LSU Alumni Magazine_Winter 2018

Winter 2018, Volume 94, Number 4

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From the

PRESIDENT

Faculty Research Is Changing the World LSU faculty are changing the world with innovative research that will improve our economy, our quality of life, and our understanding of the world around us. Their work is so instrumental to other researchers and to the advancement of science and scholarship around the globe that four of them have recently been named among the most cited researchers on the planet.

LSU scientists and scholars were recently awarded major grants by federal funding agencies to support their work toward solving the biggest problems facing our state and our nation.

The Department of Homeland Security awarded LSU’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education $22 million to ensure that our nation’s first-responders have access to the highest quality training. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just gave LSU’s Center for Geoinformatics $3.1 million to modernize NOAA”s National Spatial Reference System, which is used to plan, design, and build roads, bridges, and other structures. And NASA just awarded faculty in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences a $1.5 million grant to research how carbon travels from deltas into the coastal ocean.

Additionally, these faculty don’t leave their students behind. In our College of Engineering, faculty members are using smartphone-based technology to create faster and less-expensive methods to test for breast cancer genes, while students in the college explore ways to answer the age-old question of why cancer spreads so rapidly.

These are just a few examples of the innovative research going on at your university. We’re proud to be celebrating the type of scientific, scholarly, and creative output that defines LSU faculty and our impact on the state, the nation, and the world.

I hope you’ll join me in applauding our exceptional faculty for their talent, hard work, and dedication, and for educating the next generation of Tigers so that they can go out into the world and achieve greatness like you.

Geaux Tigers!

F. King Alexander LSU President @lsuprez

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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Publisher LSU Alumni Association

Contents

Editor Jackie Bartkiewicz Advertising Mignon Kastanos

Feature

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28 The Leaders

Stories told by LSU Student Government presidents from the 1950s to the present are a reminder of how much things change and how much they stay the same. This is the first in a series of stories on LSU Student Government presidents. Visit lsualumni.org/blog/sga-presidents-thenand-now.

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From the President

4

President/CEO Message

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LSU Alumni Association News

36 Around Campus 46 Focus on Faculty 48 Locker Room 54 Tiger Nation

On the cover: Generations of Tigers have walked under the beautiful oaks and stately arches that dot LSU’s campus. Today’s University may look a little different since your last visit.

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Photography Mark Claesgens, Ray Dry, Johnny Gordon, Jason Feirman/LSU Athletics, Bret Lovetro, Chris Parent/LSU Athletics, Eddy Perez/LSU Strategic Communications, Gus Stark/LSU Athletics, Taylor Frey Productions, The Trust, Cody Willhite/LSU Strategic Communications, College of Engineering Printing Baton Rouge Printing NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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Susan Whitelaw Chair, Shreveport, La. Oliver G. “Rick” Richard, III, Chair-Elect, Lake Charles, La. Leo C. Hamilton Immediate Past Chair, Baton Rouge, La. Jack A. Andonie Director Emeritus, Metairie, La.

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In Each Issue 1

Editorial Assistants Bernda Macon Rachel Rhodes Contributors Barry Cowan, Ed Cullen, Rachel Holland, Brian Hudgins, Bud Johnson, Sarah Catherine LaBorde, Maria Owens, Kaylee Poche

20 New Places, New People, New World LSU is alive – constantly evolving with each new class that passes through the campus gates – and, as needs change, the campus changes too. Through multiple new developments, LSU strives to provide the best college experience and create wellrounded, competitive graduates and create a safe, innovative, and vibrant campus community that enhances the value of the education the University provides.

Art Director Chuck Sanchez STUN Design & Interactive

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Lodwrick M. Cook Director Emeritus, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Mark Kent Anderson, Monroe, La. Brandon Landry, Baton Rouge, La. Karen G. Brack, San Diego, Calif.

Jeffrey M. “Jeff” Mohr, Baton Rouge, La. David B. Braddock, Dallas, Texas A.J.M. “Butch” Oustalet, III, Gulfport, Miss.

Stephen T. “Steve” Brown, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Fred G. “Gil” Rew, Mansfield, La. Kathryn “Kathy” Fives, New Orleans, La. Bart B. Schmolke, Alexandria, La. Mario J. Garner, Pearland, Texas Beverly G. Shea, New Iberia, La. Matthew K. “Matt” Juneau, Baton Rouge, La. Van P. Whitfield, Houston, Texas Kevin F. Knobloch, Baton Rouge, La. Stanley L. “Stan” Williams, Fort Worth, Texas LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the LSU Alumni Association. Annual donations are $50, of which $6 is allocated for a subscription to LSU Alumni Magazine. The LSU Alumni Association is not liable for any loss that might be incurred by a purchaser responding to an advertisement in this magazine.

Editorial and Advertising Office LSU Alumni Association 3838 West Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686 225-578-3838 • 888-RINGLSU www.lsualumni.org / e-mail: jackie@lsualumni.org © 2018 by LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE, 3838 West Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686 Letters to the editor are encouraged. LSU ALUMNI MAGAZINE reserves the right to edit all materials accepted for publication.

Publication of material does not indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by the magazine, the Association, or LSU.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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President and CEO

MESSAGE

Taking Pride in Alumni Accomplishments In October, I ran through the Atlanta airport in a tuxedo. It’s a long story about late planes and missed connections, but one with a happy ending. Let me explain.

Photo by William Lee Boyd II

The LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction event held each spring is a highlight of our year. Three years ago, we enhanced the thirty-three-year-old program with a new tradition – informing recipients of their honor when they are chosen in the fall. So, I donned the tuxedo to pay a surprise visit to the 2019 LSU Alumnus of the Year (the tuxedo heralding the formal gala at which he’d be honored).

Alumnus of the Year H. Dale Hall, CEO of Ducks Unlimited, was indeed surprised.

It was a heartwarming reveal – the first of five made during the month. Joining Dale in the 2019 Hall of Distinction are Young Alumnus of the Year Wendy McMahon president of ABC Owned Television Stations Group, of Los Angeles; Gregory Bowser, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance; retired Lt. Gen. General Lee Levy, former commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Materiel Command, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; and architect A. Hays Town, founding owner of Town Construction. (See page 16.)

Paying tribute to alumni whose accomplishments and contributions to the University, the state, the nation, and the world puts LSU in the spotlight, something all alumni can take pride in. And, speaking of pride, you’ll be impressed by the top-notch rankings bestowed on your alma mater this year (see page 39). This speak volumes because, as you know, the value of your LSU degree is measured not in the University’s reputation when your degree was granted but rather in the institution’s present standing and reputation.

There’s more good news – we topped 20,000 members in 2018. In 2014, our numbers totaled 13,245. Hats off to you – our friends and ambassadors who make it all possible.

We couldn’t have done it without you helping us network, inform, engage, and inspire.

As this issue goes to press, we are preparing for end-of-year events that promise to be bigger and better than ever. Some 650 Tiger Band alumni will march with the Golden Band from Tigerland during halftime at the Rice Game and some 200 first-year student scholars – our future alumni – will be honored at the 30th Annual Scholarship Banquet.

The Association’s Annual Meeting and Past Presidents/Chairs Luncheon, the LSU Retired Faculty/Staff Holiday Celebration, and the Winter Commencement Open House will round out the whirlwind of activities. Look for highlights in the Spring 2019 magazine.

Finally, on behalf of the Global Board of Directors, officers, and staff of the LSU Alumni Association and The Cook Hotel – along with Jacob Hester, the 2018 Honorary Alumni Fund chair – best wishes for a wonderful holiday and the very best in coming year.

In grateful appreciation,

Cliff Vannoy President/CEO @LSUAlumniPrez

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LSU Alumni Association

AlumniLSU

From Our Readers Thanks! . . . from an Alumni Professor Gary and Sarah Haynes, officers of the Webster-Claiborne Alumni Chapter, share the folloiwng letter from David P. Young, who holds the Webster Parish Alumni Professorship.

I would like to take this opportunity to, first, formally introduce myself, and second, to thank you for your hard work and support of the LSU Alumni Association. I was honored to receive the Alumni Professorship in 2014, and I wanted to update you on how the annual stipend has been used to help shape the educational landscape at LSU in transformative ways.

My passion for teaching centers on the college physics course that is taught to nonphysics majors, which typically has enrollments of 300 students or more per class. I have taken advantage of technology as much as possible in an effort to engage these students, and I think this has had a very positive effect on their learning. Some of these techniques have included online software that students interact with in real time, electronic response systems, which are used during lecture to get feedback from students, and video conferencing software, which has allowed me to help students with homework problems online.

Improvements in these techniques over the past few semesters allowed us, for the first time ever at LSU, to offer a completely online course in college physics this summer. This allowed students who were working this summer, or who were not staying in Baton Rouge, to still be able to take physics. Ninety-five LSU students signed up for the eight-week course. Overall, the course went very well. Just to give you an idea of the level of convenience this provided some students, exams were taken in Los Angeles, New York City, West Virginia, Canada, and South Africa. There are more than 30,000 students at LSU’s Baton Rouge campus, and the University has set an ambitious goal of having just as many online students by 2025. Online courses will provide many continuing education options and flexibility for a growing diverse student population at LSU, which is very exciting.

As you interact with the alumni donors in your area, please let them know of the positive impacts their support has had on transforming education at LSU. At the same time, please relay a heartfelt thank you from me personally.

David P. Young Alumni Professor of Physics

Greatest Games We appreciated the "LSU’s Greatest Games" article – especially the 1949 information since I was a student manager for the team at that time.

The Cinderella season was memorable, as those wins over the conference champions were very meaningful. The victory over Rice was played in the rain, and the "wet" field for the Carolina game was dramatic. After the regular season, the loss to Oklahoma was very disappointing, but the 1949 year was one to remember!

During those times as a manager, we were very busy with many sports – football, basketball, boxing, and baseball.

I had a rough time trying to make the baseball team at the same time as spring football practice was taking place. Finally, in 1950, my brother, Ed, and I played on the same team and we enjoyed that.

We fondly remember playing for Coach Rabenhorst at that time, though it was a losing season.

I still have the programs for the 1949 football season, the Sugar Bowl from 1945, and of course, the 1950 program. I have fond memories of the players during those times, both football and other sports team members. Thank you again for some of those memories.

Robert “Bob” Fetzer 1953 BACH BUS, 1958 MBA

. . . and a Scholarship Recipient I received the letter congratulating me on the receipt of the Avoyelles Parish Alumni Chapter Endowed Scholarship. I am so thankful for this scholarship.

I’d gotten a few scholarships to pay for my college tuition, but I didn’t have enough to pay for my books, and this scholarship came just in time. Now I can afford everything I need for my education.

Thank you!

Jamie Dodds Mansura, La.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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LSU Alumni Association

NEWS

Seattle Tigers gather for a group shot.

Chapter Events

Cookin’ for the crowd.

Benjamin Salmon, Justin Chan, and Jennifer Marra.

Seattle – Tigers in Seattle, Wash., gathered for a spur-of-the-moment boil/fish fry at Ravenna Park in August.

Future alums from the Dallas-Ft Worth area at the DFW Send-Off in August.

DFW Send- Off – Dallas and Tarrant Tiers showed up “big time” to welcome future Texas Tigers to the LSU family. “Between the two parties, we had twenty-eight future alums – and one family drove up twice from Waco,” writes Linda Young, LSU Alumni Dallas Chapter scholarship and recruiting director. “We had nearly 120 kids, parents, and alumni attend. It didn’t take the kids long to start exchanging cell phone numbers, and the parents enjoyed getting to visit with alumni and felt good about sending their kids off to Tiger Country.”

From left, standing, Tim and Rhonda Perdue, Noah Foster, Sarah Clayton, and Marion Territo; seated, chapter President Jim Parr and his wife, Laura.

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Mary Raudabaugh, Lois Stuckey, scholarship recipient Justin Fields, Sarah Clayton, scholarship recipient Lauren Chauvin, and Laura Parr. All of the chapter’s fundraising endeavors support scholarships for area LSU students.

Greater BR – Members of the Greater Baton Rouge Alumni Chapter gathered at Our Mom’s restaurant for football season’s first view-in to see LSU destroy Miami. A special guest was Noah Foster, a mechanical engineering major, and one of the chapter’s three scholarship recipients. In October, members toured the new Nicholson Gateway project and dined at Walk-On’s following the visit.

Dollars for Scholars

LSU Alumni Association COO Steve Helmke, Kenny Taylor, Drew Ryan, Jeffrey Caliva, Patrick Caliva, and Rory Blossman.

New York Chapter President Jeffrey Caliva and fellow Tigers presented a $7,000 check to the LSU Alumni Association while on campus for the LSU vs. Alabama game. The dollars were marked for the chapter’s scholarship and the Alumni Fund.

Kevin Hellman, president of the Alumni of San Diego chapter, presented a $105,000 check to the LSU Alumni Association in September to support the chapter’s scholarship endowment ($95,000) and the Alumni Fund ($10,000).

Kevin Hellman, president of the Alumni of San Diego Chapter, center, with LSU Alumni Association Senior Vice President Amy Parrino, President Cliff Vannoy, and chapters manager Rachel Rhodes.

The Webster-Claiborne Parish and LSU Orlando chapters added funds to their respective scholarship coffers during football season. Presenting the checks were Sarah and Gary Haynes - $14,000 on behalf of Webster-Claiborne, and Debi and Paul West – $10,00 for Orlando.

From left, Steve Helmke; Rachel Rhodes; Debi West, Orlando Chapter president; Amy Parrino, senior vice president; and Paul West.

Photo by Ray Dry

From left, Tracy Jones, assistant vice president for development; Rachel Rhodes, chapters manager; Sarah Haynes; Cliff Vannoy, LSU Alumni Association president; Gary Haynes, Webster-Claiborne Chapter president; and Steve Helmke, COO.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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LSU Alumni Association News

Chapter Events

Scholarship recipients Andrew Schlosser and Erin Manuel, with, from left, chapter officers Larry Klein, scholarship committee chair; Lance Rayne, vice president; Rod Schwarzer, secretary; Jeff Gray, president; and Leonard Broussard, media director. Not pictured are scholarship recipients Mackenzie Malatesta and Paul Malatesta.

North Houston – The North Houston Alumni Chapter recognized area LSU

scholarship recipients Andrew Schlosser, Erin Manuel, Mackenzie Malatesta, and Paul Malatesta at a scholarship awards celebration at Schilleci's New Orleans Kitchen in The Woodlands, Texas, in August.

Kenneth Haynes, Greg Cain, and Paula Cain.

John Dunkerley, Sawyer Patterson, Abigail Goddard, and Savannah Jones.

Linh Chin-Lai, Tammy Leong, Rachel Leong, and Matthew Leong.

Birmingham Tigers – More than fifty fans turned out for Birmingham’s

LSU vs. Miami watch party at the Cajun Seafood House in Vestavia, Ala., and the chapter hosted four future LSU alums and their parents at a send-off party in August.

To find or join a chapter in your area, visit lsualumni.org/chapters.

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LSU Houston

Future LSU alums from the Greater Houston Area.

Lance Rayne, Jordan Jopling, Chrystal Cantrell, Julie Klibert, Cheryl Fasullo, Cheryl Davis, Rhonda Armor, and John Grubb.

The Greater Houston Chapter hosted its sixth annual Houston Area SendOff in August. The new Tigers, along with their parents and friends, were welcomed into the LSU family by University representatives, volunteers, and Houston-area alumni. On hand were Jordan Jopling, director of development for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Music & Dramatic Arts, and LSU Press; Rhonda Armor, Houston regional director of development; Chrystal Cantrell, regional admissions counselor; John Grubb, vice president of hotel operations, The Cook Hotel; Lance Rayne, North Houston Chapter board member; and Greater Houston Chapter board members Cheryl Davis, Cheryl Fasullo, and Julie Klibert.

“The event was sponsored by H.E.B., and we would like to give special thanks to Greater Houston Chapter board advisory member Patrick Evans, for his contribution and continued support,” writes Fasullo. “The event was a great opportunity for LSU administrators, staff, and alumni to help students build new peer networks and provide tips for success and to show our future Texas Tigers what the LSU spirit is all about.”

Football view-ins attracted hundreds of Houston-area Tigers. “We do our game watches at Little Woodrow's on Shepherd in Houston,” writes Lisa Bunch, LSU Houston president. “For the LSU vs. Auburn game, we had more than 300 people in attendance.”

Ham Homan, chapter president; Adrienne Tesarek, secretary; and Teri Homan.

Cheryl Davis, left, and Lisa Bunch.

From left, Will Hennegan, member-at-large; Bryan Wesley, social director; Patrick Hart; Wiley Graham, golf director; Bill Sharp, membership director, and “LSU Bobby.”

Tiger fans at Torrance Tavern.

SoCal – Tigers in Southern California gathered at Torrance Tavern in Torrance, Calif., for football view-ins.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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LSU Alumni Association News

Chapter Events

Chicago – Tigers in Chicago gather at Standard Bar & Grill for gameday view-ins.

Pictured at left are LSU Chicago board members, from left, Molly Hughes, Paige Sutton, and Lance Neyland. Right: Paige Sutton, Molly and Kyle Hughes, and Chris Sutton cheer on the Tigers.

Harold Poole, Jr., Beverly Ruffin, Louisiana Interim Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, Tonya Stiel, and David “Hal” Stiel, III.

Manny Gala, Carl Streva, and Carla Streva Gala.

Donna Moity, Randy Moity, Frank Neuner, and Tracy Neuner.

Acadiana – LSU alumni, future alumni, and friends of the University from across Acadiana gathered to build professional relationships and socialize prior to the much anticipated LSU vs. Georgia matchup in October. The event, sponsored by the LSU Alumni Acadiana Chapter, Neuner Pate Law Firm, and Stiel Insurance Group, was held at Carriage House Courtyard during Rhythms on the River.

Tommy Thompson, Brandli Roberts, Amy Parrino, Denver Loupe, LSU Alumni Association President Cliff Vannoy, and Karla Lemoine.

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St. James Tailgate – LSU Alumni Association folks joined the LSU cheerleaders, Bengal Belles, and LSU Foundation and Tiger Athletic Foundation colleagues at St. James Place in August for a tailgate party in Duplantier Auditorium. Gordy Rush, Eagle 98.1’s sports radio sideline reporter and former LSU defensive back, gave a Eagle 98.1 sports reporter Gordy Rush highlights the “chalk-talk” about the 2018 season; Ben 2018 football season.

Herrington led LSU fight songs; and watercolor artist Grace Wang, an LSU exchange student and St. James Place intern, displayed her LSU scenes.

Tureaud Chapter at 30 Celebrated More than 300 alumni and supporters were on hand for the LSU A.P. Tureaud, Sr. Black Alumni Chapter’s 30th Anniversary reunion during 2018 Homecoming.

“Tureaud Chapter at 30: Live @ the Atrium,” kicked off the weekend’s activities.

The evening celebrated a legacy of inclusion, as chapter members and their guests recognized alumni and student achievers, and enjoyed dinner and dancing to the music of alumni entertainers. The first major event in the Julian T. White Design Atrium, named after the first African-American professor at LSU, featured the announcement of the chapter’s 2018 LSU Legends—White, Clint Odom, and Ivory Toldson and 2018 scholarship recipients Averi Berry and Jada T. Moore. Special thanks to reunion sponsors, including Entergy and Visit Baton Rouge.

Reunion chair Rachel Emanuel; President F. King Alexander; LSU Board of Supervisors Chair James Williams, Alumni Excellence Award recipient; Legends Committee Chair Katrina Pete Dunn; and Nicole Moliere, chapter president.

Alkis Tsolakis, dean of the College of Art & Design, displays a reproduction of the proposed mural honoring the late Julian T. White and points to its future location in the atrium.

Alumni entertainer Quiana Lynell, international awardwinning blues and jazz vocalist.

2018 A.P. Tureaud, Sr. Endowed Scholarship recipient Averi Berry and A.P. Tureaud, Jr., LSU's first African-American undergraduate.

James Williams, Johnita Scott, Ivory Toldson, Katrina Pete Dunn, and Nicole Moliere.

Reunion co-chair Felicia L. Harry, Rachel Emanuel, President F. King Alexander, 1964 Scholarship recipient Jada T. Moore, Nicole Moliere, and Scholarship Committee Chair Keon Anderson.

Dean Alkis Tsolakis, Mamye Hall, Blaine Grimes, Joyce Jackson, A.P. Tureaud, Jr., Thomas Durant, Annie Durant, Annie Daniel, and Renée Boutte Myer.

Lafayette Kreole Rock and Soul artist Sean Ardoin, accompanied by Sean Ardoin, II.

New Orleans vocalist Christien Bold of the Soul Swing Quartet – Robert Kellner-piano, Jake Nathaniel Ricke-guitar, and Trenton O'Neal-drum.

Linda and Cliff Vannoy, president of the LSU Alumni Association.

2018 LSU Legends Clint Odom; Loretta White, representing her late husband, Julian White; and Ivory Toldson.

To join or support the Tureaud Chapter, a group of alumni and friends seeking to involve all black alumni, vist lsublackalumni.com

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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LSU Alumni Association News

Snapshots

Class of ’68 Tigers, from left, Jim Goodwin, Leslie Tassin, Marie Allen, Kathy Meares, Sally Allen, and Romuel “Bob” Turner.

Homecoming King Daniel Wolf and Queen Sarah Perkins with LSU Alumni Association Global Board of Directors Chair Susan Whitelaw and President F. King Alexander.

Members of the A.P. Tureaud, Sr. Black Alumni Chapter toss beads to the crowd during the Homecoming Parade.

Dexter Thibodeaux, Lloyd Johnson, Emily Pate, and Scott Lazarone.

Homecoming 2018 – Following an action-packed week of activities on campus for future alumni, graduates and former students gathered on Oct. 20 to celebrate Homecoming 2018. Among the dignitaries taking part in the Homecoming Parade was Susan Whitelaw, chair of the LSU Alumni Association Global Board of Directors. At halftime of the LSU vs. Mississippi State game, the Homecoming scepter and crown were presented to new royalty – seniors Daniel Wolf and Sarah Perkins.

Olivia Williams and Kolby Marchand.

Morgan Kastner, Ethan Melancon, and Vijay Murugesan.

Young Professionals – The LSU Alumni Association hosted Young Professionals

Networking Night in August at Lod Cook Alumni Center. Baton Rouge-area young professionals mixed and mingled at a happy hour while engaging with representatives of the Association and co-hosting organizations Forum 35, Rotaract Professionals of Baton Rouge, Club Blue, and Society of Louisiana CPAs. More than 200 were in attendance. Stay tuned for details of the next young professional gathering – a holiday fete! Stay tuned for the launch of the Association’s professional networking platform scheduled for 2019. Events like this are coming to your city!

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Feeling Low? Visit The Cook Hotel “Every time I’m running low on life, I come to The Cook Hotel for a booster shot,” writes Chuck Credo (1972 BACH BUS), of Metairie, La.

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, New Orleans LSU alums Chuck and Cindy Credo evacuated to The Cook Hotel. They – and members of their family – stayed for three months and found home-away-from-home family in the staff of the LSU Alumni Association. They remain dedicated friends and supporters of the Association. Bob Bradford (1971 BACH ENGR, 1973 MAST ENGR) and his wife, Linda (1972 BACH H&SS) Bradford, of Richmond, Texas, found the same caring LSU family. In 2017, the Bradfords enjoyed their experience so much that they became room donors.

The couples are longtime friends who now enjoy the ultimate experience at The Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSU. They walk across campus to Tiger Stadium to watch the game, and they enjoy a unique friendship with the Association team that owns and operates the one-of-a-kind, beautifully Cindy and Chuck Credo, LSU Alumni Association renovated hotel.

President Cliff Vannoy, and Bob and Linda Bradford.

There are opportunities to become a part of The Cook Hotel room donor family. For information, contact John Grubb, vice president of hotel operations and general manager, at jwgrubb@lsualumni.com – and check out the experience at www.cookhotel.com.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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LSU Alumni Association News

Snapshots

Max Fugler, Jim Engster, and Warren Rabb.

Sports Legends – Tiger Football Legends Max Fugler and Warren Rabb

entertained LSU alumni and friends at The Cook Hotel with stories of the 1958 National Championship season prior to the Ole Miss game. Fugler was an AllAmerica center and linebacker sixty years ago, and Rabb was an All-SEC quarterback.

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Investing in Tigers, Transforming Lives I’m a sophomore from Johns Creek, Ga., majoring in coastal environmental science. Since middle school, I’ve wanted to protect the natural environment.

The President’s Alumni Scholars Award and LSU’s unique coastal studies program make it all possible. I quickly strengthened my leadership skills in Student Government Freshman LSU Alumni Association staffer Connor Snellings helps a future alumna sign up for Association membership.

Leadership Council, and I serve our local community through the Honors College Louisiana Service & Leadership Program (LASAL), through which I learn about poverty and how wetland loss affects coastal people and economies. Through President’s Future Leaders in Research, I assist with coastal research with Professor Michael Polito and undertook a project last May in the marshes off Port Sulphur, La. During my time in the marsh and through my lessons from LASAL, the beauty and peril of our fragile ecosystem became real for me. Thank you, LSU alumni, for helping me be a part of the solution.

Because of your contributions to the LSU Alumni Association, LSU is able to attract more students like Alli every

Future alums Kalli Roberts and Sophia Petrou take a break after picking up their graduation regalia.

year. This doesn’t just make a difference now; it makes a difference for the future,

Grad Fair – Graduating seniors took

advantage of one-stop shopping at the 2018 LSU Fall Grad Fair to order class rings and announcement cards, purchase commencement caps and gowns and diploma frames, have graduation photos taken, and more.

for students like Alli will be tomorrow’s top scientists, educators, and business leaders. And you make that possible.

ALLISON BENELLI President’s Alumni Scholar

To contribute to or endow a scholarship, visit www.lsualumni.org/giving or call 225.578.3838.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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LSU Alumni Association News

H. Dale Hall Named LSU 2019 Alumnus of the Year

LSU Alumni Association President Cliff Vannoy donned a tuxedo to reveal Dale Hall’s selection as the 2019 Alumnus of the Year to Hall and his wife, Sarah.

In surprise visits — and in a tuxedo, heralding the formal black-tie gala — LSU Alumni Association President Cliff Vannoy let LSU graduates know they had been named to the 2019 Hall of Distinction. The 2019 LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction honorees will be inducted on April 5, 2019.

Alumnus of the Year H. Dale Hall – Dale Hall is CEO of Ducks Unlimited,

Young Alumna of the Year Wendy McMahon, center, with Cliff Vannoy, left, and Steve Brown, a southern California resident and a member of the LSU Association Global Board of Directors.

Inc. He joined the organization in 2010 after thirty-one years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which he served as director from 2005-09. He serves on the boards of numerous conservation organizations and has received many honors recognizing his achievements, the most recent being his induction into the LSU School of Renewable Resources Hall of Fame as Alumnus of the Year in Hall in Spring 2018.

Hall earned a master’s degree in fisheries management from LSU in 1979. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology/chemistry from Cumberland College in Kentucky.

Young Alumna of the Year Wendy McMahon – Wendy McMahon is president of ABC Owned Television Stations Group, with responsibility for eight local TV stations and their digital assets across the country. Previously, she served a senior vice president of the digital component of the company. Before joining ABC Owned Television Stations, McMahon was vice president for programming and creative services at KABC-TV, the ABC-owned television station in Los Angeles.

McMahon graduated from LSU summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication in 1996

Gregory M. Bowser – Gregory Bowsher joined the Louisiana Chemical

Honoree Greg Bowser, center, with Dan Borne, Cliff Vannoy, Adrienne Bowser, and Leo Hamilton, a member of the LSU Alumni Association Global Board of Directors.

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Association and the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance in 1991 and became president of both organizations in 2016. He is also president of the Louisiana Foundation for Excellence in Science, Technology and Education. He was previously assistant to U.S. Rep. Jimmy Hayes in Washington, D.C., and assistant chief of staff to Gov. Buddy Roemer. He also served as director of the Louisiana Health Care Authority during the Roemer administration. He earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies from LSU in 1983.

Lee K. Levy, II – Lieutenant General Lee K. Levy, commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Materiel Command, retired in June from the Air Force after a thirty-three year career. Previously, he was vice director for logistics, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. During his career, he held numerous operational, command, and staff assignments leading logistics, civil engineering, operational contract, and nuclear operations.

Levy graduated from LSU in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Lee Levy.

A. Hays Town, Jr. – A. Hays Town, founding owner of Town Construction, has built hundreds of homes throughout Baton Rouge, including nearly all that his father, renowned architect A. Hays Town, Sr., designed during the time their careers crossed paths. He was instrumental in establishing the Baton Rouge Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors and has served on numerous state and local construction boards.

Committed to community, Town’s company has worked with Habitat for Humanity homes for the needy; assisted in establishing the first Montessori School in the city; and established St. Elizabeth Foundation, a nonprofit adoption agency. Town earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from LSU in 1958.

Honoree A. Hays Town, Jr., and Cliff Vannoy, center, with, from left, Adam Town, George Town, A. Hays Town, III, Chris Town, and Greg Town.

To attend the gala, email brandli@lsualumni.org

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LSU Alumni Association News

Photos by Eric Garcia

APSEC 2018 – Lagniappe in Louisiana A second line and mini-Mardi Gras parade, snowballs in the courtyard, dinner on the Mighty Mississippi, beignets and café au lait at midnight, and a Taste of Baton Rouge culinary extravaganza. Keynote remarks from Hollywood actor Michael Papajohn, Walk-On’s founder and CEO Brandon Landry, and Top 10 Scientist of the Year Gabriela González. Greetings from Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards. Engaging, inspiring break-out sessions.

It was all part of the APSEC 2018, hosted by the LSU Alumni Association for their peers – Alumni Professionals of the SEC. The inspiring, productive conference was highlighted by the joie de vivre for which the LSU Tigers are known plus a little Louisiana lagniappe.

You put on a great show, and the lagniappe was spot on! I can only imagine how much time, work, and effort went into planning this event for us. Please convey our appreciation to your top-notch staff for all they did to ensure that a great time was had by all. While the social aspect of the conference was awesome, I thought the programming was well done and very useful to the staff members I brought. Thanks to you and your staff for putting that together, as well.

– Calvin J. Brown, University of Alabama National Alumni Association

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Thank you for the outstanding hospitality demonstrated to all attendees of APSEC. Even more, John and the team at the hotel spent valuable time with our Alumni Center team, sharing their expertise in the hospitality field. We look forward to continued collaboration with your team to continue to grow in what we do. – Kevin Grindstaff, My Carolina Alumni Association

Thank you for a great APSEC 2018. I knew when we started with Sazeracs at 4 p.m. on a Monday it would be a good time! My colleagues and I are grateful for all of your efforts to make us feel welcome, introduce us to LSU, and help us stay current on the latest trends in alumni relations.

You were great hosts. Thank You! – Tim Walsh, University of Kentucky Alumni Association

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“This record-breaking group of students is as strong academically as they are in number.

Our new class of Tigers is poised to take on the world, and we can’t wait to help them succeed."

–PRESIDENT F. KING ALEXANDER SPEAKING ABOUT THE 2018 FALL FRESHMAN CLASS

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NEW PLACES NEW PEOPLE NEW WORLD

by Sarah Catherine LaBorde Photos by LSU Strategic Communications

Opposite page, clockwise from top left 1. Chemical engineering students work in a lab in Patrick F. Taylor Hall. 2. A future alumnus runs on the new inclined track at the UREC. 3. Nicholson Gateway Apartments can house more than 1,500 students and provide them with amenities like an onsite grocery store and rec center.

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“I cannot wait to see how our students make the most of everything we have to offer.”

–JUDY WORNAT DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Generations of Tigers have walked under the beautiful oaks and stately arches that dot LSU’s campus; however, whether you graduated with the class of 1934 or 2018, the University may look a little different since your last visit.

LSU is alive – constantly evolving with each new class that passes through the campus gates – and, as needs change, the campus changes too. Through multiple new developments, LSU strives to provide the best college experience and create well-rounded, competitive graduates. Within the past two years,

Above, from top 1. Future alumni study in the Cambre Atrium inside Patrick F. Taylor Hall (PFT). 2. Future alumni utilize PFT’s Building Information Modeling Lab. 3. Students perform hands-on research in one of the labs in PFT. Opposite page, from top 1. Center for River Studies Director, Clint Willson, observes the Mississippi River model with two students. 2. The LSU Center for River Studies is part of the Water Campus on River Road in Baton Rouge, La.

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“There’s not another like it anywhere in the world. Just to have the White House committed to using this project as an example of how to do infrastructure … I think is critically important.”

–GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS ABOUT THE CENTER FOR RIVER STUDIES

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Above, from top 1. The Nicholson Gateway Development is a recently opened apartment complex for upperclassmen and graduate students. 2. Future alumni relax and enjoy the UREC’s outdoor leisure river and lap pools. 3. Students enjoy Nicholson Gateway’s full-sized living areas in each apartment.

“I hope that both our programs and our facilities speak to the highest levels of excellence that we can achieve each day.”

–LAURIE BRADEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY RECREATION

LSU completed more than five new building projects ranging from academic and research facilities to on-campus housing and student recreational locations.

“I believe it shows the investment that we as a university and the state of Louisiana have made in our students and their future success,” said LSU President F. King Alexander. “It demonstrates LSU’s ongoing commitment to solving the biggest challenges facing our state, many of

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which can be solved through the education and research taking place [here]."

After three years of construction and renovation, Patrick F. Taylor Hall (PFT), is now the largest academic building in Louisiana and the largest freestanding college of engineering building in the United States. The facility measures nearly 440,000 square feet and provides more than 176,000 square feet of space for teaching, laboratory work, and student

collaboration. This dedicated space provides hands-on learning experiences and innovative research opportunities in every field of engineering offered.

Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, the LSU Center for River Studies is the first-of-its-kind facility in Louisiana. The state-ofthe-art research location is dedicated to training and preparing the next generation of researchers to solve one of Louisiana’s most pressing issues: coastal erosion. A 10,000-square-foot interactive model of the southern Mississippi River is the star of the Center for River Studies and one of the largest moveable bed physical models in the world. Multiple water pumps, acoustic sensors, and high-definition projectors allow the model to come alive for scientists and tour groups to study and observe.

LSU also provides modern oncampus housing options as it continues to expand and recruit the brightest minds in the nation. Campus housing is steps away from class and offers amenities that are competitive with Baton Rouge’s other prime housing options. The Nicholson Gateway Apartments are the newest edition to LSU’s residential options. The upperclassmen and graduate student apartment complex sits on twentyeight acres of land that was formally Alex Box Stadium and the married student housing complex. The new complex can house more than 1,500 residents and boasts fully furnished apartments, restaurants, shopping centers, recreation rooms, and an onsite grocery store.

“I currently live in Nicholson Gateway, and I love it there,” said biological engineering honors student Hailey Simpson, of Goshen, Ky. “As someone who is very actively involved on campus, I need to be close, so I can make it to all my meetings and classes without the trouble of commuting.

From top 1. View of Nicholson Gateway Apartments from the north gates of campus at Nicholson and W. Chimes St. 2. New common areas and study lounges for Nicholson Gateway residents. 3. 2018 Aerial view of the Nicholson Gateway development facing the Mississippi River. 4. Nicholson Gateway apartment interiors. 5. The main courtyard at the Nicholson Gateway Apartments facing Tiger Stadium.

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A LOOK BACK It is extremely convenient. For me, all these amenities make living on campus the very best option.”

LSU’s University Recreation Center (UREC) reopened its doors in fall 2017 after extensive renovation and expansion. The UREC provides an open, welcoming environment that demonstrates LSU’s dedication to the well-being of each member of the University community. Indoor running tracks and rock walls, group fitness rooms, weight training areas, and the iconic leisure pool allow users to combat stress and lead more balanced lifestyles through promoting health, fitness, and recreation.

“Having these new resources for students and faculty makes LSU more advanced and competitive,” said LSU computer engineering and physics major Bri Robertson, of Slidell, La. LSU continues to recruit top scholars from Louisiana and across the country. This year’s class of 5,812 freshmen is the largest, most diverse, and highest-achieving class the University has ever seen. These new Tigers share an average 3.5 GPA and scored an average 26 on the ACT with a 42 percent increase in scores above a 34. These scores place LSU’s first-year future alumni five points above the 2017 national average.

LSU continues to create a safe, innovative, and vibrant campus community that enhances the value of the education the University provides. With high enrollment in the Honors College, higher testing scores, renewed grants, and access to these new cutting-edge facilities, LSU is poised to help both current and future alumni achieve big things and continue to impact the state, country, and global community.

To see videos and learn more about the new places and faces on campus, visit www.lsu.edu/newfaces, or come home to Baton Rouge to rediscover the new LSU. Sarah Catherine LaBorde, LSU Class of 2020, is a marketing intern in the LSU Division of Strategic Communications.

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Assistant University archivist Barry Cowan shares a look at Nicholson Drive of yesteryear with photos from LSU’s Special Collections.

1. Before Nicholson Drive was completed, experimental plots extended from River Road to the edge of the running track and ball field, with the Huey P. Long Fieldhouse and the Gym Armory in background. This photograph from c. 1934 shows cotton breeding plots.

2. This aerial photograph of campus from c. 1937 shows a recently completed Nicholson Drive ending at South Stadium Drive.

Alex Box Stadium is nearing completion and farm crops lie on each side of the road. Development of apartments and singlefamily houses would begin in the 1940s.

3. By 1960, the newly completed first phase of the Nicholson Apartments (bottom center) was ready for occupancy. The hutments, the small buildings in the center, were World War II-surplus prefabricated military barracks set up in 1947 as temporary housing for married students, most of whom were veterans returning from the war to resume or begin their education. The last of the hutments were removed in 1963. This photograph was taken by the Louisiana State Police to study football game day traffic patterns on campus.

This is the first in a series of stories on LSU Student Government presidents.

THE LEADERS

BY ED CULLEN

S

tories told by LSU Student Government presidents from the 1950s to the present are a reminder of how much things change and how much they stay the same.

Elaine Durbin Abell (19631964), LSU’s first female student body president, remembers rolling up her long pants and putting on a coat to walk across campus. Coeds weren’t allowed to wear slacks on campus.

Roger Ogden’s (1967-1968) resume reads like a one-man “who’s who” of service to LSU. He talks about the cultural diversity of his undergraduate days and the ethnic diversity of today’s campus.

In Stephen Moret’s term (1993-1994), the biggest issue was the state’s underfunding of Louisiana’s flagship research university. Moret, who was an undergraduate when some LSU students pitched in to help paint classrooms, thinks little has changed in that regard.

Stewart Lockett (20182019) is the third black student elected to head the LSU student body. LSU, he thinks, sometimes echoes the divisiveness of his home state.

The students who elected him president represent a different demographic, Lockett said.

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1950s

Frank Foil. Photo: 1956 Gumbo

When Frank Foil (1956 JD, 1963 JD), SGA president in 1955-1956, entered LSU in 1952, World War II had been over for seven years. Returning veterans had used the GI Bill to go to college. Many of Foil’s classmates at LSU had been in grammar school during the war. “Students weren’t mindful of World War II,” Foil said. “I was in the Marines between Korea and Vietnam.

For the most part, we had a peaceful country.”

One of the controversies on campus was whether to build a new library or extend the football stadium, he said. “You know who won out.”

A library bearing the name of one of Foil’s mentors, Gen. Troy Middleton, would eventually replace Hill Memorial as the campus library. Plans now are to demolish Middleton and leave a green space between Hill and the Campanile. A site near the intersection of Field House and South Campus drives has been mentioned as the location for a new library.

In the mid-50s, student unions were being built on college campuses around the country. Before LSU’s Student Union, students hung out at the Huey P. Long Fieldhouse.

“There was a coffee shop,” Foil recalled, “but most events were in the Gym Armory.”

“Dean of Men Arden O. French was pushing for a student union,” Foil said. “He and I worked together to put a referendum on the ballot to see if students would OK a fee increase. It passed. Dean French had a lot of vision.” Board of Supervisors member Theo Cangelosi, a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors was a leading sponsor of the project, Foil said.

In Foil’s undergraduate days, tuition was about $40. “That included tickets to all athletic events and a yearbook. You could go to your legislator to get a fee exemption scholarship, so you went to school for very little.”

One thing students didn’t have was health insurance. “The Union was a big thing because eighteen-year-olds don’t worry about their health,” Foil said. “Getting a health insurance program passed was one of my big successes. There were some car accidents later, and the parents were grateful.”

It fell to Foil to help bring the Four Freshmen, Louis Armstrong, and band leader Harry James to campus for performances. Paul Dietzel was hired as football coach and Jim Corbett as athletic director when Foil was SGA president. Dietzel and Corbett courted the students, Foil said. “They took me a lot of places. I sat on the bench at all LSU home games and flew with the team to the Maryland game in 1955. There was a train trip for students to the Rice game in Houston. Fans from New Orleans took the train to games.”

And, the University had its own humble depot near old Alex Box Stadium, he recalled.

When Foil returned to campus to attend law school again (1960-1963) after the Marines, the Middleton Library, new in 1959, was open and, in 1961, ground was broken for the new Union.

Besides his degrees, Foil enjoyed the University’s social life. “I met people from all over Louisiana.” During his second year in law school, Foil met future wife Judy at a party at the home of U.S. Sen. Russell Long. Foil practiced law in Baton Rouge until he was elected city judge in 1974. He was elected to the 19th Judicial District Court two years later and to the Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1st Circuit, in 1987.

Foil, 84, retired in 2005.

1960s

Elaine Durbin Abell’s national notoriety as LSU’s first woman SGA president in 1963 was short lived.

She has an apologetic letter from a Life magazine editor who’d sent a writer and photographer to LSU to write about her groundbreaking victory. The letter cited breaking international and national events – continuing fallout from the Cuban Missile Crisis and southern voter registration – that pushed her story from the pages of the magazine. “Please don’t take this as any reflection on your charm or remarkable achievement,” the editor wrote.

The Life editor sent Abell (1964 BACH BUS, 1969 JD) some of the photos that were to have accompanied the story and a promise to “revisit the Elaine Abell story when she was elected governor of Louisiana.”

The 1960s kept the rhetoric flowing in Free Speech Alley, a pedestrian cut-through between the Student Union and the Union Theater. There was the Bay of Pigs in 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, and the escalating war in Vietnam.

Abell’s election as the first woman SGA president wasn’t a big deal for her or the student body, the Lafayette lawyer recalled. There was no prohibition against a woman student running for SGA president. By tradition, however, only men ran for SGA president and vice president. Women vied for coed vice president. Abell decided to run for president rather than oppose a friend for coed vice president.

“The students at LSU didn’t necessarily make an issue of me being a female,” Abell said. “It was more an issue with the media and people outside the LSU community. This was the same several years later when Kerry Pourciau and Kirk Bennett, the first and second black SGA presidents ran for office. We all ran on our qualifications, not our gender or race.”

The University was, however, paying attention to gender.

“Being a female on the LSU campus, you were not allowed to wear long pants walking across campus unless they were rolled up under a trench coat” – giving the appearance the coed was wearing a skirt, Abell said. “We had curfew every night and room check after we were in the dorm. Quiet hours were after room check and during exam week. Violations could cause you to be ‘campused’ in the dorm for a whole weekend. We signed in and out of the dorm at night. Phones were cut off at 10 p.m. until morning.”

“As SGA president, my telephone was left on,” she said.

An expanding campus was making students park considerable distances from the heart of campus and classes.

Among her achievements, Abell lists bringing the Tiger Train to campus. The student-mover was a train of cars pulled by a tractor covered in fiberglass with a tiger head on the front. This time, her efforts made the national press when the New York Times ran a photo of the Tiger Train.

Elaine Durbin Abell.

Photo: 1964 Gumbo

Under Abell, the SGA posted a student at the legislature to monitor legislation affecting LSU. The lack of state funding was having an impact on the campus and students, Abell said.

Following her graduation from law school, she clerked for Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Joe Sanders (LSU SGA president in 1937-1938).

People Abell met at LSU, many of whom remain friends, helped her build an impressive record of public achievement that includes chairman of the LSU Board of Supervisors, chairman of the board of University Medical Center in New Orleans, chairman of the Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission, LSU Honors College Advisory Council member, Louisiana State Mineral Board member, and a member of the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL).

She is a founding board member of Women’s and Children’s Hospital of Acadiana, was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction, and is a recipient of the Leah Hipple McKay Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteerism from the Louisiana State Bar Association.

Abell’s election as the first woman SGA president wasn’t a big deal for her or the student body.

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Roger Ogden. Photo: 1968 Gumbo

There is at least one LSU reference on every page in Roger Houston Ogden’s nine-page resume. Except one. That page shows Ogden (1968 BACH BUS) busy with pro bono and private development work in New Orleans, which Ogden calls home.

Ogden’s work outside the classroom in his student days, which saw his election to SGA president in 1967, suggested the long association the lawyer (Tulane, 1972) and commercial developer would have with LSU. Kappa Sigma brothers from around the state – from a studious teetotaler to one who opened beer cans with his teeth – introduced Ogden to the state’s cultural diversity, from Bastrop to LaFourche. And, they first informed him of the importance of LSU’s status as a flagship university. “Without a doubt,” Ogden said, “the most important thing, from my room at the Pentagon to graduation, was diversity. Then, it was geographical diversity.

The whole state. That’s why it was relatively easy to increase the racial mix.”

Ogden counted as a friend Kerry Pourciau, elected the University’s first black SGA president in 1972. Pourciau died in 1994. “I learned from Kerry,” he said. “Deep down, he understood the importance of his victory as president. He knew it was a watershed, but he didn’t talk about it. He was humble.

His was a significant victory. Mine was razor thin.”

Ogden was a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors from 1991 to 2004, and served as vice chair and chair. “LSU was 4- to 5-percent black in 1991,” he said. “We set a goal to be at no less than 11 percent by 2000. I guess we’re somewhere near 15 percent and, now, our African-American brothers and sisters realize that

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in the twenty-first century it’s about Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans, too.”

“As SGA president, we identified two big things,” Ogden said. “First, there was the one-mile ban on liquor sales from the perimeter of the campus.

That’s why the bars were so far down Highland Road. And there was mandatory ROTC. I was in ROTC, but I didn’t think it should be compulsory in 1967-1968.”

“We worked with the (East Baton Rouge) Parish Council on the alcohol ban and the administration and Board of Supervisors on making ROTC voluntary,” Ogden said.

Ogden’s $2 billion in private and public development projects include commercial real estate, work on the New Orleans Aviation Board and the new New Orleans airport terminal set to open in early 2019; Audubon Park Commission (he chaired work on the aquarium and Riverfront Park); oversight committee on the E.J. Ourso College of Business building, constructed with state and private money; and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. LSU’s honors program – the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College – is named for Ogden’s father and son who share the same name. Though Ogden has lent his talents and fortune to LSU and Louisiana projects over the years, he counts as his biggest achievement the success of his son, Field, who graduated from Harvard University before enrolling at the LSU School of Medicine, eventually becoming an orthopedic surgeon. “I, finally, got my Tiger,” Ogden said.

1970s

LSU was child’s play compared to Ted Schirmer’s time

in Vietnam with Inshore Undersea Warfare Group 1 (UG-1).

Schirmer (1978 BACH H&SS) would liven up campus before, during, and after his 1976-1977 term as SGA president.

Schirmer’s detractors, who tried to recall him and impeach him, neither successfully, said he burned bridges between SGA, the administration, and the Board of Supervisors. “I didn’t burn the bridges,” Schirmer laughed. “I refused to pay the tolls.”

Schirmer, who saw combat in Vietnam, thought he’d left military regs behind when he enrolled at LSU only to find hair and dress codes for male students and curfews for women. He and other activists set about changing that.

Schirmer graduated from Istrouma High School after a childhood of moving around the country landed him in Baton Rouge. He describes his childhood as frequent school changes and his father’s trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Schirmer was the first person in his family to graduate from high school let alone college or law school. Because his early education was so spotty, Schirmer said he was semi-literate when he got to LSU, but he was smart and had a good memory. “I could pass tests, especially multiple choice.”

He came to LSU for the football. He was delighted to learn his SGA presidency allowed him and a date admittance to the sky boxes in Tiger Stadium. Schirmer and his date arrived in hippie attire barefooted.

The SGA president had a non-voting seat on the LSU Board of Supervisors. Schirmer, representing the study body, showed up at a board meeting unshod and casually dressed. “Kitty Strain, the board secretary forever, got me to wear shoes and, later, a suit,” Schirmer said. “I borrowed a suit from a friend.”

Schirmer’s date to football games eventually moved on to Amsterdam and Schirmer to law school. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in general studies, he did well enough on his LSAT to get into LSU Law School, but the school made it plain he wasn’t wanted, Shirmer said. “All they had to do was let me in the law school, and I would have flunked out and never become a lawyer,” Schirmer said. “They did me a favor.”

The Southern University law school wasn’t thrilled by Schirmer’s decision to matriculate there, either, Schirmer said.

“But I had letters from Paul Murrill, Jerry McKernan, and Camille Gravel,” he said. Murrill was the LSU chancellor. McKernan and Gravel were members of the Board of Supervisors. “I was a pain in Paul’s ass, but we had a good working relationship,” Schirmer said. “Paul didn’t think his job was to beat me down. He knew my job was representing students.”

After graduating from LSU in 1978, Schirmer moved to Illinois to work for Aid for Dependent Children in Chicago. Back in Louisiana, he started the Louisiana Public Action Council in 1983, representing people affected by the 1982 Livingston train derailment. After he got his law degree from Southern University in 1983, he opened a law office in Beauregard Town taking “civil rights, handicapped discrimination and rent law” cases.

Today, he lives with his wife outside Santa Cruz, Calif., where he retired from the Los Angeles Public Defenders Office in 2016.

Does he keep up with LSU? Besides football. “Well, I read The Advocate. I bleed purple and gold. I’m sitting here drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper in an LSU Alumni Association coozie someone gave me.”

“I didn’t burn the bridges. I refused to pay the tolls.”

Ted Schirmer. Photo: 1977 Gumbo

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Jay Dardenne. Photo: 1978 Gumbo

Jay Dardenne, 1977-78 SGA president and now Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Division of Administration commissioner, lists among his accomplishments winning the fight to continue allowing students to get into LSU football games on their ID’s rather than with tickets, helping develop a textbook rental program, fighting to keep Paul Grosser a tenured member of the political science faculty; and “restoring a reasonable working relationship between SGA and the administration.” Dardenne’s presidency followed that of activist Ted Schirmer, whom Dardenne called “controversial and confrontational.”

“I advocated for a different attitude that would better serve the student body,” Dardenne said.

Dardenne (1976 BACH MCOM, 1979 JD) attributes his successes as SGA president to his role as student member of the LSU Board of Supervisors. “I initiated discussions at the legislature to allow the nonvoting student member to vote,” he said. “I testified at the legislature on the constitutional amendment that went to the voters and was passed the year after my service as SGA president.”

“Preventing the change in the football ticket policy and ensuring that Paul Grosser stayed on the faculty were also highlights,” he said.

Grosser’s critics pointed to what they said was his lack of research.

Dardenne and Grosser’s supporters called him one “of the more popular teachers on campus.”

In his student days and as a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, Dardenne got involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) by chairing the LSU Charity Marathon, a weeklong, twenty-four-houra-day flag football game. “I succeeded Jerry Lewis’ son, Ron, as the National Youth Chairman for MDA,” Dardenne said, “and represented LSU in a high-profile capacity that involved young people from across the country volunteering in fundraising and patient service activities.”

Twice elected Louisiana’s lieutenant governor, Dardenne served four years as secretary of state, fifteen years as a state senator, and three years as a Baton Rouge Metro councilman. As lieutenant governor, he headed the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. The “Louisiana: Pick Your Passion” campaign led to four consecutive record-breaking years and marked a turning point in tourism following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Dardenne said. He also counts the two sons he reared with wife Cathy among his biggest successes.

Dardenne gives talks around the state including “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi,” a lively look at Louisiana’s culture, history, music, literature, and politics. For information, email the commissioner at dardenne@bellsouth.net.

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Top: Michael Futrell. Photo: The Daily Reveille, March 20, 1980 Bottom: Angelle Graves Hamilton. Photo: 1987 Gumbo

1980s

Michael Futrell (1982 BACH BUS, 1985 JD), student

body president in 1980-1981, credits LSU with giving him the skills to become a U.S. Navy submarine officer, practice law, serve on the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council and in the legislature, serve as former U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s state director, and handle the jobs of chief administrative officer for the City of Baton Rouge and, now, city manager of the City of South San Francisco.

Besides his degrees, Futrell said he got from LSU “people skills, mostly through student politics, giving speeches, working (information) tables in the Quad and on the Parade Ground, and serving as student representative in professional business settings for the first time.”

In the early 1980s, students wanted more control over their lives on campus, Futrell said.

“We had curfews, no coed dorms, and the theory of in loco parentis was very much in effect,” he said. Under in loco parentis, colleges and universities legally assume some of the responsibilities of parents. The term in Latin means “in place of the parent.”

“We pushed for student representatives on committees and published the first guide (for) student evaluations of instructors,” Futrell said. “Alcohol was a big issue, and, for the first time, students were searched while going into Tiger Stadium. A student-led protest march was the result. We also protested the new policy that beer trucks could no longer park in front of the fraternities for parties. But we, also, did start the Nighttime Shuttle Service so any student needing a ride home at night could arrive safely without driving.”

Futrell lists among his successes as president lobbying the legislature for a state constitutional amendment to give the student representative on the Board of Supervisors the right to vote on matters before the board. “This measure passed the legislature, was put on the November 1980 statewide ballot and won. This was a long lasting, impactful improvement giving students more of a voice,” Futrell said.

In 2006, Futrell was recalled to active duty in the U.S. Navy for six months during the Iraq War. He was assigned to find still usable war materials and classified information in military vehicles damaged in combat. He received the Bronze Star for his work. He rose to the rank of captain – equivalent to that of colonel in the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force. He was recalled to active duty again in 2010, this time with the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. After retiring from the Navy, Futrell moved from Hawaii to California in 2014.

Angelle Graves Hamilton (1988 BACH ENGR), president 1986-1987, wasn’t afraid to let her head overrule her heart even when it meant going against constituents. That may be why she’s an engineer and her brother, Garret, is a congressman.

“Louisiana found itself (in 1986) in the midst of an economic crisis as OPEC flooded the market with cheap oil,” Hamilton said. “In an effort to balance the budget, the state looked to one of its biggest line items – higher education. The crisis remained front and center, and the Board of Supervisors requested its largest tuition increase to date.

“As SGA president and a member of the board, I had the challenge of balancing LSU’s position as a “Tier One” research

In the early 1980s, students wanted more control over their lives on campus. university with maintaining an affordable education for our student body. Despite much angst, I voted for a ‘one-time,’ significant increase.”

On the heels of one of the most successful periods in LSU athletics, Hamilton and board members found themselves dealing with Athletic Director Bob Broadhead’s problems over federal charges of electronic eavesdropping and football coach Bill Arnsparger’s decision to leave LSU for the AD’s job at the University of Florida. “Coach Arnsparger recommended his defensive coordinator Mike Archer as his replacement,” Hamilton said.

As a member of the LSU Athletic Council and the board, Hamilton had a ringside seat on the head football coach hiring process. Quarterback Tommy Hodson called to tell Hamilton the team wanted Archer and “that I should follow their recommendation as they knew best.” Hamilton, who called herself a knowledgeable fan, could not “fathom a premier football program selecting an unproven assistant coach over the likes of Steve Spurrier and Mike Shanahan.”

Archer got the job. His first two years as head coach (19871990), LSU was 10-1-1; and 8-4, winning the SEC with a conference record of 6-1. Archer’s teams had losing seasons in 1989-1990, and he was forced to resign. His teams’ records were a combined 27-18-1.

Hamilton had better luck establishing and funding partnerships between college councils and Louisiana businesses. She later served on the M.B.A. Advisory Council and, occasionally, lectured business classes.

Her biggest disappointment was seeing the loss of loyalty among students, with many of them leaving Louisiana after graduation because of the “short-sightedness of the legislature in cutting funding to LSU.” Today, Hamilton and husband Art live in Atlanta where they own “an integrated industrial polyester import-export company.” The yarn produced is used in rope, lifting slings, air bags, tire cord, batteries, and erosion control products, the topic of one of Hamilton’s senior research projects.

Hamilton works in the community and in the schools of her teenage children. “Of course, I also volunteer for Louisiana’s 6th District Congressman from Baton Rouge, Garret Graves,” she said.

Former presidents who are parents listed among their successes their children. Hamilton is no exception. “I am proud of my two children – a daughter, who while smart, beautiful, and determined, remains a lady – and a son, who, although charming, is deeply respectful of women.”

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 is retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.”

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35

Noteworthy

Around

CAMPUS

Max Conrad, professor of landscape architecture for more than fifty years, was named a "Most Admired Educator" of 2018-2019 by DesignIntelligence magazine.

Max Conrad

Renee Edwards

Andrea Miller

Ipsita Gupta

Sarah Simms

Sonja D. Wiley

Franz Lohrke

Kenny Anderson

Jason Boudreaux

36 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Louisiana Sea Grant has awarded $200,000 to the Manship School of Mass Communication (MCOM) and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences (H&SS) to study how emergency managers communicate important information to coastal communities about hazardous conditions.

Barry Keim Communicating Climate Tools to Coastal Communities will help emergency managers in coastal Louisiana better understand and explain to the public information from climate tools, such as the National Hurricane Center’s Cone of Uncertainty and the Storm Prediction Center’s Convective Outlook, about severe weather and climate hazards. Renee Edwards, professor of communication studies (H&SS), is the principal investigator. Co-investigators include Louisiana State Climatologist Barry Keim, professor of geography and Hayley Johnson anthropology (H&SS), and Andrea Miller, professor and associate dean (MCOM).

Ipsita Gupta, assistant professor of petroleum engineering, received a 2018 Early Career Research Fellowship from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The fellowship recognizes professionals at the critical pre-tenure phase of their careers who show exceptional leadership, performance, and potential for future contributions to improving offshore energy system safety, human health and well-being, or environmental stewardship. The $76,000 award paid is paid to the University in the form of a twoyear grant for research expenses and professional development.

Hayley Johnson, head of government documents and microforms at LSU Libraries, and Sarah Simms, undergraduate and student success librarian, spoke at the 2018 American Library Association about their research, “The Accidental Researcher: a Case Study in Librarian-led Historical Research and Social Justice.” The presentation detailed how the two academic librarians came to discover World War II internment camps in Louisiana. Read the story at americanlibrariesmagazine.org/ blogs/the-scoop/two-academic-librarians-became-accidental-historical-researchers/.

Franz Lohrke, the Alvin C. Copeland Professor of Franchising and Entrepreneurship, and Sonja D. Wiley, the Donald Lindley and Ruby Wright Phillips Developing Scholar Professor, in the Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems, will serve as core instructors at the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge (YEA BR) for the academic year 2018-2019. LSU Innovation Park team members, including student incubator manager Kenny Anderson and business consultant Jason Boudreaux provide coaching, counseling, and prototype supervision in the Protostripes Center, and will guide students on their innovations and pitches.

Andrew Maverick, associate dean of academic services in the College of Science and the Philip & Foymae West Distinguished Professor in Chemistry was named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in August, recognizing his service with events such as ChemDemo and Super Science Saturday. Both events require extensive team efforts to reach out to hundreds of K-12 students interested in science. Maverick joins six other LSU faculty members who are also ACS Fellows: Isiah M. Warner (2009), James G. Traynham (2009), Saundra Y. McGuire (2010), William H. Daly (2010), George G. Stanley (2011), and John W. Finley (2011).

Gabriele Piccoli, the Edward G. Schlieder Endowed Chair of Information Sciences in the Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems, was selected as editor-in-chief of MIS Quarterly Executive (MISQE). Piccoli’s three-year term will begin on Jan. 1, 2019.

Andrew Maverick

Gabriele Piccoli

The Office of Strategic Initiatives, or OSI, received a 2018 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The award recognizes colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter STEM fields. LSU was featured, along with seventy-seven other recipients, in the September 2018 issue.

The College of Music & Dramatic Arts opera program received a $4 million gift from John Turner and Jerry Fischer to strengthen the vitality of the program. LSU Opera, established in 1931 as one of the country’s first major opera programs at a university, is now one of only a handful of named university opera programs. The largest gift in the college’s history creates the John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer Center for Opera at LSU.

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Around Campus

In Focus

LSU Assistant Vice President Tracy Jones, School of Renewable Natural Resources Director Allen Rutherford, award recipients Colette Pansini and Anna West, and scholarship donors Luke and Sonja Laborde.

Laborde Leadership Award – Colette Pansini and Anna West, seniors majoring in wildlife ecology, were the inaugural recipients of the Laborde Award for Leadership in Renewable Natural Resources, presented in September. The award, a scholarship endowed through the LSU Alumni Association, will be presented each year to a senior who has demonstrated leadership in clubs and activities sponsored by the School of Renewable Natural Resources and who has an overall GPA of 3.25 or better. Pansini and West received awards of $1,000 per semester recognizing their leadership roles in the success of the student chapters of the Wildlife Society and Ducks Unlimited Tiger Chapter.

38 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Impressive Rankings LSU moved up in the latest Forbes America’s Top Colleges rankings. After being recognized as one of “America’s Best Value Colleges” earlier this year, LSU is now the highest ranked public university in Louisiana in the publication’s America’s Top Colleges list. In addition, Forbes placed LSU fifty-ninth overall among public universities nationwide, and fourth among public universities in the Southeastern Conference.

The undergraduate and graduate programs at the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture have once again received top rankings from DesignIntelligence magazine, the leading journal of design professionals.

The 2018-2019 issue of “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” ranked the undergraduate program #1 in the nation and the graduate program #5 in the nation.

LSU is the highest ranked Louisiana university and is in the top half of the SEC in the Washington Monthly 2018 College Guide and Rankings. Among peer public universities, LSU is ranked ninetieth and thirtieth among flagship universities nationwide.

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 edition of Best Colleges, LSU is ranked in the top tier for “Best National Universities” for the eleventh straight year and is the only public university in Louisiana ranked in the top tier this year. LSU is ranked seventieth among public universities and thirty-fifth among flagship universities nationwide.

In “Payback Picture” rankings, U.S. News & World Report lists LSU among the schools whose students finish college with the least amount of debt, and the University is ranked 139th in "Best Value Schools." LSU also ranks ninety-fifth on the "Best Colleges for Veterans" list. In program rankings, LSU’s undergraduate business program is ranked 108th, with the undergraduate accounting program ranked 52nd, and the undergraduate engineering program is ranked 104th.

The University appeared on U.S. News & World Report’s list of “A-Plus Schools for B Students.” Also, thanks to the generous support of LSU alumni, the University’s alumni giving ranking is up fifteen spots from last year to eightyseventh overall.

The School of Theatre was named the No. 2 Theatre Bachelor of Arts program among public universities in the United States in the prestigious OnStage Blog’s “Top 25 B.A. Theatre Programs for 2018-19.” The rankings place the eleventh overall in the country and as the highest ranked SEC school on the list of the top twenty-five undergraduate theatre programs.

In the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings for 2019, LSU is ranked eighty-fifth among public universities and 352nd overall, ninety-one spots higher than last year’s placement in the rankings. Among public SEC peers, LSU ranks seventh and is thirty-second among flagship universities nationwide. In Louisiana, LSU is the highest ranked public university in the state.

LSU earned the 2017- 2018 Military Friendly® School designation.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly ® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. For the first time, student survey data was taken into consideration for the designation. More than 1,400 schools participated in the 2018-2019 survey with 941 earning the designation.

Visit www.militaryfriendly.com for a list of military friendly schools and www.lsu.edu/students/veterans/ for information about LSU’s student veteran programs.

LSU “earned its ears” in November with selection as a distinguished Disney College Program institution.

LSU students are finding a bit of career magic through the program, at a rate of more than twenty-five students per year. This creative take on an

internship for credit provides students with the opportunity for hands-on work experience in Disney parks and resorts while receiving academic credit through personal and career development coursework.

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best Online Programs ranking, the LSU Online master’s degree in construction management is ranked twelfth among public colleges and universities and sixteenth overall. LSU Online Flores MBA Program is ranked forty-first among public colleges and universities and fifty-first overall. The magazine also ranked the best online programs that help veterans reduce the cost for school. LSU’s master’s in construction management ranked tenth in engineering programs for veterans, and LSU’s online MBA ranked twenty-fifth in online MBA programs for veterans.

The College of Engineering maintained its Top-20 status in the 2018 rankings of Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs, finishing T-12 among public institutions and T-16 overall.

LSU is among the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents in 2017, according to the National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association. The report ranks the top 100 universities in the world named as the first assignee on utility patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the 2017 calendar year. LSU faculty applied for 145 U.S. patents. Across LSU’s campuses, thirty-five patents were granted, twenty-five of which listed LSU as the first assignee.

LSU is ranked ninth in the “Top 10 Game Design Schools and Colleges in the South” by Animation Career Review, an online resource for careers in animation, game design, graphic design, digital art, and related fields. LSU is the only university in Louisiana and the Southeastern Conference ranked in the top ten.

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Around Campus

In Focus

LSU students meet one of the LSU Police Department’s new Vapor Wake canines.

Vapor Wake Canines – The LSU Police Department added two new K-9s to join its two traditional explosive- detecting dogs already on the force. Jazz and Weeks are Labrador retrievers, trained to detect explosives and other substances, even as the target is moving. Vapor Wake is the only detector dog technology certified by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security. They are uniquely suited for screening large numbers of persons quickly at events or high-trafficked pedestrian traffic areas. The Tiger Athletic Foundation, Claude Pennington, and the Irene W. and C. B. Pennington Foundation provided funding for the dogs, their training, and the K-9 vehicles.

Photo by Eddy Perez/LS Strategic Communications

40 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

James Meredith Visit Brings History to Life

TIGER TRIVIA 1. What were some of the first programs broadcast by KFGC, LSU’s student radio station, when it was established in the early 1920s?

Concerts by the LSU Band Debates between LSU and other

universities’ debating teams

Football games A and B 2. When was LSU’s chapter of Scabbard and Blade, a national fraternal organization of cadet officers, established?

1923 1935

1941 1945 3. What was the football field called on the downtown campus?

Tiger Stadium State Field

Death Valley LSU Athletics Field

From left, Frank Rusciano, secondary principal, ULS; James Meredith; Rachel Emanuel, past president, A.P. Tureaud, Jr. Black Alumni Chapter; and Roland Mitchell, interim dean, College of Human Sciences & Education.

Photo by Ava Perego

4. Which New Orleans stadium was named for an LSU track coach?

Bernie Moore Stadium “Tad” Gormley Stadium Gaynell Tinsley Field “Slats” Hardin Stadium

5. Besides the hutments, what other campus housing option was available to married students immediately after World War II?

The stadium dormitory rooms The East Campus Apartments Trailer parks The G Building behind the

Pentagon Barracks 6. Who was the first men’s basketball player to be named All-American?

Pete Maravich Bob Pettit

Joe Dean Malcolm “Sparky” Wade 7. What was Field House Drive called before it received its present name?

West Drive Gym-Armory Lane Indian Mound Drive East Stadium Road

8. When did LSU-Alexandria open?

1860

1960

Human rights activist, former U.S. senatorial political adviser, and author James Meredith spoke to University Laboratory School (ULS) middle and high school students and the LSU and Baton Rouge communities as part of the 2018-2019 LSU College of Human Sciences & Education Quality of Life Lecture Series last week.

Hosted by ULS and the ULS Foundation, Meredith's talks were moderated by history instructors Belinda Cambre and Ryan Empson. Meredith answered questions from the moderators as well as audience members while sharing personal experiences, lessons learned, and valuable, first-person insight on some of the most important civil rights moments of the twentieth century, including his historic integration of the University of Mississippi and his "Walk Against Fear." Visit lsu.edu/chse/qualityoflifeseries/

9. What was the Fourrier Medal?

An award presented to the best-dressed coed

An award presented to the student who did the most to make the Department of Music a success An award presented to the best defensive football player

An award presented to an outstanding faculty member

10. When was the Women’s Glee Club formed?

1897 1906

1917 1926 11. In what year was beer first sold in the Union?

1933 1945

1964 1969 12. What was the “pajama game?’

The first home football game of

the season in which male freshmen

were to attend wearing their pajamas

Another term for streaking

Another term for panty raids The first home football game of the season in which female freshmen were to attend wearing their pajamas

Tiger Trivia is compiled by Barry Cowan, assistant archivist, Hill Memorial Library.

Answers: 1:d, 2:a, 3:b, 4:b, 5:c, 6:d, 7:a, 8:c, 9:b, 10:c, 11:d, 12:a

James Meredith, seated, with, from left, ULS history instructors Ryan Empson and Belinda Cambre and Meredith's wife, Judy Alsobrooks.

Photo by Kendall Slate

1933 1968

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41

Around Campus

In Focus

From left, Jerald Juneau, Gail Cramer, Carolyn McKnight, Annrose Guarino, and Julian Ruff.

LSU Retirees – Carolyn McKnight, superintendent of Baton Rouge Recreation

& Parks Commission (BREC), spoke about the social and economic values of the parish’s parks and recreation commission at the September meeting of the LSU Faculty and Staff Retirees Club. The award-winning agency boasts numerous parks, playgrounds, trails and sports programs, along with leisure activities, camps, and holiday events. The retirees club holds meetings, tours and social events through the academic year and is open to all retirees and their spouses. Contact lsu.faculty.staff. ret.club@gmail.com.

Photo by Mark Claesgens

42 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

The Daily Reveille Digitization Initiative LSU Libraries and the Manship School of Mass Communication are partnering to make history by digitizing the campus newspaper, The Daily Reveille. Dating back to 1897, when the first known issue was published, the awardwinning newspaper has kept students informed of regional and national news.

Throughout history student journalists have covered significant national events such as the civil rights and women’s movements, World War I and World War II, the Jim Crow era, Korean War, Vietnam War, and 9/11. In addition, The Reveille has captured spirited student and campus life, as well as the great moments of LSU sports. The paper provides experience for the student-led staff, instilling in the young journalists the writing, design, photography, and editing skills necessary for their success after they graduate.

Digitizing The Reveille’s publications will recognize the newspaper’s longstanding reputation for excellence and also provide future scholars with historical information on the political and cultural issues and events in the South and America at large.

Manship School Dean Martin Johnson (1991 BACH MCOM), a former Reveille editor, hopes alumni, historians, genealogists, families, and anyone with ties to the LSU community soon will be able to explore the invaluable information the archive offers.

“It’s going to be a great resource for historians, and also for alumni,” Johnson said. “We’ve got all these people who, for generations, have written for The Reveille; they’re interested in seeing this content available to them and taking that walk down memory lane.”

Original copies of the newspaper will be available to the public through the Louisiana Digital Library. The LSU Libraries Technology Initiatives team developed a new online platform for the

By Maria Owens

Betsy Plays Havoc (Sept. 14, 1965)

library in 2017, which allows digitized material to be keyword-searchable and ensures easy access and high usability.

The new platform also includes a large image viewer with zoom capabilities.

The digitizing process is not an easy operation. Until transitioning to a weekly paper in 2017, The Daily Reveille published daily for over a century. With each volume of The Reveille containing several years of coverage and hundreds of pages, the digitization process cannot be conducted on LSU’s campus. Rather, the publications are processed – scanned, meticulously read, and tested before being uploaded online – through a vendor.

An LSU alumnus and former Reveille editor made a lead donation of $25,000 to the initiative, which is being funded through the LSU Foundation.

To learn more, visit lsufoundation.org/ DRDI. To schedule a visit to University Archives, call 225-578-6552 or write libraries@lsu.edu.

Mike Goes To War (May 8, 1942).

“It’s going to be a great resource for historians, and also for alumni.”

Maria Owens, a sophomore in the Manship School of Mass Communication, is a student assistant at LSU Libraries.

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Around Campus

Louisiana Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed spoke at summer commencement.

Summer Graduation

New alumni celebrate graduation.

Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed (1987 BACH MCOM, 1995 MPA) delivered the keynote address, and 607 degrees were awarded during LSU’s 296th commencement ceremony on Aug. 3.

The two-time LSU alumna challenged graduates to help solve some of the world’s and Louisiana’s toughest problems. “The baton now passes to you, graduates.

Become an education champion in this state and for this institution so that the door is open for future Tigers,” she said.

Thirty-eight Louisiana parishes, thirty-five U.S. states, and thirty-five foreign countries were represented. Women made up 52.22 percent of the graduates, and men made up 47.78 percent. The two oldest graduates were fifty-seven, and the three youngest graduates were twenty.

Photos courtesy LSU Strategic Communications

Cutting the ribbon at the Louisiana Small Business Development Center are, from left, Ed Watson, chair, Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems; Emmet Stephenson; Rande Kessler, state director, Louisiana Small Business Development Center; and Richard White, Jr., dean, E.J. Ourso College of Business.

LSBDC at LSU – LSU is the host institution for the new Louisiana Small Business Development Center referred to as the LSBDC at LSU, an organization that will offer high-quality technical assistance to existing and start-up small businesses and to small business entrepreneurs in Louisiana at no cost to the client. This new partnership helps the LSBDC to have a stronger presence in the Capital Region and in southern Baton Rouge, complementing the existing service center at Southern University & A&M College.

Photo by Bret Lovetro

44 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Distinction in Diversity The inaugural class of Distinction in Diversity honorees includes twenty individuals whose dedication paved the way for the current LSU family.

They exemplify a commitment to leadership and inclusive excellence and have made significant, meaningful contributions to the University, as well as the professional, civic, and personal communities to which they belong. The 2018 Clarence L. Barney, Jr. African American Cultural Center Distinction in Diversity recipients are: Lutrill Payne – 1st African American student to integrate LSU classrooms Pearl Henry Payne – 1st African American female to graduate from LSU (1st admitted who was allowed to attend) Inaugural Distinction in Diversity honorees, from left, Freya Anderson Rivers, Collis Temple, Jr., Carolyn Carter Collins, Renee Boutte Myer, A.P. Tureaud, Jr., Dr. Claude Tellis, Jinx C. Broussard, Eric T. Reid, Sr., Nicole Moliere, A.P. Tureaud, Jr. – 1st African American and Jerry Payne. undergraduate student Freya Anderson Rivers – 1st African American female undergraduate student Pinkie Gordon Lane – 1st African American to earn Ph.D. from LSU (Louisiana State Poet Laureate) Ernest Morial – 1st African American to graduate from LSU Law School Kerry Pourciau – 1st African American Student Government president Julian T. White – 1st African American professor at LSU (Architecture) Carolyn Carter Collins – 1st African American dean of an academic college (Junior Division) Isaiah Warner – 1st and only African American LSU Boyd Professor (SEC Professor of the Year 2016-17) Jinx Broussard – 1st African American to graduate from the Manship School of Journalism and one of the 1st African American tenured professors inducted into the Manship School Hall of Fame Clarence L. Barney, Jr. – 1st African American to serve as president of the LSU Board of Supervisors Collis Temple – 1st African American basketball player at LSU Joanette Batiste Boutte – 1st African American female basketball and volleyball player at LSU John Butler – 1st African American member of the LSU Tiger Marching Band Renee Boutte Myer – 1st African American Homecoming Queen Eric T. Reid, Sr. – 1st African American president of the LSU Staff Senate and 1st African American male inducted into LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in Track & Field Nicole Moliere – 1st African American female president of the LSU Union Governing Board and Program Council Dr. Claude Tellis – 1st African American LSU Medical School graduate Maxine Crump – 1st African American to live in an LSU residence hall The 2019 inductees will be honored on Feb. 23, 2019, at the second annual Jazz Brunch sponsored by the LSU Office of Diversity. For information on sponsorships, contact Kenya LeNoir Messer at kmesser@lsu.edu or 225-578-5736.

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Alumni Professor Prepares Students for Lifelong Learning

Focus on

FACULTY

By Kaylee Poche

“That’s always the best part – seeing how excited they become and getting to … impart some of your knowledge … and enthusiasm.”

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Barbara Dutrow’s passion for teaching geology extends to her outfit choice, even if the untrained eye wouldn’t notice it at first glance.

The day of our interview, she wore a black and blue shirt with a silver metallic pattern. She said she often likes to “dress like a mineral” and asks her students what kind of mineral she could be based on the colors and textures of her apparel.

Dutrow holds the Gerald Cire & Lena Grand Williams Endowed Alumni Professorship. Her studies focus on petrology, the study of rocks, and the minerals that make up rocks. Through her research, she is able to determine the age of rocks and the pressures and Alumni Professor Barbara Dutrow, describes rocks temperatures at which they formed, and structures to student conducting at 10,000 feet contributing to our understanding of in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho. how the Earth formed.

Originally from western Nebraska, Dutrow taught at the University of Iowa before making her way to LSU in 1992. It was an opportunity she just couldn’t pass up. “The department was much larger than at Iowa,” she explained. “It was better funded, and it had more equipment and more opportunities for interaction with other colleagues.”

Dutrow teaches an undergraduate mineralogy course as well as a variety of graduate courses, including petrologic mineralogy and earth materials and the environment. Despite the advanced, specialized subject matter she’s able to cover in her graduate courses, her favorite is the undergraduate-level mineralogy course.

“The students – it’s their first course in the major after the introductory courses – so it’s difficult concepts, but it’s also very fun,” Dutrow said. “They’re excited about minerals.”

The class typically ranges from twenty to seventy students and involves a courseembedded research project, which gives the students an opportunity to use a million dollar electron microprobe and gather their own chemical data on minerals. “They get their first taste of research as sophomores, so that’s pretty fabulous,” Dutrow said.

Throughout their academic careers, Dutrow’s students learn about the chemistry of minerals and work with a variety of large data sets to develop analytical expertise.

While many go on to graduate school for advanced degrees, others go straight to industry, for example, ExxonMobil or to government agencies, such as the U.S. Geological Survey.

Dutrow’s office window overlooks the sculpture garden – and she has quite a few sculptures of her own. From a navy blue rhino to a light green chameleon both carved out of minerals, her office is full of collections from her various travels.

“One of the other fabulous aspects of geology is that you get to explore new places,” Dutrow said. And indeed she has – from the Swiss Alps to Scandinavia to the southern part of Australia, her research has taken around the world, except to Antarctica – but she’s working on it.

According to Dutrow, work in the field is not for the faint of heart. Research trips involve backpacking to remote wilderness areas and camping outside for weeks.

Sometimes she climbs up to up to 14,000 feet, with backpacks full of food, sleeping

bags, and rocks collected along the way. To stay in shape, she runs and rock climbs regularly, and she’s taken part in adventure races – non-stop multi-day races that give you a starting and stopping point with checkpoints along the way, leaving the rest up to participants and their teams.

Dutrow’s team of geologists and friends was one of only fourteen of seventy-two teams to finish a 500 kilometer race called the Eco-Challenge. Along the way, they rode horses, swam across rushing rivers, canoed and rafted in flat water and white water, traveled on glaciers, climbed rocks, mountain biked, and hiked. They finished the race in eight days, ten hours, and nineteen minutes.

When she’s not swimming across rushing rivers or teaching classes, Dutrow has her hands full with a series of research projects. In Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, she’s observing three-billion-year-old rocks to understand the evolution of the North American continent. She’s working with specific minerals such as tourmaline, which is such a good indicator of the geologic process that formed it. She calls it “a mineralogic DVD,” and she’s researching ways to help students better visualize twodimensional objects in three dimensions.

Teaching is a favorite part of Dutrow’s job. “We always have really great students, and they’re fun to work with and excited,” she said. “That’s always the best part – seeing how excited they become and getting to at least impart some of your knowledge to them and some of your enthusiasm.”

Dutrow’s goal is for students to maintain this passion for years to come. “I hope they take away how to keep learning,” she said. “We want to create lifelong learners.”

Kaylee Poche is a graduating senior in the Manship School of Mass Communication.

LSU Alumni Association’s Alumni Professorship Program recognizes excellence in instruction, especially in undergraduate teaching. There are currently forty-six alumni professorships. To make a gift to the endowment or to leave a legacy, visit www.lsualumni.org/giving.

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ESPN Ranks LSU Basketball No. 21

Locker

ROOM

Will Wade's Tigers Look Great

By Bud Johnson Photos: LSU Athletics

Daryl Edwards.

Tremont Waters and Will Wade discuss strategy.

“Expectations are soaring in Tigertown. The Maravich Assembly Center is due for an atmosphere upgrade. And this team has the tools to do the job.”

According to college basketball experts, Tennessee, Auburn and Kentucky are the SEC favorites. But one thing is certain – Will Wade’s Tigers will look great getting off the bus. They are big, athletic, and have the swagger of a winner. Suddenly, LSU has the size and depth to challenge the SEC’s usual suspects.

Expectations are soaring in Tigertown. The Maravich Assembly Center is due for an atmosphere upgrade. And this team has the tools to do the job.

Recruiting Closes Talent Gap Wade’s successful recruiting closed the talent gap between LSU and the conference elite. Just a year ago, the Tigers were picked to finish last in the SEC. In its current pre-season ratings, ESPN ranked LSU 21st nationally.

Kentucky (No. 1), Tennessee (No. 5), Auburn (No. 11) and Mississippi State (No. 22) are the other SEC teams ranked in ESPN’s Top 25.

LSU’s recruiting class was ranked fourth best in the country by 247Sports and No. 5 by ESPN. Nine new players – five freshmen, three junior college transfers, and the transfer of a 6-11

48 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

senior forward – provide the Tigers with an infusion of size, athleticism, and numbers. The incoming players plus some quality holdovers gives Wade strategic options. He can start a big team, or go with a small, quick lineup.

Check ‘em out.

Naz Reid (6-10, 240), and Emmitt Williams (6-7, 215), two five-star freshmen power forwards, will likely be starters for the Tigers. Reid can play center and both forward positions. Wade is realistic about his star big man, and expects him to be “one and done” after this season.

Williams averaged 17.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks a game in high school. He broke Lebron James’ scoring record – by ten points – in the Jordan Brand Classic, with forty-four points.

There is much more to his game, however.

LSU Defense Expected to Improve Defense and LSU basketball have not been used much in the same sentence in past seasons. Williams can help change that. He is an aggressive, high-energy player with a seven-foot wing span. He excels as a shot blocker and a rebounder.

A more dominant game inside will allow the Tigers’ perimeter players to be more aggressive on defense. Oregon transfer Kavell Bigby-Williams (6-11, 230, Sr.), praised by Wade for his shot-blocking

skills and defending the goal, will add to the Tigers interior defense.

Two four-star recruits –Ja'Vonte Smart (6-4, 190) and Darius Days (6-7, 218) – enhance the incoming freshman class. Smart led Scotlandville High to three state championships. He was a three-time selection as Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball, averaging 32.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists as a senior. Wade is excited about his leadership ability.

Days can play both forward positions.

His ball handling skills and shooting from three point range make Days’ LSU future a promising one.

What About Returning Players?

Four highly rated freshmen recruits plus the addition of transfer Bigby-Williams excited the fan base. But Wade is pleased with his returning players. Two starters and a part-time starter return. Point guard Tremont Waters (5-10, So.), and guard Skylar Mays (6-4, Jr.) were regulars for most of last season and guard Daryl Edwards (6-3, Sr.) gained starting status later in the year. Wade believes that all three will be more productive this season.

Waters is expected to build upon his sensational freshman year when he led the team in scoring and set a school record for first year players in assists. He averaged 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in playing thirty-three minutes per outing. Waters had 198 assists, beating the school record of 158 for freshmen set by Ben Simmons in 2016. His average of six assists per game ranked twenty-fourth in the nation.

Mays averaged 11.3 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals as a sophomore. He scored in double figures in twenty-two games last season.

Edwards expanded his playing time with

aggressive defense a year ago. That can be his ticket to the floor again this season.

Some think that the available minutes for Edwards may diminish due to the influx of talented newcomers. Wade likes his defense and also believes that Edwards’ three-point accuracy will improve.

Wade’s Recruiting Never Ends LSU’s recruiting would have been a huge success with just the four highly rated freshmen. But Wade wasn’t finished. He added three junior college transfers – Marlon Taylor (6-6, 210), ranked as the fourth best JC player in the country; Dana Kingsby (6-1, 165), whose speed and three-point shooting adds depth at guard; and forward Courtese Cooper (6-9, 205), a shot blocker and rebounder with huge potential. All three played on winning teams last season. Taylor’s leaping ability and long-range shooting accuracy should earn him early playing time.

Wade, ever the relentless recruiter, landed 6-foot, 7-inch, 215-pound Aundre Hyatt in early August. Hyatt, a highly recruited small forward for 2019, reclassified for the 2018 class and entered LSU for the fall semester. He told 247Sports he plans to redshirt this season to rehabilitate an injury and acclimate himself to the college game.

Recruiting, for the thirty-five-year-old Wade, never ends.

Skylar Mays.

Locker Room is compiled and edited

by Bud Johnson, retired director of the Andonie Sports Museum and a former LSU Sports Information director. He is the author of The Perfect Season: LSU's Magic Year – 1958.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

49

Billy Cannon Statue Unveiled

Locker Room

A Significant Salute to a Celebrated Player Photos: LSU Athletics

The Billy Cannon statue is now an impressive part of the LSU landscape and a significant salute to its most celebrated football player. There are many who didn’t see Cannon play, or follow his professional career. His varied skills are worth repeating. He could run, pass, punt, and placekick better than most players on the team. He was a strong blocker, a sure tackler, and gifted pass receiver, an asset you appreciated when he played the professional game since LSU, for some reason, didn’t throw much to its fastest player in those days.

Most teams loaded the box to reduce his threat as a runner. But if you paid strict attention to every facet of the game you could detect his versatility. He was an asset on defense and to the kicking game. His only collegiate punt return for a touchdown was the one we have seen repeatedly in scratchy black and white. LSU had to have that one to beat Ole Miss 7-3 in 1959. Warren Rabb, the Tigers’ quarterback, and Cannon provided LSU’s final defensive play with a goal line stop.

Friends and family were on hand for the unveiling of a statue of Billy Cannon, LSU’s only Heisman In an age when defense and the kicking game Trophy winner, outside Tiger Stadium on Sept. 28, the night before the Tigers' matchup with Ole Miss. were essential, and narrow escapes on an unplayable terrain were celebrated, Cannon’s punting ability was a vital part of a come-from-behind but long forgotten victory. The closest game of the undefeated 1958 campaign was a mud-soaked 7-6 decision over Mississippi State in Jackson, Miss. The soupy surface and a healthy Bulldog defense limited Cannon’s running results that night. Cannon gained fifty-seven yards in thirteen carries for a 4.4 average. LSU had to junk its game plan – to run wide and throw the ball – because of the weather. The Tigers made only seven first downs. Mississippi State had just ten first downs, scoring after a Cannon fumble deep in LSU territory gave the Bulldogs an early 6-0 lead. Well, you get the idea. Offense was virtually rained out for both teams.

But Cannon’s punting in the tense second half delivered precious field position and helped the Tigers claw out a comeback. Two of his punts died inside the State five- yard line. That feat along with the LSU defense, helped keep the Bulldogs backed up for most of the final two quarters. LSU’s lone score came in the third quarter when Red Hendrix pounced on a Billy Stacy fumble at the State 34. Red Brodnax, LSU’s fullback, darted up the middle for fourteen yards to get the Tigers going, and smelling blood, the Bengals kept punching away at Mississippi State line until they reached the Bulldog five yard line.

On fourth-and-goal from the five, Rabb threw to Hendrix in the end zone, and he stabbed the ball with one hand and pulled it in for LSU’s only touchdown. Tommy Davis toed the ball out of the mud and through the uprights to keep the Tigers’ record perfect.

State threatened only once late in the game and missed a field goal.

Versatility was required of all players in those days – they had to play both offense and Dot Cannon poses for a photo by her late defense in order to get on the field. Specialists such as place kickers and punters were a husband’s statue. luxury that few teams could afford. Yet most teams in that era had more than one punter or place kicker anyway. Every high school team needed those skills, and they usually “He was an athlete whose relied on the best athletes for punting and place kicking. Many colleges benefited from this without recruiting specialists specifically. They just recruited a lot of those good across-the-board skills could athletes who arrived on campus with the punting or place-kicking skills that they had surface on any given Saturday developed in high school. the best athletes were the ones that the colleges recruited. We won’t see the likes to help his team win.” of And Cannon again in this age of specialists. He was an athlete whose across-the-board skills could surface on any given Saturday to help his team win.

50 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Don’t just study climate change, HELP TO MINIMIZE ITS IMPACT.

Universitopia u• ni•ver•si•to•pi•a

noun a community of excellence at LSU

LSU has been the nation’s leader in coastal studies for more than 60 years. Our professors and students are studying environmental conditions and changing ecosystems to help lessen the impacts of climate change on our delicate coastlines, oceans, and waterways. And they put their research into action by planting marsh grass, turning bioengineered concrete into oyster reefs, and educating the next generation through community outreach.

lsu.edu

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

51

Dale Brown & John Brady

Locker Room

Final Four Coaches Analyze Resurgent Basketball Tigers Photos by Gus Stark/LSU Athletics

Dale Brown.

“Winning is especially important for a young team. It breeds confidence.”

Three LSU basketball coaches have led the Tigers to the NCAA Final Four – the late Harry Rabenhorst in 1953, Dale Brown in 1981 and 1986, and John Brady in 2006. Brown coached the Tigers for twenty-five years, compiling a 448-301 record.

Brown’s LSU teams got to thirteen NCAA tournaments during his time in Tigertown. Since he retired, the Tigers have made only six trips to the tournament. Five different coaches have led the Purple and Gold since Brown. Only one – Brady – was able to get the Bayou Bengals back to the Final Four. Brady had a John Brady.

402-344 career record in twentyfour collegiate seasons. At LSU he was 192-139 in eleven seasons. He retired from Arkansas State in 2016.

Brown and Brady are avid supporters of the team. Brown was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. Brady, an analyst for the LSU radio network, enjoys watching the development of the Tigers and is a frequent visitor to LSU practice sessions. He attended the SEC basketball Media Day in Birmingham prior to the season to get better informed on all the teams in the conference in preparation for his second season behind the mike. We have asked these distinguished coaches to share their assessment of the 2018-2019 basketball Tigers.

The Tigers are young, but they have more size and depth than in recent years. How do you view this team for the coming season?

Brown: “They will be major contenders for the SEC title.”

Brady: “I agree this team has some youth, but it has talented youth. With Tremont, Skylar, and Daryl, there is a core leadership that can guide this young, talented group.

This team has the ability to go big, play small, and be versatile in how it approaches the game. It can create matchup problems for the other team as well as match up with anything the opposing team may put on the floor. Having more depth gives Coach Wade flexibility which will create challenges for opposing teams.

A year ago LSU was ranked last in the SEC prior to the season. The Tigers are now rated among the nation’s Top 25. What is your assessment of the coaching staff’s success in recruiting?

Brown: “No doubt in my mind, this is one of the best recruiting classes in LSU basketball history.”

Brady: “There has always been three things you must have in place to have a successful program: recruit well, coach them, and schedule smart. This staff has done all three.

The life blood of any program is to attract talented players. With a Top 5 recruiting class coming in, you have to say this coaching staff has surpassed what most LSU fans expected in year one.”

LSU has an impressive group of new players – a senior transfer, five freshmen and three junior college players. Tell us about the players that impress you most.

Brown: “The LSU players that impress me the most are Waters, Reid, and Smart.”

Brady: “It starts with the returning players of Tremont Waters, Skylar Mays, and Daryl Edwards. Even Kavell Bigby-Williams knows what is expected, having sat this past

52 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

year and gone through the practices. These four are legitimate SEC players and the impact they have had last year – particularly Waters and Mays – will carry over to this year. Naz Reid is a big, long, skilled player who will have an inside presence. But he can also make a three which will be a matchup problem for some teams. Ja'Vonte Smart is a hard-playing, versatile guard who will make his presence felt on both ends of the floor. Emmitt Williams is an aggressive competitor people will enjoy watching. Darius Days is another 6-7 forward who is a very good all-around player. Combine these players with a couple of talented junior college transfers, and you can see the depth and versatility this group has.”

Waters, Williams and Reid seem assured of starting roles. What other players do you project getting a lot of playing time?

Naz Reid.

Ja'Vonte Smart.

Brown: “Mays and Smart should get a lot of playing time. Taylor has a lot of natural ability, and he could help this team as a scorer and a rebounder.”

Brady: “It’s hard to say what direction Coach Wade will go with this team. My feeling is there may be a couple of players who may start most every game, but I also feel Coach Wade may start different lineups depending on the opposing team and their particular personnel. He has that option because of the versatility of this team and the recruiting that has taken place. An excellent position for a coach to be in.

With nine new players on the roster, is developing team unity a problem for the coaching staff? If so, how is this problem addressed?

Brown: “John Calipari does not let it bother him whatsoever. It does not affect him one bit. I am confident Will Wade will have no problem adjusting to it because he is the real deal.”

Brady: “This will be one of the challenges this coaching staff may have, and it will be something for all of us to watch as this team grows and develops. I have always thought team unity is developed through well-thought-out, challenging practices coupled with an excellent preseason lifting and conditioning program. From watching Coach Wade and his staff, he has that same approach. With all that his team has experienced so far, I am praying and anticipating the unity, the concern, and the care great teams possess will be in place for this team to be successful.”

Many good teams have had their dreams shattered in SEC road games. How does a coaching staff prepare a young team for the SEC road schedule?

Brown: “I always told our team that World War I and World II were not fought at home but on foreign territory. War is a lot more difficult than playing a basketball game. All dimensions on the road are the same. The rim is ten-feet high. The length and width of the court stays the same. The only thing that changes is the mental attitude. The coach that expresses negativity and whines about the road will not be very successful.”

Brady: “The third thing I talked about in what a successful program needs is to schedule smart. I believe Coach Wade has done this based on what this team needs to get ready for SEC play. There are some difficult games sprinkled in with some games they will win if they play well. Winning is especially important for a young team. It breeds confidence. A young team needs that feeling of accomplishment as it continues to develop. Combining smart scheduling with well-thought-out, challenging practices like Coach Wade does creates a team that will be as ready as it can possibly be for the difficult SEC road schedule.”

The LSU men’s basketball program is suffering from the tragic loss of Wayde Sims, a junior forward who was shot and killed a few days before LSU practices got underway. Wayde, a popular team leader, will not be forgotten by anyone who knew him. He was the son of Wayne Sims, who played under Coach Dale Brown.

Emmitt Williams.

Prayers for All These questions were answered after the tragic and senseless death of Wayde Sims. It was shocking, a tragedy and unnecessary. The collateral damage it created is sad as well. There is no script to go by in this setting. But I believe Coach Wade, LSU, and the players have done what is right and respectful for the parents of Wayde and by Wayde as well. Wayde’s parents have demonstrated a strong faith through this and are loved by the entire LSU family. My prayers are with the parents, the team, the coaches, and that by the grace of God the team will come together and play as one with a purpose like we have never seen. And prayers for all who have been touched by this.

— John Brady, LSU basketball coach, 1997-2008.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

53

Tiger

NATION

1950s

Robert L. Atkinson (1952 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Banking & Finance.

1960s

Eugene Groves (1967 BACH H&SS, 1970 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation, LitigationConstruction, Litigation-Real Estate, and Litigation-Trusts and Estates.

Degrees BACH Bachelor’s Degree MAST Master’s Degree PHD Doctorate SPEC Specialist DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine JD Juris Doctorate

(LSU Law School) LLM Master of Laws MD Medical Doctor

(LSU School of Medicine) DDS Doctor of Dental Science

(LSU School of Dentistry) Colleges/Schools AGR Agriculture A&D Art & Design C&E Coast & Environment H&SS Humanities & Social Sciences SCI Science BUS Business HS&E Human Sciences & Education ENGR Engineering M&DA Music & Dramatic Arts MCOM Mass Communication SCE School of the Coast

& Environment SVM School of Veterinary Medicine SW Social Work

54 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

1970s

Richard Arsenault (1977 BACH H&SS, 1980 JD) a partner in Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, Alexandria, La., was appointed to the Complex Litigation Board Certification Examination Committee. He was also appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve on a committee to revise the Complex Litigation Bench Book.

John Barton (1971 BACH H&SS, 1976 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Real Estate.

David R. Cassidy (1972 BACH H&SS, 1975 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Litigation and Controversy-Tax and Tax Law. Robert Coco (1979 BACH ENGR, 1982 MAST ENGR, 1984 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Environmental Law and Litigation-Environmental.

Vicki Crochet (1977 BACH H&SS, 1980 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named a Lawyer of the Year in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Employment Law-Management.

Education Law.

Nancy Dougherty (1974 BACH H&SS, 1979 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Jim Ellis (1971 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Energy Law.

Gregory D. Frost (1977 BACH H&SS, 1981 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Government Relations Practice.

Michael R. Hubbell (1978 BACH BUS, 1980 MAST BUS, 1987 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Transactions/UCC Law and Real Estate Law. Eve B. Masinter (1979 BACH H&SS, 1972 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in New Orleans, La., was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Employment Law-Management.

A G R E A T “ G E A U X-T O ” C O R P O R A T E G I F T F O R T H E H O L I D AY S !

All profits made by LSU alum’s Mach Flynt, Inc. from Geaux Vineyards sales will be donated to the LSU Alumni Association

BUY ONLINE AT STORE.MARTINWINE.COM

OR VISIT LSUALUMNI.ORG/GEAUX-VINEYARDS FOR A LIST OF RETAIL LOCATIONS Distributed by Republic National Distributing Company LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

55

Tiger Nation

John McDermott (1978 JD, 1980 BACH BUS), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Tax Law, Trusts, and Estates.

Van Mayhall, Jr., (1971 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse, & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named a 2019 Lawyer of the Year in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Corporate Law. Mike Parker (1974 BACH BUS, 1978 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Defendants.

Gertrude Pfost (1978 MAST SCI), of New Orleans, La., was promoted to vice president of business development at MicroBiome Therapeutics, developer of sciencebased consumer health products. She joined the company in 2016 and was previously director of business development. A veteran of the biomedical research industry, Pfost has spent nearly thirty years marketing scientific products at world-leading companies, including Beckman Instruments, now part of Danaher Corp., and Oxford GlycoSciences, a United Kingdom biopharmaceutical research and development firm. She also worked in scientific product sales with VWR International, one of the world’s biggest distributors of research laboratory products.

56 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Skip Philips (1972 BACH BUS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and LitigationBanking and Finance.

Claude F. Reynaud, Jr. (1974 BACH BUS), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Antitrust, and LitigationIntellectual Property.

Fred Tulley (1970 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Banking and Finance, and Litigation-Bankruptcy.

Mike Walsh (1979 BACH H&SS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Criminal Defense-General Practice.

Mac Womack (1976 BACH BUS, 1979 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation.

1980s

Gerry L. Alonso (1985 BACH ENGR), of East Greenwich, R.I., was appointed senior vice president, Eastern division manager of FM Global in August. Since joining FM Global in 1985 as a loss prevention consultant, Alonso has held various leadership positions throughout the organization. He most recently served as senior vice president/ operations manager of FM Global’s Boston, Mass., operations. Prior to that, Alonso was senior vice president and manager of claims.

Jude Bursavich (1983 BACH H&SS, 1988 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Litigation-Health Care.

David M. Charlton (1980 BACH BUS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law. Mike Crawford (1984 BACH BUS), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named a Lawyer of the Year in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bankruptcy & Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law.

Anne Crochet (1980 BACH MCOM, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Environmental Law and Litigation-Environmental.

Brett Furr (1983 BACH H&SS, 1986 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Litigation-Real Estate and Real Estate Law.

Angela J. Crowder (1983 BACH H&SS, 1989 JD) joined the firm Windels Marx as special counsel in the New York office.

She previously practiced in the New York office of Venable. Crowder focuses her practice on commercial real estate and finance and is licensed to practice in New York, California, and Louisiana.

Lee K. Levy (1985 BACH BUS), commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, relinquished command and retired from the Air Force on Aug. 7. Levy was inducted in the LSU Military Hall of Honor in 2014 and will be inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in April 2019. Read his story at http://journalrecord.com/ tinkertakeoff/2018/08/03/afsc-

commander-reflects-on-role-as-heprepares-to-retire/AFSC. Trenton J. Oubre (1987 BACH BUS, 1991 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Litigation-Insurance and Workers Compensation Law. Beth Wheeler (1984 BACH BUS, 1991 JD), an attorney with Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans was recognized in “Women of the Year 2018� by New Orleans CityBusiness for her success in the legal industry and her work in the community.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

57

Tiger Nation

1990s

Corey Alemand (1991 BACH BUS) was named manager of Global Supply Chain Digital Transformation at ExxonMobil Chemical Company in Spring, Texas, effective July 1, 2018. He has been with ExxonMobil for twentyseven years.

John T. Andrishok (1993 BACH BUS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Construction.

Robert “Bob” Barton (1990 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation.

Cullen J. Dupuy (1990 BACH BUS, 1989 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Litigation-Insurance.

Emily Black Grey (1994 BACH H&SS, 2000 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area Health Care.

58 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Scott N. Hensgens (1993 BACH H&SS), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Litigation-Intellectual Property and Trademark Law.

Melissa Shirley (1993 BACH H&SS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Employment Law-Management.

Elizabeth Hutchison (1996 BACH MCOM) was inducted into the University Laboratory School (ULS) Cubs Alumni Hall of Distinction and the Foundation Athletic Hall of Fame in August. Hutchison is the director of philanthropic services at Baton Rouge Area Foundation. She has served as director of programming for the New Orleans Video Access Center and in production on many films and top rated TV shows, including Survivor and the Amazing Race.

Terri Broussard Williams (1999 BACH MCOM), of Austin, Texas, launched the social impact blog, movementmakertribe. com, Williams was recently promoted to the national policy strategy team at the American Heart Association and will serve as the first director of strategic partnership and alliances for government relations. Prior to her promotion, she served as vice president of government relations for the SouthWest Affiliate. Williams graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy in September.

Amy Lambert (1992 BACH H&SS, 1996 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation.

Amy Groves Lowe (1992 BACH H&SS, 1994 MAST H&SS, 1997 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Education Law and Litigation-Insurance.

Karen Naumann (1993 BACH MCOM) was named vice president of the Washington, D.C.based public relations and public affairs firm Susan Davis International.

2000s

Phil Adra (2005 BACH BUS, 2006 MAST BUS), an associate with Goodwin Wright in Atlanta, Ga., was honored with membership in Northwestern Mutual’s 2018 Forum Group, recognizing his commitment to helping clients achieve financial security.

Award qualifiers represent the top segment of Northwestern Mutual’s industry-leading financial representatives; only 5 percent of more than 6,000 financial representatives receive this recognition. This is Adra’s first time to receive the Forum honor.

Camille Batiste (2000 MBA), vice president of global procurement for Archer DanieldMidland Company (ADM), was recognized by Profiles in Diversity Journal as a winner of a 17th Annual Women Worth Watching award. Prior to joining ADM in 2017, Batiste spent twenty years at Honeywell International, starting in manufacturing in the performance materials and technology business unit. She transitioned to the aerospace business unit in 2013, holding leadership positions in indirect sourcing and direct material sourcing operations.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and economics from Stanford University.

The Rev. Ryan Hallford (2007 BACH H&SS) was appointed parochial vicar at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church in Baton Rouge in May 2018. He was previously parochial vicar at Holy Family Church in Port Allen, La. After graduating from LSU, he began his teaching career as a Jesuit volunteer in San Jose, Calif., then returned to Baton Rouge to teach at St. Joseph’s Academy and St. Michael the Archangel High School. He was ordained in May 2017.

Bradie James (2003 BACH H&SS), a former LSU Tiger and linebacker who played ten seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, is one of nine captains with The Trust. The Trust, powered by the NFL Players Association, provides transitioning football players with the support to ensure their success off the field and in life. James, LSU’s 2012 Young Alumnus of the Year, shares his experience at playerstrust.com/yourexperiences/captain-spotlight/bradiejames.

Elizabeth Luttrell Kilgore (2006 BACH A&D) joined SASSO as art director. Kilgore has thirteen-plus years of corporate and agency experience, most recently serving as art director at BRZoom. She was previously art director at the Sells Agency and a graphic/packaging designer at Dillard’s, Inc., both in Little Rock, Ark. Van Mayhall, III (2001 JD, 2005 MBA), an attorney with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, was named in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of Corporate Law. Matt M. McCluer (2008 BACH H&SS) joined the New Orleans office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson as an associate in the Labor & Employment practice group. He received his Juris Doctor from Mississippi College School of Law in 2011.

Natalie K. Mitchell (2006 BACH H&SS) joined Sternberg, Naccari & White in New Orleans, La. A veteran of both politics and law, she has served in various research and strategy positions on political campaigns in New Orleans and throughout the country, has extensive experience in New Orleans City Hall, and led the Forward New Orleans Coalition while working with the New Orleans Business Council. Mitchell earned her law degree from Tulane University.

2010s

Melanie Derefinko (2014 BACH H&SS) joined Liskow & Lewis as a litigator in the firm’s New Orleans office. She was previously a judicial intern for the Hon. J. Sterling Snowdy of the Fortieth Judicial District Court and for the Hon. Fredericka Wicker of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Philipo Giorlando (2015 BACH BUS, 2018 JD) joined the New Orleans office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, as an associate in the Labor & Employment practice group.

Brady Hadden (2014 BACH HS&E, 2017 JD) joined Liskow & Lewis, New Orleans, in the firm’s Maritime, Oilfield, and Insurance Practice Group. Hadden previously served as law clerk to the Hon. Chief Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr., U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, and as legal extern to the Hon. John W. DeGravelles, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana.

Logan Hall (2012 BACH A&D) joined GuernseyTingle in Williamsburg, Va., as an architectural designer.

He was previously with Chenevert Architects in Baton Rouge and Kjellstrom & Lee Construction in Charlottesville, Va. While at LSU, Hall was president of the LSU chapter of American Institute of Architecture Students.

Image by The Trust

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

59

Tiger Nation

Natalie John (2014 BACH H&SS) cofounded and now solely helms Baton Rouge-born Woolly Threads, one of the fastest growing clothing lines in the collegiate apparel space. The company is known for its line of vintage-inspired vegan wool garments.

Brady McMillin (2014 BACH H&SS, 2018 JD) joined Liskow & Lewis, New Orleans, in the Maritime, Oilfield, and Insurance Practice Group. Prior to joining the firm, Brady served as a research clerk for the East Baton Rouge Parish Attorney and the Louisiana Attorney General.

Jacques Mestayer (2013 BACH BUS, 2016 JD) joined Liskow & Lewis as a litigator in the firm’s New Orleans office.

Before joining the firm, he was a law clerk for the

Hon. W. Eugene Davis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and a judicial intern for Justice Marcus R. Clark of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Sara Grace Sirera (2015 BACH H&SS) joined Liskow & Lewis, New Orleans, in the Maritime, Oilfield, and Insurance Practice Group. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a judicial intern to the Hon. Regina Bartholomew-Woods of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit and as a judicial extern to Magistrate Judge Richard L. Bourgeois of the United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana John Troutman (2010 BACH H&SS) joined Liskow & Lewis as a litigator in the firm’s Lafayette, La., office. He has experience representing clients in a wide variety of legal matters across Louisiana, including arbitrations, mediations, and administrative

proceedings before state agencies. He received his Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center.

Daniel Young (2017 MAST HS&E) is a consultant in the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer’s Nashville, Tenn., office. Young has more than ten years of senior-level recruiting experience in healthcare systems and hospitals. Prior to joining Witt/Kieffer, Young held roles in leadership capacities with the human resources and talent acquisition teams at Memorial Hermann Health System and Texas Children’s Hospital and worked for Apex Systems, Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University.

SHARE YOUR NEWS Share news of your new job or promotion, your wedding, honors, awards, new babies, and other

celebrations with fellow alumni. To submit an item and photos for publication, e-mail jackie@lsualumni.org or call 225-578-3370.

60 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Truth, Facts & Lies Addressing Issues Relevant to Teens More than forty volunteers across Southwest Louisiana – many of whom hail from LSU – are an integral part of Truth, Facts & Lies (TFL), a program designed to address social-emotional issues relevant to teens.

The program was developed by nurse practitioner Kari Couch Hankins (2004 BACH HSC-NURS) in partnership with a nationally recognized educator and a licensed professional counselor along with input from focus groups of high school students at every step of the process.

Implemented through the Southwest Louisiana Youth Foundation, TFL is available to middle school and high school students. A sister program for teen girls, Take Charge, was developed in response to participants request for more topics, education, and discussion.

“Truth, Facts, and Lies is such a unique program,” said Front row, from left, Kelly Henderson, Whitney Frame, and Elizabeth Murray; middle, Kari Houston Middleton (2006 BACH H&SS). “By showing Hankins, Kelly Henderson, Cary Tassin, Ashley Price, Julia Babineaux, and Edward Hebert; rather than telling, the program presents information back, Philip O’Quin and Houston Middleton. Not pictured: Sarah Fisher Kayce Pourciau, and Tyler Henderson. which is absolutely critical to their formation as healthy, happy adults.”

Volunteers present guided discussions to academic, athletic, and community groups, covering such topics as communicating each individual’s boundaries, bullying, social media, online solicitation and human trafficking, dating and relationship abuse, and the teenage brain and addiction.

“Students today are facing many more obstacles and distractions than their parents' “With smart phones, text generation had at their age,” said Kelly Henderson (2007 BACH SCI). “With smart messaging, and social media, phones, text messaging, and social media, there is a lot being thrown at them all day. there is a lot being thrown at They need help navigating it and discerning what is healthy and okay and what could be possible harmful.” them all day.”

Each lesson is not a lecture but rather an opportunity for open discussion, with the students themselves constructing an exit plan for difficult situations. Students report behavior changes in all areas covered by the program, and a parent education session is available.

“I was drawn to volunteer after seeing firsthand the knowledge that my own daughter has gained through participation,” said Cary Tassin (1993 BACH HS&E).

“Sometimes difficult topics for parents to discuss with their children quickly became the basis for open, frank discussion.”

Other Tiger volunteers include Philip O’Quin (2006 BACH H&SS), Kelly Henderson Hurt (2001 BACH HS&E), Whitney Frame Kraska (2009 BACH HS&E), Sarah Pankey Fisher (2001 BACH NURS), Dr. Elizabeth Streva Murray (2000 BACH SCI, 2004 MD-NO), Dr. Edward J. Hebert (1953 DDS-HSC), Kayce Cherry pourciau (2000 BACH H&SS), Julia Babineaux (1985 BACH SCI), and Ashley Bellerino Price (2012 HSC-Dental Hygiene).

For information contact kari@truthfactslies.org or visit www.truthfactslies.org.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

61

Tiger Nation

BABY

WEDDING

BELLS

BENGALS Andrea Allen Bartholomew (2004 BACH MCOM) and Joseph Bartholomew, III, announce the birth of a daughter, Aubin Bartholomew, on Aug. 25, 2018. Aubin was welcomed home by big brother Joseph Bartholomew, IV. The family lives in Portland, Ore. Andrea works for Daimler Trucks North America, and Joseph is a realtor.

Laurel and Nick Lauve.

Laurel Keys (2012 BACH BUS) and Nick Lauve (2016 BACH A&D) were married on June 9 in Austin, Texas, where they reside. Nick works at Merriman Pitt Anderson architecture firm, and Laurel is an audit manager at Deloitte.

Nicholas Smith (2009 BACH H&SS) and Leslie Pipkin (2017 PHD ENGR) were married in New Orleans on Nov. 3. After a honeymoon in Aruba, the couple – along with Maci – will reside in Miami, Fla. Nicholas is an instructor of recreation and sport management at Florida International University, and Leslie is an environmental engineer with Intertek PSI.

Nicholas and Leslie Pipkin with pup Maci.

To book your special event visit www.thecookhotel.com/event-spaces.

62 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

James Cox (2010 BACH SCI, 2014 BSN) and Courtney Cox (2011 BACH SCI, 2015 MDNO) proudly announce the birth of a son, Charles Henry Cox, on Sept. 25, 2018. The new Tiger’s maternal grandparents are Jeffery and Elizabeth (1983 BACH BUS) Mumphrey and Charles and Lynet (1974 BACH MedTechNO) Cox. Brandon Mackey (2011 BACH H&SS) and Kimberly Miller Mackey (2008 BACH A&D) proudly announce the birth of future Tiger, Robert Paul, on July 14, 2018, at 4:23 a.m. Rob weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. Rob was welcomed home by big sister Lane.

The family resides in Baton Rouge.

René Ybarra (2010 BACH BUS) and Laura Weems Ybarra (2009 BACH MCOM) welcomed their third son, Maxwell Wyatt Ybarra, on April 22, 2018, at 12:36 p.m. Maxwell weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz. and was 22.5 inches tall. Maxwell was welcomed home by older brothers Owen and Nathaniel. The family resides in Fort Lee, Va.

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63

LSU in New York City

Tiger Nation

By Rachel Holland Photos by Eddy Perez

Fortune 500 VP Victor Lashley Going from a college student to the vice president of a Fortune 500 company is no easy task, but Victor Lashley (2012 BACH BUS) makes it look easy. With his degree in marketing, Lashley quickly worked his way up at J.P. Morgan. In just five years, he went from intern to analyst to associate and then to vice president of global trade and finance. But his successful journey started long before he earned this executive position.

An active student in the Ogden Honors College, Lashley filled his years on campus participating in many student organizations. From a campus tour guide, to Volunteers in Public Schools, Louisiana Service and Leadership (LASAL) Scholars, and more, he spent his four years at LSU honing his skills as a leader and a professional.

Today you can find Lashley in the J.P. Morgan corporate offices in New York City, but he has never stopped being an invested member of his community. He always has his headphones in so he can listen to a New York Times podcast to stay up-to-date with the latest news or listen to his favorite song, “Rake It Up,” throughout the day.

“Looking at how well rounded my college experience was, I couldn’t ask for more,” he said. “I was afforded diverse opportunities that focused on critical analysis and communication. Because of that, I graduated feeling equipped for a career in almost any field.”

Fox News Anchor Sandra Smith When she’s not anchoring on Fox News Channel’s America’s Newsroom, Sandra Smith (2003 BACH H&SS) loves reminiscing about her time in Baton Rouge. “I close my eyes because it’s my happy place. It was just such a unique experience that I’m forever grateful for,” Smith said.

Smith followed her love for the French language and culture from her home in Illinois to Louisiana. “I was studying in the Midwest and I felt I wanted to have a different experience. And I was studying French and . . . so interested in the Cajun culture that still exists down there,” said Smith. “I made a visit and ultimately decided it was where I needed to be.”

Smith was a business journalist for Bloomberg TV before joining Fox. “My days start very, very early. Generally, I’m up about 4 o’clock in the morning . . . and hit the ground running. I read three newspapers, I scroll through social media, I check Twitter to see whether the president is tweeting. I have to do a ton of homework the second I walk in the door,” Smith said. “I set out with a goal every day to deliver real, honest news to our viewers."

CBS News Executive Lance Frank Lance Frank (2011 BACH MCOM), executive director of communications for CBS News, has taken his love for journalism to the national stage. “I have always been very curious about the world, and I’ve always loved to find out information before anyone else,” Frank said.

“I am responsible for the day-to-day public relations strategy for The CBS Evening News and a lot of the broadcasts we do as well at CBS,” said Frank. “Every day is different. We have a lot of correspondents based all over the world who are working on

64 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

a lot of different stories, and that means that I am responsible for publicizing the work our journalists are doing.”

Frank credits LSU for developing and perfecting the skills he uses every day in New York City and at CBS. “I spent a lot of time in Hodges Hall; I practically lived in Hodges. My whole time at LSU, I worked in Tiger TV. I began as a reporter and ended as the station manager,” said Frank. “The Manship School set me up for success here at CBS. Everything that I learned from in the classroom to professional experiences, to internships, to even just learning and talking with professors, really were key to establishing myself as a journalist – and allowed me to have the tools that I needed to succeed in an environment like CBS News.”

CBS News VP Kurt Davis Kurt Davis (1983 BACH MCOM) began his impressive broadcasting career at LSU in 1978. “I studied, well it wasn’t mass communications, it was journalism, broadcasting.

And it wasn’t the Manship School then – it was the J-School. I had a great experience,” Davis said. Following graduation, he was hired as a full-time producer and reporter for WBRZ. “I determined reporting just wasn’t for me. I had to be good at one or the other. I became a full-time producer and I worked my way up through the ranks,” Davis said.

As the executive vice president of affiliate relations, Davis is responsible for all of the CBS stations around the country. “My first job in New York was with the network, CBS NewsPath, which is the content provider for the affiliates. I did that for three years, then for the past two years I’ve been over here at corporate in affiliate relations.”

Davis hasn’t forgotten where he came from, and credits LSU for his success. “I don’t think I would be where I am today, I don’t think I would have had the career I had to this point, had it not been for my experience at LSU, had it not been for the opportunity the Manship Scholarship gave me to spend time in a television station to help me work with true professionals to determine the direction I wanted to go in. I can’t put a price tag on it. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for that experience.”

Nike Master Trainer Ashley Wilking Ashley Wilking (2011 BACH HS&E) always knew she was destined for big things, moving to the Big Apple shortly after graduating. “I studied organizational and workforce development and to me it was such a niche degree that not a lot of colleges offered and the whole idea was that you worked within the HR realm but it was bettering people,” Wilking said.

Even while working in the corporate world, she focused on helping others, too.

“When I was working full time, I started as a fitness instructor just on the side for fun, and when I started my social media it was just a place for me to say I want to eventually help people,” she said. Today, Wilking is a Nike Master Trainer and a full-time fitness instructor at Rumble Boxing, and her social media accounts draw thousands of followers.

She said her LSU degree helped her to create her dream job. “The best thing they always taught us was it doesn’t matter what your degree is; figure out how you can utilize the skills you learned and put them into what you want to do. So, whether you completely change career paths once you started searching for jobs you can always still use a lot of those skills, both from classes and being involved,” said Wilking.

Rachel Holland is communications content coordinator and Eddy Perez is senior photographer in LSU Strategic Communications.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

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Tiger Nation

Tigers in Print E. Patrick Johnson (1996 PHD H&SS) Black. Queer. Southern. Women.

(University of North Carolina Press) Drawn from the life narratives of more than seventy African American queer women who were born, raised, and continue to reside in the American South, this book powerfully reveals the way these women experience and express racial, sexual, gender, and class identities – all linked by a place where such identities have generally placed them on the margins of society.

Using methods of oral history and performance ethnography, E. Patrick Johnson's work vividly enriches the historical record of racialized sexual minorities in the South and brings to light the realities of the region's thriving black lesbian communities.

Mary Manhein (1981 BACH H&SS, 1985 MAST H&SS) and Leah Wood Jewett (1993 BACH H&SS, 2003 MAST H&SS) Claire Carter, Bone Detective: The Mystery of the Bones in the Drainpipe (Os Liber Press) The Mystery of the Bones in the Drainpipe introduces Claire Carter and her eleven-year-old niece and bonedetective-in-training, Penelope Charbonnet. The series, written by

66 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

forensic anthropologist Mary H. Manhein, is based on real cases. The series will introduce young readers to the skeleton and the many things that can be learned from both human and animal bones, such as the impact of disease and trauma, determination of age, sex, and ancestry, and differentiation of species. Readers will also learn about the diverse people of Louisiana, as well as the abundant and unique flora and fauna of our state John Eugene Karlin (1979 PHD H&SS) Fear, Religion, Politics; Well I'll Be Darn (White Owl Publishing) John Karlin described the following severe dangers to our individual freedoms: the inextricable link between the ultimate fear of death and religion; The intertwining and linkage by the far religious right to politics, to the point of the "far religious right" being a racist political party, as much as it is a religion, whose ultimate goal is to turn the country into a "Theocracy," and the toxic intertwining and linkage of the "far religious right" with wealthy corporate corruption to dominate and take control of our government and our institutions at all levels, in order to turn the country into an "Oligarchy."

All of them deny the value of truth, and they are formidable enemies of our

democracy. The author does not tread lightly, nicely, or politely on those who oppose freedom.

Mark Miller (1995 BACH H&SS, 1998 MAST HS&E) Always a Tiger: Keep Movin’ Forward (Page Publishing, Inc.) Mark Miller's story involves extreme tragedy: the cancer and death of his wife, Mark's role in an automobilemotorcycle accident fatality, one murder, two suicides, losing two friends to brain cancer, and almost losing his family in a single-car accident of their own. Yet, through the power of attitude, choice, faith, family, football, and love, he has remarried and is trying to be better, not bitter. Miller’s story is about the daily impact of his Christian faith, identifying with his family's military heritage, the blessings of family, friends, and loved ones, as well as the application of the life lessons of football. Through the empowering attitude of the conscious choice to work to be better and not bitter, Miller’s story is a testament to the time enduring fact that even in death, God and love never fail. Always a Tiger is a memoir with direct interest for anyone needing or wanting a new perspective and appreciation about life.

William A. Peavy, III (1979 BACH BUS) Originally From Shreveport: A Lite Off-theWall Memoir (NFES, Dallas) Reflecting on life in Louisiana — from childhood in the northwest shoulder to college at LSU in the foot of the state — Peavy’s humorous memoir rolls from his socially connected southern ancestry and his upbringing in Shreveport during the ’60s and ’70s, to LSU frat culture, and his eventual migration to Texas. His off-thecuff portrayal of a privileged southern boyhood in a town and an era when kids ran relatively free, calls up images of boys peddling Stingray bikes behind mosquito fog trucks on summer nights, country club buddies breaching social boundaries, and pre-pubescent guys wading into the undertow around attractive girls. Stories of his college days will ring true to any LSU alum who earned a degree amidst the rollicking allure of Tiger country.

Today a Dallas real estate executive, with dual citizenship in Texas and Louisiana, Peavy’s heart remains in Shreveport.

Lou Ellen Overhultz Watts (1962 BACH HS&E) Sleeping in Dixie's Feather Bed: Growing Up White in the Segregated South (Hawthorne Publishing) This girl growing up in the Deep South during the forties and fifties happily immersed herself in a rich culture that stretched back two hundred years. As her father’s work took him throughout the South, Lou Ellen Watts reveled in beach trips to the ocean near Charleston, S.C., observed the mysterious Gullah Society, cheered the Azalea Parade in Alabama, and benefited from the rich educational opportunities at LSU. She gradually became aware of shadows on that culture – an entire group of people were looked down upon, and discriminated against, by the white society in which she lived and thrived. Around her the Civil Rights movement was beginning and growing, but Lou Ellen describes her own indifference – she was busy growing up. Then, one experience at a northern multi-cultural camp “kicked” her out of Dixie’s comfortable but intolerant feather bed.

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

67

Tiger Nation

In Memoriam 1930s

Raymond H. Lumry (1938 BACH SCI), Feb. 14, 2018, Dallas, Texas

1940s

John Arthur Allen, attended 1940-1942 and 1946-1947, Aug. 26, 2018, Opelousas, La. Frances Robichaux Bahlinger, 1945 BACH AGR, Sept. 15, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. John Berchmans “Berk” Borne, 1947 BACH BUS, Sept. 2, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. John Erwin Coxe, Sr., 1943 BACH AGR, Oct. 1, 2018, Walker, La. Malcolm Lamar Denley, 1945 BACH H&SS, 1947 MD-NO, Aug. 9, 2018, Alexandria, La. Miriam Lurline Jolly, 1947 BACH H&SS, 1954 MAST HS&E, 1956 MLS, Oct. 9, 2018, Centennial, Colo.

William “Bill” J. LeBlanc, 1949 BACH ENGR, Oct. 12, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Kathryn Lee McCutchen, 1943 BACH H&SS, 1943 MLS, Aug. 20, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Frances E. Murphy, 1947 BACH H&SS, May 26, 2018, Monterey Park, Calif.

Ruth Childress Murray, 1945 BACH BUS, 1958 MLS, 1969 MAST H&SS, Retired Associate Librarian, July 21, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Burt McCormick Payne, 1948 BACH ENGR, Oct. 14, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. M.J. “Kelly” Simoneaux, 1947 BACH BUS, Sept. 30, 2018, Baton Rouge, La.

1950s

B.F. Beeson, 1959 MAST HS&E, 1970 PHD HS&E, Retired Associate Professor of Education, Sept. 14, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Thomas Edward Camp, 1953 MLS, Feb. 25, 2018, Sewanee, Tenn.

Louis Greenwood Cancienne, 1958 BACH BUS, Sept. 2, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Thelma Harris Griffin Glover, 1955 MAST HS&E, Sept. 9, 2018, St. Louis, Mo. James J. Hannie, 1956 BACH H&SS, 1959 MD-NO, Aug. 18, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. William “Bill” Pilant Hewes, Jr., 1958 BACH ENGR, Aug. 15, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Elizabeth “Betty” Lee Lind, 1958 BACH HS&E, Aug. 12, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Wilton J. “W.J.” Lowe, Jr., 1958 BACH ENGR, Sept. 14, 2018, Gonzales, La. Odrie Ortego, 1957 BACH BUS, retired Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs, July 24, 2018, Prairieville, La. William Lester Rehm, 1951 BACH SCI, July 25, 2018, Hermitage, Tenn.

David Neil Reynolds, 1959 BACH ENGR, Aug. 26, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Sam A. Saia, 1950 BACH ENGR, Oct. 15, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Alfred Foster Sanders, Jr., 1950 BACH H&SS, 1952 MAST H&SS, 1956, MD-NO, 1971 JD, Sept. 21, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Harold Matthew Voss, Sr., 1951 BACH H&SS, 1955 MD-NO, Aug. 13, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Charles Anthony Zachariah, 1959 BACH H&SS, Aug. 1, 2018, Baton Rouge, La.

1960s

Wayne W. Berry, 1965 BACH HS&E, 1972 MAST HS&E, Aug. 17, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Marvin Simon Bezdek, 1966 BACH AGR, Sept. 8, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Dudley Earl Duhon, 1962 BACH HS&E, Oct. 2, 2018, Lafayette, La. Willene Schaefer Hardy, 1965 BACH H&SS, Sept. 18, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Claire White Harmon, 1965 BACH AGR, 1967 MAST AGR, Sept. 14, 2018, San Marcos, Texas William Thomas “Bill” Heflin, 1968 BACH BUS, Aug. 9, 2018, Port Allen, La. Kathryn Anne DeJean Howard, 1966 BACH H&SS, Sept. 27, 2018, Lafayette, La. Lorraine Puckett Jennings, BACH HS&E, Aug. 8, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Jean S. Jines, 1962 BACH BUS, May 29, 2018, Enon, Ohio John Arthur Melancon, 1969 BACH HS&E, Oct. 5, 2018, Baton Rouge, La.

Jack Edwin Guerry Alumni Professor of Music Emeritus Sept. 2, 2018 Baton Rouge La.

John William Melton, III, 1961 BACH H&SS, 1965 MD-NO, Aug. 11, 2018, Lake Charles, La. George William “Bo” Sharpe, III, 1965 BACH BUS, 1968 MAST BUS, Sept. 5, 2018, Greenwood Village, Colo.

I.J. Sherman, 1960 BACH ENGR, 1966 MD-NO, Oct. 3, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. A. Cedric Vickers, 1964 BACH AGR, Sept. 8, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Eleanor Ann Mitchell Yount, 1960 BACH MCOM, Sept. 29, 2018, Lafayette, La. Paul W. Zeller, 1969 BACH H&SS, Aug. 6, 2018, Mobile, Ala.

1970s

Elizabeth “Liz” Anderson, 1976 BACH HS&E, Aug. 20, 2018, Ponchatoula, La. Thomas Allen Barber, Jr., 1972 BACH H&SS, Aug. 5, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Miles Joseph Brashier, 1974 BACH AGR, 1977 MAST AGR, Sept. 8, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. David Alexander Castillo, 1979 BACH HS&E, Oct. 13, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Marvin L. Collins, 1971 BACH H&SS, Aug. 20, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Sharon Ann LeBlanc Couvillon, 1978 BACH H&SS, Sept. 21, 2018, Port Allen, La. Kathryn R. Davis, 1972 BACH HS&E, Sept. 4, 2018, Ruston, La. Clarence Elkins, 1972 BACH H&SS, 1974 MAST H&SS, July 22, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Rose Creel Epperson, 1974 MLS, Aug. 26, 2018, Baker, La. Florence M. Hayden, 1970 MAST MLS, Aug. 17, 2018, Huntsville, Texas Oleta Maurine Hathaway, 1971 BACH A&D, Aug. 24, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Norris D. Hood, Jr., 1971 BACH ENGR, June 29, 2018, Walker, La. John Knotts, 1970 BACH A&D, Aug. 7, 2018, Washington, D.C. Catherine Josephine Epps Nelson, 1970 MAST HS&E, 1974 PHD HS&E, Oct. 11, 2018, Hoover, Ala. Norman Creed Ritchie, Sr., 1972 BACH ENGR, Aug. 18, 2017, Plaquemine, La. Harry Kenneth “Ken” Whitam, 1974 BACH SCI, Aug. 5, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Mark Lane Williams, 1973 BACH ENGR, July 18, 2018, Knoxville, Tenn.

Douglas “Doug” Courtney Woolfolk, 1972 MAST MCOM, Oct. 9, Baton Rouge, La.

1980s

Charles E. Barbier, 1989 MAST A&D, Aug. 2, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. William “Bill” Dennis Crain, 1985 BACH H&SS, Oct. 12, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Valencia Dillon-Donaldson, 1983 BACH AGR, Aug. 7, 2018, Fort Washington, Md. Julyn Martin Duke, 1983 BACH A&D, Aug. 24, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Karen LaRee Kennedy, 1981 BACH MCOM, June 27, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Jimmy Lynn Miller, 1981 BACH ENGR, Oct. 16, 2018, Baton Rouge, La.

1990s

Judith M. Ball, 1990 PHD SCI, Sept. 14, 2018, Greenville, Texas Michael Rooney, 1997 BACH HS&E, June 15, 2018, Kenner, La.,

2000s

Scott Lee Bowman, 2002 BACH ENGR, Sept. 24, 2018, Prairieville, La. Emily Frances Holt, 2005 BACH H&SS, July 28, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Katherine Anne Coleman Kabel, 2003 BACH H&SS, Sept. 26, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. Evelyn Komma Stampley, 2000 BACH MCOM, Sept. 12, 2018, Baton Rouge, La.

2010s

Drew M. Copponex, 2010 BACH H&SS, Sept. 27, 2018, Baton Rouge, La. William Christopher Ledet, 2013 BACH ENGR, Aug. 19, 2018, Geismar, La. Nicole Francis Davis Pelliteri, 2005 BACH H&SS, 2007 MBA, Aug. 23, 2018, Davidson, N.C. Marcus Gray Smith, 2015 BACH ENGR, July 11, 2018, Cypress, Texas

Priscilla “Prissy” Lynn Milligan Retired Administrative Program Specialist College of Science Sept. 9, 2018 Baton Rouge, La.

Billy I. Ross Retired Professor of Mass Communication Oct. 8, 2018 Lubbock, Texas

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.

68 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

69

Profile

Tiger Nation

It Takes Two TwoTigers Play Key Roles, Prep for Super Bowl LIII

By Brian Hudgins

Cyone Batiste, left, and Chincie Mouton are part of the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee.

“. . . two Tigers formed a new friendship. As LSU grads and females, we became a resource for each other.”

70 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2018

Because Cyone Batiste and Chincie Mouton were willing to close the doors on moving vans, they opened up opportunities on pro football’s biggest stage. Batiste (2014 BACH MCOM) and Mouton (2011 BACH H&SS) are part of the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee as the city inches closer to hosting the global event.

Mouton, assistant director of community engagement and projects, spent five years working in the engineering and science industry before taking a leap of faith and heading to Atlanta to pursue a career in sports. “I realized Atlanta was the place to be because it had the College Football Playoff, Super Bowl, and Final Four heading there,” said Mouton, a Carencro, La., native. “When I moved to Atlanta in 2016, I did not have a job lined up.”

Mouton had reached out to Host Committee Executive Director Carl Adkins and landed an internship a few weeks after she had set foot in town.

That turned into a full-time position with the committee, which focuses on youth engagement and a handful of other initiatives – and Mouton was able to call upon her prior experience as a project leader and board member for the Young Leadership Council in New Orleans. “My volunteer experience with the Young Leadership Council showed me there was no reason why I couldn’t do this in the sports industry,” Mouton said.

Prior to joining the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee, Mouton served on the Atlanta Football Host Committee – the group charged with planning and production for the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. “Having the national championship as my first job in sports was an amazing experience,” Mouton said. “There is an event management, marketing, and communications side to all that we do. People think you are around football players all the time.

That’s not the case. It’s structured like a business.”

Batiste’s introduction to sports was a bit later than Mouton’s. Whereas Mouton played basketball and soccer in high school, Batiste, from New Iberia, La., caught the sports bug during her sophomore year in Baton Rouge surrounded by competitive football and basketball programs. “I always had a passion for sports but had never imagined wanting to make it my career,” Batiste said. “I was in the Manship School, and the public relations manager for the New Orleans Hornets came and spoke at a PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) meeting. His job just seemed extremely fascinating. A couple of weeks later, we went to a Hornets game and shadowed him. I said, ‘I want to do this.’”

That was the exciting part. The nerve-wracking moments came later, thanks to Batiste’s moves to three states in three years – first, a relatively short trek to Houston to be the public relations and marketing manager for the 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four then to Phoenix, Ariz., for a similar position at the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four. The rest of the equation relied on Batiste’s resiliency and her new work family.

“My co-workers became my extended family,” Batiste said. “They understood I was coming from a different place. It’s a blessing and a curse because you love these people and then you have to start over (when you move).”

Batiste is now on the Host Committee’s marketing and communications team. Her job is to tell Atlanta’s story through community initiatives and to market the ancillary events that are part of the Super Bowl experience through digital and social platforms. Batiste’s goal is to ensure fans know there are dozens of ways to get involved with the Super Bowl, even without a ticket to the game. Events such as Super Bowl Experience and Super Bowl LIVE present opportunities for out-of-town guests and locals to be

a part of all the Super Bowl has to offer.

Batiste admitted one of her favorite projects since moving to Atlanta was producing a hype video with Atlanta native and rapper Ludacris.

“Working on the Host Committee’s handoff video with Ludacris was something I oversaw from start to finish,” Batiste said. “It’s great to see a project come together from the conceptual phase to the finished product. He was a great sport about it.”

Since teaming in Atlanta, Mouton and Batiste have worked on several projects together, including the launch of Legacy 53, a combination of community engagement efforts that coincide with the Super Bowl. Milestones the two Tigers have completed together include breaking ground on a $2 million community park renovation and hosting a series of programs to benefit more than 200 local and certified diverse businesses.

The pair will have another opportunity to work together beyond the Super Bowl, as each has earned a spot on the 2020 NCAA Men’s Final Four Local Organizing Committee roster. The duo recently traveled to Minneapolis to participate in fan jam activation they will likely lead in Atlanta.

In the middle of all the moves and the football frenzy, two Tigers formed a new friendship. They didn’t know each other until both reached Atlanta.

“Many of the people on the (Super Bowl LIII) staff went to the University of Georgia or Alabama,” Batiste said. “The trash talking is epic. As LSU grads and females, we became a resource for each other.”

Brian Hudgins is a Houston native who enjoys SEC sports and covering a variety of subjects as a freelance writer.

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Tiger Nation

Profile

Life on Fullness Farm Living a Non-Traditional Life

By Ed Cullen Photo by Taylor Frey Productions

Allison and Grant Guidroz with daughter Katherine at Fullness Farm.

“This is the new agriculture. . . .wwe have model farmers in Louisiana who are willing to share their experience and knowledge.”

Grant Guidroz’s path to organic farming was along a straighter row than wife Allison’s. Grant’s road to Fullness Farm, the couple’s small organic patch on old Longwood Plantation south of LSU, went by family gardens, a greatgrandmother’s summer garden in Jonesboro, La., and an aunt’s garden where he saw corn, tomatoes, and peppers come to harvest. “I remember spitting out watermelon seeds at my grandmother’s,” he said.

The unconscious planting method produced a watermelon vine.

Grant (2011 BACH AGR) and Allison (2011 BACH H&SS) met in 2003, their freshman year at Baton Rouge High Magnet School and married in the summer of 2011.

Today, the Guidrozes, who are 29, live in a small house a short walk from their sheds, greenhouse, and vegetable and herb plot. When Allison talks business on the telephone, the couple’s eighteenmonth-old daughter, Katherine, can be heard in the background trying out new words.

Allison always liked doing things with her hands. She worked with her father

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on household carpentry. She did her homework across a kitchen island from where her dad cooked for the family using the best ingredients he could find in local markets. When she and Grant traveled in Europe their junior year at LSU, Allison enjoyed the slow life and good food of the little places they passed through. “The first time I had my hands in the dirt,” she said, “was working in community gardens in Baton Rouge as an undergraduate.”

As the couple moved closer to a farm of their own, they worked on other people’s organic farms. Grant credits Carl Motsenbocker, LSU professor of horticulture and sustainable agriculture, with mentoring him in organic food growing and giving him the chance to study the financial side of small farming.

“I took Doc’s organic gardening class,” Grant said. “He had a grant that let me interview small-scale farmers to develop crop budgets.”

When Allison isn’t working with Grant and their part-time workers, she’s taking care of Katherine and making the short drive up Nicholson Drive to campus where she’s working on a master’s in horticulture with a concentration in soil health. “Gardening is all right below the

surface with people,” Allison said. “It’s like it’s in our history.”

The Guidrozes field questions from customers at Baton Rouge’s downtown Farmer’s Market Saturday mornings.

People want to know how Grant and Allison grow their vegetables. From where does the confidence come to live non-traditional lives? “We get asked that quite a bit,” Allison said. “What we’re doing is a big leap of faith. Our parents did everything by the book.”

The Guidrozes do things by a book they’re helping write. They do it in large part by getting by on what they make from their one-and-a-half acres. Grant and Motsenbocker, drawing on their personal experiences and the writing of Jean-Martin Fortier, say a market garden might gross $100,000 an acre. Out of that, half might go to labor. Investment, equipment, insurance, and rent payments take a bite. Farmers like the Guidrozes might make more by increasing their acreage – but only up to a point because of the nature of market gardening, Motsenbocker said.

The Guidrozes rent land and house.

They provide their health insurance through a company that draws on a pool of subscribers. They don’t spend as much money on clothing, eating out, child care, and gasoline as their friends who work in offices. Much of the work at Fullness Farm is done by hand.

Michael Moore, who has a degree in anthropology from LSU, is interning at Fullness Farm while working on a graduate degree in anthropology at Mississippi State University. “I’m learning about organic farming,” Moore said, taking a break on a steamy afternoon in late June. “A boss like Grant makes it fun, though it is hot.”

Along with sales at the Farmer’s Market, the couple sells to restaurants

and in what Grant calls “golden windows” in the fall and spring, boxed vegetables sold directly to subscribing customers. Among the food hip, the practice is called a CSA plan (Community Supported Agriculture).

Fullness Farm offers, in season, mixed lettuce crops and baby greens that can be started and harvested quickly through the year, repeatedly. The farm grows cool- and warm-weather herbs (basil’s big), kale, Swiss chard, peppers, tomatoes (cherry and heirloom), squash, eggplant, Malabar spinach, root crops, cabbage, and green onions.

The couple’s entry into small-scale agribusiness was building raised beds for home gardeners. “We could always bring that back,” Grant said. He’s not sure he and Allison will ever have their own land, and it doesn’t bother them.

“We might manage farms for people who have the land and money,” Allison said. “We might manage small farms for real estate developments that have farms instead of golf courses.”

Meanwhile, the Guidrozes enjoy educating people who want to eat right.

Fullness Farm’s sales “go through the roof ” when there are E.coli lettuce scares in the supermarkets. “Psychologically, you’re not saving the world,” Allison said.

“But you’re growing some of your own food, and it makes you feel good.”

“This is the new agriculture,” Motsenbocker said. “I’m glad we have model farmers in Louisiana who are willing to share their experience and knowledge.”

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation

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 is retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.”

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Profile

Tiger Nation

Kelly Kissel Comes Home The Advocate's New Metro Editor

By Ed Cullen

Kelly Kissel, metro editor of The Advocate.

“It’s encouraging to go to work each day with such a dedicated newsroom.”

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“I tell you it felt good walking across this campus tonight,” said Kelly Kissel (1984 BACH MCOM), retired Associated Press Arkansas news editor and now metro editor of The (Baton Rouge) Advocate.

He was talking about the short walk from the University’s Visitor Center parking lot to The Chimes Restaurant one weekday night in late June. He had been in the metro editor’s chair at The Advocate two days.

Kissel, who grew up in Baton Rouge, will oversee the work of a city desk covering local news. He counts himself lucky to inherit a crew of twelve reporters plus a Washington correspondent. There are three assistant metro editors. The reporters include two bureau hands in Ascension Parish and one in Livingston Parish. The paper has a Lafayette, La., bureau that serves an Acadiana edition and The New Orleans Advocate. “The Advocate is a phenomenal place to work,” Kissel said.

“It’s encouraging to go to work each day with such a dedicated newsroom.”

Before the decline of daily, print newspapers, The Advocate, formerly the Morning Advocate, was considered a stepping stone paper to bigger markets, though many Advocate reporters, editors, and advertising people chose to make the capital city newspaper the place they’d spend their careers.

The paper has a talented staff of reporters, Kissel said, because management looks for talented reporters and does what it can to keep good people. “I’d like to see The Advocate become a destination paper,” Kissel said.

A thirty-four-year career with AP began in 1984. Kissel worked in New Orleans; Jackson, Miss.; Charleston, W. Va.; Huntington, W. Va.; and State College, Pa. He went to Little Rock in 1994 as news editor and helped cover the Whitewater and Paula Jones stories

during Bill Clinton’s presidency. As Kissel’s time with the AP was drawing to a close, he directed coverage of the Little Rock Central desegregation 60th anniversary. The coverage received a top internal AP prize for digital storytelling.

The stories were the work of Little Rock’s AP bureau and the wire service’s race and ethnicity team.

From 2009 until 2017, Kissel was news editor of the AP’s bureaus in Little Rock and Oklahoma City.

Simultaneously. He saw staffing numbers drop over his time in Arkansas and Oklahoma. “I saw more of I-40 than I care to remember,” he said.

Kissel continues to use accrued lodging credits with a certain large motel chain that he racked up with the AP. He used the lodging credits in his transition to Baton Rouge and his childhood home in Village St. George where he’ll live with wife Susan Marcantel Kissel (1982 BACH A&D).

The couple’s daughter, Colleen, holds a bachelor’s degree in English from LSU; son André is a senior at the University of Arkansas.

Kissel was one of the students at Baton Rouge Magnet High School’s radio station when the station signed on the air in 1977. He was WBRH’s first student station manager. In high school and college, Kissel’s student jobs seemed to have him headed for a career in broadcast journalism. “The guys at WBRZ, where my mother worked, taught me how to read the codes on the wire machines that told you whether a story was local, state, or national.”

His student jobs included ones at WRBT-TV and radio stations WBRH, WAIL, WIBR, WLUX, KWRG, and KLSU as news reader and disc jockey. “I always liked long form writing,” he said, explaining how he ended up in print journalism at LSU. At The Reveille, under the tutelage of J-School faculty member Jay Perkins, a former wire service reporter, Kissel received two first-place awards

in the William Randolph Hearst Collegiate Journalism competition. He worked his way up to managing editor.

At the AP, Kissel studied and supervised construction and operation of the wire service’s election database.

He moderated GOP and Democratic election debates in Arkansas. He was a writing coach for young AP reporters.

He organized company meetings and seminars for journalistic societies. He designed and published newsletters

featuring AP’s services. And, he refereed high school, small college, and semi-pro football games and soccer matches – a skill set valuable in overseeing the work of a newsroom staff.

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 is retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.”

Profile

LSU Alum Named Ms. Wheelchair America Karen Fernbaugh Roy (1992 BACH H&SS, 1996 MSW), of Baton Rouge, was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America 2019 in Grand Rapids, Mich., in August.

She represented the state of Louisiana alongside twenty-five other state titleholders.

Although the contestants are showcased in a pageant format, physical beauty is not a consideration. The weeklong competition required Roy to demonstrate an ability to advocate for people with disabilities across the nation. She was judged through a series of interviews, participation in advocacy and leadership workshops, her presence and public poise, and the substance of her platform speech.

“This is the first time someone from Louisiana has won in the organization’s fortyseven years of existence,” said Roy. “I am thrilled by this opportunity, and I’m still in shock.”

Shot during an armed robbery in 1987, Roy uses a wheelchair for mobility. Through advocacy and education, she sets an example for other individuals who also use wheelchairs for mobility. She lives life to the fullest and aims to shine a positive light on disabilities.

In addition to winning, Roy received the Lifetime Achievement Award – given to the state titleholder that the judging panel believes has made the largest contribution and significant impact for people with disabilities – and the Ms. Congeniality Award.

As Ms. Wheelchair America 2019, Roy will use her platform, “Stand for Life” to guide her advocacy for those living with a disability. She plans to focus on the importance of having access to information and technology, which will help people with disabilities stay healthy and pursue their own passions. While traveling the country, Roy hopes to empower others through her role as a spokeswoman for the disability community as a whole. And, she will have the opportunity to visit advocacy groups, make public appearances, participate in parades, and will be available to conduct interviews.

Currently, Roy works for Numotion Medical Supply as an account manager where she provides support and resources to individuals who are learning to adjust to a new injury or illness. She previously worked for Baton Rouge General Hospital and Neuromedical Rehabilitation Hospital as medical social worker. In her spare time, Roy enjoys swimming, traveling, and gardening.

Karen Roy, Ms. Wheelchair America 2019.

“I am thrilled by this opportunity, and I’m still in shock.”

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Tiger Nation

Tigers Around the World

From left, Bobby Flurry, Ray Wilkins, Fred Miller, and Dr. James “Jimmy” Andrews.

Homer Iron Men – Four LSU Tigers – teammates on the Homer High School

Pelicans 1957 football team – were among those gathered for a reunion at the 2018 Homer Iron Men Football Festival in Minden, La., in August. Bobby Flurry (1963 BACH BUS), Ray Wilkins (1963 BACH AGR), Fred Miller (1963 BACH AGR), Dr. James “Jimmy” Andrews (1963 BACH SCI, 1957 MD-NO, 1998 HON) were on the eighteen-member football team noted as one of the greatest teams to ever play in North Louisiana. The team earned the nickname “Iron Men” by defeating the odds with an eleven-win season and reaching state championship playoffs. Twelve members, including these Tigers, received college football scholarship offers, and Miller played for the Baltimore Colts from 1963-1972.

Photo by Johnny Gordon

LSU in Albuquerque – Kirsten

Petersen Subjeck (2008 BACH H&SS) proudly displays LSU purple and gold among the colorful balloons at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M., in October. Subjeck is the daughter of Glen Petersen (1973 BACH BUS, 1977 JD) and Melinda Petersen (1974 BACH H&SS).

Kirsten Petersen Subjeck at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

WHAT’S YOUR VOLUNTEER PASSION? Send a photo of yourself “in action” and tell Tigers Around the World how and why you share your time and talents with others.

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