A L U M N I ' M A G A Z I N E Winter 2014, Volume 90, Number 4
CHAPTER LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
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From the
PRESIDENT/CHANCELLOR LSU’s Success Depends on You It’s shaping up to be another banner year for LSU. This fall, we welcomed our most academically gifted class in terms of freshman ACT scores and high school GPAs. It’s our third largest freshman class ever. We’ve also welcomed our most diverse student body as well as more first-generation students than we’ve seen in the last five years. Add to that last year’s record-breaking graduating class and our historic 69.1 percent graduation rate, and your LSU degree remains an excellent value for you and your family. In terms of you, our dedicated alumni, we are seeing more and more proof that a degree from LSU yields incredible results in the marketplace. In fact, our students leave well-poised to succeed in whatever field they pursue. Among our country’s flagship universities, LSU graduates rank ahead of alums from such universities as the University of Alabama, Ohio State, and the University of North Carolina in both early and midcareer salaries. LSU’s tuition is 24 percent below the national flagship university average, allowing our graduates to start their professional lives unencumbered by excessive student loan debt. We work hard to remain affordable and be excellent stewards of the state funds we are given. In fact, in terms of spending, we are near the bottom in per student expenditures compared to flagships, while continuing to produce outstanding students who excel personally and professionally – and providing a return of $5 for every $1 the state invests in us. And we’re working hard to make sure our graduates don’t feel they have to leave Louisiana to succeed once they receive their degrees. Through innovative public-private partnerships such as those we have cultivated with EA, IBM, and others, we are building an international-caliber workforce attractive to industries ranging from IT, digital media, and filmmaking to energy, manufacturing, and chemical in nature. The Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy, or WISE, Act, passed just this spring during Louisiana’s legislative session, provides financial support for some of these investments, allowing LSU to hire much-needed new faculty in high-growth areas such as engineering and computer science. Moving forward, I urge you to consider the role you play in the past, present, and future of your alma mater. Just like our student successes, the success of LSU is based upon the dedication, commitment, and engagement of many, including our exceptional alumni like you. Sincerely,
F. King Alexander LSU President and Chancellor @lsuprez
LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
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Publisher LSU Alumni Association
Contents
Editor Jackie Bartkiewicz Advertising James Fisher Art Director Chuck Sanchez STUN Design & Interactive
A L U M N I ' M A G A Z I N E Feature
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20 Chapter Leadership Summit 2014
With the number of alumni chapters at 135 and growing, the LSU Alumni Association has been working with chapter leaders to develop closer ties and provide new membership options to grow membership and provide additional donation revenue for scholarships and other chapter-supported programs. More than fifty volunteers from across the country took part in the Chapter Leadership Summit held at The Cook Hotel in September. They were treated to a weekend of fun, fellowship, food – and a good dose of work – capped off by with a Tiger tailgate and a “Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium.�
26 There’s Something Special About Special Collections
Whether it’s an illuminated manuscript, a fifteenth-century text from the earliest days of printing, or historical photographs of the LSU campus, the LSU Libraries’ division of Special Collections has something that is sure to fascinate everyone. In addition to being the premier collection of Louisiana materials in the world, there are surprises – like the Bowlus Comic Book Collection, the Delsarte Papers, and the Gladney Chess Collection – that add to the eclectic and diverse nature of the library. According to Jessica Lacher-Feldman, Special Collections has the capability of opening up a world of educational and cultural opportunities for everyone in the state.
In Each Issue 1
From the President/Chancellor
4
President and CEO Message
6
LSU Alumni Association News
32 Around Campus 40 Focus on Faculty 42 Locker Room 44 Tiger Nation On the cover: Chapter Leaders at the 2014 Leadership Summit. Photo by Johnny Gordon. Design by STUN Design & Interactive.
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Editorial Assistants Patti Garner, Brenda Macon, Meagan McDaniel Contributors Barry Cowan, Ed Cullen, Rebecca Docter, John Grubb, Bud Johnson, Danielle Kelley, Brenda Macon, Ashley Wright Photography Candid Campus Photography, Mark Claesgens, Ray Dry, Steve Franz/LSU Sports Information, Johnny Gordon, Larry Hubbard, Eddy Perez/LSU University Relations, University College, Jim Zietz Printing Baton Rouge Printing NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gil Rew Chair, Mansfield, La. Jan K. Liuzza Chair-Elect, Kenner, La.
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Jack A. Andonie Immediate Past Chair, Metairie, La. Lodwrick M. Cook Director Emeritus, Sherman Oaks, Calif. Scott L. Anderson, Monroe, La. Ted A Martin, Baton Rouge, La. Mary Lou Applewhite, New Orleans, La. Louis R. Minksy, Baton Rouge, La. Jon D. “Jayâ€? Babb, Baton Rouge, La. Richard C. “Rickyâ€? Oustalet, Jennings, La. J. Hals Benhard, Palmetto, La. Beverly Shea, New Iberia, La. C. A. “Buddyâ€? Brice III, Biloxi, Miss. John T. Shelton, Jr., Houston, Texas Guy Campbell III, Monroe, La. Carl J. Streva, Morgan City, La. Gregg Cordaro, Baton Rouge, La. Susan K. Whitelaw, Shreveport, La. Kathy Fives, Las Vegas, Nev. Stan Williams, Fort Worth, Texas Ronald M. Johnson, Baton Rouge, La. Michel H. Woods, Shreveport, La. LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE is a benefit of membership in the LSU Alumni Association. Annual donations are $50, of which $6 is allocated for a subscription the magazine. Letters to the editor and submissions of news items are encouraged. LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE reserves the right to edit all materials accepted for publication. Publication of materials does not indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by the magazine, the Association, or LSU. Editorial and Advertising Office LSU Alumni Association 3838 West Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686 ĉĉĎĹĎÄ?đĹĊđĊđŊěŊđđđĹ www.lsualumni.org / e-mail: jackie@lsualumni.org Š 2014 by LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE. LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE (USPS NO 14120) is published quarterly (March, June, September, December) by the LSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, 3838 W. Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808. Periodical prices paid at Baton Rouge, La. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE, 3838 West Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686
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President and CEO
MESSAGE
Exciting Fall Semester Bodes Well for the Future Fall 2014 – my first “semester” as president and CEO of the LSU Alumni Association. It’s been a busy yet exciting and rewarding experience, and I deeply appreciate the many telephone calls, notes, and e-mail messages you have sent wishing me, the staff, and the Association well. Indeed, I share that success with the dedicated, talented employees who worked days, nights, and weekends – literally, since it was football season – to ensure that all events and activities were successful. Your Association is in excellent shape. Morale is high, and we are moving forward to make sure that the LSU Alumni Association serves you and LSU at the highest level of integrity. Home-game weekends and Traveling Tigers trips to Houston, Auburn, Gainesville, Fayetteville, and College Station kept us busy from August through November. At the same time, we also took part in Grad Fair, an event benefiting future alumni; hosted the Tiger Band Alumni Reunion, the Scholars Banquet, and the Annual Meeting/Past Presidents & Chairs Luncheon; and prepared for the annual Retired Faculty/Staff Christmas Party. On December 19 we will welcome several thousand new alumni to Tiger Nation. As members of the December 2014 graduating class join fellow alums across the state and country and around the world, we know they will continue to support their alma mater by becoming active members of the LSU Alumni Association by joining local alumni chapters. Chapters are the heart and soul of the Association, and we are proud to be 135 strong and growing. (See Chapter Leadership Summit story on page 20.) On a final note, we encourage you, our loyal donors, to help us connect with your family, friends, and business associates. It is important that every graduate contribute something every year. Our percentage of alumni giving is not nearly enough when compared to the number of alumni who bleed purple and gold. Please encourage everyone to give online at www.lsualumni.org. Thank you for all you do for LSU and the LSU Alumni Association. On behalf of all of us at the Lod Cook Alumni Center and The Cook Hotel – Happy Holidays!
Geaux Tigers,
Cliff Vannoy President and CEO LSU Alumni Association
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From Our Readers Jackie, Thank you for the picture (of our daughter, Ruth) in the recent magazine! We were proud! (“Tigers Around the World,” LSU Alumni Magazine, Fall 2014, page 79.) By the way, my wife and I left Greenville, S.C., to drive back to our home in Spartanburg, 45 minutes away. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that abuts a bike trail, and a family rode up, the oldest daughter wearing an LSU pullover. We introduced ourselves, and she is a freshman on fall break. I asked if she had seen the magazine. Her parents said they had, and, lo and behold, this young lady, Megan, lives across the hall from Ruth in the honors dorm! What a small world! They know each other and rushed together; Ruth pledged KD and Megan pledged Chi-O.
Dr. James Dunn 1982 BACH H&SS Ms. Brenda, The article “Reaching an Age” in the fall edition of LSU Alumni Magazine was outstanding. Alzheimer’s Services truly appreciates the light you shed on this disease and the awareness you brought to this organization. It is only through support from people like yourself that Alzheimer’s Services is able to continue to serve the Greater Baton Rouge Area.
Katherine Schillings Program Coordinator Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area
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LSU Alumni Association
NEWS
Snapshots
Photos by Ray Dry
Steve Glassell, left, and Joe May enjoyed the remarks of ex-Tiger Doug Moreau before the UL-Monroe game.
Jim Engster, Todd Walker, and Cliff Vannoy at the Andonie Sports Museum before the Sam Houston State game.
Sports personalities Ron Higgins, left, and Jacques Doucet flank Jerry Shea, of New Iberia, after their performance at the Andonie Museum.
Cliff Vannoy presents Tommy Casanova with a canvas print of Mike the Tiger.
Fred Michaelson, left, was a 195-pound defensive tackle, and Tommy Casanova was a 192-pound cornerback on the Tigers’ 1969 great defensive team of that season.
LSU Legends on Football Saturdays – Hours before the Tigers take the field at home games, former Tiger greats share stories of past glory days with alumni gathered for the LSU Legends series at the Andonie Sports Museum. Louisiana Network President Jim Engster, LSU baseball great Todd Walker, and LSU Alumni Association President Cliff Vannoy kicked off the series on the morning of Sept. 6, the Sam Houston State game. Walker’s presentation, his memories of LSU, and major league baseball, were a big hit with those in attendance. Also appearing at the museum during the season were ex-Tiger greats Doug Moreau and Tommy Casanova, as well as sports personalities Ron Higgins, of the TimesPicayune, and Jacques Doucet, of WAFB-TV, who delighted fans with their imitations of Joe Dean and Skip Bertman. Photos by Ray Dry and Johnny Gordon
Sneak Peek – Members of the LSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors and The Cook Hotel Board of Managers toured the new South Stadium and newly renovated East Stadium suites during their quarterly meeting in August. The sneak preview access included viewing the then unpainted football field and newly installed HD video scoreboards. Photo by Johnny Gordon Front row, from left, Ted Martin, Jan Liuzza, Susan Whitelaw, and Kathy Fives; back row, John Shelton, Jay Babb, Cliff Vannoy, Gil Rew, Hals Benhard, Carl Streva, and Mike Woods.
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Hall of Famers – From left, Jim Taylor, Jerry Stovall, Charles Alexander, Tommy Casanova, and Billy Cannon surround Y.A. Tittle as LSU honored Tittle prior to the Mississippi State game. Taylor and Tittle are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Stovall, Alexander, Casanova, and Cannon are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Photo by Steve Franz/LSU Sports Information
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LSU Alumni Association News
Snapshots
Donna Mancuso, whose 1968 ring is on display, had her photo taken in front of the LSU Ring Collection in the Lod Cook Alumni Center.
Ring Collection – Recent donations to the LSU Ring Collection are from Bonnie Fussell (1963 BACH H&SS), of Maurepas, La.; Patricia Byrd (1964 BACH MCOM), of Baton Rouge; Louise McCann (1965 BACH H&SS, 1974 MAST HS&E), of Milton, Ga.; and David Lestage (1969 JD), of DeRidder, La. The collection, which includes rings from 1906 to 2008, is on exhibit in the Lod Cook Alumni Center. To donate your LSU Ring to the collection, contact Jackie Bartkiewicz at jackie@lsualumni.org or 225-578-3370.
Proud Paw Paws – Dave McCarty
Dave McCarty
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points out his granddaughter, Laura Carlton, on a recent visit to the Andonie Sports Museum. Carlton was the most accomplished distance runner in the history of the Lady Tiger program, and her academic performance was even more impressive. She received the University Medal during the 2011 commencement ceremonies, when she received her bachelor’s degree in business, and she earned a master’s degree in business in 2013. McCarty was a member of LSU’s national championship Don McGinty and Carson McGinty. football team in 1958, and a member of the football coaching staff for the 1970 Tigers, who won the SEC championship. Also visiting this fall were Tiger fan Don McGinty and his grandson, Carson McGinty, who enjoyed some of his granddad’s favorite displays in the museum. Photos by Ray Dry
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LSU Alumni Association News
Chapter Events
North Houston Endowment – Since the North Houston Alumni Chapter was established, it has awarded annual scholarships to qualified students from the North Houston area. “This year, we endowed three $20,000 scholarships in the LSU general scholarship fund,” writes Jeff Gray, chapter president. “The event truly marked a milestone in our chapter’s history.” With Gray for the check presentation to Jason Ramezan, LSU Alumni Association vice president for development, were Lance Rayne, vice president; Rod Schwarzer, secretary; From left, Jeff Gray, Jason Ramezan, Leonard Broussard, Lance Rayne, Rod Schwarzer, Byron Gauthier, Paul Bernard Abercrombie, treasurer; Raiford, Larry Klein, Bernard Abercrombie, and James Fisher. Leonard Broussard, Web director; Paul Raiford, past president; Byron Gauthier, past vice president; and member Larry Klein. The chapter was founded by Matt Malatesta in 2000. Past presidents include Norman Favor and Jay Schlosser. ON THE WEB www.lsunorthhouston.com
LSU-bound students at the Summer Send Off parties in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Texas Tigers – Summer Send Off parties took place across the DFW Metroplex to welcome LSU-bound Texas Tigers to the family. The celebrations were held on July 23 at Humperdink’s in Arlington and on July 24 at the home of LSU alum Laura Stockdale in Dallas. On hand for the Dallas event was LSU Dallas area recruiter Pedro Cobos. This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first send-off party, and the Dallas and Tarrant Tigers continue the yearly tradition by welcoming new Tigers and their parents with Cajun food and fellowship. “The kids spent time eating, visiting, and exchanging phone numbers while their parents got a chance to visit with one another and with local area alumni,” writes Allison Kullenberg, of the LSU Dallas chapter. “Many thanks to Laura for opening her home, to Humperdink’s for hosting this year’s event, and to our chapter sponsor Raising Cane’s for the gift cards. In addition to the gift cards, the students received T-shirts, Texas Tiger buttons, and something new this year – signs that ‘scream’ AN LSU TEXAS TIGER LIVES HERE!” ON THE WEB www.lsualumnidallas.com and www.lsutarranttigers.org
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Larry Higdon, left, with former Tiger Phillip Johnson.
Caddo-Bossier Tigers – Coach Les Miles joined more than 300 LSU alumni and supporters in the Riverfront Ballroom at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino on July 16 to meet and greet friends and fans – and to talk a little football. Also on tap was, according to Anne Higdon, a “fabulous auction” that included autographed LSU merchandise. “The event funds scholarships to help the best and brightest young people from Caddo and Bossier parishes attend LSU,” Higdon writes. “We have endowed thirteen scholarships, and we are working on number fourteen, which is named to honor Jane and Ryan Bicknell. The chapter will be making a $10,000 gift to the fund as a result of this event.”
Coach Les Miles autographs a Tiger helmet for Richard Biernacki.
Photos by Johnny Gordon
ON THE WEB www.lsucaddobossier.com
Nona Dailey, Kathy Smith, Dr. Donald Smith, and Anne Higdon.
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LSU Alumni Association News
Chapter Events
Webster-Claiborne board members and LSU Alumni Association staffers gather for a photo.
Dr. Cliff Salmon and grandchildren Melanie and Madison.
Gary Haynes, president of the Webster-Claiborne chapter, with Cliff Vannoy and Tracy Jones. The check represents proceeds from the golf tournament, which will benefit the chapter’s scholarships.
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Golf Tourney, Fish Fry – WebsterClaiborne alumni and friends expected to hear from Coach Les Miles at the chapter’s annual golf tournament and fish fry, but when weather grounded him, former LSU and NFL fullback Jacob Hester “stepped up and did a great job,” writes Gary Haynes, chapter president. The event, held at the Pine Hills Country Club in Minden, La., was supported by title sponsor Richland State Bank and banquet sponsor Party Express Catering. Those recognized at the banquet were chapter scholarship recipients Sonia Pereira and Kyndal Morgan and Jeanne and the late Jim Branch, who received the Annie Laura Jacob Hester and Sarah Haynes. and J.C. Johnson Lifetime of Dedication and Support Award. Other event sponsors were Zach Goodman, D.D.S, and TG’s Garden and Gifts. Photos by Johnny Gordon
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LSU Alumni Association News
B.D. Dorroh and the Community Bank team prepare for the Taylor Golf Classic.
Chapter Events
Morning winners, from left, Joe Kohut, Ryan Matthews, Sean Brighton, and Mike Simon. Not pictured is David Logan Schroeder.
Taylor Golf Classic – More than 160 golfers took part in the DeSoto chapter’s 13th Annual LSU Alumni Dr. Don Taylor Golf Classic held at the Cypress Bend Golf Resort on July 11 and 12. The Audubon Golf Trail competition featured an Early Bird Tourney on Friday and morning and afternoon flights on Saturday. Golfers and guests were treated to a Friday night reception featuring local cuisine, LSU merchandise and apparel for sale, and local favorite cuisine. Both events concluded with lively, competitive sessions of Karaoke. The July 2015 event, which will be held at Cypress Bend, is being restructured and rebranded by chapter leaders John Russell and Dudley Glenn. For information, contact Gil Rew at gillisrew@aol.com. Photos by Johnny Gordon
ON THE WEB www.desotolsu.org
The Wallace Clan – Mac and Ann Wallace, of Houston, joined visiting family members at the tailgate party preceding the LSU vs. Wisconsin game at NRG Stadium.
Left to right, bottom row, Ben Wallace, Stephie Kaelbli, Anne Wallace, Mary Wallace McMullen, and Amanda Stewart; middle, William Wallace McMullen, Virginia McMullen, Karen Wallace, Gia Wallace, Bill Wallace, and Wynn McMullen; top, Michael McMullen, Joey Wilson, Glynn Wallace, Mac Wallace, and Bruce Wallace.
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LSU Alumni Association News
Houston Tailgate a Huge Success
By Ashley Wright
From left, Kevin Guillory, Megan Verdun, Sally Stiel, Chad Vicknair, Cody Vicknair, and Vic Vicknair.
From left, Alex Lago, Ray Wright, Ashley Wright, Breylyn Henry, and Joshua Henry.
With the Tigers coming to Houston for the season opener against Wisconsin, we had to throw THE biggest party ever to celebrate the start of the 2014 season. Needless to say, it was a great success! More than 4,000 tickets to the Official LSU Houston Tailgate were sold by deadline, and more than 1,500 more were sold at the door. We were overwhelmed by the number of Tigers who traveled from near and far to celebrate with and support us. Bengals and Bandits came from Baton Rouge to sell LSU merchandise exclusively to our tailgate attendees – and donated the awesome gameday shirts so that 100 percent of the proceeds went to LSU Houston. Thanks, guys! We were treated to a special performance from the Golden Band from Tigerland and the Better Than Ezra Foundation provided us with an excellent show. Not only was this event so much fun – capped with a Tigers’ win, of course – but we raised a lot of money for LSU. Thanks to all for supporting LSU Houston; dollars from every ticket purchased go to support our mission and giving back to the University. Also, a huge thank you to our generous sponsors: Pacific Drilling, MNS Management and Network Services, Prevot Design Services, LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors, Beth Wolf Realtors, KPS Cardiovascular Surgery, Law Offices of Ossie Brown, Victorian Finance, Bengals and Bandits, Bud Light, 94.5 The Buzz, M&K CPAs, and CBS Sports Radio 650 Houston. ON THE WEB www.lsuhouston.com
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LSU Alumni Association News
Cliff Vannoy Friendraising vs. Fundraising
By Ed Cullen Photos by Johnny Gordon
New LSU Alumnni Association President Cliff Vannoy.
“We’re more in the friendraising business than fundraising. With us, all you have to do is love LSU.”
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Cliff Vannoy, 6 foot 5, 195 pounds, moved through the first floor, public rooms of The Cook Hotel with the familiarity of the hotel’s general manager which, as executive vice president of the LSU Alumni Association, he once was. The 58-year-old Vannoy, the Association’s new president and CEO, stood out in his LSU gameday shirt, belt, and slacks. Fans staying at the hotel, breakfasting, or meeting friends were drawn to him. One after another, they approached, introduced themselves, and told Vannoy where they were from. In this village of purple and gold, the pied piper presided over a roll call of Louisiana. That evening, LSU would meet Mississippi State on the other side of the 650 acres that sprawl from Hill Farm off Lakeshore Drive to Tiger Stadium on Nicholson Drive. The Tigers’ first test since Wisconsin had already worn thin as a topic of conversation. The fans were ready for the game to begin, but it wasn’t the game they talked about as they introduced or re-introduced themselves to Vannoy. They told Vannoy they were sorry about the way he’d come early to his new job as “top guy” of the Association. Then, quickly, they added that they were with him and that things would be okay. Things were already okay, Vannoy said in an interview. The scandal that promoted him “brought hundreds of telephone calls and emails, notes, cards. ‘We hate the circumstances, but we’re behind the Association and you,’” said Vannoy, expressing what he said was the sentiment of alumni he’d heard from. “And many sent checks with the notes. Our online contributions are, actually, up.” The highly publicized scandal was the fallout from a lawsuit filed on Aug. 1 by former employee Kay Heath against Roberts and the Association, alleging that Roberts went back on an agreement to issue her lifetime monthly payments after she was asked to resign her job because of an alleged sexual relationship with Roberts, then president and CEO of the organization. Heath dropped
the Association from her lawsuit when Roberts resigned two weeks later, on Aug. 14. The lawsuit against Roberts was dismissed on Oct. 20. Vannoy was named president and CEO on Aug. 22. Before the lawsuit, a five-year succession plan was in effect that had Vannoy succeeding Roberts upon Roberts’ retirement, explained Vannoy, who worked with Roberts for about thirty years. “We were in the fifth year,” Vannoy said. There had, however, been no date set for a Roberts’ retirement party, he added. “The appointment of Cliff Vannoy to the presidency was not a rash decision,” said Gil Rew, chair of the Association’s national board of directors. “An exit strategy had been in place for five years, and it was the board’s decision to follow that succession plan. Cliff ’s longevity and institutional knowledge, a result of thirty-three years of service to LSU, are assets that benefit the Association and the University.” Did Vannoy ever think he might not be the person to follow Roberts? “I never had that thought – ever,” Vannoy said. “When Dr. Roberts retired, we had a qualified staff ready to take over, a staff of fifty-one, which includes the hotel, conference center, and museum, plus a 24/7/365 maintenance staff and landscape crew.” As thankful as the Association is for the support of alumni in the wake of Roberts’ departure, the LSU Alumni Association’s role has never been major fundraising, Vannoy said. That’s the job, he said, of the Tiger Athletic Foundation and the LSU Foundation. “The LSU Foundation is where the big money is,” he said. The Association’s enterprises and fundraising will generate revenues of $9.6 million this year, Vannoy said. Almost 80 percent of that money will be self-generated, mainly money from hotel and conference center operations. A little more than 20 percent will come from contributions and donations to professorships, scholarships, and academic programs supported by the Association, he said.
The LSU Alumni Association’s new head, Cliff Vannoy, says the Association is more a friendraiser than a fundraiser. Fundraising is required, however, for alumni to show the love. Receiving no money from the state or the University, the Association funds forty-six professorships, including the prestigious Alumni Professorship; 345 scholarships, among them the Chancellor’s Alumni Scholarship awarded to the top ten entering freshmen; and faculty and teaching awards, the newest being the “Rising Faculty Research Award,” a $5,000 stipend awarded to ten faculty members at the rank of assistant professor. Scholarships supplement the state’s approximately 4,000 LSU Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) awards made to new students in memory of alumnus Patrick F. Taylor.
In 2012, Roberts made $319,000 in salary and benefits that the Association reported to the IRS, according to a story in NOLA.com/ . Vannoy makes $155,000. Will his salary be increased to what Roberts was making? “I don’t know if we’re going to get one (a raise) or not,” Vannoy said. Vannoy got the genes for his steeple chaser’s body from his father. “My dad was tall and thin, though I do swim at the Rec Center every day.” Born in Washington State, the late Lt. Cdr. Rex Vannoy enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he’d later advance to officer and become a pilot. “He went from flying World War II prop planes to ones that flew at Mach 4,” Vannoy said of his dad. Cliff Vannoy was born in Coronado, Calif. “We lived all over the United States. Dad retired in 1971 in Kingsville, Texas, as executive officer of a training squadron.” Rex and Peggy Vannoy moved the family to Gulf Breeze, Fla., where they became teachers and Cliff went to high school. He graduated from the University of West Florida in 1979. He had his real estate license before finishing college and worked in commercial development until he was 24. He went to work for the then-LSU Alumni Federation in September 1981 as the federation’s first corporate fundraiser. “There was no corporate fundraising before that,” he said. “The state had supported LSU to that point.”
When the state struggled in the oil bust of the 1980s, LSU struggled, too. “There wasn’t a tradition of giving big money to LSU,” Vannoy said. That changed with the fundraising efforts of the LSU Foundation and the Tiger Athletic Foundation. The Association stuck to what Vannoy calls “friendraising.” There are 135 volunteer LSU alumni chapters around the United States and overseas. “We try to keep them close to LSU,” he said. “Young graduates may give only $50 to $100 in their early working years.” The Association teams with TAF and the LSU Foundation to promote the annual Tiger Tour where advance teams go to cities to work with volunteers to hire halls, decorate, set up video, find speakers, and sell tickets. The three University organizations also team up to host tailgate parties at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for alumni at each home game. “We get no state funds and no University funds,” Vannoy said. “We’re more in the friendraising business than fundraising. With us, all you have to do is love LSU.” Vannoy is married to Linda Powell Vannoy, a registered dietician with her own business. They have a son, Riley, 25, and a daughter, Allison, 24.
Before the Mississippi State Cliff Vannoy visited with Tiger faithful at The Cook Hotel and the Andonie Sports Museum. Here he chats with from left, Marilyn and Lloyd Daniel, Jimmy Elkins, and Dave McCarty.
Cliff Vannoy with son Riley, daughter Allison, and wife Linda.
Ed Cullen, an LSU journalism graduate, is author of Letter in a Woodpile, a collection of his essays for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He’s retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.”
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CHAPTER LEADERSHIP
SUMMIT MORE CHOICES BETTER AVENUES BY JOHN GRUBB PHOTOS BY JOHNNY GORDON
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TIGER FAITHFUL WORLDWIDE REQUESTED AND THEIR LSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION RESPONDED WITH NEW OPTIONS AND CHOICES FOR MEMBERSHIP AS PRESENTED AT THE 2014 CHAPTER LEADERSHIP SUMMIT.
ON THE COVER Chapter leaders from across the country took part in the 2014 Chapter Leadership Summit. Pictured are, left to right, first row, Karen Peace, Caddo/ Bossier Parish; Cherie Many, Las Vegas; Bruce Emery, Dallas; Lisa Bunch, Houston; Jennifer Allen and Will Washington, Austin; Cooper Knecht, Caddo/Bossier Parish; Lori McLane and John McLane, Fort Walton Beach; second row, Carolyn Streva, Las Vegas; Susie Rupert, Austin; Emily Blanchard, Houston; Jeremy Jones, Dallas; Debra Pauli, Atlanta; Wesley Skelton, Houston; Bill Oglesby, Asheville; Debi West, Orlando; and Rachel Emanuel, A.P. Tureaud; third row, Tracee McElvogue, Phoenix; Rick Rupert, Austin; Christiana Johns and Ashley Wright, Houston; Markie Russell, Central Virginia; Julie Klibert, Houston; Win Hunt, Dick Hunt, and Randalle Moore, Asheville; Paul West, Orlando; Sarah Clayton, Greater Baton Rouge; and Sharon Owens, Austin; fourth row, Vic Vicknair and Tip Jenny, Houston; Allison Kullenberg, Dallas; Jordan Russell and John Russell, DeSoto Parish; John Spurny, Pensacola; Tyler Curry and Michelle Beecher, Tarrant County; Stephen Martinez, Washington, D.C.; Jim Decker, Knoxville; Dudley Glenn, DeSoto Parish; Peggy Arnold, Pensacola; and Amy Beecher, Tarrant County.
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135 CHAPTERS AND COUNTING
Michelle Beecher, Amy Beecher, and Tyler Curry.
W
JOINT MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM
Julie Klibert, Emily Blanchard, Vic Vicknair, Tip Jenny, Lisa Bunch, Ashley Wright, and Christiana Johns.
ith the number of alumni chapters at 135 and growing, Association staffers have been working with chapter leaders to develop closer ties and new membership options to not only grow membership but also provide additional donation revenue to scholarships and other chapter-supported programs. More than fifty volunteers from across the country took part in the summit held at The Cook Hotel on Sept. 26-27, the weekend of the New Mexico State game. The goal was to show chapter leaders that the alumni staff is available to assist them in making their chapters the best they can be, according to Jason Ramezan, vice president for development. “With staff working and communicating with chapter leaders through conference calls and by attending board meetings, view-ins, and other activities, our chapters will see a new and improved Association – one that will be the envy of alumni associations across the country,” said Ramezan. The event represented a major shift in the way the program has been run for the past several years. Previously held in the spring, the choice to move the summit to a football game weekend was easy – and hard. By providing access to a game in Death Valley, the Association added incentive for chapter leaders to make the trip to Baton Rouge – that was the easy part. Doing so at the Cook Hotel on a game day was hard
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SCHOLARSHIPS
because of the scarcity of rooms. The balancing factor was choosing a nonconference game. “The atmosphere of the hotel on game day is exactly the right place to energize and motivate our volunteers,” said Association President and CEO Cliff Vannoy. According to participants, it was a fantastic choice. “We felt a lot of love coming from you guys this past weekend. Things like this make all the chapter leaders feel very energized and focused on the task at hand to raise money so that future generations can enjoy the same thing that we enjoyed as students at LSU,” wrote Dr. Cherie Many, of the Las Vegas chapter. And, Susie Rupert, Austin chapter vice president, wrote, “Jason and team did a phenomenal job with the summit. It was a pleasure to attend – they made everyone feel so welcomed and special, and I look forward to attending next year and making it a tradition.” The Association’s future looks good because of alumni chapters, Vannoy said. “Chapters are our heart and soul. None of the Association’s major accomplishments could be realized without the support of these incredible volunteers. Dozens of professorships and scholarships are funded through the events sponsored by our chapters, and these alumni carry Tiger spirit around the world,” said Vannoy.
FINANCIALS
STUDENT RECRUITING, ATHLETIC COMPLIANCE, & SPONSORSHIPS
Allison Kullenberg, Bruce Emery, and Jeremy Jones.
Rick Rupert, Susie Rupert, Will Washington, Jennifer Allen, and Sharon Owens.
WE CHALLENGED OUR LEADERS TO PROMOTE THE JOINT MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM IN WHICH ALUMNI CAN JOIN BOTH A LOCAL CHAPTER AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION.
Those attending were treated to a weekend of fun, fellowship, food, football – and a good dose of work. Activities included a tour of Tiger Stadium, a Friday evening visit to L’Auberge Casino for dinner and entertainment, a Louisiana luncheon, a tailgate party, and “Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium.” During workshop sessions, a wide variety of topics was discussed including the joint membership program, scholarships, financials, the use of social media, student recruiting, athletic compliance, and sponsorships. “We challenged our leaders to promote the joint membership program in which alumni can join both a local chapter and the national association,” said Ramezan. “We’ve made some
big changes, and we offer more choices and better avenues to get involved.” Chapter leaders agree the future is bright. “I believe that the organization – including chapters – made a huge move forward this weekend on legacy scholarships, recruiting cooperation with admissions, joint membership program mechanics, and chapter-goal focus,” wrote Bruce Emery, president of LSU Dallas Chapter Sales & Business Development. “Relationships were strengthened and new ones started during our sessions and networking. It was also clear to me that your office has great rapport with and receives respect from many departments across campus – certainly with TAF (Tiger Athletic Foundatation).”
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LSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAPTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES & THE GLOBE SEATTLE
PORTLAND
OMAHA
SACRAMENTO SAN FRANCISCO DENVER
LAS VEGAS HAWAII EASTERN OKLAHOMA/TULSA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA/LOS ANGELES
WEBSTER/CLAIBORNE PARISHES
CADDO/BOSSIER PARISHES
SAN DIEGO
PHOENIX
ALBUQUERQUE
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
TARRANT COUNTY
LINCOLN PARISH DESOTO PARISH
DALLAS
OUACHITA PARISH
RED RIVER PARISH
AUSTIN MISS-LOU (CATAHOULA, CONCORDIA, TENSAS)
SABINE PARISH
WINN PARISH SAN ANTONIO
NATCHITOCHES PARISH
AVOYELLES PARISH WASHINGTON PARISH
RAPIDES PARISH
EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH
LAFAYETTE
CORPUS CHRISTI
TANGIPAHOA PARISH
TAMMANY TIGERS
LIVINGSTON PARISH
GREATER NEW ORLEANS
IBERIA PARISH SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
RIVER PARISHES ST. BERNARD PARISH
ST. MARY PARISH TERREBONNE PARISH
LAFOURCHE PARISH PLAQUEMINES PARISH
MAINE
MINNEAPOLIS/ ST. PAUL
BOSTON MILWAUKEE
GRAND RAPIDS NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
CHICAGO
DETROIT
CEDAR RAPIDS
PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURGH KOKOMO/INDIANAPOLIS
DES MOINES
BALTIMORE WASHINGTON D.C.
ST. LOUIS LEXINGTON/LOUISVILLE
RICHMOND KANSAS CITY
RALEIGH
KNOXVILLE ASHEVILLE
NASHVILLE
CHATTANOOGA
CHARLOTTE
WILMINGTON
MEMPHIS ATLANTA
LITTLE ROCK
GREENVILLE
CHARLESTON
COLUMBUS
Academic Chapters AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS A.P. TUREAUD BLACK ALUMNI CHAPTER CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT GOLDEN GIRL CHAPTER MBAA CHAPTERS
BIRMINGHAM TEXARKANA
International Chapters
JACKSON
TYLER HOUSTON/ NORTH HOUSTON
BEAUMONT
NATCHEZ
HATTIESBURG
GULFPORT/BILOXI
MOBILE
BALDWIN COUNTY
JACKSONVILLE DESTIN/FORT WALTON
PENSACOLA
TALLAHASSEE
ORLANDO
TAMPA BAY MIAMI
CHINA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GERMANY HONDURAS JAPAN KOREA MEXICO NORWAY PANAMA PUERTO RICO SINGAPORE VENEZUELA
If you live near an alumni chapter anywhere in the world, join today at WWW.LSUALUMNI.ORG. If you do not see a chapter listed in your area and would like to start one, please contact BJ Bellow at bradley@lsualumni.org.
T H E R E ’S
SOMETHING SPECIAL A B O UT
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS By B ren d a Ma co n P h o tos B y E d d y Pe re z / L S U Un i v e rs i t y Re l a t i o n s
W
hether it’s an illuminated manuscript,
a fifteenth-century text from the earliest days of printing, or historical photographs of the LSU campus, the LSU Libraries’ division of Special Collections has something that is sure to fascinate everyone. In addition to being the premier collection of Louisiana materials in the world, there are surprises – like the Bowlus Comic Book Collection, the Delsarte Papers, and the Gladney Chess Collection – that add to
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AS A TEACHING TOOL Assistant Professor Matt Savage of the College of Art & Design shares some of the treasures of the LSU Libraries Special Collections with his art history class. Students examined illuminated manuscripts and centuries-old texts, taking this beautiful art form out of the textbook and into the real world for them.
the eclectic and diverse nature of the library.
ESSICA LACHER-FELDMAN walked into this realm of the unusual in June 2013 as its new head of Special Collections with a fresh vision for maintaining and growing Special Collections and its truly awe-inspiring contents. Drawing on her own background of being inspired by books and rare materials, she hopes LSU’s collections will inspire others today, as well as future generations, whether their interests are academic, personal, or creative. Lacher-Feldman arrived at LSU with a ready-made love for Louisiana and its culture. Her love for anything French led to her undergraduate degree in French studies and history from the University of Albany in her native state of New York. Even while she was pursuing that portion of her education, she was discovering yet another love: historical manuscripts, rare books, and archives. As an undergraduate, she worked at the New York State Museum, and she became intrigued and enthralled by the materials with which she worked. This new love, in turn, became the focus of her graduate education in history and library science with a concentration in archival studies. “What you know and love informs what you do,” she explained. “I was deeply interested in history; French language, culture, and literature; art – and I had a varied background. Working in archives allows me to bring those interests together. It was a natural step forward. When I have the opportunity to talk to students about careers in archives and special collections, I emphasize the thrill of being about to bring all of those skills and interests to the profession. For me, it is a passion.”
TOP Letters that William Tecumseh Sherman wrote while he was the superintendent of the Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana near Pineville, Louisiana, are part of the LSU Libraries Special Collections. These letters reveal that students then were much like students today, generally good people but sometimes getting into trouble. In one of these letters, Sherman supports his young charges against accusations that one of them entered into an establishment and drank liquor. BOTTOM The earliest photograph in the Special Collections is this daguerreotype of Jefferson Davis’ then-fiancée and later wife Varina Banks Howell.
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THE ROAD TO LSU She made a slight detour on her way to LSU, serving for thirteen years first as public and outreach services coordinator, then as the curator of rare books and special collections at the University of Alabama. While she was there, she also served as the project manager for Publishers’ Bindings Online, 1815-1930: The Art of Books, a multi-year, Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership grant-funded project. In that capacity, she developed a rapport with LSU librarian Elaine Smyth, who most recently served as the interim dean of LSU Libraries, as they worked together to include a selection of books from Hill Memorial Library in that project. In the 1990s, long before she found herself in Louisiana, Lacher-Feldman and her husband took a road trip to Louisiana, spending time in New Orleans, then travelling through Acadiana, soaking up the culture and history of South Louisiana. This trip solidified her fascination with Louisiana culture and engendered a desire to live and work here. Later, this trip helped to put her new position in perspective, giving her an edge on what she describes as the “massive learning curve” as she adjusted to a large and dynamic special collections library with miles of holdings and a deep and rich history. This is especially so in Louisiana, a place that is like no other. On this trip, she first came into contact with the cultural heritage that is reflected in some of the LSU collections, like the E. A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection – which includes the elephant folio edition of John James Audubon’s and an archive of original pencil drawings, some in Audubon’s own hand – and the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collection – which includes more than 50,000 volumes of materials on Louisiana, some that date to the seventeenth century.
In addition, the division of Special Collections includes the holdings from the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History, a repository for a wealth of audio archives that features Louisianans from all walks of life, including recordings by some of the first African Americans to graduate from LSU. The stories that interviewees tell of historical events and eras document and illuminate the times in ways that bring those periods to life. The center’s ongoing mission to collect the voices and stories of anyone with a tale to tell is a vital element in LSU Libraries as a whole, and especially to Special Collections. These oral histories are used by scholars and students on campus and all over the world. Lacher-Feldman cites these major areas, as well as the many others in her division, as integral components of her unit’s strengths: social history; life and culture; and natural history and the history of the book. She recognizes that these strengths have the capability of opening up a world of educational and cultural opportunities for everyone in the state, and that is Lacher-Feldman’s first goal. Her secondary goals are related to this primary objective. As the division continues to document the heritage of Louisiana and the Lower Mississippi Valley and to support the teaching and research endeavors at LSU, the need for additional and appropriate space is essential. Of course, the age of many of the materials requires special handling and special facilities, which makes expansion and maintenance both complicated and expensive. She is looking at creative ways to address these issues and to develop a funding base for future needs.
Hill Memorial Library is a unique and priceless cultural memory institution in its own right.
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EXPANSION AND GROWTH
Special Collections has the capability of opening up a world of educational and cultural opportunities for everyone in the state.
LEFT The gold paint still glimmers on the pages of this ancient manuscript that is part of the LSU Libraries Special Collections. RIGHT The LSU Libraries Special Collections also contains some unusual and rare materials, including a large collection of books on chess and some rare and first edition comic books. This first edition of Fantastic Four from November 1961, with artwork by Jack Kirby, is worth nearly $300,000.
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Despite the continuous growth of Special Collections, Lacher-Feldman is always looking toward new expansion and growth. “We constantly seek out opportunities to document and preserve materials relating to Louisiana culture including the large Vietnamese community and recent immigrants of Hispanic and Latino descent,” she explained by way of example. She is also looking for new and innovative ways to use materials, citing new digital humanities projects and the ongoing work to digitize their vast collection of Louisiana newspapers and work with scholars and students to find new ways to use these collections in their research. Hill Memorial Library is a place for serious scholarship, as well as for many opportunities to interact with the collections and to learn from them in new ways. One way is to present the collections through exhibitions and public programming. LacherFeldman says that the curatorial work behind exhibitions and the excitement generated from all kinds of public programming help to put the collections in context, something she sees as “spontaneous learning” for students and visitors. Through its work in scholarship, exhibitions, and public programming opportunities, Special Collections truly is the laboratory of the humanities and social sciences at LSU. The collections enable groundbreaking research and give
undergraduates the opportunity to work with primary source material, which is now a particular focus in the curriculum and LSU’s Quality Enhancement Program (QEP). Scholarly collaboration in exhibition development with students and faculty, as well as lectures, readings, and other events, provide venues and showcases for the work that is happening on campus. Members of the community, including alumni, are always welcome. “We are also exploring creative new ways to generate dynamic digital exhibitions to share with the world. It is important to give these incredible stories new life long after exhibits leave the walls and cases in our library so that we can bring them to as many people as possible,” she mused. “The work that we do and the collections we hold will ignite the spark of curiosity for an undergraduate student that will fuel a lifetime passion. An infinite number of books, articles, dissertations, theses, and creative works come from this library. We want to inspire our users now and in the future. Hill Memorial Library is a unique and priceless cultural institution. Though we are not a museum, we should be thought of alongside museums, orchestras, and other cultural institutions. It holds a very high place in increasing the cultural capital of our region and of the state of Louisiana, the Southern United States, and beyond. And it is a key destination on any visit to the LSU campus.”
Brenda Macon is a writer/editor in the LSU Office of Communications & University Relations and former editor of Kaleidoscope, the magazine of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences. ON THE WEB http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/
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Noteworthy
Around
CAMPUS
“Fred” Aghazadeh
Linda Bonnin
Jonathan Earle
Fereydoun ‘Fred’ Aghazadeh, the Georgia Gulf Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, received the IIE Fellow Award at the Institute of Industrial Engineering (IIE) annual conference. The award recognizes outstanding leaders of the profession who have made significant, nationally recognized contributions to industrial engineering. A fellow is the highest classification of IIE membership. Only ten of the approximately 15,000 IIE members receive the award annually.
Linda Bonnin has been named vice president for strategic communications, reporting directly to President and Chancellor F. King Alexander. Bonnin comes to LSU from the University of Memphis, where she has worked since 1997. She was named vice president for communications, public relations and marketing at the University of Memphis in 2012 after serving as its associate vice president for twelve years. She is a graduate of Harding University.
Andrew Maas
Jeff Moulton
Jonathan Earle is the new dean of the Honors College. Earle was previously the director of the University Honors Program at the University of Kansas and has also served as associate director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. He received his bachelor’s degree at Columbia University in 1990 and his master’s degree in 1992 and Ph.D. in 1996, both from Princeton University. In addition to his leadership of the Honors Program at Kansas, Earle served as associate director and interim director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, which contains the nation’s second largest collection of Congressional papers and memorabilia. Andrew Maas was named assistant vice chancellor for research and technology transfer director. In the position he serves as director of the Office of Intellectual Property, Commercialization & Development. Maas holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Brigham Young University and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively, a J.D. from the Akron School of Law, and an L.L.M with a focus on intellectual property. A licensed attorney and professional engineer, he is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Jeff Moulton has been named the first director of the LSU Transformational Technology and Cyber Research Center (TTCRC), which will pursue major federal and commercial research projects in applied technology fields. Moulton was formerly director of program development for the Georgia Tech Research Institute. The center will collaborate with the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute and other LSU research entities. In U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 edition of Best Colleges, LSU is ranked in the top tier for “Best National Universities” and is ranked 63rd overall among public universities. The University’s ranking moved up to 129 overall from 135 in the previous rankings and is tied with five other schools: Arizona State University, Ohio University, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, and University of Utah. LSU’s public university rankings improved to 63 overall from 68 in the previous rankings. LSU also appeared on U.S. News & World Report’s list of “A-Plus Schools for B Students,” and students from all backgrounds are being more successful than ever before at LSU, with the groundbreaking class of 2014 graduating more African-American, Hispanic, and female students than ever before.
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Around Campus
In Focus BMLI Fellows – The eight secondyear Black Male Leadership Initiative (BMLI) Fellows are representative of the twenty-five students taking part in the self-selected program serving LSU undergraduate males of color. Fellows participate in academic and professional workshops that provide opportunities in applying for nationally competitive internships and research programs.
Second-year BMLI Fellows, from left, Jarvis Flowers, Jordan Hicks, Anthony Jenkins, Dominique McShan, Zackari Murphy, Isaiah Alexander, Sidney Brinson, and Nolan Knight.
Olinde Career Center Director Mary Feduccia, Student Union Executive Director Margo Carrol, Anne Marie Marmande, Dr. Henry Olinde, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Stephen Moret, President and Chancellor F. King Alexander, Student Life & Enrollment Vice Chancellor Kurt Keppler, Student Government President Clay Tufts, and Jamie Segar.
Ribbon Cutting – LSU and state officials cut the ribbon on the Olinde Career Center in the Student Union on Sept. 2 officially bringing together LSU’s career services operations in one convenient, central location on campus. Center Director Mary Feduccia presided over the ceremony, and remarks were given by President and Chancellor F. King Alexander, Student Life & Enrollment Vice Chancellor Kurt Keppler, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Stephen Moret, and LSU Student Body President Clay Tufts. Donors and corporate partners who helped make the project a reality were recognized, and special thanks was given to the Olinde family for their support. Visit http://students.lsu.edu/careercenter. Photo by Eddy Perez
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TIGER TRIVIA 1. When were the LSU Alumni Association’s Top 100 Scholarships introduced? 1926 1958 1968 1992 2. When were the Alumni Association’s Leadership Scholarships introduced and who was eligible to receive them? 1982, students with proven records 1992, faculty who are leaders of outstanding leadership in student in the Faculty Senate organizations and community activities 2000, students who are leaders 2010, faculty who are leaders in athletics in research 3. Who was the first recipient of the Alumnus of the Year Award? Troy H. Middleton Roy J. Young Billy Cannon Lodwrick Cook
Pigskin Preview – Members of the University College Advisory Board heard from Coach Les Miles at the Annual Meeting and Pigskin Preview on Aug. 22. Miles gave the board an overview of the 2014 football season at the Football Operations Building following the group’s tour of the new School of Nutrition and Food Sciences Building. Board members on hand for this year’s event were Chairman Norman Deumite and members Tim Abendroth, Robert D. Bond, Greg Bowser, Stephen C. Carleton, Mimi Close, J. Charles Dabadie III, John L. Daniel, Jr., Lonnie J. Dore, Gregory D. Inman, Ron Liuzza, Mahlon P. Poche, Jr., Gerard “Rock” Rockenbaugh, Becky T. Rogers, Beverly Brooks Thompson, Paul Tweedy, and honorary member Carolyn Collins. Photo by University College
5. How was construction of Alumni Memorial Hall funded? By subscriptions from alumni A special severance tax on oil and gas An anonymous donation A student fee 6. Which building on the present campus uses design elements from Alumni Memorial Hall? Thomas Boyd Hall Hill Memorial Library The Journalism Building Tiger Stadium 7. When did the Lod Cook Alumni Center open? 1994 2000 2003 2007 8. How many alumni and former students served during World War II? Approximately 3000 Approximately 4000 Approximately 5500 Approximately 6500 9. Which building on campus was proposed as a memorial to alumni who lost their lives in World War II? Tiger Stadium The Gym-Armory The Military Science Building Hill Memorial Library 10. Which building was named for the only alumna to lose her life during World War II? Annie Boyd Hall Germaine Laville Hall Lizzie McVoy Hall Joan Miller Hall 11. When did LSU alumni living in Cuba form a chapter? 1898 1906 1948 1959 12. Who was the first woman to become president of the Alumni Association? Ruth Miller Elaine Abell Frances Greer Juliet Dougherty Tiger Trivia is compiled by Barry Cowan, assistant archivist, Hill Memorial Library. Answers: 1c, 2:a, 3:b, 4:d, 5:a, 6:c, 7:a, 8:d, 9:a, 10:b, 11:c, 12:d
University College Advisory Board Chair Norman Deumite and board member Mimi Close.
4. What was the intended purpose of Alumni Memorial Hall on the downtown campus? A student union A meeting hall A classroom building A library
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Around Campus
In Focus
The Tiger Marching Band and Golden Girls perform at Fall Fest.
Welcome To, Welcome Back – One of the most anticipated events of the fall semester took place on Sept. 26 on the LSU Parade Ground where the annual Fall Fest celebration ignited and united Tiger spirit in more than 30,000 new and returning students, faculty, and staff. Those attending took part in myriad activities, enjoyed entertainment, and lined up for hamburgers, veggie burgers, and sausage dogs at one of the many food tents set up for the event. Photo by Eddy Perez
LSU Retirees – President and
From left, Retirees Club President Ken Paxton, Vice President Freddie Martin, President and Chancellor F. King Alexander, Secretary Donna Day, and Treasurer Don Franke.
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Chancellor F. King Alexander spoke to the LSU Faculty and Staff Retirees Club on Sept. 8 about the merits of LSU, noting that LSU students are workforce-ready upon graduation and are more adept at career changes later on. According to King, LSU is affordable, which means grads don’t face years of paying off debts like 75 percent of students nationwide, and the University has a high retention rate and a record number of women and minority graduates. Retirees meet on the second Monday of the month during the academic year. All LSU retirees and their spouses are invited to join. Contact lsu. faculty.staff.ret.club@gmail.com. Photo by Mark Claesgens
LSU Christmas Tree – A newly planted living LSU Christmas Tree was dedicated on Oct. 1 near Free Speech Circle. The 30-foot magnolia little gem tree, indigenous to Louisiana and the state flower, symbolizes the University’s commitment to celebrating the holidays in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. The annual lighting of the Christmas tree, begun in 1995, is one component of LSU Holiday Spectacular, an annual event celebrating traditions of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, as well as other major religious and cultural holidays that are not celebrated in December. The tree was acquired through the generosity of donors to the LSU Foundation’s Campus Beautification Fund, supported by proceeds from the LSU ornament. Photo by Eddy Perez
Pictured with Mike the Tiger are, from left, Will Lowe, Facility Services; Tammy Millican, Facility Services and Staff Senate; Clay Tufts, Student Body President; Jeff McLain, LSU Foundation; K.C. White, Dean of Students; Mary Wallace, Campus Life; Michelle Lowery, Campus Life; and Dennis Mitchell, Facility Services.
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Grad Fair
Around Campus
One-Stop Shopping for Graduation Needs By Danielle Kelley Photos by Johnny Gordon
Danielle Kelley signs up for membership in the LSU Alumni Association with staffers Margo Ardoin, left, and Emily Berniard.
“I’ve earned my stripes, and I’m about to earn a diploma. I know when I enter the alumni world excellence will be expected of me.”
Graduating in December – a semester early – has its ups and downs. I’m excited to get a head start in graduate school (fingers crossed – I’m waiting to be accepted!), but closing the chapter of my undergraduate career is bittersweet. The reality of my approaching graduation hit me when I got an e-mail about Grad Fair on Sept. 23-24, an event sponsored by the Office of Student Life & Enrollment. It was really happening! At Grad Fair, I ordered my graduation announcements and cap and gown. Counselors from LSU Graduate Danielle Kelley poses for her senior portrait by Candid Campus Photography. School answered questions about my application, and those in Financial Services told me how I could get a graduate assistantship upon beginning my studies in Graduate School. Candid Campus Photography offered free cap-and-gown portraits to any senior who attended Grad Fair. I even officially joined the LSU Alumni Association for just $15 a month, and received an autographed Patrick Peterson football jersey as a perk! As soon as I came home after Grad Fair, I tried on my purple cap and gown and looked in the mirror. I reflected on the past three years this University has given me. When I moved onto campus, I was just an eighteen-year-old girl. I didn’t know how to study, I didn’t know where the Quad was, and I sure didn’t know the words to the alma mater. I was eager to learn it all. Everything was new and exciting to me, and I couldn’t wait to see what LSU had in store. Now, as my graduation countdown ticks down, I see how much I’ve developed on this campus. I’ve not only gained a degree’s worth of knowledge, but I grew up. LSU turned me from a wide-eyed, overeager freshman girl to the woman I wanted to be. I am a confident, curious, and courageous woman, thanks to this university. I’ve earned my stripes, and I’m about to earn a diploma. I know when I enter the alumni world excellence will be expected of me. A lot is expected of all Tigers, and fulfilling that expectation will follow me for the rest of my life – in graduate school, in my career, and in my personal life. I am honored to fulfill that expectation. Today, I not only know how to study but also how to learn. I can walk the Quad blindfolded. Now, I burst the alma mater’s lyrics from my lungs at every football game. Even though I’m graduating early, I’ll always be a Tiger. “Our worth in life will be thy worth. We pray to keep it true. And may thy spirit live in us, forever LSU.” Danielle Kelley, a December 2014 Manship School of Mass Communication graduate, held a communications internship at the College of Engineering and was a Manship Ambassador. A contributing writer for LSU Alumni Magazine, she is planning to pursue an advanced degree in strategic communications through the LSU Graduate School.
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Buffalo Wild Wings
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Sharon Weltman
Focus on
FACULTY
Prof’s Enthusiasm for Victorian Literature Inspires Her Students By Rebecca Docter Photo by Johnny Gordon
William E. “Bud” Davis Alumni Professor Sharon Weltman.
“The University has cultivated me as a researcher and a teacher.”
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Sharon Weltman started teaching at LSU twenty-two years ago, even before many current students were born. She joined the faculty immediately after graduate school and credits the University with her success. “The University has cultivated me as a researcher and a teacher,” said Weltman, who earlier this year was designated the William E. “Bud” Davis Alumni Professor, an award that represents her passion for teaching. “To be an Alumni Professor puts me in very good company.” Weltman, a specialist in nineteenthcentury British literature and culture, was nominated for the award by English Professor Anna Nardo, and the nomination was supplemented by letters from former students. Weltman was able to read one of the letters after she received the professorship. According to Weltman, the student expressed appreciation not only for Weltman’s encouragement in the classroom but also for her encouragement in his personal life. With Weltman’s guidance, he wrote, he was able to come to terms with his sexuality and its effect on his career, and her advice about entering graduate school versus taking a teaching job in Mexico greatly influenced his career path. “I told him, ‘this is the time in your life when you can do that, so go do that now,’” Weltman explained. “He went to Mexico to teach, perfected his Spanish, and returned to the U.S. to attend law school. He did it all.” Similarly, Weltman considered many avenues before taking her job at the University. “I knew I wanted to be a teacher before I knew I wanted to be professor,” Weltman said. She majored in English and anthropology as an undergraduate but didn’t have any teacher training until she received a fellowship for a program
designed for prospective elementary and secondary education teachers. As part of the program, Weltman taught middle school English and discovered her love for teaching. She realized, though, that she needed more intellectual stimulation and began teaching English courses at a community college. It was at this point Weltman realized she wanted to teach at the college level. Intending to focus on an area in literature that was marketable, Weltman entered graduate school at Rutgers University. Advised by her department chair that simply finding something marketable wouldn’t work, she enrolled in classes that seemed interesting. “I kept taking courses with my favorite professor in grad school, who was a Victorianist,” Weltman said. She knew she’d made the right decision the day she looked through a box of childhood memorabilia. “When I was writing my dissertation on Victorian literature, I found my diaries that I’d written when I was thirteen years old,” she recalled. “I opened the very first page of the very first volume of a spiral notebook, and it said ‘I love Wuthering Heights,’ ‘I love ’ – Victorian literature all across the front page.” Weltman makes sure her students love these stories as much as she does. To keep students interested, she strives to choose reading material to hook students on Victorian literature. Because she is so engaged in the material, she believes, students will catch that enthusiasm and carry it into their own study of literature. “I’m more interested in hearing what they have to say about it [literature] than hearing what I have to say about it,” Weltman explained. Rebecca Docter is a junior in the Manship School of Mass Communication and entertainment editor for The Daily Reveille.
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LSU Basketball
Locker
ROOM
Confidence Elevates Bengal Five
By Bud Johnson Photos provided by LSU Sports Information
Guard Josh Gray
Forward Jarrell Martin
“[Hornsby] leads by example. He works extremely hard, and he can score in a lot of ways. He will be a great addition to our team.”
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There is a quiet confidence emanating from the current edition of the LSU men’s basketball team. No one has picked the Tigers to win the Southeastern Conference. Yet the assertive manner of Johnny Jones’ boys should be encouraging to Tiger fans. There are enough gifted players to create a positive atmosphere – and lofty goals as well. LSU has forwards Jarrell Martin (6-10) and Jordan Mickey (6-8), two talented starters returning from last season when the Tigers finished 2014 and made it to the second round of the NIT. Both made the All-SEC freshman team. Martin is an accurate, long-range shooter who handles the ball like a guard. Mickey’s shot-blocking and rebounding ability made him one of the SEC’s outstanding freshmen a year ago. They are not the only excellent Guard Keith Hornsby athletes in sight. Though likely destined for reserve roles this season, three freshmen – center Elbert Robinson (7-1), small forward Aaron Epps (6-9), and point guard Jalyn Patterson (6-0) – will be counted on for quality playing time. Robinson weighed over 300 pounds when he reported in June. He now weighs 265. The weight reduction should help to improve his stamina. He brings shot-blocking and rebounding to an LSU defense that needs improvement. Epps adds scoring from the wing, and Patterson provides playmaking and offense off the bench. This trio must develop quickly to furnish badly needed depth. Darcy Malone, a seven-foot center, is another backup player whose improvement would help solidify the Tigers. Much of the team’s confidence stems from the guard play of two newcomers and returning letterman Tim Quarterman, who can play three perimeter positions. In Keith Hornsby, a 6-4 transfer, and Josh Gray, a 6-1 point junior college guard with scoring skills, LSU may have its best backcourt tandem since 2009 when SEC Player of the Year Marcus Thornton and defensive stalwart Garrett Temple helped lead the Tigers to the SEC championship. Gray was the leading scorer in the junior college ranks last season with a 34.7 scoring average. He is not expected to match those figures with players like Martin, Mickey, and Hornsby in the lineup, but he is an exciting athlete who will challenge a defense in a variety of ways. Hornsby is a buoyant worker bee. He is a self-assured leader who exudes cool – and a handful to defend. Hornsby can score from outside, drive to the basket, and dish off to teammates with equal ease. He is a tireless defender as well. But it is his poise and his leadership ability that set him apart. He senses team play is just as important as ball possession and is quick to praise and point out this asset in others. Hornsby believes leadership ability is a team strength for the Tigers. “Jordan, Jarrell, me, Josh (Gray) and Tim Quarterman are the team leaders,” he says. “We have been in the gym a lot. We work hard. And we’re older. We are going to see that the younger players work hard, too.”
Hornsby came to LSU after two seasons at North Carolina-Asheville. He shot 92.5 percent from the free throw line, second best in Division I, as a sophomore and wanted to try his skills in a major conference. Coach Johnny Jones is one of his biggest fans. “I think he has a great knack for leading,” Jones says of Hornsby. “He leads by example. He works extremely hard, and he can score in a lot of ways. He will be a great addition to our team.” Hornsby is the son of singer and song writer Bruce Hornsby. When Bruce wrote “Levitate,” he probably did not have basketball in mind. But one verse seems written for his son, Keith. “Like a skater with the best of skates Confidence elevates Looking for an ecstatic state You are the master of your fate …” Hornsby can elevate alright. When he takes the ball to the rim, the confidence level of his teammates rises. He may well be the master of Johnny Jones’ fate this season. Bud Johnson, director of the Andonie Sports Museum, is a former LSU Sports Information director and author of The Perfect Season: LSU’s Magic Year – 1958.
Forward Jordan Mickey Guard Josh Gray
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NATION
1950s
Gerald L. Walter, Jr. (1958 BACH ENGR, 1962 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Litigation/Environmental.
1960s
W. Arthur Abercrombie Jr. (1966 BACH BUS, 1969 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Personal Injury Litigation/Defendants.
Degrees BACH MAST PHD SPEC DVM JD MD DDS
Bachelor’s Degree Master’s Degree Doctorate Specialist Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Juris Doctorate (LSU Law School) Medical Doctor (LSU School of Medicine) Doctor of Dental Science (LSU School of Dentistry)
Colleges/Schools AGR Agriculture A&D Art & Design H&SS Humanities & Social Sciences SCI Science BUS Business HS&E Human Sciences & Education ENGR Engineering M&DA Music & Dramatic Arts MCOM Mass Communication SCE School of the Coast & Environment SVM School of Veterinary Medicine SW Social Work
Jefferson Kirk Aiken (1963 BACH HS&E) has joined the board of directors of AllSpire Health Partners, a consortium of seven healthcare systems that includes twenty-five hospitals in the Northeast, which have formed an alliance to build expertise in population health management while achieving the benefits of scale to reduce healthcare costs. Aiken represents the Lehigh Valley Health Network in this venture and serves as vice chair of the board of trustees. Eugene R. Groves (1967 BACH H&SS, 1970 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation/Construction, Real Estate, and Trusts & Estates. J. Clayton Johnson (1965 BACH SCI, 1969 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named Baton Rouge Oil and Gas Lawyer of the Year in the 2015 edition of Best
W. Shelby McKenzie (1964 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Insurance Law.
Cynthia Whitty (1969 BACH M&DA), a French horn musician, performed with the D-Day 70 Memorial Wind Band in Normandy American Cemetery in France on June 6, the seventieth anniversary of the Allied Forces’ D-Day invasion. The invited performers were led by Col. Arnald Gabriel, conductor emeritus of the U.S. Air Force Band and a member of the U.S. Army 29th Infantry Division, which fought in the battle. They also performed in concert on June 4 in Paris. Whitty and her husband, Frank, live in Houston, where she performs with the Fort Bend Symphony orchestra, the Houston Symphonic Band, and the Houston Concert Band. James L. Wittliff (1963 MAST SCI, 1963 MD), of Louisville, Ky., received the Morton K. Schwartz Award for Significant Contributions in Cancer Research Diagnostics, from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). The award is named for an AACC president who did noteworthy work in this field. An investigator, inventor, and educator, Wittliff is director of the Institute for Molecular Diversity and Drug Design and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Louisville. His research team pioneered methods for purifying steroid hormone receptor proteins to study their relationships to human breast cancer, and Wittliff was among the first investigators to discover that estrogen receptors are biomarkers of a patient’s risk of recurrence and likely respond to hormone therapy. He helped establish tamoxifen as a treatment for breast cancer and developed the first tissue-based diagnostic kits for breast
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44 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
cancer to receive Food and Drug Administration approval. His work on the genomics of human breast cancer using laser capture microdissection led to the development of a tumor marker database and biorepository.
1970s
Tom Bartkiewicz (1977 BACH BUS) has been named the economic correspondent for the influential automobile industry website magazine Autoextremist. com. Founder Peter De Lorenzo, who grew up in an auto industry family and whose father was executive vice president of public relations for General Motors from 1957 to 1979, praised Bartkiewicz for his “extensive knowledge of
automobiles and the automobile industry and his unorthodox economic views.� David Cassidy (1972 BACH H&SS, 1975 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of in the areas of Litigation & Controversy/Tax and Tax Law. Robert L. Coco (1979 BACH ENGR, 1982 MAST ENGR, 1988 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Environmental Law & Litigation/Environmental.
Vicki M. Crochet (1977 BACH H&SS, 1980 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Employment Law/Individuals, Employment Law/Management, and Labor Law Management. Nancy C. Dougherty (1974 H&SS, 1979 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Education Law.
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James L. Ellis (1971 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Energy Law. Arthur Favre (1972 BACH H&SS) received a Delta Tau Delta Alumni Achievement Award in July, recognizing achievements that have brought honor and prestige to the fraternity. Favre is the owner and operator of Baton Rouge-based Performance Contractors, Inc., a $1.2 billion general industrial services company employing more than 7,500 workers. In 2014, Engineering News magazine ranked the company number 48 among the Top 400 Contractors, number 123 in the Power Category, and number 17 in the Petroleum Category. As an undergraduate, Favre was pledge class president, recruitment chair, and vice president of the Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Delta Tau Delta. He served as chapter adviser from 1975-1979 and received the Sam Semple Award for Outstanding Chapter Alumnus in 1983. Favre was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 2011.
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Murphy Foster (1979 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of in the areas of Construction Law, Labor Law Management, and Litigation/Construction. Gregory D. Frost (1977 BACH H&SS, 1981 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Government Relations Practice. Paul M. Hebert, Jr. (1970 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Family Law. Michael Hubbell (1978 BACH BUS, 1980 MBA, 1987 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Real Estate law.
Eve B. Masinter (1979 BACH H&SS, 1982 JD), a partner at Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in New Orleans, was elected to the board of directors for the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), an invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. She was also named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Litigation/Labor & Employment and Personal Injury Litigation/Defendants. Van Mayhall, Jr. (1971 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of in the areas of Corporate Compliance Law, Corporate Law, and Government Relations Practice. Harry J. “Skip� Philips, Jr. (1972 BACH H&SS,1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Litigation/Banking & Finance.
J. Michael Parker (1972 BACH H&SS,1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Education Law. Claude F. Reynaud, Jr. (1974 BACH BUS), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation/Antitrust, and Litigation/ Intellectual Property.
Michael Scarborough (attended January 1974-December 1975) has been invited to show his work “Tea at Sunset� in the Balvenie 2014 Rare Craft Collection, an exhibition of original works of twenty American artisans. Racing legend Dario Franchitti chose the items for the exhibit, which will travel across the country this fall. For more information, visit michaelscarboroughdesign.com. See the Summer 2014 issue of LSU Alumni Magazine at http://issuu.com/lsualumni to read more about Scarborough. Jerry Shea (1972 BACH ENGR, 1974 MBA), of New Iberia, La., received a Delta Tau Delta Alumni Achievement Award in July, recognizing
achievements that have brought honor and prestige to the fraternity. Over the course of his career, Shea has served in leadership positions with various professional organizations, among them the Offshore Pipeline Contractors Association, the National Association of Pipe Coating Applicators (NAPCA), and the NAPCA Board of Directors. He was inducted into the NAPCA Hall of Fame in 2008 and the National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors Hall of Fame in 2011. He served on the LSU Board of Supervisors for six years and chaired the board for two years, is on the board of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, is a charter member of the Top 100 Tigers, and is a member of the LSU Foundation. He was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 2001. Shea was treasurer, recruitment chair, and president of the Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Delta Tau Delta and supports the Delta Foundation, currently serving
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Tiger Nation
at the Chairman Council level for lifetime giving. Fredrick R. Tulley (1970 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation/Banking & Finance, and Litigation/Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year. Michael S. Walsh (1979 BACH H&SS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Criminal Defense/ Non-White Collar.
1980s
Robert L. Atkinson (1980 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Banking & Finance Law.
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Margaret Bauer (1985 BACH H&SS), Rives Chair of Southern Literature in the Department of English and editor of the North at East Carolina University’s Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, was named a Distinguished Professor in August. Over the course of her career, Bauer has authored or co-authored twenty-three peer-reviewed journal articles; ten book reviews; fourteen essays in books, nine reference book entries, fifty conference papers; and six books. She has been an invited presenter at more than three dozen conferences and given more than two dozen invited lectures. Bauer was primary investigator or coinvestigator on a dozen research grants, totaling more than $110,000. She was named one of the university’s ten Women of Distinction in 2007 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Creative Activity earlier this year. Bauer received her doctoral degree from the University of Tennessee and her master’s degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
Stephen C. Carleton (1981 BACH H&SS, 1984 JD), a partner in Carleton, Loraso & Hebert has been appointed to the LSU University College Advisory Board. Admitted to practice in all Louisiana state and federal courts and the United States Supreme Court, he is a member of the Baton Rouge Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, and Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Carlton’s civic and philanthropic connections include past president and member of the Baton Rouge Kiwanis Club, member and past administrative board member of First United Methodist Church, volunteer legal counsel and patient visitor for Baton Rouge Hospice, volunteer and past board member for Kairos of Louisiana Prison Ministry, Baton Rouge Bar Association Youth Education Committee member and past chair, member of Inter-Civic Council of Baton Rouge, and alumnus of Baton Rouge Leadership Class of 2011. David Charlton (1980 BACH BUS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law.
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Anne J. Crochet (1980 BACH MCOM, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Environmental Law & Litigation/Environmental.
Susan Halsey (1980 BACH BUS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Jackson Walker in Fort Worth, Texas, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Real Estate Law.
Paul Comeaux (1988 BACH H&SS, 1991 JD), an attorney with Thompson & Knight in Dallas, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Real Estate Law.
Mary C. Hester (1981 BACH H&SS, 1994 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Trusts & Estates.
Brett P. Furr (1983 BACH H&SS, 1986 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the areas of Litigation/Real Estate and Real Estate Law. Ann M. Halphen (1983 BACH HS&E, 1986 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Health Care Law.
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Sarah Holliday-James (1984 BACH H&SS) has been appointed leader, team captain, and Louisiana representative for Urban Game Changer, a multi-racial consultant and strategic group composed of Republicans, Libertarians, smallgovernment independents, and conservative and pro-business Democrats seeking to make a difference in the urban community.
Shiva Patibanda (1984 MAST ENGR) has been named senior vice president and chief technology officer of SeaChange International, Inc., a global multiscreen video software innovator. As general manager of the company’s Silicon Valley-based In-Home business, Patibanda leads the team that is responsible for the creation and delivery of the SeaChange Nucleus video gateway software. In 1989, he founded VividLogic, Inc., a producer of embedded software for television set-top boxes and other consumer electronics. The business was acquired by SeaChange in 2010 and provided the foundation for In-Home. Patibanda has served as chair of the Home Audio Video Interoperability consortium and also served on the board of the IEEE 1394 Trade Association. Mike Schonbert (1989 BACH BUS), an attorney with Thompson & Knight in Dallas, was selected for inclusion in .
David Wheat (1985 BACH BUS, 1988 JD), an attorney with Thompson & Knight in Dallas, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Insurance Law and was selected for inclusion in
1990s
Ramon Arancibia (1993 MAST SCI, 2003 PHD SCI) has been appointed assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture and specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. His research activities are concentrated in sustainable production systems. His outreach activities are focused on building a bridge
between researchers, extension personnel, and stakeholders to address their needs with tangible results that will enhance the quality of life within the community. Arancibia received his undergraduate degree in agricultural sciences from the University of Chile. Robert W. Barton (1990 H&SS, 1966 BACH BUS, 1969 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Commercial Litigation. Rebecca Bentley (1996 BACH MCOM), director of corporate media relations, financial/investor relations, communications, and strategy
communications at Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Mich., was named to ’s 2014 “40 Under 40” list. Bentley joined Dow in 2002 as issues management/media relations manager for Dow’s chemical manufacturing facilities in Louisiana after serving as public affairs associate for Georgia Gulf Corporation. Ashley Granger (1999 BACH H&SS, 2005 MSW), an academic counselor in LSU University College Center for Freshman Year, was recently named a recipient of the 2014 National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Outstanding New Advising Award-Primary Advising Role Certificate of Merit. The award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated qualities associated with outstanding academic advising of students. Granger, a
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Tiger Nation
licensed clinical social worker, joined the college in 2011 after six years at the LSU Student Health Center as the health promotion coordinator. While there, she co-coordinated the Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocacy – now called Lighthouse – and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs. She has also provided hundreds of presentations on health and wellness to the LSU student body. Lena Harris-Wilson (1990 BACH AGR) has been named director of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) Division of Food and Energy Assistance, a part of the CDHS Office of Economic Security. She joined CDHS in 2012 and has more than twenty years of experience in nutrition programs. In her new position, she will oversee program budgets and performance improvement measures and work with CDHS county partners to implement business process reengineering efforts. Harris-Wilson earned a master’s degree in management from Lesley College. Bryan R. King (1999 BACH MCOM), an attorney in the government contracts practice group at Bass, Berry & Sims in Washington, D.C., has led the launch of the GovCon Blog, which focuses on timely cases, protests, and regulatory updates to better inform contractors and others in the complex legal space. The blog is available at http://www. bassberrygovcon.com/. King has represented numerous government contractors before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Government Accountability Office (GAO), Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of
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Hearings and Appeals, the Civilian and Armed Services Boards of Contract Appeals, and other government agencies on procurement-related issues. He earned his law degree from George Washington University. Amy C. Lambert (1992 BACH H&SS, 1996 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of in the area of Commercial Litigation. Amy Groves Lowe (1992 BACH H&SS, 1994 MAST H&SS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter, was named to the 2015 edition of Best in the area of Education Law. Nilesh Patel (1990 MAST ENGR) has joined Overland Storage, Inc., as vice president of product management and product marketing. He joins Overland Storage with more than twenty years of technology, product, and strategy leadership with domain experience in storage and system appliances, data management, enterprise software, and cloud and virtual data center infrastructure solutions. He was previously vice president of global product strategy for Asurion and directed product management for a portfolio of cloud-centric enterprise storage products and data protection software at NetApp. He also led product management and planning for business units including NAS, object storage, enterprise storage systems, and flash products. Patel holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from Shivaji University in India.
Adren O. Wilson (1995 BACH H&SS) has been named chief executive officer of Public Allies, whose mission is to advance new leaders to strengthen communities, nonprofit, and civic participation, particularly through its signature AmeriCorps program. Wilson has served as Gulf Coast regional director for Single Stop USA, executive director of New Leaders Greater New Orleans, leader of the Equity and Inclusion Campaign, and national director of youth and student leadership at the Children’s Defense Fund. From 2004 to 2008, he was assistant secretary of the Louisiana Department of Social Services, where he led the Office of Family Support. He also served as executive director of the Louisiana Children’s Cabinet and initiated policy reforms such as the passage of the first state-level Earned Income Tax Credit in the South. Wilson earned an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a doctorate in public policy from the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University.
2000s
Meagan Forbes (2009 BACH MCOM) joined the Institute for Justice Minnesota office as an attorney in September. She litigates constitutional cases protecting economic liberty, free speech, property rights, school choice, and other civil liberties in federal and state courts. Prior to joining the institute, Meagan served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. M. Jacqueline Regis of the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District in Minneapolis, Minn.
Guy Harper (2008 MBA) opened his fourth Which Wich restaurant at 4243 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Suite 105, Lafayette, La., in October. With the aim of bringing a new and unique concept to the state of Louisiana, Harper opened the state’s first Which Wich restaurant in Baton Rouge in 2011. He has since opened Which Wich restaurants in Hammond and Covington. Andrew Jackson (2004 BACH H&SS) released his debut album, “Elements of a Love Letter,” in August. Considered a premier rising indie artist, singer/ songwriter Jackson – also known as
“Seventh President” – has toured with MAZE, Fantasia, JOE, TGT, and other A-list artists, as well as performed in off-Broadway stage plays and Motowninspired musical productions for more than fifteen years. Kenneth West (2005 BACH AGR), chief operating officer of Medical Center of Trinity in Trinity, Fla., was included in Rising Stars 25 Healthcare Leaders Under 40. The listing honors individuals who have reached great professional heights early in their careers and are poised for continued growth.
2010s
Morgan Bowman (2014 BACH ENGR) has joined PacTec, Inc., in Clinton, La., as a mechanical engineer, assisting in the design of new products as well as the modification of existing products for both the hazardous and nuclear waste industries. Stephen F. Butterfield (2010 BACH H&SS), of Jackson, Miss., joined the staff of the Mississippi Supreme Court in August. He works as a law clerk for Presiding Justice Jess H. Dickinson. Butterfield, a native of Shreveport, La., graduated summa cum laude from Mississippi College School of Law.
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Tiger Nation
Andrew Carmichael (2014 BACH BUS) received the Institute of Internal Auditors (ILA) Esther R. Sawyer Research Award during the IIA International Conference held in June in London. He received a $5,000 cash award and an expense-paid trip to London for the conference. Additionally, IIA awarded the LSU Center for Internal Auditing $3,000. Carmichael is the fourth consecutive and sixth LSUCIA alumnus overall to earn the international award. Alexander D. “Alex” DeFrank (2011 BACH BUS) appeared in Season 1 Episode 2 of Sports Jeopardy – winning and representing LSU well. Visit http:// www.crackle.com/c/sports-jeopardy/ episode-2/2493578 to see his performance.
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Hope Fitzgerald (2014 BACH MCOM) has joined PacTec, Inc., in Houston as a business development and inside sales representative and will work with customers in the oil and gas industry throughout the state of Texas. Geoffrey Fuglaar (2013 BACH BUS) has joined Zehnder Communications as media coordinator, assisting with media planning and buying for clients. Fuglaar was previously assistant media planner for Automotive Marketing Group in Baton Rouge.
Laust Helmig (2011 BACH BUS) is the nineteenth graduate of the LSU Center for Internal Auditing to be awarded the Institute of Internal Auditors Glenn E. Sumners Student Highest Achievement Award. Helmig, now an associate in Goldman Sachs Investment Management Division in New York City, received a commemorative trophy at the IIA International Conference held in June in London. A native of Denmark, Helmig was a member of LSU’s swimming and diving team. In 2010, the Tiger Athletic Foundation named him its Male ScholarAthlete of the Year, and he twice received the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Academic Excellence Award. Although Helmig took the exam as a student, IIA does not present the student highest achievement award until
after those took the exam are awarded their certification. Whitney Mosel (2013 BACH MCOM), of Marrero, La., is pursuing a juris doctorate degree from Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, Miss. Shelby Pursley (2014 BACH ENGR) has received Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women’s prestigious Amy Burnham Onken Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Campus and Community Leadership. Given annually to one collegiate member of Pi Beta Phi, the award honors a member who has best lived Pi Beta Phi’s qualities of excellent scholarship, outstanding campus participation, and community service during her collegiate career. Pursley held leadership roles in the College of Engineering College Council, Biological Engineering Student Organization, and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. She graduated magna cum laude, worked as a research assistant for two professors, authored various publications, and presented at several academic conferences. She received multiple awards, scholarships and research grants for her academic achievements, including the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship. She is attending graduate school at MIT.
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BABY
BENGALS Jeremy Jones (2001 BACH M&DA) and his wife, Bunny, announce the birth of future Tiger Payton Dianne at 4:56 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2014, weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. The family resides in the Dallas area.
Brock Piglia (2008 BACH A&D) and his wife, Marcelle (2007 BACH BUS) announce the birth of future Tiger Noah James, born at 7:49 a.m. on June 12, 2014, at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Noah weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21.25 inches long. The family resides in Valley Park, Mo.
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Tiger Nation
Tigers in Print Renée Harris Austell (1989 BACH H&SS, 2000 JD) (Publish Green) Multi-billion dollar international conglomerate SYNX Global is melting down, its top executives murdered and founder/CEO Godfrey Dolan squeezed out of his company for reasons beyond his control. Two power brokers are left standing in the corporation: Emile Fontaine, a mysterious, suave sophisticate, and Robert Collier, a long-serving SYNX executive with many secrets. Speculations on the motive behind the murders run wild, and chaos rules as young corporate attorney Gillian Claire is thrust into a web of intrigue and deceit when she is tasked with representing the man accused of the murders. Completely out of her element, Gillian must separate fact from fiction and piece together the truth behind the murders. Can she save marketing executive and aspiring screenwriter Charlie Best from a lifetime prison sentence? Is former Hollywood director Tucker Hamlin involved? Along the way, she learns more than she bargains for. Each revelation spirals her deeper into the clandestine personal lives of the über wealthy and puts her at greater risk of becoming a killer’s next victim. Margaret Bauer (1985 BACH H&SS) (University of South Carolina Press) There are two portrayals of Scarlett O’Hara: the widely familiar one in the film Gone with the Wind and Margaret
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Mitchell’s more sympathetic character in the book. In , Margaret D. Bauer examines these two characterizations, noting that although Scarlett O’Hara is just sixteen at the start of the novel, she is criticized for behavior that would have been excused if she were a man. Scarlett is an icon in American popular culture and an inspiration to female readers, and yet she is more often than not condemned for being a sociopathic shrew by those who do not take the time to get to know her through the novel. Bauer provides a sympathetic reading of Scarlett as a young woman who refuses to accept social limitations based on gender and seeks to be loved for who she is and then examines Scarlett-like characters in other novels, such as Cold Mountain, Barren Ground and Sula, to develop a less critical reading of Scarlett O’Hara and to expose societal prejudices against strong women. Margaret Bauer (1985 BACH H&SS) (McFarland) One of Paul Green’s best plays, The , was the first play performed (on Broadway in 1931) by the renowned Group Theatre of New York. This book reintroduces the play, and the playwright – famous in his day, but largely forgotten now, although his outdoor symphonic drama The Lost continues to be performed every summer in Manteo, North Carolina. The is a more traditional drama, comparable to the writing of Tennessee Williams, and the editor
asserts that the play deals more directly and fully with racial issues of the early twentieth-century South than Williams did in his work. A new edition of the play includes both the original tragic ending and the revised ending Green wrote upon the Group Theatre directors request. The writing, production, and publication history of the play is provided, as well as a scene-by-scene critical analysis and a discussion of the 1934 film adaptation, Carolina. The play’s theme is change, and Green shows with both endings that the South had to change to survive. Thomas A. Bogar (1982 PHD M&DA) (Regnery History) April 14, 1865. A famous actor pulls a trigger in the presidential balcony, leaps to the stage, and escapes as the president lies fatally wounded. In the panic, forty-six terrified people scatter in and around Ford’s Theater as soldiers take up stations by the door, and the audience surges into the streets chanting, “Burn the place down!” This is the untold story of the actors, managers, and stagehands present for the bewildering events that night, and what each of them witnessed in the chaosstreaked hours before John Wilkes Booth was discovered. Thomas A. Bogar delves into unpublished sources to tell the story of Lincoln’s assassination from behind the curtain. Police rounded up and arrested dozens of innocent – and not-so-innocent – people. Some closely connected to Booth were not even questioned, while innocent witnesses
were relentlessly pursued. Booth was more connected with the production than you might have known, and knew quite well most members of the cast and crew, who peopled a hotbed of secessionist sympathy. tells the story of what happened to these witnesses and how each one lived after seeing one of America’s greatest presidents shot dead without warning. Ces Guerra (1984 BACH H&SS) Gumbo for the Tiger Soul (Author House) Gumbo for the Tiger Soul is a collection of personal stories from LSU fans spanning nearly fifty years of great (and not so great) LSU football moments. Inspired by , the book is a celebration of LSU football and Cajun culture – and the unique flavors they call to mind. The chapters – each titled for different gumbo ingredients – include nostalgic stories and lip-smacking Cajun recipes contributed by LSU alumni, staff, fans, former football players, band members, dancers, and color guard members. These first-hand accounts recall the Blue Grass Miracle, the “earthquake game,” the USC game, Florida games from 1997 and 2007, and the two most recent championship seasons. Donald Peter Moriarty II (1957 BACH BUS) (The Historic New Orleans Collection) coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. By chronicling the history of an
independent troop of cavalrymen from New Orleans, the book invites readers to experience the major campaigns of the Civil War’s Western Theater alongside these soldiers. As the nation braced itself for war, volunteer groups began to assemble on both sides of the conflict. The Orleans Light Horse, an independent light cavalry troop formed in February 1861, entered into active service with the Confederate States Army in March 1862 and fought through the war’s end in 1865. As the escort company to Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk and later to Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart, the troop was an integral part of the Army of Mississippi and the Army of Tennessee, and was described by the New Orleans as “a fine body of men all splendidly mounted.”
succeeds in reviving this classical work of Arabian love while liberating it from its puritanical dimension and tribal overtones. The selected poems reveal Haddad’s playful yet profound meditations. Ronald L. Webster (1962 MAST H&SS, 1964 PHD H&SS)
(Create Space) Stuttering expert Ronald L. Webster dispels long-standing myths and misinformation that surround the disorder and takes readers on a journey into stuttering from a scientific viewpoint. Written for people who stutter, parents of children who stutter, and speech-language professionals, Webster provides new insights into this unusual human condition based John Verlenden on extensive research and experience (1988 MAST H&SS) with thousands of stuttering cases. It includes scientific analyses that Translated from the Arabic indicate what may cause stuttering and by Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden imparts how his nonprofit stuttering (Syracuse University Press) research and therapy center, Hollins Communications Research Institute (www.stuttering.org), uses science brings together in one volume and technology to treat stuttering. Qassim Haddad’s seminal work and a Readers will gain insights into why and considerable selection of poems from when stuttering occurs during speech; his oeuvre, stretching over forty years. understand the role critical patterns The central poem, “Chronicles of in nature play in effective stuttering Majnun Layla,” recasts the seventhtreatment; learn about new discoveries century myth into a contemporary, and technological advancements in postmodern narrative that revels in the stuttering therapy; and discover what it foibles of oral transmission, weaving takes to control stuttering and achieve a small side cast of characters into the long-term fluency. Webster is also the fabric of the poem. Haddad portrays author of Layla as a daring woman aware of her own needs and desires and not afraid to articulate them. The author
LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
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Tiger Nation
In Memoriam 1930s
1960s
Marie “Sis” Champagne Bowers, 1939 BACH H&SS, Sept. 6, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Louise White Postle, 1939 BACH AGR, May 23, 2014, Metairie, La.
Mary B. Hill, 1964 PHD HS&E, Sept. 8, 2014, Opelousas, La. Constance Navratil, 1964 BACH M&DA, 1969 MAST M&DA, Oct. 8, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Carolyn Rovee-Collier, 1962 BACH H&SS, Oct. 1, 2014, Delaware Township, N.J.
1940s Dorothy Coco, 1948 BACH H&SS, 1949 MLS, Sept. 30, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Robert Jemison, Jr., 1947 BACH SCI, Oct. 1, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Ellen Frances Karnes, 1941 BACH H&SS, July 13, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Frank Bradford Stanly, 1948 BACH H&SS, July 27, 2014, Orlando, Fl.
1950s Reginald Brown, Jr., 1952 BACH HS&E, Aug. 25, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Clarence Crochet, 1957 MAST HS&E, Aug. 11, 2014, Prairieville, La. Mary Fargason, 1959 BACH HS&E, 1981 BACH A&D, Sept. 17, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Myrtle Gehringer, 1958 BACH H&SS, Oct. 6, 2014, Kentwood, La. Marcus Hirsch, 1954 BACH ENGR, Sept. 7, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Bernard Landry, 1952 BACH ENGR, Sept. 7, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Luther George Parker, 1957 BACH SCI, Aug. 2, 2014, Lafayette, La. Claude Hartwell Roberts, Jr., 1950 BACH SCI, July 17, 2014, Mansfield, La. Carl Rushing, 1957 BACH BUS, Sept 3, 2014, Watson, La. Mignonne Yancey White, 1956 BACH HS&E, July 13, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.
Astrid Merget Professor, Public Administration Institute Former Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost October 13, 2014 Baton Rouge, La.
1970s Marjorie Blake, 1979 BACH A&D, July 23, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Sybil Boizelle, 1965 BACH H&SS, 1970 MAST H&SS, 1976 MAST HS&E, Aug. 3, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Robert W. Dardenne, 1968 BACH MCOM, Oct. 17, 2013, St. Petersburg, Fl. Johree Edgerton, 1978 MAST HS&E, Sept. 11, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Allen Spears, 1976 CERT HS&E, Sept. 10, 2014, Zachary, La.
1980s Danni Pecue, 1987 BACH H&SS, 1988 MSW, Aug. 11, 2014, Baton Rouge, La. Jeffrey D. Wright, 1982 BACH MCOM, Sept. 19, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.
A donation was made in memory of Frank Bradford Stanly by Sugar Woods.
William Morris “Bill” Michelet Adjunct Professor of Mass Communication and Acting Director of Student Media Aug. 25, 2014 Baton Rouge, La.
If you would like to make a gift to the LSU Alumni Association in memory of a family member, friend or classmate, please contact our office for additional information at 225-578-3838 or 1-888-746-4578.
58 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
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| 3848 West Lakeshore Drive | In The Cook Hotel
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www.giftshop.lsualumni.org (225) 383–0241 | 3848 West Lakeshore Drive | In The Cook Hotel | Winter 2014 61 LSU Alumni Magazine
Profile
Tiger Nation
Chappuis Named Brigadier General By Ed Cullen
Brigadier General Charles W. Chappuis.
“It’s been an incredible opportunity, especially for me as an Air Force guy in a traditional Army position.”
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Growing up on the Louisiana prairie in the 1950s, Charles Chappuis never questioned whether he would go to college. His father, uncles, and an aunt were LSU graduates. Chappuis (1974 BACH H&SS, 1979 MD) remembers the drives from Rayne to football games in Baton Rouge and the long rides back listening to the radio voices from Tiger Stadium talking about the game. Last spring, he became the second Chappuis from Rayne to receive the single star of brigadier general. His uncle Steve (1936 BACH BUS), a career Army man, was the first. Brigadier General Chappuis, assistant adjutant general of the Louisiana Air National Guard, is an Air Force officer who deployed four times from 2003 to 2011 as a flight surgeon in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chappuis, 62, grew up with a father and four uncles who’d been in the war in Europe. “That planted the seed,” he said. The seed didn’t germinate until Chappuis was 46, the father of two daughters, 9 and 11. In 1998, without a minute of prior military service, he joined the Air National Guard as a major. “My wife and I talked about it,” he said. “Our children were pretty self-sufficient.” “Guardsmen have full-time, civilian jobs,” Chappuis said. “We couldn’t do this without the support of our families.” At his pinning ceremony, Chappuis thanked Maj. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis for “the privilege of serving the Louisiana National Guard” as state surgeon for five years, a position usually held by an Army medical officer. Curtis is adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard. “It’s been an incredible opportunity,” Chappuis told the pinning audience. “Especially for me as an Air Force guy in a traditional Army position. In fact, I was the only Air Force state surgeon among the fifty-four states and territories.”
Curtis praised Chappuis for his work as flight surgeon and clinical director on war-time deployments and for his medical team leadership in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. The National Guard medical team arrived in the midst of chaos in the dome, Curtis said, and, under Chappuis’ leadership, managed the care of “of our citizens . . . numbers that eventually swelled to 30,000 to 40,000” people. Chappuis was a flight surgeon caring for soldiers between Iraq and Germany from November 2003 to January 2004. In the spring of 2004, he was a general surgeon in Iraq and from August 2008 to January 2009 he commanded a small hospital at the Baghdad airport. He worked briefly in Afghanistan and flew with wounded soldiers from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to military hospitals in Washington and San Antonio in 2011. Chappuis credits body armor and quick evacuation from the battlefield for the survival rates of American soldiers, including amputees, in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We have a high survival rate compared to all of our past wars, even Vietnam,” he said. “The quick evacuation from the battlefield, getting them medical care, and then flying them to the U.S. where they get full medical attention” has meant lives saved. Married to physician Cynthia Glass, Chappuis and his wife live in Sunset, La., near Lafayette where Chappuis is professor of clinical surgery, chief of surgery, and associate medical director at University Hospital and Clinics. Drs. Chappuis and Glass practiced in New Orleans for fifteen years before moving to the Lafayette area to be near family. Ed Cullen, an LSU journalism graduate, is author of Letter in a Woodpile, a collection of his essays for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He’s retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.”
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Profile
Tiger Nation
Kadisha Onalbayeva: Steinway Artist No. 1,601 By Ed Cullen
People don’t like being identified as numbers, but Kadisha Onalbayeva is fine with hers.
Onalbayeva (2010 PHD M&DA), who also received a master’s degree in composition and piano performance from the University of New Orleans, is Steinway Artist No. 1,601, the first pianist from Kazakhstan to receive an honor shared by Cole Porter, Harry Connick, Jr., and Billy Joel. Being named a Steinway Artist was a boost to an already successful career for Onalbayeva. While Steinway doesn’t pay its artists, it does list them on the Steinway artist roster and ensures that artists have performance pianos that match their talents. “Anywhere I go, I play on a Steinway, the finest piano in the world,” Onalbayeva said. “They (Steinway dealers) deliver a piano if there’s not one where I’m performing.” The artist performs in concert thirty-five to forty times a year. “Being an artist today,” she said, “means you have to teach, too. Some can make a living just playing concerts, but you have to live on the road.” Teaching and performing “take a lot of energy. You do that when you’re young.” “I play a lot of new music, music written after 1925 and by living composers. I play a variety of music, some from the 1400s to 1500s. I sat down with my agent and realized I’d played ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ twenty-two times last year,” she laughed. “I play what people like to hear.” Onalbayeva, 42, lives in Pensacola, Fla., with composerpianist husband Michael Coleman and daughter Malika and makes the fifty-minute drive to the University of Mobile, Steinway Artist Kadisha Onalbayeva. where she teaches piano and composition. She’s also on the faculty at Pensacola State College. She was a Steinway ambassador to the Russian Winter Olympics, and she performed with the Kazakhstan “Onalbayeva is a Steinway National Orchestra in May and debuted a work of her own, the symphonic poem Artist, an honor shared by “Zherym.” This fall, she will tour Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Cole Porter, Harry Connick, “I first came to the United States in 2001 for an international jazz conference in New Jr., and Billy Joel.” Orleans,” Onalbayeva said. She met Jerry Sieg, a composer on the UNO faculty, and returned in 2003 to study composition with him. Onalbayeva’s UNO apartment was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. “I lost everything,” she recalled. “We met our professors wherever—New Orleans, Slidell, Baton Rouge.” She received her degree in 2006, playing her last concert at Trinity Episcopal Church on the UNO campus. Onalbayeva’s major professor for her doctorate at LSU was Michael Gurt. Susan Marchand was the pianist’s minor professor. “You’re required to have a minor,” Onalbayeva said. “Mine is in history, nineteenth-century European culture.” The daughter of a theatrical producer and a fashion designer, Onalbayeva grew up around musicians and actors. “I acted a lot,” she said. “I did seven movies in Kazakhstan, the last when I was sixteen.”
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Statement of Ownership Management and Circulation She heard music at home or at the theater every night. Her parents began her piano lessons at age five and later sent her to a boarding school for gifted children. In her twenties, she heard Vladimir Horowitz perform in Moscow. “I still feel his incredible power and his incredible smile,” she reminisced. Onalbayeva’s advice for a successful career in anything starts with believing in one’s self. “You must work very hard, have a goal, see the bigger picture of your life. Music is honesty. You go on stage and present who you are.” Ed Cullen, an LSU journalism graduate, is author of Letter in a Woodpile, a collection of his essays for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He’s retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.” ON THE WEB www.kadishaonalbayeva.com For a sampling of Onalbayeva in performance, see links below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Il_NcWtQWw (a composition by husband Michael Coleman) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMV8dXROq5Q (“Rhapsody in Blue” Part One) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyegXxY81E8 “Rhapsody in Blue” Part Two)
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LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
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Profile
Tiger Nation
Gauthreaux Legacy Includes ‘Pioneer’ LSU Grad By Jackie Bartkiewicz
1965 and 1968 graduate Sid Gauthreaux.
Lela Gauthreaux graduated in 1912 and 1915.
Sid Gauthreaux (1965 MAST SCI, 1968 PHD SCI), of Edisto Island, S.C., traces his LSU roots to his “Aunt Essie,” who was a member of the University’s first graduation class of coeds in 1910. “My grandfather, Alfred Vincent, and Essie Gauthreaux were half siblings, with the same father and different mothers. “I always knew her as Aunt Essie,” writes Gauthreaux, an ornithologist and professor emeritus of zoology at Clemson University. A New Orleans native, Kathryn Gauthreaux, a 2014 graduate. he earned his bachelor’s degree from LSUNO in 1963 before enrolling at LSU. Essie Lucille Gauthreaux, of New Orleans, was among the young ladies who blazed the trail for women to study at LSU. These first coeds – seventeen of them – enrolled at LSU in 1906. Gauthreaux entered in 1907 and completed her course of study in three years by attending summer sessions. She moved to Shreveport, La., after graduation and taught French at Hope Street High School, before marrying Robert Iler. After his death, she resumed teaching at Byrd High School. Though unable to document, it is Essie Gauthreaux Iler, a member of LSU’s first graduating class of coeds in 1910. believed that Iler died in 1969. A 1960 article in the quoted Iler: “We really had to study. We knew we had to make good, if girls were to continue to attend LSU.” According to the article, “It was ‘mighty nice’ having only a few girls and several hundred boys on campus . . . But they were a serious minded group, and they didn’t go to school just to catch husbands.” Iler’s sister, Lela Octavia Gauthreaux, earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1912 and a master’s degree in education in 1915 from LSU. She taught school in Cleveland, Ohio, and retired to New Orleans. She died in May 1979. The Gauthreaux family LSU legacy was carried forth in May of this year when Sid’s granddaughter, Kathryn Gauthreaux, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education. Kathryn, who lives in Mandeville, La., is exploring options for graduate school.
FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF FALL EVENTS, VISIT www.lsualumni.org/events/eventscalendar2.asp
66 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
Tigers Around the World
Katheleen McGinty Bailey at North Palace in Seoul, South Korea.
Touring South Korea – Kathleen McGinty Bailey (1978 BACH BUS, 1981 MAST BUS), a small business banker with Washington Federal in Bend, Ore., took along her LSU flag on her recent trip to South Korea. She unfurled the “Love Purple Live Gold” banner at the U.S. Embassy and the North Palace in Seoul.
Happy 100 – Sam Henderson (1938 MAST AGR), of DeRidder, La., turned 100 on Sept. 22, marking the event with a get-together at Smyrna Baptist Church. Some ninety relatives and friends from across the country took part in the celebration, and the church dubbed him as “Centennial Saint.” Son Richard Henderson (1966 BACH SCI, 1971 PHD SCI), of Florence S.C., writes, “The attached photo is of him in his home office, where he works on physics problems, writes about various topics, and corresponds via e-mail.”
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Tiger Nation
Tigers Around the World
Josh and April Renard with their children, Huxley, Jude, and Vera Kate, and Josh’s grandfather, Moisey Baudoin.
Launching the Vera Kate – Josh Renard (2006 BACH ENGR) and wife April (2006 BACH ENGR), of Central, La., are seated in their wooden runabout, the Vera Kate, on its maiden voyage during the Delcambre Shrimp Festival in August. Josh and his grandfather, Moisey Baudoin, of Delcambre, La., built the mahoganyand-walnut boat from scratch over a three-year period. Also along for the ride were the couple’s children, Huxley, Jude, and Vera Kate. Next stop for the Vera Kate was the Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival in October. Photo by Tom Nelson
Tiger Bunks – Casey Boudreaux (2007 BACH BUS, 2007 MPA), director of sales and marketing at the Evangeline Downs Hotel in Opelousas, La., writes, “Guests traveling with children to the Evangeline Downs Hotel can reserve our family suite, featuring a king bedroom that adjoins to an LSU-themed bunk bed room!”
LSU Lambo – Ryan shares this snapshot of an LSU inspired Lamborghini on the streets of New Orleans.
SHARE YOUR NEWS To share Tiger collection with fellow alums, send a photo and information to jackie@lsualumni.org. 68 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2014
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Join more than fifty volunteers from across the country in a recap of the Chapter Leadership Summit held at The Cook Hotel in September. The...
