Cornerstone Winter 2015/Spring 2016

WINTER 2015 and SPRING 2016

FOUNDATION

Finding “The One” Membership Profile

Beverly and Jerry Shea met on a blind date during their freshman year at LSU. Jerry was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity; Beverly was a Delta Gamma. Years later, their youngest son asked, “Where do I find a wife?” Jerry responded, “Well, I found mine at LSU.” The Sheas share that story to illustrate what they call the “great ride” they’ve had with the university. After both earning master’s degrees at LSU (Jerry’s in business, Beverly’s in human ecology), the couple never really left.

Not only do they attend every home game, but they give to several areas of campus. Beverly serves on the LSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors, and Jerry is a member of the Tiger Athletic Foundation Board of Directors.

“We plan on being around as long as we’re able to support the university,” said Jerry, who, as the oldest of six,

feels lucky to have received an LSU scholarship when he was a student.

The Sheas, who have two sons, Griffin and Patrick, and four grandsons, call New Iberia, LA, home and believe their contribution to LSU is a contribution to the state. Jerry is most proud of donating professorships to keep “the best and brightest” in-state. Beverly cites a professorship in her name as one of the best gifts Jerry has ever given her.

“The only way the state is going to improve is through education. The young people that have the opportunity to come to LSU will have their vision and goals expanded,” Beverly said.

“LSU is going to be the one to put out the leaders of the future. They’re going to be the engine that will drive the economic development of the state,” Jerry said.

About the Cover

Graphic design senior Bo Kim envisioned the figure on this Cornerstone cover as climbing toward success, innovation and happiness. “I wanted to convey the idea of a community supporting each other and helping each other achieve success. The donors of LSU give us a platform to grow and improve our craft,” she said. Kim is a member of the Graphic Design Student Association and the Advertising Federation of LSU. She also interns for the Graphic Design Student Office and is the graphic designer for LSU Residential Life.

Inside Cornerstone 4 Welcome Stephen Moret

23 Law Students Keeping the Lights On

5 Board of Directors Laura Leach

24 Foundation Support Making it Better The People We Need

6 Innovation The Right Place Sky’s the Limit

26 Research Funding Discovery

10 Scholarships Balancing Act A Sure Investment

28 Planned Giving The Best Legacy Character Building

12 Community Support Love Your Neighbor Extraordinary Impacts

30 Stellar Students Concrete Dreams Stamps Scholar

17 Endowments A Little Something Extra

33 In Memory Of Susan Halsey Dr. Robert Godke

20 Texas Tigers Knowledge is Power A Life Moment

FOUNDATION EDITORS Sara Crow Jennie Gutierrez ART DIRECTOR Camille Kingston, Graphic Design Student

34 Milestones

THE LSU FOUNDATION INSPIRES AND SHEPHERDS PHILANTHROPIC GIVING TO LSU AND BUILDS LONG-LASTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH DONORS WHO BRING LIFE TO CURRENT AND EMERGING UNIVERSITY PRIORITIES. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jacquelyn Craddock Sydni Dunn Elma Sue McCallum Michelle Spielman

PHOTOGRAPHERS Darlene Aguillard Andrea Barbier Tobie Blanchard Aaron Hogan Eddy Perez Travis Spradling Jim Zietz

PRINTING Emprint/Moran Printing, Inc. To share feedback, please contact: Sara Crow at scrow@lsufoundation.org or 225-578-8164.

www.lsufoundation.org /lsufoundation @lsu_foundation

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Dear Friends,

My first six months back at LSU have been fulfilling in so many ways, and I continue to feel grateful for the opportunity to serve my alma mater. I’ve really come full circle from being a college freshman attending LSU on a music scholarship to being part of efforts to enable many more students to have the kind of transformational LSU experience I had.

My favorite experiences so far have been the times donors have shared their aspirations for LSU, as well as their experiences with philanthropic giving to LSU. Your generosity and passion for LSU have affirmed my belief that LSU has the potential to be just as successful in philanthropy as our most successful peer institutions. Tiger pride runs deep, and I’m grateful that you already have an appreciation for the impact of such pride when it intersects with philanthropy.

Throughout my time as an LSU student leader, and then later as president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, I repeatedly saw examples of the important role LSU has as an economic asset for Louisiana. In fact, I contend that LSU is the state’s most impactful economic asset. And beyond the borders of Louisiana, the research, volunteerism and professional achievements of our students, faculty, staff and alumni improve communities worldwide.

Every giving story is unique, yet it is common to hear donors share that they were motivated to give as a result of feeling a sense of appreciation for the role of LSU in their lives, their loved ones’ lives and their communities; affiliation with LSU as an alumnus or simply a fan; and being an agent for making a meaningful difference through a gift to LSU.

Whether these reasons or others have influenced your support, thank you for embodying Tiger spirit. Your generosity gives life to successes that would not otherwise be possible.

Sincerely,

Stephen Moret President and CEO

Nicholson Gateway Development Project

Soon, solid development plans are expected to take shape to transform a 28-acre stretch of land along Nicholson Drive into an exciting new gateway district. The LSU Property Foundation, an affiliate of the LSU Foundation, will enter into a public-private partnership with a leading master developer team for the Nicholson Gateway Development Project. The site, between West Chimes Street and Skip Bertman Drive, is the largest underdeveloped tract of university-owned property that is adjacent to the campus core.

The LSU Property Foundation is facilitating the project for the benefit of the LSU community. The developer that is selected will design, build, finance, operate and maintain new student residence halls and other amenities on the site. The LSUPF and its development advisor, Brailsford & Dunlavey/CSRS, have identified potential master developer partners with robust qualifications, experience and financial capacity, as well as proven track records of executing similar projects.

Other details and an aerial video of the site are online at www.nicholsongateway.com.

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Board of Directors Profile: Laura Leach

Laura Leach was only 16 years old when she first stepped foot on LSU’s campus as a college freshman.

“There were five male students to every one female student. It was wonderful. We had dates all the time. I really did think I had died and gone to heaven,” Leach remembered.

Leach graduated in 1961 in business administration and said the university, with an enrollment of about 10,000, was a much different place at that time. The girls stayed on the east side of campus, with no form of transportation to get to and from class, except to walk. They had curfews, limited curricula and a dress code.

“The university has created a much friendlier atmosphere for students. Across the board, the university has opened up its disciplines and offers so many more opportunities and experiences to students.

I think it’s progress in the right direction,” she said.

Leach has been a member of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors since 2002 and will conclude her term in December. She has also served on the LSU Board of Supervisors, acting as chair in 1996, and the Tiger Athletic Foundation Board. She developed a hands-on approach to improving the campus, like picking up trash on the grounds and encouraging students to do the same. She was instrumental in opening the first daycare on campus, which she says took “10 years and two changes of administration.”

Leach said of her service, “I was looking for my niche, what I could offer, what would be more comfortable for me. I quickly found out that doing little things myself and talking to the students was very educational. The students are wonderful. They’re bright, compassionate, entertaining. They are everything. Through involving myself with the students and faculty, I learned more than I’d ever learn from a stack of papers at a board meeting.”

For her dedication to LSU, Leach has received the President’s Award from the LSU Foundation, been inducted into the LSU Alumni Association’s Hall of Distinction, and been named the Alumnus of the Year in 1997.

“It’s lovely to be recognized, but that’s not why I did it. I did it because there was a need. God provided the resources, and we were happy to share. I felt like I had an interest in so many different areas, and I wanted to help out as much as I could,” Leach said.

Apart from her involvement with LSU, she has dedicated her life to community service and volunteerism, serving on the boards and committees of many organizations and groups, including the Lake Charles Symphony and CameronAnswers, a nonprofit corporation that works to redevelop Cameron Parish.

Leach is the owner of her family business, Sweet Lake Land & Oil Co., Inc. Her husband of 49 years, Buddy, is chief executive officer, and son, Claude, is president. When not working or volunteering, she spends time with her three children and nine grandchildren. Leach also enjoys visiting the family’s summer home in the mountains of North Carolina.

Leach, ever passionate about the future of LSU, shared, “My one and only wish is that we elect the right person to lead our legislature to fully fund higher education. I believe in LSU. I know that it is a wonderful university. I want LSU to be the best that it can be.”

OFFICERS

T. Cass Gaiennie • Shreveport, LA Chairperson of the Board & Director Robert M. Stuart Jr. • Baton Rouge, LA Chairperson-Elect of the Board & Director Stephen Moret • Baton Rouge, LA President and CEO & Ex Officio Director William L. Silvia Jr. • Baton Rouge, LA Corporate Secretary & Ex Officio Director Clarence P. Cazalot Jr. • Houston, TX Corporate Treasurer & Director

DIRECTORS

Mark K. Anderson • Monroe, LA J. Herbert Boydstun • Baton Rouge, LA J. Terrell Brown • Baton Rouge, LA Robert H. Crosby III • New Orleans, LA Laura L. Dauzat • Marksville, LA William T. Firesheets II • Baton Rouge, LA G. Lee Griffin • Baton Rouge, LA Frank W. “Billy” Harrison III • Houston, TX Gary L. Laborde • New Orleans, LA Charles A. Landry • Baton Rouge, LA Laura A. Leach • Lake Charles, LA David B. Means III • Mansfield, LA W. Henson Moore III • Baton Rouge, LA James R. Peltier • Thibodaux, LA D. Martin Phillips • Houston, TX Sean E. Reilly • Baton Rouge, LA John F. Shackelford III • Bonita, LA Jeffrey N. Springmeyer • Houston, TX Sue W. Turner • Baton Rouge, LA Burton D. Weaver • Flora, LA Felix R. Weill • Baton Rouge, LA

EX OFFICIO

F. King Alexander LSU President and Chancellor

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Vincent Cellucci, CxC studio coordinator for the College of Art + Design, uses a 3-D scanner to research breast cancer treatment.

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The Right Place

Dr. Wayne Newhauser, Dr. Charles M. Smith Chair in Medical Physics, and a team of graduate students are researching the application of 3-D scanning and printing technologies to improve cancer treatments.

“Radiotherapy is used for many breast cancer patients. The effectiveness of controlling the primary tumor is already pretty good, with about 80 percent of patients surviving long-term. But drugs, radiation and surgery each damage surrounding tissue. We’d like to minimize that damage as much as we can,” Dr. Newhauser shared.

Dr. Newhauser and his graduate students want to use 3-D technology to scan patients, create a virtual model of their bodies, and print a dimensionally and density-accurate phantom. Having this capability will facilitate research that aims to take into account each patient’s unique anatomy for a personalized approach to treatment.

Vincent Cellucci, the Communication across the Curriculum (or CxC) Studio coordinator in the College of Art + Design, teamed up with Dr. Newhauser for the project. He predicts that, in the near future, 3-D technology will transform virtually every industry, which is why the research project is a collaboration of several units across campus.

“LSU is a community. Not only do we work with each other, we know each other. The team working on this project includes faculty members from LSU Physics; Art + Design; Textiles, Apparel & Merchandising; as well as a partnership with Pennington. To be able to form such a diverse interdisciplinary team in one’s own community isn’t an opportunity that happens every day or overnight, but the willingness of the LSU community to collaborate makes it easy for us to reach out to each other and form mutually beneficial partnerships,” Cellucci said.

Dr. Charles Smith, a graduate of the LSU School of Medicine and a donor to the Medical Physics & Health Physics Program, credits medical physics with prolonging his own life after a battle with cancer. The Medical Physics Program is a partnership operated by LSU and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

“I know that everyone hopes to find a cure for cancer, but I wish more people would recognize the importance of medical physics training in oncology. Keeping that training in our area will provide the best treatment for patients, so they won’t have to travel far away from home to get the same results,” Dr. Smith said.

Trey and Kim Bowman, who founded the Bella Bowman Foundation in memory of their daughter, also give to the program. They work with Dr. Newhauser and the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center to research brain stem necrosis, the rare side effect of proton radiation therapy that Bella experienced.

“If we could develop a test to see how a child’s genetic makeup will respond to treatment, that would be huge. Bella may still be here today if we had that,” Kim said, continuing, “We feel like our child is a stepping stone to get to a time where other children may not lose their lives. Through this research, we can help save a child’s life or prevent the adverse side effects of treatment.”

Dr. Newhauser asserts that Baton Rouge is the right place for these projects to take place. “The right resources are here, the right people are here, and the societal need for new and better care is here. LSU’s leadership is increasing its emphasis on biomedical research to stimulate more of this activity,” he said, adding, “It’s a very worthy cause.”

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Niki Marie Hansen’s dog, Bob, wears a prosthetic leg that Hansen designed through her business, Impossible Innovations.

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Sky’s the Limit

Niki Marie Hansen, a PhD candidate in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, builds implanted prosthetics for animals of all sizes. Her clients include a goat born without hind legs and her shepherd mix, Bob, who is missing his front left leg. So far, her prosthetics have a 100 percent success rate.

“There’s always this feeling of relief and joy. It makes you want to cry—the satisfaction and the pride that comes from allowing an animal to live more comfortably and for a little bit longer. That’s really what I feel like God put me on Earth to do,” she said of watching an animal take its first steps on all fours.

Hansen’s company, Impossible Innovations, is a startup through the Student Incubator, a program of LSU’s Louisiana Business and Technology Center. Hansen was a finalist in the Venture Challenge, which divides $25,000 among four student entrepreneurs. With the prize money, she was able to buy a super computer to design prosthetics and eventually use with a 3-D printer.

“I think there’s nothing better than to support these young entrepreneurs and create an environment where they can get their concepts and their ventures and their ideas developed and brought to reality. That, in turn, creates jobs.

It creates value and wealth for a lot of people,” said donor John Barnidge.

Barnidge, a graduate of the E. J. Ourso College of Business and a “fan of anything LSU,” has been an active donor and volunteer for his alma mater since 1987. His first gift to the LBTC was an Incubator on Wheels, or mobile classroom, that is used to assist small businesses in rural communities and during hurricane recovery across the state.

Barnidge said when he and his wife, Nancy, first heard of the

United Aerial, LLC owner Clinton Conroy flies one of the company’s drones.

Venture Challenge, they decided to give “wholeheartedly.”

LBTC Executive Director Charlie D’Agostino calls Barnidge a “true supporter,” explaining, “The Venture Challenge has had a major impact on the ‘brain drain.’ It keeps our talented students in Louisiana, as they have created their own jobs and do not interview with out-ofstate companies. Since 2010, the LBTC Student Incubator has created 39 businesses, of which 19 are still operating in-state; has employed over 139 people; and raised nearly $5 million in capital. This could not be done without the support of our generous alumni, who give their time as mentors and give their money to our programs.”

Barnidge is CEO of Cobalt Environmental Solutions, LLC and a managing partner of Tiger Creek Capital Partners, LP. He has also dabbled in entrepreneurship: he sold a five-year-old business that yielded a 16 to 1 return for its investors.

“There’s going to be failure along the way. Don’t let that stop you. If you believe in it, if you’re completely committed, and if you’re doing what you think is right, then keep doing it. Learn from your mistakes and go forward,” Barnidge, an E. J. Ourso College of Business’ Dean’s Advisory Council member and inductee into its Hall of Distinction, advised.

Students within the program say they hope to do just that. Another finalist of the Venture Challenge, Clinton Conroy, used his prize money to market his management and consulting drone firm, United Aerial, LLC.

“In the next four years, I want to go completely nationwide. Forbes: that’s where I want to be. I think we’ve positioned ourselves pretty well between a couple of states, and I’m excited to see where it goes from there. I think the sky’s the limit. Literally,” Conroy said.

Dr. William A. Brookshire meets his 2014-15 scholarship recipients.

Balancing Act

Dr. William A. Brookshire only visited the LSU Student Union once when he was enrolled as a graduate student.

He’s quick to explain that trip was only made because “Hatcher Hall was closed, and I couldn’t get coffee.”

Dr. Brookshire, the co-founder and chairman of the board of S & B Engineers and Constructors, was all work and little play when he was in school. Now, he’s giving back to the students who share his values.

More than 70 students in the College of Engineering were honored with the William Brookshire Scholarship in Engineering last year. The scholarship, which has been in place since 2010, is given to full-time undergraduate students who have a combined work and course work schedule of more than 30 hours per week.

“My focus is on the kids that are working their way through school,” Brookshire said, “I want to help the kids who are trying to help themselves.”

Dr. Brookshire began his undergraduate studies at a junior college before transferring to the University of Houston. His father had enough war bonds to pay for one semester, he said, but after that, he was tasked with funding his own education. Making ends meet was a balancing act.

He held a variety of jobs, working as a lab technician, an electrician and the like, and he took classes at night.

He graduated from the University of Houston in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He then enrolled in graduate school at LSU, where he earned his master’s degree in 1959 and his PhD in Spring 1961, both in chemical engineering.

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After six years working as a process engineering supervisor for Exxon Corporation in Houston, he invested $10,000—his life savings of $7,000 and an additional $3,000 he borrowed—and created S & B Engineers and Constructors with business partner James Slaughter Sr. That small company of two employees has since grown to include more than 7,500 employees globally.

“Dr. Brookshire worked hard, and he knows what that can mean for you if you do the same,” Richard Koubek, then dean of the College of Engineering, said at a banquet honoring the recipients. Koubek now serves as LSU’s interim executive vice president and provost. “Look at what he’s accomplished. It’s remarkable to me. When I first met him, I deeply respected him, and now I have to say that I deeply admire him.”

Brandon Travis, a mechanical engineering senior and scholarship recipient, is grateful for Brookshire’s generosity and support.

“As a student, husband, father and member of society who holds a full-time course schedule and works up to 40 hours a week, I find each day holds new experiences and challenges,” Travis shared, detailing his rural upbringing and financial hardships. “Dr. Brookshire, words cannot express how grateful I am that you provide this scholarship to engineering students. Your selfless sponsorship of our education, which grants us the opportunity to passionately continue in our career development, is now a special part of each of our stories.”

A Sure Investment

LSU University College is celebrating its 25th anniversary of Summer Scholars, a summer bridge program for high-achieving minority students to make successful transitions from high school to the university.

“When I was a student at LSU, the Summer Scholars program didn’t exist,” said Gary Huntley, vice president of regulatory and governmental affairs with Entergy and member of University College’s Advisory Board.

Huntley graduated from the College of Engineering in 1989. A native of New Orleans with extended family in Baton Rouge, Huntley’s transition to LSU culture and learning wasn’t a dramatic change.

“I attended LSU at a time when the minority population was approximately 3 percent. The cultural differences in this regard presented its own set of challenges, yet I knew this when applying to LSU. I made my decision to attend without letting that be a deciding factor. I researched, and chose to major in electrical engineering, which is a great academic program. I focused on the skill sets I needed to be successful in the field. My commitment to academics was the greater driving force than any potential barriers or hurdles that I might have faced,” shared Huntley.

For many students, attending a university as large as LSU can create challenges in finding a place to fit in.

Collegiate life is a big change from high school. “The greatest impactful piece for minority students that attend LSU and participate in the Summer Scholars program is the program creates a family of support. That’s important to succeed in college,” he added.

A power player, Huntley’s career, starting with Chevron and transitioning to Entergy, places him at the forefront of the energy industry. Designing controls for refining

processes, installing pipeline systems, commodities trading of crude oil, and managing regulatory strategies, Huntley knows hard work and its successes.

“When I learned of the Summer Scholars program and its success, I really wanted to be a part of that,” Huntley said. “There are consistent themes I hear from all of the students that I talk to. They contribute their success to the Summer Scholars program.”

After analyzing the program’s numbers, quantitative academic data and retention rates, Huntley decided to invest personally, as well as to leverage his corporation’s capital in the program.

“Summer Scholars is wildly impressive, a sure investment. This excellence is consistent, which says a lot about the program and management behind the program.

It’s a commitment to excellence all around,” he stated. “I have my own personal experiences engaging with Summer Scholars, and have seen firsthand how students have benefited from this program. Investing in the Summer Scholars program gives me the personal fulfillment that I am making a difference. Recruiting high-achieving minority students to the program, investing in them to be academically strong and resourceful at LSU, developing them to enter the workforce, watching them influence the world in remarkable ways—this is the cycle, the foundation of the program.”

Huntley added, “There are a lot of people like myself that have graduated from LSU, that want to contribute in a meaningful way. Even small contributions have a tremendous, life-changing impact. Investing in one more student is a multiplier in LSU’s and the world’s influence.”

LSU alumnus Gary Huntley, Vice President of Regulatory and Governmental Affairs, Entergy

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Love Your Neighbor

With pop-up tents for reading, creating and playing, the LSU Museum of Art’s Neighborhood Arts Project provides a free, safe space for children and their families to express themselves through art. The program directly serves over 3,000 youth living in neighborhoods throughout Baton Rouge, with a goal of using the creative process to teach children how to be critical thinkers and leaders.

Intern Dasjon Jordan devoted 20-30 hours a week to the program last summer. He shared, “We want the kids to understand that success is not a linear process. In STEMoriented schools, there’s a focus on success and logic. We teach kids that an A is perfection, and an F is failure.

Failure will happen, but it’s a chance to learn and not a condemnation of your character. Art can be a bridge between making mistakes and growth.”

Jordan believes the most important aspect of the program is building relationships. “There was one teen who was painting a portrait of himself. There had been a question of him being a troublemaker, but when he finished the painting, it showed him crying. He was able to speak to us through his art, and we were able to talk about what he was feeling throughout the program. The children that attend and engage in the program and our team maintain strong bonds.”

ExxonMobil employee Rory Denicola and her colleagues volunteered with the program last summer. She hopes the experience will create good memories for the children and said the company plans on continuing its support to make the program “bigger and better.”

“We are all about this community. It’s not just about writing a check,” Denicola explained. “The Neighborhood Arts Project helps the children to see that there are adults who care and who volunteer for no other reason than to make them happy. That might rub off on them and motivate them to get involved when they’re older.”

Jordan, who credits the program with driving him to be an advocate for the underserved, agrees that the presence of so many caring adults makes a big difference. For example, he remembers the day a group of officers from the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination, or BRAVE, Initiative visited the site. “Their participation really broke the barrier of what the role of a policeman is and how they interact with the university and neighborhoods. One of the officers sat down and let me paint a portrait of him on our tent walls.

That was a really big moment for me,” Jordan said.

The City of Baton Rouge has sponsored the program since its start. Mayor Kip Holden agrees that the project is a way for the Baton Rouge community to come together and uplift the city’s youth.

“If you want to see the power of the arts, culture and creativity in driving community revitalization, just look at the faces of the children participating in the Neighborhood Arts Project. It has instilled joy in some of our underresourced areas by allowing every child to dream of a brighter future. This is just one way the Louisiana State University Museum of Art is making a positive impact in Baton Rouge,” Mayor Holden said.

Photos by Travis Spradling, The Advocate

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Jordan Avery, 4, dips his paintbrush before beginning a new work of art. (Left) Intern Dasjon Jordan paints a portrait of Ronald Norman Jr., of the Baton Rouge Police Department.

(Above)

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Manny Porro (right), an LSU graduate and owner of Miramontes Farm in Nicaragua, talks with Brandon Gravois (left) and his fellow classmates.

Extraordinary Impacts

By February 2016, the impact of the Agricultural Leadership Development Program will have extended to 14 classes, represented by 397 alumni statewide. A few notable graduates include Louisiana District 21 Senator Brett Allain, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham, American Sugar Cane League General Manager Jim Simon, and Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen.

Program Director Dr. Bobby Soileau credits the Chalkley Family Endowed Chair for the program’s success.

“Without the Chalkley Family Endowed Chair, the Agricultural Leadership Development Program would not be where it is today. The endowment covers approximately half the cost for the participants of this program, and has been enormous in allowing our program to flourish like it has.

There is no question in my mind that we have one of the best programs in the country,” Soileau said.

The Agricultural Leadership Development Program aims to broaden participants’ knowledge of agriculture and sharpen their critical thinking, leadership and communication skills for involvement in social, economic and political systems. Each two-year course, comprised by participants working in an industry within the agribusiness community of Louisiana, consists of seven two-and-a-half day seminars and three study tours. Leaders travel to Washington, DC, plus participate in both a U.S. agriculture tour and an international tour. This past year, Class XIII traveled to Central America to study the Panama Canal

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and its significance to Louisiana agriculture, as well as the agricultural communities in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

“We are giving people the tools necessary to speak about whatever they’re passionate about. We give them the broader knowledge, tools and skills necessary to be confident and pursue whatever they believe in. They have made extraordinary impacts,” Soileau said.

Started in 1988, the LSU Agricultural Leadership Development program initially lacked the critical funds that would enable the program to truly have an impact on the development of Louisiana leaders in agribusiness. Brian Breaux, chairman of the LSU Agricultural Leadership Development Program Board of Directors, said the Chalkley Family Endowed Chair saved the program.

“From 1988 to 1994, everyone knew how much of a struggle it was to keep the program going, even though it was an outstanding leadership program. Program graduates were always trying to find contributions to keep the program adequately funded. Classes would have to do a lot of litigations with businesses. I was in Class IV, and I saw the monumental difference that the chair made in providing financial stability for the program,” Breaux remembers.

Chalkley is the last name of LSU Foundation Board of Directors member Laura Leach’s maternal grandfather, an Englishman who came to Louisiana on family business at the age of 21, made it his home, and became very involved in the state’s agriculture industry. His son, H.G. “Harry” Chalkley, carried on his father’s work, taking a special

A ranch hand works at the Canadero San Marcos Ranch, a family-owned Brahman cattle operation in Santiago, Panama.

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Extraordinary Impacts: Continued interest in the 4-H movement. Laura, her husband, Buddy, and her late brother, Henry Chalkley Alexander, established the endowed chair to lift the financial burdens the program was facing at the time—as well as to continue its success.

“We felt that without this chair, the limitation would be too great, and we needed to offer the participants an opportunity to learn as much as possible about agriculture universally. That was enough for us,” Laura said, continuing, “The program is wonderful. We get yearly reports, and we are pleased that our name is associated with it.”

The Chalkley Family Endowed Chair continues to be a lifeline for the Agricultural Leadership Development Program. The current value of the chair is $1.5 million, and a portion of the earnings it generates pays for half the cost of operating the program.

Breaux credits Laura, Buddy and Henry for setting the stage for more donations. The program is now also sustained

by the H. Rouse Caffey Endowment, Ag Leaders of Louisiana Endowment and Robert R. Soileau Scholarship, as well as through support from the Agricultural Leaders of Louisiana, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation and the Louisiana Forestry Foundation.

Soileau is proud that the program has maintained its focus on agriculture, instead of converting to rural leadership, as many similar programs have. He stresses the importance of agriculture leadership in a day when the country’s culture has become “generationally removed from the farm.”

“The full name of this university is actually Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College.

Agriculture has been a vital part of this institution since its inception. That’s part of our mission, and we are dedicated to it. I’m a firm believer that without a strong agriculture, democracy is difficult to achieve,” Soileau said.

Eddie Clinaz (far left), owner of Ingenio Curtis, S.A. Sugar Mill in Boca de Arenal, Costa Rica, gives class members an inside look at hand-harvesting sugarcane.

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A Little Something Extra

Robert “Skip” Allen credits his undergraduate degree from the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences for his worldview today.

“It’s hard to form a philosophy of life around a professional degree.

That’s not what it ought to be doing for you. All the education up to that point, you file away, and it becomes who you are, how your mind works, and how you view the things that you encounter in life,” said Allen, who is also a graduate of the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

Motivated to ensure other students have similar eye-opening opportunities, Allen and his wife, Shirley, established the Humanities & Social Sciences Excellence Fund Endowment. The gift provides unrestricted funding to be used by the dean, whom Allen trusts as the “best judge of how to advance the interests of the students and help them achieve success.”

The Allens also set up a challenge match to drive additional donations, which caught the eye of David and Betty Laxton, fellow alumni of the college. David, who earned his master’s degree from the E. J. Ourso College of Business, agrees with Skip that his bachelor’s degree in history set the foundation for his career.

“I worked for a worldwide company. It was nice to have a background in history and geography, because when I was in those countries, I was able to know a little something.

And knowing a little something gave me the ability to relate to people and surprise them quite often. I was able to build a much better rapport by having a broader knowledge of the world,” David said of the importance of his undergraduate education.

The Laxtons and the Allens hope the fund will open opportunities, especially abroad, for students to sharpen their critical thinking and broaden their worldview. Betty, a retired social worker and avid reader, calls the gift “lagniappe” for the dean to make those opportunities happen.

“With our own children, we saw how important an

Skip Allen meets with Dean Stacia Haynie of the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences.

internship could be. They could work unpaid because we were able to help them financially. For someone else, that might not be viable,” she said.

“I think the wish, the dream, is for there to be more people who have a greater understanding of how the world works and a greater understanding of what they would like to see in the world,” Allen, who speaks “bits and pieces” of four languages, said. “There are always new things to learn.

There’s more out there than any one person can cram into his life to learn, but you shouldn’t stop trying.”

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Thank you!

Much like LSU’s iconic oaks and arches, donors like you embody the tradition, strength and spirit of the Tiger community.

Philanthropic support of LSU fuels our success in and out of the classroom—success that continues because of your generosity.

Your gifts fund excellence in the areas most important to you through scholarships, facility upgrades, internships, faculty research and so much more.

Geaux Give www.lsufoundation.org/2015gift

Being a Tiger is about more than just the years spent on campus—it is about traditions, excellence and friendships that last a lifetime.

Among the oaks and arches of LSU, future leaders find their start. Here, students earn an exceptional education that cultivates the knowledge they will need for career-long success and exposes them to the unique experiences and culture that only LSU can offer.

Our alumni continue to outpace their peers for both early and mid-career salaries. Meanwhile, our tuition and student indebtedness remain low. LSU is a great value, and our achievements are many. Those successes are thanks, in part, to your support.

In the last year alone, LSU students were among the recipients of some of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including Gates, Cambridge, Olmstead and Goldwater Scholarships. Our alumni continue to realize success in every sector, and we graduate thousands of students annually who will follow in their footsteps, making not just their mark, but a difference, in communities spanning the world.

Philanthropy is very often the game changer for top institutions in recruiting high-caliber students, attracting and retaining world-renowned faculty and staff, conducting life-changing research, and creating rich, well-rounded experiences that are the hallmark of an LSU education. Last year, donors set a record for giving to the university during a single year, with more than $193 million in support.

LSU is not only a great university, but also a great investment value. We provide a return of $5 for every $1 the state invests in us, but the life-changing impact of your generosity on the lives of our students, faculty and staff delivers a return that simply cannot be measured.

Thank you for your continued loyalty to LSU. Sincerely,

F. King Alexander LSU President and Chancellor

Fundraising Priority: Student Recruitment & Enrollment Center GOAL: $7 MILLION The renovation of Pleasant Hall, home of the LSU Office of Enrollment Management, will provide a dynamic welcome to campus for prospective students and their families. The spirit of LSU will be impossible to miss as we introduce our unique campus and culture to new generations of Tigers. www.lsufoundation.org/priorities

Knowledge is Power

“What creates so much anxiety about college is the mystery of it all. Where is my child going to school? What’s going to happen there?” remembered Tom Forestier. “We sent off three sons to three different colleges. I know firsthand that, as a parent, whether it’s your first or your third, you are as nervous as your child. But you’re not going to reveal how nervous you are, and neither is he.”

To ease some of that anxiety for other families, Tom and his wife, Susan, got involved in the annual Summer Send-Off party for new Tigers in the greater Houston area. Hosted by the LSU Family Association and the LSU Houston chapter of the Alumni Association, the Summer Send-Off parties are a chance for newly enrolled LSU students and their families to learn more about the university and living on campus. The Forestiers’ son Drew is now a senior at LSU, and they wish there had been an opportunity to attend a send-off party before his freshman year.

“I went to my first Family Association Council meeting because I wanted to get involved. We felt that our son was flourishing at LSU and had a lot of opportunities there. We wanted to say thank you to LSU for helping him to grow and reach his potential,” Susan shared.

This year, Tom and Susan generously offered to host the Summer Send-Off party at the downtown Houston Club, a centrally located and attractive private venue. They treated new Tigers and their families to an incredible view of the Houston skyline and an extensive buffet. With the help of other hosts and volunteers, Susan and Tom wanted to give those who attended a “complete picture” of the LSU experience for a new student. With a slideshow of campus photos and the Tiger fight song and LSU Alma Mater playing, the Forestiers said the atmosphere was fun and lively, “just like LSU.”

Representatives from the Office of Parent and Family Programs, the Alumni Association and LSU faculty and staff spoke to the group, and a panel of students opened the floor for Q&A. As students said goodnight, the Forestiers presented each of them with their very own “Texas Tiger” cup as another welcome to the LSU family.

The Forestiers believe the best part of the event is that the students and parents get to meet each other and chat, creating a sense of community that travels from Houston to Baton Rouge.

“When Susan and I have gone to LSU for campus events, we’ve seen students from the Summer Send-Off parties, and some have come up to us and said hello. It’s cool for a young student on a big university campus to recognize someone they’ve met before. It’s vital for the transition of that

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student into college life,” Tom, a shareholder of the Houston law firm Winstead, PC, said.

Drew Forestier is majoring in petroleum engineering and is a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. The Forestiers advise students to also get involved in extracurricular activities and on-campus groups and to find a balance between school work and fun. Susan joked that her advice to parents is simple: “It’s going to be OK!”

“Join the Family Association and you’ll get all kinds of information about what’s happening on campus. That will fill the void left when you call your child and ask, ‘What’s going on at school?’ and they say ‘Nothing,’” Tom added.

The Forestiers hope to expose students in the Houston area to the opportunities available to them at LSU, because “knowledge is power.”

“We were attracted to LSU because it’s a well-recognized state university that is respected across the nation and has big-time sports. More importantly, I’ve seen how LSU alumni take care of each other. That’s key when you’re getting ready to put your child out into the world to find a career,” Tom said.

Summer Send-Off Snapshots Attendees of the 2015 Houston Summer Send-Off party, held at the centrally located Houston Club, shared their photos.

Guests of the 2015 Houston Summer Send-Off party enjoyed a spectacular view of downtown Houston. (Opposite) • Clockwise from top left: Susan and Tom Forestier with DeShanna Brown, director of development for LSU Student Life & Enrollment • College of Humanities & Social Sciences Dean Stacia Haynie gets to know the new Houston Tigers. • Incoming Houston Tigers

Sent with Tiger Pride Atlanta Dallas

Houston

Tigers also host Summer Send-Off parties in Dallas and Atlanta.

Summer Send-Off parties help incoming students and their families to connect with each other and visit with LSU alumni, faculty and staff. If you would like to join the fun and host a Summer Send-Off party in your city, contact DeShanna Brown, director of development for LSU Student Life & Enrollment, at (225) 578-0388 or deshannabrown@lsu.edu.

Ken and Nancy Kral take in the view while on vacation in the Czech Republic.

A Life Moment

Nancy and Ken Kral call their first experience on LSU’s campus “a life moment.” Their daughter, Kelly, was invited as a senior in high school to spend a day with the Tiger Band. Nancy and Ken joined in on the fun, leading the pregame parade and sitting with the band during the game.

“We just wanted to be clear with everyone that we are not LSU alumni, but their enthusiasm was very contagious.

We drank the purple Kool-Aid, and we were all in,” Ken reflected.

Kelly became a Tiger, and Nancy and Ken became what they call “Tiger Wannabes.” The proud parents joined the LSU Family Association and the Family Association Council and began participating in Houston-based Summer Send-Off parties, recruitment nights and transfer fairs.

“LSU is a great story that we embraced and wanted to share with others,” Ken said.

“A lightbulb goes off when these kids realize that they can attend a tier one research university four-anda-half hours away,” Nancy, who is president of VanTran Industries, a transformer supplier for LSU, shared.

The Krals, already aware of the competitiveness of Texas state universities, soon realized the added consideration of rising out-of-state tuition costs.

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They created the annual Kral Family Texas Tiger Transfer Scholarship for a student transferring to LSU after completing two years at Lone Star College, a Greater Houston Area community college where Nancy worked for many years.

“Three out of four Texas freshmen and sophomores attend a community college. There’s a huge pool of very talented people, and they can get overlooked. We wanted to put an emphasis on students who started out at a community college and show that they have the same opportunities,” Nancy said, adding, “These kids are just looking to find their way, and that’s a universal human experience. If we can help them and give them a little confidence, we’re happy to do it.”

Kelly Kral graduated in 2014, landing a graphic design job with Michael’s Arts and Crafts headquarters in Irving, Texas, but Nancy and Ken still proudly sport purple and gold. They hope their scholarship recipients will do the same long after graduation.

“Part of going to school is the education and developing your technical skills. The other part of it is developing your relationships and embracing the enthusiasm that the LSU alumni have for their alma mater. As I travel across the United States wearing an LSU pin, I hear ‘Geaux Tigers’ through airports in Chicago, Raleigh, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Being an LSU graduate is truly a lifelong connection for these students,” Ken said.

Keeping the Lights On

Anthony Gambino, recipient of the Robert K. and Elizabeth F. Reeves Endowed Scholarship, calls the future of energy an exciting “new frontier.”

“We consume more than what the natural world can provide for us. We will see a shift in our culture soon through regulation, laws and individual changes that focus on the environment. We have to keep the lights on, and there’s going to be a demand for some sort of energy source.

The question is, ‘From where?’” posed Gambino, who is earning his Energy Law and Policy Certificate at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

Bobby Reeves has worked within energy law his entire 30-year career. He agrees with Gambino that the future of energy is unpredictable, and said his LSU law degree has served him well.

Today Reeves is executive vice president, law, and chief administrative officer for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., as well as a director for three public companies. He is confident that Gambino and LSU Law Center graduates will be equipped to compete and partner with colleagues worldwide, too.

“We have an ever-changing planet, an ever-changing economy. It’s not about teaching them something that they

will always use. It’s teaching them flexibility and a way of thinking that they can adapt to a changing environment within the field,” Reeves said.

The Reeves family is a family of Tigers. Bobby’s wife, Beth, their three daughters, and one son-in-law are also LSU alumni. He appreciates the connection the LSU Law Center has with other colleges across campus.

“It’s not just lawyers, business folks and engineers that are in the energy business. We are all in it together. That’s the real world. That’s what I deal with every day,” Reeves shared.

Gambino was wrestling with the decision of whether or not to take out another student loan when he received the news that he had been selected for the Reeves Endowed Scholarship. A New Orleans native, he plans to stay in Louisiana and fulfill his passion to protect the state’s wetlands. He’s grateful to the Reeveses for enabling him to do that.

“It really does help students like me, who are financially strained, to focus on my academic success and to put some of those financial concerns on the back burner,” Gambino said of the importance of scholarship support.

Reeves Endowed Scholarship recipient Anthony Gambino on the steps of the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center

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Making it Better

The T.J. Moran Family Foundation visited LSU to announce a $1 million gift to be evenly split among the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Manship School of Mass Communication, E. J. Ourso College of Business and College of Human Sciences & Education.

The late T.J. Moran, a lifelong entrepreneur, was the first college graduate in his family. Though he grew up in Chicago and earned his degree from the University of Wisconsin, Moran spent much of his life in Baton Rouge.

He opened the first franchise of Ruth’s Chris Steak House in 1975 and held franchises in 11 other cities. He also successfully founded TJ Ribs, Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant and Ruffino’s Italian Restaurant, all in Baton Rouge.

The family shared, “For more than 40 years, LSU has been an instrumental part of our lives. Dad proudly watched all five of his children and one granddaughter become Tigers, with a total of eight LSU degrees earned by them. Through his connection with this wonderful institution, not only did Dad make lifelong friends, including Dale Brown, Bo Bahnsen, Robert Justis, Scott Berg and many others, but he also helped countless kids pursue their dreams by providing educational support along the way. He realized early in life that pursuing a college degree was not only key to his future success, but to others, as well. Encouraging students to obtain a college education was another way for him to stay true to his life and business philosophy to ‘make it better every day.’ We are honored that his legacy will live on through the students and programs that will benefit from this gift.”

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Clockwise from top left: With a bit of encouragement from President Alexander, Michael Moran meets one of the tiger topiaries at University House. • Student Government President Andrew Mahtook presents the Moran family with a copy of LSU’s Commitment to Community. • Burke Moran, T.J. Moran’s son, celebrated the family’s investment with wife Melissa and sons Thomas (right) and Michael (left).

The People We Need

After retiring from a 40-year career with ExxonMobil Corporation, Ulyesse LeGrange decided to pick up a new hobby. A lifetime music lover, he began taking piano lessons. LeGrange said he found an unexpected connection with his new pastime and his old job, which only made him love playing more.

“I saw how music is so tied to mathematics—all arithmetic and formulas! Music has a pattern. If you learn a few basic techniques and formulas, you can learn more very rapidly. I got interested in writing music myself, and I was really hooked.

I spent 20-30 hours a week at my piano composing music. I couldn’t stop,” LeGrange said.

LeGrange has since written a Broadway-type musical performed by the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, as well as 30 other pieces, some of which have been performed at charity balls, and he holds a U.S. patent for a music training device.

LeGrange’s accomplishments in music should come as no surprise to those who know of his past achievements. After graduating magna cum laude from the E. J. Ourso College of Business at the age of 19, LeGrange began working as a clerical employee at Exxon’s Baton Rouge Refinery. He worked his way up the ladder, finally becoming senior vice president and chief financial officer of the company’s U.S. oil and gas operations. Among many other accolades, he has recently been inducted into the Financial Executives International Hall of Fame.

LeGrange’s passion for accounting started at LSU, which is why he has partnered with ExxonMobil’s triplematch program since 1989, for a total impact of more than $1 million through gifts to establish the U.J. LeGrange Endowed Professorships in Accounting.

So far, the professorships have supported 10 faculty members.

“The professors that I remember

Ulyesse and Barbara LeGrange

were those who were eager to work with the students and give them the insight and knowledge that they will need once they get into the business world. That’s the kind of people we need to attract to the business school.

That’s the kind of people I think we can attract through these professorships,” LeGrange said.

With the encouragement of ExxonMobil, LeGrange was also involved in many civic organizations, including Boy Scouts, Little League, the United Way and the Houston Symphony. He hopes the professors and students of the E. J. College of Business will use their talents to better the community, as well.

“You can’t be narrow-minded. You have to have a broad view of what’s going on in the business world and be interested and participate in a wide variety of activities outside of it,” LeGrange said.

Glenn Sumners, professor and director for the Center for Internal Auditing, received the second U.J. LeGrange Endowed Professorship in Accounting and feels the funds have been crucial to the success of the center, which is considered to be the premier internal audit program in the world.

“The LSU Center for Internal Auditing Program is, to some extent, selfsupporting. The Ulyesse LeGrange Professorship has provided the support for the operation of the program for administration, supplies and travel. The funding has been critical in maintaining and enhancing the LSUCIA, and, as a result, the students and staff have received 30 international awards,” Sumners said.

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Dr. Shirley Tucker, at the Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium immediately following the October 15 ribboncutting celebration held in her honor and in the framed photo at right

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Funding Discovery

In honor of her $2 million gift to the College of Science Department of Biological Sciences, the LSU Herbarium has been renamed the Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium.

Supplemented with an additional $960,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the gift supports the herbarium, the Dr. Shirley C. Tucker Chair in Plant Systematics, and four Superior Graduate Student Scholarships.

“I want to make sure that the botany program is maintained as a strong element of the department,” Dr. Shirley Tucker said.

Founded in 1869, the herbarium contains a reference collection for researchers and the public to study the historical distribution, composition, ecology and evolution of vascular plants, lichens and fungi. It is the oldest collection of preserved plant specimens in the Gulf South and is the second largest collection of Louisiana-based plants. Dr. Tucker said it was “a thrill” to see her name above the doors.

“The herbarium is the library for a scientist. Quite often, people assume they know the name of the plant they’re working with. If you go to the herbarium, you can be sure because there are other specimens for you to compare. If mistakes are made in identification, it will throw off entire research programs,” she explained.

Dr. Tucker’s love for the natural world stemmed from her parents. Her father was a plant pathologist at the University of Minnesota, and her mother was an avid gardener. The family regularly took daytrips to examine wildflowers. Dr. Tucker moved to Baton Rouge with her late husband, Kenneth Tucker, when he was hired at the federal bee laboratory. She was accepted into LSU’s plant pathology department, from which the botany department eventually split off, and taught classes in botany for 27 years. She received research grants from the National Science Foundation and was awarded the highest distinction of LSU Boyd Professor.

An inductee of the LSU College of Science Hall of Distinction and a former president of both the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and the Botanical Society of America, Dr. Tucker’s peers call her a trailblazer for women botanists. She shrugs off the accolade.

“I was the only woman in the department here for many years, but I didn’t really worry about that too much. I don’t think we really considered whether an applicant was a man or a woman. At that time, there just weren’t many women applying,” Dr. Tucker shared.

The Tuckers retired in Santa Barbara, CA, in 1995. Dr. Tucker enjoys being between the ocean and the mountains and the opportunity for natural studies that the environment provides. She works with the University of California and the botanical gardens in the area. Even in retirement, she continues to do research. She is credited for building the school’s collection of 44,000 specimens, making it the largest lichen collection in the Gulf Region.

“The collections manager will select material I have collected in the past but not identified. We ship them back and forth. They will send me 200 specimens at a time, which will take me two to three months to identify. My support has enabled the department to database the lichen herbarium.

That’s a big improvement and a wonderful tool. It enables me and other people around the country to access it online and borrow a particular species,” Dr. Tucker said.

Besides botany, Dr. Tucker has another love: football.

“Wherever my husband and I were, we would watch LSU football games. I worry when the game gets critical. It creates a lot of anxiety, but LSU usually comes through in the end. I’m so pleased to be able to attend the LSU vs.

Florida game because I think it’s really going to be ‘The Game,’” she said, a day before the nail-biting game.

She was right: The Tigers beat the previously undefeated Gators 28-35.

Dr. Tucker cuts the ribbon for the Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium with Lowell Ubatsch, Emi Gilbert, Dean Cynthia Peterson, President F. King Alexander and Ann Marie Marmande.

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The Best Legacy

Growing up, Chris D’Elia worked as a lifeguard and a sailing instructor on Long Island Sound, near his Connecticut home. His love for the water translated into a degree in ecology and a career as a professor and dean of the LSU School of the Coast & Environment.

“LSU is known around the world as a center of coastal research. Louisiana is, unfortunately, the mother lode of coastal problems in the United States. We have the fastest subsidence rate, the greatest rate of relative sea rise, and a combination of other challenges facing its maritime and energy industries. It’s a place where a scientist like me can contribute to understanding the problems, identifying possible solutions and educating the next generation of coastal scientists and managers,” he explained.

D’Elia is particularly proud of the school’s response to coastal disasters, particularly the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, when knowledgeable faculty provided thoughtful interviews to media from around the world. He expects the school’s programs to continue to grow, both in enrollment and faculty. D’Elia enjoys working directly with the students.

“We live in a very interdisciplinary world where

science, social science and policy collide. We want to give our students a strong scientific background, but also an awareness of the interdisciplinary and global challenges they will have to take on. That’s very exciting for us,” D’Elia said.

D’Elia’s wife, Jenny, has worked in development at several prestigious institutions, including the American Chemical Society in Washington, DC. Her philosophy is that every employee who truly believes in his or her institution is a potential fundraiser. The D’Elias give to the School of the Coast & Environment annually and decided to establish a planned gift by endowing a scholarship in their name.

“When we were redoing our wills, we were thinking about which institutions really meant the most to us.

Certainly, Chris has really put his heart and soul into LSU, particularly into this program,” Jenny shared.

“The best legacy you can leave behind is an education for somebody. I can’t think of anything more important,” Dean D’Elia said, continuing, “My father and his three brothers, as an Italian immigrant family, couldn’t have made it without the advantage of a public university education.

It’s the great equalizer.”

LSU School of the Coast & Environment students sit aboard the RV Pelican and peel shrimp collected with a trawl during a biological oceanography cruise.

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Matthew Edmonds stands in the lobby of Woman’s Hospital, which his company, CDI Solutions, designed in collaboration with HKS Architects and Bayne Dickinson, Architect.

Character Building

Immediately after graduating from the LSU School of Interior Design, Matthew Edmonds moved to San Francisco to begin work in the corporate office of Gap, Inc. There, he led a team of interior designers and architects in designing retail stores across the U.S.

“At that time, Gap, Inc. was one of the largest specialty retailers in the world. Even though it was a corporation, I was given the ability to run my team as you would a small business. My leadership within the design department put a lot of responsibility on me ... Very quickly, I had to professionally mature and learn how to communicate and work in a fast-paced environment,” Edmonds shared.

Edmonds returned to Baton Rouge and started the interior design company CDI Solutions (formerly Commercial Design Interiors) with LSU alumna Tracy Burns. Both are also professionals-in-residence at the School of Interior Design. Edmonds credits retired professional-inresidence Carroll Mathews and current professor TL Richie as major influences in his professional and academic life. He looks at teaching as a way to give back to the place where he got his start.

“To teach my craft, I have to know how to teach and communicate it in several ways, because students have different learning styles. That skill helps me when I’m presenting a project to a client who doesn’t have a strong language in interior design. So, I get back just as much as I give from working with LSU,” Edmonds said.

Edmonds is a hands-on teacher, blending his business

practice and teaching to offer real-life learning experiences.

CDI Solutions staff and interns are LSU graduates, and Edmonds leads students within LSU’s Interior Design Student Organization on spring break trips across the country.

“It’s important to get the students out of Baton Rouge for a little bit to see these larger cities, which are bigger melting pots with more diverse ideas ... We have alumni and students building up in areas where they got job offers through these trips,” Edmonds said.

Last year, Edmonds let the school know he has included LSU in his will as a way of continuing to give back, perpetuating a legacy that Interim Director Tom Sofranko hopes will resonate with future alumni.

“Edmonds is the epitome of an excellent alumnus. His generosity in and out of the classroom, as well as his gift that will support future interior design students, is a good measure of his character,” Sofranko said.

Edmonds, also a Tiger Band alumnus, calls his time at LSU “character building” and says the mentorship he received as a student continues as a faculty member. He encourages his students to keep evolving throughout their careers.

“As an interior designer, I don’t work a day in my life.

I think the people who are successful aren’t doing a job. It’s a passion,” Edmonds said, continuing, “You have to throw yourself into it, and immerse yourself. If you stop changing, you’ll become static and irrelevant within the industry. Never stop learning. Never stop chasing your passions.”

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Dr. Arms meets with Truman Scholar and Rhodes Scholar candidate Marlee Pittman.

Concrete Dreams

After graduating from what is now the LSU Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College one year early, Dr. Drew Lamonica Arms found herself rejected from every graduate school she applied to. In a moment she describes as a turning point, Dr. Arms decided to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship and enlisted the help of a professor.

“He sat down, and he said, ‘What do you want to do?

What do you want your place in this world to be? What do you want to continue to learn? How do you want to continue to grow? And how are you going to express that in 1,000 words or less?’” Dr. Arms remembered.

Years later, after winning the scholarship, falling in love with the Brontës at Oxford University, and earning a doctorate in Victorian literature, Dr. Arms would fulfill the same role as her former Rhodes mentor: advising fellowship candidates within the Ogden Honors College.

As the director of fellowship advising, Dr. Arms has assisted students in receiving over 100 prestigious national and international fellowships and recognitions. Her strategy is to learn what matters most to students through one-onone conversations and then to help them channel that voice into writing.

“Getting to know them is essential, and it takes time.

They have to trust that I will help them present a true best self. We are colleagues in this effort: I am there to steer and encourage them, but they are doing the work. They have lived the life that has made them qualified to compete,” Dr. Arms said.

Marlee Pittman, a political science senior, Truman Scholar and Rhodes Scholar candidate, said Dr. Arms pushes

her students to reach for their goals, even those that may seem unattainable.

“I never thought I was a competitive candidate for something as amazing as the Truman, but she said, ‘Apply!’

Fourteen drafts of 12 essays later, the scholarship has changed my life. I certainly couldn’t have done it without the tireless efforts of Dr. Arms,” Pittman said.

Rhodes candidate Kurt Ristroph, a chemical engineering and liberal arts senior, applied for the Truman, Goldwater and Udall Scholarships with Dr. Arms’ help.

“She was absolutely foundational in those application processes. Introspection, narrowing the focus, editing— all of it was not just catalyzed, but really enabled, by Dr. Arms’ oversight and guidance throughout that process,” Ristroph said.

A former member of the Rhodes District VII selection committee, Dr. Arms acknowledges that not every applicant wins, and she even credits a factor of luck for her own win.

However, she is passionate that the application process is its own reward, opening doors for self-discovery and creating a game plan for success.

“There is no better investment than a young person who has a lot of drive and a willingness to continue to learn about the world. I am invariably amazed at the amount our students have already done, the level of commitment they already have to their causes, and their grand visions for the future. If a donor wants to see LSU students become change agents, this is the way to facilitate that process, to make dreams more concrete,” Dr. Arms said.

Kurt Ristroph, Dr. Arms and Marlee Pittman

Stamps Scholar: Zachary Faircloth Dr. Arms is also the faculty advisor for the recipients of the Stamps Leadership Scholars Award, LSU’s top scholarship opportunity. Meet Stamps Scholar Zachary Faircloth, electrical engineering and political science senior.

What is your proudest accomplishment at LSU so far?

As one of the first two Stamps Scholars at LSU, it has been a priority of mine to build the program and the internal leadership network that it offers. In collaboration with the Ogden Honors College, we created Stamps Sundays as a way to informally meet, learn and network with other Stamps Scholars. We have hosted a résumé workshop, attended the Ogden Honors College Study Abroad Fair, and had dinner with the vice chancellor of Enrollment Management. I am proud to set such a powerful precedent for the Stamps Scholars at LSU that hopefully will last far beyond my time at LSU.

How have you chosen to use your Stamps Scholar enrichment funds?

I used my funds to attend a Stamps regional conference at the University of Illinois in 2012. Through the LSU in Spain program, I lived in Grenada for five weeks with a host family. I traveled to Honduras as part of a project with Engineers Without Borders. Finally, the Stamps enrichment funds allowed me to spend three months interning for Congressman Garret Graves’ office in Washington, DC. All of these experience have been meaningful to my well-rounded college experience. It has certainly made me a better student and better person.

How has your enrollment in the Ogden Honors College enhanced your LSU experience?

The Ogden Honors College has been the foundation of my LSU experience. The people—specifically Dean Earle and Dr. Arms—have been key to my success at LSU. I’ve been charged to fine-tune my leadership and speaking skills. I’ve been challenged to travel abroad and learn new languages and cultures. I’ve been expected to give back to the community. That well-rounded mentality has carried me through my journey at LSU.

What advancements in your field would you like to see in the future?

While working in DC, I saw the need for an expansion of technology in today’s cities. Autonomous cars, extended WiFi networks, and energy efficiency solutions—all of these are cutting-edge issues in the new modern cities. I believe there is a demand for those who can implement these technologies while understanding the societal and political impacts.

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Culture Carrier

Susan A. Halsey was a pioneer in what was, at the time, a “boys’ club” of real estate lawyers, according to Wade Cooper, managing partner of Jackson Walker, LLC.

“She was the first woman to eat in the main dining room of the Dallas Petroleum Club. She was undaunted by the stereotypes, and she overcame all of those historical challenges in a very positive way,” Cooper remembered.

Halsey graduated from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1983. She spent the entirety of her law career working on high-dollar real estate deals at Jackson Walker.

She opened the firm’s Fort Worth office in 1988, became the office’s managing partner in 2010, and established the Real Estate Council of Greater Forth Worth, which now has more than 350 members. And she earned a spot as chairperson of the Fort Worth Chamber of Congress, making history as the second woman to do so.

Cooper sees Halsey’s success in Fort Worth as a testament to her character and her love for community.

“She really captivated the people there, even though she wasn’t a native,” Cooper said, adding, “She was one of those people that you would call a culture carrier. Her outlook on life really influenced everyone around her, and that made her part of the core of Jackson Walker.”

Halsey passed away from cancer in December 2014.

Cooper notes that, to close Halsey’s funeral service, the congregation joined in singing the LSU fight song. It was a fitting goodbye for a forever Tiger. He hopes the beneficiaries of the Susan A. Halsey Memorial Fund, an endowed scholarship for LSU Law students, will learn about Halsey and be inspired by her legacy.

“She would be very proud to know that she is continuing to help people succeed, and I think she would be pleased to know that LSU is helping to make that possible,” Cooper said of his colleague’s impact on LSU.

“Repro Rangers” Honor Legacy The late Dr. Robert “Bob” Godke, who held LSU’s highest faculty rank of Boyd Professor, dedicated his career to the field of reproductive physiology and mentored many graduate students—whom he fondly dubbed “Repro Rangers.” The Repro Rangers, joined by Godke’s former colleagues and his friends, have united to celebrate his lifelong passion for higher education by giving scholarship funds that will help the LSU College of Agriculture attract and retain the very best graduate students to earn degrees through LSU’s Reproductive Physiology program. To make the program more competitive with other universities offering larger assistantship salaries, the group’s goal is to establish six $60,000 scholarships that will be eligible for a 40 percent match through the Louisiana Board of Regents’ new Superior Graduate Student Scholarships program.

Cornerstone |

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Student Caleb Soong, Department of Finance Chair Carlos Slawson, LSU Foundation Chief Investment Officer George Moss, SMART Lab Director Tish O’Connor and former Tiger Fund managers Jonathan and Morgan Murdock

Celebrating Hands-On Experience E. J. Ourso College of Business alumni, faculty and students visited the Securities Markets Analysis Research & Trading Lab—or SMART Lab—in August to celebrate highlights of the lab over the years and the 10th anniversary of the Tiger Fund. The Tiger Fund is an investment portfolio held by the LSU Foundation and managed by students under the close involvement of LSU Foundation Chief Investment Officer George Moss. The SMART Lab is a real-world trading zone with workstations, data feeds and simulated trading software where some students earn professional certifications and work toward earning Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Former managers and current students shared what the SMART Lab has done for them and how managing the Tiger Fund and working with Moss continues to make a lasting impact on their careers.

Colleague Milestones

Krista Allen senior director of development for College of Humanities & Social Sciences, College of Music & Dramatic Arts, and LSU Press and The Southern Review, has been invited to join the Louisiana Women’s Forum.

Emi Gilbert Emily Landry senior director of assistant director development for the of development College of Science, services for Student was selected for Life & Enrollment, the Greater Baton was named to Forum Rouge Business 35’s John W. Barton Report’s 2015 Forty Sr. Community Under 40. She was Leadership also accepted into Development class the Baton Rouge of 2015.

Area Chamber’s Leadership Program Shelby McKenzie in front of Troyclass H. Middleton of 2016.Library

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| Cornerstone

Cheryl Pennywell accounts payable specialist, celebrates 15 years with the LSU Foundation.

Katherine Burlette director of donor relations, celebrates 10 years with the LSU Foundation.

Cathy Politz gift records technician, celebrates 10 years with the LSU Foundation.

In 1966, siblings Steele and Ione Burden, along with their sister-in-law, Jeannette Monroe Burden (not pictured), began donating 440 acres of their family’s property in the heart of Baton Rouge to LSU. Today, it is known as Burden Museum & Gardens. In 2016, LSU will celebrate 50 years of the donation. On this property, the public can experience nature and travel back in time to explore Louisiana’s agricultural heritage and rural history.

Burden Museum & Gardens includes the LSU Rural Life Museum, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and Windrush Gardens.

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Baton Rouge, LA Permit No. 9

FOUNDATION 3838 West Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808

FACTS make a difference.

LOWER

Tuition & Fees

FEWER

Graduates with Debt

NATIONAL PEER AVERAGE

$7,873

$10,191

HIGHER

Graduation Rate

NATIONAL AVERAGE

35%

72%

GREATER

Mid-Career Earnings

NATIONAL AVERAGE

69.1%

59%

NATIONAL AVERAGE

$85,000 $75,916

Producing graduates with high-value degrees, little-to-no student loan debt and unrivaled career opportunities means everything to LSU. Rankings don’t matter without a focus on the greater good–preparing students to succeed after graduation.

Their success is how we measures ours. So any way we break it down…

our students are always #1.

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

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