Cornerstone Summer and Fall 2016 by LSU Foundation

SUMMER and FALL 2016

MEMBERSHIP PROFILE:

MIKE AND SARAH LLOYD

“It seems that LSU is woven into every aspect of our lives,” Sarah Lloyd said, reflecting on what LSU means to her and her husband, Mike. “We are blessed to have attended LSU, and we are extremely grateful and appreciative for all the university has done for us and our family.” As undergraduates, Sarah, a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, and Mike, a pitcher for the LSU baseball team and member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, met in a night class through the E. J. Ourso College of Business. Mike later used his degree to found GVSI, LLC, a supplier of valves and industrial equipment for offshore platforms, oil refineries and chemical plants across the country. He credits his LSU education and the life lessons he learned within the college for laying the groundwork for his company’s success. “The challenges of every project should be addressed as soon as possible, so you can keep moving forward,” Mike shared. “Get to where you need to go, ask for help when you need it, and do it the right way.” After graduation, the Lloyds maintained a very close relationship with LSU. They married on campus at University United Methodist Church, where Sarah worked her first

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

full-time job. She went into labor with their first child while attending an LSU baseball game. Every Sunday after church, the Lloyd clan visited Mike the Tiger. Later, the Lloyds’ three Tiger cubs graduated from LSU Laboratory School, and their two daughters went on to graduate from LSU. In an effort to help future generations have the same lifelong LSU experience, the Lloyds support several areas of campus, including the E. J. Ourso College of Business and U-High. “As members of the Foundation, we have a greater, better perspective of what the Foundation is trying to accomplish, from new facilities, to expanding programs, to increasing scholarships, and how state funding and philanthropy interact with that,” Mike said. Baton Rouge residents, the Lloyds enjoy spending time with their 19-month-old granddaughter, walking the lakes bordering LSU, and attending LSU sporting events. Sarah is continuing 20 years of work at nearby Trinity Episcopal Day School. The Lloyds hope that with their support, LSU, as Louisiana’s flagship institution, will increase its resources, attract more of the best and brightest students, and make Louisiana a more thriving state.

ABOUT THE COVER

Graphic design senior Tory Cunningham wanted to set the tone for the summer and fall 2016 issue of Cornerstone by creating a visual representation of LSU’s bright future, as made possible by donors’ generous support across campus. “I wanted to use symbolism as much as possible to imply moving forward and upward, a concept that is really important for LSU at the moment. Hot air balloons represent positivity, soaring above and overcoming any problems that seem insurmountable,” he shared. A Gainesville, Fla., native, Cunningham said his own motivation for moving forward is a passion for graphic design, the progress he and his peers have made since freshman year, and a drive to produce his strongest work yet. Through the Graphic Design Student Office, Cunningham was also the art director for this issue of Cornerstone.

INSIDE CORNERSTONE

4 5 6 10 14

WELCOME Stephen Moret BOARD OF DIRECTORS Beau Fournet TRANSFORMATIONAL GIFTS Soapbox Hero Animal Instincts PLANNED GIVING Trailblazer Home of the Brave CORPORATE SUPPORT

Good Health

15 1 8

22 28

STUDENT LEADERS Peer Power The Great Equalizer SCHOLARSHIPS Good Sense Full Circle Opening Doors RESEARCH Out There Like Wildfire Bound and Determined CULTURE OF GIVING LSU Bound Why Wait? Because We Can A Century of Excellence

3 2

36 37

3 8 39

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Our Story “Doing” Science A SPECIAL GIFT John S. Kelley IN LOVING MEMORY Remembering the Robinsons MOVING FORWARD F. King Alexander LSU RESEARCH WORKS How Can You Help?

EDITORS Jennie Gutierrez Sara Whittaker

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dawn Jenkins John Kelley

ART DIRECTOR

Mimi Lavalle

Tory Cunningham

Allison Satake Joni Shreve Sarah Cortell Vandersypen

PHOTOGRAPHERS Andrea Barbier Sam Bentley Nicole Colvin Kathryn Gaiennie Ginger Guttner Jamie Kutner Kenissa McKay Wilson Parish Eddy Perez George Stanley Rachel Street Yao Zeng

PRINTING Emprint/Moran Printing, Inc. TO SHARE FEEDBACK, PLEASE CONTACT: Sara Whittaker at swhittaker@lsufoundation.org or 225-578-8164.

lsufoundation.org /lsufoundation @lsu_foundation

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

WELCOME : LETTER FROM STEPHEN MORET Dear Friends, One year ago, I left my role as secretary of Louisiana Economic Development to focus on Louisiana’s most important economic asset: LSU. Returning to my alma mater has further solidified my confidence in LSU’s value to Louisiana, the Gulf South, our nation and the world. It also is clearer than ever to me that philanthropic investments like yours are key to continuing – and growing – that impact. Recently, I completed a doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an experience that further reinforced for me the value of higher education as an on-ramp to the American Dream and a contributor to economic growth. I often marvel at how much LSU has been able to accomplish with such limited resources, and I get excited about what we could do in the future – for students, faculty, research and the people and economy of Louisiana – with increased philanthropic support. There is no denying the strength of our proud Tiger spirit. Yet, the opportunity to harness that spirit through philanthropy is largely unrealized. As the student who designed our cover art so aptly noted, LSU is “moving onward and upward.” Philanthropic support makes such transformational progress possible. Showcased in this issue is a sampling of how your generosity shapes lives in our classrooms, laboratories and museums … and far beyond them. Gifts to LSU are funding the largest service-learning science education outreach program in the U.S., helping communities to ready shelter animals for permanent homes, leading the nation in supporting the study of rhetoric and argument, supporting worldrenowned faculty who conduct life-changing research, and preparing today’s Tigers to become tomorrow’s leaders. It’s hard not to be inspired by the stories in these pages. More inspiring, even, is knowing that LSU has only begun to tap the surface of our philanthropic potential. We are working closely with President Alexander and colleagues campus-wide to define a plan for harnessing that potential, and your loyal support has laid the groundwork for a very bright future. Sincerely,

Stephen Moret President and CEO

CENTER FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS ONE OF FIRST IN NATION TO BE A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE Last October, the National College Learning Center Association designated LSU’s Center for Academic Success as one of only two Learning Centers of Excellence in the U.S. – from among more than 1,500 such centers that NCLCA represents. CAS is known as a pioneer both nationally and internationally in applying metacognition, or awareness of one’s own learning or thinking processes, to college learning. The center’s services and programs improve student academic performance, such as GPA, retention and timely graduation. First-year students who use CAS tutoring or Supplemental Instruction are up to 24 percent more likely to stay at LSU and up to 29 percent more likely to stay in their major of choice. Further, students who attend three or more SI or tutoring sessions in a given class typically earn up to a half letter grade higher in the course than students who do not attend. CAS serves approximately half of the LSU undergraduate population and employs approximately 100 students as peer educators each year. Noting the center’s importance to LSU, CAS is an LSU presidential fundraising priority and is seeking to endow some of its most valuable and vulnerable academic support programs for LSU students. lsu.edu/cas

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PROFILE: BEAU FOURNET

ne of the newest members of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors, Beau Fournet graduated from what is now the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business with a bachelor’s degree in 1995. He earned his MBA at Harvard University and now serves as managing director and partner of HBK Capital Management. As a Board member, he wants to continue to steward fellow LSU alumni and friends to encourage investments in the future of the university. “First and foremost, I have seen how talented the Board is and how many opportunities there are to contribute to the education of our students. Second, I have learned how large the challenges are to funding the education of our students in a rapidly changing economic system,” Beau said, adding, “My investment management experience provides me the opportunity to contribute to the university’s mission through the use of my vocational gifts.” Beau said that LSU gave him the “right perspective” on how to experience all that life has to offer while balancing its many responsibilities. With a full course load, Beau graduated in just three years. He held several part-time jobs, both on-campus and off, and was a founding member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. His high school sweetheart, Natalie (’96), is also an LSU graduate. She received her bachelor’s and her master’s degrees from the College of Human Sciences & Education. Fast forward to 2016, and Beau and Natalie live in Dallas with their six children, but LSU remains a meaningful, lifelong connection. Beau shared, “My ties to LSU go back to my childhood, visiting the campus and going to games with my parents. Some of my best memories as a child were on our campus, and I love sharing in those same experiences with my six kids and my bride,” Beau said. “I also enjoy engaging with students, giving them a vision for how they can broadly contribute to society as a friend, family member and professional.” An elder of Watermark Community Church, a multi-site church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Beau credits a faith in Christ for his and his wife’s motivation for sharing their “time, talents and treasures” through philanthropy. “Through my education at LSU and Harvard, I have seen how a great education inside and outside the classroom has afforded me many opportunities in life, and as we have raised and home-schooled our kids, we pray they have the same opportunities we had. As we near college for our oldest child, the importance of higher education continues to rise,” Beau shared. Through his role as a member on the Board, Beau hopes to help the LSU Foundation narrow the widening gap between state funding and the price of education to enhance the experience of current and future students at LSU. “The Foundation creates an opportunity for all of us to come together to offset the rising costs of tuition and be a predictable, steady contributor to funding the cost of education in a world where state budgets and educational costs are decreasingly steady,” he said.

BEAU FOURNET

OFFICERS T. Cass Gaiennie • Shreveport, LA

Chairperson of the Board & Director

Robert M. Stuart Jr. • Baton Rouge, LA

Chairperson-Elect of the Board & Director

Clarence P. Cazalot Jr. • Houston, TX

Corporate Treasurer & Director

Stephen Moret • Baton Rouge, LA

President and CEO & Ex Officio Director William L. Silvia Jr. • Baton Rouge, LA

Corporate Secretary & Ex Officio Director DIRECTORS Mark K. Anderson • Monroe, LA J. Herbert Boydstun • Baton Rouge, LA J. Terrell Brown • Baton Rouge, LA Robert H. Crosby III • New Orleans, LA Laura L. Dauzat • Marksville, LA William T. Firesheets II • Baton Rouge, LA Beau Fournet • Dallas, Texas G. Lee Griffin • Baton Rouge, LA Frank W. “Billy” Harrison III • Houston, TX Roger W. Jenkins • El Dorado, AR Gary L. Laborde • New Orleans, LA

Immediate Past Chairperson of the Board

Charles A. Landry • Baton Rouge, LA David B. Means III • Mansfield, LA Adrian V. Mitchell • Golf, IL W. Henson Moore III • Baton Rouge, LA Dr. Mary T. Neal • Bellaire, TX D. Martin Phillips • Houston, TX Sean E. Reilly • Baton Rouge, LA John F. Shackelford III • Bonita, LA Jeffrey N. Springmeyer • Houston, TX Sue W. Turner • Baton Rouge, LA Burton D. Weaver Jr. • Flora, LA Felix R. Weill • Baton Rouge, LA Rick Wolfert • Greensboro, GA

EX OFFICIO F. King Alexander

LSU President

lsufoundation.org/board

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| | Cornerstone C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

(TOP LEFT)

“The Edwin K. Hunter Chair represents a landmark gift

EDWIN K. HUNTER speaks at an April 27 celebration

for LSU. As dean, I am honored to witness the impact

announcing his legacy gift to LSU with STEPHEN

this transformational gift will have on the College of

MORET, DEAN STACIA HAYNIE and PRESIDENT

Humanities & Social Sciences. The Hunter Chair will

F. KING ALEXANDER. The announcement took place in the Shirley Plakidas Reception Room in the LSU Union Theatre, the location of the original Free Speech Alley.

invigorate communication across the curriculum of the Department of Communication Studies for all LSU students, regardless of their major.” Dean Stacia Haynie

TRANSFORMATIONAL GIFTS :

SOAPBOX HERO

lumnus Edwin K. Hunter and wife Ann’s transformational gift to establish the largest chair in university history will propel Edwin’s legacy of supporting the exchange of ideas at LSU – one that began decades ago when, as a student, he was a founder of what is now known as LSU Free Speech Plaza. The Edwin K. Hunter Chair in the Traditions of Rhetoric and Argument in Communication Studies will be a center of gravity for the study of rhetoric and argument at LSU, attracting renowned scholars who will strengthen the academic experience of nearly 6,000 students campus-wide each year. “I believe this will be the best-endowed chair for communication scholars in the country, and probably the world. It will allow us to recruit an eminent scholar in rhetoric, and this will have a wonderful impact on our students and reputation. The gift allows us to make a dynamic program even stronger,” said Dr. Renee Edwards, professor and chair in the LSU Department of Communication Studies. Hunter’s gift continues a longstanding commitment to encouraging discourse on campus. While attending the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, he worked as the associate editor of LSU Law Review. As an undergraduate, he was a writer for The Daily Reveille and a member of the debate team, as well as of Sigma Chi Fraternity. As chair of the Student Union’s current events committee, he brought in Milton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, to speak in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Most notably, Hunter was a key player in the organization of Free Speech Alley, in the pathway between the post office and the Union. Inspired by the soapbox speakers in London’s Hyde Park, Hunter wanted to establish a place on campus where students could exercise their first amendment rights and exchange ideas. To get the word out, Hunter enlisted the help of a few of his friends. The Daily Reveille editor let him know when it

was a slow news day, so they would be ensured a front-page spot. Hunter’s debate teammates positioned themselves in the crowd, prompting others to spontaneously join the conversation. Hunter remembered, “I tried to keep the crowd at just the right temperature. A little heckling is always good in Free Speech Alley. It keeps things interesting and keeps things going, but you don’t want it to drown out a speaker. It was usually just a subtle reminder, like ‘Let’s let this person present their idea,’ or ‘Let’s hear what the people have to say.’” The first speaker, a debate team member and Hunter’s roommate, argued that if beer was sold at the governor’s mansion, the Union should sell beer to students of legal drinking age. Soon, 500 students were gathering every week at Free Speech Alley during sixth period. “We had a student libertarian movement, and we had a student socialist movement. Oddly enough, those two groups of people got along very well, because they were the only people interested in the discussion. They politely opposed each other but had a lot of fun doing it, and a lot of people learned from it,” Hunter remembered. Hunter, president of the law firm Hunter, Hunter & Sonnier, LLC in Lake Charles, La., developed a passion for research and is now a director for the Salk Institute of Biological Studies. He said it’s there, among the scientific community, that he is reminded once again of the importance of communication. “The western science tradition has its roots in Ancient Greece, where rhetoric was very important. It was something people did every day. They’d go to the forums, and they would argue. It was the heart of the Greek city-states and democracies. There is a connection between inquiry, logic, looking for fallacies, trying to prove things. It’s all part of rhetoric,” Hunter said. lsu.edu/hss

(BOTTOM LEFT) STEPHEN MORET, PRESIDENT F. KING ALEXANDER, EDWIN F. HUNTER and EDWIN K. HUNTER with the LSU Ambassadors

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Fourth-year veterinary student ABBY RAAPHORST examines a dog at the St. Martin Parish Shelter as part of her shelter medicine rotation.

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TRANSFORMATIONAL GIFTS :

ANIMAL INSTINCTS

“S

he got her first pet, a cat, when she was two years old. From that moment on till the time she passed away, she was never without a cat, and sometimes more than one,” remembered Judy Bartow of her best friend, the late Audrey Engelhart. Inspired by a lifesaving operation performed on one of her cats, Casper, by an LSU School of Veterinary Medicine team, Engelhart shared her passion for animals through making a bequest to the School of Veterinary Medicine. The Audrey Engelhart Shelter Medicine Endowment will enable the school to educate students within the Shelter Medicine Program on the importance of shelter medicine to local communities, and it will broaden the scope of services made available to surrounding shelters. With the financial resources provided through the endowment, the program can produce real-time results by improving the trap, neuter and release program and increasing the number of shelter animals made available for adoption. Originally from Alexandria, La., Engelhart moved to Baton Rouge in the ‘80s to be with her husband, Gerald Engelhart. She passed away in 2014 at the age of 90 years old, and Bartow served as the executor of her will. She described Engelhart as personable and kind, and a lover of shopping, traveling and Disney World. Throughout her life, Engelhart devoted herself to helping all in need, humans and animals alike. Bartow said Engelhart’s philosophy was “There’s never a wrong time do the right thing.” One time, she was walking down the street, and she saw a lady hitting a dog. She went right over, and she said, ‘You tell me where you live, and I’ll come and get that dog tomorrow.’ And she did! She went and got the dog, took care of it and found a home for it,” Bartow said. “She couldn’t bear to see an animal mistreated. Not a lot of people would do that.”

Engelhart also cared for two generations of feral cats near her home, leaving food and water outside every morning for the cat colonies. One day, a cat invited herself into Engelhart’s home and never left, becoming Engelhart’s final pet. Now, Baby Girl, as Engelhart affectionately named her, is in the care of Bartow. “She wished she could save them all, but she knew she couldn’t,” Bartow shared. “She just wanted to help and find a way to gain control of so many unwanted animals, which is a universal problem.” Engelhart’s gift to the School of Veterinary Medicine, which is one of only 30 veterinary schools in the U.S., will continue her mission of animal rescue and care. In addition to the endowment, the two Audrey Engelhart Scholarships in the school will provide financial aid for full-time veterinary medicine students. Assistant Professor Wendy Wolfson called the endowment “invaluable,” explaining, “How can you put into words the impact of many more years of service for south Louisiana shelters? Who would perform needed medical services for the animals? Who would fight to make shelters more humane places? Who would instill in students the importance of helping animals with no voice?” Wolfson said. “The Shelter Medicine Program impacts the lives of thousands of pets now, tomorrow and years into the future. We may never know the full impact of Mrs. Engelhart’s gift, but I can say with confidence that it will change animal lives for the better and make hundreds of students aware of the fate of shelter animals who do not receive veterinary care. I truly cannot thank her enough.”

lsu.edu/vetmed

(FAR LEFT) AUDREY ENGELHART

(NEAR LEFT) A young AUDREY ENGELHART holds her first kitten.

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A student works in the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Lab.

PLANNED GIVING :

Betty quickly built a reputation for extracting quality data from those deviated wells, and she was soon hired by Chevron as a programmer. “It was the ‘60s. These logs had to be etty Van Norman, a trailblazer in the oil and gas computed in a hurry because the crews were out there waiting industry and a world-renowned log analyst and for answers and circulating mud, which is very expensive.” computer programmer, will enable aspiring engineers Word of Betty’s expertise began to spread internationally. to forge their own path through a generous estate gift to the LSU “Everyone had heard of me, so I just went on my own to do these College of Engineering. logs as an independent. It was marvelous! I got to do logs all over “We are proud to be associated with Mrs. Van Norman the world until I retired in 1989,” she said. and her pioneering contributions in an industry that was so At Chevron, Betty met her husband, the late Eugene Van dominated by men at the time,” said Karsten Thompson, chair Norman (Engineering, ’58), a petroleum engineer at the of the Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering. company. Gene trained and mentored many engineers through “Her continuing generosity to the college will help ensure Chevron. Betty remembers the guidance he would give them: that future deserving students can pursue their dreams of an “Always do everything properly, all the way through. Never engineering degree from LSU.” shortcut a project for the sake of time. Take the time that you Betty always loved math, but doors to many jobs were closed need to really get it right.” to women at the time. She was working for an insurance Betty’s father, a WWI veteran, was a major influence on her company in New Orleans when a friend showed her a job investment in higher education: “He saw the world for the first advertisement seeking a woman in the mathematics field. In time and met educated people. He made up his mind that his her new position at Schlumberger, Betty worked on a log to children were going to college,” she shared. “We lived in a poor measure potential oil wells for major corporations. A foursection of Tennessee where people were lucky to get a high point tool recorded the depth, magnitude and direction of wells’ school education. But in the third grade, I knew I was going to strata onto analog film, allowing oil companies to create a map college.” She hopes the scholarships her gift makes possible will of the wells. lift the same financial burdens that she and Gene, who attended Technology was changing rapidly, and Schlumberger was LSU on a G.I. bill and earned a full scholarship to Texas A&M for transitioning to computer programming, which meant Betty his master’s, faced through college. and her colleagues would soon be without work. “The problem Now a Baton Rouge resident and a volunteer at Baton Rouge was that engineers did not sit down with someone who did this General’s Regional Burn Center, Betty shared a single piece of work to see how we made decisions. They just made a formula advice for students, especially women, venturing into the oil and set it in there,” Betty said. “It really did not work in highly and gas industry: “Don’t be intimidated.” deviated wells and gave a distorted picture of the strata.”

TRAILBLAZER

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

eng.lsu.edu

BETTY VAN NORMAN

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HOME of the B R AV E PLANNED GIVING :

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(TOP LEFT & RIGHT) CPL. GERMAINE CATHERINE LAVILLE ( BOTTOM LEFT) A tribute to CPL. LAVILLE in the November 1944 Chi Omega sorority “Lyre” newsletter.

he Germaine Catherine Laville Scholarship, “We wanted to honor her in some way and show the gratitude established by Dr. John Scharfenberg and of our family to LSU. We wanted this gift to represent my Mrs. Ann Laville Scharfenberg, honors an siblings and all of us, because we are all very touched by the LSU alumna who, when she was just 22 generosity of the school in naming the buildings after her. It years old, gave her life in service to the was a wonderful way for LSU to honor her,” shared Ann, who United States during World War II. is also an LSU alumna. The oldest of seven children, Cpl. Germaine Laville studied The Scharfenbergs chose to leverage an IRA charitable elementary education at LSU and was a member of Alpha Chi rollover to establish the scholarship. They call the move Omega sorority before teaching grammar school in Iberville a “win-win,” referencing the opportunity to make a Parish. As the only service-eligible member of her family, tax-free contribution from their individual retirement Laville enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in account to the LSU Foundation. Such “rollovers” are now a 1943. She was stationed at the Cherry Point Naval Air Station permanent part of federal law, opening the door for donors in North Carolina. like the Scharfenbergs to maximize their philanthropic Ann, one of Laville’s sisters, recalled, “I was a young child investments. Put simply, said John, “It helps us, when she died, but I am grateful that I do remember her. Of and it helps LSU.” course, I know her from hearing my siblings, my parents and The Scharfenbergs envision that the scholarship everybody who knew her talk about her. And I remember her recipients will be inspired by Cpl. Laville’s story to “follow having come home on a furlough in February or March of their dreams, work hard and serve their communities.” 1944. I remember that very well, just having a wonderful visit Ogden Honors College Dean Jonathan Earle described the with her.” impact of the Scharfenbergs’ gift as ensuring scholarship A few months later, as she was instructing an aerial recipients have the tools to succeed. gunnery class, Laville’s building caught on fire. She initially “Gifts like the Scharfenbergs’ are exceptionally meaningful safely exited the building, but when she returned to rescue for the Ogden Honors College,” Earle explained, adding, fellow Marines, she perished in the blaze. LSU’s East and “Recruiting the best students from inside our state is a West Laville residence halls, now part of the Roger Hadfield chief mission of the Ogden Honors College, and having this Ogden Honors College campus, are named in recognition scholarship come from Germaine Laville’s family helps a of her heroic efforts. Inspired to further establish Laville’s great deal in furthering that mission.” legacy at LSU, the Scharfenbergs created a scholarship in Laville’s name. honors.lsu.edu

“We wanted to honor her in some way and show the gratitude of our family to LSU.” Ann Laville Scharfenberg

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CORPORATE SUPPORT :

GOOD HEALTH

MSA students JACK DAI, JACK HOLLOWAY and STEPHANIE CHANEY present their practicum, “Disease Prediction Using Consumer Data,” to Peter Lee, Mary Hunter and Miao Liu of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana.

lue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, the largest health in the Louisiana healthcare industry, said BCBS’ support of the insurer in the state, is partnering with the E. J. Ourso program is an investment in BCBS, LSU and the state. College of Business to give Master of Science in “The healthcare industry is placing a greater emphasis on the Analytics students real-world experience for data-driven use of business analytics, as it is vital to more strategic decisionproblem solving. BCBS is one of the first official partners in the making and planning for the future,” Scott said, adding, “We’ve college’s Corporate Partners Initiative, a program that builds put this into action at Blue Cross Blue Shield through BCBS financial resources and intellectual capital for the college while Axis, our healthcare big data analytics repository. Likewise, LSU giving corporate partners a substantial return on investment. is meeting this need through the E. J. Ourso College of Business’ During the one-year MSA program, small groups of students nationally ranked Master of Science in Analytics program. This function in a consulting role and work with executives from is key to improving healthcare quality and lowering costs, and it each company to diagnose and solve is important that we, as corporate real problems using the companies’ partners, invest in programs like “It is important that we, as corporate data. With an emphasis on business LSU’s to guarantee the workforce of partners, invest in programs like LSU’s to analytics and information technology, tomorrow.” the students learn how to reduce Shreve agreed that the corporate guarantee the workforce of tomorrow.” costs, increase revenue and streamline partnership is mutually beneficial: Peggy Scott processes. “That’s what makes the BCBS partners see firsthand what program unique and, therefore, very students are able to accomplish. In competitive – the fact that the students get hands-on experience, fact, Shreve said BCBS, using LSU as a “pipeline to talent,” has not just academic textbook examples. They’re able to enter the already hired four LSU MSA students and intends to hire more workforce and hit the ground running,” said Dr. Joni Shreve, from the current graduating class. “A lot of companies tell me Director of the Master of Science in Analytics program. that when it comes to hiring, they can’t afford to get it wrong. Anticipating a new need in the area of healthcare, BCBS The fact that our corporate partners are involved in the program supported an expansion of the MSA program, helping to and are able to work with the students means a better fit in job establish a new healthcare analytics course and changing the placement, resulting in better retention,” Shreve said. course of corporate partnerships and student recruitment With 70-75 percent of graduates securing jobs before within the college. Introduced into the MSA curriculum this their graduation date, with an average starting salary in the year, the course incorporates programming workshops and $80,000 range, the MSA program has expanded rapidly since guest lectures by BCBS representatives, including Sabrina Heltz, its inception in 2011 and has gained national exposure. Shreve senior vice president of medical economics and chief analytics hopes to see the program continue to grow in enrollment, faculty officer. Peggy Scott, retired BCBS executive vice president, support and advanced technologies. chief operating officer and chief financial officer and a leader

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business.lsu.edu

STUDENT LEADERS :

PEER POWER

ohn Cihangir, mechanical engineering senior, was looking for an on-campus job when he found an ad for the Career Peer Program, the LSU Olinde Career Center’s student ambassadorship program for campus outreach. Originally attracted to the position because of its high level of interaction with other students, Cihangir was surprised to find a much more fulfilling aspect of the job. “Through the Career Peer Program, I’m becoming a better person,” Cihangir said. “I’m always learning, and I’m always giving. It’s a constant improvement process of becoming the person you are, and it’s a huge dopamine release when you help someone out.” Career Peers engage in outreach efforts across campus to educate fellow students on the resources provided through the Olinde Career Center. They also offer one-on-one, personalized tips for successful résumé and cover letter writing and interviewing. In return, Cihangir said, the Career Peers develop leadership, communication and listening skills that will seamlessly transfer to their own lines of work. “Not everyone listens in the same way. You have to hit certain stimuli in a person to get them to listen. You have to figure out who they are. Talk to them, see where they’re coming from, and then adapt to that,” Cihangir explained. Cihangir’s favorite role as a Career Peer is presenting to groups of students. He believes that one of the most significant aspects of the program is the effectiveness of students receiving messages from people their own age who have had similar experiences at LSU and in job searches. Cihangir recalled a recent lightbulb moment during a presentation to a class of freshmen. “I told them that a great GPA is amazing, but how you talk to an employer can change everything. It’s not the 4.0 GPA students that are getting jobs; it’s the hard-working, determined students who show that in a genuine way,” John remembered. “When I showed them the bigger picture, you could see the whole room make sense of it.”

JOHN CIHANGIR, College of Engineering senior

“The Career Peer Program’s nine-year evolution has resulted in a diverse group of nine student leaders committed to spreading the mission and resources of the LSU Olinde Career Center to their peers and broader university community,” said Jesse Downs, director of the center. Downs credits the program’s supporters, including Enterprise and the Tindall Corporation, with enabling it to grow and impact students campus-wide. “Gifts from corporate partners have made it possible to invest essential resources in this peer-to-peer outreach model. We are confident the LSU Olinde Career Center’s increased participation and engagement numbers can, in part, be correlated to the amazing work of the Career Peers.” In addition to the Career Peer program, the center, within the Division of Student Life & Enrollment, links student and alumni with skilled professionals to gain career-related experience, develop job-search and interview skills, and land employment or admission to graduate programs. The center’s home within the Student Union gives LSU students easy access to its stateof-the-art resources for successful career preparation.

students.lsu.edu/careercenter

Career Peers LINHYEN LAI, JADA DAVIS, DAVID WROTEN and NICK MILLER

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(TOP) JAMES “DENNY” SHELTON, JANE SHELTON and the President’s Millennial Scholars at the program’s end-of-year celebration on April 17

STUDENT LEADERS :

THE GREAT EQUALIZER

enny and Jane Shelton provided seed funding for the President’s Millennial Scholars Program through what Denny describes as “a real appreciation for education, the need for unrepresented students to gain an advantage that many never had, and a university president who is committed to making a difference.” Their gift followed conversations with LSU President F. King Alexander regarding the opportunities that establishing such a program would afford to many deserving students. The program, a new initiative by the LSU Office of Diversity, attracts and retains high-achieving freshmen students from underrepresented and under-served populations by fostering a high-quality learning environment and providing academic support, professional and leadership development, and mentorship from faculty and staff. Denny believes that the Millennial Scholars will be ambassadors for change on LSU’s campus and beyond. “I see where we were. I see the progress that we’ve made. We’re still not nearly where we need to be. Education is the great equalizer – opportunity. The more we support education, the better our society will be … This program will help kids narrow that gap.” The President’s Millennial Scholars, the inaugural class of which includes 17 freshmen across campus, are also expected to be ambassadors of diversity at LSU. Millennial Scholar Lauren Jackson is interested in researching sickle cell disease through a career in hematology and writing science fiction novels. She compares diversity to a melting pot. “As the first cohort of this program, we should be the best, the brightest and the most caring,” Jackson asserted. “We can pave

a way for a bright future, not only for ourselves, but also for the future cohorts of this program.” Fellow Scholar Patrick Tapalla shared, “I define ‘diversity’ as ‘similarity.’ Socially speaking, diversity is not about looking at what’s different. It is about finding analogous attributes that everyone can relate to, thus forming a strong community of individuals willing to accept one another.” Tapalla, a mechanical engineering major who moved to Walker, La., from the Philippines in 2009, was unable to receive TOPS because he and his family are not yet permanent residents. The funds provided by the program lifted a significant weight off of his parents’ shoulders. “Being an LSU Tiger means a lot to me. Ever since I came to America, I’ve seen people young and old candidly represent their alma mater. It sends a message that LSU consistently impacts alumni’s lives,” Tapalla said. Denny hopes that the program, aside from launching scholars’ successful academic and professional careers, will create a legacy of giving and progress. “Don’t ever forget where you came from, and always remember that somebody helped you,” Shelton advised the scholars. “When you have that opportunity, step up and help. That’s what we ought to do as a society.” The President’s Millennial Scholars Program is a part of the Office of Diversity’s mission to launch a vision of diversity, equity and inclusion on an institutional, regional, national and global platform. Each year, the program aims to increase its number of scholars until reaching a goal capacity of 60 students per year.

“The more we support education, the better our society will be … This program will help kids narrow that gap.” Denny Shelton

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

lsu.edu/diversity

(BOTTOM) JANE AND DENNY SHELTON with PATRICK TAPALLA and LAUREN JACKSON

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SCHOLARSHIPS :

GOOD SENSE

ichael Blue’s journey with LSU began as many Tigers’ the university and its students. Giving back was a big thing for do: he and his father didn’t miss a single home or away me. It allowed me to bring my skills back to the university.” football game for the course of 10 years. Now, after While a relocation from Baton Rouge to Seattle in 2009 evolving from fan, to student, to faculty member, Blue continues took Blue away from the halls of LSU, he still carries lessons his lifelong connection to LSU through philanthropy. learned from his time here. He said that through his time as a The Michael A. Blue Endowed Superior Graduate Student student in the E. J. Ourso College of Business, he learned how Scholarship in Finance will support a full-time graduate to develop a “good gut-sense” of business, which he uses every student in the E. J. Ourso College of Business. Blue hopes that day. “Sometimes we just have to step back and ask ourselves if the scholarship recipient will be wellwhat we are looking at makes much rounded with sharp communication sense,” Blue explained. “It’s the value “The biggest contribution LSU gave skills, two qualities he said are of trusting our instincts, backed by me was definitely my graduate essential in the business world. “The good analysis and facts.” condition of the global market and After reflecting on what studies. I wanted to return the favor.” the domestic market is so drastically philanthropic causes are meaningful Michael Blue different from when I graduated 25 to him, Blue contacted Department years ago. Rules are changing every of Finance Professor Carlos Slawson, single day,” Blue said. a former professor and colleague of Blue, to talk about where Blue received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in his financial support could be best used. “He said graduate finance at LSU. After passing the CPA exam, he returned to the programs still need assistance to attract the best master’s classroom, rejoining the LSU community as a part-time faculty students by offering them financial incentives. It was a logical member for the E. J. Ourso College of Business. Blue began as an connection. The biggest contribution LSU gave me was accounting instructor, transitioning to finance and then to the definitely my graduate studies. I wanted to return the favor,” MBA program, where he remained for 14 years. He comes from Blue said. a family of teachers but is the first to teach at the college level. Blue supports other areas of campus, as well. He made a His interest in teaching was also inspired by his own LSU five-year pledge to support the Finance Academy, a group of professors. “I was 25 years old. I was scarcely older than the high-achieving, faculty-nominated finance undergraduates, and undergraduate students and younger than many of the nonestablished the John and Patricia Blue Honors Scholarship in his traditional students. It was daunting,” he remembered. “What parents’ name through the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College. I loved about it was that I was able to maintain a connection to

MICHAEL BLUE at his home in the North Admiral neighborhood of Seattle

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

business.lsu.edu

SCHOLARSHIPS :

FULL CIRCLE

n the 25th Anniversary of LSU’s Summer Scholars, program alumna Melissa Dillon-Dotson, a 2000 chemical engineering alumna, is passing the torch by helping another Summer Scholar reach his dreams. From an early age, Dotson’s parents instilled in her and her seven siblings to always strive to be the best. Now an engineer for Shell Technology Center Houston, Dotson first gained exposure to the field through the LSU Recruitment into Engineering of High Ability Minority Students, or REHAMS, program in 1994. There, as a high school student, she set her goals to become a Tiger. “I worked at McDonald's when I was in high school,” Dotson shared. “I knew that I really wanted to go to LSU and to be an engineer.” With the help of scholarships and financial aid, Dotson took another step toward reaching her goal by attending the Summer Scholars program, an eight-week summer bridge program for minority students. The University College program helps incoming students with the transition from high school to college through a

MELISSA DILLON-DOTSON and ANDERSON DOTSON III with LEONARDO MARTINEZ, the first recipient of their scholarship to support Summer Scholars

customized summer semester prior to their freshman year. Dotson said the experience was transformative. “Summer Scholars, led by Nona Haynes, was just a big extension of the family that I had at home. We had family nights, we always prayed together, and we were always supporting each other … It was unacceptable to make a ‘B,’ because we learned in Summer Scholars that we need to strive for excellence,” Dotson remembered, adding, “I always said that once I finished LSU, I was going to give back to the Summer Scholars Program that gave so much to me.” Dotson and her husband, Anderson Dotson III (a 1996 graduate of what is now the College of Science), chief city prosecutor for the City of Baton Rouge and managing attorney at Dotson Firm, LLC, met after a Christ the King Catholic Church service in 1997. Nearly 20 years later, the Dotsons, who live in Katy, Texas, with their three children, maintain their LSU ties and have further invested in Summer Scholars with a longstanding book award and now an inaugural scholarship. In March, the couple met their

first scholarship recipient, Leonardo Martinez, a chemical engineering junior and fellow Metairie native. When Melissa learned that Martinez also graduated from East Jefferson High School, she felt like the opportunity was meant to be. “I know how much that I was given. In the larger scheme of life, giving this scholarship feels like everything is coming full circle. To have a candidate who went to the same high school as me, makes it feel a little bit more than random, like this is where we should be right now.” Originally from Honduras, Martinez’s father worked as a mechanic on a ship, and his mother was a school teacher. They moved to Louisiana in 2009. A fan of television programs like “Modern Miracles,” Martinez always knew he wanted to be an engineer, and it was through the Summer Scholars program that he “fell in love with LSU.” Martinez said of the opportunity, “It’s amazing. It feels good to know that there are people out there who want you to do better, want you to keep working hard.” lsu.edu/universitycollege

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

JOHN TURNER, ZOIE REAMS and JERRY FISCHER at the Houston Grand Operaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2016 Concert of Arias

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

SCHOLARSHIPS :

OPENING DOORS

oie Reams, a second year Germany, and London to New York. They hope to master’s student in the aid the LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts in LSU School of Music, asked attracting more rising stars to Baton Rouge. “It’s for a voice lesson for her important for people who are interested in the arts tenth birthday. Now, she is to support them,” Fischer said. “We’ve gotten to see positioned to be among the these students perform, meet them and experience, best in the industry, beating in real time, their development and how it helps out hundreds of competitors LSU.” Reams said the scholarship has “opened in world-renowned competitions. doors” for her. “I try and step outside myself. I am a very reserved “John and Jerry are huge names in this industry, person in general, but nothing is reserved in opera,” and to be able to say that I know them, let alone Reams said of performing. am one of their scholars, is an honor,” she said. A In addition to placing in the Classical Singer Vocal Chicago native, Reams met associate professor of Competition’s Classical Young Artist/Emerging voice Dennis Jesse at La Musica Lirica, a five-week Professional Division and The Metropolitan Opera summer program in Italy. “I took a sample lesson National Council Auditions’ regional division, with him, and I loved it,” she said. “I ended up going Reams recently placed second at the Houston Grand back the next summer for another five weeks to work Opera’s Concert of Arias and accepted a competitive exclusively with him. I was looking for grad school position within their studio program. Reams said she programs, and he said LSU would be a great fit.” will have some big shoes to fill. Reams’ talent continues to be fostered and “Joyce DiDonato is one of my favorite singers. She pushed by her LSU professors, especially Jesse, did HGO’s studio program and is one of the program Michael Borowitz and Dugg McDonough, who ambassadors. She’s a hero of mine,” Reams shared. “are really invested in you as a performer, as a Reams’ acceptance singer.” She referenced her performance as Mrs. to the program is Lovett in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of especially meaningful “We’ve gotten to see these Fleet Street” as an example of stepping outside to her because John of her comfort zone. students perform, meet Turner and Jerry “She can be portrayed as a monster, but really them and experience, in real Fischer, the benefactors she’s just a human being with as many complexities time, their development and of her scholarship, are as she has. [McDonough] pushed me to explore how it helps LSU.” also major supporters of those complexities and to play them,” Reams said. HGO: Turner is a board “He really fostered a way of thinking as an actor. Jerry Fischer member, as well as vice Why am I singing this way? Why am I saying this? chair of the Studio and the Training Committee. How would she do this different than Zoie would do The couple was excited to hear that Reams was this, and why?” accepted into the studio program and looks forward Through the HGO Studio program, Reams will to watching her performances there. perform in “It’s a Wonderful Life” by Jake Heggie “We hope she goes beyond the borders of the and “Nixon in China” by John Adams, and she will United States. That’s one thing about opera: it’s cover the mezzo solo in Verdi’s “Requiem” and international. Once you become famous, you are smaller roles in “Götterdämmerung” by Richard picked to be in opera houses around the world,” Wagner, a favorite of Turner and Fischer. Turner said. “It’s a great opportunity, and we wish music.lsu.edu her all the best. We know that she has a great career in front of her.” Turner and Fischer are passionate about the fine arts, supporting opera programs from Santa Fe to

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

DR. FRANCE CORDOVA, director of the National Science Foundation, and DR. GABRIELA GONZÀLEZ at the LSU LIGO Observatory in Livingston, KEN andLa. NANCY KRAL take in the view while on vacation in the Czech Republic.

RESEARCH :

OUT THERE

n September 14, 2015, the detection of a single ripple in space time confirmed Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity, opening doors for scientists and science fiction enthusiasts around the globe and putting LSU in the spotlight once again as a history-maker and research frontrunner. “It makes us look at the sky and know that there are more things out there than we thought there were,” said Dr. Gabriela Gonzàlez, LSU professor of physics and astronomy and spokesperson for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational -wave Observatory, or LIGO, Scientific Collaboration. The LIGO detection proves, for the first time, Einstein’s theory prediction that, after billions of years of slowly approaching each other in orbit, two black holes will collide at nearly one-half the speed of light to form one massive black hole. A portion of the holes’ mass is converted to energy (E=mc2) and emitted as a burst of gravitational radiation, or a gravitational wave. Gonzàlez credits the “vision of LSU” long in the works for LSU ‘s key contributions to the success of the project. Professor William Hamilton, now retired, came to LSU in 1970 to start an experimental research group to investigate gravitational physics.

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

The initial goal was to build a “cryogenic bar detector” to confirm the announced detection of gravitational waves by Joseph Weber of the University of Maryland. “In the course of 20 years of working on this experiment, we were unable to get anything like what Weber claimed he had seen. In a lot of ways, the fact that our effort had failed, that I hadn’t been able to detect anything, nor had anyone else, is why the interferometers became much more attractive as a tool to detect gravitational waves,” Hamilton said. With the support of LSU’s Department of Physics & Astronomy, Professor Warren Johnson, who had joined Hamilton’s group in 1985, set out to find a location to build the observatory for the LIGO project, funded by the National Science Foundation through an agreement with Caltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The LIGO Livingston Observatory, or LLO, was built on LSU land just 25 miles from LSU’s campus, making LSU the only research university that gives students and faculty daily access to a LIGO observatory. The head of LLO is another LSU professor, Joseph Giaime. LIGO’s gravitational wave was first detected at the Livingston observatory at 4:51 a.m. CST on September 14. Seven milliseconds later, the Hanford, Wash., LIGO observatory detected an identical wave.

What followed was months of testing and analysis to validate the signal. LIGO scientists ultimately concluded that the collision they observed took place 1.3 billion years ago and involved two black holes weighing in between 29 and 36 times the mass of the sun. The gravitational waves produced by the collision were converted from a mass three times the size of the sun and, for a fraction of a second, emitted 50 times the power of the visible universe. The source of the gravitational waves can be placed in the southern hemisphere sky. Gonzàlez was among the four scientists who announced the findings at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. She calls the ensuing attention from the media “overwhelmingly positive and interested.” “It’s very inspirational. We receive letters every day from school children and from the general public asking about black holes and our detectors and our lasers,” she said, “We know now that we are not only doing astronomy in a new way, but we are pushing the edge of the technology, and we are inspiring a new generation of scientists.”

(TOP) DR. WILLIAM HAMILTON

(LEFT) The LSU LIGO Observatory in Livingston, La.

phys.lsu.edu

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer &Cornerstone Fall 2016 |

RESEARCH :

LIKE WILDFIRE

he 2014 Ebola virus disease epidemic – mounting to 28,644 total cases and 11,320 deaths worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – caused global panic. But Dr. James Lange, a College of Science Distinguished Alumnus who worked on the front lines of controlling the virus disease in West Africa, wasn’t fazed by a fear of contracting it himself. “If you call yourself a professional who is curious about how these things occur or you are interested in helping other people, your focus is there and not on what dangers are posed to yourself through doing that kind of work,” Dr. Lange said, adding that he did take precautions. “It still posed some potential danger. It wasn’t zero danger, that’s for sure.”

DR. JAMES LANGE in Sierra Leone

“If you call yourself a professional who is curious about how these things occur or you are interested in helping other people, your focus is there and not on what dangers are posed to yourself through doing that kind of work.” Dr. James Lange

Dr. Lange is a co-author of the article documenting the first Ebola breakout in The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal. His work on the 1976 CDC team resulted in growing and describing the virus responsible for several deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Initial findings indicated Marburg virus was the cause, but follow-up work proved otherwise. The team leader in Zaire named the new virus after a small tributary of the Congo River, the Ebola River, hoping the obscure name would not create controversy by associating it with that part of the world. “Ebola is what’s called a zoonotic, which means it lives in animals and is probably transmitted by them. We don’t know what animal yet; that’s one of the big mysteries about Ebola. Whatever animal it exists in accidentally passes Ebola to other animals, including humans. Human-to-human transmission takes over from there. The 2014-15 Ebola outbreak emerged in the perfect place where it could spread like wildfire, in densely populated urban centers,” Dr. Lange said. Dr. Lange credits LSU for preparing him for a successful career in science, allowing him to “not just function well, but to thrive.” He recently gave $10,000 to the LSU College of Science in honor of his immunology professor and mentor, Dr. Ronald J. Siebeling. “Ron Siebeling gave me an opportunity to start a master’s program right after I returned from Vietnam. He was very supportive and set a great example for hard work and taught us how to interact with students by placing us in instructor positions in two different laboratory settings,” Lange remembered. Such experiences shaped Dr. Lange’s approach to his profession and the opportunities it has presented. Nearly four decades after working on CDC’s original Ebola team, Dr. Lange volunteered to support CDC’s response efforts in West Africa. He was deployed to Bong County in Liberia, for two months in 2014, working on an epidemiology investigation team. He traveled to Sierra Leone for five months in 2015, and again in January and March 2016, to manage the Immunogenicity Substudy for the Ebola Vaccine Project. “The epidemiology work was a totally new experience because I came from a lab background, but when I arrived in Liberia, there was a shortage of epidemiologists. They asked me if I would be willing to serve on an epidemiology team, and I said I would,” Dr. Lange shared. “I was posted to a rural part of Central Liberia, where I worked with other epidemiologists and the local public health infrastructure to identify new cases. Once identified, we would get them into treatment centers, then follow up on who their close contacts were and put them in isolation to prevent the spread of the virus.”

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

science.lsu.edu

DR. JAMES LANGE and his wife, NEILANNE, at the College of Science Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Circle Dinner in 2014

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LSU Coastal Studies Institute students study a sediment core collected from Mike Island.

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

RESEARCH :

BOUND AND DETERMINED

rofessor Sam Bentley, Billy and Ann Harrison Chair in Sedimentary Geology in the Department of Geology & Geophysics, knows a thing or two about mud. As the senior co-investigator for the “DELTA SEES: Changes in actual and perceived coastal flood risks due to river management strategies” research project, he’s studying how mud could be used to curb the consequences of sealevel rise on deltaic coasts worldwide. “Mud is a technical geological term. It’s a mixture of particles of various sizes smaller than 63 microns. About 90 percent of the sediment carried by the Mississippi River is mud,” Bentley explained. “Currents in the coastal ocean and the bays can transport this fine-grained material very long distances. Numerical models we use to simulate land building don’t always capture that really well, because it’s a complicated process that doesn’t lend itself well to mathematical simplifications. We’re trying to measure how mud affects the landscape by measuring short-term deposition of this material as it gets dispersed.” As a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Coastal SEES

(Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability) Award, DELTA SEES combines field research and technology to predict how diverting these depositions could be used as effective river-management strategies against floods, hurricanes and general sea-level rise. Dr. Robert Twilley, executive director of the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, serves as the lead investigator. The project’s name is derived from the actual value of the Mississippi River Delta for the ecosystem and economy of the U.S. “The issues we are facing here in the Louisiana Delta are not a provincial problem. They’re not a state problem. They are a national and an international problem,” Bentley shared. “The ecosystem value of the wetlands of the Mississippi Delta is in the many billions of dollars per year. The value of navigation on the Mississippi Delta, particularly in and out of the Mississippi River, is in the order of $300 million a day.” DELTA SEES is the brainchild of a team centered in the LSU Coastal Studies Institute, of which Bentley is director. CSI is a collaboration of five departments in five colleges and schools across campus. Bentley said that there are a lot of “moving parts” – including water and sediment

supply, the ecosystem response and the human community response – when it comes to maximizing habitat stability while minimizing risk to the human communities. That’s why, he said, it’s crucial that so many departments are involved in the research. “Along with rising seas and changing climates, there’s a possibility that we’re going to face different types and different frequencies of hurricanes,” he explained. “This research project is intended to help preserve human communities in places where people still want to live. It’s quite challenging. It’s not just a matter of land loss. It’s a matter of figuring out how land loss affects the increased risk of hurricane surge inundation and how that pushes communities away from the coast.” Still, Bentley has great confidence in the CSI team to innovate solutions. “Our students are bound and determined to make a difference … We have one of the greatest scientific communities in coastal science and engineering in the United States, and probably in the world. I would hold our expertise up against anyone,” he said. As an educational component of the project, students visit several largescale flood-control structures along the Mississippi River, including the Bonnet Carré Spillway and the Wax Lake Delta, to study flood plains and historical layering, as well as manmade structures; take sediment cores samples; and meet with personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On the research side, computer simulations are being created and merged with field measurements to explore options that better incorporate sediment supply into delta sustainability efforts.

csi.lsu.edu

LSU Coastal Studies Institute students use a tripod to recover a sediment core from a seasonally flooded Mike Island in the Wax Lake Delta.

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MATTHEW, JOANNA, STEPHEN AND AMY LAMBERT with their LSU Bound yard signs

CULTURE OF GIVING:

LSU BOUND

oanna, Matthew, Stephen and Amy Lambert are quadruplets from Colleyville, Texas. In August 2016, the four siblings will move together to Baton Rouge as LSU freshmen, leaving behind an empty nest for mom (Rachel) and dad (Henry). “Having all four at one place is going to make it much easier on us when we go to visit. It’s a built-in support system for them,” Henry, an LSU alumnus, said. “The boys are going to room together, and the girls are going to room together. There’s always a friend nearby.” While the quadruplets didn’t necessarily plan to attend the same college, it turned out that LSU was a great fit for each of their majors: chemical engineering for Stephen and Matthew, horticulture for Joanna, and wetland science for Amy. The Lamberts have attended LSU football games with their parents since they were very young, so the campus already feels like home. They list football season, crawfish season, beautifully landscaped grounds and a larger course selection as influences in their decision to attend LSU. They hope that LSU will put them on a path to building careers and homes in Louisiana. “I’m hoping to go into the energy field. With LSU being in a region where there is a lot of energy activity, I’m hoping my degree will help me to get into that sector faster than if I had gone somewhere else,”

said Stephen, who applied to five other universities before choosing LSU. Henry shared his kids’ exciting decision over social media. The Lamberts, who admit that being quadruplets always garners a bit of attention, racked up 168 likes, 30 comments, four shares and many “Geaux Tigers!” on a photo Henry posted of the siblings with their LSU Bound acceptance envelopes. Another post, featuring a photo of the four siblings posing on the lawn with LSU Bound yard signs to announce their official decision to attend LSU, was similarly celebrated. Since kick-starting in 2014, LSU Bound, a combined initiative of the LSU Office of Enrollment Management and the LSU Alumni Association to excite and link the newest Tigers through social media, has been a huge hit. With hashtags like #LSU20, photos of incoming freshmen proudly displaying their acceptance letters and yard signs have been popping up from across the U.S.

students.lsu.edu

WHY WAIT?

ictória Meyer was recruited to LSU through the women’s golf program in 2003. Originally from Brazil, Meyer had never been to Louisiana before attending LSU and “loved the atmosphere.” She adjusted well to the student-athlete lifestyle, balancing golf, school and the transition to being in a new country. Meyer graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in international trade and finance. Meyer shared that at LSU she learned “how to see the big picture.” With a goal of working for a Big Four accounting firm, she landed with Ernst & Young and has been with them ever since. After one year in New York and five years in Switzerland, Meyer is now back to being a New York City resident and is a senior manager in Advisory Services for EY. “I’m a very proud alumna. The E. J. Ourso College of Business gave me tactical knowledge that I use on a daily basis,” Meyer shared. “They are doing great things, and I would like to see it go even further. I wanted to participate in giving more students scholarships.” Meyer made a gift to the E. J. Ourso College of Business’ Dean’s Excellence Fund, an unrestricted fund VICTÓRIA K. MEYER that enables the college to provide scholarships, travel (Business, ’06)

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

stipends, research stipends, innovative technology and more for students and faculty. As a young donor, Meyer has a carpe diem attitude. “I have the funds now, so why wait? You can’t put it off until later, because you don’t know when later is. I try to do things when the opportunity arises,” Meyer said. Meyer said she will “always be a Tiger,” keeping a close eye on LSU sports, her fellow alumni and the evolution of the E. J. Ourso College of Business. She’s excited by the college’s newest developments. “I’ve told people about the undergraduate energy minor,” Meyer said. “I work in utilities, so I know that will help us in regard to how our world environment is right now.”

business.lsu.edu

BECAUSE WE CAN

inance graduates Shawn (’06) and Erin Mire (’08) believe that, when it comes to giving, age is just a number. “We’re giving now because we can. It’s as simple as that,” Erin said. The Shawn and Erin Mire Superior Graduate Student Scholarship is the first such scholarship to be established in the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business by alumni of the college. It will support a full-time graduate finance student, with preference for students working in the college’s Securities Markets Analysis Research & Trading Lab, a realworld trading zone. The Mires’ gift leverages matching funds from the Louisiana Board of Regents and Erin’s employer, Freeport McMoRan Oil and Gas. They view their investment as “a small way to have a huge impact” on the career of a deserving student. Erin shared, “We could be sparking something really great, not only for the scholarship recipient, but for the school and for our home state. You just never know!”

The Mires’ contribution honors the LSU experiences that were most transformative for their education and careers: receiving TOPS scholarships; volunteering at the PMAC during Hurricane Katrina; working on campus (including the SMART Lab); participating in the Student Finance Association’s annual trip to New York, through which they made several lifelong friends; studying in the Center for Internal Auditing program; and attending LSU sporting events all over the country. Shawn and Erin attribute much of their early career success to their experiences at LSU. After getting married and working in finance in New Orleans, the couple moved to Adelaide, Australia, where Shawn pursued his master’s degree with support from a Rotary International Ambassadorial scholarship. Now Houston residents, the Mires miss Louisiana, but they’ve found “home” in the Texas Tigers network. “When we were transitioning to Houston, I had CEOs, LSU grads, open their doors to me and say, ‘How can I help you?’” Shawn remembered. “That’s what meant most to us. LSU grads are extremely generous with their time and their resources. We support each other. We work hard, and we play hard.” The Mires hope that recipients of their scholarship will similarly embrace all that LSU has to offer, including a global network. With an upcoming trip planned to Dubai, Mauritius and South Africa, Shawn and Erin hope to run into LSU fans on the sixth continent of their travels. “By attracting talented students, we hope to see the LSU Finance program grow and gain international recognition. We want the best companies in the world to know about and seek our students,” Erin said. “We hope the state of Louisiana gains an individual who engages with the community and inspires young Louisiana students to enter the finance field.”

business.lsu.edu

SHAWN and ERIN MIRE at an LSU-hosted crawfish boil in San Diego in 2015

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

CULTURE OF GIVING :

A CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE

n September the campus, helping to establish the 18, 2015, the first capital campaign to restore the Louisiana State school’s facilities into a state-of-the-art University educational complex. The Lipsey family Laboratory has continued their legacy of giving, School, or including as centennial underwriters. U-High, celebrated its centennial birthday. The day kicked UNIVERSITY LABORATORY SCHOOL off a year-long celebration focused on CENTENNIAL UNDERWRITERS reconnecting alumni and renewing public interest through philanthropy, A special thank “U” goes to all of the University Laboratory School Centennial community outreach, multiCelebration underwriters. generational bonding and homecoming activities. Superintendent Wade Smith Coastal Bridge Company, LLC reflected on how far U-High, where Glen “Big Baby” Davis Foundation “students achieve their dreams,” has come over the past 100 years. Susan & Richard Lipsey ’57, Laurie Lipsey “Through the years, we have ‘85 & Mark Aronson, & Wendy Lipsey ‘88 established a vibrant International Richard & Claire Manship Baccalaureate program, created dual-enrollment opportunities that Sharon & Claude Pennington & Paige Pennington ‘11 now provide our students with an opportunity to receive credit for their Jonalyn & Raoul Robert freshman year of college and beyond, In memory of Dr. Peter A. Soderbergh and offered classroom experiences that consistently rank UHS as one Betsy & Newton ‘62 Thomas of the highest performing schools in Gordon ‘84 & Shannon ‘85 McKernan the state and the nation,” Smith said. “This year the school was honored to receive the National Blue Ribbon for Academic Excellence, the highest recognition provided by the “My favorite moment of the centennial U.S. Department of Education.” was the birthday party in the gym in the Smith said the success and fall. We had a few wonderful speakers, sustainability of U-High is a testament and then – the moment we all waited for to the investments of time, money and – the ULS Centennial Commemorative talents from committed alumni and painting by Jack Jaubert was revealed. donors like the Lipsey family, of which I still get the chills thinking about that there are three generations of U-High moment and how excited I was to see graduates or current students. Joe our 100-year history so well displayed in Lipsey served as the first president of the artwork,” Richard’s daughter, Laurie the U-High Parent Teacher Association Lipsey Aronson, chair of the University while her two sons, Buddy (’51) and Laboratory School Foundation Board of Richard (’57), attended the school. She Directors, remembered. was instrumental in the fundraising Laurie has many memories from her efforts for constructing U-High’s years as a student at U-High, spanning independent campus. Years later, Richard from her second grade Christmas play would also play a hand in revitalizing until her senior year performance in

“Alice in Wonderland.” Now, she has a daughter, Marla, there and is amazed by the sophistication of technology in the classrooms, including smart boards, laptops and tablets. “My daughter Anna was a graduate in the 100th class, so it was very meaningful to witness the special ceremony. Many people who graduated with me in 1985 also had Centennial grads, so it was memorable for many of us,” Laurie shared. Richard said that his family’s commitment to U-High stems from the “fundamental” education they each received at U-High, where teachers made lifelong impacts and peers became lifelong friends. “The U-High experience is unique due to the personal touch by the teachers and administration. They care about every student. The size of the school and class size made all of us feel like we were special and could get all the help we needed,” Richard said. “You will never regret anything you do for the purposes of education and for children, including giving them the opportunity for the best education possible in a quality environment,” Laurie added. U-High, part of LSU’s College of Human Sciences and Education, also provides training opportunities for aspiring teachers. With small classes (the class of 2015 had 109 graduates), students are engaged in an environment that fosters academic achievement. The results are telling: U-High’s elementary and middle school students have exceeded the state’s average Louisiana Educational Assessment Program scores, and the high school students are 11.6 percent more likely to earn an advanced score on the Graduate Exit Exam than the state average.

uhigh.lsu.edu

Then (TOP) and now (BOTTOM) photos of an LSU Laboratory School classroom, in honor of the school’s centennial birthday

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

LUCY PERERA, coordinator of School & Community Programs for the LSU Museum of Art, leads a group of White Hills Elementary students through the permanent collection.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS :

OUR STORY

he LSU Museum of Art unveiled the reinstallation of its permanent collection, titled “Art in Louisiana: Views into the Collection,” on March 4. Curated throughout a 10,000-squarefoot section of the museum, the permanent collection features Louisiana-based fine and decorative arts, many of which have not been on display in over a decade, spanning from the 1700s until today. MOA Director Daniel Stetson said that the collection, 50 years in the works, will attract, inspire and unite tourists and residents alike. “The story of the LSU Museum of Art is told through its collections, and it is an exciting one,” he said. “Louisiana’s dynamic cultural story is worth exploring and discovering through many visits. It is a truly unique American story.” From its onset, the permanent collection has been funded by private donations. Items of interest include a series of British portraits, which was the first purchase of the permanent collection; an outstanding collection of Chinese jade; one-of-akind New Orleans-made silver; and Newcomb pottery. As the museum has matured, its collecting focus was narrowed in on art from Louisiana and the American South. Today, the collection contains nearly 5,000 objects, growing by 25 percent in the last 15 years.

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

As the only dedicated art museum in Baton Rouge, MOA has an important role in serving the community. The reinstallation, curated by guest experts for each gallery, enables MOA to boost its educational programming, tours and community outreach through a diverse visual showcase of the state’s history. Other additions include an ongoing lecture series by guest curators and a new, interactive education gallery, underwritten by the Pennington Family Foundation, for museum visitors of all ages to explore the collection. Susanna Atkins McCarthy, a benefactor of the reinstallation, studied at Sotheby’s Auction House in London before working in galleries and auction houses in New York City and the National Gallery of Art

in Washington, D.C. McCarthy’s mother and sister are Newcomb College alumnae, as is her grandmother, Louise Powell Knighton, whom McCarthy recognized in her gift toward the Newcomb pottery reinstallation at the LSU MOA. Though her career and family exposed her to artwork from around the globe, McCarthy is partial to Louisiana-based artwork, decorating her home almost exclusively with in-state pieces. “People come to Louisiana from all over because of the mystique of what the state was and still is,” she said. “The permanent collection tells the story of our people and our lives. It shows both the history and the future of our state through displaying both works from the past and up-and-coming artists.” As funding decreases for arts education

for K-12 public schools, outreach efforts to local schools have become a priority for the MOA. The ArtWorks program seeks to enhance under-resourced schools’ curricula through providing certified arts education. “The students visit the museum once a month for eight months, which increases the impact of the program. The children, pre-K through third graders, start in the galleries, where they spend time looking at, critiquing and questioning works,” explained Sarah Cortell Vandersypen, associate director of development. “Through these gallery exercises, the students build their observational skills, are required to provide evidence for their thoughts, and understand the importance of critical thinking. The Louisiana art collection

helps the students to learn about the history of their state, the artists who helped to shape it and the issues that continue to impact their daily lives.” With a prime location within the Shaw Center of the Arts, the museum is a key part of the continuing revitalization of downtown Baton Rouge. The museum ensures art accessibility six days a week with a low-cost admission of $5 for adults and kids 13 and up and First Free Sundays every first Sunday of the month.

lsumoa.org

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

(TOP) A group of young scientists participates in a ChemDemo experiment at the Dow Chemical Company’s Take Your Child to Work Day 2015.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS :

“DOING” SCIENCE S

ince its inception in 1997, LSU’s ChemDemo service-learning program has sent nearly 15,000 LSU students to lead 50-minute, hands-on STEM demonstrations in almost 7,000 classrooms. With an overall impact on more than 174,000 K-12 graders, ChemDemo is the largest service-learning science education outreach program in the nation. “ChemDemo shows middle school and high school students that science is not some abstract concept for geniuses. It’s fun, it’s educational, and it has practical applications. You can ‘do’ science. You can understand science when it’s explained correctly,” Dr. George Stanley, Cyril & Tutta Vetter Alumni Professor in the LSU Chemistry Department and founder of ChemDemo, said. Two decades ago, Stanley was participating in the American Chemical Society’s National Chemistry Week through leading demonstrations in Baton Rouge area classrooms. Local teachers really took to the idea, and the requests for demonstrations became overwhelming. “I needed to do something different for bonus point opportunities. The internet was becoming popular, and students started copying essays. So I said, ‘Hey, I have all these teacher requests. Let’s send the students out,’” Stanley remembered. “We had every teacher request filled that fall.” For the first year, ChemDemo only used the Silly Putty Experiment. It involves mixing Elmer’s School Glue with a Borax-water solution, creating a cross-linking polymerization reaction. Stanley has since developed more than 10 demonstrations, including creating ice cream using liquid nitrogen, that touch on topics like the atmosphere, the environment, energy, kinetics and light production. Stanley knows from reading his students’ reflective essays on the experience that the program’s impact extends beyond just those in grade school. Carolyn Feinberg (Science, ’02) was a student in Dr. Stanley’s organometallics course when she participated in ChemDemo. Now, Feinberg teaches chemistry to tenth and eleventh graders, as well as advanced placement biology to twelfth graders, and hosts ChemDemo demonstrations in her own classroom at Baton Rouge Magnet High School. She requests experiments that are relevant to the topics the class is currently covering, and she enjoys the opportunity for her students to work with

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

“I think that ChemDemo encourages kids to be interested in STEM fields and makes that career path seem more attainable.” Carolyn Feinberg materials that are not typically found in her classroom. Feinberg believes that ChemDemo opens up her students, especially minority students, to the possibility of a future in college and in science careers. “It means nothing when you write it on paper. When kids have a real-life experience, they get excited. I think that ChemDemo encourages kids to be interested in STEM fields and makes that career path seem more attainable,” Feinberg said, adding, “After the demonstration, I have the LSU students talk about college life in general. My class doesn’t listen to anything I say because I’m a dinosaur to them. But when the ChemDemo instructors say the same things, they take it more seriously.” The Dow Chemical Company started supporting ChemDemo in 2015, following an introduction to Stanley and his students at Super Science Saturday, a free LSU event for professional science groups to engage K-12 students with hands-on STEM demonstrations. “Dow and ChemDemo have partnered on many occasions in classrooms, at festivals, Super Science Saturday and even Dow’s Take Your Child to Work Day at our facility,” Jordan Tremblay, public affairs manager for Dow, shared. “Partnering a Dow employee STEM Ambassador Volunteer alongside a ChemDemo LSU student volunteer is a perfect way to show kids the connection between education and the workforce, clearly demonstrating the link between the science, technology, engineering and math they are learning in school and how it is used in the everyday life of a Dow employee.” ChemDemo is also financially supported by the Albemarle Foundation, ExxonMobil, the Baton Rouge section of the American Chemical Society, the LSU Department of Chemistry and the LSU Cain Center for STEM Literacy. The basic supplies for the demonstrations, such as paper plates and glue, are donated by the participating LSU students.

lsu.edu/science

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

A SPECIAL GIFT: REFLECTION BY DR. JOHN S. KELLEY, DVM, MS In summer 1976, I was heading into my senior year of animal science at the University of Massachusetts. At that time there were only 17 veterinary schools in the U.S., including LSU, so off I drove with my Golden Retriever and two phone numbers. I applied for LSU’s animal science program, graduated with a master’s degree in theriogenology, and was accepted into the LSU Veterinary Class of 1984. The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine was a relatively new school, and the building was brand new. There was a sense of beginning in the building, the faculty and the students. Our class was different from day one. We had the oldest and the youngest students of all current classes. Although individually we were quite diversified, we had the ability to come together as a family for someone in need or just to have the biggest fall pig roast or spring crawfish boil. Today, I will be coming up on my 32nd year in practice, and I still love the work, patients and – most of the time – the clients! I have just passed the National Boards exam, and I have obtained a Puerto Rican veterinary license to continue 20 years of pro-bono work at the Vieques Humane Society. I know that if it wasn’t for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, I would not be where I am today. I wanted to give back, so that other students would have the chance to fulfill their dreams, too. But I didn’t feel that my donations alone would help that much. The idea for a scholarship came up throughout the course of several years and class reunions. Many classmates were already giving, and we decided to combine our gifts to name a classroom for some of the classmates we have lost. As time went by, the donations began really adding up. After a few emails (and a little arm twisting), the class did what we have always done and came together to establish the Class of 1984 Memorial Scholarship, the first ever endowed class scholarship for the LSU SVM. From the start, we wanted the scholarship to go to someone who showed compassion, not only to the animals they work with, but also to their classmates and community. We feel that this quality, being an all-around good person, is as important as having the highest GPA or the best surgical skills. We want these recipients to know that they have a special gift, and we hope that their behavior will serve as an aspiration for others. We want our class to be remembered for more than just having the biggest parties and craziest antics, but as a group that was thankful for what LSU has given us and enabled us to become. I am so proud of our class for the determination to get this scholarship funded, to be the first of its kind for LSU SVM, and to make it available in its very first year. Another amazing accomplishment. We look forward to awarding this scholarship to many deserving recipients for many years to come. Thank you, LSU and LSU SVM, for making this passion and dream come true for me and many to follow. Sincerely,

Dr. John S. Kelley, DVM, MS lsu.edu/vetmed

LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Class of 1984

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

IN LOVING MEMORY :

REMEMBERING THE ROBINSONS

iblings Renee Robinson Tullier and Robert Robinson are honoring their parents with a gift that will preserve the couple’s lifetime passion and pursuit of education. The Dr. Gene C. Robinson and Elaine G. Robinson Memorial Science Honors Scholarship will support a College of Science undergraduate within the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College for four years. Renee and Robert also gave to the Honors Excellence Fund and the College of Science Development Fund, giving the colleges flexibility to invest in resources that enhance the student experience. “I want the recipients to know that the people who this scholarship is named after were people who believed in the future of students. Take this gift and run with it,” Renee, who calls LSU “home,” said. Gene’s own success was launched by philanthropy. An exceptional student, he earned a full scholarship, including tuition, room and board, books and yearly round-trips home, through a Pepsi challenge. He chose to attend the University of Chicago, a school his family could not have afforded without the scholarship. Gene took full advantage of the opportunity, going on to receive his master’s degree. He continued his education, earning his PhD at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and conducting post-doctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles. Specializing in organometallics, Gene worked in DR. GENE and ELAINE ROBINSON on their wedding day research and development for Ethyl Corporation, later acquired by Albemarle, for 43 years, and was an active member of the American Chemical Society in Baton Rouge. By the end of his career, Gene’s work had acquired 35 patents. Even after retirement, Gene maintained a relationship with faculty members in the LSU Department of Chemistry and enjoyed mentoring young chemists. Renee said he stressed the importance of strong communication to his mentees: “My dad always said that one of the biggest problems he had with young chemists wasn’t with how much they knew, but with their inability to communicate what they knew. It doesn’t help for you to know something if you can’t pass that knowledge on to someone else.” Elaine graduated from the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education “It doesn’t help for you to in 1957, and she worked as a substitute teacher in Baton Rouge schools for 45 know something if you can’t years. With a love for children, education and giving in general, Elaine set high standards for her students and her own children. She always encouraged them pass that knowledge on to work harder. She and Gene had a very simple mantra. “Read,” Renee shared. to someone else.” “Read the newspaper. Read magazines. Read journals. Read about things you are Renee Robinson Tullier interested in. Read about things you should be interested in. Just read.” Elaine was a sports fan, and she especially loved LSU football. She made a Tiger out of Gene, too, and the couple had season tickets for both football and basketball for many years. Their purple-and-gold enthusiasm trickled down to Robert (Humanities & Social Sciences,’84) and Renee, who spent a few years pursuing her master’s degree at LSU. Currently, two of Renee’s sons, Brian and Michael, are LSU students. Michael is following in his grandfather’s footsteps as a chemistry PhD candidate who hopes to work at Albemarle someday.

science.lsu.edu

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

MOVING FORWARD :

LETTER FROM PRESIDENT F. KING ALEXANDER

With Louisiana’s budget challenges taking up most of the headlines lately, you may not have heard all the good news coming out of LSU these days – good news made possible by the commitment, generosity and loyalty of people like you. Support from our philanthropic community has helped our students to succeed, our faculty to excel, and our university to grow even during tough economic times like these. Just over the last few months, we’ve seen so many success stories that it’s difficult to decide which ones to share. Here’s a brief sampling: LSU senior and Gonzales-native Chauncey Stephens was one of only 54 students in the country to receive the prestigious Truman Scholarship, which comes with $30,000 toward graduate school and the opportunity to participate in professional development programming to prepare award-winners for careers in public service. Valencia Richardson, an LSU senior from Shreveport, was awarded a Fulbright Binational Internship. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international education exchange program. It is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Participants are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential. A record number of LSU students received the extremely competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which provides recipients with a $34,000 annual stipend for three years of graduate study. LSU Boyd Professor Isiah Warner was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, in addition to being recognized as the SEC Professor of the Year. Dr. Augusto Ochoa, director of the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center at the LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans was recently selected to serve on Vice President Joe Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative’s Blue Ribbon Panel. This project, which aims to bring a decade’s worth of cancer advances in only five years’ time, brings together 28 of the nation’s leader cancer research experts. These are just a few examples of our university’s strength and resilience. You know as well as I do that it’s hard to keep a Tiger down. That’s why LSU is worth fighting for. We’re moving full-steam ahead toward a new academic year filled with promise and potential, and we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to your university. You make LSU the great university it is today.

Sincerely,

F. King Alexander LSU President

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

DR. WAYNE NEWHAUSER, director of LSU’s Medical Physics program, and LSU graduate students discuss 3-D printing and how it benefits cancer research.

LSU RESEARCH WORKS FOR LOUISIANA

LSU Day at the Capitol

rom improving cancer treatments and helping those with Parkinson’s disease stay active, to saving the coastline and fisheries of Louisiana, LSU research impacts Louisianans in ways they often don’t even realize. To that end, the university has launched a communications initiative titled “LSU Research Works” that is designed to show the world how LSU research, conducted at all the LSU campuses around the state, profoundly affects the lives of Louisiana citizens. “It’s impressive to see the breadth and depth of our research,” LSU President F. King Alexander said. “The work being done at all of our campuses covers issues of vital importance to our citizens, such as cancer treatment, energy management, hurricane protection and even termite damage prevention. If you live in Louisiana, you’re being positively impacted by LSU research every day.” The LSU Research Works initiative shows how LSU is solving some of Louisiana’s biggest problems through high-level research. Some of the state’s issues that are addressed in the initiative include diabetes, childhood obesity, autism, coastal land loss, hurricanes and infectious diseases. Other topics include all the ways LSU research has assisted the U.S. military, the state’s challenges in dealing with invasive species and the daily struggles of the Louisiana seafood industry. “The people of Louisiana face many of the same problems that the rest of the nation and the world are also facing. But they also deal with challenges that are very specific to this state and this region,” Alexander said. “LSU works to address all of these issues, and strives to make the state a better place for us all to call home.” The Office of Strategic Communications at LSU has used social media, the news media, billboards, videos and internal communications to the LSU campuses to publicize the Research Works initiative. It has also created a series of one-page fact sheets that were distributed to the Louisiana Legislature and to attendees at research forums, conferences and events throughout the spring.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? As a friend of LSU, you can help, too. By spreading the word about all the things LSU does to impact citizens of the state, you can help us heighten LSU’s reputation for research nationwide. Please tell your family, friends, business associates and others about LSU research, and feel free to use LSU’s fact sheets to help you tell that story. The fact sheets, and information about Research Works in general, are available by clicking the Research Works box on the LSU homepage, or by going directly to lsu.edu/researchworks. And if you follow LSU on Facebook or Twitter, you can share or retweet the items we’re posting. On Twitter, we are using #LSUResearch to tag research-related posts. Tell us how LSU Research Works for you by sharing your story on Twitter. Tweet at LSU using

#LSUResearch to let us know how your life has been impacted by LSU research. In addition, please visit lsu.edu/accolades for information about LSU’s recent accomplishments. It will make you even more proud of the support you provide to LSU!

C O R N E R S T O N E / Summer & Fall 2016

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Baton Rouge, LA Permit No. 9 3838 West Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808

FACTS make a difference. LOWER

Tuition & Fees

FEWER

Graduates with Debt

NATIONAL PEER AVERAGE

HIGHER

Graduation Rate

NATIONAL AVERAGE

GREATER

Mid-Career Earnings

NATIONAL AVERAGE

d career opportunities means nts to succeed after graduation. own… $7,873

$10,191

35%

72%

69.1%

59%

$85,000 $75,916

Producing graduates with high-value degrees, little-to-no student loan debt and unrivaled career opportunities means everything to LSU. Rankings don’t matter without a focus on the greater good–preparing students to succeed after graduation. Their success is how we measures ours. So any way we break it down…

our students are always #1.

We focus on what makes a difference– our students and their futures.

lsu.edu