Summer 2011 Cornerstone

INSIDE LSU College of Engineering alumnus Frank H. Walk’s gift lays foundation for life-changing work page 8

Cornerstone EDITORS Sara Crow Scott M. Madere ART DIRECTOR Elizabeth Scott LSU Junior, Graphic Design PHOTOGRAPHY Scott M. Madere Melissa Argrave Aaron Hogan Betty Karlsson Eddy Perez Tim Rodrigue Rachel Saltzberg Kaveh Sardari/CSIS Millena Williams CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Blair Beter Tia Embaugh Damian Foley Melissa Foley Seth Guidry Kathleen Harrington Samantha Landry Lindsay Newport Raychel Roy PRINTING IPC Printing, LLC

To share feedback, please contact Sara Crow at scrow@lsufoundation.org or 225-578-8164. www.lsufoundation.org

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Pelican Promise Recipient Hannah Ngo Sophomore in Kinesiology

Hannah Ngo’s family story reads like a Hollywood movie script.

Her father, Howie Sr., was in the South Vietnamese navy during the Vietnam War and met her mother, Tuyen, in Louisiana after the conflict ended. The Ngos settled in Harvey, La., where Howie got a job working for a defense technology company.

And that is when things took a turn for the worse for the Ngo family.

Howie seriously injured his back at work, rendering him essentially unemployable. The family of five— now with Howie Jr., Hannah and Huey—lived on the income Tuyen earned working seven days a week at a nail salon. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina spared no thought for the lives it affected as it cut a path of destruction through the Gulf Coast.

Finances were a tremendous concern for the Ngo family. But when the time came for Hannah to choose a college, the entire family agreed on her first and only choice: LSU.

She said of her decision, “I never wanted to go anywhere else, and this is the only place I applied.”

The Pelican Promise scholarship enabled Ngo to move to Baton Rouge and enroll at LSU. Established in fall 2007, the scholarship—equivalent to tuition and the registration fee—is awarded to Louisiana residents who are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and whose family income is no more than 150 percent of the poverty level.

LSU gave Ngo a helping hand to get where she wanted to go. Now, she is mulling over a change in major so she can be in a better position to help people find their own peace of mind.

Hers is a fittingly Hollywood synergy in a story still being written.

LSU Chancellor Mike Martin has identified Pelican Promise as the University’s top academic fundraising priority. www.lsufoundation.org/contribute

www.twitter.com/ lsu_foundation

“The greatest products of LSU are its students and graduates.

Pelican Promise provides the opportunity for highly capable students that work hard to achieve an education that they would not otherwise be able to receive.” ­­— Harry J. Longwell, donor to Pelican Promise

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Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

Inside Cornerstone

Summer 2011 | Volume 23, Number 1 | LSU Foundation

Behind every gift to the LSU Foundation is an individual or organization determined to advance the quality of education.

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8 Cover Story: Capping Off College

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Mechanical engineering senior Rachel Yates in the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s workshop, next to a lathe purchased with funds donated by LSU alumnus Frank H. Walk.

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PRESIDENT AND CEO’S MESSAGE

18 LSU FOUNDATION LAUREATE SOCIETY

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FOREVER LSU

20 GEAUX TEACH

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COVER: Capping Off College

21 COLLEGE SUPPORT

10 SCHOLARS

Today’s Gift Funds Tomorrow’s Research 12 ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Come for Opportunity, Stay for Sweet Tea

What’s the Big Idea?

15 VETERINARY MEDICINE

East Meets West 16 CAPITAL PROJECTS

Business Education Complex

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SCHOLARSHIPS ‘Friend’ of LSU Theatre STUDENT PROGRAMMING Formula for Success

26 PLANNED GIVING

Payback

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FACULTY SUPPORT Partners with LSU Law REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES A SMART Start on Investing CORPORATE GIVING Fresh Cuts, Clean Health Up Close with Entergy ENVIRONMENTORS

37 A TIGER VETERAN’S LEGACY 39 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

28 MATCHING GIFTS

Perfect Match

40 MEET A MEMBER

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Dear Friends,

“Every person who has contributed to the Forever LSU campaign, no matter the size of the gift, should feel a sense of pride in its success.”

Thank you.

In November 2010, the Forever LSU campaign announced that donors drove its success past the ambitious $750 million goal.

The campaign’s astounding triumph reflects an unprecedented level of financial support from more than 61,000 LSU alumni and friends. Every person who has contributed to Forever LSU, no matter the size of the gift, should feel a sense of pride in its success.

Soon, Forever LSU will release publications that showcase the long-lasting impact this campaign will have on Louisiana’s flagship university and the state’s future leaders. A few of the campaign’s overarching accomplishments are included in this issue, on page 5.

Forever LSU made evident the positive results of giving to LSU. The impact of giving is important for all of us to understand because LSU’s need for support through private funding has never been greater. Private philanthropy is increasingly important to the futures of LSU, the LSU AgCenter and the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. The LSU Foundation is committed to working with donors to ensure that LSU continues to move forward in its pursuit of academic excellence.

Our team often shares with each other the touching stories behind gifts to the LSU Foundation. Truly, every gift has a story—of a donor who made the personal, generous decision to give to LSU, and of the impact of that gift on our university and beyond. We are working to share more of these stories with you in Cornerstone.

We want to celebrate your generosity and introduce you to the people, projects and programs that are successful because of it.

Sincerely,

Maj. Gen. William G. Bowdon, USMC (Retired) President and CEO, LSU Foundation

LSU FOUNDATION 50th ANNIVERSARY PARTY Friends of the LSU Foundation gathered in the LSU Student Union last fall to commemorate the Foundation’s 50th anniversary.

Peggy and Dr. Bill Jenkins

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Jill and James Burtner, Frankie Harris, Ann Harrison and Charon Harris

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

Betsy and Gary Laborde

Chandler and Michael Dupont

Thank you!

More than 61,000 alumni, friends and corporations united to surpass the $750 million goal set by Forever LSU: The Campaign for Louisiana State University. Final numbers and successes will be profiled in a series of publications to be released this summer.

“This is an unprecedented show of support from LSU alumni and supports at a time when we face the prospect of unprecedented budget cuts,” said Congressman Henson Moore, chair of Forever LSU. “These generous donors have recognized that an investment in LSU is an investment in the future of Louisiana. But their contributions are not a substitute for the basic budget support LSU needs from the state. By law, contributions can only be used for the purpose for which they were intended by the donor.”

The campaign, publicly launched in 2006 to benefit LSU, the LSU AgCenter and the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, was a joint effort of the LSU Foundation, the LSU Alumni Association and the Tiger Athletic Foundation. Forever LSU surpassed one-third of its $750 million goal by Dec. 31, 2006, with $33 million raised in six months and the remaining amount raised during the silent phase of the campaign, which began in 2001.

It reached the two-thirds mark just 15 months later, with more than $500 million raised as of March 31, 2008. On Nov. 12, 2010, Forever LSU announced it had surpassed the $750 million goal, well ahead of the Dec. 31 end date.

“Many very generous people who believe in LSU have invested in LSU with the expectation that this university will continue to excel and grow as one of the great institutions of higher education in this country,” said LSU Chancellor Mike Martin, adding, “Like the covenant we have with our students to provide them with a superior education, we have a covenant with these donors to invest their money wisely.”

Donors, students, faculty and staff celebrated the Forever LSU campaign’s success at an April 8 Block Party held in front of the PMAC. Here, students eagerly try to catch Forever LSU T-shirts thrown to the crowd from the stage.

Included in Forever LSU’s four pillars were student support, faculty support, university-wide support and campus infrastructure. Contributions were mostly in donor-specified funds and were largely invested in ongoing building projects, endowed scholarships for students and endowed chairs and professorships.

LSU supporters celebrated the kickoff of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in school history in June 2006 at an announcement event in New York.

There, LSU alumnus and political commentator James Carville said, “There is no other state university more important to their state than LSU is to Louisiana.”

Moore has since led a cabinet of more than 50 LSU alumni and friends in nationwide efforts to engage LSU supporters in furthering LSU’s pursuit of excellence and academic distinction among universities worldwide.

The Honorable Sean O’Keefe, LSU’s chancellor when Forever LSU publicly launched, said of its success, “I had complete confidence in our university community’s ability to surpass our own expectations ... The Tiger spirit is alive and well, and the work of alumni and friends should be congratulated for rightfully positioning LSU as one of the nation’s top universities.” www.foreverlsu.org

Forever LSU: • strengthened the University’s endowment for scholarships, fellowships and financial aid • funded programs that enrich student life • endowed chairs and professorships • modernized research facilities and equipped laboratories • enhanced existing programs • initiated and supported academic opportunities worldwide

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Campus Federal Credit Union Recognized for Generosity

This spring, Campus Federal Credit Union was recognized by the Forever LSU campaign at LSU’s Memorial Tower.

“Campus Federal Credit Union was started by LSU employees and has served the University for 77 years by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars, volunteering countless hours, and mentoring and hiring our students,” said LSU Chancellor Mike Martin. “LSU’s relationship with Campus Federal Credit Union is invaluable, and their support of Forever LSU has been vital to the campaign’s success.”

J Hudson, then president of LSU Student Government, read the LSU Commitment to Community and presented a copy to Campus Federal.

This is the highest honor bestowed on behalf of LSU students.

LSU Foundation President and CEO Maj. Gen. Bill Bowdon and Campus Federal CEO John Milazzo, joined by Lt. Col. Mary McKeon, corps commander for the U.S. Air Force, and Lt. Col. John Wright, battalion commander for the U.S. Army, unveiled a granite marker in recognition of Campus Federal’s ongoing commitment to honor the outstanding military tradition at LSU. Campus Federal routinely gives LSU a new U.S. garrison flag to be flown over the Parade Ground on the War Memorial.

“This perpetual flag donation is in recognition of the many sacrifices of LSU’s faculty, staff, students and alumni who have served proudly in the U.S. Armed Forces, especially those who have given the ultimate

Front: LSU Foundation President and CEO Maj. Gen. Bill Bowdon, LSU AgCenter Chancellor Bill Richardson, Campus Federal Credit Union CEO John Milazzo, LSU Chancellor Mike Martin, Forever LSU Chair Congressman Henson Moore, LSU Foundation Vice President for Development Jeff McLain Back: Employees and board members of Campus Federal Credit Union

sacrifice to our nation,” said Milazzo.

Not only does Campus Federal support student organizations and departments campus-wide, but its generosity spans all 11 of LSU’s campuses. The organization is the presenting sponsor for LSU’s top research faculty, or “Rainmakers,” and last year was a major sponsor of LSU’s sesquicentennial, or 150th, birthday celebration.

Other initiatives that Campus Federal has helped to fund are LSU’s Teaching Enhancement Awards for outstanding faculty and campus programs that unite the community, including Fall Fest, Campus Holiday

Celebration and Volunteer LSU.

In addition to giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to LSU, Campus Federal has provided support by mentoring students, staffing events, teaching financial literacy classes and generally helping to advance the mission of the University.

The Forever LSU Student Video Contest continues to earn accolades, most recently at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s February District III & IV conference. “LSU is…Forever,” the contest’s winning entrant, won a Grand Award—the highest honor given—in its category.

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Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

Honoring Dr. James R. and Ann Peltier

In February, the Forever LSU campaign recognized a couple whose commitment to LSU encompasses service, leadership and giving. Joined by a small group of the honorees’ friends and family, Forever LSU

honored Dr. James R. and Ann Peltier at a dinner held at the LSU Museum of Art. Guests toured the museum’s permanent gallery of Chinese jade, donated by the Peltiers.

Among the many areas at LSU

that the Peltiers support are Forever LSU, the colleges of Science and Humanities & Social Sciences, and the LSU Flagship Fund. They also established professorships in the College of Agriculture and the LSU Law Center.

Dr. Peltier, a member of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors, is the only person to have served as president of that board and past chairman of both the LSU Board of Supervisors and the LSU Alumni Association.

He holds an honorary doctorate of humane letters from LSU, reflecting his lifetime of service to Louisiana.

Dr. Peltier is a retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon. He and Ann enjoy world travel together, and live in Thibodaux, La. They have three grown children and 10 grandchildren.

The Peltiers by “Chinese Boy on Pillow,” donated from the jade collection they have built over the past four decades

Michael Robinson’s Legacy of University Service and Support

Among the many dynamic personalities on LSU’s development team, Michael Robinson stands out.

The senior director of development for the College of Art & Design will retire this summer with a stellar record of dedication to LSU.

The LSU Foundation and the Forever LSU campaign honored Robinson in February at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, where guests viewed selected works from Robinson and partner Donald Boutte’s personal art collection.

The gathering recognized both Robinson’s generosity as a donor and his tireless efforts to advance the goals of the College of Art & Design.

There, Robinson was presented with Forever LSU commemorative arches

Michael Robinson in his LSU office, home to some of his favorite pieces of art—including work by LSU students

as a tribute to his many gifts to LSU.

Prior to joining LSU in 2001, Robinson was a vice president and trust officer for Bank One in Baton Rouge, where he worked for 32 years.

An advocate for the arts, he serves on the Louisiana State Arts Council and the Louisiana Folklife Commission and is an active supporter of several Baton Rouge nonprofit organizations.

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Evan Ledet and Rachel Yates operate one of the lathes purchased through a gift made by College of Engineering alumnus Frank H. Walk.

The work that 10 LSU engineering students are doing today could one day allow people who are quadriplegic to regain their mobility and independence. The “Walk Again” effort is one of many capstone design projects that offer a hands-on test of mechanical engineering seniors’ knowledge, abilities and creativity before graduation.

During the spring 2011 semester, Evan Ledet and Rachel Yates were part of the Walk Again team, which is focused on constructing a self-contained, upright and mobile exoskeleton for people whose limbs are affected by paralysis.

“It’s pretty daunting in scope, creating an exoskeleton that can move and help a quadriplegic walk,” Ledet says.

Capstone projects are suggested by industry, faculty and the community to address particular engineering challenges.

None is anything less than formidable, as it represents the culmination of a mechanical engineering student’s career as an LSU undergraduate. Walk Again is a multi-year project sponsored by College of Engineering alumnus Norman Deumite, who suggested the idea to benefit his son, Sloan, and others who are quadriplegic.

Yates says she knew right away it was the team project she wanted to join.

“I chose this one because I thought it could really make a

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Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

Engineering Alumnus Lays Foundation for Life-Changing Projects difference,” she explains. “That we could lay a foundation for future groups to really take it and run.”

Moving a capstone project from the drawing board to completion takes involvement and guidance from mechanical engineering faculty, alumni and friends. Alumnus Frank H. Walk’s support of the Capstone Senior Design Program will ensure its high standards of excellence for many years to come.

Walk donated $500,000 to the College of Engineering, enabling the purchase of three state-of-the-art lathes, tools and equipment for the department’s workshop. His gift also funded the Frank H. Walk Design Presentation Room, which capstone teams use as a classroom and meeting space.

Yates says of her experience, “This year, we were the first group that got to do our presentations in the Walk room, and it felt very professional, like we were presenting something to a company. It’s a good bridging step between school and industry.”

Ledet says the lathe machines donated by Walk allowed his team to produce parts for its exoskeleton that would otherwise be very difficult or impossible to manufacture.

“They are really precise,” he says.

“You can set up a program, hit start, and the machine takes over. You don’t have to worry about human error.”

Walk’s contributions to the Department of Mechanical Engineering are deeply rooted in his experience at LSU. As a student in the 1940s, Walk frequented the location where students now work on their capstone projects.

“The first thing that attracted me to engineering was the shops,” he shares. “I made straight A’s in shop

Above: A mechanical engineering student explains his work to visitors in the Frank H. Walk Design Presentation Room.

Right: The family of Frank H. Walk at the ribboncutting ceremony for the Frank H. Walk Design Presentation Room Below: Evan Ledet with one of the lathes that enables mechanical engineering students to complete their capstone projects

work. I came in as M.E., and it turned out to be a success. I am very proud of my degree from LSU. Everywhere I’ve been in the world, I have bumped into engineering grads from LSU who have been successful.”

For Ledet and Yates, success on their project will be defined by leaving enough research and material for next year’s Walk Again team to continue their mission.

“Maybe three, four, five years down the line, we will have something incredibly impressive,” says Ledet. www.eng.lsu.edu

“I am very impressed with the knowledge, capabilities and work ethic of these students. This is definitely a project that more companies in industry and more individuals should get involved with and financially support.”

– Norman Deumite, on the value of capstone design projects

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Charles and Carole Lamar outside of their Baton Rouge home

Today’s Gift Funds Tomorrow’s Research

The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs in the Manship School of Mass Communication will welcome visiting scholars to campus through the new Lamar Family Visiting Scholars Endowment.

The Manship School has several short-term visiting professorships, but Charles and Carole Lamar’s $1.2 million gift puts the school on par with other high-quality academic institutions that bring scholars to campus for longer-term visits. As an endowed gift, their generosity will provide an income stream to support the scholars program in perpetuity.

“I am truly excited to be part of this next step in building an outstanding journalism school at LSU,” Charles shares.

Ralph Izard, interim dean at the time of the Lamars’ gift, explains the

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significance of the couple’s support.

“We know how much they believe in our commitment to promote responsibility in government and a good democracy. Their philanthropy will continue to have a profound impact on the vital role of the media in advancing democratic principles.”

Lamar Scholars, to be selected by the dean of the Manship School, will be either recent Ph.D. graduates whose research enhances the center or professionals who have had distinguished careers in advertising, political communication, journalism or public relations.

Charles says of his and Carole’s decision to fund the program, “My friends Jack Hamilton and Adrienne Moore have done a great job of communicating the vision for the Manship School and Reilly Center for

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

Media & Public Affairs, as well as the integral and important role that postdoctorates and experienced professionals will play as visiting scholars at the school.”

Hamilton, now LSU executive vice chancellor and provost, is the former dean of the Manship School; Moore is director of the Reilly Center.

Each Lamar Scholar will teach; will work with graduate students and faculty members to stimulate ideas for collaborative projects; and will conduct research in media and public affairs that will advance the school’s national leadership in the field. The center will publish the scholars’ work in a series of monographs that will be distributed to other scholars and opinion leaders. www.manship.lsu.edu

Bringing World-Renowned Experts to LSU

Spotlight on

Excellence

Stanford. Princeton. LSU. All three schools, as well as many other outstanding universities nationwide, recognize the value of bringing world-renowned experts to campus to live and learn with their communities.

The Honors College’s Center for Academic Excellence, currently being developed, is modeled after like-minded programs that host top scholars. The distinguished guests, who will be among the world’s leading scholars in a wide array of disciplines, will stay in Baton Rouge for up to a year. Each of the five visiting chairs (and up to four shorterterm guest lecturers) will be supported by a $2 million endowment and will have a particular area of focus.

While on campus, the scholars will collaborate with faculty and students to conduct cutting-edge research endeavors and will deliver lectures, participate in campus activities, and engage with local and state government officials, industry leaders and others in the community.

The first of its kind in Louisiana, The Center for Academic Excellence will further leverage LSU’s competitiveness with other institutions and enhance the learning experience on campus and in the community.

Last October, Honors College student Anna Normand of Opelousas, La., and 57 other LSU students traveled to Lacombe, La., to plant 15,000 plugs of marsh grass on a mud flat. Normand, then a senior majoring in chemistry through the College of Science, planned the Volunteer LSU/Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana project—complete with airboat ride—to protect fragile marshes.

Normand is active in environmentally focused public service, including through planting live oak saplings as she rides in the annual Acorns for Hope bike ride across Louisiana. She was one of 80 students nationwide chosen to receive a 2010 Udall Scholarship. Normand will begin a Ph.D. program in wetland biogeochemistry this fall, then return to Louisiana to contribute to coastal research and restoration advocacy.

www.honors.lsu.edu

Recruiting the Best

In 2008, the College of Science and the Honors College jointly introduced an initiative that provides nationally competitive incentives to the country’s most promising prospective college students. The Science Honors Scholars Program creates an environment for learning and discovery that is unsurpassed in the region.

“As the program grows, so will its reputation as being an attractive package to bring students to LSU and keep

them in Louisiana,” said Honors College Dean Nancy Clark.

Funding is entirely dependent on private support, which allows the scholars to enjoy many benefits that enhance (not replace) other scholarships or awards. The scholars’ awards include financial support over four years, plus faculty mentoring, research and service opportunities, and access to research stipends and study abroad awards.

“This program will help ensure

that no top Louisiana student wanting to pursue an undergraduate degree in science has to leave the state for a more attractive scholarship package,” said College of Science Dean Kevin Carman.

The Honors College is working with other LSU colleges to establish similar programs that will allow LSU to better compete on an international level. www.science.lsu.edu www.honors.lsu.edu

Last year, LSU celebrated its 150th, or sesquicentennial, year. Seven sponsors’ generous support allowed for special recognition of this milestone throughout 2010. Thank you, AT&T, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Campus Federal Credit Union, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Entergy, ExxonMobil, and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers!

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Sean Simone, Sheila de Guzman, Rip Rittell and Janae Bourgeois visit at Coffee Call in Baton Rouge, one of de Guzman’s favorite local businesses.

Go for Opportunity, Stay for Sweet Tea

“Every time I travel, I realize I have a love affair with Baton Rouge.

The sweet tea alone ... ” laughs Sheila de Guzman, explaining the magnetism of her hometown.

One of the first 13 graduates of the LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute’s Entrepreneurship Fellows Program, she capped her December graduation with a six-week Italian journey of self-discovery. Speaking nary a word of Italian, de Guzman spent time in an eco-village, working on an organic farm in exchange for room and board. The budding entrepreneur returned to the E. J. Ourso College of Business with ideas on how “agritourism” could help farmers and promote the state.

Such vision is quite a leap from day one as a fellow, when a tentative de Guzman thought, “I couldn’t sell gift

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wrap or chocolate.”

Last year, the first class of SEI fellows met weekly to learn how to grow and develop high impact organizations. They held discussions with local business and community leaders, participated in site visits, and tackled skills-based challenges centered on entrepreneurship.

de Guzman contends that the SEI Fellows, which grew to 31 students this year, are a valuable investment of time and money.

“This program can only run if people support us,” de Guzman says.

“We rely on them. We want to be the next ‘them.’”

Her take matches the program’s goal to empower students to make an immediate impact.

She asserts, “I see a problem. I want to solve it. I know how to do it.

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

Sure, I’m just 22, but age has nothing to do with that.”

de Guzman’s passion for developing Baton Rouge grew so much last year that she even shifted her career path from academia to business. She is pursuing an MBA while working as a marketing communications intern at Albemarle and a freelance writer and photographer for 225 magazine.

As for the future, de Guzman is eager to help her beloved home state advance by collaborating with other local entrepreneurs.

“I’m a philanthropreneur,” she says, describing her interest in forprofit business ventures that generate community support.

A new spin on service? That is just de Guzman’s most recent idea. www.sei.lsu.edu

More on the LSU SEI fellows pictured on page 12: • • •

Sean is a co-founder of BluReach, a Web development, search engine optimization and social media strategy firm.

Rip owns Prodigy Consulting, a technology consulting business. Just prior to the fellows’ graduation, he was deployed with the U.S. Army to provide humanitarian aid in Haiti.

Janae graduated summa cum laude in December and is developing a project to simplify the graduate program search process.

Helping Veterans Become Entrepreneurs

An Idea Takes Flight

A few years ago on a flight, happenstance seated businessman Tom Bromley beside an LSU employee, whose Forever LSU pin sparked a conversation about LSU’s entrepreneurship initiatives. Bromley, a consultant for the world’s largest plumbing wholesaler, shared his desire to help future entrepreneurs bridge the gap between academia and business.

The in-flight conversation prompted Bromley to connect with the LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute in the E. J. Ourso College of Business. He wanted to bring renowned entrepreneurs to campus to visit with students, a goal he achieved by endowing LSU SEI’s Distinguished Entrepreneurship Speaker Series.

“It’s a good combination of academics and real world and gives [students] confidence about embarking on this on their own,” Bromley said.

In 2009, the series welcomed Rob Campbell, developer of Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Apple’s FileMaker.

Last November, the LSU Student Activities Board co-hosted a visit by TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie.

Top: Students listen to TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie (inset) in the LSU Student Union Theater.

Since 2006, Mycoskie’s company has donated a pair of shoes for every pair purchased—to the tune of more than 1 million pairs donated to children in need in 20-plus countries.

Bromley sees the series and its resulting exposure to various viewpoints as a way to educate and encourage would-be entrepreneurs.

“Hopefully, they’ll think, ‘I’m ready to go off on my own.’ Or, maybe it’s, ‘This is a bigger deal than I thought.

I’m not ready for this.’”

Bromley also serves on the LSU SEI’s advisory board and is a frequent guest speaker in LSU Flores MBA and entrepreneurship classes.

The E. J. Ourso College of Business is the seventh business school invited to join the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program, headquartered at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

Founded in 2007, the program is composed of five other world-class business schools, those of Texas A&M University, Florida State University, Purdue University, the University of Connecticut and UCLA.

The EBV program offers cutting-edge, experimental training in entrepreneurship and small business management to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines disabled as a result of their service while supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

As a precursor to joining the consortium, a university must guarantee two years of program funding. Scotty and Espe Moran, active supporters of U.S. veterans and LSU, stepped forward to bring the EBV to campus, where it will be led by the LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute

Beginning in February 2012, a group of 15 to 25 veterans with disabilities will visit LSU for a nine-day “bootcamp,” at no cost to participants. whitman.syr.edu/ebv

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Martin Roth outside of the Louisiana Business & Technology Center, home of the LSU Student Incubator

What’s the Big Idea?

Martin Roth has a big idea. But he cannot let you in on it ... yet.

“I want a little bit of a surprise,” says the energetic, outgoing co-founder of GiftMeo.

Roth hopes to revolutionize the way people give small gifts, using social media like Facebook as vehicles. Exactly how he will do so is under wraps, but the pieces of his plan are coming together— thanks to the Louisiana Business & Technology Center’s Student Incubator.

Located on LSU’s South Campus, this E. J. Ourso College of Business facility provides resources and mentoring to students who want to start their own businesses. The incubator has helped Roth and business partner Michael

STUDENT TURNS LIGHTBULB MOMENT INTO SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS VENTURE

Angle take an idea from the living room couch to reality.

“The consultants here have really challenged us a lot,” Roth shares.

The New Orleans native was not always on track to be an entrepreneur.

When Roth came to LSU, he wanted to be an English teacher. Along the way, he spent three summers in Nicaragua, helping to re-establish communities still reeling from the devastation of 1998’s Hurricane Mitch.

“We did everything from building irrigation systems, houses, latrines, shower houses, churches, clinics,” he recounts. “We built an entire village. All by hand. No machines. I went one time, and it compelled me to go back twice.”

After changing his major to international trade & finance, Roth became a charter member of the LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Fellows program. The year-long program gave him the building blocks to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Proving that inspiration can come anytime, Roth’s big idea came on his way home from spring break, while he was at an outlet mall in Gulfport, Miss.

“This is a really good idea, and we have some people who believe in it,” he says. “I don’t have a college degree yet, but I have enough passion and enthusiasm to convince someone that I’m dedicated enough to see this thing through.

And that’s exactly what I intend to do.” www.bus.lsu.edu/lbtc

LSU alumni Emmet and Toni Stephenson made possible the continued development of the E. J. Ourso College of Business’ entrepreneurship institute. To learn more about Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute programs and ways to support the LSU SEI, please visit www.sei.lsu.edu or contact Jill Roshto at jrosht1@lsu.edu or 578-0089.

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Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

East Meets West

BRINGING INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE TO THE LSU SCHOOL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

“We have here an opportunity now to start an integrative program at the LSU SVM that can be the best in the country.”

— Sue Crow

A reality of veterinary medicine is that not all patients can be saved, and not all can be kept comfortable during their final days. But a growing number of veterinarians are using integrative veterinary medicine—which combines modern treatment regimens with acupuncture, nutritional supplements and chiropractic and other holistic techniques—to enhance animals’ quality of life.

LSU School of Veterinary Medicine veterinarians and students are learning these techniques thanks to Donald and Sue Crow of Shreveport, La. Their gift to the LSU SVM supports the development of an integrative veterinary medicine program that will be incorporated into the classroom and clinical phases of the curricula and allow for clinical faculty and technicians to undergo related training.

“Many drugs are toxic, so about 20 years ago I started looking for alternatives,” shares Sue, a nurse,

gardener, herbalist and infection control specialist with over 45 years of experience in health care.

Given the difficulty in introducing change to human medicine, she and Donald turned their attention to the veterinary field. LSU SVM immediately came to mind.

Years ago, after the Crows’ English pointer was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the couple visited LSU SVM, where doctors discovered that the dog had a different form of cancer. Their treatment garnered eight more months of good quality life for the dog, and the Crows were grateful for the extra time.

“We’ve always tried to provide for our animals,” says Donald, a retired oilman. “We like to see them get the best care possible, and we think a lot of the veterinary school down there.”

The Crows’ gift is already being used to educate the LSU SVM’s faculty, staff and students.

Dr. Mark Acierno, a small animal renal specialist, will attend the

Chi Institute next year to receive training in acupuncture. Two students participated in acupuncture rotations at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in February, and two small animal technicians attended the American Holistic Veterinary Medicine Association’s annual conference in Covington, Ky., last October.

“We’ve implemented some of the holistic therapies I learned into our cancer treatment strategies,” says Jenny Cassibry, who attended the conference in Kentucky. “Many of our standard techniques, such as chemotherapy and radiation, produce a lot of side effects, and some pet owners are not able to cope with them.

With holistic therapies, we have more options.” www.vetmed.lsu.edu Left: An image from one of the student-designed advertisements that was used in the final months of the Forever LSU campaign Right: Gretchen Morgan, director of annual giving and alumni affairs, visits with Sue Crow (left) and her dogs, Hannah and Levi.

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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The Business Education Complex, photographed in April, includes the red pantile roofing that is characteristic of many buildings on LSU’s historic campus.

Business Education Complex

Heads are turning on Nicholson Extension as the Business Education Complex takes shape. The E. J. Ourso College of Business’ new home is on schedule to open in spring 2012, with all classes slated to move in by that fall.

The eye-catching complex features four buildings, highlighted by a four-story rotunda on the east side of the complex that will house administrative functions. On the opposite end, a 300-seat auditorium will be a host site for guest speakers.

The two structures are joined by parallel buildings composed of classroom, lab and office space.

“It’s a 21st century complex, and it has a 21st century view toward business,” says BEC supporter Rob Arkley. “It will create a cutting-edge advantage for Louisiana.”

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Rob and Cherie Arkley are among the many LSU friends and alumni who have contributed to the building’s construction. The project is a public-private partnership through which the state of Louisiana is matching private funds raised for the building. This collaborative model of giving has become the new standard for capital projects on campus, as they allow LSU to leverage state funds with private support to garner the greatest impact impossible.

Business alumni Joe (1982) and Julie (1983) Lancaster, fellow donors to the BEC, expect that this impact will include encouraging the spirit of interaction.

“It is more community, it is more teamwork, it is more group activities,” Joe contends. “I think the new business complex, the way

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

it is designed, is able to promote the collaboration that’s needed for success.”

Ross (MBA 1971) and Sherry Centanni have also given generously to the project, which Ross says will be a “big plus” for student and faculty recruitment.

“I think this facility is going to allow the business school to continue to improve and achieve its goal to be one of the highly soughtafter business schools of any public institution,” he predicts. “Just like in business, you need to have the proper facilities to operate successfully.”

The E. J. Ourso College of Business’ “Mike the Builder” blog (link provided below) follows the progress of the BEC. followmike.lsu.edu

Foundation for Learning

DONOR SUPPORT HAS MADE POSSIBLE MANY CAPITAL PROJECTS. THEIR IMPACT EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE GATES OF CAMPUS.

Chemistry Annex

The Chemistry and Materials Science Building will be a five-story, 85,348-square-foot annex to the current chemistry building. Naming opportunities—for labs, shared instrumentation, collaborative workspaces and offices—are available on each of the five floors of this $33.9 million, state-funded capital project.

The first floor will be a centralized resource for sophisticated instruments. The fifth floor, to be completed once additional funding is obtained, will contain clean rooms and consolidate LSU’s micro- and nanofabrication equipment. The remaining three floors will be dedicated to chemistry research.

Research conducted in this new facility will have significant economic implications for applications in areas such as manufacturing techniques, health care and energy production.

Last August, LSU faculty, staff and students joined Gov. Bobby Jindal and members of the Baton Rouge area legislative delegation and LSU Board of Supervisors for a groundbreaking ceremony. A live camera view of construction is available online.

chemistry.lsu.edu/site/item1859.html

4-H Multi-Purpose Building Project

4-H campers enjoy the swimming pool on a hot summer afternoon.

Each summer, roughly 4,000 youth from all 64 Louisiana parishes visit the LSU AgCenter’s Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center for week-long sessions of 4-H Camp. The center, located in Pollock, La., hosts youth programs year-round.

When the camp is at full capacity, there is not a building large enough for all campers to gather,

Campers learn about entomology.

or to be sheltered from rain and extreme heat in a central location. To date, donors have given $126,300 of the estimated $1.8 million needed to construct a multi-purpose building that will meet this critical need.

At 4-H Camp, youth from all over the state learn a multitude of life skills—including responsibility, decision making and teamwork.

4-H campers enjoy educational experiences that promote the “learn by doing” concept. This summer, camp activities at Grant Walker will include planting vegetables to eat and share with military personnel at National Guard Camp H.B. Cook and Camp Beauregard. www.la4hfoundation.org

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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The LSU Foundation Laureate Society recognizes individuals, couples and organizations whose cumulative gifts to the LSU Foundation total $100,000 or more in support for LSU, the LSU AgCenter and the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Introduced in November 2006, Laureate Society levels are named for individuals whose contributions to LSU laid the groundwork for the University’s success today.

JOHN M. PARKER LAUREATE

TROY H. MIDDLETON LAUREATE

STEELE BURDEN LAUREATE

$10,000,000-$24,999,999 Gov. Parker, who served as governor of Louisiana from 1920-24, began the “Greater University” movement that led to the foundation of the presentday campus, including moving LSU from North Baton Rouge. He also passed a 2 percent severance tax to support education.

$1,000,000-4,999,999 As LSU president, Middleton helped restore LSU’s financial and academic reputation after a series of scandals in the 1930s. Boyd Professorships were created during his tenure.

Despite a stellar military career, Middleton called his time at LSU his “most satisfying and rewarding.”

$500,000-$999,999 A master landscaper and arborist, Burden designed and facilitated much of Baton Rouge's green space.

The LSU campus is a testament to his love for the land. Many of LSU's live oaks and magnolia trees, valued at $50 million, were planted by Burden in the 1930s.

Baton Rouge Area Foundation Fund Donors ExxonMobil

T. HARRY WILLIAMS LAUREATE $5,000,000-$9,999,999 History professor Williams brought international attention to LSU academics when he won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for “Huey Long.” Williams, a lecturer extraordinaire, served on the LSU faculty for 38 years.

BP America, Inc. Chevron Irene W. & C.B. Pennington Foundation Schlumberger Shell Oil Company Emmet and Toni Stephenson

* Deceased † New Laureate Members

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Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

AT&T Foundation Mr. Charles L. Barney Carol Albritton Biedenharn Burden Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Cambre ConocoPhillips Devon Energy Corporation The Dow Chemical Company Art E. Favre Jim and Cherie Flores Mrs. Alta V. Franks Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Friends of Rural Life Museum Alfred C. Glassell* Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation Billy and Ann Harrison III Mr. and Mrs. Anthony C. Leach Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Harry J. Longwell The Douglas Manship Family Marathon Oil Company Mr. and Mrs. Roy O. Martin III Mr. and Mrs. James E. Maurin Dr. James R. and Ann A. Peltier Dee Dee and Kevin P. Reilly Mr. and Mrs. William W. Rucks IV Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Schmitt Perry J. Segura Bingham C. Stewart* Mr.* and Mrs. Patrick F. Taylor Mr.* and Mrs. Bert S. Turner

American Sugar Cane League Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite John W. Barton Sr. BASF Corporation Campanile Charities Dr. and Mrs. Clarence P. Cazalot Jr. Contractors Educational Trust Fund Coypu Foundation E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Entergy Gardner Denver, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Edward G. Galante Adolphe G. Gueymard* Mark R. and Carolyn Campbell Guidry IBM International Foundation KPMG Foundation Carole and Charles W. Lamar III Mr. and Mrs. Ulyesses J. LeGrange Don and Pat Lyle Jerry McKernan McMains Foundation Mr. Ronald E. and Dr. Mary E. Neal Mr. and Mrs. John B. Noland Roger H. Ogden Mr. Francis "Buzz" Raborn Mr. and Mrs. Oliver G. Richard III Nadine C. Russell Jane and Denny Shelton Taylor Porter Brooks & Phillips, LLP Tidewater Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Rick Wolfert Milton Womack* and Margaret Womack Hart

R. OLIVIA DAVIS LAUREATE $250,000-$499,999 Davis, the first woman to receive a degree from LSU, earned a master’s degree in mathematics in 1905. The next year, 31 women enrolled.

Eric L. Abraham American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (La. Division) Mary and Oscar Andras Mr. and Mrs. James J. Bailey III Mr. and Mrs. Byrd M. Ball George W. Barineau III A. K. and Shirley Barton Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Jeff H. Benhard Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation Clark and Laura* Boyce Campus Federal Credit Union Julian R.* and Sidney N. Carruth Dudley and Beverly Coates Mr. and Mrs.* Lodwrick M. Cook Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Crosby III Julian A.* and Doris Westmoreland Darden Deloitte Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Norman A. Deumite Jerry and Nancy Dumas Richard V. and Seola A. Edwards Clarence M. Eidt Jr. Ernst & Young Foundation Fluor Corporation Formosa Plastics Corporation Friends of the LSU Museum of Art Georgia Gulf Corporation Halliburton Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Harrison Jr. Cordell and Ava Haymon † Daniel B. Heard Hollingsworth-Richards Auto Group Richard and Katherine Juneau Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Keller Kip Knight Elena Rodgers LeBlanc Donna Wright Lee Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Lipsey Liskow & Lewis Dr. and Mrs. Alfredo Lopez Louisiana Chemical Association Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center McDermott Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Edwin B. McNeil Mrs. A.J.M. “Bubba” Oustalet Jr. Mr. and Mrs. G. Allen Penniman Jr. Phelps Dunbar LLP Mr. and Mrs. D. Martin Phillips Pulte Homes Dr. Robert S. Reich* Mr. and Mrs. Otha Charles Roddey Scripps Howard Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jerry E. Shea Jr. Dr. Charles M. Smith Joe D. Smith Jr.* Dr. and Mrs. William R. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Jeff N. Springmeyer Richard and Linda Sturlese Cyril and Tutta Vetter Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Walter Lantz Foundation Elton G. and Jo Ellen L. Yates

GEORGE MASON GRAHAM LAUREATE $100,000-$249,999 Often called the “Father of LSU,” Graham was the first chairman of the board of trustees of the fledgling Louisiana State Seminary of Learning, which became LSU. Jerry W. Affolter Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Alford Arkansas Veterinary Medical Foundation Ellen and Paul Arst A. Wilbert's Sons, L.L.C. John Q. Barnidge Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Barré Gray and Angelique Barrow Marian Wilfert Beauchamp Ram N. Bhatia Dianne and John B. Brock III Tom and Virginia Bromley † The Brookhill Foundation † Mr. Robert J. Bujol* C.J. Brown/Latter & Blum Cajun Industries, LLC William A. and Ann R. Callegari Mrs. Jules A. Carville Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston Harman Chandler Cleco Corporation Mr. and Mrs. Stanley M. Cothren Sr. Cultural Services of the French Embassy Louis D. Curet George A. Daniels Jacques and Paula de la Bretonne Delta Gamma Foundation Judge James L. Dennis Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. Ernest R. and Iris M. Eldred ETEC - Ronnie Hebert, President † Keith and Karen Evans Honorable and Mrs. Randy L. Ewing † Charlene M. Favre Calvin C. Fayard Jr. Cynthia Felder Fayard William and Rene Firesheets II Brett and Renee Furr Mr. and Mrs. Roy D. Gerard Gerry Lane Enterprises Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. G. Lee Griffin Dr. Michael G. Griffith Mr.* and Mrs. Frank R. Groves Jr. Pamela O'Niell Moore Hamel & George F. Hamel Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Holt B. Harrison Robert H. and Corinne P. Harvey Brian and Barbara Haymon Craig Hendrix Patricia C. Hewlett John A. Hollinshead

Dr. Dominique G. Homberger The Hubert Charitable Foundation, Baton Rouge, La. Huie Dellmon Trust International Center for Journalists Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrere & Denegre Dr. Charles and Elise Kaufman George A. Khoury Jr. † Kenneth* and Louise Kinney Joseph A. Kleinpeter Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, LLC Koch Industries/Georgia Pacific Mr. and Mrs. John P. Laborde Lucien and Peggy Laborde David and Betty Laxton Louisiana Academy of Veterinary Practice, Inc. † Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation, Inc. Jonathan and Maggie Martin Dr.* and Mrs. Calvin C. Mattax Mr. and Mrs. W. Shelby McKenzie Monsanto Company & Monsanto Fund The Mosaic Company Walter and Jennifer Morales † Roger and Marcia Moser Sarah P. Munson † Dr. and Mrs. Paul W. Murrill Nestle Purina Pet Care † Mr. Eiad M. Odeh and Mrs. Mary E. Roper Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. O'Shields Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center William and Nancy Owens † Dr. Ruth Martin Patrick Donald L. Peltier Sr.* M.R. Pittman Group, LLC † PPG Industries Foundation William and Gail Pryor G. Frank Purvis Jr. Jennifer Eplett and Sean Reilly Michael D. Robinson Robinson Brothers Satake Corporation L. Cary Saurage II SCAVMA Pet Fare Schreier-Edisen Foundation Dr. and Mrs. William L. Senn Jr. John and Rose Ann Shelton Jr. Andrew J. Shoup Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Siess Jr. Janice C. Silver J. Noland Singletary Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Allen L. Smith Jr. South East Marketing Michael R. and Carol Todd Stamatedes State Farm Companies Foundation William and Connie Stone † Carl J. Streva † Mr. and Mrs. Martin Svendson Dr. and Mrs. Mehmet T. and Karen N. Tümay Tyan Computer Corporation Mr. John G. Turner and Mr. Jerry G. Fischer Mrs. Alverdy Veron and J. Michael Veron Mr. and Mrs. Burton D. Weaver Jr. Dr. and Mrs. K. Mark Weaver Armour C. Winslow † Gary R. Wooley Thomas and Juliet Youngblood Zen-Noh Grain Corporation Mr. and Mrs. Richard Zuschlag

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Geaux Teach participant Verlisa Kennedy, with an eighth-grade biology class at LSU Laboratory School, demonstrates the role of muscle tissue in the movement of the skeletal system.

Geaux Teach

Geaux Teach is helping LSU address the nation’s critical need for teachers through a partnership among Louisiana public schools and the colleges of Education, Science and Humanities & Social Sciences.

The apprenticeship-based approach to learning allows students in math, science, English, foreign languages and history to concurrently earn both bachelor’s degrees in these majors and teaching certificates.

Dr. Bill Wischusen, an associate professor in the College of Science who helped to create the program using a nationally recognized model, says, “LSU is taking the lead in a big way.

We’re actually the most successful of all these programs by quite a bit, as far as number of students.”

Such demand makes support for program costs and scholarships

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STUDENTS GO TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS WITH NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROGRAM

increasingly important. The National Math and Science Initiative has made an investment in the expansion of the math and science portions of Geaux Teach by providing a one-to-one match—up to a total of $1 million—for gifts made by the end of May 2012.

LSU geology alumnus Harry Martin recently took advantage of the NMSI matching opportunity with a gift to honor his late wife, Jane, who was an alumna of the College of Education and a math teacher.

Martin shares, “This will be a fitting and beautiful testimonial to the most important person in my life.”

LSU is one of just 12 schools NMSI chose to receive the match that will help Martin double the impact of his donation. The unique opportunity builds on NMSI’s initial investment in 2007. Participation in Geaux Teach

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

has since more than doubled.

“I chose GeauxTeach because I would like to be able to pursue two different careers with one degree,” says Elizabeth Byrd, who is studying biological sciences.

Byrd and her fellow Geaux Teach/ Math-Science students gain middle and high school classroom experience as early as freshman year. While at LSU, their extensive coursework in physics, chemistry, biology or math is coupled with courses centered on teaching in culturally diverse settings, pedagogy, theory and technology. Also, students gain substantive experiences by observing, tutoring and teaching under the mentorship of experienced master teachers and the guidance of faculty in the College of Education. www.lsu.edu/secondaryed

“May thy spirit live in us ...”

For LSU alumnus Edmond “Bruce” Bentley, staying engaged with his alma mater is a given. In fact, he contends that alumni have a responsibility to do so. It is a commitment that shows through Bentley’s support of LSU, where he earned an MBA in 1974.

Recognizing the fiscal challenges that colleges often face, Bentley established a general endowment account within the E. J. Ourso College of Business. Whereas almost all other endowed gifts support professorships, chairs, scholarships or other specific purposes, funds from this account can be used at the dean’s discretion. This allows for unique flexibility to address collegespecific needs, such as recruitment trips and faculty support.

“Especially in these times of budget restraints, such a fund affords the dean some financial assistance,” Bentley said of his decision to give in this way. “The structure of the fund is also such that it is able to grow through additional contributions, large or small, from likeminded alums.”

Bentley is a principal of Bentley, Bratcher & Associates, P.C., a fullservice professional advisory firm in Houston. www.bus.lsu.edu

Dr. Florent Hardy, Dave and Mona DeFelice, and College of Education Interim Dean Laura Lindsay at the college’s December Dean’s Circle Reception, held in the Lawton Room at Tiger Stadium

Membership in Dean's Circle Triples

The College of Education introduced its Peabody Society Dean’s Circle during the 2008-09 academic year, which marked a year-long celebration of the college’s centennial birthday. The circle has since grown from nine members to 33.

Members include individuals, corporations and foundations who give at least $1,000 annually to the Education Excellence Fund. Half of each $1,000 membership gift is placed into an endowment fund for the college; the remaining $500 is used to support projects within the college.

The Dean’s Circle is part of The Peabody Society, established in 1999 and comprised by alumni and friends who assist the College of Education in attracting resources in support of its mission and goals.

It is named for George Peabody, “the father of modern philanthropy,” who focused his life on improving society, promoting education, and providing the poor with the means to help themselves. The Peabody Society continues this legacy by playing a critical role in ensuring support of the college’s tradition of preparing leaders and influencing policy in education, health and wellness. www.lsu.edu/coe

Mastering Business

Fifteen years ago, LSU alumni Jim and Cherie Flores recognized the potential of the E. J. Ourso College of Business MBA Program and made a generous donation to support it. The Houston couple continues to invest in the Flores MBA Program; recently, they made a $1 million commitment to enhance services and recruiting.

Their gift has helped the college to expand its capacity to comprehensively address student success, including the areas of career counseling and

placement, professional development activities outside of the classroom, and interaction with industry executives.

Other areas impacted are globalization efforts and faculty and staff support for travel, recruiting and promotions.

Jim holds bachelor’s degrees in finance and petroleum land management, and Cherie earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing; both are LSU alumni. Jim is a member of the E. J. Ourso College Dean’s Advisory Council and the LSU Alumni Association Hall

of Distinction and was one of the first inductees of the E. J. Ourso College Hall of Distinction.

Ranked 26th in the country among public institutions by Forbes.com and in the top 10 schools that draw corporate recruiters regionally, the Flores MBA Program and the generosity of Jim and Cherie Flores support LSU Chancellor Mike Martin’s oft-stated assertion that “Winners bet on winners.” www.mba.lsu.edu

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Barry Lee Memorial Scholarship recipients Sarah Smith and Michele Guidry perform together as Cordelia and Goneril, respectively, in Swine Palace’s February production of “King Lear,” written by William Shakespeare and directed by Deb Alley.

‘Friend’ of LSU Theatre

As a television producer, writer and co-creator for sitcoms like “Friends,” “Caroline and the City” and “What I Like About You,” LSU alumnus Wil Calhoun has written for audiences of millions.

Before moving to Los Angeles, he acted in LSU theatre productions while earning a bachelor’s degree through the theatre program.

“My favorite one that we did was ‘Terra Nova,’” Calhoun recalls.

“It was about Robert Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. Like all great plays, it’s literally life or death. We had a really good production of it. It went really well, but I think about 12 people saw it.”

Calhoun graduated from LSU in 1984 and was named the LSU Alumni Association’s 2001 Young

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Alumnus of the Year.

“I’ve got an LSU banner hanging on a pole at my house, everybody knows,” he shares. “I’m around town with my LSU cap and LSU sweatshirts and all that stuff.”

And the shoes?

“That’s game day only,” Calhoun says of his purple and gold Converse high-tops.

In addition to proudly displaying Tiger spirit in Los Angeles, Calhoun supports LSU academics. He and wife Taryn have established two scholarships in the College of Music & Dramatic Arts and are strong supporters of Swine Palace, an Equity theatre company that also serves as a training ground for LSU’s M.F.A. Technical/Design and Professional Actor Programs.

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

The Calhouns established the Barry Lee Memorial Scholarship to honor Wil’s late friend, a graduate of LSU theatre who enjoyed a successful career on Broadway and with the Hartford Stage Company. Then came the Wil Calhoun Family Scholarship, which helps LSU Theatre recruit promising out-of-state students for its undergraduate programs.

Calhoun says of his time at LSU and his motivation to give back, “It was very much a community. When one person had something, then we all had something. I just thought, if I can help them concentrate, take a little anxiety away, a little stress— it’s not much, but that’s what I’m going to do.” www.theatre.lsu.edu

Young Couple Gives Thanks

Balancing the demands of work and home is difficult, and even more so when one is pursuing a college degree.

Engineering senior Nick Patrick knows this all too well. A former U.S. Army combat soldier in Iraq, Nick works as a project manager’s assistant for TopCor Services while juggling the obligations of a construction management curriculum.

He and wife Tiffany are grateful to Dr. William A. Brookshire, whose scholarship in the College of Engineering provides support to working students.

Nick says the Brookshire scholarship makes a difference for a young couple with sacrifices to make.

“We run a debt-free household, so it takes a lot of planning and saving,” he shared. “You have to plan a semester out in advance.”

“We appreciate that he took the time to look at the whole picture of an individual and not just a few metrics,” Tiffany added. “It means the world to us.” www.eng.lsu.edu Tiffany and Nick Patrick in the Quad

Political Science Alumna Honors Faculty Mentor

Before she became one of the first 25 women to earn a law degree from Yale Law School, Franklinton, La., native Dudley Rochelle Carter was encouraged to attend Yale by Dr. James Bolner. The political science professor, now retired, knew Carter would prove that her LSU education was just as valuable—if not more so— as that of her peers at Yale.

The newly established James J. Bolner Sr. and Dudley Rochelle

Carter Endowed Scholarship in Political Science honors Carter’s mentor for shepherding her dream of attending a top law school. Dudley and husband Jeff, who live in Atlanta, visited Baton Rouge to surprise Bolner with the gift announcement.

Dudley recently retired from her successful career as an attorney specializing in employment and labor law. She was a partner in multinational law firm Littler Mendelson

P.C. and was nominated to serve on both the Georgia and national Equal Opportunity Commissions. Dudley is an active public servant and an accomplished legal scholar who has been recognized within her profession—by Georgia’s Super Lawyers, Top 50 Super Female Attorneys, Who’s Who in American Law, et al—and has garnered attention from top state and national governmental leaders. www.artsci.lsu.edu

“LSU has been so good to me and my family, and it’s time to give back. Time to help students for the foreseeable future.”

­ — Dr. Karl Roider

Dr. Karl Roider and his wife, Sue, support the Karl & Sue Roider Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship. Dr. Roider, a former dean of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, has been with the LSU Department of History since 1968. www.artsci.lsu.edu At right, Dr. Karl Roider in his Baton Rouge home

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Radiologist Dr. Steven Sotile and his daughter, Stephanie, at Dr. Sotile’s office in Woman’s Hospital

Formula for Success

Dr. Steven Sotile remembers what his first science classes at LSU were like in the 1970s.

“Once I started the science courses, the classes were big and it was hard to get the swing of how to study,” he recalls. “I was basically overwhelmed with the pace and the size of the classes.”

Today, two professors in the LSU College of Science have figured out how to address the national problem of bright students struggling with introductory science courses. Drs. Bill and Sheri Wischusen created the Biology Intensive Orientation for Students boot camp that is now being replicated at LSU and universities across the U.S.

BIOS and its sister programs introduce first-year students to the rigors of studying before they even step inside of a college class. Dr. Sotile’s daughter,

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HOMEGROWN BOOT CAMPS EASE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE CLASSES

Stephanie, participated in the highly successful program last summer, just before her freshman year.

Stephanie’s father encouraged her to get involved. She now draws from her week-long BIOS experience on a daily basis.

“It showed me what to prepare for in college,” she shares. “Once I actually got here, I was shocked at how much I had remembered. The notes were exactly the same. It really helped.”

In six years, with support from the Pearson Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, BIOS has expanded from 60 students to 320 and has helped more than 1,000 biology students get a head start on a demanding curriculum. Hallmarks include that BIOS students are more successful than their peers in introductory biology courses and in subsequent

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

semesters, and that they have a higher retention rate in the major and a higher four-year graduation rate. BIOS and LSU’s other science boot camps are also helping to increase graduation rates at the University.

“That program really nurtures kids in how to study for the sciences and encourages them,” Dr. Sotile says.

“It teaches them skills that allow them to be successful for the first semesters.”

LSU offers science boot camps in biology, chemistry, math, computer science, physics & astronomy and geology. Geology is the newest boot camp concentration, made possible by a gift from alumnus James Painter.

LSU hopes to build upon the success of these programs by expanding the boot camp concept to other colleges. www.science.lsu.edu

Family Ties

A simple cross-stitch pattern has hung in Jonalyn and Raoul Robert’s home for 25 years. It reads, “The most important things cannot be touched or seen. They must be felt with the heart.”

It sums up the Roberts’ feelings about family and the places they call home.

One such place is the LSU Laboratory School, alma mater of their children, William (1992), Jon (1995), and Leah (1999). On a recent visit to U-High, the Roberts shared why they chose to give $25,000 to the school for campus improvements.

“When we reflect back on [a] truly positive overall impact on the lives of our children and on our family life, we think of U-High,” Jonalyn said.

Included in that impact are milestones their children experienced at U-High—William was valedictorian of his class, Jon was a charter member of the school’s soccer team, and Leah earned a perfect math score on the SAT.

“No matter what their interest was, there was somebody to spend the time with them,” Raoul said. “U-High probably had more influence on them than any other institution.”

The younger Roberts were all

William, Jonalyn, Jon and Raoul Robert in front of the LSU Laboratory School

multi-sport athletes at U-High, and Jon met his wife, Shelby Karns Robert (1996), there. William remembers fondly his teachers’ sense of dedication.

“Because of the size, the same teacher you have in third period may be an advisor for some club that meets after school and also might be a coach for a team,” he shared.

“The intersections of the students and teachers are so multiple that the students get to know the teachers, and

vice versa, as complete persons.”

On giving back to U-High, Raoul echoed the words hanging in his home.

“While a fancy car or a boat brings a certain kind of enjoyment, as you get to be the age we are, the tangibles become less and the intangibles become more,” he said. “And where we were at the time we made this decision ... this is the kind of thing that gave us the most happiness.” www.uhigh.lsu.edu

Something Extra for Graduation

Since 1998, the top 10 graduating students in the E. J. Ourso College of Business’ Rucks Department of Management have been recognized as Rucks Fellows.

In 2009, William “Billy” Rucks IV and his wife, Cathy— for whom the department is named—began making an annual gift to help these outstanding students start their careers. Each fellow receives $2,000 to defray expenses, which might include traveling to interviews, purchasing professional attire, beginning graduate school, or moving to a new city.

“The way we view it in the department is almost like seed money,” explained Dr. Hettie Richardson, associate professor and co-chair in the department. “Here are our very best and brightest top 10 students, and this is seed money that is going to help propel them forward into whatever avenue they are taking after graduation.” www.bus.lsu.edu Rucks Fellows at LSU’s December 2010 Commencement

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Elizabeth Holloway and colleagues in Holloway’s Baton Rouge backyard, home to some of the bees that produce Bocage Honey

Payback

SUPPORT OF ACADEMICS HONORS FAMILY’S PASSIONS AND ADVANCES LEARNING

The lid comes off the box, and the low, constant humming becomes a full-throttle buzz. Hundreds of bees pour out of their hive, circling the beekeepers slowly approaching their home. Unlike the other beekeepers, one wears no gloves. She gently gestures her unprotected finger at a bee slightly larger than the others.

“Isn’t she elegant?” she asks.

Behind the veil of her beekeeper’s mask, Elizabeth Holloway’s smile shines through as she points to the focal point of the colony, the queen.

As much as Holloway loves her second profession, she fell into it accidentally, after enjoying a successful, 40-year career in theatre, opera and dance in New York, across the U.S., and in Europe.

In 1997, when a swarm of bees

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settled into a column of Holloway’s childhood home near Maringouin, La., she became fascinated with the process of removing them. Cue subsequent years of trial and error tending her own hives, then the founding of Bocage Bee & Honey Company, headquartered at first in Holloway’s backyard.

“If people were more like bees, we would have a much better world,” Holloway contends. “Because it’s not ‘me, me, me and I.’ It’s the good of the whole. Everybody has a job, and the job is for the good of society.”

Doing her part for others comes naturally to Holloway. Upon moving back to Louisiana in the 1990s, she established ties with LSU, where she served on the board of directors of Swine Palace and on the College of

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Music & Dramatic Arts’ Forever LSU Steering Committee.

“I really feel so strongly about public education because that’s what made this country, and I feel equally strongly about the arts, because that’s what defines a civilization,” Holloway asserts.

Recently, Holloway named LSU in a bequest to benefit the Department of Theatre, LSU Libraries and the LSU AgCenter. Her gift reflects her lifelong commitment to the arts and honors her mother’s and father’s careers as a librarian and a sugarcane farmer, respectively.

“It’s payback,” Holloway explains. “Leave the part of the world in which you live a better place. Try to make people think.” www.lsufoundation.org/plannedgiving

The Gift of Education

Education is the ultimate advantage, in Dr. Roselyn Boneno’s estimation. A passion to improve education in Louisiana inspired her to become a teacher, a profession she honors with a planned gift to establish the Roselyn Bologna Boneno Professorship in American History. In 2004, she established an undergraduate teaching award for history faculty members who exhibit excellence in the classroom.

Boneno selected LSU for her doctoral studies because of its history faculty and congruence with her career aspirations. That path shifted a bit in the 1980s, when State Farm Insurance Company began hiring female college graduates to be Louisiana agents. Boneno eagerly pursued the opportunity to own a business, and teaching remained part of her life as she educated clients about insurance.

Boneno’s generosity springs from a sense of responsibility. “I just hope that more people will come to understand just how much LSU needs every one of us to contribute to the University’s success by whatever means possible.”

Now retired, Boneno is actively involved with several community organizations and serves as the chair of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences’ Dean’s Advisory Council. www.artsci.lsu.edu

LSU's Fellowship for the Future

Membership in the 1860 Society is awarded to anyone who submits documentation—through a letter of intent or a copy of the relevant portion of one’s will—naming the LSU Foundation as a beneficiary of his or her estate. Estate gifts can include trusts, insurance policies, retirement plans and annuities, among other options. www.lsufoundation.org/plannedgiving

Hall of Fame Athlete Supports Law Scholarship

Known for breaking big plays on the football field, Billy Baggett led the LSU Tigers in rushing from 1948 to 1950. He now leads LSU in a different way, by supporting students at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

In 2003, Baggett and his wife, Kara Gael, established the William B. and Kara Gael Baggett Scholarship.

The Baggetts recently bolstered this scholarship by giving through a charitable remainder trust that was dissolved early so that the Law Center could use the funds during the

Baggetts’ lifetime.

The scholarship, named in the couple’s honor, is now the LSU Law Center’s largest privately funded scholarship from a living donor.

A member of the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame, Baggett was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar in 1953 and served as its president from 1980-81.

He is a partner at the Baggett, McCall, Burgess, Watson & Gaughan law firm in Lake Charles, La. www.law.lsu.edu

IRA ROLLOVER GIFTS IN 2011 The option to make tax-free transfers from IRAs to charities has been extended to Dec. 31, 2011. Donors who are at least 70 1/2 years old are eligible to make transfers directly from the IRA custodian to a recipient charity. Such transfers (up to $100,000) count toward the taxpayer’s minimum required distribution for the year.

These gifts are not reported as income on the IRA owner’s federal income tax return; the IRA owner cannot claim an itemized charitable deduction for the gift; and the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income does not increase.

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Representing ExxonMobil at the LSU v. University of Louisiana-Monroe Homecoming game on Nov. 13, 2010, were Stephanie Cargile, Baton Rouge area public affairs manager; Denise Burcham, Baton Rouge plastics plant manager; Angela Zeringue, Baton Rouge polyolefins plant manager; Julius Bedford, Port Allen lubricants manager; Mike Martin, LSU chancellor; Paul Stratford, Baton Rouge chemical plant manager; Steve Blume, Baton Rouge refinery manager; Jerry Wascom, Americas refining director; and Jeff McLain, LSU Foundation vice president for development.

Honoring Family Connections

Barbara Benton has taught at the LSU Laboratory School, alma mater of her two sons, for 20 years.

Though she has many memories of the school, one room is particularly special: her classroom is named for her father, the late Richard Fenton.

“The first year he made a

Giving Back to Business

Andrew Brennan earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology in 2002 and an MBA in 2004, both from LSU. Just a few years removed from college, he has established a professorship within the E. J. Ourso College of Business.

He says ExxonMobil’s three-to-

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donation that bought laptops for the 6th grade classroom,” says Benton, describing her father’s initial gift to U-High. “And the next year the University Laboratory School Capital Campaign kicked off and included naming opportunities for classrooms.

Since I was so happy here, Daddy named my classroom. And he did it completely through using the ExxonMobil money.”

Fenton, who passed away in 2010, and his wife, the late Betty Schneider Fenton, also used the matching gift program to establish professorships in the College of Engineering in 1999 and 2002.

“He’s done a lot for us,” says Benton. “He was a very caring and generous man.” www.uhigh.lsu.edu www.eng.lsu.edu

one match of gifts made to support higher education played a big role.

“It’s a pretty amazing deal when you think about it,” he says. “You really want to take advantage of it because it triples your donation. It’s pretty awesome.”

Brennan created the Daniel R. Brennan Memorial Professorship to honor his father, who passed away

while his son was attaining an MBA. “I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today without the MBA program,” he says of his decision to give.

“The professorship provides a lasting memory for my father and then provides some needed resources for the college. It’s kind of a win-win for everybody.” www.mba.lsu.edu

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Perfect Match

MATCHING GIFTS HELP DONORS BOLSTER SUPPORT OF LSU

ExxonMobil employees are among the most active supporters of LSU academics, and their company’s generous matching gift program is a big reason why. These pages include but a few examples of how matching gifts and community service advance learning across campus. www.matchinggift.com/lsu

Mentoring the Next Generation of Engineers

ExxonMobil employees serve the College of Engineering in a unique way as mentors in the ExxonMobil Diversity Mentor-Scholar Program.

Established in 2003, this program benefits LSU undergraduate students in engineering and attracts talented, underrepresented and underserved minority students to the college.

Students selected as ExxonMobil Scholars are paired with ExxonMobil Employee Mentors, who offer career advice and guidance as the students’ academic careers progress.

Daniel Underwood, now an olefins maintenance engineer for ExxonMobil, is a former scholar who gives back to LSU as a mentor.

“To me, the relationship between mentor and protégé provides the student with a goal to shoot for,” he says of the program. “Seeing a young engineer who has recently graduated and gone through the same steps provides a sense of hope to the student that the end of the tunnel is not that far away and not as impossible as it might seem.” www.eng.lsu.edu

Mentor Daniel Underwood, mechanical engineering senior Ryan Pazdera (Underwood’s mentee), program creator Dell Dugas, and chemical engineering senior Jerrad Rolon in the LSU Student Union

Supporting the Arts

Janice Silver can almost always be found in the packed, enthusiastic audiences of LSU Opera. A member of LSU’s Patrons of the Opera board, she credits her late husband, ExxonMobil retiree Walter Silver, with introducing her to the program.

“We attended a number of the LSU operas, and I just fell in love with it and classical music,” she says.

Silver provides annual support to LSU Opera through ExxonMobil’s generous match on such gifts made by its employees and retirees. She

also supports the LSU Laboratory School, where her granddaughters attend school.

Silver says she will always be a supporter of the LSU Opera program.

“I just feel like it’s one of the best programs out there, and I just want to see the young people who are coming into that program get all the benefits they can,” she explains.

“And if what little I can contribute, if that helps one person, then I’m very happy.” www.cmda.lsu.edu

Investing in Future Educators

Mark and Lisa Boudreaux are passionate about supporting future educators planning careers in math, science and special education. The couple uses ExxonMobil’s generous Educational Matching Gift Program to help fund a scholarship in the College of Education, earmarked for prospective educators entering those particular fields.

“We thought it was a way we could make a difference and support the school that we’ve loved for so many years,” says Mark. “We owe a lot of our success to the University.”

Mark and Lisa are LSU alumni, of the then-named General College and LSU Law and of the College of Education, respectively. Mark, senior director of federal relations at

ExxonMobil, has traveled to many universities across the U.S. It is the LSU experience that drives his and his wife’s enthusiasm for giving back.

“There’s a passion in the students and the teachers there,” Mark shares. “Frankly I haven’t seen it at that level at other schools we’ve interacted with.” www.lsu.edu/coe

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Edwin Preis, a 1972 graduate of the LSU Law Center, and Lane Roy, outside of the Hilton Capitol Center in downtown Baton Rouge

Partners with LSU Law

Edwin Preis and Lane Roy are law partners with an eye on the big picture. Their firm, Preis & Roy, has offices in Houston, New Orleans and Lafayette, La.; employs more than 50 attorneys; and covers a broad spectrum of legal practice, ranging from marine and energy issues to health care.

With so many legal avenues to navigate, Preis & Roy has a vested interest in the quality of lawyers entering the workforce in Louisiana.

That is why the firm’s founders are passionate about supporting the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

In keeping with the firm’s commitment to advance legal education, Preis & Roy recently pledged $250,000 to endow a faculty position at the LSU Law Center.

Among the duties of The Preis & Roy

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Director of Advocacy and Professional Practice will be oversight of the law center’s moot court program, through which students participate in simulated legal proceedings under the guidance of professors and practicing lawyers.

Preis, a 1972 alumnus of the LSU Law Center, says his firm’s pledge to LSU matches its central focus as an organization.

“It was important to us because that’s what we all do over here,” he says. “We’re all litigators. So that was a natural fit for us, to have something at LSU to improve the litigation skills of the law students.”

Preis & Roy is also a consistent recruiter of LSU Law Center graduates. Almost half of the firm’s lawyers are alumni of the center.

“They have an excellent career

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services department at LSU,” says Preis. “They are very user-friendly and very easy to work with.”

Among the 193 law schools in the nation that are accredited by the American Bar Association, only LSU Law gives each of its students extensive study in both civil and common law.

“I am convinced that the quality of practitioners of law in Louisiana depends so heavily on the quality of instruction and the way that the students are treated at the LSU Law Center … that we have got to make that law school as good as it can be,” Roy asserts.

Preis & Roy’s pledge will be the LSU Law Center’s largest ever endowed gift from a law firm. www.law.lsu.edu

Opera Enthusiasts Create Professorship

Presenting an opera is a team effort, which is the concept behind a new endowed professorship for the College of Music & Dramatic Arts’ LSU Opera.

Ed and Linda Green, longtime patrons of LSU Opera, recruited fellow ExxonMobil employees, retirees and beneficiaries to jointly fund a professorship to strengthen faculty support for the program. Ten of the 11 donors were able to take advantage of ExxonMobil’s generous three-to-one matching gift program.

“I kind of feel like I’m a missionary here, chasing the ExxonMobil people, trying to convince them and show them how wonderful this leverage is,” Ed said.

After three years of fundraising, the $180,000 that this team has given to create the endowed professorship is in line to be matched even further, by the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund. Once matched, support for the professorship will total $300,000.

“The LSU Opera program is one of the best in the country, and the quality of the singers we are hearing is outstanding,” Ed contends. “We really want to continue to foster that type of program in our state.” www.cmda.lsu.edu

LSU Law graduates John T. Nesser III, Amanda Nesser Moeller and J.T. Nesser IV

Nesser Family Endows Chair in Energy Law

LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center alumni John T. Nesser III (’73), J.T. Nesser IV (’99) and Amanda Nesser Moeller (’05) have established The Nesser Family Endowed Chair in Energy Law to help their alma mater broadly expand its already strong program in traditional oil, gas and mineral law. Their gift is the center’s largest ever from a living donor.

LSU Law Center Chancellor Jack Weiss shared, “Our goal is to create the culture and environment that allows LSU Law to attract and maintain the intellectual capital necessary for building a world-renowned energy law faculty. The Nesser family’s gift also gives us an opportunity to strengthen

our ties to LSU through development of a multi-disciplinary program of study, while also serving the bar, the energy industry, and the citizens of our state.”

John T. Nesser’s parents and siblings, and many of his cousins, attended or graduated from LSU or LSU Law.

“We each received an excellent education, at a cost that was more than reasonable,” he said. “During this time of financial stress on public institutions of higher learning, J.T., Amanda, my wife, Cynthia, and I wanted to give something back to the University, the Law Center, and the state of Louisiana.” www.law.lsu.edu

Professor’s Work Honors Professional Legacy of Colleague

What makes Texans tick?

Department of Theatre Associate Professor Leigh Clemons’ “Branding Texas: Performing Culture in the Lone Star State” examines Texas’ image as created by media and how stereotypes affect the state’s relationships with its residents and the rest of the U.S.

Last year, Clemons was named the Gresdna A. Doty Associate

Professor of Literature, Theory, and Criticism in Theatre. Her outstanding work continues the legacy of Doty, an alumni professor emeritus who, upon retirement from the department, was honored by a group of donors who established the professorship Clemons now holds.

Clemons’ areas of research include 12th-century German theatre, the theatre of the countries of the

former Yugoslavia, and theories of performing national identity. She received the 2008 Tiger Athletic Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award for the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts and is the 200910 recipient of the Honors College’s Robert L. Amborski Distinguished Honors Professor Award. www.theatre.lsu.edu

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Students in the E. J. Ourso College of Business’ SMART Lab

A SMART Start on Investing

There is simply no substitute for experience when it comes to learning how to navigate the currents of the international marketplace. Such experience is a distinct advantage of the Securities Markets Analysis Research & Trading Lab, which prepares E. J. Ourso College of Business students to go straight from the classroom to the trading floor.

The SMART Lab, housed in Patrick F. Taylor Hall, is a realworld trading zone, complete with 44 workstations, data feeds and simulated trading software.

“It’s powerful, and it’s so fast,” says Tish O’Connor, assistant director of the SMART Lab. “It doesn’t take long for students to see what we’re trying to illustrate. We are using the real-world programs that investment professionals use, so

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we’re not behind the learning curve.

It translates into better interview experiences, better knowledge of the career path, and it gives students more marketable skills.”

Far beyond the realm of simulation, SMART Lab students manage an investment portfolio. In spring 2005, the LSU Foundation Board of Directors approved the seeding of the LSU Student Managed Investment Fund. Foundation Chief Investment Officer George Moss visits the lab to explain the rules for investing Foundation resources.

In the past six years, students’ careful investments have grown “The Tiger Fund” by more than 30 percent.

“It is very rewarding,” Moss shares. “I wish this and other programs had been in place when I was a student.”

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SMART Lab students also earn professional certifications and work toward earning Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

“When I was a student, we made our ‘trades’ in imaginary portfolios on index cards using the data published in the Wall Street Journal,” recalls LSU alumnus John Tarleton, who is director and chief compliance officer of LavaFlow, Inc. “The world moves at a much faster pace now, and the information moves in fractions of seconds, which means understanding and having a feel for the real world is invaluable.”

Tarleton is the first donor to make an ongoing commitment to the SMART Lab, with a two-year pledge that will provide $500 per month. www.bus.lsu.edu/centers/smart

National Discussion Series Co-Presented by LSU

The LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute is participating in a series of discussions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The CSIS-LSU Series on Disaster Management has been made possible through the generous support of the LSU SDMI and the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation.

The discussions provide a forum for government officials, experts, academics and nongovernmental organizations dealing with disaster management and emergency response. Through the series, they discuss critical issues facing the country’s ability to address disaster and emergency situations domestically and internationally.

The first installment was a strategic review of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill featuring Adm. Thad Allen. www.sdmi.lsu.edu Adm. Thad Allen, USCG (retired), speaks during “A Strategic Review of the Gulf Oil Spill” last November in Washington, D.C.

Supporting a Healthy Ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico

The Nalco Foundation has partnered with LSU to support research conducted by the School of the Coast & Environment.

Funding awarded by the foundation will be used in the study of the environmental effects of oil spills; oil in different environments; mechanisms to mitigate oil spills and general environmental pollution; the detection of oil and environmental pollution; and effective ways to explain and understand the processes used to mitigate and respond to significant environmental incidents.

“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with [LSU] to study the ecosystem in the Gulf,” said Laurie Marsh, president of The Nalco Foundation.

Nalco Company is the world’s largest sustainability services company focused on industrial water, energy and air applications. www.sce.lsu.edu Monthly, quarterly or yearly gifts can now be scheduled online at www.lsufoundation.org/contribute.

LSYOU program participants walk to the LSU Quad.

Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation Honored

The Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation received the 2011 College of Education Philanthropist of the Year Award for its contributions to the college’s Louisiana State Youth Opportunities Unlimited program and the LSU Laboratory School.

Started in 1986, LSYOU provides high school students with the skills and knowledge they will need to be successful in high school and beyond.

LSYOU is also a service-learning site through which faculty, staff and students can learn effective teaching techniques while making an impact on at-risk youth.

The LSU Laboratory School is a K-12 college preparatory school that is consistently included in Newsweek’s “America’s Best High Schools” ranking of public schools.

The coeducational school provides training opportunities for pre- and in-service teachers and serves as a demonstration and educational research center.

The Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation was honored April 28 at the college’s inaugural annual awards banquet, held in the Cotillion Ballroom of the LSU Student Union. www.lsu.edu/coe

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Christy Reeves, director of community relations and executive director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation, and Brandon Smith, community affairs liaison for the LSU Community University Partnership, outside of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield building in Baton Rouge

Fresh Cuts, Clean Health

A new collaboration between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and LSU’s Community University Partnership is helping to combat some of the top causes of death for African-American males.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation awarded a $25,000 Impact Grant to LSU CUP to fund Fresh Cuts, Clean Health, through which barbershops offer free screenings for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes to African-American males.

The effort is modeled after the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program in Los Angeles. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden kicked off the Baton Rouge initiative last fall at Hilltop Barbershop in Old South Baton Rouge, one of three area barbershops with which Fresh Cuts,

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Clean Health has partnered.

“We are on track to meet our goal of screening at least 300 AfricanAmerican males by the end of our first year,” says Brandon Smith, LSU CUP’s community affairs liaison.

Fresh Cuts, Clean Health bridges several LSU System campuses and units. LSU Hospitals/Earl K. Long Medical Center phlebotomists conduct the screenings, and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Smart Bodies—a joint initiative of the LSU AgCenter and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation—offer educational outreach to participants.

“We are grateful that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana recognizes our commitment to leverage our resources to solve social challenges,” says Smith.

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East Baton Rouge Parish’s health profile indicates that heart disease, stroke and diabetes are among the top causes of death for AfricanAmerican males. Further, mortality rates for African-Americans are, in many cases, nearly double the rates of other races affected by these diseases, according to a 2002 report by the Louisiana Center for Health Statistics and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals/ Office of Public Health.

“We are convinced that institutions of higher education can and should cultivate meaningful connections to improve the livelihood of its community,” Smith shares.

“A lasting university is an engaged university.” www.lsu.edu/cup

“Together, LSU and Entergy are helping develop minds in the classroom and communities outside of it, demonstrating how business, industry and education can join forces to turn good ideas into positive action for the future.”

— Bill Mohl, president and chief executive officer of Entergy’s Louisiana utilities

Up Close with Entergy Entergy visited LSU in March for a day of demonstrations and displays in Free Speech Plaza, where the LSU Foundation and the Forever LSU campaign celebrated the company’s generous support of LSU.

Entergy’s support of LSU includes a gift to establish the Entergy Doctoral Scholars Program in Power Systems and the donation of four power simulators for use in the ECE Power Systems Laboratory to support faculty and research in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. In addition, Entergy has helped jump-start a joint nuclear engineering and health physics program in the colleges of Engineering and Science to prepare students for careers in nuclear power production.

Entergy’s “Arcs and Sparks” demonstration shows what can happen when a person comes in contact with a “live” electrical line.

Entergy has also partnered with the School of Social Work to assist in the company’s regional Low-Income Summit Meetings. LSU is a key partner in the Louisiana Poverty Initiative, which bridges research, practice and policy by developing evidence-based models for poverty mitigation, with both local and national implications.

Richard Koubek, dean of the College of Engineering; Bill Mohl, president and chief executive officer of Entergy’s Louisiana utilities; and Mike Martin, LSU chancellor, with Entergy’s IndyCar Series “Nuclear Clean Air Energy” race car

“Entergy is a shining example of the impact of public-private collaboration. We are proud of our partnership with such an outstanding corporate citizen, and we look forward to continuing to work with Entergy to improve our community and the lives of its citizens.”

Last summer, LSU announced that Entergy had given $250,000 to the E. J. Ourso College of Business’ LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute to complete the final phase of the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center. When activated, the LA BEOC and its representatives will make disaster recovery recommendations to Louisiana Economic Development, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Unified Command Group.

— LSU Chancellor Mike Martin

Blair Beter and Rai Masuda

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Doctoral student Melissa Monk, co-coordinator of EnvironMentors, helps Scotlandville High School students test water quality in a canal on campus.

EnvironMentors Provide Hands-On Learning for High Schoolers

On Monday afternoons, a sleepy little canal on the southern edge of LSU’s campus springs to life with activity. A dozen high school students move up and down the banks of the waterway, taking temperature readings and measuring water levels and rates of flow as part of an ongoing group project with LSU EnvironMentors.

LSU is one of just 10 universities with EnvironMentors chapters, which help at-risk high school students prepare for college programs in environmental and related science fields. The College of Education helped the School of the Coast & Environment identify Scotlandville High School as a partner through the college’s LSU Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs initiative.

LSU GEAR UP provides

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transportation to LSU, where participants are guided by SC&E faculty and directly mentored by its students. This includes Melissa Monk, a doctoral student and cocoordinator of the program with doctoral student Melissa Baustian.

“They can tell you what they are sampling out in the bayou now, what we’re doing with it, and what it’s for,” Monk says of the progress students have made since their first day, adding, “It’s fantastic.”

The LSU EnvironMentors program is supported by grant funding and private gifts from Albemarle Foundation and LSU alumni-owned Houston Energy, L.P., which donated $10,000 that currently supports a graduate student assistantship to the co-coordinators.

Mentors instruct students on data collection and scientific theory

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and lead field trips and projects.

“They were really anxious all last fall to get started on their individual science projects,” says Program Director Dr. Susan Welsh. “But we couldn’t just let them jump into it.

We said, ‘You have to come up with a topic. You need a hypothesis. You’ve got to have materials and methods.’

It was interesting because we kind of had to slow them down, because we were really teaching them the scientific method.”

Monk hopes EnvironMentors can one day be offered to all Scotlandville juniors and seniors who want to participate in the program.

“Our attitude is if we can get one of these kids to go into college and be excited about science, then we’ve succeeded,” she explains. www.sce.lsu.edu/environmentors

Legacy A TIGER VETERAN’S

This vacant field behind Utah Beach served as the landing zone for the 101st Airborne’s gliders on D-Day.

I was in the number three glider to go into Normandy. General Pratt was in the number one glider. He was killed on the landing. I landed right behind him. ­—Adolphe G. Gueymard, as told to LSU’s T. Harry Williams Oral History Center

Echoes of man-made thunder fade with each passing year. Traumatic gashes cut into contested earth are faint scars on a fertile, serene landscape under a clear, blue sky. This is Normandy in present day.

The site of 1944’s D-Day landings, this now-peaceful section of France’s northern coastline is dotted with reminders of the Allied invasion to liberate the country from Nazi Germany in World War II. Concrete barriers, bunkers and pillboxes still line Omaha Beach, where the U.S. Army charged into legend. On the left flank, 9,387 headstones mark the final resting place of Americans who gave their lives for the freedom of others.

Further inland, near the town of Hiesville, is a roadside memorial honoring a fallen U.S. Army general. It is there because of an LSU Tiger.

When we hit the coast, the Germans were firing at us from the ground. Part of us was dodging the flak and so forth. We had to fly across the peninsula, which was about 60 or 80 miles. In so doing, a lot of the gliders and the parachutes would jump other than where they were supposed to land. The result was that we were scattered all over the peninsula ... Everywhere the Germans looked, there was some damn Americans. The Germans didn’t know where to counterattack. – Adolphe G. Gueymard

The late Adolphe G. “Dolphe” Gueymard was a towering figure of philanthropic support for LSU. A past president of both the LSU Foundation and Campanile Charities, he is a Foundation Laureate Society member and was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 2000.

Gueymard, a 1935 graduate of LSU College of Science’s Department of Geology &

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Above: J. Lanier, Marie and Sykes Yeates stand by the memorial to Brig. Gen. Don F. Pratt, soon to bear alumnus Adolphe Gueymard’s name.

Right: Omaha Beach, summer 2010

A LIFETIME OF

Service

Geophysics, parlayed his understanding of geology into a career as First City National Bank’s senior vice president for petroleum and minerals.

Before that, he was a U.S. Army major of the 101st Airborne. Entrusted with a 57-millimeter anti-tank gun and a squad of men, he was one among hundreds flying behind enemy lines into occupied France on June 6, 1944, in a steel and canvas glider. Guided by only moonlight and tiny markers left by 101st Airborne pathfinders, landing safely was no guarantee.

“Gen. Pratt’s glider had been armored with steel plating under the fuselage to protect from small arms or anti-aircraft fire,” says LSU alumnus J. Lanier Yeates, recalling a story told to him by Gueymard, his friend and mentor. “But when Gen. Pratt’s glider was released, the pilot realized that the trim had been altered toward the nose of the glider, and the pilot had to fight to land the glider because of its extra weight. It took a very steep dive. It landed at a faster speed than the other

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gliders that didn’t have the steel plating underneath, and because the steel was slick, it had no natural friction like the undersides of the other gliders, so it skid across the grass in the landing zone, and it collided with the hedgerow. Gen. Pratt was sitting inside his jeep [in the glider] and, upon impact, Gen. Pratt’s neck was broken. He was killed instantly.”

Pratt was the first Allied general killed in the liberation of France, hours before dawn on June 6, 1944. His death is alluded to in the motion picture “Saving Private Ryan.”

We had some German tanks that were crossing in front of us. I jumped on a Jeep tied to a gun. We rushed up to Boekel [Netherlands], to the north side of it. Here was a big German tank going across in front of us. We hurried and got the gun around, twisted it around and opened fire on the tank. We knocked it out on the first volley, and so that saved it. That was a big deal because it broke up the German attack. – Adolphe G. Gueymard

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

After his glider landed near Hiesville, Gueymard took part in some of the U.S. military’s most significant actions. He was present at the 101st Airborne’s successful defense of Bastogne, Belgium, during the massive German counterattack known as the Battle of the Bulge. He rose to the rank of captain and led his gunnery crew into the teeth of German resistance in Operation Market Garden, the Allied assault on the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. There, Gueymard’s gun crew destroyed a tank leading a German advance, an action that potentially saved hundreds of lives and was mentioned in a dispatch by a young war reporter named Walter Cronkite.

By the end of the war, Gueymard had achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel, earning two bronze stars for valor and two presidential unit citations.

“Mr. Gueymard was able to recount the events of the campaign after having landed at Hiesville almost as if they happened yesterday,” says Yeates. “Mr. Gueymard told me on more than one occasion ... that the war was just a part

of his life and it was only for a few years, and that he had many other endeavors in life. He enjoyed successes in business and his work with charitable, civic and educational giving as part of his tireless efforts on behalf of LSU that far exceeded what he considered to be the important and exciting, and dramatic, events of World War II.”

Gueymard met Yeates in 1993, when he asked for assistance with Campanile Charities. A U.S. Navy veteran, Yeates has a distinguished record of philanthropic giving and leadership to LSU. And he, too, has headed the LSU Foundation Board of Directors and Campanile Charities.

In 1999, Yeates became greatly interested in Gueymard’s tales of World War II’s European Theater, as well as in one of his yearly traditions.

“He returned to France and he was the guest of the mayor, Agnes Buford.

He would return every year at the time of D-Day and return to the invasion beaches and stay with the mayor and other friends in Hiesville to remember his comrades. But beyond that, he formed the 101st Airborne Memorial Committee for Gen. Don F. Pratt, designed to fund the placement of a monument near Hiesville in remembrance of his death on June 6, 1944.”

When Gueymard passed away in December 2008, Yeates, thinking of his mentor, took action.

“Last year I went for him. I took my two sons, Collins, age 13, and Sykes, age 16, and my wife, Marie,” he says. “We went to Hiesville, utilizing information that I gathered from the executor of the estate of Mr. Gueymard, and I knew of Agnes Buford’s name. I knew generally the location of where Hiesville was. I was aided by Google Earth on my iPhone and a paper map.”

After a moving visit to Omaha Beach, the family found its way to Hiesville and met Mayor Buford.

“She advised me that on the anniversary of D-Day in 2011, the monument to Gen. Pratt would have an addition to it. And it would be a memorial, a plaque in honor of Mr. Gueymard for his service as chairman of the Gen. Don F. Pratt Memorial Committee of the 101st Airborne.”

The Yeates family discovered that the marker is very close to the landing site of Gueymard’s glider, and the hedgerow that claimed Gen. Pratt’s life.

“It’s just like it was in 1944 ... It’s a field that has a carpet of green as far as the eye can see, under a blue sky,” Yeates describes. “And at one end, a massive hedgerow, about 10 or 12 feet high, with a thickness that had the appearance of a solid wall of entangled vegetation and branches ... It had the appearance of being solid, like a fortress wall.

“It was a simple monument, but a stately presence against the area where so many men came to meet their fate and to defend the liberty that we all enjoy, and which enabled Marie, Sykes, Collins and me to travel freely from the United States to Hiesville on that day. Now that Mr. Gueymard has passed, I can return to keep the memories alive, and when I can no longer return, my sons can return if they so elect.”

Yeates says that when he looks out over the landing zone, he can sense Gueymard’s presence and legacy, and the common bond that LSU has forged between them.

“There is a sense of ‘Forever LSU’ at the landing zone,” he says. “It is up to us to never forget the Tiger spirit. It is up to us to always see in that landing zone, the stately oaks and broad magnolias, Forever LSU.” I think we would like for the present generation and the generations after us to know about the war, the great effort that was given, and that many of us gave three and a half years of our lives to that effort. We want younger people coming up and generations after us to know that they should be prepared to help their country any way they can. That it’s your duty to do so. You can be proud of it, of doing things for your country, whatever they may be. – Adolphe G. Gueymard

Mr. Gueymard’s oral history interview was conducted on April 29, 2005, by Ann Marie Marmande, director of development for the College of Science, on behalf of the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History.

www.lib.lsu.edu/special/williams

Board of Directors OFFICERS Laura L. Dauzat • Marksville, La. Chairperson of the Board Gary L. Laborde • New Orleans, La. Chairperson-Elect of the Board William G. Bowdon • Baton Rouge, La. President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffery McLain • Baton Rouge, La. Vice President for Development Gina Dugas • Baton Rouge, La. Chief Financial Officer William L. Silvia Jr. • Baton Rouge, La. Corporate Secretary George Moss • Baton Rouge, La. Chief Investment Officer DIRECTORS Mark K. Anderson • Monroe, La. Jeff H. Benhard • Palmetto, La. J. Herbert Boydstun • Baton Rouge, La. J. Terrell Brown • Baton Rouge, La. Robert H. Crosby III • Mandeville, La. Robert Daigle • Lafayette, La. William T. Firesheets II • Baton Rouge, La. T. Cass Gaiennie • Shreveport, La. G. Lee Griffin • Baton Rouge, La. Frank W. “Billy” Harrison III • Houston, Texas Gene W. Lafitte • New Orleans, La. Charles A. Landry • Baton Rouge, La. Laura A. Leach • Lake Charles, La. David B. Means III • Mansfield, La. William B. Owens • Alexandria, La. James R. Peltier • Thibodaux, La. John F. Shackelford III • Bonita, La. Robert M. Stuart Jr. • Baton Rouge, La. Sue Turner • Baton Rouge, La. Burton D. Weaver • Flora, La. Felix Weill • Baton Rouge, La. William H. Wright Jr. • St. Francisville, La. J. Lanier Yeates • Houston, Texas EX-OFFICIO John Lombardi President, LSU System Michael V. Martin Chancellor, LSU William B. Richardson Chancellor, LSU AgCenter Jack Weiss Chancellor, Paul M. Hebert Law Center

Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation

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Meet a Member Gwen Fairchild joined the LSU Foundation as director of academic development in 1997 and became a Foundation member soon after.

She has served as director of planned giving since 2003. In over 25 years as a professional fundraiser, Fairchild has volunteered with and supported many Baton Rouge nonprofits.

She is a charter member of the Baton Rouge chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, for which she has served as president and board member, and she was the 2008 president of the Planned Giving Council of Greater Baton Rouge.

Fairchild recently received the Greater Baton Rouge Chapter of AFP’s Brother Donnan Berry Award. Named for the local AFP chapter founder—and Fairchild’s longtime friend—the award is presented to an outstanding member who advances philanthropy, upholds the ideals of AFP and, most important, is a reflection of Brother Donnan's dedication to the chapter.

Fairchild is the fourth Foundation employee to receive the award since 2001. www.lsufoundation.org/membership

Of the approximately 85 people who work on behalf of the LSU Foundation, more than 25 percent are members, giving back at least $1,000 of their salaries each year to support LSU.

“My work helping people leave their legacy is one of the most rewarding aspects of my life.” ­— Gwen Fairchild Director of Planned Giving