73 minute read
Tiger Nation
Tiger
NATION
1960s
Beth Courtney (1965 BACH HS&E), president and chief executive officer of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, received the National Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society 2020 Alumni Achievement Award. Nominated by the Baton Rouge Area Mortar Board Alumni Chapter and endorsed by the Blazer Chapter at LSU, Courtney was honored as a communicator, broadcaster, producer, community leader, and an outstanding alumni member of Mortar Board.
Patrick C. Morrow, Sr. (1969 BACH H&SS, 1972 JD), senior partner in the firm of Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett & Haik, announced the funding of fifteen $2,500 scholarships for students in St. Landry and Evangeline parishes for the 2020-2021 school year. Six of the recipients are enrolled at LSU.
DEGREES BACH Bachelor’s Degree MAST Master’s Degree PHD Doctorate SPEC Specialist DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine JD Juris Doctorate (LSU Law School) LLM Master of Laws MD Medical Doctor (LSU School of Medicine) DDS Doctor of Dental Science (LSU School of Dentistry)
COLLEGES/SCHOOLS AGR Agriculture A&D Art & Design C&E Coast & Environment 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 Joseph Arthur Simon (1960 BACH BUS, 1967 MAST H&SS), of Shreveport, La., received the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation 2020 Colonel Joseph Alexander Award (biography or autobiography) for The Greatest of All Leathernecks: John Archer Lejeune and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps. Winners receive a gold medallion, a commemorative brick along the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park pathway adjacent to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and a cash prize, if applicable. Photo: M.C. Rollo
1970s
Rodolfo J. "Rudy" Aguilar
(1979 BACH BUS, 1982 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Insurance Law, and Litigation-Mergers and Acquisitions.
Samuel A. Bacot (1970 BACH H&SS, 1972 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Litigation-Real Estate and named to the list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Land Use and Zoning Law.
Richard A. Curry (1973 BACH H&SS, 1977 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Litigation-Environmental.
Larry Feldman (1972 BACH H&SS, 1974 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bet-the-Company Litigation and Commercial Litigation.
Mark Fullmer (1976 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Venture Capital Law. Jon Ann H. Giblin (1976 BACH HS&E, 1994 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/ Insolvency, and Reorganization Law.
Leo C. Hamilton (1973 BACH H&SS, 1977 JD), a partner in Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as the 2021 Lawyer of the Year for Administrative/Regulatory Law and was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in the aeras of Employment Law-Management and Labor LawManagement. Hamilton is a member of the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Grady Hazel (1970 BACH BUS, 1971 MBA), chief financial officer of the Dunham School, Baton Rouge, was honored for his service to the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) and the accounting profession with a scholarship established in his name. The annual Grady Hazel Scholarship will be awarded to an accounting major at a Louisiana university. Hazel is a past executive director of the LCPA.
Michael D. Hunt (1974 BACH H&SS, 1977 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America and was appointed to a three-year term on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
H. Alston Johnson, III (1970 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Bet-the-Company Litigation.
Mary Terrell Joseph (1970 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Banking and Finance Law.
Kathleen A. Manning (1974 BACH HS&E, 1977 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants and Product Liability Litigation-Defendants.
Richard E. Matheny (1979 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Robert P. McCleskey, Jr. (1979 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Randy P. Roussel (1977 BACH BUS, 1984 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Banking and Finance Law.
Michael H. Rubin (1975 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Appellate Practice, Bet-theCompany Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and LitigationBanking and Finance.
James J. Schnabel (1975 BACH SCI, 1980 PHD SCI, 1984 MD-NO), of Oklahoma City, Okla., made an irrevocable donation to establish the Simon Chang Biochemistry Support Fund honoring Professor Emeritus Chang’s profound impact on him while a student at LSU. The fund will provide general support of the Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences and its teaching and research activities, including but not limited to, equipment, labs, faculty, and students. Schnabel, a pathologist retired from Ameripath Diagnostic Pathology Services, is president of the LSU Alumni Central Oklahoma Chapter. Stephen P. Strohschein (1978 BACH BUS, 1981 JD) joined Hinshaw & Culbertson law firm in New Orleans, La. Previously with McGlinchey Stafford, Strohschein is qualified as a specialist in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation - Bankruptcy 2006-2020.
1980s
Ricardo A. Aguilar (1983 BACH BUS, 1986 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, LitigationBanking and Finance, Litigation-Bankruptcy, Litigation-Mergers and Acquisitions, Litigation-Real Estate, and Litigation-Trusts and Estates.
Heather LaSalle Alexis (1988 BACH H&SS, 2000 MPA) joined Hinshaw & Culbertson law firm in New Orleans, La. Previously with McGlinchey Stafford, was selected as an LCLD Fellow (Leadership Council on Legal Diversity) in 2016. She earned a JD from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
Richard Arsenault (1980 JD) was nominated for 2020 membership in Premier Lawyers of America and was recognized as Acquisition International's Leading Trial Attorney of the Year for Louisiana as part of the Leading Advisor Awards. During the summer, he spoke at the Mass Tort Symposium in Cancun on the topic of Plaintiffs' Steering Committees and was asked by the American Bar Association to author two chapters in A Practitioner's Guide to Class Action with LSU Interim President Thomas C. Galligan, Jr., and Jaime L. Dodge, a professor at Emory law School. Jonathan C. Benda (1986 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Mark N. Bodin (1984 BACH ENGR, 1988 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants.
Mary Broussard (1983 BACH MCOM) was named director of governmental affairs for the SJB Group. Broussard has twenty-five years of experience in the electric utility business having recently retired from Dixie Electric Membership Corp. as manager of economic development and held a board seat on the National Rural Electric Economic Developers Association. She previously retired from Entergy. In 2015, the Livingston Economic Development Council honored her with the annual Robert “Bob” Easterly Award for her work in economic development. Broussard is active in Rotary.
Kenneth Champagne (1987 BACH BUS), senior vice president, Premium Finance Business Unit with Confie, is serving the second year of a two-year term as member-atlarge of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA). He is past president of the Baton Rouge chapter.
Warner Joseph Delaune
(1986 BACH ENGR, 1991 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Mark C. Dodart (1986 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Michael D. Ferachi (1986 BACH BUS, 1989 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Banking and Finance, and Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law.
Susan W. Furr (1986 BACH H&SS, 1989 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was recognized by Best Lawyers as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Litigation-Labor and Employment.
R. Marshall Grodner (1983 BACH H&SS, 1990 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Transactions/UCC Law and Equipment Finance Law.
Thomas H. Kiggans (1984 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Robert Kimbro (1980 BACH BUS), owner of SageWay, New Orleans, La., received the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) Distinguished Public Service Award. Throughout his career in accounting until his retirement from Ernst & Young in 2018, after having spent twelve years as the managing partner, Kimbro served on several nonprofit boards including the Childrens Bureau of New Orleans, the United Way of Southeast Louisiana, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Most recently, he has volunteered with GiGi’s Playhouse New Orleans, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower individuals with Down syndrome and their families.
Errol J. King, Jr. (1986 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America. Kevin J. LaVie (1981 BACH H&SS, 1984 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Steven J. Levine (1984 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Litigation-Environmental.
Scott D. Mattson (1982 BACH H&SS) retired from teaching in June. After earning his commission in the Air Force at LSU, Mattson served on active duty from January 1983 to May 1995. "We arrived in Cheyenne, Wyo., in February 1994," he writes. "When I separated from active duty we decided to settle in Cheyenne. I joined the Wyoming Air National Guard in 1997 while working on my teaching certificate. I was a traditional guardsman and taught junior high and high school from 1998-2011, when I retired from the ANG at the rank of major. I continued teaching until retiring this June."
Marshall M. Redmon (1987 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Kim Hunter Reed (1987 BACH MCOM, 1995 MPA), Louisiana commissioner of higher education, received the Exceptional Leader Award from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, cited for her role in launching a state push to double the number of adults with postsecondary credentials by 2030.
John O. Shirley (1986 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America. Eric J. Simonson (1986 BACH BUS) joined Hinshaw & Culbertson law firm in New Orleans, La. Previously with McGlinchey Stafford, he was named Ones to Watch by New Orleans CityBusiness in 2017 and is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association. He received a JD from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law.
S. Jess Sperry (1985 BACH BUS, 1988 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Real Estate Law.
Patrick A. Talley, (1982 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a 2021 Lawyer of the Year in the area of Railroad Law.
1990s
José Arce (1997 DVM), president and co-owner of Veterinary Medic Miramar Animal Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one of the first natives of the U.S. Commonwealth to serve on the American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA) Board of Directors, achieved another first last summer when the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) named him the 2020-2021 president-elect. Arce was a member of the HOD from 2000 until joining the AVMA Board in 2014.
Jeffrey M. Barbin (1992 BACH BUS, 1998 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Lori Boeneke (1994 BACH BUS), chief financial officer of Wampold Companies, Baton Rouge, received the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry Award. Boeneke serves on the Heritage Ranch Christian Children’s Home Board of Directors as treasurer and head of the finance and HR committees.
Jennifer Woods Bollich (1994 BACH HS&E) was admitted to the Global Field Program at Global Field Program at Miami University in the Earth Expeditions: Connected Conservation course. She completed a Conservation Campaign project in which she and fellow graduate students used research-based literature to create inquiry-based lesson plans and activities on behalf of Centro de Educacion, Ciencia y Conservacion. Bollich, a secondary science teacher at STEM Magnet Academy of Pointe Coupee, lives in Ventress, La.
Lisa Marie Bunch (1997 BACH H&SS) is serving her fifth term as president of the LSU Houston Alumni Chapter. She has served on the board since 2008 and held multiple roles. Bunch is a founding member of the Houston SEC Alumni Group, a captain at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, serves on the Texas Bowl Committee, and volunteers with multiple other charities. A senior hospital surgical representative, she holds an MBA from Saint Joseph's University.
Virginia Y. Dodd (1993 BACH BUS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Edmund J. Giering, IV (1990 BACH HSS, 1994 JD, 2005 MBA), general counsel of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, was named the 2020 recipient of the Outstanding In-House Counsel Award for distinguished service by a nonprofit in-house counsel by the Nonprofit Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association, Business Law Section. Giering currently serves on the LSU Law John P. Laborde Energy Law Center Advisory Council and the E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.
Karleen J. Green (1994 BACH BUS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America. J. Alan Harrell (1994 BACH H&SS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Marlon D. Henderson (1997 BACH SCI, 2001 DDS-NO), a general dentist at Henderson Dentistry, Shreveport, La., was awarded the National Dental Association (NDA) 2020 President's Award. Henderson, current vice-president of the NDA, was selected to participate in the American Dental Association's Institute for Diversity in Leadership 2020-2021 program. He is a former president of the Pelican State Dental Association, former member of the Louisiana Health Care Commission, and former board member of the LSU School of Dentistry Alumni Association.
Christine Hoang (1999 BACH H&SS) attended the Writers Lab with her comedy “Fly Girl.” An attorney, Hoang, a child of Vietnamese refugees, entered her "second act" – writing – after her daughter started Pre-K. “Fly Girl,” her first screenplay, was a 2020 Tribeca Film Network selected feature, 2019 Austin Film Festival Pitch Finalist, and 2019 Sundance 2nd Rounder. Hoang's goal is to write broad comedy feature films and TV shows for universal audiences. Launched in 2015, the Writers Lab is produced by co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon and New York Women in Film & Television and supported by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Oprah Winfrey.
Ronnie L. Johnson (1990 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Insurance Law.
Christine Lipsey (1994 BACH H&SS, 1982 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation.
John A. “Jay” Montalbano
(1999 BACH BUS), a partner with Hannis T. Bourgeois, was named the 2020-2021 chair of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA). A past president of the Baton Rouge chapter, he has served on the board since 2016.
Jean-Paul Perrault (1991 BACH BUS), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area Insurance Law.
Patrick Ragan Richard (1993 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Shannon S. Sale (1999 BACH H&SS), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Mass Tort Litigation-Class/Class Actions-Defendants.
Terri Broussard Williams
(1999 BACH MCOM) is the author of Find Your Fire: Stories and Strategies to Inspire the Changemaker Inside You, a No. 1 Amazon New Release, No. 1 Amazon Best Seller for Women in Politics, and No. 6 Cosmopolitan Best Non-Fiction Books of 2020. Williams is a member of the LSU National Diversity Advisory Board.
2000s
Riley Busenlener (2002 JD), of Metairie, La., received the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) Special Recognition Award. He is vice president of the Valuation Advisory group and chairs LCPA's forensic, litigation, and valuation services committee.
Joseph J. Cefalu (2009 BACH BUS, 2012 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants.
Ryan Christopher (2002 BACH MCOM) of New York, N.Y., was appointed global director of product marketing at PubMatic, one of the largest independent, omnichannel supply-side platforms (SSP) in the programmatic advertising space.
Koby J. Coulon (2001 BACH ENGR) was appointed chief engineer at Gulf Coast Pre-Stress Partners, in Pass Christian, Miss. A native of Bunkie, La., Coulon received his Professional Engineering License (PE) in 2007.
David C. Fleshman (2008 BACH H&SS, 2011 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the areas of Construction Law and Litigation-Construction.
Rowdy Gaudet (2007 MBA) was named managing director at Emergent Method, a management consulting firm in Baton Rouge. He was most recently assistant chief administrative officer to East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broom and previously served as infrastructure director of the disaster recovery unit and as chief of staff at the Louisiana Office of Community Development.
Druit G. Gremillion (2007 BACH H&SS, 2011 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Insurance Law. Sarah Homann (2006 BACH SCI), assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at Vanderbilt's Medical Center, received her Master of Public Health degree from Vanderbilt University in May and completed her practicum with the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. Homann earned her MD from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Rachael Jeanfreau (2007 H&SS), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the areas Labor and Employment Law-Management and Litigation-Labor and Employment.
Kyle LaFerney (2007 BACH A&D) was promoted to associate at Parkhill, a multidisciplinary firm that provides comprehensive architectural and engineering design services. A client manager in the site development and planning sector, LaFerney has nearly fifteen years of experience partnering with public clients and assisting in the management of their capital programs. He and his wife, Robin, have been married for ten years and have two sons, Cade and Myles.
Ali Landry (2009 BACH MCOM) was named executive director of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts Foundation in July. Landry was previously senior director of development for the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences.
Jason MacMorran (2002 MAST BUS), a director with Postlethwaite & Netterville's Consulting Services Group in Baton Rouge and leader of the firm's litigation niche, is immediate-past chair of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA). Sunny Mayhall (2008 BACH MCOM), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Corporate Law.
Matthew M. McCluer (2008 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Labor and Employment.
Mukti Patel (2002 BACH BUS, 2004 MAST BUS), associate partner with Hannis T. Bourgeois, Baton Rouge, received the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA) Women to Watch Emerging Leader Award. She is involved with Our Lady of the Lake’s Children’s Hospital, Volunteers of America, Youth Oasis, and Habitat for Humanity.
Erik Piazza (2004 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
Jacob E. Roussel (2008 BACH ENGR, 2012 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the areas of Construction Law and Litigation-Construction.
Brian Schmolke (2006 BACH H&SS), a financial advisor with the Schmolke Investment Team, Alexandria, La., received his Certified Financial Planner™ designation in April.
Stewart Spielman (2000 BACH H&SS) joined Hinshaw & Culbertson law firm in New Orleans, La. Previously with McGlinchey Stafford, Spielman is certified as a business bankruptcy specialist
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by the American Board of Certification and the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He was selected as an LCLD Fellow (Leadership Council on Legal Diversity) in 2014. He received a JD from Tulane University Law School.
Megan Volpert (2006 MFA) won the Georgia Author of the Year award for her book, Boss Broad (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2019). Volpert, author or editor of more than a dozen books on popular culture, including two Lambda Literary Award finalists, is an American Library Association honoree. She has taught public high school English in Atlanta, Ga., for more than a decade and was 2014 Teacher of the Year. She writes for PopMatters and has edited anthologies of philosophical essays on the music of Tom Petty and the television series RuPaul's Drag Race. Photo: Robert Friedman
A. Grady Williams, IV (2007 JD), an attorney with Phelps Dunbar, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America.
2010s
Danielle Borel (2011 BACH BUS, 2014 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, received the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 2020 On the Rise-Top 40 Young Lawyers Award. Active in the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) and the American Bar Association (ABA), she received the LSBA Young Lawyers Division Bat. P. Sullivan, Jr. Chair’s Award and ABA Health Law Section Emerging Young Lawyers in Healthcare Award. She serves on the board of directors, chairs the advisory board, and serves on the fundraising committee of Lighthouse Louisiana. Borel was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Commercial Litigation.
Timothy G. Byrd (2014 JD), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Commercial Litigation. Kelsey A. Clark (2012 BACH H&SS, 2015 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action-Defendants and Product Liability Litigation-Defendants.
Benson Edagwa (2012 PHD SCI), associate professor of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, is a key inventor of a potential HIV eradication strategy that could allow people to feel a sense of normalcy while living with HIV. He also created a novel means to prevent HIV infection that could allow people with or who are at risk of acquiring the virus to take medicines once a year.
Sarah Edwards (2011 BACH H&SS), an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, was named to the 2021 list of Best Lawyers in America in the areas Commercial Litigation and Financial Services Regulation Law.
Jennifer Zundel Forest (2011 MAST BUS), an internal auditor with RoyOMartin, was elected to a two-year term as a member at-large of the Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA). She is a past president of the Central Louisiana chapter and served as the chapter's Emerging CPA Council representative.
Taylor Jacobsen (2014 BACH A&D, 2020 MAST A&D) was named business development director of design and planning services at SJB Group. Jacobsen, founder of Urban Canvas Studio and an United Aerial, an aerial data collection and management company, and also worked with landscaping companies CALLISONRTKL and Studio Outside. He holds a remote pilot’s license and belongs to the National UAS Crediting Program NUSCAP, American Society of Landscape Architecture, Louisiana Business & Technology Center, and SENSE’s Baton Rouge Business Entrepreneurship. He is active in Habitat for Humanity and is a founding father of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. David Koke, III (2019 BACH BUS), of Lafayette, La., joined the Picard Group, a national governmental affairs and consulting services firm. He served on the committee staff for the Natural Resources Committee; Agricultural, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee; and Ways & Means Committee in the Louisiana House of Representatives. In addition to his work in the legislature, he assisted on a number of election campaigns through advocacy, marketing, and fundraising efforts. Koke participates in fundraising events to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association and is a member of the705, an organization for young leaders.
Catherine Breaux Moore
(2015 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, was included in the 2021 list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Health Care Law.
Kristin Oglesby (2015 BACH BUS, 2018 JD) joined the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson as an associate in the corporate practice group. Previously, she served as judicial law clerk to the Hon. S. Kyle Duncan in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Duane Patin (2013 MAST A&D), a colonel in the U.S. Army, graduated from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle, Pa., with a master's degree in strategic studies on June 5, 2020. A native of Breaux Bridge, La., Patin earned his bachelor’s degree at University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 1996. His next assignment will be chief of staff at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), Fort Polk, La.
2020s Alexa Candelora (2020 JD) joined the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson as an associate in the casualty litigation practice group.
BABY BENGALS
Molly McRae Hirsch (BACH BUS 2009) and Leon Hirsch, III (BACH BUS 2009), along with Grandad Leon Hirsch (BACH BUS 1973) and a contingency of aunts, uncles and a godfather – all LSU grads – welcomed Mason James Hirsch to the world at 1:40 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2020, in Houston, Texas. Mason weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 oz., was 19.5 inches, and upon arrival said, “Coach O, put me in and Geaux Tigers!”
Lisa Rogillio
Ramsey (BACH HS&E 2012) and her husband, Thomas “TJ” Ramsey, of Denham Springs, La., announce the birth of twins Carter and Reid on Jan. 15, 2020. Carter weighed 5 lbs. and 10 oz.; Reid, 4 lbs. and 15 oz. Big sister Elizabeth “Lizzy” Ramsey welcomed them home. Lisa writes: “The pregnancy seemed to center around LSU football. The gender reveal took place during the halftime of the LSU vs. Vanderbilt football game, using a decorated box filled with either two LSU cheerleader teddy bears or two LSU football teddy bears. The opening revealed two quarterback bears meaning identical twin boys were on the way. I went into labor and watched the Tigers complete a perfect season from my hospital room. My doctor joked that I could not give birth during the game since she was going to the championship game that evening. The boys held off, and mom, dad, and big sister Lizzie celebrated that perfect season with the Tigers.”
Ashley M. White (2009 BACH H&SS) and Michael P. Rosalez (2020 MSW), of Hammond, La., celebrated their marriage with a reception at the Lod Cook Alumni Center. “We now have more news to announce,” writes Ashley. “Our first child, Scarlett Moore Rosalez, was born June 10, 2020. She was three-and-a-half weeks early, weighing in at 7 lbs. and 20 ins., and is ready to be our newest Tiger Tailgater.”
In Memoriam
Lodwrick Monroe Cook, III (1950 BACH H&SS, 1955 MAST ENGR, 1990 Honorary Doctor of Science), a successful businessman and philanthropist, passed away Sept. 28 in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 92. A Louisiana native, growing up in Grand Cane, Cook received degrees in mathematics and petroleum engineering at LSU, the latter after a tour of duty in the U.S Army as a First Lieutenant stationed in Germany. Later, while working, he finished an MBA program at Southern Methodist University in 1965.
Cook’s professional career began in 1956 as an engineering trainee with Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). He quickly ascended the corporate ladder, eventually becoming the CEO and Chairman of the Board. Under his leadership, ARCO was hailed as the Best-Managed U.S. Company, with profit margins approached by few and returns on equity equaled by none. In 1988, he was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine for his negotiating skills and leadership. After thirty-nine years with ARCO, he retired in 1995 and was named Chairman Emeritus. From 1998 to 2002, Cook was Co-Chairman of Global Crossing, Ltd., which built the first global fiber-optic telecommunications network connecting more than 200 cities. Most recently, Cook served as Chairman of NeuroSigma, Inc., a medical device company approved by the FDA for pediatric treatment of ADHD with future additional uses in development. Cook served as a director on numerous additional boards including Lockheed-Martin Corporation, Litex, Inc., and Castle & Cooke. Cook was also a Trustee of the Aspen Institute.
Cook’s connection to LSU remained strong. He served on the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors for twenty-seven years. He made the lead gift for the construction of the Lod Cook Alumni Center, dedicated on May 20, 1994. The LSU community, along with former U.S Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush, and Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, celebrated the opening of the new facility, which he envisioned would open doors for many alumni and future graduates. Cook and his wife, Carole made the lead gift for construction of the Lod & Carole Cook Conference Center, also known as The Cook Hotel located on the LSU campus. The facility, the only privately owned and operated alumni association hotel in the country, was dedicated on Oct. 21, 2001. Cook was named a Louisiana Legend by Louisiana Public Broadcasting in 1995.
Cook's philanthropy had a particular focus on education, youth, and minority programs. He was a Trustee of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and former Chairman and Lifetime Trustee of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. He was also a member of the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors at Oxford University in England, and served on the board of advisors of the Carter Center of Emory University Board of Directors. In 1994, upon appointment by HM Queen Elizabeth II, Cook was invested by Prince Charles with the insignia of Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his contribution to Anglo-American relations and support for philanthropic projects around the world. In 2001, the Points of Light Foundation presented Cook with the first George Bush Corporate Leadership Award for his leadership role in supporting employee volunteerism and corporate citizenship.
Since 1970, Cook and his family have resided in the Los Angeles area. His local community interests include serving as a member of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (of which he was Founder Chairman) and Life Regent of Pepperdine University. Cook also had a long association with Junior Achievement having been former National Chairman and Trustee from 1987-1989 and was National Director Emeritus. In 2000 he was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.
His financial contributions and work with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles led to the dedication of the Lodwrick Cook Rotunda in the library's downtown Los Angeles location. Cook received the Golden Plate Award and was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement in 1992.
Cook was presented by Sigma Chi with the Significant Sig award in 1979 and later the Semi Century Sig for fifty years of membership. In addition to his Honorary Doctorate from LSU, he was elected to the LSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from St. Augustine College, Honorary Doctor of Laws from Pepperdine University, Honorary Doctor of Laws from Cal Lutheran University, and Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Cook was honored with more than 500 awards, commendations, certificates, and proclamations throughout his lifetime.
Cook was married for thirty-five years to his beloved wife Carole, who passed away in 2010. He is survived by his first wife, five children, and ten grandchildren who will celebrate his life for the rest of theirs.
James R. Peltier (1950 BACH H&SS, 2005 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters), of Thibodaux, La., a retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon, died on May 22, 2020. He earned his DDS from Loyola University. He served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, interned at Duke University Hospital, and did his residency at Charity Hospital. Peltier was past president and founder of the Louisiana Society of Oral Surgeons, past president of the Southeastern (U.S.) Society of Oral Surgeons, and a diplomat of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He held fellowships in the American and International College of Dentists and was chief of the medical staff and a director on the hospital board at St. Joseph's Hospital. He was former chairman of Argent Bank, a director of Hibernia National Bank, and past president of numerous organizations, including the Thibodaux Rotary Club and the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce. Peltier was the only person in LSU history to be elected chairman of the Board of Supervisors, president of the LSU Alumni Association, and president of the LSU Foundation. He served as chairman of the board of CABL (Council For A Better Louisiana) and PAR (Public Affairs Research Council) and was secretary/treasurer of the Lafourche Arc for more than sixty years. He received the Durel VFW Award for outstanding citizenship, Tri-Parish Volunteer of the Year award, Inaugural Louisiana Dental Association Distinguished Achievement award, the Thibodaux Chamber Kennedy award; was named to the E.D. White High School Hall of Fame, named LSU Alumnus of the Year, named Outstanding Community Businessman by Beta Gamma Sigma of Nicholls State University, and selected by Arts & Antiques Magazine as one of American's Top 100 Collectors. Peltier also served aboard the Hospital Ship HOPE in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
In Memoriam
Charles M. Smith (1951 BACH H&SS, 1955 MD-NO), of Sulphur, La., a retired physician, passed away on Sept. 15, 2020. After completing medical school, Smith enlisted in the U.S. Air Force’s Flight Surgeon Program and spent twenty one months overseas in the Azores. After his discharge, he started a residency program in family practice in Lafayette, La., and was then recruited for a family practice in Sulphur. He was elected coroner of the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office, a position he held for twenty years. In addition to serving as a physician, Smith supported his community through his generosity and many volunteer commitments over the years. He was a Rotarian and directed the parish heart drive fund, polio drive, and immunization programs. In retirement, his philanthropic efforts were inspirational. He was a benefactor of the Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana, funded scholarships at McNeese State University for local students interested in medicine, served on the board of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, and donated medical furniture and equipment from the original 1927 Sulphur medical practice to the city’s Brimstone Museum. Inspired by his personal experiences as a cancer survivor and his desire to improve patient care and cancer treatment in Louisiana, he established the Dr. Charles M. Smith Chair of Medical Physics & Health Physics Program in partnership with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. The academic-clinical partnership, which serves the critical needs of Louisiana, is one of the strongest accredited medical physics programs in the country. Smith was a charter member of College of Science Dean’s Circle and served on the Dean’s Circle Executive Committee. He was a member of the LSU Foundation’s Laureate Society and the Forever LSU Society (formerly named the 1860 Society). He was a 2009 Hall of Distinction honoree and was inducted into LSU’s Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2017.
1940s
Gerard Arthur Becnel, 1949 BACH HS&E, July 6, 2020, Lake Charles, La. Oley L. Cross, 1947 BACH BUS, June 19, 2020, Denham Springs, La. Rita Winifred Montegut Davis, 1947 BACH HS&E, May 14, 2020, Oviedo, Fla. John Wayne "Mickey" Dupuy, 1946 BACH BUS, June 13, 2020, Metairie, La. Frances McInnis Anderson Fish, 1949 BACH H&SS, May 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Gloria Harlow, 1948 BACH AGR, July 30, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Gladys McDonald “Mac” Olinde, 1948 BACH HS&E, May 31, 2020, New Roads, La.
1950s
Don Adams, 1957 BACH BUS, May 9, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Lenore Elizabeth Evans "Nonie" Banks, 1952 BACH HS&E, 1954 MAST H&SS, 1972 PHD HS&E, June 17, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. George Noah Baquet, Jr., 1958 MD-NO, June 29, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Patricia Bergeron, 1955 BACH A&D, July 15, 2020, The Woodlands, Texas James Madison Bouanchaud, 1953 BACH BUS, June 7, 2020, New Roads, La. James Logan Brown, 1950 BACH H&SS, May 28, 2020, Austin, Texas George Robert Burleson, 1955 BACH SCI, March 2, 2020, Las Cruces, N.M. Marilyn Hill Catchings, 1954 BACH HS&E, 1980 MAST HS&E, Aug. 15, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. David A. DeBeouf, 1955 PHD BUS, July 20, 2020, McComb, Ill. Huey James Dufrene, 1957 BACH BUS, Sept. 10, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Sarah "Sally" Frances Helm Evans, 1957 BACH HS&E, July 22, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Mary Fay Lapeyrouse Freshley, 1954 BACH HS&E, May 22, 2020, Lafayette, La. Norma Alford Garner, 1952 BACH HS&E, May 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Russell John Gremillion, 1957 MAST HS&E, July 15, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Biaggio Anthony “Blaise” “Bill” Guarisco, 1955 BACH ENGR, May 5, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Robert Harold Hodges, 1956 JD, Sept. 5, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Charles Baad Kahao, 1951 BACH BUS, Sept. 16, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Kenneth F. Kuzenski, 1957 MSW, July 23, 2020, Rosa Beach, Fla. Leo Lambert, Jr., 1951 BACH HS&E, June 2020, Gonzales, La. Elsie Patricia Olinde “Pat” Laurent, 1948 BACH M&DA, June 28, 2020, New Roads, La. Hal Bailey "Buck" MacMurdo, 1956 BACH AGR, July 19, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Peggy Wilson Martin, 1956 BACH H&SS, Aug. 3, 2020, New Orleans, La. Gerry Elizabeth Roy Mathews, 1956 BACH HS&E, June 1, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Hallie Loy McCarter, 1956 BACH HS&E, Sept. 12, 2020, Midland, Texas John Wells “J.W.” Melancon, Sr., 1950 BACH ENGR, Aug. 28, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Joseph Allen Nadler, Jr., 1959 BACH BUS, Sept. 17, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Easton Joseph Pitre, 1954 BACH H&SE, 1966 MAST H&SS, May 13, 2020, Golden Meadow, La. Henry Glynn Pylant, 1950 BACH ENGR, June 4, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Oran Andrew Ritter, 1957 BACH ENGR, 1968 MAST ENGR, Aug. 24, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Iris Jean Altrogge Soulé, 1956 BACH HS&E, May 30, 2020, O’Fallon, Ill. William Patrick Stewart, Jr., 1951 BACH ENGR, July 23, 2020, Monroe, La. Genevieve Fuselier “Genny” Aillet Thomas, 1957 MLS, Aug. 2, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Kathleen McHenry Wilkins, 1950 MLS, July 25, 2020, Lufkin, Texas Madeline N. Wright, 1950 BACH H&SS, Aug. 4, 2020, St. Francisville, La.
1960s
Jane Louise Arbor, 1961 MLS, Sept. 17, 2020, Wichita, Kan. Mary Kathleen Brian Arceneaux, 1967 BACH H&SS, May 15, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Alison Hubbard Ashton, 1969 BACH AGR, July 22, 2020, Durham, N.C. Homer Ed Barousse, Jr., 1969 JD, Aug. 6, 2020, Crowley, La. Victor Hilary Barousse, 1960 BACH BUS, June 20, 2020, New Orleans, La. Sharon Ann Milton Bezdek, 1969 BACH HS&E, retired from Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Economic Development, Aug. 26, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Julius Ladell Birch, 1960 BACH ENGR, Sept. 19, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Thomas Allen Boone, 1969 BACH BUS, 1970 MBA, July 25, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Joseph Roy Chustz, Jr., 1960 BACH H&SS, Aug. 4, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Leon DeMent, Jr., 1968 BACH H&SS, 1971 MD-NO, July 15, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. James "Jim" Euel DeLaune, Sr., 1966 MAST HS&E, July 23, 2020, Denham Springs, La. Ronald Ruhl Donaldson,1960 BACH H&SS, Aug. 3, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Donald Beauchamp Fisher, 1964 BACH AGR, May 9, 2020, Highlands, N.C. Kenneth Maxwell Frith, 1961 BACH ENGR, April 29, 2020, Rocky Branch, La. Lloyd Funchess, Jr., 1963 BACH HS&E, July 26, 2020, Baton Rouge, La.
Michelle Menton Gauthier, 1964 BACH H&SS, July 18, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. John Lawrence Gibbens, 1964 BACH H&SS, June 25, 2020, Lockport, La. Emmett Casey Heitmeier, 1967 BACH AGR, April 30, 2020, Melbourne, Fla. Carol Conerly Hopper, 1967 BACH HS&E, 1970 MAST HS&E, May 17, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Nathan “B” Knox, 1965 BACH BUS, July 4, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Jules Burton LeBlanc, III, 1966 BACH H&SS, 1969 JD, May 23, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Milford Lee, 1967 BACH H&SS, July 27, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Meredith Hoag Lieux, 1969 BACH SCI, 1986 JD, Retired Professor of Botany, Aug. 25, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Hiram Louis Lyles, 1969 BACH H&SS, 1992 MPA, May 10, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Iris May Guarisco Marionneaux, 1965 BACH HS&E, Aug. 28, 2020, Walker, La. Larry David Michel, 1967 BACH H&SS, 1969 MAST H&SS, May 18, 2020, Mobile, Ala. Joseph Henry Mitchen, 1964 MAST SCI, May 7, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Kenneth Wayne Peyton, Sr., 1968 BACH BUS, July 13, 2020, Denham Springs, La. Shelby L. Roper, 1963 BACH H&SS, Aug. 8, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Gerald Joseph “Jerry” Smith, 1968 BACH H&SS, June 9, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Norman James Stafford, Jr., 1960 BACH AGR, Aug. 1, 2020, Franklinton, La. Bobby E. Stanley, 1966 BACH BUS, July 10, 2020, Port Allen, La. Toni Lyn Edwards Stephenson, 1967 BACH H&SS, May 2020, Boulder City, Nev. Sharon Ann Smith Storey, 1968 BACH HS&E, June 4, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Louis Joseph Thibodeaux, 1962 BACH ENGR, 1966 MAST ENGR, 1968 PHD ENGR, Professor, School of the Coast & Environment, Aug. 18, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Glenn Robert Timmons, 1966 MAST AGR, May 15, 2020, St. Francisville, La. William Joseph Torres, 1966 MD-NO, June 18, 2020, Houma, La. Alfred Denman "Dennie" Wall, Jr., 1964 BACH ENGR, July 27, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Jean Claire Barlow Wattigny, 1966 BACH H&SS, April 18, 2020, New Iberia, La. Eleanor Elaine Webb, 1965 BACH HS&E, 1978 PHD HS&E, July 15, 2020, Baton Rouge, La.
1970s
Joseph L. “Joe” Anjier, 1977 MBA, July 27, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Walter Bennett Atkinson, 1971 BACH AGR, July 21, 2020, Brandon, Miss. Elizabeth Nell Dubus “Beth” Baldridge, 1973 MAST H&SS, Aug. 30, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. John Edward “Jack” Bride, 1972 JD, April 11, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Thomas W. Bunce, 1970 BACH H&SS, May 24, 2020, Henrico, Va. Francis Raphael “F.R.” Cavell, Jr., 1972 BACH H&SS, March 30, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Janice Smith Cox, 1972 MAST HS&E, June 20, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Patsy Ree "Patti" Coxe, 1973 BACH A&D, June 18, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Lou Delaunay, 1979 BACH H&SS, June 15, 2020, Austin, Texas Catha Elise Gaines Duhe, 1976 BACH HS&E, Sept. 2, 2020, Gonzales, La. May Yvonne Fuller, 1973 BACH HS&E, 1982 MAST HS&E, May 7, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. David E. Gaudin, 1974 BACH H&SS, 1977 MD-NO, May 10, 2020, Hammond, La. Barbara Sutton Kavanaugh, 1978 MLS, July 26, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Steven W. Parnell, 1978 BACH H&SS, June 14, 2020, Laurel Hill, La. John Frank Prestigiacomo, 1977 BACH H&SS, 1983 MD-NO, 2002 MBA, August 11, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Roy Dwayne Roberts, 1979 MAST HS&E, May 29, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Doris Pierce Sandifer, 1978 BACH HS&E, June 28, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Llewelleyn Ray Sibley, attended 1974-1977, July 20, 2020, Opelousas, La. Dennis R. Trombatore, 1976 BACH H&SS 1977 MLS, July 8, 2020, Austin, Texas
1980s
Marc John Bitner, 1988 BACH H&SS, 1995 JD, July 16, 2020, New Orleans, La. Pamela K. Ellender, 1985 BACH H&SS, July 4, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Thomas Hobbs “Tom” Fletcher, 1987 BACH H&SS, May 24, 2020, Montreal, Canada Maureen Elizabeth Regan “Beth” Grissom, 1986 BACH HS&E, June 28, 2020, Johnsburg, Ill. Mary Shea Miller Heider, 1989 BACH H&SS, April 3, 2020, Denver, Colo. Zoe Frances Howard, 1980 BACH A&D, May 15, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Judy Derouen Koonce, 1982 MLS, May 27, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Francis Anthony “Frank” Manale, Jr., 1984 BACH ENGR, Aug. 20, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Daniel Andrew Pressley, 1983 BACH H&SS, June 9, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. André Carolyn W. Ray, 1983 BACH BUS, Sept. 17, 2020, Baton Rouge, La.
1990s
John Kincaid Carpenter, 1993 BACH MCOM, May 13, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Cathy Joyce Pettway Greenwald, 1991 MAST HS&E, Aug. 19, Baton Rouge, La. Martin Johnson, 1991 BACH MCOM, Dean, Manship School of Mass Communication, Sept. 28, 2020, Baton Rouge, La.
2000s
William Bruce King, 2008 MAST ENGR, June 8, 2020, Greenwell Springs, La. Richard Bailey Macmurdo, 2000 BACH H&SS, July 20, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Frederick "Fred" Reuben Posey, 2004 MAST AGR, Aug. 31, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Dee Dee Reilly, 2002 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, July 19, 2020, Baton Rouge, La. Carol Mae Cox Stuart, 2001 MAST H&SS, August 2020, Walker, La. Terry J. Thomas, Jr., 2003 BACH H&SS, July 28, 2020, Baton Rouge, LA. John William Wright, 2006 PHD M&DA, June 9, 2020, Lafayette, La.
2010s
Matthew "Matt" Vaughn Hopkins, 2013 BACH ENGR, July 25, 2020, Baton Rouge, La.
Jonathan P. Dowling
Professor & Hearne Chair of Theoretical Physics June 5, 2020 Baton Rouge, La.
Ralph Izard
Professor Emeritus, former Interim Dean and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Manship School Sept. 3, 2020 Athens, Ohio
Robert J. “Bob” Koch
Retired Professor of Mathematics Aug. 11, 2020 Baton Rouge, La.
Robert Taylor Nethken Retired Associate Professor of Engineering July 3, 2020 Baton Rouge, La.
Fred Z. Oustalet Alumnus By Choice July 17, 2020 Jennings, La.
Hazel Correne Newton
Retired Professor of Leadership & Human Resource Development Aug. 9, 2020 Sun City, Ariz.
Ward Plummer
Boyd Professor of Physics July 23, 2020 Baton Rouge, La.
A memorial gift was made in memory of John W. Fetzer, who died on July 2, 2020, in Baton Rouge. Fetzer attended LSU in 1943. A member of the LSU baseball team, he was elected to the Hall of Fame and was co-organizer of the Baton Rouge Kids Baseball Clinic.
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.
Tigers in Print
Al Comeaux (1987 BACH MCOM)
Change (the) Management: Why We as Leaders Must Change for the Change to Last (Lioncrest Publishing) There’s a reason two-thirds of organizational change initiatives are unsuccessful and an estimated $2 trillion is wasted on change each year: change efforts are largely one-dimensional. Now Change (the) Management brings a second dimension to the conversation. In addition to setting rational goals, leaders also must become deeply involved in the change process— not outsourcing it to others. They must pull their people through the change, reaching them on an emotional level rather than pushing change on their people transactionally. Using both science and well-told stories that illustrate the need for this fundamentally new way of thinking, this book finally speaks straight to leaders to help them re-think how to manage change…and even how to lead every day. Instead of drawing on the work of outside observers, Change (the) Management draws on the author’s decades of experience in-seat as a change champion and senior executive at well-known companies as well as decades of research on the subject of organizational change.
Rebecca Martin Shore (1980 BACH HS&E)
Changing to Charter: How and Why School Leaders Convert (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) Changing to Charter is the third in a series of books that are the result of two decades of study of successful leaders of charter schools across the United States. The first book, Adventures of Charter School Creators: Leading from the Ground Up (2004), examined leadership characteristics of those bold enough to imagine, create, and successfully lead schools within the new educational reform initiative. The second, Journeys of Charter School Creators: Leadership for the Long Haul (2019), followed up with the original leaders fifteen years later – asking what had changed, what hadn't, and what they had learned from their leadership journeys. In Changing to Charter, Shore and her co-authors zeroed in on a subcategory of the initial group of leaders, those who started out as traditional public or private school principals, then made the decision to "convert" their schools to public charter school status. As one reviewer comments, this is "the book that every person interested in better schools for our children must read."
Darlyne G. Nemeth (1971 MAST H&SS, 1973 PHD H&SS) with Janna Glozman
Evaluation and Treatment of Neuropsychologically Compromised Children: Understanding Clinical Applications Post Reitan and Luria (Academic Press) Evaluation and Treatment of Neuropsychologically Compromised Children: Understanding Clinical Applications Post Luria and Reitan defines what executive functions are, discusses differences in executive functioning between normative children and those with special education needs, identifies how best to perform neuropsychological assessments of executive function using both qualitative and quantitative measures, and presents the best treatment interventions for improvement. The book makes special note of the contributions of A.R. Luria, from Russia, and Ralph M. Reitan, from the U.S. as the "fathers" of modern neuropsychology to help readers understand current advances in theory and clinical applications relating to executive function.
Joseph Arthur Simon (1960 BACH BUS, 1967 MAST H&SS)
The Greatest of All Leathernecks: John Archer Lejeune and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps (LSU Press) The Greatest of All Leathernecks is the first comprehensive biography of John Archer Lejeune (1867-1942), a Louisiana native and the most innovative and influential leader of the U.S. Marine Corps in the twentieth century. As commandant of the Marine Corps from 1920 to 1929, Lejeune reorganized, revitalized, and modernized the force by developing its new and permanent mission of amphibious assault. The son of a plantation owner from Pointe Coupee Parish, Lejeune enrolled at LSU in 1871, aged fourteen. Three years later,
he entered the U.S. Naval Academy, afterward serving for two years at sea as a midshipman. In 1890, he transferred to the Marines and ascended quickly in rank. During the Spanish-American War, Lejeune commanded and landed Marines at San Juan, Puerto Rico, to rescue American sympathizers who had been attacked by Spanish troops. A few years later, he arrived with a battalion of Marines at the Isthmus of Panama, part of Colombia at the time, securing it for Panama and making possible the construction of the Panama Canal by the United States. He went on to lead Marine expeditions to Cuba and Veracruz, Mexico. During World War I, Lejeune was promoted to major general and given command of an entire U.S. Army division. After the war, Lejeune became commandant of the Marine Corps, a role he used to develop its new mission of amphibious assault, transforming the corps from an ancillary component of the U.S. military into one of its most vibrant and essential branches. He also created the Marine Corps Reserve, oversaw the corps’s initial use of aviation, and founded the Marine Corps Schools, the intellectual planning center of the corps that currently exists as the Marine Corps University. As the author masterfully illustrates, the mission and value of the corps today spring largely from the efforts and vision of Lejeune.
Linda Colquitt Taylor (1974 BACH HS&E)
The ABCs of LSU (LSU Press) Tiger Nation's youngest generation will delight in The ABCs of LSU. Rhymed verse and colorful drawings introduce children to the landmarks, history, activities, and traditions of Louisiana's flagship university. Each page of the book highlights a different letter of the alphabet: "Tiger Band Drumline stops on Victory Hill. Cymbal, snares, bass give us a thrill! To the Ag Center Dairy Store for a cold treat, Delicious ice cream tasty and sweet." Included are beloved mascot Mike the Tiger, baseball at Alex Box Stadium, the chiming Memorial Tower, dancing Golden Girls, the Quad, the Greek Theater, and much more.
Glynn Young (1973 BACH MCOM)
Dancing Prince (Dunrobin Publishing) A mother’s last words, a father’s final message, and a strange painting: Michael Kent-Hughes faces personal tragedy, one that leads to longlasting damage to the relationship with his youngest child, Prince Thomas. As the young boy grows to adulthood, he finds his own way in life, as the estrangement from his father continues. But in the boy’s hands and heart will lie the future of the kingdom. Dancing Prince is the moving conclusion of the Dancing Priest series.
Steve Zaffuto (1991 BACH MCOM)
Essential Knowledge for the Aspiring Media Professional (Routledge Press Essential Knowledge for the Aspiring Media Professional provides readers with the skillset needed to produce professional, high-quality video content in today’s competitive media landscape. The author draws on over two decades of industry experience to offer strategies for how to develop a sense of design, adopt a holistic approach to the media production process, and craft a distinct idea for a project’s intent and form. In five indepth chapters, the book delves into topics ranging from pre-production and planning processes to technical considerations and post-production methods. It concludes with an overview of career opportunities for aspiring media-makers. This book is an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike looking to hone creative production techniques within a broad range of formats and environments, particularly those requiring effective marketing and advertising-oriented content.
Terri Broussard Williams (1999 BACH MCOM)
Find Your Fire: Stories and Strategies to Inspire the Changemaker Inside You (Movement Maker Publishing Looking for inspiration from real women changing the world right now? Look no further. Find Your Fire will ignite your potential with powerful stories and no-nonsense advice. You'll meet social justice warriors, elected leaders, activists, social entrepreneurs, and other extraordinary women on a mission of change. Named #6 Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 by Cosmopolitan Magazine and an instant Amazon #1 New Release and #1 Best Seller, this book will give you the tools to turn the vision for your own movement into a reality.
By John Grubb
Delta Tau Delta fraternity brothers, from left, LSU Alumni Association Chairman Jeff Mohr, Association President and CEO Gordon Monk, and former Chairman Jerry Shea prior to a board meeting at the Lod Cook Alumni Center.
Fraternal organizations have long existed at LSU and helped forge not only friendships but also enduring bonds between young men and women that led to institutional creations – marriages, companies, private foundations, and yes, kids. For the most part, these bonds have centered primarily on friendships, some so strong they cross decades and generations.
For three such friends – Gordon Monk, Jerry Shea, and Jeff Mohr – those bonds have kept them connected year after year to LSU where they began their college careers as fraternity brothers in Delta Tau Delta.
Gordon Monk
Gordon Monk, a native of Leesville, La., did his undergraduate years at LSU from 1974-1978 and earned a master’s degree in public administration in 1984. He served in the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office for many years, retiring as legislative fiscal officer in 2012.
Monk and his wife, Debbie, an ExxonMobil retiree, raised three children in Baton Rouge. They are active University volunteers and benefactors of several campus departments, including the LSU Alumni Association.
Monk was named president and chief executive officer of the Association in May after serving as interim since October 2019. His connection to LSU through his fraternity was a vital link to the organization as he was considered for the interim role at the request of Jeffrey Mohr, a longtime friend and fraternity brother who would assume chairmanship of the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2020.
“Coming from a small town and high school, LSU was a bit overwhelming. The fraternity gave me a sense of belonging to a group within the larger LSU community,” said Monk. “Delta Tau Delta gave me an avenue to get involved in events at LSU that would have been very difficult as an individual. Delt attracted me because of the sense of belonging. I felt comfortable with the guys I met during rush. Having a fraternity house on the lake was a nice draw also.”
Fraternity roots run deep, despite age differences, according to Monk. “I have stayed close with a number of brothers in person, more with the advent of Facebook. I have a neighbor that I see often and my internal medicine doctor was two years older than me. I do keep in close contact with my fraternity roommate from Bossier City. While my children attended LSU Lab School, I met a dad who served as chapter president about ten years younger than myself, and we’ve become good friends.”
As a result of a disciplinary action a few years ago, the chapter is not currently on campus. “That has been a detriment to staying close to the fraternity. Before the closure, I would attend functions – especially around football season and chapter events,” he said.
Monk was a part of his son Steve’s involvement with Delta Tau Delta at Vanderbilt. “I became friends with the fraternity’s CEO when Steve started Vanderbilt. During a student orientation meeting, the Greek Life table noted that Delta Tau Delta would return to Vanderbilt in Steve’s sophomore year, after an absence since 1920. I called the Delt Office and reached out about Vanderbilt and LSU. My son became a founding father at Vanderbilt, and I got to participate in the ritual and installation of the new chapter. It was a very moving time for me as a dad and a brother,” said Monk. “A brother with me from the Delt chapter at LSU was the chapter advisor for the Vanderbilt chapter.”
“I met Jerry as a pledge, when he returned for a game or other event, and we ran into each other at events from time to time. Jeff was a pledge when I was a senior. We caught up on
the Traveling Tigers trip to Green Bay and have been close friends since that time,” he explained.
“I have been involved with LSU and the Association for a very long time – LSU was very good to me and I try to pay them back as I can,” Monk said. “Some of the best years of my life were at LSU and the Delt experience was wonderful. I met my wife at a Delt event. Any success that I’ve had in life I owe to my parents and my time at LSU from an educational and social aspect.”
Jerry Shea
Born in New Iberia, La., Jerry Shea’s life seems one with many roadmapped points along the way – in hindsight, of course. It was a blind date with a young lady from Kentucky that began that course while he was a student and member of Delta Tau Delta.
“The fraternity and brotherhood offered by the Delts provided bonding with other men to grow, learn, socialize, and work to better our communities. Sports attracted me to fraternity life initially, but meeting and making lifelong friends was important. I graduated from high school weighing 145 pounds, so did not play football, but playing it was always my love as well as basketball, volleyball, softball, and track,” said Shea.
Shea and his wife, Beverly, married four years after meeting and began what is a truly full-family engagement with LSU, community service, and philanthropy that has far-reaching effects.
“My dad took me to LSU football games while growing up. He was a petroleum engineer and attended LSU. My mother wanted me to go to Notre Dame, but I’d been a Tiger since birth and followed my dad’s lead to Baton Rouge, got my undergraduate degree in petroleum engineering, then stayed two extra football seasons to get an MBA. We still attend all home football games and many basketball games,” said Shea.
Beverly Shea earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in human ecology.
“LSU and the education, friends, and opportunities it afforded has played a major role in our ability to be able to give back some of our time, talents, and treasures. Beverly and I participated early on in our local alumni chapter, moved up to serve on the National LSUAA Board of Directors, and became the first husband and wife to both chair the board,” Shea said.
Shea also served six years on the LSU Board of Supervisors, including a term as chair, and served on the board of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. His years of service to both LSU and the national fraternity have not gone unnoticed. Among his many awards and honors in business and in philanthropy, he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 2001 and awarded the Delta Tau Delta Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
“The staff of the Association has been the most important part of keeping our relationship going, as have people we met along the way. Dr. Jack Andonie, Lod Cook, and former LSU President John Lombardi were major influences in our lives,” he said. “Fraternity brothers Mike Candella, Art Favre, Sid Gonsoulin, and Clint Wainwright remain close friends to this day.”
Jeff Mohr
Jeff Mohr, president of Lewis Mohr Real Estate and Insurance Agency in Baton Rouge, graduated from LSU in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in management and administration and earned a master's degree in insurance management from Boston University.
Mohr’s love for LSU runs deep – back to the days he joined Delta Tau Delta – and the brotherhood and connections the organization offered ultimately brought him to his current role as chair of the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors.
“I had no desire to go away to college. I was content to attend and
Jeff Mohr, Gordon Monk, and Jerry Shea at the national championship game in January.
graduate from LSU and work in the family business. Of course, a lot of that was driven by the magic of football games,” said Mohr. “Plus, Coach Dale Brown had given everyone basketball fever, and those were some great times as a student. It is also a sense of pride. Pride is also a big part of what brought me to LSU.”
Mohr’s first encounter with Shea was at a Delt crawfish boil with “Jerry Shea and the Cajuns.” He recalls: “I don’t know if Jerry will remember this, but I was a sophomore and said to Jerry, ‘Hey, put a few crawfish aside for my mom.’ As we were leaving, he handed me about five pounds and said, ‘These are for your mom’. Who does that – let alone a young twenty-something?”
A member and officer of numerous civic and professional organizations, Mohr served as president of Delta Tau Delta House Corporation from 1992-1998 and president of the Southern Division House Corporation of Delta Tau Delta National Fraternity from 1994-1998. He also served on the fraternity’s National Insurance Advisory Council.
Mohr remembers, too, reconnecting with Gordon Monk on the Traveling Tigers trip to Green Bay. “The Alumni Association is special. You feel part of something so much bigger. One of the big influencers is Traveling Tigers. They are always so accommodating and caring,“ said Mohr.
Indeed, the connection was fortuitous. It was at a luncheon that the bonds of brotherhood and fraternity played a part in writing the future when in September of 2019, Association President Cliff Vannoy announced his retirement after thirtyeight years with the organization.
Mohr, Gordon, and other fraternity brothers gather several times a year for lunch.
“In September 2019, we happened to be dining at Willie’s, a local favorite spot on Coursey Boulevard,” Mohr said. “It was that moment that the idea surfaced. “I knew Gordon was enjoying retirement, but I saw before me someone who could take the role as interim president while we conducted a search for a new president for the organization.”
And take it he did. What was to come next was amazing.
The Next Chapter
“I never in my wildest dreams thought this would have been how events unfolded,” said Mohr. “To engage a friend who so graciously accepted a job as an interim CEO for an organization, only to have a global pandemic emerge and change the world forever, is not something anyone could have predicted. But, here is the person who steps up in those conditions and chooses to lead,” he said.
Throughout the pandemic, the LSU Alumni Association and its many operations – The Cook Hotel, Shelton Alumni Gift Shop, Traveling Tigers, and LSU Alumni Magazine – have operated through the dedication of the staff and under the leadership of Gordon Monk. And three friends look back on a lifetime of memories while looking forward to making many more. “To me, the real story is how LSU, Delta Tau Delta, and the LSU Alumni Association brought three diverse individuals together. Great friends, brothers, and alumni . . . not a bad story,” said Mohr.
John Grubb, an LSU retiree and LSU Alumni Association vice president, hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. By day, he is general manager/operations manager of The Cook Hotel & Conference Center but is a reporter/writer at heart and has been a contributor to this magazine since 1988.
Ever since he was a little kid, LSU graduate and Lafayette-native Tyler Batiste (2009 BACH MCOM) has loved sports. Today, he is responsible for delivering sports news as the assistant managing editor of sports at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But his journalism work has focused on more than just sports, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think it really put into perspective how unimportant and important sports are at the same time. There are obviously much more important issues in the world, but without the escape and entertainment that sports regularly provides, there was a void in a lot of people's lives, both professionally and personally,” Batiste said. “A lot of my staff, along with myself, tried our best to pitch in where we could in other aspects of our news operation, and that's been a fun challenge for us all, but where we thrive and what we love is sports, for better or worse.”
Batiste’s career began with his involvement with LSU student media. He worked for KLSU, then joined The Daily Reveille, working in a number of different positions.
“I think I was only the third African American editor-in-chief of The Reveille. Obviously, some of my closest friends to this day are folks that I met through student media. It was a really big part of my life,” Batiste said.
As a student in the Manship School of Mass Communication, Batiste attended a panel and had to introduce himself to one of the speakers – the executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That introduction would lead to an internship with the publication.
“Seven years later, they were looking for talent, and they noticed I had previously interned there. Another editor reached out, and I ended up back where it started. But that was my only internship – where I am working right now,” he said.
Before he moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., Batiste’s professional career started in Houma, La., with the Houma Courier, as well as the Daily Comet, the Thibodaux, La., newspaper. He started as a copy editor and page designer, then was promoted to the copy desk chief position.
“The staff was only four people, but it was a lot of responsibility for someone who was only twenty-two. I am glad my editors gave me that opportunity and entrusted me with running that show,” Batiste said.
In 2012, he traveled north, to the News Journal in Wilmington, Del., and oversaw the sports operation at night.
“I was number two of the department, and I really got lucky that someone wanted to bring me on and help them run a sports department,” Batiste said. “Being only thirty minutes from Philadelphia, we covered the Philadelphia professional teams. You learned how to be part of a big market. It was a really good place to learn.”
Finally, in 2014, Pittsburgh called, and he became a digital news editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s website, before moving back to sports. Batiste has been running that sports department for the last two years. “It can be stressful at times, but it’s what you sign up for,” he said.
Rachel Holland is the content coordinator at the LSU Division of Strategic Communications.
By Rachel Holland
Tyler Batiste is assistant managing editor of sports at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
By Bailey Chauvin
Matthew Haltzman’s law firm provides in-house medical services to resolve client’s cases more efficiently. Matthew Haltzman (2010 BACH H&SS, 2014 JD) is reimagining the way his clients secure expert consultation for their cases through Haltzman Law Firm. Based in Fort Collins, Colo., Haltzman’s is the only law firm in the area with both a medical doctor and a toxicologist on staff. This in-house expert medical consultation allows the firm to resolve clients’ cases in a more cost-effective way.
Haltzman recognized a need for a new model during his four years as an attorney for a personal injury firm. He often found himself consulting with his father, a psychiatrist, in order to best serve his clients. “Being a psychiatrist, he has good insight into a lot of medical issues that span from things you would learn in medical school up to very specific issues in psychiatry,” Haltzman said. “I had unrestricted access to that kind of information.”
This unrestricted access inspired him to open his own law firm in late 2019, which specializes in criminal defense and personal injury. Besides the firm’s three attorneys, it also employs Haltzman’s father as a medical consultant, two toxicology consultants, and an investigator/paralegal.
Hiring an expert for a criminal or civil case under the traditional model is often a time-consuming, costly process. After the initial consultation and hiring, the client or attorney becomes responsible for the expert’s travel cost, time, and other case-based expenses, which can quickly add up. “It’s a very cost prohibitive model, and it gets very expensive for clients,” Haltzman said. “They often have to make a choice: ‘Is it worth hiring this expert for my case? Am I willing to spend this kind of money with no guarantees of success?’”
In contrast, Haltzman’s firm gives its clients direct access to experts from the very beginning. With a client’s approval, the firm’s medical and toxicology experts screen their case for any issues that might be worth exploring. The attorney then presents the client with several options based on the experts’ initial opinion of the case, including having one of the firm’s experts write a report or hiring an independent expert.
This initial expert screening process saves the firm’s clients money and helps its attorneys resolve cases more effectively. An attorney knowledgeable about the medical components of a case, such as mental health and addiction issues, can better explain an expert’s opinion to their client and advise them on how they should proceed. Likewise, the ability to clearly explain medical information to a judge during a trial can be beneficial. “With direct lines to toxicologists and medical experts, I’m able to educate myself,” Haltzman said. “We’re able to know something new about this case that helps us with the case we’re working on and any future case that comes in with a similar fact pattern.”
From an early age, Haltzman was intent on becoming a lawyer and advocating for others. When it came time for him to choose a college, he knew he wanted to attend a “big school in the South” with a law program, which led him to LSU. After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and history, Haltzman decided to attend LSU Law, which he describes as one of the biggest and most influential decisions of his life. “I’d put my legal education up against any lawyer’s law school; my education at LSU Law rivals, if not exceeds, what they got,” Haltzman said. “We had great professors, but not only that – we had a way of learning that gave us some real-world experience.”
After graduating, Haltzman moved to Wyoming, serving as a special prosecutor for Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. He then practiced complex civil litigation at a firm in Cheyenne, Wyo., before moving to Colorado.
Haltzman’s firm’s approach to expert consultation is unique to the Fort Collins area, and it may even be the first of its kind. “I don’t know of anyone with a pool of experts who have signed on to do consultations specific to a law firm,” Haltzman said. “This is an original design as far as we’re concerned. As far as I know, we’re one of a kind.”
Bailey Chauvin is a political science junior and editor-inchief of The Reveille.
By Libby Haydel
Through her hard work and words of encouragement, Jayda Malveaux shows female engineering students that anything is possible.
As a minority and a female, Jayda Malveaux (2017 BACH ENGR) has worked hard to excel in college and now as an operations industrial engineer for the U.S. Postal Service in New Orleans. In her role with the USPS, she tries to improve the mail-sorting process, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“With letter volume going down, we can’t continue to have employees manually work that mail, so we brought in robots to sort the letter volume,” Malveaux said. “That way, we’re decreasing our cost in letters. Since package volume is increasing, we need to figure out what we need to do to increase efficiency. Pretty much every day it’s asking, what do we need to be doing to make things better while still figuring out where our biggest opportunities are? What do we need to do to get our service scores up and improve customer satisfaction?”
After earning her industrial engineering degree, Malveaux went to work for USPS, even though she had quite a few other jobs to choose from. USPS had a two-year onboarding fast-track training program to learn the complex business and gave her time to work on process improvement. In those two years, she trained in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C., where she met other engineers.
Malveaux credits her many internships, mentors, and the College of Engineering Office of Diversity for helping her navigate through college and lead her to where she is today. She grew up in Lafayette, La., attended Acadiana High School, and initially wanted to pursue math, until her mother pointed out that she could aim higher. “One day, she told me I have more potential than that, not that there’s anything wrong with teaching math,” Malveaux said.
“That’s when I branched out into the engineering world.”
Malveaux thought she wanted to major in computer science at LSU until she attended the college’s Encounter Engineering Summer Camp, now known as Geaux Engineering, where she discovered she liked industrial engineering.
“I really enjoyed my IE classes,” she said. “They were all tailored to what I wanted to do, from plant layout and supply chain to ergonomics, which all apply to my current job.”
Part of the challenge Malveaux faced as a student was being a female in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math], recalling she was one of only a few females working during her internships. Today, she advises female engineering students to get ahead of the curve by getting to know their IE professors. “That will take you a long way,” she said. “You can take their class one semester, then the next semester use them as a mentor.”
Malveaux spent last year volunteering with the Junior League of New Orleans, helping students prepare for RISE [Resident In-Service Examination] by teaching them math. She is now considered an active member and is going on her second year with JLNO.
Libby Haydel is a communications specialist in the College of Engineering.
By Steve Neumann
Grant Blvd founder Kimberly McGlonn.
Kimberly McGlonn (2001 BACH H&SS, 2002 MAST HS&E, 2007 PHD HS&E) grew up on Grant Boulevard on the north side of Milwaukee, Wis., on a block that was a unique island in the city back then – it was the only block where there were Black and white people living as neighbors in an otherwise highly segregated city.
It’s also where McGlonn was exposed to a wide range of ideas about beauty, health, clothing, and poverty that would later inform her business, Grant Blvd, a social impact fashion company in Philadelphia. “I was inspired to launch Grant Blvd because I was determined to be of service not only to marginalized people but also to the planet,” McGlonn says.
From sweatshirts and tees to runway styles, McGlonn’s company uses no new water and barely any new materials, and zero outsourcing. The small Grant Blvd team designs, cuts, and sews every piece of clothing in its collection. “Ultimately, the mission of Grant Blvd is to make clothes that are undeniably and reliably stylish, but to also center an approach to design within the fight for justice and reform,” McGlonn says. “For me, sustainability also means hiring women, particularly those that are returning citizens, immigrants, and those working through homelessness.”
McGlonn credits her parents with the fervor behind her vocation. Both parents worked full-time at a post office, but in their spare time, her father worked with people living in poverty on the north side of Milwaukee who didn't have access to fresh food, and her mother volunteered at a women's correctional institute. “So there's all those little pieces of that house on that boulevard that made me think this was the way that I could show up,” McGlonn says.
Before starting Grant Blvd, McGlonn was a teacher for eighteen years, and she was the only Black person on the faculty. But as she was teaching To Kill a Mockingbird to her students and trying to get them to think about the character Tom Robinson in a way that had some nuance, she found herself feeling disconnected. “And then I saw Ava DuVernay’s documentary, 13th,” McGlonn says, “and it elevated my understanding of the complexities and history of mass incarceration. So then I was like, ‘Okay, Kimberly, you know how this works. You know how being incarcerated creates these barriers. Teaching is great. What else are you going to do?’”
McGlonn took inspiration from her mother, and spent a year learning about the fashion industry while working in the prison-industrial system. She started volunteering for Books through Bars, a program in Philadelphia that distributes free books and other educational materials to people who are incarcerated. (Today, for every Grant Blvd garment purchased, the company sends a book through the program.)
It’s been three years since McGlonn resigned from teaching full-time, and Grant Blvd has been a resounding success. McGlonn even opened her first brick-and-mortar store in University City, Philadelphia this past spring. And as her own business continues to grow, McGlonn wants people to know that there's optimism about a new crop of social impact businesses that are driving every single day to put people on the planet first. “Hopefully,” McGlonn says, “what my showing up will do is give an affirming message for people who are trying to figure out how to navigate such horrible odds.”
“Voltaire said we must cultivate our own garden,” she adds. “My garden is in Philadelphia, and I'ma weed the hell out of that garden. I'm gonna roll up my sleeves, put my head down, and get my hands dirty. That's all I can do with this life.”
Steve Neumann is a freelance writer living in New Jersey. His website is https://stephenneumann.com/.
William “Bill” Conti (1963 BACH M&DA, 1985 HON) and Shelby Cox Conti (1965 BACH HS&E) are giving their alma mater one of the University’s biggest in-kind gifts in history – the original scores from Bill’s prolific career as a composer and conductor, including the iconic “Rocky” theme. By giving these scores, the Contis will enable aspiring musicians at LSU – as Bill once was – to learn from his iconic work while ensuring its preservation in the long term. The William and Shelby Conti papers, to be held in LSU Libraries’ Special Collections, include his well-known film scores from “The Right Stuff,” the “Rocky” series, the “Karate Kid” series, “For Your Eyes Only,” and “Dynasty.” Read the story in the summer/fall issue of Cornerstone at lsufoundation.org/s/1585/17/interior. aspx?sid=1585&gid=1&pgid=3799
WHAT’S YOUR VOLUNTEER PASSION?
Send a photo of yourself “in action” and tell Tigers Around the World how and why you share your time and talents with others.
OOPS! The degree information listed for Andrew Gravens in the profile “Cooking Up Kindness” was incorrect. It should be (2014 BACH H&SS). The magazine regrets the error.
Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation
Rosalyn Fagan, seated, celebrated her 100th birthday in August 2019. Photo: Sean Gasser, InRegister, August 2019.
A scholarship endowment honoring LSU alumna Rosalyn Simmons Fagan was created earlier this year to encourage outstanding students majoring in education. The Rosalyn S. Fagan Endowed Scholarship will provide $1,000 a year – $500 in the fall and spring semesters – to a fulltime junior or senior pursuing a degree in education in the College of Human Sciences & Education. When fully endowed, the scholarship will support three students annually.
Jeanne Hebert (1968 BACH HS&E) shares a bit of information about her mother, Rosalyn Simmons Fagan (1958 MAST AGR), in whose name the scholarship was established by Jeanne and her husband, Larry (1969 BACH BUS).
“My mother’s dream to become a teacher began when she graduated from high school at sixteen years of age. Her brother and sister (Orene Muse) made it possible for her to attend college by providing the funding. She attended Pearl River Junior College in Mississippi for one year, then Mississippi State College for Women. She attended LSU during the summers while working on her teaching degree at MSCW. After graduation, she taught preschool in Alabama until returning to Baton Rouge where she met my father, who rented a room from Aunt Orene.
“Mother taught home economics at Pride High School and earned her master's degree in education in 1958. She served as state supervisor of home economics for several years before returning to teaching at the sixth-grade level, then fourth-grade level, at Highland Elementary School. During those years, she earned thirty hours over her master's degree and certification to teach French as a second language. She attended Paul Valery University in Montpelier, France, one summer to learn how to speak the language more fluently. ”My mother loved teaching and sharing her love of knowledge in all things. We hope those who benefit from our scholarship will strive for excellence in their teaching careers and have a love of learning they want to share with their students.”
Future Tiger – Five-year-old Connor Rogers, son of Scott (2003 JD) and Tiffany Rogers, of Iowa, La., graduated from Pre-K and is a proud kindergartener on his way to LSU. Tipton Tigers – Michael Tipton (2005 BACH H&SS), his wife, Sarah Mecholsky Tipton (2015 MAST HS&E), and son Alexander welcomed Eleanor Rose Tipton to their family on Oct. 9, 2019.
From left, William Daniel – III, IV, and V.
William Daniel, V (2016 BACH ENGR, 2018 MAST ENGR), a thirdgeneration LSU petroleum engineering graduate, pays tribute to “great men and avid LSU supporters” – his father, William Daniel, IV (1978 BACH ENGR, 1994 MAST ENGR, 1996 MAST ENGR), and grandfather, William Daniel, III (1952 BACH ENGR).
“My father was a research associate at the LSU Center for Energy studies while he was serving as a state representative for Louisiana, and he was inducted into the LSU Engineering Hall of Fame as part of the 2003-2004 class,” he writes. “When it was time for me to choose a university upon my graduation from University Laboratory School, my father told me, ‘You can go anywhere you want as long as it is LSU.’ There was never a question in my heart of where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do there. I can only hope
someday I will have a son so that he can continue this rich tradition.”
Laura and René Ybarra with their sons from left, Owen (age 6), Maxwell "Max" (2), Nathaniel "Nate" (6), and Leo (age 1, front and center, and in photo at right).
Laura Weems Ybarra (2009 BACH MCOM) and René Ybarra (2010 BACH BUS), of Seaside Calif., welcomed their fourth son, Leo Pierce, on Nov. 10, 2019. Leo weighed 8 lbs. 13 oz., was 20.5 inches long, and was welcomed home by brothers Owen, Nathaniel, and Maxwell. René Ybarra was promoted to major in the U.S. Army on July 1, 2020, and will earn his master's degree in systems engineering from Naval Postgraduate School in December. The family will soon relocate to Huntsville, Ala., where Ybarra will serve as an assistant program manager with the Missile Defense Agency at Redstone Arsenal.
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