1 minute read
Dr. James Mackey’s Passing
Dr. James “Jim” Mackey
October 4, 1936 - September 17, 2021
Advertisement
The University Laboratory School Foundation is saddened to share the passing of James A. Mackey, PhD, former faculty member and the author of “A History of the Louisiana State University Laboratory School, 1915-1965.” Dr. Mackey was an integral part the history of University Laboratory School. In the fall of 1966, Principal Leonard Kilgore, Jr., PhD, hired Dr. Mackey as a counselor for the high school. In Dr. Mackey’s words, “I stood amazed in the hallway of the Laboratory School on the campus of Louisiana State University. I had been offered the dream job as the first full-time counselor of this outstanding grades one through twelve school.”
During his first semester at ULS, Dr. Kilgore recognized the need for a history of the first 50 years of the school from its founding in 1915 to 1965. Dr. Mackey took on the job of compiling the information and and used it as dissertation material for his doctorate. His three-year journey tracing the history of ULS included interviewing retired faculty members and former graduates. Dr. Mackey’s dissertation was so successful that it came to be utilized as an example of oral history techniques as applied to historical research. “My greatest reward has been to record something much too precious to be lost - the initial 50 years of ULS,” he noted. Dr. Mackey received both a master’s degree and his doctorate from LSU He later taught in and served as associate dean of the LSU College of Education. Dr. Mackey also was known as “The Golden Voice” at LSU, serving as the pregame and halftime announcer for “The Golden Band from Tigerland” from 1966-1998.
Thank you Dr. Mackey for your service and dedicated research into the history of University Laboratory School. We are forever grateful.
Remember When ...
Thank you to Nan Harman Brinson for donating her UHS Spirit Stepper Dance Team practice t-shirt. We will proudly display the t-shirt in one of our four display cases in the main high school hallway. If you have memorabilia you would like to donate or loan to the Foundation Office, please contact Megan Bourgeois at mbourg@lsu.edu.
