Fall 2014, Volume 90, Number 3

a l u m n i m a g a z i n eFall 2014, Volume 90, Number 3

Happy Anniversary

Lod Cook Alumni Center Celebrates

Twenty Years

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2 0 1 4

LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2014 1

LSU’s Best Days Are Still AheadAs a father with two daughters starting college this year – and a full year at LSU behind me – the start of this particular fall semester allows me an even broader perspective on what this university means for so many. LSU isn’t just a school. We are a home to your sons and daughters, supporting their transition from teenager to adult, and from student to professional. We are the setting for some of your own best memories, where you learned life lessons, gained an incredible education that set the stage for your own success in life, and met your best friend, your spouse, your business partner, or all of the above. Even with 154 years of academic excellence and tradition behind us, it’s safe to say that LSU’s best days are still ahead.

We are a vital partner for a better Louisiana. Because of LSU, more than 36,000 Louisianans have jobs, and every one of those individuals is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to higher education. Studies have proven that those with college degrees make higher salaries, are more engaged with their communities, and live healthier lives. But many don’t feel that a college education is within their reach. Perhaps no one in their family received a higher education, or perhaps the financial burden appears too large to overcome.

That’s why LSU – together with both the Southern and University of Louisiana systems – introduced the Journey to College initiative. We are committed to showing Louisiana’s K-12 students the path to higher education. We’ve designed posters, generously printed for us by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, that will be distributed across the state. And I, along with other higher education officials, will be visiting schools and churches, events and open houses, to make sure that every student and parent is armed with the proper information to put them on the track toward a college degree. Visit www.journeytocollege.org for more details.

On a personal note, if you’re in the position to influence a young person’s educational trajectory, please do so. It’s up to all of us in the LSU family to ensure that every person with the desire to better their lives through education has that opportunity.

You, our incredible alumni base, are the key to our success in everything we do. I hope you’ll be as energized by this initiative as we are.

Sincerely,

F. King AlexanderLSU President and Chancellor

@lsuprez

From thePresident/ChanCellor

2 LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2014

a l u m n i m a g a z i n e

Contents

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Feature

22 20th Anniversary Celebration The Lod Cook Alumni Center – a springboard for the many achievements realized by the LSU Alumni Association – observed its twentieth anniversary on May 20, 2014, commemorating the past and heralding a bright future in the decades ahead. The festivities included entertainment by Baton Rouge Caledonian Pipes & Drums, the Vintage Band from Tigerland, and the U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp, Swamp Romp, a part of the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” of Washington, D.C., co-led by LSU alumni SFC Graham Breedlove – LSU’s 2011 Young Alumnus of the Year – and MSG Harry Watters.

28 Reaching an Age The intercollegiate Life Course and Aging Center builds bridges not only between the colleges at LSU but also brings together faculty, administrators, students, and clients from other institutions. For the benefit of both students and faculty, LCAC works with other area programs, including Our Lady of the Lake Gerontology Program, Our Lady of the Lake Long-term Care Administration Program, LSU Shreveport’s Institute in Human Services and Public Policy, and University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Institute of Gerontology. The depth of this collaborative effort allows for unfathomable opportunities. Executive Director Katie Cherry and Associate Executive Director Priscilla “Lilly” Allen work with faculty from a broad range of specializations to improve the quality of life of the aging populations they study.

In Each Issue1 From the President/Chancellor4 Acting CEO’s Message6 LSU Alumni Association News34 Around Campus48 Focus on Faculty50 Locker Room54 Tiger Nation

PublisherLSU Alumni Association

EditorJackie Bartkiewicz

AdvertisingJames Fisher

Art DirectorChuck Sanchez

STUN Design & Interactive

Editorial AssistantsPatti Garner, Brenda Macon, Meagan McDaniel

ContributorsErnie Ballard, Barry Cowan, Ed Cullen, Rebecca Docter,

Kathy Fives, Billy Gomila, Bud Johnson, Danielle Kelley, Brenda Macon, Todd Miller, Cathy Mueller, Gil Rew

PhotographyEmily Berniard, Candid Campus Photography, Ray Dry,

Johnny Gordon, LSU Sports Information, Teresia Greer, Larry Hubbard, Tracy Jones, Ashlynn McCormick, Gil Rew, Karen Stewart

PrintingBaton Rouge Printing

NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORSGil Rew

Chair, Mansfield, La.

Jan K. Liuzza Chair-Elect, Kenner, La.

Jack A. Andonie Immediate Past Chair, Metairie, La.

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

LSU ALUMNI MAGAzINE is published in March, June, September, and December. Annual donations are $50, of which $6 is allocated

for a subscription the magazine. Letters to the editor are and submissions of news items are encouraged. LSU Alumni Magazine

reserves the right to edit all materials accepted for publication. Publication of materials does not indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by the magazine, the Association or LSU.

Editorial and Advertising OfficeLSU Alumni Association

3838 West Lakeshore DriveBaton Rouge, LA 70808-4686225-578-3838 • 888-RINGLSU

www.lsualumni.org / e-mail: [email protected]

© 2014 by LSU ALUMNI MAGAzINE.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

LSU ALUMNI MAGAzINE, 3838 West Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686

LSU ALUMNI MAGAzINE is published quarterly (March, June, Sept., December) by the LSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, 3838 W. Lakeshore Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808. Application to mail

at Periodical Postage Prices is pending at Baton Rouge, LA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LSU ALUMNI MAGAzINE,

3838 W. Lakeshore Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4686.

Scott L. Anderson, Monroe, La.Mary Lou Applewhite, New Orleans, La.

Jon D. “Jay” Babb, Baton Rouge, La.J. Hals Benhard, Palmetto, La.

C. A. “Buddy” Brice III, Biloxi, Miss.Guy Campbell III, Monroe, La.

Gregg Cordaro, Baton Rouge, La.Kathy Fives, Las Vegas, Nev.

Ronald M. Johnson, Baton Rouge, La.

Ted A Martin, Baton Rouge, La.Louis R. Minksy, Baton Rouge, La.

Richard C. “Ricky” Oustalet, Jennings, La.Beverly Shea, New Iberia, La.

John T. Shelton, Jr., Houston, TexasCarl J. Streva, Morgan City, La.

Susan K. Whitelaw, Shreveport, La.Stan Williams, Fort Worth, Texas Michel H. Woods, Shreveport, La.

On the cover: Lod Cook Alumni Center Celebrates Twenty Years

Design by STUN Design & Interactive.



We Couldn’t Do It Without YouAs many of you know, the LSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors has appointed me Acting CEO in the absence of President/CEO Charlie Roberts, who has retired. It is my privilege to serve you in this capacity, and it is important to note that we are in direct communication with and cooperating with LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander.

I have met and worked with many, many of you in my thirty-three years with the LSU Alumni Association. The growth of the Association over those three decades is a monument to the vision and leadership of its officers, the National Board of Directors, and a dedicated staff, all of whom are committed to leading the way for continued support of LSU through the talents and resources of its alumni and friends.

As we move into the next chapter in our history, we thank you for your past support and look forward to visiting with you and working with you in the months to come as we solicit contributions for the Alumni Annual Fund for scholarships, professorships, faculty awards, and other special projects, such as reunions, and special events for faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

The year 2014 has been positive. We realized a slight increase over 2013, and we should be in sound financial position as we head into 2015. We want to share with you just a few examples of what your dollars do.

For instance, in this issue of the magazine, you’ll find an Your Alumni Dollar$ at Work ad. While this is only a portion o the faculty we support, it features featuring twenty-four distinguished faculty and graduate students who garnered awards from the Association last spring, thanks to your generosity.

When the Top 100 Scholarship Program (now Flagship Scholarship) was established, an endowment was created to fund the first year of study for scholarship winners. With additional support from you, the Association is now funding the first and second years of study. This is a major accomplishment for the Association, and it assists the University in funding the program. Again, thanks to you. Our goal is to encourage alumni and friends to increase their support so that we can fund the third and fourth years of the scholarship program.

As you see, our alumni and friends are vital to success, and we deeply appreciate your support.

Geaux Tigers,

Cliff VannoyActing CEOLSU Alumni Association

Acting CEO’sMessaGe



LSU Alumni Associationnews

Members of the LSU Class of 1964 joined the Golden Tigers – those who graduated prior to that year – on May 15 to renew friendships and memories.

The day-long event began with a tour of campus, with stops at Alex Box Stadium and Mike the Tiger’s Habitat. It was followed by a luncheon – at which the 1964 graduates received their Golden

Tigers medallions – and recognition at spring commencement exercises that evening.Those receiving 50-year medals were Tony Bruscato, Bill Cagnolatti, Joseph Cataldo,

Pat Chaney, Tony Crouch, Richard Curran, Bonnie Fussell, Ben Hablutzel, Thomas Hoover, David Hughes, Mary Gary Jenks, Kay Kloor Keigley, Richard Knight, Neil Rome, Beverly Sanders Schalon, Faye Hutchison Seaberg, Tom Sullivan, Becky Landry Swindell, Robert Watson, and John Williamson.

Dozens of door prizes were awarded at the luncheon, and entertainment was provided by the Doug Pacas Trio and soloist Lauren Regner, who wowed the audience with a rousing rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”

Golden Tigers CelebrateClass of ’64 Gathers for 50th Reunion

Photos by Johnny Gordon and Larry Hubbard

Phi Kappa Alpha brothers Pat Blackman, Tommy Rankin, Skip Thornton, Al Hodapp, Evan Mount, Cary

Owen, and Cleve Fair. Hodapp’s grandson Mount, also a Pike, received his degree at spring commencement.

Vicki Pichon Knight, Richard Knight, Heidi Crouch, Harold Spiess, Kay Kloor Keigley, and Charles Keigley.

June Hernandez Guillory, Jane Bordelon Baudry, and Paula M. Berumen.

Richard Curran, Joseph Cataldo, Mary Alexander Hughes, and David Hughes.

Laura Leach and tour guide John Grubb.


Golden Tigers ready for spring commencement.

William H. Harris, Henrietta Culpepper Harris, and James Harris.

Lauren Regner’s rendition of “Sweet Caroline” had guests reaching out and touching hands. Robert and Mary Jenks.


A gathering of Golden Girl alumnae, graduating seniors, and 2014-2015 Golden Girls.

LSU Alumni Association News Snapshots

Golden Girl Luncheon – Newly selected Golden Girls and graduating seniors were honored at a luncheon hosted by the Golden Girl Alumnae Chapter at the home of Kim Dodd Manning on May 4. Pictured above are, from left, first row, Courtney David, Christina Russo, Brittney Bowers, Hope Babin, Lauren Daniel, Haley Duke Babb, Paige Deville, Katie Armshaw, and Brooke Downing; second row, Cindy Thibodeaux, Shelly Beall, Tari Smith, Jan Hebert, Dale Norred, Lana Cocrehan, Connie Cambre, Kim Dodd, Leslie Day, Suzanne Minvielle, and Teresa Whitaker; third row, Kaitlin Junius, Meagan Rodrigue, Elizabeth Babin, Jaclyn Tisdale, Kathryn Nastasi, Ashleigh Keller, Natalie Knight, and Karlee Jones.Photo by Johnny Gordon


A Big Hit – Members of LSU’s 1961 SEC championship baseball team – LSU’s first conference champion in baseball in fifteen years – returned to the campus for homecoming in May. The reunion was a big hit with key members Bobby Theriot, John Bailey, and Roy Winston. Theriot got the winning hit, and Bailey scored the winning run in the 6-5 win over Auburn in the eleventh inning of the championship game. Photo by Ray Dry

Bobby Theriot, John Bailey, and Roy Winston.

From left, Bruce Turner, John Bailey, Morris Summers, Jim Poche, John Thomas, Larry Edmonson, Tommy Demont, Fred Southerland, Bobby Theriot, Cecil Raggio, Roy Winston, and Robbie Terrell.


Nearly 300 retired faculty and staff gathered at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on July 1 for the Independence Day Celebration.

The party started with LSU Alumni Association staffers carrying American flags into Noland-Laborde Hall and joining in to sing the national anthem and other patriotic songs.

Tiger Band Director Roy King “walked” guests through a game day in the life of a Tiger Band member and played a YouTube video – “LSU Be a Champion” for the audience (www.youtube.com/watch?v=01RPN4esgIQ). After a lunch of fried chicken with all the fixins’, dozens of door prizes were handed out, and guests played bingo for additional prizes.

Lois LaPlante and Charles Barré took top honors for most festively dressed, and prizes were also given to the oldest and newest retirees. Ninety-eight-year-old Julia Hawkins, widow of the late Department of Petroleum Engineering Chair Murray Hawkins, was the oldest guest at the event. Alumni Professor Karl Roider, who retired on June 30, 2014, after thirty-six years on the history faculty and as an administrator, was recognized as the newest retiree.

LSU Alumni Association News LSU Retirees Celebrate the 4th

Photos by Larry Hubbard and Johnny Gordon

Best dressed party-goers Charles Barré and Lois LaPlante.

Oldest retiree Julia Hawkins, center, with Senior Vice President Amy Parrino and Executive Vice President

Cliff Vannoy.

Ruth Sylvest, Ruth Cunningham, and Dorothy Howell.

Tiger Band Director Roy King.

LSU Faculty & Staff Retirees Club officers Doreen Maxcy, membership chair, and Ken Paxton, president.

The newest retiree, Alumni Professor Karl Roider.

Freddie and Rose Martin with Ferne and Denver Loupe.



LSU Alumni Association News Chapter Events

From left, Larry and Judy Michel with Tom and Janet Baudry and their daughter Taylor.

Atlanta alums enjoy crawfish at Piedmont Park.

Crawfish in the City – Atlanta Chapter Tigers chose a new location for the 2014 mudbug roundup, billing it an “In the City Crawfish Boil” at the Park Tavern at Piedmont Park. More than 300 alums and friends attended, and, “by all reports the crawfish was excellent, and a great time was had by all,” writes Sarah Clayton. The silent auction, coordinated by Rhonda Duffey, raised money for the chapter’s four endowed scholarships.

Bon Air Days – Members of the Central Virginia Chapter show their Tiger pride during the Bon Air Days Historical Parade held on May 10 in Bon Air, Va. The group takes part in the parade each year.

Fisher Lints, Kristin Lints, Mike Marino, Kylie Marino, Jacob Lindsey, Connie Debaugh, Marie Bruno, and Terry Jarreau.


The newly organized Baldwin Bengals at the chapter’s first mudbug boil.

Baldwin Bengals – “Surrounded by rabid Auburn and Alabama fans, the Baldwin Bengals are officially on the map,” writes Phil Gagnet, of Daphne, Ala. “Our inaugural crawfish boil was a huge success and a great way to kick off our new chapter.” Forty-five Tiger fans attended the boil, held May 4, at Kenny’s Barn in Fairhope, Ala. Gagnet gives shout-outs to Dawn Hebert-Keyser, “the driving force behind us organizing and having the boil”; to fellow planners Aaron Beam, David Barr, and Dianne Bernasconi; and to his daughter, Colette Gagnet Sutley, treasurer of the LSU Denver Alumni Chapter, and Larry Sheetz, of the Panhandle Bayou Bengals in Pensacola, Fla., for their encouragement and advice in planning the event.

LSU Alumni Association News Chapter Events

Central Oklahoma – Tigers in the Central Oklahoma Chapter gathered for a crawfish boil on May 17 at Hafer Park in Edmond, Okla. Asked if they had entertainment or a fundraiser, chapter member James Schnabel writes, “No, we aren’t big enough for that – we focus on the food. George Fulco and Pete Gaskin are our chefs, and they do an excellent job.”

Mudbugs – a treat for Oklahoma Tigers.



LSU Alumni Association News Las Vegas Crawfish Festival Turns 11

By Kathy Fives We promised some down home southern hospitality and Louisiana crawfish, and our biggest crowd yet came to the best crawfish boil in Las Vegas.

The party moved downtown to the Fremont Street Experience on May 3 for the best crawfish in the city. We enjoyed live Cajun/zydeco music provided by Bennie and the Swamp Gators, Louisiana crawfish boiled to hot and spicy perfection, barbecue, libations, and LSU merchandise and raffle prizes.

Crawfish was flown in from Louisiana for the event and prepared by a native Louisiana chef. This time of year, the

crawfish were big and served with corn and potatoes, of course. John Mull’s Roadkill Grill served barbecue sandwiches with all the fixins’. Don’t let their name fool you – it was some really great BBQ! To top it all off, Blue Bell Ice Cream provided some cool desserts for the young and young at heart.

Bennie and the Swamp Gators got the crowd moving with their live zydeco music on the 1st Street Stage, all under the Fremont Street Experience canopy, which spanned the entire length of the event. The canopy was a huge help in keeping the boil attendees cool all day.

Special guest Michael Clayton, former LSU and NFL wide receiver, was on hand to sign autographs of his new book, Chasing My Rookie Year: The Michael Clayton Story, and was most generous with his time and championship rings. We also hosted the LSU Alumni Association, who brought LSU traditions – as well as merchandise and apparel.

Event proceeds benefited the LSU Sin City Tigers Scholarship Endowment Fund, and we were pleased to present Kristen Gunning, who accepted a Sin City Tigers Alumni Scholarship for the fall semester. She will be joined at LSU by Chase Johnson, who also received a scholarship from the chapter this year.

on the weB www.sincitytigers.com

Kristen Gunning, recipient of a Sin City Tigers Alumni Scholarship, enrolled in LSU this fall.

The Cook Hotel manager, John Grubb, LSU Alumni Association Vice President Jason Ramezan, and

former LSU and NFL great Michael Clayton.

Sin City Tigers gathered at the Fremont Street Experience for the Las Vegas Chapter’s eleventh

crawfish boil.



LSU Alumni Association News SoCal Stages 26th Annual Crawdad Boil

By Cathy Mueller More than 300 LSU fans gathered on April 26 for the Southern California chapter’s 26th annual crawfish boil.

It was a beautiful sunny day at the beach but quite windy, making the event set up a challenge. The crawfish were outstanding, as was the rest of the menu – deep pit pork, jambalaya, boudin and Abita beer, all complemented by jazz and Louisiana music from the Mudbug Brass Band. Special guests at the event were LSU Alumni Association President Charlie Roberts and several members of the Association staff.

During the event, chapter officers announced the naming of a scholarship for the late Charles Jeffery, who provided outstanding leadership for the chapter for many years. Roberts informed members that a brick bearing Jeffery’s name would be placed on Tiger Walk in his honor.

Proceeds from the successful silent auction and raffle once again allowed the chapter to make a significant contribution to its scholarship fund, which provided awards for three Los Angeles-area students in 2013-2014.

on the weB www.lsusocal.org

Tom Pyburn and Dorothy Coats.Los Angeles-area Tigers enjoy crawfish at Seaside

Lagoon on Redondo Beach.


lsualumni.org/membership | 1-888-RING-LSU

at WoRkyoUR aLUmNI DoLLaRS

Thanks to the generous support of alumni and friends twenty-four distinguished faculty and graduate students were recognized this spring with awards sponsored by the LSU Alumni Association.

LSU aLUmNI aSSocIatIoN PRofeSSoRShIP

$6,200 of the professorship stipend

Griffin Campbell, Music, J. Franklin Bayhi Alumni Professor; Sharon Weltman, English, William E. “Bud” Davis Alumni Professor; David Young, Physics & Astronomy, Webster Parish Chapter Alumni Professor

LSU aLUmNI aSSocIatIoN facULty exceLLeNce

aWaRD$2,000

LSU aLUmNI aSSocIatIoN RISING facULty

ReSeaRch aWaRD$5,000

LSU aLUmNI aSSocIatIoN teachING aSSIStaNt

aWaRD $1,000

PhI kaPPa PhI NoN-teNUReD

facULty aWaRD $500

Sibel Bargu Ates, Oceanography & Coastal Sciences; Jeffrey Blackmon, Physics & Astronomy; Eun Jin Cho, Theatre; Karl Roider, History

David Chicoine, Geography & Anthropology; Jennifer Davis, English; Louis Haber, Chemistry

Lorelei Patrick, Biological Sciences; David Riche, English

LSU aLUmNI aSSocIatIoNDIStINGUISheD

DISSeRtatIoN aWaRD$2,000

Caitlin King, Biological Sciences

Top row: Kristine DeLong, Geography & Anthropology; Zach Godshall, English; Blake Howe, Music; Neil Johannsen, Kinesiology, Crystal Johnson, Environmental Sciences; Bottom row: Katherine Stamps Mitchell, Social Work; Supratik Mukhopadhyay, Computer Science; Ying Wang, Mechanical Engineering; Sophie Warny, Geology & Geophysics; Hongchao Zhang, Mathematics

JoSePhINe a. RobeRtSLSU aLUmNI aSSocIatIoN

DIStINGUISheD DISSeRtatIoN aWaRD

$2,000 Michael Robinson, History


LSU Alumni Association News DeSoto Parish Honors Favorite Son Lod Cook

By Gil RewPhotos by Karen Stewart

The DeSoto Parish Chapter honored its treasured native son Lod Cook at a banquet held on May 22 at the Clista Andrew Calhoun Center.

Some 235 childhood friends, admirers, and chapter members were among the guests gathered to honor Cook. Chapter President John Russell, Vice-President Dudley Glenn, and Secretary Tommy Craig presided over the program, which featured guest speaker Dr. Tommy Casanova.

Joe Salter, undersecretary of management and finance at the Secretary of State’s office, read a proclamation declaring May 22 Lod Cook Day in the State of Louisiana and presented a proclamation acknowledging Cook’s contributions to the state and to LSU.

Cook also received proclamations from DeSoto Parish governmental groups and a plaque in recognition of the honor and distinction he has brought to the city, the parish, the state, and his family.

Also recognized at the banquet was Dave Means, who was presented a plaque marking the establishment of a chapter-funded scholarship honoring his father, the late David Beverly Means, Jr. Billy Bennett received the chapter’s Purple & Gold Award, presented annually to an ABC (Alumnus-by-Choice), who “bleeds purple and gold” in service to the chapter, and Casanova received the Lod Cook Spirit of Excellence Award for his lifetime of steadfast excellence in his many endeavors on behalf of Louisiana, LSU, his profession, and his family.

on the weB www.desotolsu.org

Lod Cook, seated, with, from left, Tommy Craig, Dr. Tommy Casanova, John Russell, and Dr. Gil Rew.

Billy Bennett received the DeSoto Parish Chapter’s Purple & Gold Award.

Lod Cook, center, with Jeanne and Dr. Tommy Casanova. Dave Means, left, receives a plaque establishing a scholarship in his father’s name from Dudley Glenn.


Buffalo wild wings

Photos by L a r r y H u b b a r d

J o h n n y G o r d o n

A s h l y n n M c C o r m i c k

E m i l y B e r n i a r d

Happy Anniversary

Lod Cook Alumni Center Celebrates

Twenty Years

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captured the character & attributes of its

namesake as has the Lod Cook

A lumni Center.

has ever so perfectly

No building

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Domino’s Pizza owned by Chip and Mary Burr

Greater Baton Rouge Alumni Chapter

Jeff and Jamie Purpera

Jerry and Nancy Dumas

The Newtron Group

Stan and Carol Williams

Tiger Athletic Foundation

The Bengal Belles

P u R P L E L E v E LG o L D L E v E LLod Cook

Thelma S. “Sugar” Woods

Raising Canes Chicken Fingers

T i G E R L E v E LKent and Yvonne Anderson

The Lod Cook Alumni Center – a springboard for the many

achievements realized by the LSU Alumni Association

– observed its twentieth anniversary on May 20, 2014,

commemorating the past and heralding a bright future in the

decades ahead.

The evening’s festivities began with a reception at The Cook

Hotel, featuring entertainment by the Baton Rouge Caledonian

Pipes & Drums and the Vintage Band from Tigerland. Lod

Cook and the Vintage Band led the way as guests strolled from

the hotel to the Lod Cook Alumni Center for the anniversary

dinner and program. Following a welcome by President Charlie

Roberts and the invocation – “Amazing Grace” played by the

Caledonian Pipes & Drums – the U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp

played the “LSU Alma Mater,” as well as the national anthem

after the LSU Pershing Rifles Color Guard posted the colors.

Swamp Romp, a part of the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,”

of Washington, D.C., is co-led by LSU alumni SFC Graham

Breedlove – LSU’s 2011 Young Alumnus of the Year – and MSG

Harry Watters. The group presented a lively twenty-minute

concert during the event, delighting guests with the sounds of

South Louisiana’s jazz, zydeco, and Cajun music.

Speaking on behalf of the National Board of Directors,

Chairman Gil Rew welcomed guests to the celebration of

“twenty years of phenomenal contributions to our state, its

flagship university, and the nation.”

“No building has ever so perfectly captured the character and

attributes of its namesake as has the Lod Cook Alumni Center,

the vision of two men – Charlie Roberts and Lod Cook – who

believed in dreaming big and working tirelessly to create this

building,” he said. “You made all this possible, and the best is

yet to come.”

T H A N K S T o o u R S P o N S o R S

Previous page: 1. Carolyn and Ron Johnson, Gregg Cordaro. 2. Susan Herring, Patty Cook Chamb, Billye Cook Herring, Kristen Collins, Sherry Cook Collins, Cathy Cook Curtis, Karen Mitchell Romero, Christie Mitchell Faugot, Sarah Mitchell, Allison Munson Cook, and Elizabeth Cook. 3. U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp. 4. Happy Anniversary! 5. Guests stroll to the Lod Cook Alumni Center to the tunes of the Vintage Band from Tigerland. 6. A souvenir key to the Lod Cook Alumni Center. 7. Cissy Babb, Rebecca Benhard, Beverly Shea, and Mandy Cordaro. 8. The Baton Rouge Caledonian Pipes and Drums. 9. Edwin and Trina Edwards. 10. The Lod Cook family. 11. Louisiana Radio Network President Jim Engster and Lod Cook. 12. LSU Pershing Rifles Color Guard present the colors. 13. Ronnette King, Johnny Butler, and Roy King. 14. Bob Bozeman and Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite. Left page: 15. Billy Cannon, Bud Johnson, Tracy Jones, and Dot Cannon. 16. Dorothy Howell, seated, John Capdevielle, Jan Grovolet, Mary and Charles Barré. 17. Steve Tope, Elise Kaufman, Beth Tope, and Charles Kaufman. 18. Lod Cook and President and Chancellor F. King Alexander. 19. Sarah Mitchell, Clayton Cook, Elizabeth Cook, and Allison Cook. 20. Sugar Woods and Luke Davis. 21. Sarah Clayton, Cleve Brooks, and Jan Liuzza. 22. MSG Christal Rheams. 23. Lod Cook and Charlie Roberts. 24. Lod Cook, seated, with Don Reich, Kurt Warner, and Bill Cook. 25. Lod Cook and Cliff Vannoy present the Golden Key to National Board Chair Gil Rew. 26. Kris Kirkpatrick and Jeanie and Russell Washer.

O n May 20, 1994, the Lod Cook Alumni Center opened with a black-tie event that included fireworks, a twenty-one gun salute, jazz music, a gourmet meal, and a thousand-

person guest list highlighted by three former u.S. presidents.


Thanking Cook for his support , President and Chancellor

F. King Alexander referred to LSU’s May graduating class,

the largest in the University’s history, as the “core of what our

alumni and our alumni center is and what it’s going to be.”

“We would not have gotten here without your support, Lod,”

he said. “Thank you for all you’ve done for us, and know that the

mission of this great public university remains strong. We are

honored to have your success and to know that we’ve graduated

a whole bunch of Lod Cooks who are going to transform the

economies of this region, this nation, this world.”

When he stepped to the podium, Cook – as he often does –

ribbed Roberts. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” he said,

“Charlie Roberts is the most expensive friend I ever had. Always

wanting to build something.”

He paid tribute to individuals present at the building’s

dedication “who are no longer with us, Rouse Caffey, Gerald

Ford, and my wife, Carole. I sure do miss her,” he said, “She

didn’t graduate from LSU but she supported everything I did.”

“This building has allowed us to do great things,” he

continued. “Between the alumni center and The Cook Hotel,

we pay half of the Association’s costs. That was my dream,

to do something that would keep spinning off money for the

Association to operate.”

In 1994, Justin Babin, LSU’s oldest graduate, and JoLynn

Wiemer, the newest graduate, removed a “Golden Key” from

its box, symbolically claiming “ownership” of the new alumni

center for current and future graduates. Recalling that moment,

Cook presented the Golden Key to the Association’s National

Board of Directors through Chairman Gil Rew to pass on to

generations to come. Replicas of the key were given to guests

at the dedication, and that tradition was carried on at the

anniversary celebration.

Swamp Romp vocalist MSG Christal Rheams ended the

program with a rousing rendition of “God Bless the USA,” as

purple and gold balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling, and

a dazzling fireworks display outside the building entertained

guests as they said their good-byes.

on the weB View and download photos at www.lsualumni.org/photo-gallery


Above photos: 27. Lod Cook cuts the cake as Board Chair Gil Rew and President and Chancellor F. King Alexander look on. 28. Guests join in the fun as Swamp Romp plays “Mardi Gras Mambo.” 29. The Vintage Band from Tigerland. 30. A dazzling fireworks display entertained guests as they departed. 31. Kristen Collins and Kurt Warner.

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29 30 31


B efore entertaining at the Lod Cook Alumni Center 20th Anniversary gala, Swamp Romp played a special concert for the University and Baton Rouge

communities on May 19 at Tiger Band Hall.Billed as a “Louisiana Musical Tribute to Louisiana

Veterans,” the free, ninety-minute show included a mix of jazz, Dixieland, ragtime, zydeco, and Cajun music, as well as the group’s original compositions.

From their entrance – a musical walk to the stage from the back of the room – to their “up-close-and-personal” second-line end of show, Swamp Romp shared the joyful sounds of South Louisiana with an audience of more than 400, often encouraging them be a part of the performance. And, the “Armed Forces Medley” brought Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Army veterans and their families to their feet to sing their respective songs.

A Tribute to Veterans

Clockwise from top left: U.S. Army Blues Swamp Romp with vocalist MSG Christal Rheams; MSG Christal Rheams ready to join the second line; SFC Graham Breedlove and MSG Harry Watters rouse the crowd for a second-line show ender; Swamp Romp makes a musical entrance.

ARMY BLuES SWAMP RoMP PERFoRMS AT LSu

Written By brenda macon

Photos by eddy Perez & Jim Zietz

L I f e c o U R S e & aG I N G c e N t e R m a k e S a

W I D e - R a N G I N G I m Pac t

ReachINGaN aGe



whetheR It’S SUPPoRtING facULty,

graduate,and undergraduate research, filling a

need for volunteers in local service agencies, or

hosting remarkable guest speakers, LSU’s intercollegiate Life

Course and Aging Center (LCAC) serves its many constituents

admirably. A clearinghouse for a number of activities that serve

vital functions on campus and in the community since August

2000, LCAC draws on the experience, research, and passion of

the faculty from its member colleges. Executive director Katie

Cherry and associate executive director Priscilla “Lilly” Allen

work with these faculty from a broad range of specializations to

improve the quality of life not only of the aging populations they

study, but also of their students, the community, and the nation.


CollaborationLCAC fosters a cooperative spirit among its many constituents. Faculty and students from departments and schools such as human ecology (College of Agriculture); education, kinesiology, social work, and human resource education and workforce development (College of Human Sciences & Education); communication sciences and disorders, psychology, and sociology (College of Humanities & Social Sciences); and biological sciences and chemistry (College of Science) routinely work together on research, instruction, and community projects. Through the center, faculty and students from these units also work with outside non-profits such as Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge and Alzheimer’s Services. The cooperative nature of the center is also evident in the different backgrounds of its two leaders: Cherry is a full professor in the Department of Psychology; Allen is an associate professor in the School of Social Work.

The center builds bridges not only between the colleges at LSU, but also brings together faculty, administrators, students, and clients from other institutions as well. For the benefits of both students and faculty, LCAC works with other area programs, including Our Lady of the Lake Gerontology Program, Our Lady of the Lake Long-term Care Administration Program, LSU Shreveport’s Institute in Human Services and Public Policy, and University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Institute of Gerontology. The depth of this collaborative effort allows for unfathomable opportunities.

Supporting Student ResearchStudents who participate in courses and majors that have a connection with the center are encouraged to pursue research in their chosen fields. The annual luncheon serves as one venue through which graduate student researchers are recognized. Each year at the event, graduate students summarize and present their work for the poster contest.

This year, at the 11th Annual Community Partners Luncheon, which was held in March 2014 at the Lod Cook Conference Center, Antonius Skipper’s poster was selected. Skipper recognized that the likelihood of falling among older adults increases the debilitating loss of confidence among this population. He also knew that the risk of falls is greater for African American and low-income older adults. With these facts in mind, Skipper studied the validity and reliability of the shortened, six-item Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-6), a scale that is commonly used to assess balance confidence in older adults, particularly those in underserved populations. He presented his work to show that this shortened version of the scale is both a valid and reliable scale for measuring balance confidence among underserved older adults and that it may be preferable to the longer ABC-16.

Students like Skipper graduate and become valuable contributors to the ongoing quest for solutions to health issues and for relief for those who suffer because of those issues. One such graduate is Micah Klumpp, who received her undergraduate degree in 1998, her master’s degree in 2001, and her Ph.D in 2010, all from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Working on her

Micah Klumpp, right, who holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in communication science and disorders, exams her patient’s eye movements for signs of vestibular disorders and neurological issues.

Antonius Skipper’s poster took top honors at the Community Partner Luncheon.


undergraduate and master’s degrees gave her the direction she wanted for her career, but it was a combination of writing her master’s thesis and working with patients with vestibular disorders that inspired her passion.

“Asking questions and solving problems through scientific research…developed a hunger inside me to continue,” Klumpp explained. “I was fascinated by how such small organs [the vestibular system] in the human body could create such disablement and lead to decreased quality of life. Concomitantly, while in my offsite clinical practicum, I was observing the physical, functional, and emotional handicap this disorder was causing my patients.”

“During my first year of work as a clinical audiologist in south Alabama, I saw the importance of interdisciplinary care for an aging population and a pediatric population as well. In my free time, I investigated everything I could find relating to the vestibular system. Through two of my former professors, I learned that a fellowship and enhancement were available through LCAC with the requirement of an interdisciplinary program. That’s when I decided to pursue my Ph.D. via LCAC and COMD at LSU.”

Klumpp is now a clinical/research audiologist, focusing primarily on assessment diagnostics and rehabilitation of vestibular disorders, with Our Lady of the Lake Hearing & Balance Center in Baton Rouge. As part of her work, she participates with her colleagues in retrospective studies that lead to publications and presentations. Through her research and her work with patients, she is actively helping to find and implement solutions for vestibular disorders.

Skipper’s and Klumpp’s work serve as prime examples of the practical and useful research that LCAC students perform. Added to that, these students are working in fields that directly impact such important areas as an aging population.

Service-Learning: Charlie’s PlaceBesides making a difference in the lives of real people through research, the center also serves as a conduit for student internships, practicums, and course

Charlie’s Place Director Dana Territo, left, and Program Coordinator Katherine Schillings have strong ties to LSU.

“During my first

year of work

as a clinical

audiologist,

. . . I saw the

importance of

interdisciplinary

care for an aging

population.”

LSU student volunteer Zoë Williams chats with two participants in the adult activities group at Charlie’s Place. Williams, a senior in COMD, became involved through a course she was taking.

Professor Neila Donovan’s course, Survey in Adult Neurologic Communication Disorders, in the spring 2014 semester. Williams selected Donovan’s course as an elective because she found the topic interesting, and the service-learning component of the course was an added bonus for her.

As part of the course requirements, each student spends 10 hours during the semester at Charlie’s Place. Through their service at the respite center, students have the opportunity to observe and interact with older adults who have neurologic disorders in a non-threatening, social setting.

“This opportunity gave me a way to see what it would be like to work with geriatric clients,” she explained. “Besides, I’m seeing the neurologic disorders that we learn about in class first-hand. While I haven’t decided yet what age group I want to work with, my first impression of this group has been great.”

Williams intends to continue into graduate school to pursue an advanced degree in speech/language pathology.

Another former LSU student who served at Charlie’s Place while she was working on her master’s degree in social work at LSU is Katherine Schillings. She originally intended to pursue her degree in the area of child and family studies within the LSU School of Social Work, but shortly after she entered the graduate program, her beloved grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As a way to learn as much as she could about the disease so that she could contribute to her grandmother’s care, Schillings switched to a focus on gerontology issues in social work.

participation that provide the students with valuable experiences and their host organizations with fresh perspectives and eager, enthusiastic helpers. These opportunities also allow the students to see for themselves what career possibilities are available for them, and the organizations get to know potential employees before they make hiring decisions.

One such organization with which the center works is Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, a non-profit organization that serves Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes. The organization operates Charlie’s Place, an adult respite center that provides supervised activities for those with early- to mild-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia-related disorders.

At Charlie’s Place, clients participate in a variety of activities that are designed to stimulate cognition and socialization. With field trips, computer classes, arts and crafts, exercise sessions, or any of the array of other events on the calendar, the participants stay busy in a home-like atmosphere. The staff-to-client ratio is 1:3, and LSU student interns help keep that ratio low by assisting the full-time staff members with the many activities. Because intergenerational activities are also part of the mix, students have the opportunity to work with children as well and to witness the interactions between these very different age groups.

Zoë Williams, a senior majoring in communication sciences and disorders, was recently one of the student volunteers at Charlie’s Place. Williams became involved through Associate


Through her major professor, Associate Professor Scott Wilks, she completed a service-learning stint at Charlie’s Place while she gathered information for her thesis, “Spiritual Support as Coping Among Alzheimer’s Caregivers.” Her thesis explores how spiritual support creates a positive outlook among caregivers, thus allowing them to feel less burdened by their situations and to handle stress more effectively than others without such a support.

Her time at Charlie’s Place convinced her that the work she was doing with Alzheimer’s and dementia clients was her true calling. Through the School of Social Work and in cooperation with the Life Course and Aging Center, Schillings received her master’s degree in social work and a certification in gerontology. She also felt well prepared when she took—and passed—the licensing exam after she graduated.

“I don’t think I would have found this calling if not for the gerontology program at LSU,” Schillings explained.

Meanwhile, she had fallen in love with the clients and staff at Charlie’s Place, and they felt the same way about her. The organization’s program coordinator left to enter law school during the final days of Schillings’s term, and she approached Director Dana Territo about filling the position. As a result, Schillings became the first social worker hired by the organization in its 30-year history.

“Katherine came to me and made a great case for being hired,” Territo recalled. “She had already proven to be an exemplary student volunteer, and she explained that what she lacked in experience, she could make up for in passion for her clients. That’s what impressed me. Experience can be gained, but passion is what sets you apart. She saw her work as an adventure, that an Alzheimer’s diagnosis does not mean that life is over.”

Territo’s recollection made both of them smile. “And adventures come often when you work with Dana,” Schillings laughed.

Community OutreachIn addition to working with students, non-profit organizations, and other institutions, the Life Course and Aging Center also sponsors community outreach events throughout each year. One such event brought Holocaust survivor, forgiveness advocate, and public speaker Eva Kor to Baton Rouge in March

2014. The founder of CANDLES, a Holocaust museum and education center in Terre Haute, Indiana, Kor advocates for peace and education through her public appearances.

Having just celebrated her 80th birthday, Kor spoke before a standing-room-only crowd at the Pennington conference center about her experience in the concentration camp at Auschwitz where she and her twin sister Miriam endured months of traumatic experimentation at the hands of Josef Mengele. Speaking with authority and passion, Kor ended her presentation by explaining that forgiving her tormentors allowed her to free herself from the anger that had threatened to consume her.

“Anger is a seed for war,” she reiterated. “Forgiveness is a seed for peace.”

Bringing guests like Kor to Baton Rouge is part of the center’s mission and reflects the goals that Katie Cherry and Lilly Allen have for the center to be as inclusive and encompassing of its field as possible. Providing venues where all generations can learn from each other is the daily business of the Life Course and Aging Center.

Into the FutureAs one of several research clusters created in 2000 to cross traditional departmental and collegiate lines, the Life Course and Aging Center continues to produce research, graduates, and community networks that are impressive for their excellence and their reach. A dedicated cadre of faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, and external supporters sustains the energy and momentum that propel the center forward.

Brenda Macon is a writer/editor in the LSU Office of Communications & University Relation and former editor of Kaleidoscope, the magazine of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences.

on the weB lsuagingstudies.com

“I don’t think I would have found this calling if not for

the gerontology program at LSU”



AroundCaMPus noteworthy

darrell henry, Campanile Charities Professor of Geology & Geophysics, has a new mineral species named in his honor, recognizing his significant contributions to the mineralogy and petrology of the tourmaline supergroup minerals. “Darrellhenryite,” a new species of tourmaline, was discovered by geologists in the Czech Republic. The published article describing the new species states, “The name is for Darrell J. Henry, professor of geology at the Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA, an expert on the mineralogy, petrology, crystal chemistry, and nomenclature of tourmaline-supergroup

minerals.” The honor marks the first time that a mineral has been named after anyone from LSU.

suzanne Marchand, an internationally known and respected researcher in the field of German history, was awarded a Boyd Professorship, the LSU System’s highest and most prestigious academic rank, by the Board of Supervisors on May 9. Marchand received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkley in 1984, and a master’s degree in 1985 and a Ph.D. in 1992, both from the University of Chicago. She began her teaching career in 1991 as an instructor at the University of Chicago. She worked as an assistant professor and then associate professor at Princeton University before coming to LSU in 1999. She is LSU’s forty-seventh Boyd Professor.

erin Percevault, of Verona, N.J., was selected by the Landscape Architecture Foundation as the undergraduate winner of the 2014 Olmsted Scholars Program, the premier national award and recognition program for landscape architecture students. Percevault, who expects to graduate in May 2015, will receive the $15,000 undergraduate prize; lifetime use of the designation of 2014 National Olmsted Scholar; complimentary tickets to the Landscape Architecture Foundation Annual Benefit in November in Denver, Colo.; and a feature story on the Landscape Architecture Foundation website highlighting her research, work, and/or other projects.

ward Plummer, professor of physics and astronomy, special assistant to the vice chancellor of research and economic development, and director of the Institute for Advanced Materials, will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in October. The academy was founded by Benjamin Franklin and is one of the oldest scientific societies. Plummer, widely considered one of the world’s leading physicists, has served on many national and international committees both to review existing scientific programs and to identify future directions for science and technology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which was founded by Abraham Lincoln.

dereck rovaris, sr., formerly associate vice chancellor for academic and multicultural affairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, became LSU’s vice provost for diversity in July. Rovaris earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas with a triple major in psychology, human development and family life, and crime and delinquency studies. He worked for three years as a financial aid counselor at Xavier University of Louisiana, where he earned an M.A. in guidance and counseling, and he later earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Illinois.

Suzanne MarchandDarrell Henry Erin Percevault

Ward Plummer Dereck Rovaris


Stanley Wilder

stanley wilder, university librarian at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, has been named dean of LSU Libraries. Prior to arriving in Charlotte in 2009, Wilder served as assistant and associate dean at the University of Rochester for ten years, and he served another ten-year period at the LSU Libraries, first as assistant to the dean for administrative services and later as assistant dean for technical and financial services. Wilder began his professional career as the manager of the Architecture and Art Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, an M.L.S. degree from Columbia University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

LSU is the top university in the nation in granting Ph.D. degrees in chemistry to women and underrepresented minority students, according to a study published in the Journal of Chemical Education. The study cites LSU’s growth specifically in chemistry Ph.D. degrees awarded to women – 49 percent growth from 2005-2009 – and African-American students – 19 percent growth from 2005-2009. LSU is also the top university listed, with 11 percent growth from 2005-2009, in the number of chemistry Ph.D. degrees awarded to all groups of underrepresented minority students.

The fashion design and fashion merchandising programs within the Department of Textiles, Apparel Design & Merchandising ranked among the best in the nation this year by Fashion-Schools.org. Nationally, the program was ranked No. 31, while its fashion design program was ranked No. 38. The fashion design program also ranked No. 5 among schools in the ranking’s southern region, and its fashion merchandising program ranked No. 6.


Around Campus In FocusTruman Scholar – The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation announced in April that LSU junior Marlee Pittman was awarded the prestigious Truman Scholarship. Approximately sixty Truman Scholarships are awarded nationwide annually. Pittman, an Honors College student and political science major with a concentration in global diplomacy and minors in economics, international studies, and history, expects to graduate in May 2015, after which she hopes to pursue graduate studies in public policy and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She joins LSU’s eight previous Truman Scholars. Photo by Eddy Perez

Marlee Pittman


Tiger TriviaTiger Triviaanswers: 1:b 2:c 3:a 4:d 5:b 6:c 7:a 8:d 9:b 10:c 11:a 12:d

1. in what year did an airplane crash on campus? (Note: No injuries resulted from the crash.)

1903 1912 1926 1958

2. What were the circumstances of the crash? It was the first airplane flight over The plane was carrying an aerial

Baton Rouge photographer and overshot the landing The plane was making the first air The pilot was practicing aerobatics

mail flight between New Orleans andBaton Rouge and overshot the landing

3. Which U.S. president lived near the Baton rouge military post that would later become LSU’s downtown campus?

Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore James K. Polk Andrew Jackson

4. Which building on campus is thought to be haunted? Tiger Stadium Evangeline Hall Annie Boyd Hall Pleasant Hall

5. What position did Troy Middleton hold immediately before becoming president?

Dean of Men Comptroller Commandant of Cadets Dean of Administration

6. Who was the first Tiger football player to be named all-american? “Doc” Fenton “Fatty” Ives “Gus” Tinsley “Gus” Kinchen

7. What was the Tiger Train and when did it begin operating? It was a tram that provided It was the train that ran from

transportation around campus the downtown campus to the beginning in 1963 present campus

It was the name of LSU’s football It was Billy Cannon’s nickname defense beginning in 1958 beginning in 1959

8. What was LSU’s first sorority? Delta Delta Delta The CC Club Kappa Gamma Kappa Delta

9. according to the freshman rules of 1931, what kind of contest between male freshmen and sophomores would be held during the Homecoming game?

A dance marathon A tug-of-war A cheerleading contest A marching and drill contest

10. What would the freshmen be able to do if they won the contest in question 9?

They would be able to walk on the They would get seats on the grass in the Quad 50-yard line for the football game

They could discard their beanies They would no longer have to stand guard duty

11. according to the Cadet regulations of 1951, how often were rifles to be cleaned?

Weekly Twice per month Once per month Whenever they needed cleaning

12. What was the Panhellenion? A monument to the Greek system Another name for the

at LSU Greek Theater The area of campus where the The building where sororities

fraternity houses are located met before individual houses were constructed

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

Greek Gala – Twenty-eight individuals were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in their communities, their professions, and their fraternities or sororities at the Greek Excellence Gala on March 20. The event, held at the Lod Cook Alumni Center, raised more than $6,000 for the LSU Greek community to provide educational programs for students. Honorees include: Randy Morell, Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity; Randa Allen Patrick, Alpha Phi Sorority; Antonio Cousin, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Mary Ann Adcock Brown, Chi Omega Sorority; John B. Dunlap III, Delta Chi Fraternity; Ashley Weimar Alexander, Delta Delta Delta Sorority; Melanie Vicknair Johnson, Delta Gamma Sorority; Doris Gray Brown, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Sandy Colvin, Delta Zeta Sorority; William Biossat, Kappa Alpha Order; Lea Kennedy Seelbach, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority; Becky Mullin Armour, Kappa Delta Sorority; Sue Wilbert Turner, Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority; Lance D’Armond, Kappa Sigma Fraternity; Richard L. Bourgeois, Jr., Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity; Miguel H. Wood, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity; Gene Sausse, Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity; Marlon Anthony Boutin, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity; Megan Harney LaBruyere, Phi Mu Sorority; Teddi Hymel Hessburg, Pi Beta Phi Sorority; Thomas M. Smith, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity; Austin Durrett, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity; William Lake Douglas, Sigma Chi Fraternity; Thomas J. Adamek, Sigma Nu Fraternity; Christopher Furlow, Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity; Stephen Toups, Theta Xi Fraternity; Eric Shapiro, Theta Chi Fraternity; Lana Mancuso Truax, Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority.Photos by Teresia Greer

Twenty-eight individuals were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments at the Greek Excellence Gala.


Around Campus In Focus

ExxonMobil presents a check representing its match of employee donations.

Matching Gifts – ExxonMobil presented a check for $967,375.95 to the LSU Foundation in May as part of the ExxonMobil Foundation’s 2013 Educational Matching Gift Program. The gift represents the ExxonMobil Foundation match of 2013 employee, retiree, and surviving spouse donations of more than $386,000 to LSU, the LSU AgCenter, and the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Gifts were also made directly to the LSU Foundation and the LSU Alumni Association.

Community Partner Award recipients, from left, West Baton Rouge Parish Schools Superintendent David Corona; West Baton Rouge Parish Schools

Director of Special Education David Strauss; Theresa Townsend on behalf of the Dr. Leo S.

Butler Community and the Sensational Seniors Fitness Program; State Librarian Rebecca

Hamilton; and District Attorney Hillar Moore.

Faculty, staff, and alumni recognized were, from left, Sherry Deselle, accepting on behalf of Elaine Maccio, Advocate for Diversity Award; Laura Choate, Distinguished Research Award; Elon Dancy, Alumni Distinction Award; Elizabeth Dow, Distinguished Teaching Award; Mary Jack Wintle, Alumni Distinction Award; Cecile Guin, Engagement Award; Wanda Hargroder, Outstanding Service Award; Margaret Hart, Distinguished Ambassador Award; and Neil Johannsen, Early Career Award.

CHSE Awards – The LSU College of Human Sciences & Education held its annual Awards Banquet honoring distinguished alumni, supporters, faculty, and staff on May 1. Honorees were recognized for driving the mission of the college through their gifts, talents, and time.


liberty Mutual


Vice Chancellor for Student Life & Enrollment Kurt Keppler and Miss LSU 2014 Deandra De Napoli.

Around Campus In Focus

Spring Ring Day – One hundred and eighty-three of the nearly 350 students who purchased LSU Rings took part in the Ring Ceremony on April 27 at the LSU Student Union Theater. Vice Chancellor for Student Life & Enrollment Kurt Keppler presided over the program and joined Miss LSU 2014 Deandra De Napoli in explaining the history and symbolism of the LSU Ring before the rings were presented by Mike the Tiger and Miss LSU. Each ring spends the night before the ceremony in Mike VI’s habitat. The Ring Ceremony is sponsored by Student Life & Enrollment, Finance & Administrative Services, and the LSU Alumni Association.Photos by Candid Campus Photography

Thomas Rodgers receives his ring from Mike the Tiger.



Around Campus

By Ernie BallardPhotos by Eddy Perez and Jim Zietz

Record Breaking Spring Commencement

LSU awarded an honorary degree to six-time Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist Buddy Guy for his distinguished music career, and President and Chancellor F. King Alexander presented him a special LSU guitar, compliments of Guitar Center.

LSU’s Class of 2014 was a groundbreaking one for the University, with new records set for the number of degrees awarded to African Americans, Hispanics, and women.

At the spring commencement ceremony, 3,953 students received degrees, which is the largest number of degrees awarded at a single commencement, surpassing May 2012’s 3,824 students. The total Class of 2014 – students receiving degrees in previous summer and fall commencements combined with the current spring commencement – is also a record breaker for the University with numbers showing that about 6,367 students received degrees, coming ahead of 2012’s 6,251 graduates.

The Class of 2014 includes 570 African-American students, up from the previous high of 516 in the

class of 2013, reflecting a 10.5 percent increase. The Class also includes 240 Hispanic students, up from the previous high of 218 in the class of 2012, reflecting a 10.1 percent increase. Finally, the overall class has 3,421 women graduates, up from the previous high of 3,305 in the class of 2012, reflecting a 3.5 percent increase.

The May 2014 graduating class represents fifty-seven Louisiana parishes, forty-seven U.S. states, and fifty-seven foreign countries. Women made up 55.81 percent of the class and men made up 44.19 percent. The oldest graduate was sixty-nine and the youngest was nineteen. Of the 3,953 total graduates, 3,068 students received bachelor’s degrees; 689 received master’s degrees; five received education specialist certificates; 105 received Ph.D. degrees; eight received a Doctor of Musical Arts degrees; and seventy-eight received Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees.

United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus delivered the keynote address.

Taking part in the African American Cultural Center’s Robing Ceremony were from left, front, Diane Thomas, Carlice Collins, Amelia Hayes Pulliam, Aaron Hardnett, Irene Jackson Townsend, Artice Dunbar Hedgemon, Charlotte St. Amant Mathis, Veronica Harris Brown, and A.P. Turead

Black Alumni Chapter President Rachel Emanuel; back, Interim Vice Provost for Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ken Miles, Oliver

Mack, Jr., Leon Anderson, Charles West, Freya Anderson Rivers, and Henry Stewart, III.


Fifty-three graduating seniors with the highest grade-point averages received the University Medal.

Newly commissioned Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC cadets were recognized at spring commencement.


In any given year, LSU has approximately 200-300 active duty, National Guard, reserve, or veteran members of the U.S. military enrolled on its campus. Now, those students will have a new place to work, relax, talk to somebody, or just hang out – at the new LSU Veteran & Military Student Services student center.

The veterans center, located at 318 Hatcher Hall, will serve as a dedicated space for veterans, active duty military, reservists, and National Guard members, as well as their dependents. The center will feature three rooms: an administration office, study lounge/computer center, and main meeting room. It will provide space for individual or group study sessions, computer and print capabilities, and a focal point on campus for these students to form supportive communities during the transition from military to civilian life. In addition, the center will have nine laptop computers available for student use through a grant application, and two student work-study positions funded through the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

Veteran & Military Student Services celebrated the center’s opening last April with an open house attended by students, faculty, and staff, as well as President and Chancellor F. King Alexander.

“LSU has such a rich military history,” said Alexander. “We want it to have just as rich of a military future, and this space will help with that. We want our service men and women around the world to know that when they come home from duty, LSU is a place for them.”

Recognized as an institutional best practice by Student Veterans of America (SVA) and other prominent leaders in the veteran education space, including the American Council on Education, resource centers have been shown to directly contribute to student veterans’ successful academic outcomes. LSU’s center was made possible with help from a $10,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation, in partnership with SVA.

On April 18, SVA and the Home Depot Foundation announced the recipients of $100,000 in grants through the VetCenter Initiative (VCI) partnership. Through the VCI, nearly 100 chapters applied for funds to construct veteran-specific resource centers on campuses across the country. LSU Veteran & Military Student Services was one of nearly one-hundred applicants. Student veterans demonstrated their enterprising spirit through application submissions in the forms of various media, including photos and film. A compilation of the winning video presentations, along with a message from the Home Depot Foundation, is available to view at http://bit.ly/1kIyx0h.

“This space is the first step as we develop comprehensive support and services for veterans, active military, and dependents,” said Darrell Ray, assistant vice chancellor for student life. “It also provides a foundation for educating our campus community on the rich military history of LSU.”

“It’s so great for these students to have the comfort of a place to go,” said Vice Chancellor of Student Life & Enrollment Kurt Keppler. “And this is not the end of what we hope to do here. We really want LSU to be known as a veteran-friendly place.”

Nick Trapani, president of Student Veterans of LSU, an organization with more than fifty members on campus, spoke of how difficult his first semester was on campus after leaving the military.

“I had a tough time,” he said. “I didn’t really know anybody, and then I joined SVA, and that became a place for me. I told myself that I didn’t want another veteran to go through that, and having a place like this will be so huge for us.”

Billy Gomila is an editor in Media Relations, Office of Communications & University Relations

on the weB students.lsu.edu/veterans

Vets Mark Opening of New Student Center

By Billy GomilaPhoto by Jim Zietz

From left, Vice Chancellor of Student Life & Enrollment Kurt Keppler; President and Chancellor F.

King Alexander; Nick Trapani, president of Student Veterans of LSU; Adam Jennings, coordinator of LSU

Veteran & Military Student Services; and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life Darrell Ray.

Around Campus

“I had a tough time . . . I didn’t want another veteran

to go through that . . . this will be so huge for us.”



Legislative Update 2014Around Campus

This year’s legislative session proved to be a departure from most in recent memory. Months prior to convening, Gov. Bobby Jindal and legislative leadership suggested that the time was ripe for a collective proposal from all Louisiana higher education. This concept sounds misleadingly simple, but public higher education is a group of colleges and universities that typically compete for resources and students. Coming together to form common goals and streamlined requests took some work and compromise, but the resulting plan included some key points:• Basestatefundingforhighereducationshouldremainunchanged• Investmentofanynewfundsshouldgotoprogramsproducinggraduates

in fields of high-demand to the Louisiana economy and to spur innovation within the state

In January, Jindal, House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, and Senate President John Alario announced their support of the proposal in a press conference held at LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business. Presidents from every public education system in the state watched as the governor outlined his support of the proposal, specifically identifying the central piece being the investment of $40 million into the “Workforce & Innovation for a Stronger Economy,” or WISE, Fund. This dedicated fund would reward universities for producing both high-demand graduates and innovative research. Later during session, the WISE Fund was adopted by the legislature without a single dissenting vote.

The session also saw key facility projects gain approval. Jindal backed both the Patrick F. Taylor Hall renovation and the addition for the College of Engineering. He also committed to a dollar-for-dollar match to both projects. LSU ultimately raised $55 million and the state approved an equal match. The French House renovation for the Honors College was also approved for construction, and funds for LSU’s Innovation Park and the redevelopment of the Nicholson Drive corridor were also granted.

LSU also received a legislative approval on administrative flexibilities common among other colleges in America. The most important autonomy was Sen. Jack Donahue’s tweak of the 2011 La GRAD Act, which provides for qualifying institutions – of which LSU is one – the opportunity to build and engage in a pilot procurement code.

“The WISE Fund was adopted by the legislature without a

single dissenting vote.”


Based on the procurement conversation, Donahue pushed through a separate bulk purchasing autonomy for all colleges’ participation. Senator Neil Riser raised the legislative approval threshold on facility projects to $1 million, which may not sound like much, but will expedite small improvements on the campus.

Prior to the close of this legislative session, Louisiana’s higher education system was among the lowest retirement benefits packages in the country. Employers’ contributions to those participating in the Optional Retirement Plan, or ORP, 401k was statutorily tied to a formula devised for another retirement plan and scheduled to drop below four percent. On top of that, Louisiana public employees do not participate in Social Security, so the 60 percent of employees who elected to join the ORP have no safety net. The legislature granted the LSU Board of Supervisors power to determine the employer contribution, with the goal of getting to 6.2 percent by 2018. These improvements will allow LSU to attract and retain the best faculty possible.

Looking AheadWhile the work is not over, the successes gleaned from this year were a contributing factor in the announcement of a 3 percent pay raise and the plan to fill some vacant faculty positions. LSU’s focus for the 2015 legislative session will be continued investment in our faculty and staff. LSU will also seek capital funds for projects primarily located in the historic district, such as Art Studios, Howe-Russell-Kniffen Complex, and Huey P. Long Field House. It is important to note that the upcoming legislative session will be the last before Louisiana’s gubernatorial and legislative elections begin.

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Focus onFaCulty Prof’s Program Requires Learning and Doing

Frank Neubrander is more than your average mathematics professor.Neubrander, who holds the Demarcus D. Smith Alumni Professorship, has

been teaching at the LSU for twenty-five years and was designated an Alumni Professor in 2005.

An advocate for students, Neubrander believes students should get the most out of the time spent at the University, and he uses his position as a professor to ensure they do.

In addition to teaching a host of mathematics classes, most focusing on calculus, Neubrander heads an undergraduate research project designed specifically around first-year students, an endeavor that he says is one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.

Many students are involved in the work-study program to help cut the cost of college tuition by working desk jobs in one of the campus departments. While this has many benefits, Neubrander offers a different type of work-study to students, one that he feels will gain them more experience in their particular area of study.

“This has developed over time,” Neubrander said. “In the beginning, it was born out of the need that I teach Science Residential College classes, and one of the things in these residential colleges is that you want to offer the students extra help sessions, and so I was looking for undergraduates to come after class and sit down with the kids who have problems.”

Neubrander said that he saw students who were receiving valuable awards, such as Chancellor’s Student Aide positions, working desk jobs. He thought their talents could be better utilized, and, after discussing the possibility in the math department, Neubrander’s new project was formed.

“Some of the time they do the paper stuff, but they can also fill their time sheets by tutoring,” Neubrander said.

The program evolved over time, and Neubrander began requiring research time in addition to the time students spent tutoring.

“You have to try to explain it to others, and you have to do a little bit of it yourself,” Neubrander said about the field of mathematics. He believes that the research component of the program will aid students in their future endeavors.

Neubrander met with students with whom he was working and suggested they meet one day a week for a couple of hours, and, at the end of the project, have a presentation about their research. Then, Neubrander said, the students had something to add to a résumé, and if he ever wrote one of them a letter of recommendation, he’d have something to back it up with.

As a result of Neubrander’s program, the Demarcus family endowed the Demarcus D. Smith III Mathematics Scholarship to support full-time undergraduate students. According to Neubrander, the family liked that students were able work to their chosen field early on and wanted to support such an endeavor.

Rebecca Docter is a junior in the Manship School of Mass Communication and entertainment editor for The Daily Reveille.

“Some of the time they do the paper stuff, but they can also fill their

time sheets by tutoring.”

By Rebecca DocterPhoto by Johnny Gordon

Alumni Professor of Mathematics Frank Neubrander.


LockerrooM

In any other year, LSU would be consumed by the dreaded (cue Beethoven’s Fifth) . . . QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY.

Two young quarterbacks – sophomore Anthony Jennings and freshman Brandon Harris – are likely to share the playing time this season. Jennings has game experience in his favor. Harris, according to the recruiting experts, has a “cannon for an arm.” Both are effective ball carriers. If either has an edge at this stage, it is Harris, whose upside as a passer has impressed everyone close to the team.

However, the quarterback derby may not occupy center stage in Tigertown in 2014.

Talented young players are providing competition at the skill positions on offense, such as the No. 1 recruit in the country – running back Leonard Fournette. Anywhere else he might be the featured back from day one. Fournette has all the tools – size, speed, power, balance, good hands, peripheral vision plus a great attitude. He impressed his teammates and his coaches with his attitude . . . before the team ever took the practice field.

Fournette may wind up as the Tigers’ most productive back. But senior Terrence Magee will not be easily relegated to No. 2. Only a battering ram named Jeremy Hill made him No. 2 last year. Magee has plenty of ability, and is recognized as a team leader. Football experts named him to the Doak Walker Award (a coveted prize for running backs) watch list, before the season started. Magee is held in such high esteem by his team members that he will wear No. 18 this season. That number was first worn by quarterback Matt Mauck during the 2003 national championship season. No one wears that number at LSU unless he has leadership qualities and a selfless, “team first” demeanor.

Two other tailbacks – senior Kenny Hilliard and freshman Darrell Williams – will compete for playing time. Historically, Coach Les Miles has had success playing multiple running backs in every game. The discussion among the Tiger faithful will focus upon which player should get the most opportunities with the football.

By Bud JohnsonPhotos provided by LSU Sports Information

LSU FootballYoung Players Fuel Competition at Skill Positions

Anthony Jennings

Quarterback conversation

Most LSU fans are talking about the competition at quarterback this season

between Brandon Harris, a true freshman, and sophomore Anthony

Jennings. But the Tigers have many talented

freshmen vying for playing time this season. Look

for Leonard Fournette, a freshman tailback, and

rookie receivers Malachi Dupre and Trey Quinn to

be added to the discussion before the season ends.

Brandon Harris


Before that debate escalates, however, there is another incoming high school All-America offensive weapon – freshman receiver Malachi Dupre. His size (6-3, 188) and leaping ability have the fan base excited.

Will Dupre make them forget Odell Beckham, Jr.? Or Jarvis Landry? Both were 1,000 yard receivers a year ago when the Tigers fielded their most productive offense ever. Departed quarterback Zach Mettenberger passed for 3,000 yards and running back Jeremy Hill, now in the NFL, rushed for 1,000 yards. Those numbers will be difficult to duplicate.

Sophomore Travin Dural, arguably the team’s fastest player, could easily be the Tigers’ top target. His playing time was limited a year ago because of the presence of Beckham and Landry.

In addition to Dupre, two other freshmen will furnish competition at receiver – the talented Trey Quinn, whose high school exploits were second to none. Quinn could surprise everyone with a breakout season. Then there is the versatile Tony Upchurch, a 6-2, 228-pounder who is adept at H-back as well as receiver.

Experience gives an edge to Jennings, Magee, and Dural in their quest for playing time. But Miles is noted for giving young athletes an opportunity.

So, there is much for Tiger fans to debate. Mostly on the offensive side of the ball.

There is talent, though youthful, all over the place. An experienced line offers stability for the offense. Cam Cameron, the offensive coordinator, seems unruffled by the fresh faces at key positions.

Remember the old Texas coach Darryl Royal? He had an expression for this situation.

“If a dog is going to bite you,” Royal said. “He’ll do it as a pup.”

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

Travin DuralTerrence Magee


“Something is going on in Cuba,” the man told me. The date was Oct. 9, 1962.

He was from Coral Gables, Fla., a little more than 200 miles from Cuba. His comment got my attention. The CIA’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion of April 17, 1961, had increased the tension between Washington and Moscow. Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev had threatened military retaliation if the U.S. invaded his new ally, the island nation of Cuba.

My informant was George Gallet. He was not in the CIA. He was the sports publicity director of the University of Miami, and he was in Baton Rouge to enlighten the media on the Hurricanes and their quarterback George Mira, one of the nation’s best passers. Mira led the

nation that year – in passes, completions, passing yardage, touchdowns, and eighteen interceptions.

Gallet’s comment about Cuba seemed to prioritize the events of the day. LSU’s home game that Saturday, Oct. 13, with the Hurricanes and Mira could wait a minute. “There are military vehicles and troop carriers everywhere in South Florida,” Gallet continued over lunch. “We must be getting ready to invade Cuba.”

The next day, Oct. 10, 1962, Gallet’s guessing had crystallized into front page headlines. Senator Kenneth Keating of New York told the national media, “six intermediate-range ballistic missile bases are being constructed in Cuba.” He demanded that President Kennedy take action.

Memoir

Cuban Missile Crisis Stifles Football TalkWhat a Time for a War!

Locker Room

By Bud Johnson

“Somehow the preoccupation with

the football season in Baton Rouge seemed to take a back seat to the

news on the front page.”


George Gallet told the Baton Rouge sports media that George Mira was the only quarterback in the country who was a threat as a runner, as a passer, and as a receiver.

LSU’s No. 5-ranked Tigers would have its hands full.

But who was listening?

Somehow the preoccupation with the football season in Baton Rouge seemed to take a back seat to the news on the front page. All the plans for pre- and post-game parties – and even the wheeling-and-dealing for Ole Miss tickets – lacked the urgency of the previous week.

The threat of nuclear war had pushed football into the background in Baton Rouge.

Three SEC teams – Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss – were nationally ranked that year. It was Coach Charles McClendon’s first season as the Tigers head coach. The Ole Miss Rebels were coming to town Nov. 3 for another big showdown.

What a time for a war!

President Kennedy, two weeks later, on Oct. 22, 1962, would address the nation to tell the American public what he knew. He confirmed the presence of offensive missile sites in Cuba. There were some tense days and nights before Kennedy and Khrushchev came to an agreement.

On Oct. 27, an American U-2 accidentally flew into Soviet airspace near Alaska. The jet was nearly intercepted by Soviet fighters. I didn’t check, but I suspect that George Mira was intercepted that week. The U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba on Oct. 29, 1962. Khrushchev agreed to remove Russian missiles from Cuba.

That Saturday – after the crisis had ended – LSU defeated Florida 23-0.

The Tigers were tied by Rice and beaten by Ole Miss, compiling a 9-1-1 record in 1962. But the Bengals were the bullies of the bowl season, thumping unbeaten Texas 13-0 in the Cotton Bowl. LSU’s Jerry Stovall and Fred Miller were selected to the All-America team.

And those Miami Hurricanes?

LSU defeated them 17-3. In their final game of the season, Miami lost to Nebraska 36-35 in something called the Gotham Bowl.

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


Tigernation

1940sFrancis M. toups (1949 BACH AGR), of Gulf Breeze, Fla., sends greetings and a “life update” to fellow alums through the following note: “I grew up in

Lockport, La., and graduated from Lockport High School in 1941. I participated in the invasion of Okinawa, Japan, as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, and, after graduating from LSU, worked as a ticket agent for Eastern Airlines at Moisant Airport in Kenner, La., taught in Lafourche Parish Schools for two years, and helped operate a family cattle farm at Lakeside Farms, Inc., in Lockport.” Contact Toups at 5263 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze, FL 32563.

1970svicki M. crochet (1977 BACH H&SS, 1980 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of Chambers USA: America’s

Leading Lawyers for Business, ranked for Labor & Employment.

Michael Dicarlo (1977 MAST HS&E) has been designated as emeritus dean of Library Services at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La. The presentation was

made on May 19 by Louisiana Tech President Leslie Guice. During DiCarlo’s thirty-year tenure, he has served as head of the reference and library automation departments, assistant director of public services, associate director of library services, and associate dean of library services. He was awarded the Thomas Jackson Magee Ross Endowed Professorship at Louisiana Tech in 2008, and he retired in 2013.

Florent Hardy, Jr. (1974 PHD HS&E), state director of archival services in the Office of the Secretary of State, received the Public Official of the Year

Award from the Louisiana Association of Museums in April. The award recognizes an elected or appointed official who has demonstrated special or sustained significant support of Louisiana’s museums and historic sites.

G. Lee Mikell (1979 BACH H&SS, 1983 MPA) has been named president of Corporate DevelopMint, a strategic planning and fundraising consulting firm in

Charleston, S.C. Mikell joined the firm in 2004 as a senior consultant. He served as vice president of business development and was named senior vice president in 2012. He previously held fundraising, advancement, and development positions in higher education, hospital foundations, and consulting firms including LSU, associate director of development; Jacksonville University, campaign director then advancement assistant vice president; and Millikin University in Illinois, director of alumni affairs, research, and the annual fund.

Frank X. neuner, Jr. (1972 BACH BUS, 1976 JD), founder and managing partner of NeunerPate, Lafayette, La., received the Louisiana Bar Foundation 2013

Distinguished Attorney Award on April 11. The award is given to those individuals who have distinguished themselves and brought credit and honor to the legal profession. He was named the LSU Law Center Distinguished Alumnus in 2008 and has served as president of the Louisiana State Bar Association, chair of the Louisiana Public Defender Board, and president of the Louisiana Client Assistance Foundation. He is a member of Louisiana, Texas, and American bar associations; Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute; Maritime Law Association of the United States; and Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. He is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and serves as the ABA state delegate for Louisiana. Neuner and his wife, the former Tracy Owens, have been married for forty-two years and have four children and four grandchildren.

degreesBACH Bachelor’s DegreeMAST Master’s DegreePHD DoctorateSPEC SpecialistDVM Doctor of Veterinary MedicineJD Juris Doctorate (LSU Law School)MD Medical Doctor (LSU School of Medicine)DDS Doctor of Dental Science (LSU School of Dentistry)

Colleges/schoolsAGR AgricultureA&D Art & DesignH&SS Humanities & Social SciencesSCI ScienceBUS BusinessHS&E Human Sciences & EducationENGR EngineeringM&DA Music & Dramatic ArtsMCOM Mass CommunicationSCE School of the Coast & EnvironmentSVM School of Veterinary MedicineSW Social Work


Harry J. “skip” Philips, Jr. (1972 BACH H&SS, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of Chambers

USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, ranked for Litigation: General Commercial.

oliver G. “rick” richard, iii (1974 BACH MCOM, 1977 JD) received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts

of America in June, recognizing his dedicated achievements on behalf of the Scout Oath and Law in Southwest Louisiana. Richard received his Eagle

Scout Award from Explorer Troop 135 in Lake Charles on Sept. 7, 1968.

Fredrick r. tulley (1970 H&SS), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading

Lawyers for Business, ranked for Litigation: Securities.

D.G. “Jerry” Wascom (1978 BACH ENGR) was appointed president of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Company and elected a vice president of Exxon Mobil

Corporation in August. Wascom, previously director of refining for North

American Exxon Mobil Refining & Supply, began his career in 1979 as a refining engineer at the Baton Rouge refinery for Exxon Company USA. He progressed through engineering and supervisory positions at company headquarters in Houston, Baytown, and Dallas, Texas, and, following an assignment in Singapore as refinery executive for the Far East, was named refinery manager in Beaumont, Texas. He was named global logistics and optimization manager for supply and transportation for Exxon/Mobil Refining & Supply in 2004. After serving as vice president of industrial and wholesale for ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Company in 2005, Wascom moved to Tokyo as president of ExxonMobil companies in Japan and was named refining director for the Asia Pacific region the following year.


Tiger Nation

Patricia J. Whitten (1971 BACH H&SS), a partner in Franczek Radelet, Chicago, has been elected to a two-year term on the Council of School Attorneys

(COSA) Board of Directors. Whitten has been involved with COSA for more than thirty years and has devoted her legal career to the practice of education law. She was previously general counsel to the Chicago Board of Education. Prior to that, she spent most of her career in the Chicago board’s law department and was the board’s first female and youngest general counsel. She was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Education Law Section Council and the Committee on Law Related Education for the Public, which she chaired. She is a founding member of the Illinois Council of School Attorneys and currently serves on its

executive board. Whitten earned a J.D., with honors, from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1974.

1980sMichael c. barron (1983 BACH H&SS), of Orange County, Calif., has joined ALAW, a creditors’ rights and real estate law firm, as managing partner,

overseeing foreclosure, bankruptcy, litigation and trustee oversight for ALAW West. Barron was previously general counsel for United Companies Financial Corporation in Baton Rouge, LOGS Financial Services in Chicago, and First American Mortgage Services Division. He earned a J.D. from the University of Houston.

Moanica caston (1988 BACH H&SS) has been elected as a board director and executive committee member for Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta for the 2014-2015

fiscal year. Caston has been affiliated with Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta since 2011. In that time, she has served on the board of directors and executive and human resources committees. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, the YWCA of Greater Atlanta and the Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery at Kennesaw State University. She is vice president of diversity and inclusion for Georgia Power, a former attorney with experience in labor and employment law, and a certified senior professional in human resources. Caston resides in Powder Springs, Ga., with her husband and their dog, Baxter.



Tiger Nation

Don cazayoux (1985 BACH H&SS, 1993 MAST H&SS), former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, Louisiana congressman, and state

legislator, and Lane Ewing, a former assistant U.S. Attorney, have established the law firm Cazayoux Ewing with offices in Baton Rouge and New Roads, La. After earning a law degree from Georgetown University, Cazayoux spent more than twenty years as a civil and criminal litigator. Cazayoux and Ewing previously practiced with the Long Law Firm in Baton Rouge.

Maury chatellier (1989 BACH H&SS, 1997 BACH ENGR) has joined Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, as water resource

department manager in New Orleans and will manage Dewberry’s operations in Louisiana. Chatellier has seventeen years of experience in water resources and coastal restoration. He previously served as chief of the engineering division for the Coastal Protection Restoration Agency, managing all of the operations of the division and providing oversight of thirty-five contracts. He served two terms as the American Society of Civil Engineers representative on the East Baton Rouge Parish Engineering Selection Board for the Department of Public Works and is a licensed professional engineer in Louisiana.

anne J. crochet (1980 BACH MCOM, 1983 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of Chambers USA:

America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, ranked for Environment.

brett P. Furr (1983 H&SS, 1986 JD), an attorney with Taylor Porter in Baton Rouge, was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of Chambers USA: America’s

Leading Lawyers for Business, ranked for Bankruptcy/Restructuring.



Tiger Nation

susan Halsey (1980 BACH BUS, 1983 JD), a partner in Jackson Walker’s Fort Worth office, was selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of Chambers

USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Halsey, ranked for Real Estate (Texas), was “especially noted for her transactional expertise, honed over twenty-five years working in the Texas market.”

sarah Holliday (1984 BACH H&SS) was commended for her outstanding leadership of the Capital City Republican Women (CCRW) in Regular

Session 2014 Enrolled Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 97 by Sen. Elbert Guillory, D-Opelousas. A lead charter member of the organization, Holliday was the first African American to serve in that role and was the first elected African-American club president. She was a vice president of Louisiana Federation of Republican Women for Region Six, representing the Republican women of Ascension, Iberville, East Baton Rouge, Evangeline, Livingston, Point Coupee, St. Landry, and West Baton Rouge parishes, and, while serving in these leadership roles, she volunteered for other service programs within her community. Holliday received the 2013-2014 Humanitarian Award from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity-Opelousas Alumni Chapter, recognizing her outstanding service and dedication to the Baton Rouge community, and the Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award from ReBirth Magazine.

barry keegan (1986 BACH ENGR), of Metairie, La., started his engineering career with Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) in 1987 and worked for

seventeen years on the external tank program for the shuttle at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. After the program shut down, he helped spearhead another Lockheed Martin company to start building cryogenic tanks – tanks to hold liquefied natural gas for commercial applications – at the facility. Keegan was the equipment engineer from 1998 to 2001 for the first machine put into place to start the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing at the NASA Michoud Facility. His daughter, Kelley Keegan, is a third-year mechanical engineering student at LSU.

Deborah Malick san Gabriel (1984 MAST MCOM), of Lynn, Mass., is the founding editor of the Belle Isle Review, a non-profit journal of the arts. Malick was a free-lance journalist for ten years and worked as a nautical antiques dealer for three years. “I have been a stay-at-home mom for the past sixteen years and am currently a master’s degree candidate in English literature at University of Massachusetts-Boston,” she writes. “The Review would love to receive LSU alumni submissions!” Write to [email protected] for a spec sheet.

bernard L. Malone, iii (1984 BACH ENGR), of Little Rock, Ark., received the 2014 IEEE Chairman’s Award from the IEEE Communications Society

CQR (Communications, Quality, and Reliability) Committee. The award recognizes his “sustained contributions in advancing the envelope of communications services, networks and systems; going beyond the call of duty in responding to major catastrophes, particularly in assisting life-saving efforts in extreme events; and a can-do spirit that inspires others.” Malone, IPTV principal architect at Windstream Communications, has more than thirty years of experience in technology and telecommunications infrastructure

development and is an advocate and contributor to public safety communications efforts. An amateur radio operator holding an Extra Class FCC license, he has performed volunteer work for the Civil Defense and Red Cross. As executive vice president of operations and co-founding member of the Wireless Emergency Response Team, he led the effort to implement a remote emergency services telecommunications network for Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, coordinated the deployment of new wireless communications techniques for search and rescue efforts with the U.S. Coast Guard for Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, and received recognition from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for work on wireless search and rescue at the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001. He is actively involved in live music, theater production, and studio recording and engineering. He earned an M.B.A. from Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport.

Pat o’bryan (1988 PHD ENGR) has been named president of Fidelity Exploration & Production Company. O’Bryan joined Fidelity in 2011 as vice president of drilling and completions. He has twenty-six years of experience in the oil and gas business, including executive and asset general management, drilling engineering and technology management, and production and reservoir engineering supervision. Prior to joining Fidelity, O’Bryan held vice president positions in drilling and completions and in production at BP.

steve scalise (1989 BACH SCI), congressman for Louisiana’s First Congressional District since 2008, was elected House majority whip in

June, elevating him to the No. 3 leadership post for House Republicans. He is Louisiana’s first member of the



Tiger Nation

House leadership since 1999. Scalise and his wife, the former Jennifer Letulle, have two children, Madison and Harrison. The family resides in Jefferson, La.

John stewart (1989 BACH BUS), a partner at Altus Wealth Management financial services in Baton Rouge, has been an investment adviser for twenty-three

years. He has maintained a close relationship with LSU by providing financial courses through the LSU Division of Continuing Education and currently teaches “Financial Strategies for Successful Retirement.” Stewart offers securities and investment advisory services through Geneos Wealth Management, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of New Orleans in 1991.

Mark s. sutton (1984 BACH ENGR) has been promoted to president and chief operating officer and elected to the board of directors of International Paper.

Sutton had served as the company’s senior vice president/industrial packaging since 2011. He joined International Paper in 1984 as an engineer at the Pineville, La., mill. In 1994, he was named mill manager at the Thilmany, Wis., mill and in 2000, relocated to Europe as director of European corrugated packaging operations. He was promoted to vice president and general manager responsible for corrugated packaging operations across the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) in 2002. In 2005, he was named vice president of corporate strategic planning and relocated to Memphis, Tenn. He was named senior vice president/global supply

chain in 2007 and in 2009 became senior vice president/printing and communications papers–the Americas. In 2011, Sutton was appointed senior vice president, industrial packaging.

r. David Wheat, Jr. (1985 BACH BUS, 1988 JD), a partner in the Dallas office of Thompson & Knight, is listed in the Legal 500 U.S. among Leading Lawyers in the

area of Domestic Tax: Central.

1990sPatrick M. evans (1993 BACH BUS), of Houston, has been promoted to senior vice president-wealth management in the River Oaks office of UBS


Financial Services. Evans began his career in the investment industry as a market maker on the trading floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange in 1993. He joined UBS in 2000 and is a founding partner of the WTC Investment Group, whose team of financial advisers provides a wide range of financial planning solutions with an emphasis on wealth preservation, income strategies, and generational wealth transfer. He is actively involved with LSU through the LSU Houston Alumni Chapter, LSU Foundation, and LSU PetroTigers. He is a member of the LSU Foundation Planned Giving Advisory Council and a past president of the DFW LSU Alumni Association. Evans resides in the Memorial area with his two children, Santana, 13, and Sultan, 9.

alan Faneca (attended 1994-1997, Spring 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in June. One of LSU’s all-time great

offensive linemen, Faneca was a second-team All-American pick in 1996 and a first-teamer in 1997 when he was a finalist for the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top lineman. A guard who overcame epilepsy, he started his final thirty-six college games and allowed only one sack as a junior before declaring for the NFL draft. He was chosen for nine straight Pro Bowls as a guard during thirteen NFL seasons with Pittsburgh (helping the Steelers win Super Bowl XL), New York, and Arizona. Faneca started 201 of his 206 NFL games and earned spots on the Steelers’ 75th anniversary team in 2007 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-2000s Team. Faneca does extensive charitable work with the Epilepsy Foundation of America.

emily b. Grey (1997 BACH H&SS, 2000 JD), a partner at Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, has been named vice chair of strategic activities in the American Health

Lawyers Association Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group. At the association’s annual meeting, she was also recognized for her leadership of the Public Health System Affinity Group as 2013-2014 chair and 2012-2013 vice chair.

Jeff a. Hale (1995 PHD H&SS) has been named vice president of institutional advancement at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

(LEH) where he has served as director of institutional advancement since 2009. Hale will oversee all aspects of private fundraising and government grantsmanship. Hale has coordinated the acquisition of $1 million or more in private gifts, pledges, and in-kind support for the LEH over the past three years, growing the organization’s annual fund by nearly 250 percent. He spearheaded significant partnerships with Shell Oil Company, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Community Foundation of North Louisiana, Entergy Corporation, Baptist Community Ministries, and many other individuals, corporations, and foundations across Louisiana and nationally. With more than two decades of institutional advancement experience, Hale has raised in excess of $65 million for LEH, The Nature Conservancy, LSU, the universities of Maine and New Mexico, and the College of Santa Fe.

evan Mather (1993 BACH A&D), an independent filmmaker and landscape architect based in Los Angeles, took viewers on a cross-country journey in the

world premiere of From Sea to Shining Sea

at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., on April 6. A contemporary portrait of the American landscape chronicled via coast-to-coast time-lapse video and audio collage, the film traverses eleven states from the Chesapeake Bay to San Francisco through cities and towns and over a variety of geographical features to create a sense of the vastness and diversity within the United States. Mather’s films explore issues of landscape, place, and memory and span multiple genres including animation, documentary, essay, music video, and film title design. A Graham Foundation recipient, Mather’s works have screened at the Sundance and South by Southwest film festivals, the National Building Museum, and the McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

ken McLeod (1990 MSW) has been chosen – for the third consecutive year – as one of the top three male therapists in Houston by the readers of OutSmart

Magazine, a monthly publication for the LGBT community in the Metropolitan Houston area.

andrew Melsheimer (1996 BACH BUS, 2002 JD), a partner in Thompson & Knight’s International Energy Practice Group in the firm’s Dallas office, has

been elected chair of the International Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. He will serve a one-year term. Melsheimer’s practice is concentrated on international and oil- and gas-related matters, including cross-border transactions, investment projects, and strategic commercial and business advice. He assists clients in dispute resolution matters (litigation and arbitration) and negotiations before federal and state courts in Louisiana, Texas, and New York and on domestic and international arbitration panels.


Tiger Nation

stephen Moret (1997 BACH ENGR), Louisiana Economic Development Secretary, presented “Creating the Louisiana Miracle (Some Assembly Required,” his

hopeful vision for Louisiana’s economic future in a TEDxLSU talk last spring. His vision is about fostering sustained growth and expanding economic opportunity; diversifying Louisiana’s economy while maintaining the essence of its distinctive culture; and developing the unique assets of the state’s eight regions. Take a look at www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ4d4X7vAkU

kelly Picard (1993 BACH H&SS), chief executive officer of Hackbarth Delivery Service in Mobile, Ala., was elected to the Customized Logistics and Delivery

Association (CLDA) board of directors. She has been an active member of CLDA for sixteen years and is a member of Express Carriers Association, Southeastern Warehouse Association, Mobile United, Leadership Mobile, Mobile Chamber of Commerce, and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. Active in community activities, Picard is involved with St. Ignatius Church, Junior League of Mobile, L’Arche, America’s Distinguished Young Women, and St. Mary’s Home. She received an M.B.A. from Ohio State University. She and her husband, Larry, have five children.

clarissa a. Preston (1994 BACH H&SS), a governmental affairs adviser in Adams and Reese’s Baton Rouge office, received the Women of Excellence

Award in Business given by the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus in May. The award recognizes the achievements and contributions of extraordinary Louisiana women who personify excellence in leadership, profession, academics, community service, character, and integrity. Preston is the former head of the Office of Consumer Advocacy for the Louisiana Department of Insurance and was the first deputy commissioner appointed to this position. An American Bar Association-approved certified paralegal and commissioned civil law notary public, Preston earned Associate Professional in Insurance Regulation (APIR) designation through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) with the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. She serves on the board of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA) and is executive director of the Louisiana Surplus Line Association (LSLA).

kimberly robinson (1993 BACH H&SS, 1995 MPA), a partner with the Jones Walker law firm, was named one of the 2014 Most Influential Women in Business by the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Robinson began her career as a judicial clerk for Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson before joining the Louisiana Department of Revenue. She later worked for the Office of Legal Affairs and as confidential assistant to then-Secretary Cynthia Bridges. Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Robinson was appointed special counsel and senior adviser on economic development, insurance, and revenue policy to Gov. Kathleen Blanco. She is a founding board member of Inspire Charter Academy in Baton Rouge and a member of the E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.

callen schramm (1997 BACH BUS) and Heather thompson schramm (2000 BACH BUS) have joined Stratos Wealth Partners, an independent, hybrid Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm. Previously affiliated with Merrill Lynch, the husband-and-wife team will operate as Schramm Financial Group. The

Schramms have more than thirty-five years of combined experience in the financial services industry and are actively involved in the Baton Rouge community.

2000sLeslie Derouen bordelon (2006 BACH BUS), an alumna of the LSU Center for Internal Auditing and a senior manager with Houston-based Protiviti, Inc., has been named by the Institute of Internal Auditors as one of twenty international emerging profession leaders. She will be featured in the summer issue of Internal Auditor magazine in an article titled “Taking the Lead.”

adam kealoha causey (2005 BACH MCOM) is an assistant city editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he has worked since May 2013. Before that he was a

reporter and covered everything from ongoing problems linked to a fatal tuberculosis outbreak to the future Interstate 11 that will connect Las Vegas and Phoenix, and even to how sinful “Sin City” really is these days. Prior to the Review-Journal, Causey worked as a reporter at the Florida Times-Union and the Shreveport Times. In 2013, he

share your news Share news of your new job or promotion, your wedding, honors, awards, new babies, and other celebrations with fellow alumni. To submit an item and photos for publication, e-mail [email protected] or call 225-578-3370.


Back By PoPular DemanD

AvAilAble At the lSU AlUmni Gift Shop locAted in the lobby of the cook hotel

225.383.0241shop.lsualumni.org

order todAy for Great Tailgating Recipes!

Now in Hardback The LSU ALUmni ASSociATion iS proUd to AnnoUnce the Sixth printinG of the

LoUiSiAnA Tiger BAiTSelected RecipeS fRom l.S.U. AlUmS...

also helped start The Reveille Alumni Association.

amy L. Delaune Diaz (2003 BACH A&D) was recently named photo editor of Cooking Light magazine, a part of Time, Inc. Cooking Light is also the nation’s largest

epicurean brand. Since graduating from LSU, Diaz completed freelance work with BCBG Max Azria in Los Angeles, Calif., The Knot magazine in New York, N.Y., and Southern Living magazine in Birmingham, Ala., before joining the Cooking Light team in July 2010. In her new position, she will manage the photo department and collaborate with editors and art directors to create food and health stories for print issues, digital editions, and the website.

tracy evans (2009 MPA) has joined the School of Veterinary Medicine as the senior director for development after twenty-one years at the LSU Law Center, most

recently as director of professional and bar relations. Evans, a recipient of the 1997 Outstanding Staff Award, served on the LSU Foundation Staff Outstanding Service Awards Committee in 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2014. She volunteers with several local charities, including Capital Area CASA and the Baton Rouge chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. Evans holds a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal and public communications from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She and her husband, Lamar, have two children, Parker and Perri.

Melissa Flores (2001 BACH HS&E) has been named a shareholder and director of Blanchard, Walker, O’Quin & Roberts law firm in Shreveport, La. Flores,

who joined the firm in 2005, practices commercial and residential real estate, title examination and insurance, and oil and gas title work. She is a licensed title insurance producer and an agent for First American Title Insurance Company of Louisiana; a member of the American, Louisiana, and Shreveport bar associations; and a member of the Louisiana Land Title Association and the Ark-La-Tex Association of Professional Landmen. She serves on the board of the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier, Inc., and the Caddo Parish Children and Youth Planning Board. Flores earned a J.D. magna cum laude, from Loyola University


Tiger Nation

New Orleans School of Law, where she was a William S. Crowe Scholar and a member of the Loyola Law Review.

colton J. Fontenot (2006 BACH BUS), a manager with Pricewaterhouse-Coopers in New York City, recently received an Honorable Mention from the Institute of

Internal Auditors emerging leaders in the internal audit profession. The program honors emerging leaders who are making a difference in their organizations, raising the bar on performance, and helping shape the future. Fontenot, who has man-aged several large, complex engagement teams both in the United States and Aus-tralia, was recognized because he “con-tinuously pushes and challenges his teams to excel while also allowing them the flex-ibility to challenge the status quo.”

Donnie Jones (2003 BACH BUS), who recently completed his tenth season in the NFL, has signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He

played for the Eagles last season, setting team records for single-season net punting average and punts downed inside the twenty-yard line. He became only the fourth punter in NFL history to be selected for NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in consecutive games in

a single season. Jones has been named twice to the NFL All-Pro Team and set numerous team records along the way. A graduate of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, he was a four-year letterman as a punter for the LSU Tigers – named to the All-SEC Team and selected as an SEC-Scholar Athlete. He is best known for taking the last snap of the 2003 National Championship Game, which LSU won, and holds the LSU record for the longest punt (86 yards), as well as number of punts (233) and yardage (9,798).

rachael cannon koske (2002 BACH M&DA), of Austin, Texas, was chosen as the 2014 Teacher of the Year at Dripping Springs High School in Dripping

Springs, Texas. She has been leading the school’s highly acclaimed theatre program for eight years.

alexandra elizabeth Loomis (2012 BACH BUS), of Monroe, La., earned a J.D. from the Mississippi College School of Law in May. Loomis worked for the

Mississippi College School of Law Adoption Clinic and 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office while in school. She was named to the Dean’s List and received the Amjur Award for Negotiations.

Jason a. Mangiaracina (2004 BACH ENGR), a major in the U.S. Army and cadre at LSU Army ROTC, received the Soldier’s Medal, the highest peacetime

heroism award given by the U.S. Army, on April 15 at Memorial Tower. He was recognized for risking his life to save a drowning swimmer caught in a riptide on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on June 5, 2013. A native of Gretna, La., Mangiaracina served in the Louisiana National Guard as an enlisted avionics maintainer while earning his degree and was commissioned through LSU Army ROTC.

arturo santos, Jr. (2006 BACH H&SS), of Bradenton, Fla., is executive director of GUTI - The Premier Beauty & Wellness Academy, a nationally

accredited school with campuses in Bradenton and Sebring, Fla. See Tigers in Print, page 70 to read about his literary debut, All Out for Love.

Jacob simpson (2000 BACH SCI, 2006 JD) has joined Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson’s Baton Rouge office in the healthcare section. Following law school, Simpson entered the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. He separated from active duty in October


2013 following an overseas deployment and has since joined the USAF Reserves where he continues his service as a medical law consultant. His most recent position was intellectual property associate at the LSU AgCenter Office of Intellectual Property.

Laura allen soileau (2001 MAST BUS), an alumna of the LSU Center for Internal Auditing (CIA), has been named by the Institute of Internal Auditors as one of twenty international emerging profession leaders. She will be featured in the summer issue of Internal Auditor magazine in an article titled “Taking the Lead.” Soileau earned her bachelor’s in accounting and marketing from the University of Arkansas in 2000.

Justin a. Wooley (2008 BACH H&SS), of Winnsboro, La., received the Sue Riggan Millette Scholarship from Mississippi College School of Law during its

annual Law Day ceremony. The award is made to a deserving young, married law student in memory of MC Law graduate Sam Millette’s mother. Wooley is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is married to Laura Little.

2010selise ackley (2014 DVM), of Shreveport, La., will participate in the 2014-2015 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Congressional Fellowship

Program, serving for one year in Washington, D.C., as scientific adviser to members of Congress, helping to shape legislation and regulations that affect animal and public health and the future of veterinary medicine. Ackley has worked for a number of congressional offices and regulatory agencies, including: the Department of Homeland Security,

World Health Organization (WHO), and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. She also previously served as a student extern in AVMA’s Governmental Relations Division and as president of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association.

Daniel bradshaw (2011 BACH BUS), of Monroe, La., received the Judge Charles Clark Memorial Scholarship from the Mississippi College School of Law during its

annual Law Day ceremony. The award is given to a second-year law student in the top 20 percent of the class who has earned the respect of the faculty and his peers through a commitment to the standards and ideals held by Judge Clark. Bradshaw is married to Victoria Reppond Bradshaw.

victoria reppond bradshaw (2011 BACH SCI), of Monroe, La., received the Regions Private Wealth Management Award, presented to the student

with the highest average in wills and estates, and the Phi Delta Phi Ethics Award from the Mississippi College School of Law during its annual Law Day ceremony. Bradshaw is married to Daniel Bradshaw.

stephen butterfield (2012 BACH H&SS), a student at the Mississippi College School of Law, was a member of the team that took first place in the Young Lawyers Division 2014 Law School Mock Trial Competition at the LSU Law Center on April 19.

victor Jordan (2010 BACH ENGR) has joined Dallas-based Chestnut Exploration and Production, Inc., as senior production engineer. In his new role, Jordan is responsible for overseeing Chestnut’s drilling operations in its

production acreage in east and north Texas as well as its Texas Gulf properties, for making efficiencies in current operations, and for increasing overall production of the company’s fields under development. Previously, he was a production engineer for an independent energy company in Texas and Oklahoma. He is a licensed engineer and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

abby r. Labat (2012 BACH H&SS), of Houma, La., received the Peter L. Doran ’88 Memorial Scholarship Award from the Mississippi College

School of Law during its annual Law Day ceremony. The award is presented to a second-year student with a connection to Doran’s home state of Louisiana who best represents the traits of citizenship, zest for living, and love of people that Doran so vividly exhibited.

taylor Leblanc (2014 BACH MCOM) has joined Zehnder Communications as billing/project management coordinator. She

previously served as an intern for Zehnder Communications and student assistant for LSU Parent & Family Programs. LeBlanc was also an LSU Ambassador, a member of Leadership LSU, and a Certified Distinguished Communicator.

sophia e. Malone (2013 BACH H&SS), an alumna of the LSU Delta Kappa Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta (KAT) Sorority has accepted the position of adviser and

member development officer of the Gamma Psi Chapter of KAT at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.


rachel rubenstein (2011 BACH A&D), of Burbank, Calif., works for Stereo D, a firm that converts 2D movies to 3D, and recently completed working on

her eleventh film, XMen: Days of Future Past 3D. She also has worked on the 3D versions of Ironman 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, 47 Ronin, The Wolverine, GI Joe Retaliation, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Pacific Rim, R.I.P.D., Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Godzilla. Rubenstein earned a master’s degree in digital character animation at Teesside University in Middlesborough, England, in 2012.

Tiger Nation

John P. Laborde (1947 BACH H&SS, 1949 JD, 1995 HON) received the inaugural Army Week NOLA Soldier for Life Award on June 5 at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

The award is usually presented by the Army Week Association in New York City to a veteran who returned home to serve his or her community. This year, the association joined the Bastion Community to host the Joint Forces D-Day 70th Anniversary Ball at the museum.

Laborde, a U.S. Army veteran, served on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff in the Pacific from 1943 to 1946.

He is founding trustee of the National WWII Museum, in which the Laborde Services Gallery pays homage to those who served in World War II.

Laborde Receives Army Week Award


BABYBENGALS

Jamie bueche (2007 BACH BUS) and husband Travis proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Kynlee Alyse Bueche, on May 27, 2014. Kynlee weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 21 inches long. Jamie is an accountant at the LSU Alumni Association. The family

resides in Grosse Tete, La.

stephanie connell collins (2010 BACH H&SS) and husband Ryan welcomed their first child, Caroline Maria, on Feb. 20, 2014.

Proud granddad Mike Garner (1981 BACH BUS) and wife Patti (1982 BACH MCOM) announce the birth of their granddaughter, Marylyn Marci-Rae Gautier, on May 19, 2014. Marylyn’s parents are Rachel Garner and Ray Gautier. Marylyn was

welcomed home by big brother Isaac and Uncle kevin Garner (2011 BACH ENGR).

Leslie thornhill killian (2000 BACH BUS), husband Matt, and big brother Case, of Cypress, Texas, proudly announce the birth of Gemma Joyce, born on April 22, 2014. Proud Tiger grandparents are richard “rick” (1975 BACH ENGR) and Jane (1974 BACH

HS&E) thornhill, of Baton Rouge. Gemma and Case look forward to attending their first LSU game with Nana, Papa, Mommy, and Daddy very soon.

Laura Weems Ybarra (2009 BACH MCOM) and rene Ybarra (2010 BACH BUS proudly announce the arrival of their sons, future LSU Tigers Owen Christian and Nathaniel Weems, born on April 17, 2014. Owen was born at 12:43 p.m. weighing 7 lbs.

7.7 oz., and Nathaniel was born at 12:44 p.m. weighing 6 lbs. 6.9 oz. The family resides in Georgetown, Texas.


Tiger Nation

Tigers in Printtrent angers (1970 bacH H&ss)The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story - Revised Edition (Acadian House Publishing)

The Forgotten Hero of My Lai is an inspiring tale of the U.S. Army helicopter pilot who interceded in the My Lai massacre in an effort to stop the killing of unarmed Vietnamese civilians. There’s even more to the story than originally thought, as Thompson’s biographer Trent Angers discovered – a piece of American history similar to the Watergate scandal. It is now clear that Richard Nixon initiated a campaign to sabotage the My Lai trials so no American soldier would be convicted of a war crime, thus controlling the damage being done to the reputation of the U.S. military. Among the illegal acts Nixon authorized were obstruction of justice and tampering with the Army’s star prosecution witness, Thompson. Working with Nixon were his chief of staff, H.R. “Bob” Haldeman; one of his top propagandists, congressional liaison Franklyn “Lyn” Nofziger; and two of the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressmen L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.) and F. Edward Hebert (D-La.). Thompson lived his life burdened with PTSD, not only because of the things he witnessed at My Lai but also because he was treated as a traitor for thirty years – until he finally got the Soldier’s Medal in 1998 and was recognized as one of our country’s Vietnam War heroes.

kelli scott kelley (1984 bacH a&D)Accalia and the Swamp Monster (LSU Press)

As the author and artist of a heroine’s surreal journey through a haunting southern landscape, Kelli Scott

Kelley reveals the mastery of her craft in Accalia and the Swamp Monster. Borrowing from Roman mythology, Jungian analysis, and the psychology of fairy tales, Kelley presents a story of family dysfunction, atonement, and transformation. Reproductions of Kelley’s artwork – mixed-media paintings executed on repurposed antique linens – punctuate the tale of Accalia, who is tasked with recovering the arms of her father from the belly of the swamp monster. Visually and metaphorically, Accalia’s odyssey enchants and displaces as Kelley delicately balances the disquieting with the familiar. Rich in symbolism and expertly composed, Accalia and the Swamp Monster pulls readers into the physical realm through Kelley’s chimerical imagery, then pushes them toward the inner world of the subconscious. To that end, Kelley’s story is accompanied by essays from Jungian analyst Constance Romero and art historian Sarah Bonner.

arturo santos, Jr. (2006 bacH H&s)All Out for Love (Suncoast Digital Press)

If you had to risk everything to fix a single mistake, would you? What if it were for the sake of true love? Sometimes life and love demand an all-out power play, and you’ve got to put everything on the line to make things right. Such is the challenge facing Arturo Santos, Jr. in his literary debut, All Out for Love, based on the true events of his own life story. When he breaks up with his long-time girlfriend, he soon realizes that he’s made the worst mistake of his life. Despite plenty of soul-searching and attempts to move on, Santos knows in his heart that only one path will lead him out of his guilt and despair – he

has to win her back. With unflinching honesty, genuine emotion, and a warm, conversational tone, Santos weaves an engaging story with his unique experiences and perspective, demonstrating down-to-earth wisdom and an uncanny eye for detail. He leads the reader on a rollercoaster ride through his quest for love, sharing the ups and downs of a real-life grand romantic gesture—and the many surprises that follow along the way.

barbara barnes sims (Graduate school 1963-1965)The Next Elvis: Searching for Stardom at Sun Records (LSU Press)

An American institution, Sun Records has a history with many chapters – its Memphis origins with visionary Sam Phillips, the breakthrough recordings of Elvis Presley, and the studio’s immense influence on the sound of popular music. But behind the company’s chart toppers and legendary musicians there exists another story, told by Barbara Barnes Sims. In the male-dominated workforce of the 1950s, 24-year-old Sims found herself thriving in the demanding roles of publicist and sales promotion coordinator at Sun Records. Sims’s job placed her in the studio with Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins, and other Sun entertainers, as well as the unforgettable Phillips, whose work made the music that defined an era. The Next Elvis: Searching for Stardom at Sun Records chronicles Sims’s career at the studio, a pivotal time at this recording mecca, as she darted from disc jockeys to distributors. Sims not only entertains with personal stories of big personalities, she brings humor to the challenges of a young woman working in a fast and tough industry.


Her disarming narrative ranges from descriptions of a disgraced Jerry Lee Lewis to the remarkable impact and tragic fall of DJ Daddy-O Dewey to the frenzied Memphis homecoming of Elvis after his military service. Collectively, these vignettes offer a rare and intimate look at the people, the city, and the studio that permanently shifted the trajectory of rock ’n’ roll.

Jason P. theriot (1998 bacH McoM)American Energy, Imperiled Coast (LSU Press)

In American Energy, Imperiled Coast Jason Theriot explores the tension between oil and gas development and the land-loss crisis in Louisiana. His book offers an engaging analysis of both the impressive, albeit ecologically destructive, engineering feats that characterized industrial growth in the region and the mounting environmental problems that threaten south Louisiana’s communities, culture, and “working” coast. Theriot explains how pipeline technology enabled the expansion of oil and gas delivery – examining previously unseen photographs and company records – and traces the industry’s far-reaching environmental footprint in the wetlands. He pieces together decades of political, economic, social, and cultural undertakings that clashed in the 1980s and 1990s, when citizens, scientists, politicians, environmental

groups, and oil and gas interests began fighting over the causes and consequences of coastal land loss. The mission to restore coastal Louisiana ultimately collided with the perceived economic necessity of expanding offshore oil and gas development at the turn of the twenty-first century. Theriot’s book bridges the gap between these competing objectives.

Mirna Pierce Perez-venero (1973 PHD H&ss)Inseparable: The Story of Romi and the Earl of Frimhurst (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)

Abandoned on the Isthmus of Panama by her young, reckless Virginian father and spurned by her mother’s aristocratic South American family, Romi grows into a stunning beauty and finds a way to triumph in spite of her illegitimacy. Fate brings her the love of Lord Eastleigh Hawke, the Earl of Frimhurst, an adventurer involved in the French initiative to build a canal across Panama to join the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Despite the couple’s great wealth, corruption in France, violence in Panama, and the daily death of canal workers, engineers, and citizens from malaria and yellow fever affect them in deeply tragic and personal ways and bring them great suffering. Romi discovers an unbearable truth about her husband and heartbreaking facts about her

father, and when clues in Eastleigh’s investigations into organized crime enslaving women and girls from Africa lead the lovers to Washington, D. C., Romi’s life is seriously endangered and her heart shattered before she discovers her true destiny.

richard e. Zwez (1974 PHD H&ss)New Orleans Spirit, A Tchoupitoulas Life (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)

The spirit of New Orleans is defined by its survival. Johnny Smith, a teenager and the main character of New Orleans Spirit, a Tchoupitoulas Life must employ all the optimism and endurance of his spirit to sustain him as his only viable parent leaves him in a dysfunctional home full of quirky strangers. While living in the Tchoupitoulas area. he gains insight into the struggles and successes of the people of New Orleans and reaches out to his community and to the city to develop his identity when he faces a series of new situations and adventures. Through his vigorous involvement he enjoys and admires the humor, beauty, fun, and festivities of the Big Easy.


Tiger Nation

if you would like to make a gift to the Lsu alumni association in memory of a family member, friend or classmate, please contact our office for additional information at 225-578-3838 or 1-888-746-4578.

1930sJosie Cangelosi, 1931 BACH BUS, May 15, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

ethel Marionneaux, 1933 BACH HS&E, 1965 MSW, May 11, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

1940sHarry Barton, 1949 JD, April 27, 2014, Port Allen, La.

Thomas e. Bickham, 1949 MAST HS&E, May 16, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

edward C. Capron, Jr., 1949 BACH BUS, June 4, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Ferd S. godbold, ii, 1941 BACH ENGR, April 17, 2014, Dallas, Texas

Teme P. Hernandez, 1940 BACH H&SS, 1942 MAST H&SS, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture, May 5, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Joseph elie LeBlanc, Jr., 1948 BACH ENGR, May 27, 2014, Spanish Fort, Ala.

1950sJulius andrew Bahlinger, iii, 1955 BACH H&SS, April 21, 2014, Abita Springs, La.

Carl Steven Balius, 1950 BACH M&DA, 1956 MAST M&DA, May 12, 2014, Houston, Texas

Camile Chaisson, Jr., 1951 BACH HS&E, 1955 MAST HS&E, June 23, 2014, Thibodaux, La.

edward vaughn Fetzer, 1955 BACH H&SS, 1958 JD, May 11, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

eugene gonzales, 1950 BACH ENGR, June 14, 2014, Metairie, La.

William Hathorn, 1951 BACH M&DA, May 26, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Philip evart Henderson, 1959 JD, May 31, 2014, Covington, La.

gerald Marchand, 1954 BACH HS&E, 1955 MAST HS&E, June 20, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Hubert Clayton Owen, Jr., 1950 BACH H&SS, 1954 MD, June 4, 2014, Zachary, La.

elaine robinson, 1957 BACH HS&E, May 15, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

John reed Tarver, 1959 BACH MCOM, April 21, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

edward Taylor,1955 BACH BUS, July 7, 2014, Columbia, Miss.

Diane Keller Wiemer, attended 1955-1958, July 1, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

J. Trigg Wood, Jr., 1950 BACH BUS, 1951 MAST BUS, May 24, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Mary elizabeth “Bettye” Wood, 1950 BACH H&SS, 1950 MAST H&SS, Sept. 25, 2013, Baton Rouge, La.

1960sernest “e.W.” “Coach” ernest Foy, 1969 MAST HS&E, June 7, 2014, Osyka, Miss.

William Hawthorne, 1964 BACH H&SS, May 26, 2014, Jackson, Miss.

Paul Felix Loup, 1961 BACH HS&E, 1970 MAST SCI, May 19, 2014, Hurley, Miss.

William g. Peek, 1961 BACH BUS, June 6, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Lennie Perez, 1967 BACH H&S, 1968 JD, May 23, 2014, New Orleans, La.

Pamela M. Perkins, 1969 BACH H&SS, June 30, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

elsie Marion Fraatz Schott, 1963 BACH HS&E, 1967 MAST HS&E, June 14, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Thomas J. Stephens, Jr., 1961 BACH ENGR, April 27, 2014, Manhattan Beach, Calif.

John a. Tyson, Jr., 1967 BACH ENGR, 1970 MAST ENGR, Feb. 1, 2014, Lawndale, Calif.

1970sDavid green, iii, 1977 BACH BUS, April 20, 2014, Montgomery, Ala.

rhonda a. Heald, 1973 BACH BUS, May 5, 2014, Beaumont, Texas

Kathy Bello Jackson, 1971 BACH HS&E, July 9, 2014, Sugar Land, Texas

rita Buller Keller, 1975 BACH H&SS, 1977 MAST H&SS, April 29, 2014, Lafayette, La.

SeLena Piper-LeBlanc, 1977 MAS HS&E, July 1, 2014, Plaquemine, La.

John J. Maginnis, 1970 BACH H&SS, May 25, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

William Woodman, 1979 BACH AGR, 1983 MAST AGR, June 24, 2014, Crossett, Ark.

1980sMichael Bennett, 1981 BACH BUS, May 24, 2014, Gulf Breeze, Fl.

eldred g. Blakewood, iv, 1983 BACH H&SS, 1990 PHD AGR, May 28, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

Charles a. Jeffery, attended 1981-1988, longtime active member and multi-term president of Southern California Alumni Chapter, April 2, 2014, Burbank, Calif.

Susannah richard, 1985 BACH A&D, April 28, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

1990sMary Lynn Callaway McNeal, 1999 MSW, May 31, 2014, Baton Rouge, La.

2010sryan Smith, 2010 BACH ENGR, June 26, 2014, Houston, Texas

Frances Marie anderson, Alumna-by-Choice, June 25, 2014, Shreveport, La.

alden J. “Doc” Laborde, Alumnus-by-Choice, June 6, 2014, New Orleans, La.

a donation was made in memory of edward vaughn Fetzer by Mr. and Mrs. robert M. Fetzer.

in Memoriam

Winton W. Hymel, Sr.Former Associate Dean of Continuing Education

Nov. 9, 2013Baton Rouge, La.

Burl NoggleAlumni Professor Emeritus of History

Nov. 6, 2013Baton Rouge, La.



Tiger Nation

A piano, a string bass, and a drum set.

The three men behind the instruments make music, but their connection is much deeper than sharing the bandstand – all members of the Doug Pacas Trio are LSU alumni.

“This is part of our family, the alumni. LSU is part of our family,” said Doug Pacas (1996 BACH SCI), director of human resources and financial systems at LSU’s Information Technology Services. “Our being involved in the combo is part of that bigger family.”

Pacas went from being a solo piano artist to a part of the trio when retired LSU Alumni Association President Charlie Roberts suggested string bassist Larry Hubbard (1955 BACH BUS, 1970 MAST A&D 1970) and drummer Johnny Gordon (1970 BACH M&DA, 1972 MAST M&DA, 1975 SPEC HS&E) join the set in 2010.

The group plays for Association events multiple times during the year, as well as for other groups holding luncheons, dinners, or parties at Lod Cook Alumni Center.

All three agree that playing together is much more fun and rewarding than playing solo.

“Sometimes, when you play by yourself, it just loses the energy,” Pacas said. “You have to sacrifice a part of yourself for the good of the whole piece when playing in a combo. There’s not a lot of ego around here.”

Both Hubbard and Gordon have experience playing in bands with other Tigers.

Gordon played in the LSU Symphonic Band, LSU Bengal Brass Basketball Band, and LSU Tiger Marching Band. Hubbard was drum major of the LSU Tiger Marching band from 1951 to 1955 and has served as the drum major of the LSU

Alumni Band for twenty-six years.“I first met Larry at one of the

LSU Tiger Band reunions many years ago,” said Gordon, who worked at the University for thirty-one years, twenty-five of them at the LSU Alumni Association, and continues to provide photography services to the Association on a part-time basis. “All the good memories of my time in college involved music, and being an alum is both gratifying and rewarding.”

Hubbard, who returned to Baton Rouge from Atlanta in 2005 after retiring as southeast regional director of American Appraisal Company, said the trio works as a team because all three are flexible.

“We go with the flow. That’s the secret for us staying together,” said Hubbard, a videographer/photographer for Association-sponsored events.

“We just like getting together and playing music,” Pacas agreed. “We’re not going out there to make a name for ourselves. We’re just having fun. When people tap their feet and nod their heads, it means we’re connected.”

You can always count on a “Geaux Tigers!” anywhere in the world when wearing purple and gold, Pacas remarked, sharing a story about visiting his son in Alaska a few years ago.

“Every time I wore my purple and gold, I would get a shout out from someone passing by. It’s wonderful to see how people know of LSU all across this nation – even to people not from the lower 48,” Pacas said. “I like the fact that wherever I go, people know about LSU. It gives me a lot of pride to be an alumnus of the University.”

Danielle Kelley, a senior in the Manship School of Mass Communication, holds a communications internship at the College of Engineering and is a Manship Ambassador.

Profile

The Doug Pacas Trio

By Danielle KelleyPhoto by Tracy Jones

Larry Hubbard, Doug Pacas, and Johnny Gordon.

“We just like getting together and playing music. When

people tap their feet and nod their heads, it means we’re

connected.”


Gift shop


Tiger Nation

The decision to go to LSU led four young men from Shreveport, La., to start a kayak company that, today, makes a boat the transplanted north Louisianans say ranks among the country’s premiere fishing “yaks.”

The corporate officers of KC Kayaks in Baton Rouge, Andrew Chidlow, Corey Coghlan (2009 BACH H&SS), Gaines Garrett (2009 BACH SCI, 2010 MBA), and Adam Lillich (2009 BACH ENGR), are childhood friends and Sigma Chi brothers. Chidlow left LSU to play football and graduated from Louisiana College in Pineville, La. Katherine Smith Coghlan (2008 BACH BUS) invested in the start-up business with her husband.

The friends were influenced by life in south Louisiana and salt water fishing, Garrett said. “Being from Shreveport, we didn’t do a lot of Gulf fishing,” said Lillich, who has a degree in mechanical engineering and works in Shreveport. “We met people in Baton Rouge who had camps in the marsh.”

Lillich’s KC kayak design resembles a catamaran hull at the stern that becomes a tri-hull toward the middle then tapers to a single hull at the bow for better tracking. “The others designed the top,” he commented. “They’re the fishermen.”

“We all had defined roles,” Garrett said of the partners’ decision in 2009 to make kayaks. “Corey had kayak fishing experience. Andrew was the sales guy. Adam had a degree in engineering. I had management experience.”

Garrett had a management internship under his belt, and he’d owned and operated a snowball stand. “Sixteen-year-old employees. Paying sales tax. All the things you do with a small company,” Garrett said.

Profile

Alums’ ‘Yaks’ Among Best in Nation

By Ed CullenPhoto by Johnny Gordon

KC Kayaks partners Gaines Garrett, second from left; Andrew Chidlow, third from left; and Corey Coghlan,

second from right, pose in production with employees Alex Delgado, left; Ben Miller, right; and Katherine

Coghlan. Adam Lillich is KC’s fourth partner.

“We all had defined roles. Not every day is smooth, but we all know we’re in it for each other.”


In the 1970s, west coast Ocean Kayak began making a “yak” that the boater didn’t wear with a water-tight collar at the waist. There was no need to learn the “Eskimo roll” with this kayak because the paddler sat atop the hull rather than in it. One of Ocean Kayak’s founders worked with KC on the Baton Rouge company’s prototype.

By the time team KC came along, there was a growing market for a fast, light, stable kayak a fisherman could stand in to “sight-fish.” If a kayak fisherman can stand, he or she has a better view of fish feeding on the surface of the water. The fisherman casts to the ripples.

Marsh testing has proven KC’s kayaks to be maneuverable and stable, said Chidlow. “You can sit sidesaddle for a change of position,” he said. “You can stand to go to the bathroom.”

The fledgling company has lived up to its name, KC (Kajun Custom), in its relationship with Boy Scouts in the High Adventure program, said Ben Pierce of the Evangeline Area Council, BSA, in Lafayette, La.

“We ran into these guys at the Louisiana Expo in 2011,” Pierce recalled. “Canoes were Scouts’ grandfathers’ way of getting around. We’d been looking at kayaks made by national manufacturers.”

The Boy Scouts wanted a two-man boat that was a certain length and sat high in the water, Pierce said. “It had to be self-bailing, have storage, be fast and stable. And it had to be comfortable because we’d be in the boats for five days,” Pierce explained.

The High Adventure Scouts got a custom boat they could afford and became test pilots for a kayak that KC calls the “Scout.” Evangeline Area Council has bought 48 “Scouts” from KC Kayaks. “They’ve been a great boat for us,” Pierce said.

The “Scout” is a two-person kayak, 16 feet, six inches long, 31 inches at the beam and weighs 95 pounds. It retails for $2,500. KC makes a 12-foot, standup fishing kayak called the “K12” that weighs 62 pounds, has a 34-inch beam and retails for $1,400.

The company had sales of $200,000 for the first two quarters of 2014. Production varies with the season, Coghlan said. “Once the weather warms up, especially with our distributors up north,” he added, “we turn out fifty to seventy a month.” The company has three employees.

By spring 2015, KC hopes to be manufacturing four models including a one-person “Scout” and an off-shore version of the K12.

The partners’ long friendships get them through rough water. “Not every day is smooth,” said Garrett, “but we all know we’re in it for each other.”

Ed Cullen, an LSU journalism graduate, is author of Letter in a Woodpile, a collection of his essays for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered”. He’s retired from the Baton Rouge Advocate where he wrote the Sunday column “Attic Salt.”


Tiger Nation

For a complete list oF Fall events, visit www.lsualumni.org/events/eventscalendar2.asp

In 1964, six African-American students filed suit and, along with thirteen more, were admitted to LSU. This group of Civil Rights movement pioneers was honored at 2014 spring commencement to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark case.

One of the plaintiffs, Oliver Mack, Jr., became LSU’s first African-American engineering graduate in 1969. During his five years, he also served in ROTC – as was required of all male students at the time – and became one of LSU’s first African Americans to earn an Air Force commission. Mack recalls the Hollywood script-worthy legal proceedings that ushered in his class’s first day as LSU students.

“I had never been in a courtroom before, but I had seen the footage of James Meredith being escorted by U.S. Marshals to Ole Miss, so even though I was nervous, I was optimistic that we would win our case,” recalls Mack.

The six plaintiffs would win, but not on their court date. The ruling was not handed down until the first day of LSU’s summer 1964 registration. Mack says a shrewd presiding judge in the case likely prevented protests and perhaps even violence.

“We were hoping to get a verdict on the spot,” remembers Mack. “But, the judge, in an effort to avoid any media attention that could’ve led to protests, sit-ins, or worse, waited until the first day of class registration to issue the ruling. So we all had to hustle to campus to register that day, which we did, and that was that.”

Mack, a McKinley High (Baton Rouge) graduate, lived at home, so he did not face the same types of nightly hazing as did A.P. Tureaud, who enrolled eleven years prior. Thus, he recalls his time at LSU as “not too bad, maybe some slurs here and there under their breath.” The only time he felt really disrespected was not by a peer, but by one of his engineering professors.

“The professor was handing back our first tests and, when he came to me, he just kind of threw the paper at me, as opposed to handing it to me like he did with the other students,” he remembers. So, Mack stopped by the professor’s office to ask him about the situation. It was then that he was told that there was “no way” he would ever pass the class.

“He said that I just wanted to ‘make trouble’ and didn’t care about graduating,” says Mack. “I assured him otherwise, but he only offered to give me a ‘W’ grade if I resigned from his class, so I did. I took the same class under another professor the next semester and passed with a ‘B’.”

Mack went on to work for Humble Oil, now part of ExxonMobil, as well as to serve as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, and then on to a successful career as a civil engineer.

LSU has come a long way since the 1950s and 60s, in no small part due to the perseverance, not only of those who stayed, but also of those who left, forgave, and triumphantly returned.

Todd Miller is director of communications in the LSU Office of Communication & University Relations.

Profile

Oliver Mack: Civil Rights Pioneer

Oliver Mack was LSU’s first African-American engineering graduate.

“The judge waited to issue the ruling . . . so we all

had to hustle to campus to register that day, which we did, and that was that.”

By Todd MillerPhoto by Eddy Perez


A Family Tradition – Ruth Catherine Dunn, a 2014 graduate of Brentwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn., arrived on campus this fall to continue a family tradition, earning a degree – or degrees – from LSU.

“Not exactly sure of all the degrees, but my ‘back of the envelope’ calculation [comes to] six LSU alumni, eleven degrees, and five doctoral degrees,” writes proud dad, Dr. John R. Dunn (1991 BACH SCI, 1997 DVM, 2003 PHD), of Brentwood.

Ruth, who plans to pursue a major in biology/pre-medicine, enrolled at LSU as a Stamps Leadership Scholar – one of 188 recipients selected from some 600,000 applicants – chosen for her leadership, scholarship, perseverance, service, and creativity. The value of the scholarship for four years at LSU is worth up to approximately $173,000 and includes enrichment funds for international travel, research internships, and outdoor leadership experiences.

Also celebrating Ruth’s graduation – and future as an LSU Tiger – were an uncle, Dr. James D. Dunn (1982 BACH H&SS), of Spartanburg, S.C.; her mom, Dr. Paula Hosey Dunn (1992 BACH SCI, 1996 MD), of Brentwood; her grandfather, Dr. G. Dewey Dunn (1960 MD), of Nashville, Tenn.; and an uncle and aunt, Dr. Jeff R. O’Rear (1999 BACH SCI, 2002 MAST SCI, 2007 MD) and Shellie Hosey O’Rear (1999 BACH SCI, 2002 MAST SCI), of Tupelo, Miss.

Tigers Around the World

Dr. James D. Dunn, Dr. Paula Hosey Dunn, Ruth Catherine Dunn, Dr. G. Dewey Dunn, Dr. John R. Dunn, Dr. Jeff R. O’Rear, and Shellie Hosey O’Rear.


94 Years Young – Edgar “Ted” Cox (1947 BACH AGR) shares a five-generation photo of his family taken during his birthday celebration on April 7 at his home in St. Charles, Mo.Ted Cox, seated with, from left, grandson John D. Cox,

great-granddaughter Amanda holding great-great-granddaughter Addison, and son John E Cox.

Jamaica Reunion – Several members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., who pledged together at LSU celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary this summer in Negril, Jamaica.

Summer in Peru – Diego Henriquez (2013 BACH BUS) sends a photo from Machu Picchu, Peru, taken during a family trip in June. Henriquez, a graduate assistant in the LSU Center for Internal Auditing, is studying to meet additional requirements to sit for the Certified Public Accountant exam. He has signed on to join Deloitte’s Houston office in August 2015.

Diego Henriquez in Machu Picchu.

Sheara Williams Jennings, Kaysha Lewis Melancon, Wylea Gray-Winfrey, Andrea Thomas-Reynolds, Mathina Mitchell, Monica Terrell Leach, Beliota Parquet Hawkins, Renée Boutte Myer, Terri Porché Ricks, and Michelle Dollis-Brady.

Tiger Nation

share your news To share Tiger collection with fellow alums, send a photo and information to [email protected].

Tigers Around the World

Baton Rouge’s exclusive campus hospitality located on the scenic University Lake at LSU.

www.thecookhotel.com • 1 (866) 610–2665

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Documents

Fall 2014, Volume 90, Number 3