkins spent 17 years with a major oil company. He holds an M.B.A. from Tulane University and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Karen Naumann (1993 BACH H&SS) has joined the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest United States as press officer. In her new role, she will address strategic communication efforts of the consulate with the media, organizations, and communities in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas. Christian Patterson (1999 BACH MCOM) was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Mississippi Army National Guard in May. Patterson is deputy director of the Mississippi Military Department’s Public Affairs Office and serves as the Joint Force HeadquartersMississippi National Guard Public Affairs Officer. During his career, Patterson has deployed to BosniaHerzegovina, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, as well as France, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. He holds an M.B.A. from Belhaven University, an associate’s degree in radio, TV, and film from Hinds Community College, and a professional certificate in strategic communication and leadership from
Seton Hall University. He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College’s Intermediate Level EducationCommon Core Course and received his accreditation in public relations and military communication from the Universal Accreditation Board in New York, N.Y. Patterson is active in community programs within the Jackson metropolitan area. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and serves as president-elect of the Rho Xi Lambda chapter in Canton, Miss. He volunteers as a community health advisor for Jackson’s mid-south division of the American Cancer Society and is a member of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi. Patterson and his wife, Latrice, reside in Clinton, Miss.
Katherine Seegers Roth (1999 BACH H&SS) was elected a shareholder in the Liskow & Lewis firm effective Jan. 1. She is a member of the firm’s litigation practice and focuses her work on appellate and energyrelated issues and has handled appeals in the Louisiana courts of appeal, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. She has experience with administrative appeals, including numerous appeals to the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Her experience covers the prosecution and defense of contractual disputes, including numerous commercial lease disputes; class action defense; antitrust and unfair trade practice claims; and construction litigation. She received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2002.
Dr. Xiulu Ruan (1993 MAST SCI), co-medical director and co-owner of Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama in Mobile, has broken his own world record of having seven medical board/subspeciality board certifications in the United States. In March, he passed his eighth medical board certification exam, the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners, setting a new world record for the most medical board certifications, according to the World Record Academy. He attended Shandong Medical University (formerly Medical School of QiLu University) before coming to the U.S. in 1989 to attend graduate school at LSU.
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William R. “Rick” Thompson, II (1990 BACH BUS), managing partner in Hankinson LLP, Dallas, has been selected among the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine based upon his work in the area of appellate law. He focuses on appeals related to governmental matters, as well as commercial litigation. A former Texas Assistant Solicitor General, he argued the precedent-setting sovereign immunity case Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm’n v. IT-Davy before the Supreme Court of Texas. Board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Thompson is a member of the commission that governs board certification for Texas appellate lawyers.
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2000s
Clay V. Bland, Jr. (2004 BACH A&D) has joined Flanagan Partners LLP’s legal department, concentrating on oil-andgas production, insurance coverage and recovery, construction, admiralty, casualty, and commercial matters. A cum laude LSU graduate, Bland was inducted into the Foureaux Society and was a member of Gamma Beta Phi and Golden Key International honor societies. He earned a J.D. from Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans. He ranked in the top quarter of the class, edited the Loyola Law Review, and took part in the University of Vienna Law School Study Abroad Program. He previously served as a judicial extern for Magistrate Judge
Sally Shushan and as a law clerk for the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. Mark Cascio (2007 BACH H&SS) has been named head basketball coach at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge. Cascio served as head basketball coach at Christian Life Academy for the last three years and was named District Coach of the Year for districts 8-1A and 7-1A for three straight years. He led his players to achieve district MVP, 1st and 2nd Team All-State teams, 1-A Player of the Year, All-District and All-Metro teams, and he has had two 1,000 point scorers. Prior to coaching at Christian Life Academy, Cascio served as head basketball coach for both the boys’ and girls’ teams at
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Tiger Nation
Catholic High of Pointe Coupee, assistant basketball coach for the varsity team and head coach for the junior varsity and freshman teams at Catholic High, coach for the AAU Baton Rouge Bearcats, and basketball coach for St. Aloysius. Jesse Cohen (2008 MBA), an LSU Center for Internal Auditing alumnus and international internal auditor adviser for AutoZone, has been named by the Institute of Internal Auditors to its Top 20 Auditors Under 30 list for 2013. Cohen played an integral part in developing the internal audit department’s new audit programs, auditor development frameworks, and annual-risk assessment methodologies. He also helped develop new analytical tools and reports that allowed his team to recover significant funds during the past fiscal year. Laura Edmonston (2001 BACH HS&E), of Corvallis, Ore., has earned a Certificate of Paralegal Studies from Duke University.
Renee Sarradet Graff (2003 BACH BUS) has been promoted to mortgage lending controller and operations officer at Investar Bank in Baton Rouge. Graff, a certified internal auditor, was previously controller and internal auditor. She joined Investar in 2009 after serving as controller for the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association, senior financial analyst for the Shaw Group, and controller for American Gateway Bank. She is treasurer of the Capital Area Agency on Aging and a member of the audit committee of the Baton Rouge chapter of Volunteers of America.
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Nikhil Gupta (2003 PHD ENGR), associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, will receive the ASM International Silver Medal, which recognizes a career of distinguished contributions in the field of materials science and engineering and service to the profession, in October. ASM International serves the materials science and engineering profession. Gupta, who holds a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, has received 2007 and 2009 Visiting Lectureship awards from the ASM International-Indian Institute of Metals, a 2009 ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship from the Air Force Research Laboratory, and a 2013 Young Leader Professional Development Award from the Structural Materials Division of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. Brian Kistler (2008 BACH BUS), an LSU Center for Internal Auditing alumnus and a senior staffer for Crowe Horwath LLP, where he has developed an expertise in loss share and audit command language, has been named by the Institute of Internal Auditors to its Top 20 Auditors Under 30 list for 2013. Kistler is a certified internal auditor and certified public accountant and has a certification in risk management assurance. He is a member of the internal audit department at Crowe Horwath and focuses on the financial services industry. Travis M. Lavergne (2005 BACH BUS), of Denham Springs, La., was recently promoted to executive vice president and chief credit officer at Investar Bank and will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the bank’s credit policy and
procedures throughout its southeast Louisiana franchise. He was previously senior vice president and chief risk management officer at Investar. He joined the bank in 2012 after serving as senior bank examiner for the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions. Lavergne earned a master’s degree in business from Southeastern Louisiana University. Daniela Mack (2004 BACH M&DA, 2006 MAST M&DA) was one of five finalists in the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, widely regarded as the world’s greatest singing competition. She reached the finals, held on June 23, from a group of 20 hopefuls. Mack, a mezzo-soprano, appeared with Opera Louisiane in Chanson d’amour in 2011 and has performed with many of the world’s best companies in North America, Europe, and Asia. Brianne S. Rome (2002 BACH H&SS 2004 JD) was elected a shareholder in the Liskow & Lewis firm effective Jan. 1. She is a member of the employee benefits practice group, providing consultation and advice with respect to tax-qualified retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and health and welfare plans. Rome is a board-certified tax specialist as certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. She received her Master of Laws in Taxation from the New York University School of Law in 2005. At LSU, she was selected to Order of the Coif and served as recent developments editor of the Louisiana Law Review.
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Tommy Santora (2001 BACH MCOM), a communications specialist in the Adams and Reese New Orleans office, received the Volunteer of the Year award at the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) National Conference, held in May. The award recognizes one member who displays outstanding service to the organization in raising awareness and funds for research of the neurological muscle disease Myasthenia Gravis. Santora, a resident of Harvey, La., founded the local New Orleans Myasthenia Gravis Resource Group in 2011, and the group, with more than 100 members, has raised more than $70,000 locally in its first two years for research and awareness. Santora was recently elected chair of the communications committee and is a board member of the MGFA. Lauren A. Tucker (2007 BACH A&D) has joined Zehnder Communications, Inc., as public relations coordinator, organizing client accounts and overseeing the agency’s in-house promotion. She previously served as director of marketing and operations for Baton Rouge Parents Magazine and as a casting agent for Films In Motion at Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge.
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Sevetri Wilson (2008 BACH MCOM, 2008 BACH H&SS), founder and CEO of Solid Ground Innovations LLC in Baton Rouge, received a 2013 Women of Excellence Award (Business) from the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus Foundation (LLWCF). The awards recognize “the exemplary achievements and contributions of extraordinary Louisiana women who personify excellence in leadership, profession, academics, community service, character, and integrity.” The award was presented in May at the LLWCF Annual Women of Excellence Awards and Scholarships Gala.
2010s
Rachel Bond (2010 BACH BUS, 2011 MAST BUS), an LSU Center for Internal Auditing alumna and a consultant for Deloitte and Touche LLP in its enterprise risk services group, has been named by the Institute of Internal Auditors to its Top 20 Auditors Under 30 list for 2013. Bond is a member of the New York chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and was the top winner of the Esther R. Sawyer Research Award for her paper on Internal Audit Rotational Programs in 2011.
Stephen F. Butterfield (2010 BACH H&SS), of Shreveport, La., received the Peter L. Doran ’88 Scholarship at the Mississippi College School of Law’s annual Law Day Ceremony. The award is given to a second-year law student who best represents Doran’s character and personality and is connected to the attorney’s home state of Louisiana. Additionally, the recipient must embody the traits of citizenship, zest for living, and temendous affection for people. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Evans (2012 BACH BUS) has joined Zehnder Communications as account coordinator for clients such as Visit Baton Rouge, BancorpSouth, and Gulf Coast Seafood. Lindsey Gonzales (2012 BACH MCOM) has joined Zehnder Communications, Inc., as a media coordinator. She previously worked for Diane Allen and Associates as a media buying assistant and for Peter Mayer Advertising as a media intern.
Michael Costa (2013 BACH ENGR) was among 15 engineers chosen by global chemical company Solvay for its selective Foundations for the Future program, a career-development track designed specifically for high achieving engineering graduates. The new engineers are placed in roles at manufacturing plants across the country and will rotate to new assignments approximately every 18 months during the next three years. Costa will begin his career at Solvay Eco Services in Houston where the company regenerates spent sulfuric acid for refineries and the chemical industry. Drew Goodwin (2013 BACH ENGR) was among 15 engineers chosen by global chemical company Solvay for its selective Foundations for the Future program, a career-development track
designed specifically for high achieving engineering graduates. The new engineers are placed in roles at manufacturing plants across the country and will rotate to new assignments approximately every 18 months during the next three years. As an intern at a major refinery, Goodwin implemented an equipment tracking system that resulted in a 70 percent increase in product value. He will begin his career as a process engineer at Solvay Novecare in Vernon, Texas. Morgan Stafford (2012 BACH MCOM) has joined Zehnder Communications, Inc., as a media coordinator. Stafford coordinates media efforts for Superior Honda and Hyatt Regency New
Orleans. Prior to joining Zehnder, she served as campaign assistant for Judge Jeff Hughes’s campaign for Louisiana Supreme Court and interned for Baton Rouge Business Report.
BABY
BENGALS
Cher Green Broussard (2004 BACH H&SS, 2007 MSW) and husband Matthew Broussard of Gonzales, La., announce the birth of their daughter, Tela Briella, born at 7:23 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2012. Tela weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and measured 21 inches long.
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Tigers in Print O’Neill Barrett, Jr. (1949 BACH SCI, 1953 MD) . . not much of a war . . . (Westview Publishing) Until 1962, the U.S. Army in Vietnam was represented by “advisers” from the MAAG (Military Assistance and Advisory Group). That year, American involvement increased, and permanent American units were placed in the country. The first such unit was the 8th Field Hospital, the only hospital there until 1965. In . . . not much of a war . . ., O’Neill Barrett presents a first-hand account of the difficulties involved in putting the hospital into operation. Emphasis is on tropical diseases – especially malaria and its impact on military operations – and venereal diseases, follower of armies in combat since ancient times. Special attention is given to the helicopter and its influence not only on combat operations but also on evacuation of casualties from the battlefield and saving thousands of wounded troops. Jinx Coleman Broussard (1971 BACH MCOM, 1986 MAST MCOM) African American Foreign Correspondents (LSU Press) Though African Americans have served as foreign reporters for almost two centuries, their work remains virtually unstudied. In African American Foreign Correspondents, Jinx Coleman Broussard traces the history of black participation in international newsgathering beginning in the mid1800s with Frederick Douglass and
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Mary Ann Shadd Cary – the first black woman to edit a North American newspaper – and provides insight into how and why African Americans reported the experiences of blacks worldwide. In many ways, black correspondents upheld a tradition of filing objective stories on world events, yet some African American journalists in the mainstream media, like their predecessors in the black press, had a different mission and perspective. They adhered primarily to a civil rights agenda, grounded in advocacy, protest, and pride. Accordingly, some of these correspondents worked to spur social reform in the United States and force policy changes that could eliminate oppression. Joshua Clegg Caffery (1999 BACH H&SS) Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Recordings (LSU Press) Alan Lomax’s prolific career as a folklorist and musicologist began with a trip across the South and into the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun country during the height of the Great Depression. In 1934, his father, John, then curator of the Library of Congress’s Archive of American Folk Song, took an eighteen-year-old Alan and a 300-pound aluminum disk recorder into the rice fields of Jennings, along the waterways of New Iberia, and behind the gates of Angola State Penitentiary to collect vestiges of African American and Acadian musical tradition. These recordings now serve as the
foundational document of indigenous Louisiana music. In Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Recordings, Joshua Clegg Caffery presents, for the first time, a comprehensive examination of the 1934 corpus and unveils a multifaceted story of traditional song in one of the country’s most culturally dynamic regions. John W. Day (1967 BACH H&SS, 1968 MAST H&SS) Gulf of Mexico Origins, Water, and Biota: Volume 4, Ecosystem-Based Management (Texas A&M University Press) The fourth volume in the Harte Research Institute’s landmark scientific series on the Gulf of Mexico provides a comprehensive study of ecosystembased management, analyzing key coastal ecosystems in eleven Gulf Coast states from Florida to Quintana Roo and presenting case studies in which this integrated approach was tested in both the United States and Mexico. Two overview chapters cover related information on Cuba and coastal zone management in Mexico. The comprehensive data on management policies and practices in this volume give researchers, policy makers, and other concerned parties the most up-to-date information available, supporting and informing initiatives to sustain healthy ecosystems so that they can, in turn, sustain human social and economic systems in this important transnational region.
David Kirby (1966 BACH H&SS) The Biscuit Joint (LSU Press) Inspired by the carpenter’s biscuit joint – a seamless, undetectable fit between pieces of wood – David Kirby’s latest collection dramatizes the artistic mind as a hidden connection that links the mundane with the remarkable. Even in our most ordinary actions, Kirby shows, there lies a wealth of creative inspiration: “the poem that is written every day if we’re there / to read it.” Well known for his garrulous and comic musings, Kirby follows a wandering , yet calculated path. In “What’s the Plan, Artists?” a girl’s yawning in a picture gallery leads him to meditations on subjects as diverse as musical composition, the less-thanbeautiful human figure, and “the simple pleasures / of living.” The Biscuit Joint traverses seemingly random thoughts so methodically that the journey from beginning to end always proves satisfying and surprising.
Valérie Loichot (1996 PHD H&SS) The Tropics Bite Back: Culinary Coups in Caribbean Literature (University of Minnesota Press) The ubiquitous presence of food and hunger in Caribbean writing – from folktales, fiction, and poetry to political and historical treatises – signals the traumas that have marked the Caribbean from the Middle Passage to the present day. The Tropics Bite Back traces the evolution of the Caribbean response to the colonial gaze (or rather the colonial mouth) from the late 19th to the 21st centuries. Unlike previous scholars, Valérie Loichot does not read food simply as a cultural trope. Instead, she is interested in literary cannibalism, which she interprets in parallel with theories of relation and creolization. The Tropics Bite Back employs crossdisciplinary methods to rethink notions of race and literary influence by providing a fresh perspective on forms of consumption both metaphorical and material.
Mary H. Manhein (1981 BACH H&SS, 1985 MAST H&SS) Bone Remains: Cold Cases in Forensic Anthropology (LSU Press) Over the past thirty years, forensic anthropologist Mary H. Manhein has helped to identify hundreds of deceased persons throughout Louisiana and beyond. In Bone Remains, she offers details of riveting cases from her files – many of them involving facial reconstructions where only bones offered clues to the victims’ stories. Manhein takes readers into the field, inside her lab, and through DNA databases and government bureaucracies as she and her team tirelessly work to identify and seek justice for those who can no longer speak for themselves. From a 2000-year-old mummy, to Civil War sailors, to graves disturbed by Hurricane Isaac, Manhein presents both modern and historic cases. Her conversational accounts provide a fascinating look into the stories behind the headlines and sometimes heart-wrenching details of people lost and found.
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Tiger Nation
In Memoriam Larry Bruce Jones died on May 30, 2013. He played football for LSU from 1951-54 as a center and a linebacker. He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from LSU in 1956, before joining the U.S. Air Force. In 1957, while stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., he was named to the All-Air Force football team. After being discharged at the rank of captain, Jones joined Coach Paul Dietzel’s staff for the 1958 football season, the first year the Tigers won the national championship. He earned a master’s degree in education in 1961 then followed Dietzel to Army and South Carolina. While at South Carolina, he was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, and he also served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for Tennessee and as defensive coordinator for the University of Kansas. He was head coach at Florida State University for three years, leading the Seminoles to the Fiesta Bowl in 1971, his first season. In 1979, he declined an opportunity to join the Dallas Cowboys scouting department to return to LSU as an associate athletics director. In 1989, after twice serving as LSU’s interim athletics director, he turned the page on a successful run as coach and sports administrator and began his career as a fundraiser for the LSU Alumni Association, raising more than $35 million in contributions for LSU scholarships, professorships, and facilities over 23 years. In recognition of his achievements, he was named Most Valuable Player at the association’s Accolades Banquet in 2011 and named the LSU Alumni Association’s 2013 Alumnus of the Year.
Steven Alan Henning Retired Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness June 29, 2013 Baton Rouge, La.
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LSU alumna-by-choice Marilyn Root will always be remembered as a FUN-raiser. When she passed away on March 19, 2013, LSU and Baton Rouge lost one of its most avid fans and supporters. Described by her son, Bill Root, as a “Mississippi tomboy,” Marilyn married into a family of LSU “fan-atics,” whose “idea of fun,” according to her sister, Lorraine Pol, was to “follow the Tigers everywhere.” As youngsters, Marilyn’s four children could be seen sleeping on the laps of their parents and grandparents at every LSU home game. “Mother also loved the LSU basketball team and the Bengal Brass Pep Band,” said Paula Root Dupuy. Marilyn and her husband, Wesley Root, a mechanical engineer, were among the first to step up for LSU’s Lod Cook Conference Center. In memory of their fallen son, the Root Family established the Barry Root Memorial Endowed Flagship Scholarship. Among the first LSU AgCenter’s Master Gardeners, Marilyn often credited her textbook knowledge of plants to the Burden Center’s resident horticulturist, stating, “I love Bob Souvestre.” Marilyn organized volunteers to preserve and promote the LSU AgCenter’s Botanic Gardens, All American Rose Garden, and urban wilderness in the heart of Baton Rouge, on Essen Lane. “The Burden Horticulture Society exists today because of Marilyn Root,” said society cofounder Ginnie Bolin. Root’s life will be celebrated at the Wine and Roses banquet sponsored by the Burden Horticulture Society on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Botanic Garden. Visit www.burdenhorticulturesociety.com or call 225-763-3990.
Mark Zucker August 3, 2013 J. Franklin Bayhi Alumni Professor of Art History Innsbruck, Austria
1930s Charles B. Schweizer, 1936 BACH ENGR, May 12, 2013, Edwardsville, Ill.
1940s James Graves Atteberry, 1948 BACH ENGR, June 6, 2013, Crowley, La. Robert Palmer “Bob” Boudreaux, 1942 BACH ENGR, June 23, 2013, Lutcher, La. Anna Lee Brogdon Schurtz, 1944 BACH EDUC, June 22, 2013, Destrehan, La. June Hollister Douglas, 1948 BACH H&SS, June 25, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Virginia Rhorer Dupuy, 1945 BACH HS&E, May 21, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Mildred Marie “Millie” Guichard, 1941 BACH HS&E, 1949 MAST HS&E, July 1, 2013, Biloxi, Miss. Joyce Lacy Jolissaint, 1941 BACH HS&E, April 26, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Harry J. Morel, Sr., 1943 BACH EDUC, May 12, 2013, Boutte, La. Leland S. Major, 1947 BACH ENGR, June 15, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Roy D. Mitchell, 1948 BACH AGR, 1955 MAST AGR, June 9, 2013, Amite, La. Santiago “Sonny” Porcella, III, 1942 BACH AGR, Jan. 19, 2013, Pennington, N.J. Mary Lou Caradine Riche, 1940 BACH H&SS, April 28, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Oscar G. Richard, III, 1942 BACH MCOM, Retired Director of Public Relations, May 7, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Louis A. St. Germain, 1943 BACH ENGR, April 2013, Baton Rouge, La.
1950s Carl W. “Wimpy” Bauer, 1955 BACH BUS, 1960 JD, June 11, 2013, Lafayette, La. Doris J. Coats, 1954 MAST HS&E, July 3, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Benjamin Cole Craft, Jr., 1954 ENGR, May 7, 2013, Houston, Texas Loretta D. Chauvin, 1959 BACH H&SS, July 1, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Lucien G. DeLouise, 1951 BACH BUS, June 5, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Lawrence P. “Larry” Fulton, Jr., 1956 BACH BUS, June 19, 2013, Cataula, Ga. Quincy Lee Hargis, 1953 MAST HS&E, July 3, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Jesse Cecil Kline, 1951 BACH H&SS, May 14, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Janis Terrell Copenhaver, 1951 BACH HS&E, April 25, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Matthew W. Gleber, 1953 BACH HS&E, May 15, 2013, Greenwood, S.C. Laurie Catherine McArthur Philips Kavanagh, 1951 BACH HS&S, 1967 BACH HS&E, June 24, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Robert L. “Buck” Kleinpeter, 1950 JD, May 18, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Georgia Cook Loe, 1952 BACH BUS, April 23, 2013, Madison, Miss. Warren Sutton Martin, 1956 BACH ENGR, May 4, 2013, Kent, Wash. Bill Rivers Penn, 1957 BACH H&SS, April 27, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Robert Paul “Bob” Post, Jr., 1959 BACH SCI, April 15, 2013, New Orleans, La. Inez Sanford Shaw, 1950 BACH BUS, 1964 MAST HS&E, June 24, 2013, Baton Rouge, La.
Gerald Alfred Stewart, 1951 BACH HS&E, May 19, 2013, New Orleans, La. Virginia Arbour Tomeny, 1951 BACH AGR, June 20, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. George Cleveland “Buster” Womack, 1959 BACH AGR, July 13, 2013, Jonesville, La.
1960s Lynwood Wayne Gordon, 1969 BACH ENGR, May 18, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Gregory M. Haas, 1960 MAST ENGR, 1963 PHD SCI, March 17, 2013, Rockville, Md. Helen Lois Hopkins Hastings, 1965 BACH HS&E, May 15, 2013, Zachary, La. Mary Jane Kahao, 1964 BACH HS&E, July 24, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Donald James “Don” Grant, 1963 BACH ENGR, June 12, 2013, Prairieville, La. Mildred Kelly Marcelle, 1967 MAST HS&E, July 4, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Michael Philip Sotile, Sr., 1967 BACH HS&E, June 17, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Richard E. Thompson, 1961 BACH BUS, May 31, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Marshall Ross Vidrine, 1965 BACH H&SS, May 4, 2013, Winston-Salem, N.C.
1970s Dion L. Ainsworth, 1973 BACH H&SS, May 18, 2013, Beaumont, Texas David Raymond Aucoin, 1973 BACH H&SS, April 16, 2013, Pine Prairie, La. Barbara Fremin Chatelain, 1977 MAST AGR, June 20, 2013, Denham Springs, La. John Heller Tabony, Jr., 1973 PHD ENGR, June 14, 2013, Baton Rouge, La.
1980s Laura Katherine “Kay” Fort Chenevert, 1981 BACH HS&E, May 15, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Michelle Anne Cooper, 1984 BACH AGR, July 11, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Barry Lee Ferguson, 1980 BACH H&SS, June 12, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Mark Stephen Jackson, 1984 BACH ENGR, May 1, 2013, Houston, Texas Clayton Joseph Joffrion, Jr., 1985 BACH H&SS, July 7, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. Mark William “Mac” McBride, 1987 MBA, May 8, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. William Dean Sasser, 1983 BACH H&SS, June 6, 2013, Baton Rouge, La.
1990s
Wayne Gaston Hebert II, 1995 MBA, June 15, 2013, Austin, Texas
2000s
Kelly Andrea Baechle, 2009 BACH H&SS, June 23, 2013, Baton Rouge, La. A. Lamar Simmons, 2004 BACH MCOM, June 20, 2013, Baton Rouge, La.
2010s
Michael Patrick O’Brien, 2010 BACH SCI, June 7, 2013, New Orleans, La.
If you would like to make a gift to the LSU Alumni Association in memory of a family member, friend or classmate, please contact our office for additional information at 225-578-3838 or 1-888-746-4578.
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Profile
Tiger Nation
Brooke Knows Jack
By Charlotte Kelley Photo by Rory White
School of Music alumna Brooke Waggoner.
“It was an endless education of different techniques – different timeline of composers, the timeline with history and music – that was really valuable.”
What does an 84-year-old Greek-born composer have in common with a 37-year-old rock musician from Detroit? The answer is not what, but who – Brooke Waggoner (2006 BACH M&DA). A classically trained pianist and singer-songwriter whose latest album, Originator, was released earlier this year, Waggoner credits both world-renowned LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts Boyd Professor of Composition Dinos Constantinides and famous American rock musician Jack White as major influences on her career as an artist. “Probably the most influential, just from observance, was with Jack,” said Waggoner. “Honestly, the coolest part of all that was recording Blunderbuss (White’s debut solo album which was released in 2012), watching him in the producer chair and being a part of all those sessions.” A resident of Nashville, Waggoner recorded with White in the Music City, playing organ, piano and electric piano on the album’s tracks. “But Dinos has also been a big notch for me – just being around someone so seasoned and experienced, and kind of soaking that in every day for four years – that was a big influence for sure,” said Waggoner. The young musician studied under Constantinides in the LSU School of Music from 2002-06, receiving her undergraduate degree in music composition. “Dinos taught me a ton,” she said. “It was an endless education of different techniques – different timeline of composers, the timeline with history and music – that was really valuable. I still use all that. I get really excited about it because it’s so challenging and interesting. What was so great about those four years of doing my undergrad there (at LSU) was that it was sort of a different world, a different scene doing composition and orchestration with that classical background. I just loved getting a really broad picture of what an orchestra is capable of doing and all the different colors and palettes that you have. It’s endless.” Seven years later, with a musical résumé that now includes three albums, production work, film scoring, and even ad campaigns, Waggoner has moved on from being the new kid. On Feb. 10, 2013, Waggoner performed on the 55th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, baby-blue grand piano in tow, along with her band mates in the Peacocks and, oh yes, Jack White. The Peacocks, White’s all-female backup group who toured with him during 2012 to promote his solo album, backed him on the show while performing his single “Love Interruption.” The performance was a final christening of sorts to a year packed full of playing shows and festivals domestically and abroad to hundreds of thousands of people. “I felt like last year was a bucket list, mapping out all these places and shows I’ve always wanted to play. But, honestly, the biggest reward for me so far has been my new record that I put out. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into it, so that’s the most rewarding.” ON THE WEB www.brookewaggoner.com Charlotte Kelley is a senior internal communications specialist in corporate communications at Ochsner Health System.
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We are offering BIG rewards!
Join the LSU Alumni Association for as little as $10 a month and get autographed memorabilia from LSU’s gridiron greats!
All members of the
LSU Alumni Association receive another great benefit...
Tailgate party at the PMAC every home game!
All LSU Alumni Association & TAF members are welcome. The tailgate includes giveaways, appearances by the LSU cheerleaders, the Golden Band from Tigerland, the Golden Girls, LSU sports teams, game of the day on the big screen, free soft drinks and beer, great food at a nominal fee, and best of all... AIR CONDITIONING! To enjoy all of this and more, simply join the LSU Alumni Association. To join, you just have to LOVE LSU... there are no other requirements! Sign up today at www.lsualumni.org/membership.
Football Season Special Events Throughout the season: The person who refers the most new members to the LSU Alumni Association throughout the season receives 2 club level seats and a parking pass to the Arkansas game. September 21 Auburn: Member bring a prospect event: If the prospect signs up for membership at the tailgate party, double points are added toward the drawing for Arkansas tickets and parking pass. October 12 Florida: Member bring a prospect event: If the prospect signs up for membership at the tailgate party, you are entered into a drawing to win 2 upgraded sideline seats to the Florida game. November 23 Texas A&M: Enhanced Member VIP signing event with Billy Cannon. November 29 Arkansas: Announce the winner of the 2 club level seats and parking pass to the Arkansas game.
LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013 67 www.lsualumni.org/membership
Profile
Tiger Nation
Farewell, Kyrgyzstan
By Judson Moore
LSU Alumni Association Executive Vice President Cliff Vannoy and Judson Moore in white felt kalpaks, the traditional hat worn by Kyrgyz men.
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Serving in the United States Peace Corps these last two years has been a tremendous experience. During my two years in Kyrgyzstan I accomplished many things, too many to attempt listing here. So let me describe the cornerstone achievement: Mobile Community Media Centers. Rural and underserved populations of Kyrgyzstan, especially women and children, have a weak voice in the country and in society. Enabling a wider voice to this population but with a lack of social mobility and weak technological resources posed a great challenge. While working with the Kloop School of Journalism, I realized that harnessing mobile technology could provide a sustainable solution. The country has well-developed cellular and data networks, and smartphones are a cheap and prevalent technology in the region. I wrote a concept note to support this project and found funding in a joint United Nations/European Union Commission program. I had close contacts at the UN, who helped guide our ideas into a framework that would fulfill our mutual goals. This developed into a self-sustaining project between Kloop and the UN. A journalism and technological training series is now underway in all regions of the country, and in just six months, 10 of these Mobile Community Media Centers were deployed, in addition to two new stationary Community Media Centers. Together, a great victory was achieved in supporting freedom of speech in Central Asia and the development of the press corps – both essential elements to promoting stable democracy in the region. I can’t begin to thank everyone who has made all of this possible. To those who have encouraged me, to all who sent me care packages, to all of the project funders, to my
wonderful counterparts at RadioMost, Kloop, and the Braille Literacy Project – you will all forever be a part of me. And thank you, Tiger Nation, for letting me share my story with you. I hope it has inspired you to make the world we live in a better place. I’ve returned to the USA and am living in Austin, where I am leading the charge to establish Kloop-USA – a nonprofit aimed at promoting journalism and freedom of speech in Central Asia. For more information about Kloop-USA, visit my blog at http://judsonlmoore.com/ When I receive feedback from people who have heard my story, they tell me things like, “I wish I could do that,” Judson Moore, center back, at the Kloop School of Journalism. or, “I always thought about it.” I say: “Just do it.” There is nothing special or magical about me or my story. I am just a guy who showed up, raised a hand, walked through a door, and followed my heart. If Peace Corps sounds interesting to you, then call a recruiting office--you might just be surprised at what all you will learn about “The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love.”
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Milestones
Don Odom
John Greene
Pauline Cassel. Photo by Larry Hubbard
Edgar L Cox
“#1 Claiborne Parish Fan - Don Odom,” of Homer, La., an alumnus-by-choice, celebrated his 90th birthday in November 2012, and John Greene (1941 BACH EDUC), of Monroe, turned 100 on May 5.
Earl and Daisy Turner. Photo by Larry Hubbard
Earl Turner (1936 BACH ENGR) and Pauline Cassel (1940 BACH HS&E, 1951 MAST HS&E) celebrated their 100th birthdays on Aug. 14 at Amber Assisted Living in Baton Rouge. Earl turned 100 on Aug. 14, the same day his wife, Daisy, celebrated her 97th birthday, and Pauline was 100 on Aug. 17. Edgar L. “Ted” Cox (1947 BACH AGR), a lifetime member of the LSU Alumni Association since May 26, 1947, celebrated his 93rd birthday on April 7. “If any of my buddies are still living, I hope to hear from them,” he writes. Stay in touch at edgarcoxe92@yahoo.com. Happy Birthday, Tigers!
Back by Popular Demand Now in Hardback
The LSU Alumni Association is proud to announce the sixth printing of the
Louisiana Tiger Bait
Selected Recipes from L.S.U. Alums... Available at the LSU Alumni Gift Shop located in the lobby of The Cook Hotel 225.383.0241 shop.lsualumni.org
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Theater on the European Front
Marcus Bowers as Atticus Finch
Marcus Bowers (1988 BACH A&D), U.S. Joint Staff’s Command Liaison in Europe and stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, was cast earlier this year as Atticus Finch in the Stuttgart Theater Center’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird. “The experience was a true journey, and we sold out all eight performances,” Bowers writes. The experience earned Bowers a Topper Award for Best Actor in U.S. European Theater 2012-13. “Toppers,” he explains, “is kind of a mini-Oscars, which attracts some 600 special guests in tuxedos and gowns to honor the best of the European theater community. It was held this year on April 20 in Kaiserslautern, Germany.” Read more about Bowers at www.lsualumni.org/ news/theater-on-the-european-front.
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New Grad Sets Sights on Career in Public Health
By Damian Foley Photo by Eddy Perez
Tiffany Lemon in her lab.
Four years ago, Opelousas native Tiffany Lemon (2013 BACH SCI) was a rising star at LSU, the face of recruiting materials the University produced to promote the College of Science and the Honors College. Now she is a newly minted LSU alumna, graduating cum laude with a bevy of awards, including the A.P. Tureaud Milestone Award, the College of Science Outstanding Biochemistry Senior Award, and Communication across the Curriculum’s Distinguished Communicator Award. Tiffany, a member of the LA-STEM Research Scholars program while at LSU, has conducted HIV research at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and
tuberculosis research at the Pasteur Institute in France. While in France, she met the Timothy Brown – better known as the “Berlin Patient,” the first known person to be cured of AIDS – who personally thanked her for the AIDS research she conducted at the Ragon Institute. She plans to begin graduate studies in the fall of 2014 in biomedical sciences with a focus on infectious disease and public health. Closer to home though – and closer to the hearts and stomachs of fellow Louisianans – the expert cupcake maker and kickball player is researching a bacteria that lives in seafood in the hopes that she can find a cure for foodborne illnesses and make seafood safer to eat.
For a complete list of fall events, visit www.lsualumni.org/events/eventscalendar2.asp
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Alum Serving in Peace Corps in Ukraine a l u m n i
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Tyler Henry, right, with English teacher Svetlana Sakalo and Peace Corps Ukraine Country Director Doug Teschner at the Peace Corps Ukraine Group 45 swearing-in ceremony.
Tyler Henry (2012 BACH H&SS) is a youth development Peace Corps volunteer serving in Zasullia, Ukraine, a village of approximately 5,700 people. He was sworn in June 11 after three months training in the town of Obukhiv and is teaching clubs related to healthy lifestyles, the world of work, and active citizenship at the local secondary school. “I will instruct my Ukrainian students on such topics as HIV/ AIDS prevention and transmission, journalism, volunteerism, and leadership, and during the summer, I plan to organize camps related to these topics for Ukrainians all over the country,” he writes. “Following my two-year service, I hope to provide sustainable clubs and developments for my lovely Ukrainian community, and, hopefully finally achieve fluency in a foreign language.” Stay in touch at thenry712@gmail.com.
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LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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Licensed Tigers Tigers across the country share photos and information about their personalized plates.
L19S62U – Sidney E. Rodgers (1962 BACH BUS), of Deatsville, Ala., displays his Tiger tag in the midst of Auburn and Bama territory. Rodgers received his Golden Tiger pin at the 2012 Golden Tiger Reunion sponsored by the LSU Alumni Association and also attended this year’s reunion in May.
LSU!LSU! – Les Chaney (1976 BACH BUS) and wife Patricia (Patty) Alessi Chaney (1978 BACH HS&E) have lived in Cary, N.C. for 19 years, and both have served as president of the North Carolina Triangle Alumni Chapter. When Les received his license plate renewal notice this year, Patty came up with the idea for his special LSU plate. And though the outcome was not what they hoped for, Les said, “Very cool to have this plate when LSU played UNC in the CWS.”
Bragging Rights Fund Scholarships. The LSU License Plate Program has generated more than $2.8
million since its inception in 1992; in 2011, it generated $405,990. In Louisiana $25 of the $26 annual fee goes to the scholarship fund. Currently non-revenue-generating plates are in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas. A second Texas plate released in September 2010 generates $5 per year per plate in royalties for the University.
The EASIEST Way to Shop for Tiger Gifts Online! The LSU Alumni Association has redesigned its online gift shop to make your Tiger shopping much easier. Better selections, greater discounts and an overall easy online experience.
giftshop.lsualumni.org
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LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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Tigers Around the World
Ces and Laura Guerra at Mt. Everest base camp in Tibet.
Tigers Tackle Everest – Ces Guerra (1984 BACH H&SS), of Houston, a member of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences Dean’s Circle, never misses an opportunity to promote LSU. Guerra and his wife, Laura, completed a “bucket list” goal in May – climbing Mt. Everest – and, true to form, Guerra brought an LSU flag with him.
Touring Petra – M.G. “Mickey” Olivier (1963 BACH H&SS), left, and E.C. “Casey” Heitmeier (1967 BACH AGR) pose with a Jordanian soldier in ceremonial dress in front of the Treasury at Petra – one stop on a cruise from Singapore to Rome. Both Olivier and Heitmeier are retired from the U.S. Air Force and live in Melbourne, Fla.
Flying Fightin’ Tiger – Dean Talbot (2009 BACH H&SS) sends greetings to Tigers from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. Talbot was commissioned through LSU ROTC. “I’m four years in,” he writes. Stay in touch at #fightin’tiger or #flyingtiger.
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