Cornerstone Winter 2017 and Spring 2018

CORNERSTONE WINTER 2017 AND SPRING 2018

A Letter From

J. BRYAN BENCHOFF

Friends,

“All over Louisiana, LSU is making a difference in the lives of students, faculty and staff. They, in turn, are improving lives all over the world. Every step of the way, philanthropy provides momentum for this powerhouse of public higher education, research and service.”

There is simply no place quite like LSU–thanks to the loyal support of Tigers like you.

As my first semester here draws to a close, I want to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to you for being part of what makes LSU a great university. My wife, Karen, and I have quickly acclimated to the strong sense of community and Tiger pride shared by alumni and friends like you. Experiencing the unmatched spirit of LSU’s supporters firsthand has further solidified my confidence in what we will accomplish together for our university.

On the flagship campus, and in visiting LSU’s campuses across the state, I have seen a remarkable level of collaboration among the university’s support organizations, with the strong backing of President Alexander and LSU’s academic leaders statewide. All over Louisiana, LSU is making a difference in the lives of students, faculty and staff. They, in turn, are improving lives all over the world. Every step of the way, philanthropy provides momentum for this powerhouse of public higher education, research and service.

Last year, you and your fellow donors gave $58.7 million to support academics at LSU, and our newly launched annual giving program drew 3,219 more annual donors than the previous year. More highlights from last year are included in the Giving Report section of this issue, starting on page 27.

This issue also offers an up-close look at the vision laid out in LSU’s Strategic Plan 2025, through the lens of two of LSU’s most generous donors. LSU’s plan provides a platform for achieving LSU’s philanthropic potential, helping donors to understand LSU’s direction, vision and goals.

As we prepare to lead Louisiana’s largest ever campaign for higher education–involving all eight campuses–we are keenly aware that our goal of reaching LSU’s philanthropic potential is bigger than any one person.

All of us who care about LSU are a team, working together to set the course for the kind of university LSU will be and the impact we will have on Louisiana, the nation and the world.

Thank you for investing in LSU, and for the spirit you show in encouraging others to support Louisiana’s state university.

Gratefully,

J. Bryan Benchoff LSU Foundation President and CEO and LSU Vice President of Institutional Advancement

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YOUR GIVING...

SUPPORTS STUDENTS 7 11 12 14 17

Golden Food for Thought Loved and Adored Generation Next Modeling Excellence

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CREATES EXPERIENCES 18 21 22 24 26

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No Limits Louisiana Proud Heartbeats Foreign Ambition Summer Strong

DRIVES EXCELLENCE 36 37 38 40 41

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Honor Roll Palpable Passion Pretty Amazing A Gentleman Scientist Changing Paradigms

ADVANCES COMMUNITIES 42 45 46 48

Safe Place Pioneering Patrons Play with a Purpose

SPECIAL SECTION

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Coast to Coast

2016-17 LSU FOUNDATION GIVING REPORT

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LSU STRATEGIC PLAN 2025

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ABOUT THE COVER For her Cornerstone cover art submission, Emily Hardesty, a first-year master’s student in graphic design and member of the Graphic Design Student Office, presented a new interpretation of an LSU icon: Mike the Tiger. “I wanted to create an illustrative rendition of Mike that embodied strength, inventiveness and creativity,” Hardesty said. “I used a combination of sleek and weathered textures to create Mike, symbolizing the LSU community’s innate desire to continue moving forward with a ‘spirit of innovation,’ without forgetting where we have come from.”

Hardesty, a Plano, Texas, native, completed her undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University. A four-year member of the indoor volleyball team there, Hardesty was excited to extend her collegiate athletics career with LSU Beach Volleyball and continue her studies at the LSU College of Art & Design. “I have been an artist ever since I could pick up a pencil, but it wasn’t until I got to college that I really began to consider the many possibilities that the field of graphic design offers,” she said. Hardesty has quickly found a spot in her maroon heart for some purple and gold. Now her dream job is to illustrate children’s books, to provide “imagery that brings text to life in a meaningful way.” She enjoys brainstorming and creating art in nature, which “inspires and uplifts” her, every chance she gets.

CORNERSTONE

WINTER 2017 AND SPRING 2018 EDITOR Jennie Gutierrez

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sara Whittaker

ART DIRECTOR Ashley Motsinger

HOW IT’S MADE The LSU Foundation partners with the LSU Graphic Design Student Office for Cornerstone’s cover art. The GDSO is a fullservice graphic design studio where students create graphic design solutions for university units and local clients. They experience the full design process, including client consultation, idea generation, rounds of revision and final production–uniquely preparing them to enter the professional world. Here are a few more submissions for this issue, themed “spirit of innovation”:

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jacqueline DeRobertis Jeff English Alison Satake Julie Thomas

PRINTING Progress Printing

TO SHARE FEEDBACK, PLEASE CONTACT: Sara Whittaker Senior Director of Communications and Marketing swhittaker@lsufoundation.org 225-578-8164

lsufoundation.org Hailey Andras

Angel Chang

Emily Roemer

/lsufoundation @lsu_foundation

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Profile

SEAN REILLY

Board of Directors

Sean Reilly, Baton Rouge native and CEO of Lamar Advertising, has always “been in love and engaged” with LSU. A Harvard University alumnus, he said that “while my diploma is crimson, my blood runs purple and gold!”

Following in the footsteps of his father, the late Kevin Patrick Reilly Sr., Reilly served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988-96. As a legislator, he regularly worked with LSU leadership on the school’s legislative agenda. Reilly has fundraising experience at both Harvard and Duke University, where his daughter is a student. His role on the LSU Foundation Board of Directors, which he considers an honor, is yet another way he can aid in improving the well-being of his home state.

“If you grew up in Baton Rouge or love Louisiana, you quickly realize that LSU is the most important institution for our city and our state.

As goes LSU, so goes Louisiana,” he shared. “I think we’re obligated to make LSU the best it can be … Now more than ever we have to make Photo by Kathryn Gaiennie sure that LSU sees the private philanthropic support that other great state research institutions receive across the country.”

Reilly and his family support several areas of campus, including the College of Music & Dramatic Arts, Manship School of Mass Communication and LSU Museum of Art. He also co-founded and co-chairs Louisiana’s Flagship Coalition, a bipartisan group of state business leaders seeking to advance the legislative agenda of LSU and enhance public support for it. His wife, Jennifer, is also an active philanthropist, particularly with the renovation of Reilly Theatre and the Shaw Center, founding and chairing City Year Baton Rouge and supporting charter schools through New Schools for Baton Rouge.

Together they have three children, Anna, Aidan and Rowan.

“All the data shows that a degree from LSU, dollar for dollar, is one of the best degrees in the country. It starts there. If LSU continues to turn out an outstanding product, then it deserves the support we give it as a philanthropic community,” Reilly said. “We still have work to do; we still have to demonstrate that we can raise money in a big league way, like other major research institutions do across the country. But the foundation for success has been laid for sure.” lsufoundation.org/board

2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS

DIRECTORS

Robert M. Stuart Jr. | Baton Rouge, La. Chairperson of the Board & Director

Mark K. Anderson | Monroe, La. J. Herbert Boydstun | Baton Rouge, La. Robert H. Crosby III | New Orleans, La. Laura L. Dauzat | Marksville, La. Deborah A. Elam | New Orleans, La. Keith J. Evans | Shreveport, La. Beau Fournet | Dallas, Texas T. Cass Gaiennie | Shreveport, La. Immediate Past Chairperson of the Board Frank W. “Billy” Harrison III | Houston, Texas Roger W. Jenkins | El Dorado, Ark. Gary L. Laborde | New Orleans, La. Charles A. Landry | Baton Rouge, La.

Clarence P. Cazalot Jr. | Houston, Texas Chairperson-Elect of the Board & Director Bryan Benchoff | Baton Rouge, La. LSU Foundation President and CEO and LSU Vice President of Institutional Advancement D. Martin Phillips | Houston, Texas Corporate Treasurer & Director

David B. Means III | Mansfield, La. Dr. Mary T. Neal | Bellaire, Texas Roger H. Ogden | New Orleans, La. Sean E. Reilly | Baton Rouge, La. Jack Rettig | Fort Lauderdale, Florida John F. Shackelford III | Bonita, La. Jeffrey N. Springmeyer | Houston, Texas Sue W. Turner | Baton Rouge, La. Rick Wolfert | Greensboro, Ga.

EX OFFICIO F. King Alexander LSU President

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Dr. Terry and Mr. Mike Fontham at the LSU Foundation Center for Philanthropy | Photo by Andrea Barbier

Profile

MIKE AND TERRY FONTHAM

LSU Foundation Membership

Founding dean of the LSU School of Public Health Dr. Terry Fontham (Science, ’68) and her husband, Mike (Journalism, ’68), an LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center adjunct professor for more than four decades, know firsthand the value that philanthropy plays at Louisiana’s flagship university.

Mike and Terry met as juniors, at the LSU Student Union. Both were members of the program council–he was chair of the music and theatre committee, and she was chair of the hospitality committee. Many years, a marriage and two children later, they enthusiastically made a gift to renovate the Union, their favorite place on campus.

Terry never considered going to any other university. She and Mike “inherited” their LSU Foundation membership from her father, a proud alumnus (“He said, ‘Son, I’ve done this long enough. I’m an old man.

You take over!’” Mike remembered.), as well as season football tickets, originally purchased in 1950. An

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internationally recognized cancer researcher, she became a faculty member of the LSU Health Sciences Center in 1980 and served as chair, then dean, of the Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine as it grew into a school.

“I saw what a difference a professorship or chair could make. I knew that if I didn’t step up to give and set the example, other people in the school were not likely to,” Terry shared, adding, “LSU does more with less than almost any university I could think of.

We’ve had budget cuts after budget cuts.

The difference that the Foundation can make is huge. It pays off.”

Mike moved to Louisiana when he was 11, the same year LSU earned

its first national championship, so he quickly became a Tiger fan. At LSU, he was very involved on campus, including as editor of The Reveille.

After receiving his law degree from the University of Virginia, the couple returned to New Orleans–a move Mike “insisted” on so that they could attend LSU football games. Named in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of appellate and energy law, he is a member of Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann and also teaches at Tulane University Law School, as well as in the University of Virginia’s Trial Advocacy Institute. lsufoundation.org/membership

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

BEHIND THE GL AND GL ITZ ORY OF LSU ’S ICON IC GOLDE FROM T N BAND IGE ARE 32 5 STUD RLAND ENTS W DEDICA HO T ENERG E THEIR TIME Y AN , TO CRE D TALENT ATING ONE A EXPERI -OF-A-KIND ENCE F OR FAN DONOR S. T H E Y C S E N S U RE AN TO DO AFFORD THAT.

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iger Band has a tradition of musical excellence unlike most schools that stems from the quality and dedication of the students in the group. This has been enhanced by the high-level musicians that the School of Music has attracted for years,” Director of Bands Damon Talley said. “We rely on philanthropy to always continue that great tradition. Without it, it’s very difficult to achieve the great things that this band can do.”

That great tradition requires a lot of hard work. Tiger Band members rehearse more than 15 hours a week during the fall and perform more than six shows a year.

Interestingly, most members are not music majors–making Tiger Band unique in its diversity of students’ interests, strengths and career goals. Half of the students have jobs, in addition to their required full-time course loads. Over the next decade, the School of Music aims to offer endowed scholarships for every band position.

“When students aren’t able to work because of the time commitment of Tiger Band, they still have to pay their bills.

Being able to reward members financially–to recruit those blue-chip players to be in the band, to be leaders, to retain them–is huge,” Talley said. “It’s an investment directly in kids, and not just kids from one area of the university. Tiger Band is about spirit and music making. But it’s also about creating a well-rounded person who is ready to go out into the world and do really great things.”

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“In the Enchanted Forest, Kayleigh's beautiful endowed oak is steps away from the Greek Theater. Tiger Band warms up just in front of her oak before every home game. We keep flowers there for her, so please stop by and say a prayer in remembrance of our beautiful daughter, Kayleigh.”

– Stacy Toal, mother of Tiger Band alumna Kayleigh Billings (1991-2015)

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our-year Tiger Band alumna Kayleigh Billings was destined to do really great things. Born to LSU diver Curt Billings and Tiger Band member Stacy Toal, the “Tiger baby” spent the first two years of her life crawling the floors of the natatorium and band room. A natural conductor and oboe player, just like her mom, Kayleigh chose the trumpet for Tiger Band.

“At the end of every home game practice, Tiger Band alumni can come down and sing the alma mater with the Tiger Band members. They stand arm-in-arm. Kayleigh and I would wait for that moment. I would run down and stand with her and we would sing, albeit she a lot better than I,” Stacy remembered.

It was at LSU that Kayleigh discovered her passion for sharing her talent with underprivileged youth; she was even honored for her work with Kid’s Orchestra. Before her life was cut tragically short, Kayleigh accepted

Why do you give to Tiger Band?

It was such a privilege to be part of a great organization and university, which instilled in me so much confidence and strength. I hope that our fund eases the path of talented dancers who dream of performing on the LSU field, allowing their memories to begin. The Golden Girls are not just talented, beautiful women; they are also remarkable ambassadors for LSU. - Sally and Doss (Engineering, ’80) Bourgeois

Daniel Wendt, 2017-18 Tiger Band drum major, leads the traditional pregame parade down Victory Hill. Photo by Craig Macaluso

an orchestra director position at a Houston middle school and proudly wrote her name–“Ms. Billings”–on her classroom’s chalkboard.

The Kayleigh Billings Memorial Scholarship, created with help by Kayleigh’s loving family and friends and matched by Curt’s employer, the Corning Foundation, was fully endowed in just a year and a half. Her family is grateful to all who contributed and want her scholarship recipients to know that they carry on her legacy as a passionate musician and Tiger, and a funny and empathetic soul.

“We refer to Kayleigh as the ‘champion of the underdog.’ She modeled empathy, compassion, tolerance and genuine caring for others,” Curt shared. “She loved to make people laugh and make them feel completely validated. Her compassionate nature drew people to her.

She was simply one of a kind.”

Our gift is a commitment to excellence, to a group of men and women dedicated to providing sights and sounds that excite both young and old alike. Investing in the band is our way of saying “thank you” for those many times you had us clapping, hugging, singing and cheering.

- Dr. Arthur (Humanities & Social Sciences, ’73; Human Sciences & Education, ’91) and Mrs. Judy (Human Sciences & Education, ’73; Business, ’77) Halbrook

My fondest memories revolve around Saturdays in the fall, the march down the hill and rousing performances by the Golden Band from Tiger Land in Tiger Stadium.

When our youngest son became a member of Tiger Band, we gained a true appreciation of the commitment and sacrifice made, along with the rewards derived, by the student band members of this great institution.

- Miles Williams (Engineering, ’83)

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eam work, discipline, leadership, loyalty, attention to detail, comradeship and lasting friendships. Those are the gifts alumnus Tom Sullivan (Journalism, ’64) received from his time in Tiger Band. A New Orleans native, Sullivan started trumpet lessons when he was 10 years old. In high school, he switched to the baritone horn and was introduced to LSU through a summer program on campus.

“I liked the northern Italian architecture, the pretty lakes, everything about the place,” Sullivan remembered. “I liked the band director, Mr. Tom Tyra, the youngest band director in the country at the time. I liked the fellow musicians, kids from other places in Louisiana. A lot of them were going to LSU. And I liked the idea that you got a little scholarship to play in the Tiger Band.”

As a Tiger Band member, he worked with Tyra and Rocky composer Bill Conti, Tyra’s graduate assistant at the time. His “cherished” memories include a high school recruiting tour, recording the 1961 spring concert and traveling to three major bowl games.

“My senior year we went to the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston (we lost to Baylor),” Sullivan said. “It snowed in Houston, if you can believe that, and we played out in the open at the old Rice stadium.

That was my last band performance.”

After graduating from LSU, Sullivan joined the U.S. Air Force as a public information officer. Coincidentally, one of his assignments was to coordinate gigs for the USAF band throughout Europe.

His generous planned gift will ensure that Tiger Band students’ instruments are well taken care of for years to come.

Top: Tiger Band performs its “Louisiana Tribute” halftime show during the LSU vs. BYU football game in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sept. 2, 2017. Photo by LSU Department of Bands Bottom: Tom Sullivan circa 1960

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bands.lsu.edu/tigerband

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Two organizations that bring research-based knowledge to Louisiana families to promote healthier lifestyles have teamed up to create an endowed scholarship within the LSU College of Agriculture.

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he Louisiana Volunteers for Family and Community’s focus has always been on family, community, environment and leadership,” said LVFC Vice President Judy Broussard.

“We are delighted to be able to help the scholarship recipient to further an education in the LSU School of Nutrition and Food Sciences and secure a future promoting nutritional values to families.”

Members of LVFC and Louisiana Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences often collaborate to offer programming across the state.

LVFC is one of the LSU AgCenter’s volunteer groups, and LEAFCS is a professional organization for LSU AgCenter nutrition agents. Both supported the college’s former home economics program, which has since become the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences and the Department of Textiles, Apparel and Merchandising.

The organizations combined their funds to create a meaningful scholarship for a nutrition and food sciences undergraduate student.

“The importance of agriculture in our state has and will continue to be a driving force in our economy. Most of the state’s commodities are directly related to the foods we eat, clothes we wear and other products generated as result of agriculture,” LEAFCS Southwest Regional Coordinator Robin Landry said. “We know that the recipients, worthy young individuals, have the ability to impact our state, and potentially the world in which we live, in the area of agriculture.”

For more than 100 years, the College of Agriculture has been an integral

LSU School of Nutrition and Food Sciences graduate students Jose Marenco Alonso and Amber Jack prepare bread in the school’s commercial kitchen. Photo by Tobie Blanchard

part of LSU. In fact, the college’s roots go back to the university’s very first graduating class, which included a planter as one of its five graduates.

Now, the teaching programs in the college have evolved from a focus solely on production agriculture to a comprehensive array of programs that

encompass all aspects of agriculture, making it a top choice for dynamic and transformative academic experiences in agricultural sciences. lsu.edu/agriculture lsuagcenter.com

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Loved and Adored Betty Battalora and her daughter, Dr. Peggy Battalora (Science, ’82; Medicine, New Orleans, ’86), established a College of Science scholarship in memory of Betty’s husband, the late Dr. George Battalora Jr. (Medicine, New Orleans, ’53), a man who they said never stopped learning, doing, giving or loving.

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ollowing service as a first lieutenant in Japan during World War II, George studied geology as a graduate student at LSU, then went on to graduate from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. While completing his orthopedics residency, he met Betty–she was head nurse of neurosurgery and received overflow of his patients. After the second date, he proclaimed that he would marry her; 18 months later, he did.

“He absolutely loved and adored my mother,” Peggy shared. “When he was ill, I’d come in on weekends and take him for coffee. When Mom would walk in the dining room, his eyes would just light up. That was the best part of his day.”

George entered private practice with his father, Dr. George Battalora Sr., one of the first orthopedists in New Orleans. Together, they traveled to Chicago for medical meetings to learn the latest in orthopedics. They brought back the knowledge to Louisiana, teaching clinics across the state. Dedicated to his practice, he was a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society, Orleans Parish Medical Society, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

George and Betty raised six children together, surrounded

by George’s many full bookshelves and furniture built in his workshop (“He would say, ‘Jesus was a carpenter!’”

Peggy remembers.) Saturdays were for the Tigers, the TV blaring so loudly that phone conversations were reserved for halftime only. Betty and Peggy describe him as wise, classically stylish, blunt and funny–but mostly, extraordinarily kind.

“Dad had such a way of making people feel comfortable.

It was always, ‘Hi, honey, how are you doing?’ or ‘Hey, sugar,’” Peggy said. “I’ll never forget when I wrecked his car.

I expected him to be so upset. And what he said to me was, ‘I can get another car. I can’t get another one of you.’”

He was generous, too–although he gave quietly. “We went to a summer camp for many years, and we didn’t know until our last year there that he would give money to sponsor underprivileged kids. The director of the camp told us,” Peggy said.

Inspired by Peggy’s visit to the LSU Geology Field Camp, which she said her father would have loved, the Dr. George C. Battalora Jr. Scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding incoming undergraduate student with a declared major in biological sciences, chemistry or geology and geophysics. science.lsu.edu

“

He absolutely loved and adored my mother. When he was ill, I’d come in on weekends and take him for coffee. When Mom would walk in the dining room, his eyes would just light up. That was the best part of his day.”

- Dr. Peggy Battalora

Left: Betty Battalora and Dr. Peggy Battalora at Betty’s home in Covington Above: Portrait of Betty and George, married for 59 years Recent photo by Andrea Barbier

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Halliburton Scholar Hannah Megison and Dr. Jerry Trahan, LSU Division of Electrical & Computer Engineering chairman and Chevron professor

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HALLIBURTON'S $1.2 MILLION DONATION TO THE LSU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING WILL EXPAND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LSU’S NEXT-GENERATION ENGINEERS, BOOSTING INDUSTRY DIVERSITY THROUGH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON WOMEN ENGINEERS. THE GIFT LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE COLLEGE AND ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO THE ENERGY INDUSTRY.

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“In the college, we are focused on drastically increasing the percentage of women studying engineering, computer science and construction management by 2025. Any literature will tell you that a diverse workforce brings new ideas, new approaches and new perspectives to the table for solving real problems.”

- Craig Harvey, LSU College of Engineering associate dean for academic affairs.

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his new gift from Halliburton to the College of Engineering will help to attract top-notch talent and offer handson learning for students to acquire the skills they will need in the workforce,” College of Engineering Dean Judy Wornat said, explaining, “Providing the college with resources–scholarships and opportunities to interact with Halliburton employees–to attract high-qualified young women to study engineering gives Halliburton an opportunity to be seen in our students’ eyes as an attractive potential employer.”

Through Halliburton’s gift, each year for the next three academic years, a new group of 16 engineering students will receive scholarships of more than $12,000 each. The scholarship holds the greatest value per student of any

On Sept. 22, 2017, the LSU College of Engineering hosted a kickoff event for the Halliburton Scholars Program. Halliburton employees congratulated, interacted with and offered words of wisdom to the 16 newly selected scholars.

of the college’s scholarship opportunities. In addition, each recipient will be assigned a faculty mentor for hands-on research experience and will participate in cohort programming. To attract more women students to the field of engineering and promote workforce diversity–a priority of Halliburton–the selection process gives preference to women applicants who emulate Halliburton’s values and culture.

“If the LSU College of Engineering is going to meet the demands of industry in the future, we must have a diverse student population, including women and underrepresented minorities,” said Craig Harvey, Engineering associate dean for academic affairs. “In the college, we are focused on drastically increasing the percentage of women studying engineering, computer

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science and construction management by 2025.

Any literature will tell you that a diverse workforce brings new ideas, new approaches and new perspectives to the table for solving real problems.”

Dean Wornat felt a strong alignment of principles and goals between the College of Engineering and Halliburton from her very first meeting with the corporation. Her priorities for the college include producing graduates who are not only technically skilled, but are also globally minded, strong communicators who embrace collaboration across different fields, and for the college to research and solve some of the great technical challenges relevant to Louisiana’s economy. Halliburton Executive Vice President of Administration and Chief Human Resources Officer Lawrence Pope agrees that these objectives are cohesive with Halliburton’s mission.

“Halliburton employs the brightest individuals who understand the importance of working together, continuously striving for improvement and executing in challenging environments,” said Pope, whose daughter attends the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. “LSU is one of the top tier schools from which we hire because it produces leaders, problem solvers and innovators, and provides a first-class educational environment to students who may be our future employees.”

With approximately 50,000 employees representing 140 nationalities, and operations in approximately 70 countries, Halliburton helps its customers maximize value throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir–from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production throughout the life of the asset. In recognition of the company’s support, Halliburton has been inducted into the College of Engineering’s Society of Engineering Excellence.

Top: Halliburton Scholar Phuc Perrie-Nguyen Middle: The 2017-18 Halliburton Scholars are (back row, left to right) Amelie Thomas, Alex Dixon, Abigail Ferrell, Annie O’Keefe, Kelly Cohen, Hannah Megison, Claire Like, Lauren Baxter, Kathleen Niedbalski, Esther Yoo and (front row, left to right) Cameron Markowitz, Morgan Donaldson, Rusel Schneider, Kayla Lehmann, Anna Odenwald and Phuc Perrie-Nguyen Bottom: Halliburton University Affairs Manager Leah Carter Photos by Cody Willhite

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lsu.edu/eng

Modeling Excellence Patterson Pump Company, guided by President Al Huber and Environmental Technical Sales President Ronnie Hebert, donated a demonstration model of its permanent canal closures and pumps-drainage stations to the LSU Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. The model will give students insight into complex techniques that are used to ensure cities’ storm-related efficiency and safety.

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he demonstration model provides our civil and environmental engineering students an opportunity to see an important part of New Orleans’ regional drainage and flood protection infrastructure,” said Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Chair and Boyd Professor George Z. Voyiadis.

“The model gives our students an inside look at how the pumps are used to move storm water out of the canals and around gated storm-surge barriers into Lake Pontchartrain. We are very appreciative of Patterson Pump Company and ETEC for this wonderful addition to our laboratory facilities.”

The model was designed to provide a permanent and more sustainable measure for reducing the risk of a 100year level storm surge entering New Orleans canals. LSU’s demonstration model, which weighs more than 1,500 pounds dry and can hold approximately 400 gallons of water, will be used in the college’s ETEC Hydraulics and Water Distribution Laboratory.

“A lot of what I’ve learned came from life, and from being a civil and environmental engineer,” Hebert said. “I remember visiting a waste water plant with Professor William Wintz as a student to design my senior project. All I knew and had to design from was from that one visit. The PCCP demonstration model is a learning tool that will be invaluable for the students to visualize what they’re learning.”

Through an approximately $615 million contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the PCCP was designed by Patterson Pump Company and built by PCCP Constructors JV, which consists of Kiewit Louisiana South Company, M.R. Pittman Group and Traylor Bros Inc. Composed of permanently gated storm surge barriers and a brick facade, the PCCP will move rainwater out of the canals, around the gates and into Lake Pontchartrain during inclement weather, and be equipped with a stand-alone emergency power supply capacity. cee.lsu.edu

Visiting Professor Wojciech Sumelka, LSU Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Professor Zhi-Qiang Deng, Clayton Rider of Patterson Pump Company, and Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Chair and Boyd Professor George Z. Voyiadis with the permanent canal closure and pump drainage station demonstration model

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CREATING EXPERIENCES A first-generation college student, Sharod McClendon is a double major in political communication and African and African American studies. He hopes to attend law school next year, and his dream is to become mayor of his hometown, Atlanta. He’s made the most of his time at LSU as a Gates Millennium Scholar, Ronald E. McNair Scholar and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Black Male Leadership Initiative fellows program and Association of Black Communicators. The only item left on his college bucket list was to study abroad.

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he Office of Diversity partnered with School of Education associate professor Dr. Kenny Fasching-Varner, recipient of a faculty Diversity Grant, to secure funds for McClendon’s adventure.

McClendon, Fasching-Varner and a group of students traveled to Santiago, Chile, through Geaux Global, an LSU professional development program for students to gain experience teaching English to second-language learners. McClendon lived with a host family and taught seventh, eighth, tenth and eleventh graders. He calls the experience “humbling.”

“As Americans, we are afforded many opportunities and resources that other countries don’t have,” McClendon said.

“Every Chilean student was passionate about being in school. They were using electronics in class, but for the right reasons. You didn’t see anyone sleeping in class or texting away. The students were connected with the teachers. It was very different, and I learned a lot about how we could redesign our schools.”

As an LSU National Diversity Advisory Board member, LSU alumnus and Baton Rouge native, Tracy Porter (Business, ’83), supports the Diversity Programs Support Fund, which affords experiences like McClendon’s.

A former proud Fighting Tiger who placed academics before athletics, Porter played in the NFL for six years before taking on a number of other professional

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ventures spanning the commercial banking, healthcare and automotive industries. Now Porter is the principal and CEO of Premiere Solutions, LLC, a commercial fleetmanagement company based in California with clients across the country.

Porter wants LSU students to seize opportunities beyond their comfort zone. “My advice is to do what I did and beyond: Don’t limit yourself from a geographic perspective or from whatever you decide to study or engage in as a career,” he shared. “Always push yourself to learn as much as you possibly can. The only way to do that is to raise your hand for the tough assignments–the assignments hardly nobody else wants–and take that. You’ll be able to expand yourself.”

McClendon agrees, and wants to make it possible for more underrepresented minorities, especially Black males, to expand their horizons, too. “I want to work with students to ensure that they have the assets to study abroad. We can find resources that will sponsor them.

Every child needs that exposure. It does something to you to travel the world and experience someone else’s culture,” he shared.

The Diversity Programs Support Fund is part of the Office of Diversity’s mission to launch a vision of diversity, equity and inclusion on an institutional, regional, national and global platform. Each year, gifts to the fund support the goal of increasing opportunities for students to have impactful experiences like studying abroad. lsu.edu/diversity

Pages 18-19 and top: Photos from Sharod McClendon's study abroad trip to Santiago, Chile Bottom: Tracy Porter and McClendon meet on Sept. 29, 2017. Photo by Darlene Aguillard

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Loy R. “Pug” and Jeannie Lorren at the LSU Foundation Center for Philanthropy | Photo by Darlene Aguillard

LOUISIANA PROUD More than six decades after meeting on campus, Loy R. “Pug” (Business, ’63) and Jeannie Lorren have established a sizable endowment through their estate to recruit in-state students to the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business.

T

he Lorrens were inspired to give by a display at their “honorary” grandchild’s high school. Around graduation time, a small flag represented each university that gave scholarships to seniors; Pug and Jeannie were disappointed to see only one for LSU. Their gift will allow the Ourso College to award merit-based scholarships to full-time undergraduate and graduate students from Louisiana high schools.

“We worked our way through college and graduate school. There were no scholarships or TOPS program back then,” Pug shared. “We know what it is to be short of money when you’re going to school. That’s really what prompted us to start thinking about making a meaningful gift: What could we do to make it easier for students to get through today?”

Both Pug and Jeannie enrolled at LSU in 1956. They married in 1958 because, as Pug puts it, “the love bug bit us, and we couldn’t wait!” The couple moved upstate for

Pug to complete his undergraduate degree at the University of Monroe, then returned to LSU so he could earn his MBA. Pug spent the entirety of his career with what is now known as ATT, encompassing operations, personnel and marketing roles until he became director of Bellsouth’s fleet of more than 31,000 vehicles.

“The motor vehicle shop worked at night. When an installer arrived in the morning, not only was the vehicle repaired, but the oil was changed and the tank was full of gas. The ice bucket was filled with ice water, and all of the supplies had been replenished,” Pug said.

Following his retirement, the couple settled down in Mandeville, La., closer to their daughter, Shelley. They hope the scholarship opportunity will keep Louisiana’s next leaders in state for college and beyond. “LSU really brought us together. It’s very important to us to give back to the university that we love so much,” Jeannie added. business.lsu.edu

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Bill Conner listens to the heartbeat of his daughter, Abbey, who saved four lives through her organ donation. Photos by Mary Klemenok

HEARTBEATS On Father’s Day 2017, Bill Conner of Wisconsin paused his 2,600-mile, crosscountry bike trip to meet the recipient of his daughter’s heart in Ventress, La. The video of Conner listening to his daughter’s heartbeat has since gone viral, evoking an emotional reaction from an international audience and raising awareness of the importance of organ donation. LSU Manship School of Mass Communication students are behind the heartfelt story’s global reach.

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“W

e think the people that have actually viewed that video is just over 100 million throughout the U.S. and other countries,” said Lori Steele, community educator for Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency. “The national registry more than tripled the average registration rates in the days following that post. Our biggest spike was on June 20, when we had 18,000-plus registering. That’s more than three times the daily rate of folks saying ‘yes’ to donation.”

Conner’s daughter, Abbey, was a 20-year-old public relations student at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater when she passed away, in early 2017, after being found unconscious in the pool at a Cancun resort. Her heart was quickly sent to the Ochsner Multi-Organ Transplant Institute to save Loumonth Jack Jr., a 21-year-old with a failing heart and one of four

men saved by her donation. With help from LOPA, Jack contacted his organ donor’s father, and they agreed to meet.

Instructor Sadie Wilks’ summer senior capstone class was assigned to develop a public relations campaign for LOPA. Steele met with the group to talk about the organization and its summer events, including Conner and Jack’s introduction. Mary Klemenok, a public relations senior from Waco, Texas, immediately recognized the story’s potential and wrote a press release. Multiple local news outlets captured the moment of Conner listening to his daughter’s heart in Jack’s chest–and from there the story took off. It has since been translated and published in more than 18 languages. Klemenok, whose name was on the press release, handled the media inquiries.

“I thought it was going to get attention for sure, but I didn’t think that I would be the one being called, or that

the picture I took of Bill hearing the heartbeat would be all over the internet and news. I was driving home from CrossFit one day and BBC London called me!” Klemonok shared. “Prior to the success of the campaign, I wasn’t sure if my résumé would stand out. I think this has really set me apart.”

Through support from the Thomas M. Fletcher Memorial Support Fund, Klemenok presented her work at the Southern Public Relations Federation’s 2017 Annual Conference in Tupelo, Miss., as well as at the Public Relations Society of America 2017 National Conference in Boston, in which Wilks and Steele also participated. lsu.edu/manship

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Savanah Dickinson at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman

Foreign AMBITION LSU Communication across the Curriculum Distinguished Communicator Savanah Dickinson, an Ogden Honors College graduating senior, spent summer 2017 interning at the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain. What many would consider to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip is just the beginning of Dickinson’s exciting career around the globe.

D

ickinson, born and raised in Dallas, was attracted to LSU by the Ogden Honors College and international studies program. Considering more than 15 universities, she decided LSU was the right fit and location. She became interested in studying mass communication after hearing friends discuss their courses.

“My counselor said I could graduate in four years with two majors and two minors attached to it. I thought, ‘Why not? More bang for my buck!’” Dickinson said. “Now I’m happily an

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international studies and mass communication dual-degree student with two minors, political science and Arabic.”

Even with all of that on her plate, Dickinson became a certified Distinguished Communicator, completing a variety of training experiences, leadership roles and community service to strengthen her written, spoken, visual and technological communication skills. She interned with the U.S. State Department in fall 2016 and then began researching internship locations abroad for her next professional development opportunity.

“Bahrain was one of the least well-known,” Dickinson said. “I thought it would be a unique experience, and that less people would apply there because they didn’t know where it was. It’s all a numbers game!”

She spent 10 weeks in Bahrain, which is located off the east coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.

In her free time there, she traveled to Dubai, where she skydived and enjoyed indoor skiing, and to the country of Oman, centered between mountain ranges and the Arabian Sea. The opportunity reaffirmed her goal of working in foreign policy overseas, and she made the most of her time there with CxC techniques.

“Going into an internship, I first survey and get a feel for the environment. I pick up on the areas that I think could be improved and would be good to show off to grad schools or future employers,” she said. “CxC also hosted a workshop on elevator pitches. That’s a very valuable skill to have because in the embassy community, you’re meeting with so many professionals. You want to start networking, and I was able to tell them who I am in a quick spiel and get feedback on grad schools or careers.”

Supported by Shell, CxC is the first program of its kind in the U.S. CxC faculty advance undergraduate students’ communication abilities through enhanced learning experiences inside and outside the classroom. Distinguished Communicators’ work is encompassed in the creation of a digital portfolio and an official transcript designation, sharpening LSU students’ competitive edge in the job market. lsu.edu/academicaffairs/cxc

Dickinson (top) skydiving 13,000 feet over Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, a manmade, palm tree-shaped island, and (bottom) at the Qal'at al-Bahrain, or the Bahrain Fort

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STRONG

Summer Scholar Maya Stevenson

Maya Stevenson, an English/pre-law major, got a jump start on her freshman year as an LSU University College Summer Scholar. Over the course of the eight-week summer bridge program, Stevenson became acclimated to LSU’s campus, formed relationships and even knocked out two classes. She has since been able to spend her first semester of college focusing on big picture goals.

“A

GPA 3.7 or higher combined with a high LSAT score is almost automatic admission into law school. That’s really my goal,” Stevenson said. “I don’t want to be that person who’s stressed out and has to make their personal statement explain everything they’ve done wrong.”

So far, Stevenson is doing everything right. She is taking advantage of the 3+3 Pre-Law Program, so she will earn both her undergraduate and law degrees in just six years.

She’s a member of Women’s Minority Movement, the Pre-Law Chapter of the National Black Law Students Association and the food blog Spoon LSU. She credits Summer Scholars with connecting her to campus mentors and helping her bond with her new classmates.

“This is my hometown, so I thought I was going to be driving back to my house every day. But you find out that you don’t want to; you want to be there with those people,” she said, “Summer Scholars is such a wonderful opportunity, academically and personally. It made me realize that LSU wants me to succeed.”

Stevenson was also impressed by program supporter Marathon Petroleum Company’s presentation to her cohort, which was focused on the importance of diversity in the workplace.

Marathon Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations Dave Sauber explained the motivation behind the company’s three-year commitment to support Summer Scholars studying engineering and construction management. “One of Marathon’s core values is to promote an inclusive culture where employees can maximize their full potential for personal and business success. Through leadership development workshops, study skill sessions, extensive academic and personal counseling, the LSU Summer Scholars Program is helping students achieve success both academically and professionally. We are proud to support and partner with a program that shares our same values.” lsu.edu/universitycollege/ssp

The Summer Scholar Mantra: “Once a scholar, ALWAYS a scholar!”

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2016-17 GIVING REPORT Last year, your generosity enhanced the student experience, provided working capital to recruit and retain world-class faculty and staff, supported life-changing research and drove economic development.

Thank you for fueling LSU’s success in and out of the classroom.

TOTAL FUNDRAISING

JULY 1, 2016, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2017

$50,913,571 GIVEN TO LSU FOUNDATION

4,585

$3,789,019

FIRST-TIME DONORS

GIVEN BY FIRST-TIME DONORS

$58.7 MILLION given to support academics

“

}

134% IN DOLLARS RAISED THROUGH GIFTS OF $1 MILLION OR MORE

$50.9 MILLION to LSU Foundation $7.8 MILLION directly to LSU and LSU AgCenter

Nothing is more critically important to LSU’s continued success than meeting our philanthropic potential year after year. LSU is a great investment for our donors, with a return that improves lives here in Louisiana and worldwide.”

- Robert M. Stuart Jr., Chairperson of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors

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2016-17 GIVING REPORT JULY 1, 2016, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2017

Of the $50.9 million given to the LSU Foundation last fiscal year:

19.7%

56%

ORGANIZATIONS $10,021,237

ALUMNI $28,505,505

12.6%

WHO GAVE

FOUNDATIONS $6,415,553

10.6% FRIENDS $5,399,735

0.5%

0.6%

NON-ALUMNI PARENTS $269,663

HOW THEY GAVE

WHAT THEY GAVE

CASH - $21,321,563

NON-ENDOWED - $34,388,621

PLANNED GIFTS - $16,927,642

ENDOWED - $16,524,951

PLEDGES - $12,625,936 GIFTS IN KIND - $38,430

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FACULTY AND STAFF $301,878

LSUFOUNDATION.ORG/CORNERSTONE

Market Value of Total Assets as of June 30, 2017

$654.5 MILLION $512.2 MILLION - LSU FOUNDATION INVESTMENT ASSETS endowed and non-endowed assets managed for the benefit of LSU and the LSU AgCenter $103.2 MILLION - OTHER LSU FOUNDATION ASSETS physical and financial assets that are not part of the pooled investment programs $39.1 MILLION - INVESTMENT ASSETS MANAGED ON BEHALF OF OTHER LSU SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS endowed and non-endowed funds managed on behalf of LSU-Alexandria Foundation, LSU-Eunice Foundation and Tiger Athletic Foundation

Market Value of Total Assets: 10-year Snapshot The LSU Foundation’s fiscal year begins July 1 and concludes the following June 30.

rounded to nearest million

DOLLARS IN MILLIONS

$650

655

644

627

$600 568

$550 $500

617

538

533

2011

2012

511 475

$450

446

$400 2008

2009

2010

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

FISCAL YEAR

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2016-17 GIVING REPORT JULY 1, 2016, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2017

General Endowed Portfolio: Investment Performance and Asset Allocation

This investment portfolio is composed of endowment gifts directed by donors. It is managed

by CA Capital Management, with high-level oversight by the Investment Committee of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors.

PORTFOLIO RETURNS 2016-17 RETURN

ASSET ALLOCATION

12.55%

3-YEAR ANNUALIZED

17.4%

FIXED INCOME/ LIQUIDITY

2.26%

49.8%

5-YEAR ANNUALIZED

5.64%

PUBLIC EQUITY

10-YEAR ANNUALIZED

3.24%

15.92% DIVERSIFYING STRATEGIES 16.88% PRIVATE INVESTMENTS

GIFTS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS TODAY … } Dr. Amanda Staiano Assistant Professor and Director of the Pediatric Obesity & Health Behavior Laboratory LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center

LSU offered Dr. Staiano competitive scholarships, heavily influencing her decision to attend LSU.

She was part of the Ogden Honors College, which afforded her unique opportunities to conduct undergraduate research.

Now, she’s a world-renowned research scientist making a difference in the lives of children by using technology to combat childhood obesity.

She continued her education at Georgetown University, then was recruited back to LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in her hometown of Baton Rouge.

EMPOWER LSU TO LEAD LOUISIANA AND IMPACT THE WORLD.

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}

LAST YEAR, $16.7 MILLION IN ENDOWMENT FUNDING WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO LSU TO SPEND IN SUPPORT OF PEOPLE AND PROGRAMS CAMPUS-WIDE.

Board of Regents Support Fund Portfolio

This investment portfolio is composed of endowment gifts matched through the Board of Regents’ matching program for chairs, professorships and scholarships, as well as of the related matching funds received from the state. It is also managed by CA Capital Management.

PORTFOLIO RETURNS

ASSET ALLOCATION

32.16%

FIXED INCOME/ LIQUIDITY

2016-17 RETURN

11.85%

3-YEAR ANNUALIZED

4.49%

55.31%

5-YEAR ANNUALIZED

7.72%

PUBLIC EQUITY

10-YEAR ANNUALIZED

4.29%

7.03% DIVERSIFYING STRATEGIES 5.5% PRIVATE INVESTMENTS

GIFTS TO SUPPORT FACULTY TODAY … } Dr. Sam Bentley Associate Dean for Research and Professor Department of Geology & Geophysics LSU College of Science

Dr. Bentley holds the Billy and Ann Harrison Chair in Sedimentary Geology.

This prestigious chair is one of the reasons LSU could recruit and hire him.

He and his students provide solutions for Mississippi Delta restoration, preserving an ecosystem value of $300 million per day.

He led the reorganization and three-fold expansion of the LSU Coastal Studies Institute and is now associate dean for research in the College of Science.

EMPOWER LSU TO LEAD LOUISIANA AND IMPACT THE WORLD.

}

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2016-17 GIVING REPORT JULY 1, 2016, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2017

Annual Giving Highlight

LSU Annual Giving donors provide critical unrestricted support campus-wide. Last year, we launched a new LSU Annual Giving program–and donors responded in a big way …

GIFTS UP TO

$25,000

FOCUS OF LSU ANNUAL GIVING PROGRAM

13,479 LSU ANNUAL GIVING DONORS

3,219 MORE ANNUAL DONORS THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR

7,989

3,510

1,686

alumni

friends

parents

92

funds supported

}

31,000 STUDENTS

BENEFITING

1,300 FACULTY 235+ MAJORS

Last year, 80 percent our donors’ gifts were $250 or less.

Together, Tigers gave $58.7 million in support of academics campus-wide.

THANK YOU FOR INVESTING IN LSU.

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LSU STRATEGIC PLAN 2025 LEADING LOUISIANA. IMPACTING THE WORLD.

Nearly two years in the making, LSU Strategic Plan 2025: Leading Louisiana. Impacting the World. includes input from an estimated 3,500 stakeholders. Faculty, staff, students, alumni and business leaders participated in events ranging from focus groups and planning committees to online surveys and town hall meetings. The resulting document will serve as a framework for the university to drive LSU forward over the next decade and will provide a platform for more aggressive philanthropic efforts, helping potential donors better understand LSU’s direction, vision and goals.

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“A

s the document began to come together, we realized that if the state of Louisiana created a strategic plan, these themes would be at the top of the list,” explained LSU Provost Rick Koubek. “Through collaboration across the university on these six challenges, we are uniquely positioned to make a difference on a state, national and global level.”

In just a few short months since its launch, the strategic plan has created a wave of excitement among the university community, Louisiana leadership and donors. Roger Ogden, LSU Foundation Board member, former Board of Supervisors chairman, and the benefactor of the Ogden Honors College, views the plan as a monumental step at this juncture in the university’s history.

“It was 14 years ago, during my term as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, when we launched the Flagship

“

Agenda,” explained Ogden. “Our goal was to return LSU to higher academic achievement, increase admissions and recruit the best and brightest minds in the country. This new document is building upon the success of the Flagship Agenda and refining the focus.”

Janice Pellar, former owner and CEO of EMCO Technologies, is an alumna of LSU’s College of Music & Dramatic Arts and recently established an endowed chair to support eminent scholars in perpetuity. Pellar obviously appreciates that arts and culture is one of the plan’s six focus areas and recognizes another unique aspect of the strategic plan. “I love the new collaborative methodology and the focus on potential work between different colleges,” she explained.

Pellar went on to point out specific examples of possible arts and culture collaboration within the university and with the greater community. The Louisiana Arts Connection is an initiative calling for LSU to partner with community arts and culture organizations, as well as civic leaders, to brand Baton Rouge as an arts As the document began to come together, destination. Within the university, we realized that if the state of Louisiana the plan calls for growing and created a strategic plan, these themes diversifying Louisiana’s economy through innovative arts and cultural would be at the top of the list. Through partnerships and initiatives. Pellar collaboration across the university on these envisions breaking down traditional six challenges, we are uniquely positioned silos to create new and innovative to make a difference on a state, national ways to use arts. “I was on the board of Baton Rouge General and global level.”

Hospital, and we had an arts and - LSU Provost Rick Koubek

LSU STRATEGIC PLAN 2025

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medicine program that helped to calm and soothe people in tremendous pain or assist those suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Imagine collaborative research to discover ways music could treat opioid addiction or autism.”

As a Foundation Board Member, Ogden notes the key role that LSU plays in the future of Louisiana and that it’s never been more important to bring in private financial support to ensure the success of this strategic plan. “Public education has the ability to transform a state, which is why I’ve invested so much in LSU,” he said. “Now that the public sees the university has defined and refined its goals to address our most important challenges and utilize our strongest advantages, I think that calls up ever greater opportunity for those inclined to support its achievement.”

Like many Louisiana natives, Janice Pellar is tired of the state’s consistently low ranking in a variety of national lists and believes that the strategic plan is a stepping stone for LSU to help move Louisiana away from the bottom.

She shared, “In terms of supporting the plan, there is almost a focus area for everyone, no matter their passion.

It allows individuals and organizations the ability to choose how they want to play a part in shaping Louisiana for years to come. Now is the time to implement the strategic plan, to build the facilities and attract innovators, outstanding students and quality teachers. Only with our support will this great plan become a reality.”

OUR STRATEGIC CHALLENGES

1 2 3 4 5 6

ADVANCING ARTS AND CULTURE

BRIDGING THE COAST, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT FOSTERING RESEARCH AND CATALYZING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION

DEVELOPING LEADERS

strategicplan.lsu.edu

LSU STRATEGIC PLAN 2025

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HONOR ROLL In celebration of the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College’s 50th anniversary as a program and 25th anniversary as a college, the Ogden Honors Advisory Council has given $50,000 to the Honors Excellence Fund, which supports merit-based scholarships, research funding and study abroad.

“T

his is a unique moment to advance the good news of the Ogden Honors College, in celebration of what has been achieved and to inform and inspire folks about what is to come,” Council Chair Brian Haymon said. “Now is a time for the Advisory Council to serve as a beacon of leadership and commitment for the Honors College and LSU.” The honors initiative began in 1967, when professors Charles Bigger and Edward Henderson developed a series of team-taught, collaborative courses that remain the academic core of the Honors curriculum at LSU. The curriculum has also expanded to include a challenging four-year trajectory that spans rigorous seminar classes, service, study abroad, internship exposure and independent research.

Members of the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College Class of 2017 celebrate on graduation day.

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“I have watched the Honors College grow under the effective leadership of Deans Seay, Clark and Earle, from a small program in the College of Arts & Sciences to a thriving college,” said Dr. Ann Holmes, who has been associate dean for nearly 20 years and a faculty member for 30.

“Just think how far Honors has come at LSU since those first seminars Professor Henderson directed in Allen Hall,” Dean Jonathan Earle said. “This year our freshman class alone numbers 600. Honors has literally transformed the student body and our campus.”

The Honors College attracts the brightest students to LSU and helps these high-achieving students become tomorrow’s leaders. honors.lsu.edu

DRIVING EXCELLENCE

Dr. Stephen Bensman in his home office Photo by Andrea Barbier

Palpable Passion Accomplished informetrics scholar and retired LSU librarian Dr. Stephen Bensman has empowered LSU Libraries to build a unique collection of Southern Jewish history and cultural materials, with opportunities for related educational programming. Bensman hopes the gift, to be made through a charitable bequest, will reinforce LSU’s overall excellence in the humanities.

“S

teve’s gift will allow us to go much deeper by way of documenting Southern Jewish communities, organizations and individuals,” LSU Libraries Dean Stanley Wilder shared. “The timing couldn’t be better–the most important primary source materials are still out there, but we know that they are disappearing quickly.

This is just the way with archives and manuscripts: without libraries, they inexorably succumb to the ravages of time and climate, or neglect.”

Bensman was a part of the LSU Libraries team for 37 years, retiring in 2015 as a technical services librarian. He applied his expertise in informetrics (the use of statistical methods to study the impact of published works) and foreign language to LSU Libraries’ holdings and received the 2010 Scholar Librarian of the Year Award from the Louisiana Chapter of the Association of College & Research Libraries. Dean Wilder, Bensman’s former research assistant, described his passion for information science as “just palpable,” adding that the impact of his gift will “stand the test of time.”

Bensman, who is of Russian Jewish heritage, noted that the role of Jewish people in Southern history is largely unstudied. “For example, Judah P. Benjamin was Jewish, a wealthy slave owner from Louisiana and secretary of war and secretary of state for the Confederacy,” Bensman explained. “My thought was that this could be a little pot of money to build a little niche collection, a supplement to LSU’s main strength: Southern history.”

Much of Bensman’s past research focused on Britain’s development of a national scientific information system and the invention of science citation indexing by Eugene Garfield, whose authoritative website has posted many of Bensman’s articles. Today, he continues to study new statistical methods, such as using Pareto power laws to analyze scientific productivity, measuring outcomes with Google Scholar. lib.lsu.edu

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Jeffrey and Wendy Williams Carbo at their home in Baton Rouge, La. Photo by Andrea Barbier

PRETTY AMAZING Jeffrey Carbo (Art & Design, ’85), founding principal of the nationally recognized firm CARBO Landscape Architecture, got his start at LSU’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.

He and his wife, Wendy (Human Sciences & Education, ’88), are making possible a renovation of the school’s main office to become the Carbo Landscape Architecture Recruitment Center–an innovative, modern space that will enhance recruitment efforts and recognize fellow alumni’s and professors’ outstanding contributions to the field of landscape architecture.

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“S

tudents today think very differently than I did 35 years ago. They think like my son–he’s very observant. If you say that you’re a number one program but you don’t look like you’re the best, they’re questioning you,” Jeffrey said. “The idea is to use the space to recruit and develop the very best students, and educate them about the legacy of excellence in the program. Look up the most successful landscape architects in the world, and most are LSU graduates. It’s pretty amazing!”

After graduating from LSU and working for a year at a firm in Birmingham, Ala., Jeffrey and Wendy moved back to Jeffrey’s hometown of Alexandria, La. He started his firm there in 1994, expanding and eventually relocating the main office to Baton Rouge.

Meanwhile, Wendy taught English as a Second Language for 15 years, spanning kindergarten through fifth grade. Their son, Will, is now a junior at Catholic High School. In 2016 alone, CARBO received national honors for its work on the St. Landry Parish Visitor Center and the Indian Springs School in Birmingham, Ala., in addition to the firm’s proposal to reconstruct the LSU Lakes into a booming natural ecosystem and recreational space.

“What separates the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture from others is that LSU teaches you how to think.

Technical skills are a baseline for me; I expect those. I’m looking for individuals who are creative, think outside of the box and challenge conventional wisdom to accelerate good ideas,” Jeffrey said. “Our projects not only need to be beautiful, but they need to be sustainable. I think about landscapes as machines: either they’re providing shade, they’re filtering sunlight, they’re mitigating pollution, they’re managing storm water or they’re attracting wildlife. It’s not good enough just to look good; landscapes have to do something now.”

The Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture has an established international reputation as one of America’s leading and consistently topranked programs, offering both a bachelor and a master of landscape architecture.

For more than 60 years, the program has produced landscape architects who practice all over the world and participate in the full spectrum of the discipline.

“

What separates the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture from others is that LSU teaches you how to think. Technical skills are a baseline for me; I expect those. I’m looking for individuals who are creative, think outside of the box and challenge conventional wisdom to accelerate good ideas.”

- Jeffrey Carbo

design.lsu.edu

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A GENTLEMAN SCIENTIST Judy Mayo and Sid Aaron

“B

ill molded Sid’s development into a productive scientific life, and they became good friends at the same time. Bill and [his wife] Catherine practically adopted Sid, and all of their graduate students,” Mayo shared.

Lee’s work centered on genetic mutations, caused by environmental exposures, within fruit flies. He and his team used state-of-the-art technology to study how changes in DNA were displayed, repaired and inherited, ultimately contributing to the first fruit fly genome map. He offered his students knowledge, resources and connections, and welcomed them into his home.

“Bill is one of the kindest, most cordial and gentleman scientists that I’ve ever met. I admire and still try to emulate that. He was always–even when he was being critical– constructive and positive,” said Boyd Professor and Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite Distinguished Professor Dr. Mark Batzer (Science, ’88), a former student of Lee’s.

Lee encouraged Aaron to make contributions in genetic and mutational research, even helping to secure him a position with the prestigious mutation geneticist Dr. F. Sobels at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Aaron later

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Dr. Charles “Sid” Aaron (Science, ’72) and his wife, Judy K. Mayo, treasure Dr. William “Bill” Lee, professor emeritus of the LSU Department of Biological Sciences and a frontrunner in systems biology, as a gracious benefactor of their successes. Their gift, the William R. Lee Professorship in Genetics, will support an LSU professor who shares Lee’s passion for genetics.

served as director of investigative toxicology at Pharmacia & UpJohn, for which Mayo led a genetic toxicology laboratory. A multipublished scientist, Aaron has also served in leadership roles of several scientific organizations.

Aaron said, “We have enjoyed incredible careers.

We participated in scientific meetings all over the world–we once went around the world! I’ve gone to all corners of the country to present papers in scientific settings. It’s been quite a ride.”

Aaron’s and Mayo’s financial consultant recommended leveraging an IRA charitable rollover, which counts toward the minimum required distribution and is not subject to federal taxes, to create the professorship. “It was always Sid’s dream to leave funds to LSU in our estate planning,” Mayo said. “Honoring Dr. Lee through an endowed professorship in genetics was a perfect way to do this.” science.lsu.edu

Changing PARADIGMS

Jacob Thomas in the newly renovated Patrick F. Taylor Hall | Photo by Jennie Gutierrez

A successful entrepreneur, Jacob Thomas (Engineering, ’88 and ’90) supports the Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering’s Faculty Start-up Fund. His gift will provide funding packages for top faculty to develop competitive research programs, including lab equipment, graduate assistantships and travel opportunities.

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homas moved from his home in India to Baton Rouge, La., to earn his graduate degrees at LSU. “It was an easy transition,” Thomas remembered.

“Having an interest in geography and history, I was knowledgeable about the U.S. My mother had studied at Yale Law School in the early ‘60s, and we had relatives who lived here. I took to Louisiana quickly, enjoying the warmth of the people, great food and nuances of football in Death Valley.”

While earning his master’s in chemical engineering and PhD in petroleum engineering, Thomas became involved with Chapel on the Campus, where he met and made many friends, including his host family, Katie and

Danny Avant. During holiday breaks, he explored the state and the country.

After graduation, Thomas relocated to Houston to begin a career within the oil and gas industry. He is now the CEO of a year-old start-up company, Alchemy Sciences Inc. It commercializes customized chemical systems to increase recovery of oil from unconventional reservoirs that require specialized recovery operations. His gift to the College of Engineering will encourage faculty and student innovation like that of his own career.

“For those who have primarily worked in an established company, you should modify your paradigms, accept a high level of uncertainty and be very nimble in responding to changes in the business,” Thomas,

who also serves as vice chairman of LSU’s Petroleum Engineering Industry Advisory Committee, advised. “Pay keen attention to the market and to the customer. If a customer doesn’t want to buy your product, it doesn’t matter how great you think it is.”

Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth, have twin sons–one is a recent Baylor alumnus working in Houston, and the other is completing his business degree at LSU–and a daughter, who is a senior in high school. An avid traveler, Thomas has visited over 30 states and every continent, save for Antarctica. He frequents Baton Rouge to visit his son, catch up with friends and attend LSU football games. pete.lsu.edu

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COAST to COAST For more than 50 years, the National Sea Grant College Program has empowered universities across the U.S. to enhance research, extension and education of coastal science and policy. Louisiana Sea Grant, housed at LSU, dives into the most challenging ecological, economic and social issues facing the southern coast–and gives communities the power to adapt to and rise above them.

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ADVANCING COMMUNITIES

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ositioned in an area that is vulnerable to severe storms and frequent flooding, Louisiana's coastal communities continue to face challenges to their infrastructure, critical coastal habitats and food security,” said Dr. Jonathan Pennock, director of the National Sea Grant Office. “Louisiana Sea Grant is a leader in the National Sea Grant College network in addressing these issues. Its partnership with LSU allows them to better support communities by providing direct connections to a top tier research university well-equipped to address the current and future concerns of coastal communities."

At any given time, Louisiana Sea Grant manages or participates in more than 50 research, extension, education and communication projects. The program maintains strong collaboration with colleges across LSU’s flagship campus and with 14 academic institutions and 19 coastal zone parishes. Executive Director Robert Twilley believes the program’s place in history is documenting wetlands loss and coastal restoration, particularly through studying the Atchafalaya River’s delta. Another major contribution lies in fisheries.

“Louisiana Sea Grant built the state’s oyster farming industry. We have the most advanced oyster hatchery in the Gulf Coast, with the largest production of oyster larvae, which we give to the state to help seed the oyster public grounds.

Now Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are developing their technology based on what we did,” Twilley shared. “Then there are all of the seafood products that have been developed because of our research. It’s great that we can think of our impact by what people eat.”

When Katrina and Rita hit in 2005, the role of Louisiana Sea Grant evolved to something more personal: community resilience. Now the program is equipped to prevent and reduce losses from hurricanes

Top: Dr. Mark Benfield, LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences professor, is researching micro-plastics in the Mississippi River, a project supported by Louisiana Sea Grant.

Middle: Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter extension agent Mark Shirley releases juvenile alligators into the wild.

Bottom: Louisiana Sea Grant bivalve researcher Dr. John Supan works the program’s long-line oyster demonstration farm on Grand Isle, La. Oysters are grown in mesh bags suspended from a cable, which simplifies harvesting and protects the oysters from predators. Supan shares this technology, along with other oyster research, with commercial oyster growers.

Photos by Louisiana Sea Grant

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Top: Following Hurricane Rita in 2005, Louisiana Sea Grant aided Delcambre, La., in its recovery, including the development of Bayou Carlin Cove. When not being used for festivities, commercial fishermen use the cove’s docks to sell seafood directly to consumers through the Louisiana Direct Seafood Marketing Program, another Louisiana Sea Grant effort.

Bottom: Louisiana Sea Grant hosts the annual Ocean Commotion, a coastal stewardship fair draws approximately 2,500 kindergarten through eighth grade students, their teachers and chaperones each year.

by offering support and guidance, from flood-resistant housing to insurability, and providing crisis management after a natural disaster hits. For Twilley, the next step is strengthening efforts to distribute research-based knowledge and technologies to agents and citizens.

“When there’s a problem, good universities find solutions. That’s the way research universities bring value to their states,” Twilley said. “If we can’t find the language that people will connect with and respond to, then our discoveries are as if we never discovered them at all. We’re very effective because we get those discoveries, find the way to communicate them and turn them into solutions in the communities.”

The National Sea Grant College Program was established by Congress and is administered by the National Sea Grant Office, a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The program, in partnership with universities and their donors, funds graduate education through grants and fellowships to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources for a sustainable economy and environment. laseagrant.org

Photos by Louisiana Sea Grant

The establishment of Louisiana Sea Grant at LSU is credited to the vision and efforts of the late Jack Van Lopik (1929-2015). Van Lopik (Science, ’53 and ’55) launched the project stage of the program in 1968, secured official Sea Grant College status and ultimately became the longest serving state Sea Grant Director in the national network. He was instrumental in establishing the Louisiana Sea Grant John P. Laborde Endowed Chair for Sea Grant Research and Technology Transfer, and his generous estate gift will continue his legacy as a key player in Louisiana Sea Grant’s mission and a pioneer in coastal research.

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Safe Place

The St. Landry Parish Animal Control & Rescue, which partners with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, takes in approximately 100 horses each year.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals awarded the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine a $5,000 grant to provide care for horses in need, community disaster planning and response, and expanded services to underserved areas of Louisiana.

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here are many wonderful horses available for adoption at rescues and sanctuaries around the country, and we applaud LSU for dedicating their time and resources to rehabilitating these animals to ensure they can escape the sad fate that awaits over 100,000 American horses,” said Matt Stern, senior director of ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Operations. “The ASPCA is pleased to award this grant to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine to assist in their critical efforts to provide care to horses in need to give them a better chance at finding a loving home.”

The LSU SVM large animal shelter program uses experiential opportunities as a teaching tool for students, veterinarians and animal care personnel.

The Disaster Response & Training Program formed in 2005 and, to name just a few of its rescue missions, has responded to major hurricanes, including Katrina (during which LSU SVM rescued nearly 500 horses) and Rita; the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill; and South

Louisiana’s August 2016 flooding. The program’s mission, regular maintenance of vehicles and vital medicine and supplies are supported solely through private donations.

“Students participate in animal physical assessments, body scoring, vaccinations, deworming, castration procedures, first aid, dentistry, problem-solving and client communications,” said Dr. Rebecca McConnico (SVM, ‘87), professor of equine medicine. “It’s a winwin community engagement for us, as it makes up an important part of the clinical training program, and the shelter horses, ponies and donkeys receive needed care–which, in turn, improves their chances of having a quality life and eventually being re-homed.”

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 30 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. The LSU SVM faculty, staff and students are dedicated to improving the lives of people and animals through education, service and research. lsu.edu/vetmed

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Janice and Gerald Pellar visit with choral students in the School of Music Recital Hall. Photo by Andrea Barbier

PIONEERING PATRONS As a transformational celebration of her lifelong love of music education, business pioneer and philanthropist Janice Harvey Pellar (Music and Dramatic Arts, ’73) has established an endowed chair in voice and keyboard within the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts. The Pellar Chair will, in perpetuity, attract and retain the highest-caliber faculty members to the School of Music.

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ellar began piano lessons when she was six years old and became active in school and church choirs and music houses. Her parents owned EMCO Technologies, but she initially planned on working as a high school choir director. As it turns out, teaching wasn't for her, so she entered the family business, becoming the only woman in their industry at the time.

“Slowly but surely, I understood what a great training ground music is for business,” Pellar shared. “Think about the skillset that the School of Music brings to you: dedication, focus, creativity and problem solving–all of those are traits you need in business.”

Pellar scaled the company’s ladder (“I can’t tell you the number of times people asked to speak to the man in charge, and I would have to tell them, ‘I am the man of charge!’”), ultimately purchasing and growing it from 30 local employees to a nationwide technology provider. She supports Baton Rouge Symphony, Baton Rouge General Hospital and Community Bible Church, of which she has been a member and musician for more than 50 years. Through those endeavors, Pellar has witnessed the “incredible healing properties of the arts.”

She and her husband, Gerald (University College, ’74), have also loyally invested in the college for nearly 30 years, with a focus on choral studies, creative arts entrepreneurship and piano acquisition.

“When a business considers moving into a city, lifestyle opportunities–including the arts–are an important consideration because they want happy, well-rounded employees. A vibrant, exciting arts community is crucial for economic development, and the hub of that community is centered right here at LSU,” Pellar said.

The Janice Harvey Pellar Endowed Chair in Voice and Keyboard, only the second chair in the School of Music’s

“

When a business considers moving into a city, lifestyle opportunities–including the arts–are an important consideration because they want happy, well-rounded employees. A vibrant, exciting arts community is crucial for economic development, and the hub of that community is centered right here at LSU,” - Janice Harvey Pellar

history, will be eligible for matching funds through the Louisiana Board of Regents’ highly competitive Endowed Chairs for Eminent Scholars program, bringing the ultimate impact of the Pellars’ gift to $2 million.

College of Music & Dramatic Arts Dean Todd Queen said, “The Pellars are avid patrons of the arts throughout Baton Rouge, and this latest gift to LSU reflects the importance they place on the College of Music & Dramatic Arts’ contributions to the arts. Janice and Gerald’s partnership with us is a direct investment in the college’s growing capacity to strengthen local, national and international communities through performance and outreach.” lsu.edu/cmda

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PLAY

with a

PURPOSE Cliff & Nancy Spanier Alumni Professor Dr. Marybeth Lima and her Biology in Engineering class are in the process of bringing to life an elementary school playground in memory of one of her former students, Miles Liner.

The playground will be one of 35 that Lima and students have designed and helped to build, giving local children a safe and innovative place to play, learn and grow.

LSU College of Engineering alumna Elizabeth Kissner and volunteers (top), including Department of Political Science Associate Professor Dr. Belinda Davis (bottom), build a playground at Wildwood Elementary School. Photos by John Wozniak

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ima wanted to lead a community design project that all students would have some level of knowledge and experience in. After completing the first playground in 1998, she realized a need for upgraded playgrounds in communities throughout the world. Partnering with East Baton Rouge Parish Schools and local communities for funding, Lima and her classes work closely with elementary students to create unique school playgrounds, which are then built by volunteers.

“We try to find out from the elementary students what their idea is of a dream playground, what they do to play, how they have fun, who they play with. My students take that information and continue to go to the school throughout the semester as reading and math volunteers,” Lima said. “For us, it’s important that every playground design expresses the In memory of Miles Liner (1991-2012) soul of the community. Every school has something that makes it special.”

Lima served as an academic advisor for Miles Liner, a biological engineering junior from Berwick, La. Lima watched as Miles, when enrolled in Biology in Engineering “did a lot in his reserved way to build up his peers” and passionately worked on his group’s playground design.

In 2012 Miles was killed by an impaired driver, leaving behind an example of love, talent and faith–and saving the lives of six strangers through organ donation. His family believes it’s not a coincidence that Miles’ favorite number was six.

The Miles Liner Foundation, established

by Liner’s family and friends, contributed to the Brownfields Elementary playground project. His uncle, Mark Villa, said the foundation aims to “continue the message of Miles” and “motivate people to be better,” especially young people. Liner’s parents, Mike and Lynn, shared, “Miles had a heart so heavy he would help anyone, anywhere, anytime. In his 21 years with us, he has touched so many people and continues today to live through us and others. No doubt, we know Miles would want us to continue to give back to others.”

Miles’ memorial playground will be housed at Brownfields Elementary School and will incorporate characteristics of Miles and a memorial area for him. Lima is working to complete the playground’s budget through grant proposals and build it within the 2017-18 academic year. lsu.edu/eng mileslinerfoundation.com

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A Letter From

PRESIDENT F. KING ALEXANDER

We know our graduates are unique. They have landed a rover on Mars, written Academy Award-winning musical scores, designed red carpet gowns for A-listers and run Fortune 500 companies. Two out of three of our students leave LSU with zero debt, and they make starting salaries that average $12,000 higher than other new graduates.

But what are those characteristics that define the LSU experience and set our graduates apart? Our university’s recently approved strategic plan identifies those traits through interviews with hundreds of our most prominent alumni. One that stands out most is leadership through the spirit of innovation.

That very spirit drove LSU to fight against historic budget cuts while engaging in Louisiana has one of the lowest rates of degree attainment transformative strategic planning behind the in the country. To give young people a peek into what scenes. We took a step back to evaluate our college is really like and show that a degree is in reach strengths and weaknesses against the current for everyone, LSU President F. King Alexander welcomes environment, and to determine the best path all sixth graders in the East Baton Rouge Parish School through these uncharted waters. This is the District to LSU for a day on campus each year. “It’s type of innovation that LSU has built its a transformative experience for many of them,” said reputation upon for nearly 160 years.

Alexander. “By the end of the day, you can really see them Our challenges played out more publicly start to picture themselves at LSU.” than did our planning efforts, but now we have emerged with a strategic plan directly aligned with its physical counterpart, the campus master plan. Additionally, the LSU Foundation and our other philanthropic arms have developed a complementary plan to ensure that gifts to LSU will have maximum effect on our students’ future.

We don’t believe that any other university in the country has developed a plan recommitting to the mission of a landgrant university. Our research, teaching and outreach will be mobilized against our state’s most pressing issues, such as coastal erosion, cancer and fluctuations in the economy. While these challenges start right here at home, they are not only Louisiana’s to bear … they have ripple effects around the world.

Thank you for being part of the LSU family. We will continue to innovate, to drive our collective spirit toward change for the better. Because that is in the LSU DNA, and we won’t rest until we can see our Tigers’ impact on the problems that matter most to you.

Sincerely,

F. King Alexander LSU President

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OUT OF THIS WORLD:

LIGO Co-Founders Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics On Oct. 3, 2017, the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the visionary co-founders of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory–including LSU Adjunct Professor and MIT Professor Emeritus Rainer Weiss–for the first detection of gravitational waves. The detection confirmed a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.

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s scientists, we are in constant pursuit of more knowledge and understanding of our place in the universe. This discovery, 100 years in the making, is a leap forward in this pursuit,” said Cynthia Peterson, dean of the LSU College of Science and Seola Arnaud and Richard Vernon Edwards Jr. Professor. “We salute the LSU scientists who contributed to this discovery and all of the members of the LIGO scientific collaboration.”

Einstein predicted that gravitational waves, or ripples in the fabric of spacetime, would arrive at Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. The gravitational waves from two black holes colliding over a billion light years away were detected on Sept. 14, 2015, at 4:51 a.m.

CST by the twin LIGO detectors, located in Livingston, La., and Hanford, Wash. One-half of the Nobel Prize was awarded to Weiss and the other half is shared by California Institute of Technology Professor Emeriti Kip Thorne and

Barry Barish. Weiss and Thorne are co-founders of the LIGO-VIRGO Collaboration; Barish led the final design stage, construction and commissioning of the LIGO interferometers in Livingston and Hanford.

The LIGO Livingston observatory, funded by the National Science Foundation, is located on LSU property.

LSU is the only U.S. research university located close enough for students and faculty to conduct research daily with gravitational wave instrumentation and technology.

LSU’s investment in gravitational wave detection spans more than four decades, among the longest of the institutions contributing to the present discovery.

Recognition in the Nobel Prize in Physics is in part an outcome of LSU's long-term vision and commitment to high-risk, high-potential gain scientific research. lsu.edu/science ligo.org

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3796 Nicholson Drive Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

IÂ AM COLLABORATIVE. I AM CREATIVE. I AM CULTURALLY ADEPT. I AM GLOBALLY ENGAGED. I AM INNOVATIVE. I AM TRANSFORMATIVE.

LSU fosters six competitive values in our graduates that equip them with the skills necessary to change the world.

L SU ST R AT E G I C P L A N 2 0 2 5 L E A D I N G L O U I S I A N A . I M PA C T I N G T H E W O R L D . strategicplan.lsu.edu

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