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ULMMAGAZINE SPRING 2017
“THAT’S WHY ULM EXISTS. WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF STUDENTS, AND YOU DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS HAVE A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.”
COLLEGE OF HEALTH & LEGACIES PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
CHARLES MCDONALD FORMER ULM DEAN OF STUDENTS BY VLADIMIR JAKOVLJEVIC
CHARLES HUGH MCDONALD or, to those who know him best, “Charlie Mac,” grew up with a profound love for ULM. He proudly wears a lapel pin on his jacket, and would be the first to acknowledge that ULM was not just part of his life; ULM was his life, and in many ways, still is. Coming from Oakdale, La. in 1960, McDonald still remembers his first days at ULM (formerly, Northeast Louisiana State College).
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Being a member of the 1960 Oakdale High School State Championship Track & Field team, McDonald’s talent caught the attention of Bob Groseclose, the coach of the ULM program who offered McDonald a scholarship. “I could have gone to any school in this part of the world, but this is where I wanted to be. I wanted to run with the very best, and the best were here,” said McDonald. McDonald wasn’t only fast on the track. It took him only five years to complete both his Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education (1964) and Master of Education (1965) degrees.
After serving in the Vietnam War, McDonald returned to ULM in 1968 where he was hired as the first-ever coordinator of student activities by former ULM president, Dr. George T. Walker, who saw potential in the young McDonald. McDonald knew he would have to prove his ability through hard work and dedication, the philosophy he goes by today and the philosophy that helped him revolutionize the student experience at ULM. “We raised money and started taking students to concerts at the Civic Center,” McDonald said. “Then the coliseum opened on campus, and the university started bringing all the big names: The Eagles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Kansas…you name it, we had it,” McDonald said. “We had four to six major concerts on campus annually, with eight to ten thousand people attending each.” Later, he organized a travel program. “We planned two major trips a year, with over three hundred people on each trip, three charter jets, and destinations
included the Bahamas, Acapulco, Hawaii, cruises, and countless others.” McDonald held three positions at ULM until his retirement in 2002, including Dean of Student Affairs. His time at ULM has been defined by his dedication to the students. If asked today, he will still say that students have been and remain our greatest asset. “That’s why ULM exists,” McDonald said. “We are here because of students, and you do everything you can to make sure that students have a safe and successful learning environment.” The jewel to McDonald’s time at ULM was meeting his wife, Kay. Although they’ve never had children, they considered the students to be their very own. “We were raising everybody else’s kids, and that’s what we did,” McDonald said with a smile. “We still are so fortunate that, on a weekly basis, we hear or see former students, which is the beauty and the payback.” Charles McDonald lives in Monroe, La. with his wife Kay.
