From the President
A
s most of you have learned by now, Nicholls State University has passed through a budget
crisis the likes of which we had never experienced during our brief 60-year history. It
has been a time of stress, anxiety, and pain for all of us, but it has also been a time in
which the innate goodness of the people at Nicholls rose to the surface once again and reason
prevailed. In early January, upon learning of the likelihood of deep cuts to higher education, I called upon
my executive council to begin developing a process to manage the anticipated budget cuts. I
directed them to consider first and foremost the central mission of the university and to develop
a plan that would protect the university’s academic core. Operating under very limited time
constraints and involving deans, faculty members, and other stakeholders to the extent possible,
we did develop and implement our plan. The results are now in place.
What has impressed me throughout this whole ordeal is the willingness of our people to look
for every opportunity to advance this university, even in a time of crisis. Nicholls has remained
true to its roots while getting beyond the pain of having to eliminate programs and personnel in
order to shore up and preserve essential services and academic programs. We are determined
to come out of this better and stronger than we were going in.
There are those who maintain that the budget situation in Louisiana will continue to decline for
perhaps two more years. If this is the case, Nicholls must continue to demonstrate that higher
education is a part of the long-term solution to this state’s financial
woes, and that tax dollars spent here are investments in our economic,
social, cultural, and economic well-being. Having come so far down
the road to achieving excellence, we must not be allowed to slip back
into a state of stagnation and deterioration.
I wish to thank publicly everyone who has assisted Nicholls during
this period, including our loyal alumni and our supportive friends
who regard themselves as “ABCs,” or Alumni By Choice. I also want to
thank those legislators who realize the critical importance of higher
education to Louisiana’s future and who were willing to demonstrate
their personal courage in making difficult choices that may have gone
against the political tide of the moment. Nicholls is forever grateful for
all who supported us in these dark hours, and Nicholls will continue
to do its part to bring higher education to the wonderful people of the
Bayou Region.
Stephen Hulbert, Ph.D.
President, Nicholls State University
FEATURES
Fall 2009
THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENTS
Live and Local................................................. 18 Phenomena words from the editor............................... 2
By Renee Piper
For more than a year, Nicholls has partnered with HTV-10, a television
station owned by a local alumnus, to create a weekly television broadcast
spotlighting the university’s best and brightest.
By Tony Cook
Running the Numbers....................................... 3
The Ripple Effect
By Renee Piper
Quick Study...................................................... 4
Nine quick lessons from Nicholls
Accelerated Learning...................................... 22 Around Campus and Beyond............................ 6
By Graham Harvey
The College of Business Administration’s recently established
Executive MBA program has attracted a diverse enrollment of working
professionals, from engineers to entrepreneurs.
60 Years of Stuff, Top Chef in Training, New Editor Keeps Wheels
Turning, LPB Honors Alumnus, Students Win International Competition,
The New Tillou Debuts, Nicholls Posts High Database Numbers
Faces of Nicholls............................................. 12
Fanfare for Nicholls, A Personal Universe, Book Sells 500,000 Copies,
City Girl, An Eye for Beauty
Sweet, Sweet Sugar.......................................... 26 Colonel Pride.................................................. 40
By Dr. Al Delahaye, Tony Cook, and Graham Harvey
The sugar cane fields of the Bayou Region are fertile ground for summer
institutes that attract students from around the world, and for sustainable
economic activity and growth.
Runners Pursue Dreams, A Long and Lonely Road
By Brandon Rizzuto
Stories and Ideas............................................. 42
Tim Gautreaux’s fiction
By Graham Harvey
Gallery photographic art ......................................... 43
You Are What You Eat..................................... 32
By Farren Clark
It’s a cliché because it’s true. The Nicholls dietetics program promotes
good health through good nutrition, and its faculty, students, and
graduates are leaders in the field.
By Misty McElroy
Great Aspirations an alumni portrait........................ 44
A Journey in Time
By Tony Cook
Expressions a guest essay....................................... 45
Call Us Anything
By Brandie M. Toups
Big Names on the Bayou.................................. 36
By Dr. Al Delahaye
What do Robert Penn Warren, G. Gordon Liddy, Robert Klein, Neil
Diamond, Pete Fountain, and the Harlem Globetrotters have in
common? They have all basked in the limelight at Nicholls.
Honor Roll ..................................................... 46
Generous donors of 2008-09
Front Cover
A field of sugar cane outside Raceland, Louisiana, on an August morning.
Photograph by Tony Cook
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 1
RUNNING THE NUMBERS
Phenomena
Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, Louisiana
PRESIDENT
Dr. Stephen Hulbert
VICE PRESIDENT,
INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
Dr. David Boudreaux
EDITOR
Tony Cook
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Bruno Ruggiero
PHOTOGRAPHER
Misty McElroy
WRITERS
Norby Chabert
Farren Clark
Dr. Al Delahaye
Graham Harvey
Dr. Rebecca Pennington
Renee Piper
Rick Reso
Brandon Rizzuto
T
Words from the editor
his issue of Voilà! is the product of many months of planning and creative work by a
by Renee Piper
team of Nicholls employees who have varied daily roles on campus. Once a year, we
his spring, Nicholls and the University of
Louisiana System completed a comprehensive study of the economic and community
impact the university has on the Bayou Region and
Louisiana. Not surprisingly, the study shows that
Nicholls has a ripple effect on the economic vitality of the entire state and the quality of life of its
citizens. Imagine the state as a smooth pond, with
Nicholls as the place where a large drop of water
has broken the surface and sent gentle waves rippling outward to the farthest extent.
What may be more surprising than the extent of
the Nicholls ripple effect is its depth, because it is far
from superficial. Nicholls provides jobs, trains the
workforce, incubates businesses, creates and bolsters new industries, enriches the lives of residents
through the arts and humanities, and sustains the
financial well-being of the community it serves.
all break away from our preoccupation with routine tasks and try to be purely creative.
The result is the publication you have in your hands.
I came to Nicholls after working at several institutions that had larger budgets and greater staff
support for publications like Voilà! While it is good to have abundant resources, talent, as much as
funding, creates a truly well-made university magazine.
Take a look. This magazine reflects the knowledge and experience—as well as the creativity—of
homegrown talents working here at Nicholls. Bruno Ruggiero, the art director, is a Donaldsonville
native and resident. Misty McElroy, the photographer, is from Houma. Norby Chabert was born and
raised on Bayou Petite Caillou. All are graduates of Nicholls.
Just as I have confidence in the staff who worked together to create and publish this issue, I have
faith that you, as a supporter and perhaps a graduate of Nicholls yourself, will appreciate the high
quality of writing, photography, and art in this publication. You are the person we have all worked so
hard and so well, together, to reach and to please.
I trust that Voilà! will achieve its goals of keeping you in touch with Nicholls State University and
sharing ideas and information with you that broadens your perspective on life in south Louisiana
The views and opinions expressed in Voilà!
are those of the authors and individuals
involved. They do not necessarily represent
the perspectives of the magazine’s staff or
policies of Nicholls State University.
Voilà! is published once each year, with
funding by the Nicholls State University
Foundation and the Nicholls State University
Alumni Federation.
The Ripple Effect
and the world beyond the bayous. Thank you for spending time with us.
Brief excerpts of articles in Voilà may be
reprinted without a request for permission
if Nicholls State University is acknowledged
in print as the source. Contact the Editor for
permission to reprint entire articles.
The impact of every dollar the state government invests in Nicholls is multiplied by eight
as it cycles through the statewide economy.
The state’s most recent annual investment in
Nicholls is over $34 million, creating a statewide
economic impact of over $274 million.
The number of years Nicholls has provided
higher education opportunities in
the Bayou Region. The university opened its doors to students
on September 23, 1948.
Nicholls State University is a member of the
University of Louisiana System.
Send comments and address corrections to:
Voilà! Editor
Office of University Relations
Nicholls State University
P.O. Box 2033
Thibodaux, LA 70310
2 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Consider these numbers:
The number of formal research and
service activities conducted at Nicholls. This includes two economic development initiatives, two engineering
and technology programs, three cultural development programs, seven environmental and life
science projects, and 16 education, health, and
human service activities.
Tony Cook, M.A., M.F.A.
Editor, Voilà!
phone: 985.448.4143
e-mail: voila@nicholls.edu
web: www.nicholls.edu/voila
T
A MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA SYSTEM
100
The percentage of Nicholls education students taking the teacher certification exam who
passed it on the first attempt—well above state
averages.
2,843
The number of full-time jobs created throughout
Louisiana as a result of Nicholls spending. These
are non-university positions in industries such as
construction, healthcare, and food services.
4,294
The number of dollars a Nicholls associate’s
degree holder earns annually above those earned
by a high school graduate. That figure increases
to $17,287 for a bachelor’s degree and $27,856
for a master’s.
60,000,000
16,400
In dollars, the university’s 2008-09 annual operating budget, which generates a considerable
economic impact throughout the Bayou Region
and the state. The industries benefiting most
from university spending are housing, food, entertainment, telecommunications, transportation, healthcare, and construction.
The number of degrees awarded at Nicholls in
the past 50 years. The last 10 years alone have seen
10,274, including 1,305 associate’s degrees, 7,254
bachelor’s degrees, and 1,193 master’s degrees.
The number of dollars invested by the state
and other public and private sources for recent
and ongoing improvements to Nicholls campus buildings and the overall physical plant,
including: new and renovated residence halls, a
renovated student union and main dining hall, a
completely rebuilt and improved science building, road and parking lot improvements, new
landscaping and signage, and general infrastructure upgrades.
The annual attendance at Nicholls summer
youth camps. This includes 4,180 who attend
the annual Manning Passing Academy, a camp
conducted by former NFL quarterback Archie
Manning and his sons Cooper, Payton, and Eli.
85,000
The number of people attending Jubilee events
at Nicholls since the annual festival of the arts
and humanities at Nicholls began in 1998.
176,000
The number of hours Nicholls faculty, staff,
and students devoted to voluntary service in
2008. Nicholls encourages service-learning and
is proud it has become part of its culture.
188,000
The number of visitors attending Nicholls
events in 2008—two out of three of these visit
from off-campus and spend money on travel,
food, and lodging.
100,000,000
274,000,000
The dollar amount of the total statewide annual economic impact from Nicholls, which
includes $24 million from university operating
expenditures, $19 million from capital outlay and
construction projects, $11 million from health
insurance payments, $14 million from retiree
spending, $30 million from visitor expenditures,
$56 million from spending by faculty and staff,
and $109 million from spending by the most important people at Nicholls: our students.
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 3
Q
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Internationalism
S
Those who think of Nicholls simply as a regional institution may be surprised to learn that
almost two dozen students last year came from a
country on the other side of the globe: Nepal.
Situated astride the Himalayas between India and China, Nepal is only about the size of
Arkansas but is well known as the location of
Mount Everest. Last year it sent 23 students to
Thibodaux: 19 men and four women.
Why so many? A few years ago a student from
Nepal found his way to Nicholls on his own.
Less than a year ago an agent from a student
placement firm in Nepal contacted the university, said Marilyn Gonzalez, assistant director for
international student services. Prospective students who used the firm’s services were strong
academically and the third-party assistance paid
off for them. Other Nepalese students made it to
Nicholls without help.
Vietnam, with 12 students, ranked second at
sending students to Nicholls. Other countries
with significant representation here are Canada, France, and India with nine students each;
Mexico, seven; Australia, Japan, and Romania,
six each; Jamaica, five; and Nigeria and South
Africa, four each.
T
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Q
Internationalism,
Part Two
Administrators of Nicholls and Hallym University of Chuncheon, South Korea, signed a
partnership agreement in January.
The agreement stresses improved intercultural understanding and enhanced educational
opportunities for students from both schools.
Exchanges in all fields of common interest are
promoted, including student and faculty exchange, collaborative research, and the creation
of educational materials.
Hallym exchange students also gain access to
the Nicholls College of Business Administration’s master of business administration program, provided certain qualifications are met.
“We anticipate further agreements with institutions in Asia, as well as institutions in South
America, in the near future,” said Dr. Stephen
Hulbert, president of Nicholls.
• Chuncheon
Service-Learning
Nicholls students, faculty, and staff devoted
more than
hours to community
service and service-learning activities in 2008.
“Connecting classroom learning to community projects engages students in learning by serving,” said Cathy Richard, an assistant professor
who leads a seminar for freshmen in University
College at Nicholls. University College prepares
Nicholls freshmen for academic success and
personal growth.
Nicholls is earning a national reputation as
a leader in service-learning. For the third consecutive year, the university has been named to
the President’s Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll. Launched in 2006, the list
recognizes colleges and universities nationwide
that excel in community service and servicelearning programs.
“The service-learning that occurs at Nicholls
is purely voluntary,” said Dr. Allayne Barrilleaux,
assistant vice president for academic affairs.
“Nicholls does not have any required courses
or credit hours for service-learning, so the outpouring of service from its students, faculty, and
staff is truly through a spirit of good will and desire to reach out to the community.”
175,000
Nicholls is one of just eight
Louisiana colleges and universities
on the 635-member honor roll, and
is the only member of the eightcampus University of Louisiana
System to attain the honor this year.
Spearheaded by the Corporation for National
and Community Service, the annual honor roll
is sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
The Environment
Travelling south from the swamps around Thibodaux toward the Gulf coast, one sees the landscape changing from freshwater marsh to salt marsh, then to the coastline and barrier islands.
Future scientists, managers, and conservationists working in these ecologically important—and
economically important—environments are being trained in the College of Arts and Sciences at
Nicholls. Established in 2002, the master of science program in marine and environmental biology
is designed to serve the specific needs of state and regional industries and agencies.
To date, the program boasts 100% placement of its graduates in the workforce or in higher
education. Current students in the program are busy in all the environments between the Nicholls
campus and the Gulf of Mexico, studying the gamut of the Lafourche ecosystem, from molecules
to mammals.
4 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Lovebugs
A lovebug by any other
name would look just as
bad stuck to the front
bumper of your car.
Dr. John Doucet’s study
of lovebugs spans not
only biology—he’s a distinguished service professor
of biological sciences at Nicholls—but also natural
history and linguistics.
Like nutria and water hyacinths, the red-andblack lovebugs are an invasive species, and they have
been in Louisiana only since the early 20th century.
Doucet and his collaborators are testing ideas on
their origin, which seems to be southern Mexico. “If
you were the colors of charred meat and salsa,” jokes
Doucet, “you’d have moved out of Mexico, too.”
Lovebugs, which are actually flies and not bugs,
go by many other names. Early naturalists reported they were called “honeymoon flies” in parts of
south Louisiana. Doucet has learned that among
the elder generation of French speakers in southern
Lafourche Parish, the term “des carencros” is sometimes used to refer to lovebugs.
“Carencro is the term more commonly used for
buzzard or vulture,” says Doucet. He believes that
early colloquial French speakers may have borrowed the term because both buzzards and lovebugs
are black-bodied pests. A species known as the turkey buzzard, indigenous to southern Louisiana, has
a red head. Lovebugs have a red torso. “It was called
carencro tête rouge,” says Doucet, “and it may
have given its name to the lovebug in the early
20th century in the south Lafourche area.”
Homework
U
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Playtime
Remember when your parents told you to
go outside and play? Those words are used
less frequently by adults today, and the result may be a number of undesirable physical
and behavioral effects on children—and the
adults they become.
Dr. Lisa M. Lauer, chair of the early childhood education program in the Nicholls
Teacher Education Department, is studying
a cultural phenomenon called “play deprivation.”
“High-stakes testing combined with the
notion that indoor and outdoor spontaneous
play are a waste of time have contributed to
the condition,” she says. Research by Lauer
and her colleagues has identified negative effects on children and adults resulting from
play deprivation. These include an increase
in violent crimes, decreases in brain and
muscle fiber development, and reduction in
communication, problem-solving, and social
skills. Further evidence indicates that playdeprived children are at greater risk for
aggressive behaviors and have an increased
risk of obesity. Lauer says that factors
contributing to play deprivation include
inadequate and unsafe outdoor spaces and
equipment, organized sports, technology,
prescribed routines, litigation, violence and
abuse, and elimination of play in school
curricula.
Dogs can’t eat students’ homework any more. Textbook publishers
now routinely include online homework sites with their textbooks.
In most cases, an electronic version of the textbook is also available
on the site.
“Online homework” is actually a
misnomer for these resources. The sites
include tutorials and they enable rapid, automatic
feedback. Students get immediate help based on their responses to homework questions. Faculty
assistance is not always necessary.
The result: more homework for students, particularly in courses with large enrollments, because
instructors spend less time reviewing it. In the past, the time required to grade homework on paper
made assigning a pedagogically sound amount of homework prohibitive in large sections.
Although students might not agree, having more homework is to their advantage because problem-solving is best learned by—guess what?—solving many problems.
In addition to textbook publishers’ online resources, Nicholls faculty have created their own online
homework systems. Dr. Glenn Lo, associate professor of chemistry, and a former colleague, Dr. Michael Janusa, developed an online homework system used in the Department of Physical Sciences.
K
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Nursing
In the field of nursing, reports Dr. Sue
Westbrook, dean of the College of Nursing
and Allied Health at Nicholls,
educating more nurses from
the minority population can
help provide equitable and
quality care to minority patients. This in return can help
reduce health disparities for the
minority population.
“Matching the patient and
caregiver in racial and ethnic characteristics can lead to the patient experiencing a higher degree of comfort,
empathy, and communication in the healthcare
setting,” Dr. Westbrook said.
The Department of Nursing is working to
increase retention and graduation rate among
its minority nursing students. Several nursing
faculty—Dr. Charlene Smith, principal investigator; Dr. Tom Smith; Dr. Shirleen Lewis-Trabeaux;
Todd Keller; and Pam Williams-Jones—are involved in Project DINE (Diversity in Nursing
Education).
The goal of Project DINE is better healthcare
for people of diverse backgrounds living in parishes served by Nicholls. The project’s faculty are
obtaining funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Pedagogy
The College of Education at Nicholls produced
rookie teachers in 2007-08 whose performance
matched that of experienced teachers, a recent
study revealed.
The results of Louisiana’s Value-Added Teacher
Preparation Assessment Model were presented to
the Board of Regents and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at a joint meeting
in December 2008. Seven teacher-training programs were evaluated on how well they prepare
their graduates to teach mathematics, science,
social studies, language arts, and reading.
Nicholls was rated at Level Two, meaning the
university prepared new teachers whose students
demonstrated achievement in one content area—
language arts, in the case of Nicholls—comparable to the achievement demonstrated by children
who were taught by experienced teachers.
Louisiana is the first state in the nation to use a
performance model to examine the effectiveness
of teacher preparation programs.
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 5
around campus and beyond
A R O U N D
C A M P U S
60
A N D
Years of Stuff
Part of your past may be in the Nicholls Archives.
R
by Graham Harvey
emember the date of the first
home football game in 1972?
No? That’s all right, because
the Nicholls Archives has a
framed ticket to the event
(against Ouachita, September
16). Sixty years of Nicholls history have
produced quite a bit of memorabilia, much
of which was on display in 2008-09 in the
Archives, located behind heavy wooden
doors on the first floor of Ellender Memorial
Library.
Opening that door during the past year, a
very different Nicholls from today’s university was revealed in an impressive array of
photographs and rare, tangible artifacts—a
veritable shrine to Nicholls in shades of red,
gray, blue, and white flecked with colors from
the spectrum of campus life since 1948.
Arranged in chronological order along
the walls in glass cases—including several
floor displays—the items offered visitors
the chance to look back in time. For those
familiar with the university’s history, the
60th Anniversary exhibit offered a bounty
of nostalgia as well as information. For those
who knew little or nothing about the Nicholls
of yesteryear, the displays presented insights
said he and his staff “found things we didn’t
even know we had,” like a series of sweatshirts
from Nicholls’s years as a junior college.
Indeed, if visitors devoted just a couple
of hours to touring the exhibit, they still
would likely not have been able to take all of
it in. The panoply of flags, banners, posters,
T-shirts, brochures, group photos, aerial
photos, faculty papers, students’ class notes,
books, athletics programs, decals, and mugs
was too broad to be comprehended in a short
visit.
Featured was a floor display containing
items belonging to the late Marion Basset,
a 1950 Nicholls graduate. Basset’s
family donated his class notes,
textbooks, identification cards,
and diploma—allowing visitors
to peer into the past and discover,
perhaps, that some things haven’t
changed that much.
Another display—the classroom
assignment boards of former
registrar James Lynn Powell—
served as a towering reminder
of the university’s pre-Computer
Age practices. Powell’s plywood
boards, crisscrossed with nails
set up the meticulous exhibit in two weeks’
time—work that would usually take a month.
But it nevertheless opened on Nicholls’s 60th
birthday, September 23, 2008, and remained
in place until early May.
“We change our displays once or twice a
year,” Theriot said. “It’s an excellent resource
for faculty, students, alumni, and community
members to get involved in the university,
to learn about what we have to offer, and to
perform research. Most people don’t realize
all that we have. This allows us to showcase
it.” •
“People don’t realize all that we
have. This allows us to showcase it.”
to not only the institution itself, but to the
people and culture who built Nicholls and
have relied upon it for higher educational
opportunity since 1948.
Nicholls archivist Clifton Theriot, who
holds a master of library science degree
from LSU and is a 1995 Nicholls graduate
with a bachelor’s degree in history, said the
items were either donated by community
members—alumni and non-alumni alike—
or already part of the Archives collection. He
and labels, enabled him to know
which classes were in which rooms
during any given class period.
In addition, each Nicholls
president—there
have
been
only four over six decades—was
recognized with a glass exhibit
case, complete with diplomas,
photos, and papers.
Theriot said the hurricanes of
2008 forced him and his staff to Archivist Clifton Theriot displays memorabilia from a member of
6 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
the first Nicholls graduating class, Marion Basset.
around campus and beyond
A R O U N D
B E Y O N D
TOP
C A M P U S
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B E Y O N D
Chef in Training
Culinary student displays award-winning
skills on the national stage.
by Graham Harvey
N
o one in Jason Flato’s family
cooked except his grandmother—
but that was enough to inspire the
Mandeville, Louisiana, native to
pursue a cooking career through
the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls.
Currently a senior, Flato has charted a student
career brimming with distinction. Having won
the South Central Region San Pellegrino “Almost
Famous Chef Competition” on January 22, 2009,
he proceeded to the all-or-nothing national competition in Napa, California, in early March. Flato
didn’t win, but he and Nicholls received valuable
national recognition, nevertheless.
At the regional contest, Flato competed against
six other top students representing Nicholls, the
Art Institute of Houston, and the Art Institute
of Dallas—where the regional
competition was held. Judged by
several accomplished chefs, Flato
was given two hours to prepare
eight plates of his signature dish,
Pan-Roasted Sea Scallops with
Spring Pea Angolitti and Chantrelle Beurre Fondue.
It was the same creation Flato
prepared in Napa.
“Jason’s dish revealed flawless
technique, beautiful composition, and superb flavor,” said Chef
Randy Cheramie, associate dean
of the John Folse Culinary Institute. “He is an affable, honest,
hardworking student of whom
any culinary school would be
proud. Nicholls and the institute
are lucky to have him.”
Cheramie added that the
first-place, regional victory for
Nicholls was magnified by the
fact that the John Folse Culinary
Institute is part of a university
where the cost of a four-year degree is less than $20,000. The
competing schools offer two-year degrees for approximately $60,000.
ProStart offers a two-year, career-building experience for high school students interested in
the culinary arts. Participants receive classroom
instruction, mentored work experience, and the
opportunity to compete in local and national contests.
“I fell in love with the restaurant business,” Flato
said. “It fascinated me.”
After graduating from high school, Flato earned
an associate’s degree in culinary arts from Delgado
Community College in New Orleans. Then he proceeded to Nicholls, where he continues, he said, to
get his “professional feet wet.”
In the summer of 2009, Flato traveled to Lyon,
France, to attend the four-month, advanced culinary program of the Institut Paul Bocuse—one of
several off-campus programs available for students
studying at the John Folse Culinary Institute.
Counting Cheramie as his primary mentor,
Flato said the institute “has certainly offered many
“Either you have passion for this business
or you don’t.”
“This institute offers a superb education for a
bargain price,” Cheramie said. “Moreover, this is the
second year in a row that a student from Nicholls
has placed first in the regional competition.”
Flato began working in restaurants when he was
a high school sophomore and later got involved
with the ProStart high school culinary program.
chances for me to broaden my horizons, and I am
very thankful.”
In the future, Flato plans to open a restaurant or
a small bed and breakfast—and teach.
“Either you have passion for this business or you
don’t,” Flato said. “If you have what it takes, then
welcome to the kitchen.” •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 7
around campus and beyond
Nicholls students win international
engineering competition
G
by Graham Harvey
ov. Bobby Jindal’s budget cuts
to higher education might have
resulted in the elimination of
the manufacturing engineering technology program—but
that didn’t prevent students from bringing
home a top tractor-pull award in late May.
In the university’s best showing to date at
the annual International 1/4-Scale Tractor
Student Design Competition—sponsored
for the past 12 years by the American Society
of Agricultural and Biological Engineers—a
team of Nicholls students defeated 24 competing institutions for best overall tractor-pull
performance.
Dr. George Watt, associate professor of
manufacturing engineering technology and
faculty leader of the Nicholls team, said approximately 15 Nicholls students participated
in designing and building the tractor—seven
of whom traveled to Peoria, Illinois, to compete.
The students’ performance award resulted
from a first-place showing in the heavier tractor-pull category—with a tractor-and-driver
weight target of 1,550 pounds—and a second-place showing in the lighter class, with
a 1,050-pound target. Watt said the Nicholls
tractor pulled “progressively weighted sleds”
almost every year since the university began
competing in 2005, it is not surprising that
the competing schools always show their respect.
“Everyone knows about Nicholls at these
events,” Watt said. “They pick our students’
brains and really pay attention to our efforts.”
“The students can design, build, and
manage a project as a group.”
for nearly 250 feet in both weight classes, securing the victory in overall performance.
With competitors as large as Texas A&M
University, Oklahoma State University, Kansas State University, Penn State University,
and Ohio State University, the significance of
the victory is clear from Nicholls’s perspective, Watt said.
And with Nicholls having received awards
The event also serves as a comprehensive
educational program. Prior to the competition, students receive specifications and rules
for building a 1/4 scale tractor, after which
they actually build it. Later, as part of the
competition, the students submit a written
report, complete with cost/benefit analyses,
via a formal presentation to a team of professional engineers. The same engineers conduct
a thorough, professional inspection
of the tractor.
“They approach it like it’s a company,” Watt said. “The students actually apply what they learn in class,
which shows prospective employers
that they have more than just book
learning. They can design, build, and
manage a project as a group.”
The manufacturing engineering
technology program has an active
industry advisory board that meets
regularly to advise the faculty on
industry needs, emerging industry
trends, and curriculum development. Member companies include:
Bollinger Shipyards, Buern Tools,
Cajun Cutters, Gulf Island, J. Ray
McDermott, John Deere–Thibodaux,
Northrup Grumman–Avondale, and
Weatherford-Gemoco. •
Every inch matters. Members of the Nicholls tractor-pull team that won the 2009 international competition
in Ohio are pictured with the Load-Puller 64 tractor they designed, built, and raced. Seated is Ben Daigle,
and from left are Cody Pellegrin, Cody Cardinale, Matt Ledet, Justin Owens, Chris Authement, Kyle Mcgee,
Chris Thibadaux, and the team’s advisor, Dr. George Watt.
8 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
around campus and beyond
He’s Got the Look
The New Tillou Debuts
T
illou’s back, and he has a full slate
of appearances scheduled this fall
after making his debut August 27
during Welcome Back Day festivities in front of the Donald G. Bollinger Memorial Student Union.
“It’s been four years since President Hulbert
retired the image of the former Colonel mascot
known as Tillou,” said Dr. Rebecca Pennington,
chair of the mascot planning committee. “The
new Tillou is a contemporary colonel created
after numerous focus groups shared their ideas
last fall.”
Rickabaugh Graphics, a nationally recognized
mascot design company, was hired by the university in the summer of 2008 to lead the focus
groups and create a new Nicholls athletics identity program, including a new look for Tillou.
“Representatives from all campus constituencies
were involved in the creative process and in the
final selection of the new athletics marks and
mascot,” Pennington said.
Street Characters, a mascot suit manufacturer
based in Canada, created and produced the new
Tillou’s costume.
Courtney Cassard, who sponsors the Nicholls cheerleaders and mascot, said that the person who wears the costume portraying the new
Tillou “will definitely have big shoes to fill.” In
fact, the new Tillou’s shoes are about size 15
extra-extra wide. •
Nicholls leads state in database usage
“W
ow!” Nicholls is the top research university in Louisiana.
That’s what Dr. Anthony Fonseca said and thought in January when statewide
library statistics told him that Nicholls is the No. 1 user in Louisiana of electronic research databases. Nicholls surpasses LSU, Tulane, and all other colleges and universities, he learned.
“There’s got to be a glitch somewhere,” doubters told the serials and electronic resources librarian.
But Fonseca and others have been unable to find any glitches, he says. That’s probably because the statistics are from the major providers of databases for all 41 academic libraries in LOUIS, the Louisiana
Library Network.
The 2008 usage report of EBSCO, the company that provides 41 of roughly 70 research databases
to Louisiana academic libraries, shows Nicholls with 16.18 percent of database usage by all institutions in the state. LSU–Baton Rouge was a distant second, with 12.34 percent. EBSCO’s counterparts
reported similar figures. Even in 2007, Nicholls outranked LSU usage, though only slightly.
Although Nicholls ranks second or third in the state in some usage categories, still the statistics are
surprisingly good for Nicholls, Mathias and Fonseca say. Back in 2004, Nicholls MathSciNet use was
among the lowest in the state. But in 2008 Nicholls ranked third in the state, exceeded only by LSU
and McNeese.
Databases cost the university more than $300,000 a year, Mathias says, because they represent thousands of costly professional journals. Mathias considers database costs a bargain, pointing out that
expenses are pro-rated among the 41 academic libraries belonging to LOUIS. Databases are available
for use by the general public, Mathias says, but only by visiting Ellender Memorial Library.
“Learn the process of finding information, and you can apply that to your career and your life,” says
Mathias. •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 9
around campus and beyond
New Editor Keeps Wheels Turning
T
ony Cook, who joined the Nicholls
Office of University Relations staff
in June 2008, is now editing Voilà!
He brings to the position more than
20 years of experience as an editor
and writer in university advancement.
Cook likes to tell anyone who will listen about
his formative years growing up in a small South
Carolina town not far from Savannah, Georgia. His father was the town police chief and his
mother was a nurse in the local hospital. As a result, Cook and his older brother were exposed to a
wide variety of people and experiences—many of
them unusual or just plain weird.
“The entire family worked for the police department,” he said. “We knew the names and stories of
everybody in town.”
Stories—and storytelling—became Cook’s primary interest as an adult. In his early twenties he
began to write seriously, mainly journalism and
short fiction. He edited the campus newspaper in
college. After graduating in 1984 from the University of South Carolina, where he majored in history and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor
society, Cook won a fellowship in scholarly editing with The Historian. The quarterly is one of the
top academic journals in the field.
“That’s where I started to become serious about
editing as a profession,” he said. “I learned that, as
much as I liked to write my own stories and essays, helping improve the work of other writers
appealed to me as well.”
Completing his fellowship in 1986, Cook spent
a year teaching writing and studying literature at
the University of Toledo, where The Historian was
housed, before moving on. He left Toledo with a
master’s degree in American history and a book
of short stories to his credit. Summer Songs and
Other Stories was published by the Toledo Poets
Center Press in early 1987.
“I had studied with some prominent writers at
Carolina and Toledo, but mainly those stories are
tales woven from the threads of my life before I
went to college,” Cook said. “They were written
before I learned very much about the art of fiction.”
Later that year, combining his longtime interest in journalism with his academic background,
Cook began his career in higher education advancement at the State University of New York
(SUNY) in Potsdam. He started out as an allpurpose public relations writer, learning the ropes
on the job. Soon he was promoted to director of
media relations. He got married, after a three-year
long-distance courtship, to a girl he met in Ohio—
a librarian, aptly enough.
“I was all set to propose to her on a boat in Lake
Placid on the Fourth of July,” he said. The day
of the cruise, though, the temperature dropped
into the 40s and a stiff breeze chilled his plans.
The proposal was postponed briefly, until things
warmed up.
“That’s how it is in northern New York,” Cook
said. “It’s beautiful country, but warm weather is
rare, even in summer.”
By then he was ready to focus on his creative
work again. In 1990, Cook began working toward
a master’s degree in creative writing at Syracuse
University, where he received a fellowship to study
fiction writing with Tobias Wolff and Mary Karr,
editing stage is where the ideas and words in a
piece of writing receive the final polish before the
reader encounters them. Knowing where and how
to apply the polish is the art of editing.”
Cook has experienced writing and editing at
many levels. His short stories, creative nonfiction, and scholarly essays have appeared in a wide
variety of publications, from daily newspapers to
general interest magazines to literary and academic journals. Some of these include Southern
California Quarterly, New York Alive, and Southern Studies.
In 1997, Cook accepted a job as the university editor at West Virginia University. There
he became the co-creator and manager of the
30,000-student research university’s marketing
communications program, in addition to editing
the alumni magazine and other key publications
and web sites. Again, he taught creative writing
at WVU. He also reviewed manuscripts for the
WVU Press.
The last stop on Cook’s path to Thibodaux was
Tulane University, where he managed the advancement communications department at the
Tulane Health Sciences Center. “For some time, I
had shared a dream with my wife of living in New
Orleans, and we did it,” he said. “Leaving West Virginia was hard to do, but there is no better place
for a Southern writer to live than New Orleans.”
Three years after they settled in New Orleans,
Hurricane Katrina changed things for Cook and
his wife, Donna, a library director at Tulane. But
they emerged with their home, their careers, and
their dreams intact. He continued to write and
edit in the aftermath of the destruction, freelanc-
“I like to write and I like to teach,
but I love to edit.”
among others on the faculty who had made the
Syracuse program one of the most competitive in
the nation. Upon completing his degree, he went
back to work for SUNY. This time, however, he
worked as the publications editor at Binghamton
University, where he also taught creative writing.
“I like to write and I like to teach,” he said, “but
I love to edit. Over the years, I’ve come to think of
editing as a satisfying mental exercise, like solving
a puzzle. Placing all the parts in the correct order
and in the correct form is the only way to achieve
the desired final product.
“That’s what writing is, too, at one level. But the
10 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
ing from his home in Algiers. But after several
years working solo he decided the time had come
to return to a full-time job.
That job is assistant director of university relations at Nicholls. “I’m very happy in my role here,”
Cook said. “Nicholls is one of those places that
people grow fond of easily, so helping to promote
it is not so hard.”
“And it helps that I love to drive,” he joked, noting that he intends to remain a resident of New
Orleans despite his daily commute. “I fear no
highway.” •
around campus and beyond
LPB
Honors
Alumnus
as Legend
A
by Dr. Al Delahaye
dd Louisiana Legend to the many
titles held by 1972 alumnus Ken
Wells of Houma now that Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB)
has honored him at a lavish gala,
much of which was broadcast statewide as an
hour-long documentary.
Other titles that identify Wells are editor, novelist, author, and three-time Pulitzer-prize nominee—four if Hurricane Katrina team coverage
for the Wall Street Journal counts. And years ago
his titles were Nicholls student body president
and Hall of Fame inductee.
Wells has joined the ranks of such LPB-recognized Legends as Lindy Boggs, Archie Manning,
Ernest Gaines, David Treen, and Paul Dietzel.
Honored along with Wells and three other outstanding Louisianians was four-time Super Bowl
champion quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
The PBS gala in Baton Rouge on April 30
began with a champagne reception at the Old
Governor’s Mansion and then shifted to the Old
State Capitol for the formal recognition ceremonies. The event was also a fundraiser with a ticket charge of $150 a person and a silent auction
that included an artist’s drawing of Wells signed
by Wells.
A four-minute documentary on the life and
career of Wells emphasized his Cajun upbringing, the start of his career at the Houma Courier and his efforts to get Thibodaux nightclubs
racially integrated. The documentary told of his
journalistic career when he was based in Miami,
San Francisco, London, and New York. It also
covered his four novels and his two works of
nonfiction.
In his speech of acknowledgement, Wells
credited his family, Nicholls, and south Louisiana for his success. He said he has traveled the
world and has never found any place as interesting as south Louisiana. He also championed the
need for coastal preservation and restoration. •
Ken Wells, named a Louisiana Legend on April 30, visited campus last fall to give a talk and sign copies of
his book The Good Pirates of the Forgotten Bayous in the campus bookstore.
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 11
FACES
F A C E S
O F
FACES
N I C H O L L S
OF NICHOLLS
Jack Cavan’s Personal Universe
Fanfare for Nicholls
Composer’s work celebrates his alma mater.
A
by Dr. Al Delahaye
s a theory and composition music
major in the early 1980s, Stuart
Folse was well-known as a talented, versatile musician with
boyish good looks and a penchant for pulling pranks on Nicholls faculty and
students—like thoroughly papering his voice
instructor’s studio and car with copies of the
Nicholls Worth.
On September 23, 2008, he was back at Nicholls on its 60th birthday to attend a performance
of “…and thine shall be,” his eight-minute original composition based on the Nicholls alma
mater. He also orchestrated it for four pianos, a
vibraphone, and a marimba.
Once the six performers from the music faculty had played the last note, the Talbot Theater
audience jumped to its feet, applauding enthusiastically. During Folse’s hand-shaking dash
across the stage, old friends discovered that he
still has his boyish good looks at age 47.
“Good genes,” he explains.
Folse is a native of Raceland and is a 1983
Nicholls Hall of Fame and cum laude graduate.
After earning a master’s degree in composition
at the University of Texas at Austin in 1986, he
joined the Nicholls faculty. Upon completing
his doctorate at Texas-Austin in 1997, he taught
for a year at Illinois Wesleyan University before
moving to Chicago.
Folse chairs the music faculty at the Chicago
College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, an independent, nonsectarian institution
founded in 1945. More than 360 of its 7,500 students are music majors. He has a studio apartment only four blocks from his ninth-floor office
in the historic Auditorium Building associated
with Louis Sullivan, often called the creator of
the modern skyscraper.
He also has a home in Champaign, about 150
miles south of Chicago, which he shares with his
wife, a New Yorker whom he met when they were
graduate students at Texas-Austin. His wife, Dr.
Donna Buchanan, teaches at the University of Illinois. So he spends two nights a week in Champaign and five in Chicago.
It was three nights a week in Champaign before he was elected to a three-year term as an
administrator who supervises 22 full-time faculty members and numerous adjuncts. Many of
the college’s adjunct instructors, who give studio
lessons, are members of the Chicago Symphony
and the Lyric Opera.
When the 60th Anniversary Planning Committee commissioned Folse to compose a special work for an anniversary piano concert, he
turned to the Nicholls alma mater. Its melody is
that of the once-famous 1857 ballad “Lorena,”
heard in the Natalie Wood scenes in the John
12 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
C
by Dr. Rebecca Pennington
When he was a student in the Nicholls marching
band, the stage band, the brass choir, the concert
choir, and the chamber choir, everyone knew he
was fascinated by sounds.
The Nicholls Worth reported in a fall 1982 feature that Folse “sometimes places microphones
in filing cabinets and fire extinguisher boxes and
bangs on them.” He also enjoyed giving his compositions humorous titles, such as “Contemptiness,” “Abstracted Obstructions,” “Obstructed
Abstractions,” and “Sewer Pipes,” an indirect
reference to Charlotte Pipes, his vocal instructor
and more than once a victim of his pranks. He
has a “good tenor voice,” she remembers.
Folse has created about 35 compositions, but
never a commercial jingle. While a Nicholls faculty member, he composed a Magnificat, which
was premiered at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital
Hall with chorus and piano. He also wrote special music for the 1996 dedication of Lindsley
Hall and was a co-founder in 1996 of the music
series at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Through the years, he has been a Rotary
Foundation exchange student at the University
of Wales, has served as a panelist at the Kennedy
Center, and has published research. He and his
wife co-authored an article on traditional Bulgarian dance tunes after doing research in Sofia.
As a Nicholls student, Folse was often in the
Talbot Theater orchestra pit playing French horn
When he was a Nicholls student everyone
knew he was fascinated by sounds.
Wayne movie The Searchers and, more recently,
in the Ken Burns documentary The Civil War.
Folse used the last four words of the alma
mater for the composition title. The first movement, “A Past Celebrated,” begins with a fanfare
that dissolves into a dreamlike presentation of
the tune, now fuzzy and disguised. In the second
movement, “A Future Anticipated,” the tune is
simplified and presented in various textures that
alternate with a playful and dance-like bass pattern. As the movement progresses, the tune becomes clearer and only at the end is the melody
clearly recognizable.
The composer spent a little more than a summer month at a piano, all the while writing by
hand before putting the results into a computer.
OF NICHOLLS
or piano. Among his fondest Nicholls memories
is “Parade,” the annual variety show that showcased student talent. “It was fun,” he recalls, “because it was creative, and it was an established
tradition I looked fondly on.”
Folse doesn’t call Chicago weather and politics
fun, but he does say that ten degrees in Chicago
is not as bad as 40 degrees in Louisiana. And, “I
feel right at home in Chicago because it has the
same politics as Louisiana.”
As for stories about his pranks as an undergraduate, he denies having secretly tampered
with rehearsal sheet music so that his pals would
be startled in mid-performance when they
turned a page and discovered a Playboy nude:
“That wasn’t me. That was before me.” •
reating mandala designs, playing
basketball, running marathons,
and serving as president of Southside Virginia Community College
in Alberta, Virginia, motivate Dr.
John J. “Jack” Cavan.
Cavan, a 1961 Nicholls graduate with a bachelor of science degree in education and a minor
is social studies and psychology, says that persistence is the key to motivation because, in his
mind, “the game is never over.”
As a young man growing up in Newark, New
Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New
York City, Cavan often went to Rucker Park in
Harlem to play basketball with neighborhood
kids who, he recalls, were much better athletes
than he. “Most of the time, I got my head handed
to me, but I never gave up,” he said. “If you don’t
give up, you can never lose. That’s the philosophy I’ve adopted in my life, and it has worked for
me in everything I do.”
Cavan, who has been president of Southside
for more than 27 years, maintains his motivation
by practicing the ancient art form of “mandala,”
from the Sanskrit word for “circle,” that features
symmetrical geometric designs usually enclosed
within a circle, square, or rectangle. Mandalas serve as cosmograms—representations of
aspects of the universe—and as focal points of
meditation.
Mandalas were highly developed by Hindus in
India and are known to have been used there in
intricate forms during religious ceremonies by
the year 1500 B.C. The pioneering psychoanalyst
Carl Jung saw the mandala as “a representation
diamonds, dots, curves, or other geometric shapes.
Color combinations enhance each
design and offer variety and a continuity of interest for the viewer. The eye is
drawn into the configuration, the shapes
of which are works of art within artwork.
This art form serves as a focusing technique for Cavan as well as a form of creative expression.
Cavan’s mandalas depict the circles
and curves of the ancient form and also
celebrate themes such as holidays and
the election of President Barack Obama.
Cavan has created many mandalas that
celebrate institutions of higher education.
He has created one that represents Nicholls and includes the school colors and
symbols.
Besides art, Cavan has diverse interests
in marathon running and basketball. He
has completed 120 marathons—one of
the most recent was in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. In fact, Cavan and former NBA
player Bryant Stith teamed up in August 2006
to complete a 150-mile biathlon in Virginia to
raise funds for education.
Cavan has not missed a day of running in 22
years and says running “renews the body and
spirit.” His most memorable experience as a
marathon runner happened about 15 years ago
on the Queensboro Bridge over the East River
in New York City. “A fellow running in front of
me is wearing a Nicholls T-shirt,” Cavan said.
“Come to find out, he’s a priest from down the
“If you don’t give up,
you can never lose.”
of the unconscious self ” and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness
in personality. Cavan, it should be noted, holds
several degrees in psychology.
Cavan’s artwork began as just doodles, and has
evolved into more concentrated, colorful paintings throughout the years. His work features the
telltale mandala circle filled in with a central
point, varying lines, flower petals, hexagons,
bayou. What a small world!”
A “deadly accurate outside shooter” turned innovative college president, Cavan was inducted
into the Nicholls Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
He also was inducted into the Sports Hall of
Fame at Mississippi Delta Community College,
formerly known as Sunflower Junior College, in
2003.
A lifelong athlete, Cavan attended Sunflower
in 1957-58. He received numerous scholarship
offers to four-year schools including Seton Hall,
Mississippi State, Western Kentucky, and St.
Francis in Brooklyn, but in 1958 he kept a promise to former Nicholls basketball coach Morris
Osburn and finished his college career here.
Starting in 1963, Cavan coached high school
baseball, basketball, and tennis in New Jersey.
From 1968 to 1972, he served as the head tennis
coach at Atlantic Central Community College
in his home state. During that time, he earned
his master’s degree in administration supervision from Kean University in New Jersey and
master’s and educational specialist’s degrees in
educational psychology and counseling from
Yeshiva University in New York. In 1975 he
earned his doctorate in organizational development from Yeshiva.
Some may wonder how much influence his
brief stay in south Louisiana has had on this educator with the decidedly Northeastern pedigree.
Among other evidence, consider that Cavan’s
college in Virginia just completed its annual Jazz
and Jambalaya event, where the music and food
contained plenty of Louisiana-style spice.
Whether shooting hoops, running through
the southern Virginia pine forests, leading a
community college, or creating art, Cavan pursues all of his interests with motivation and persistence. Most importantly, he never gives up. •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 13
FACES
FACES
OF NICHOLLS
Health Book by Alumnus Sells 500,000 Copies
by Dr. Al Delahaye
W
hen word reached the campus that a 1964 Nicholls
graduate had written a book
that sold 500,000 copies,
a skeptic Googled the author’s name, Joe Elrod, and then telephoned his
publisher.
A spokeswoman for Woodland Publishing in
Utah confirmed the report: “Dr. Elrod’s Reversing Fibromyalgia paperback has sold half a million copies since it was first published in 1997,
and the third edition will soon be out.” Not only
that, the skeptic learned, but the Colonel baseball player back in the early 1960s has three new
health-related titles being published this year by
Woodland as booklets of about 40 pages each.
“I’m not seeking wealth or fame,” Elrod said
from his home in Montgomery, Alabama. “I’m
just trying to help people with pain and health
problems.”
Clicking on a dictionary icon results in this:
“fi.bro.my.al.gia—a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas.”
In the 1990s Elrod was seemingly the only one
who knew much about the disorder or how to
treat it through nutrition, exercise, supplements,
and lifestyle changes.
When he was invited in 1995 by a nutrition
company to serve on a Q&A panel at a huge international convention in Atlanta, every question concerning the debilitating syndrome went
to him. He fielded them well enough to gain a
reputation on the subject and to be invited by
a health-publishing company to write a booklet,
which ultimately became a book.
Elrod began by expanding research he had
London and Australia. Tears came to his eyes,
he says, when a woman who relied on his book
called to say she was no longer in pain and bedridden but once again riding a mowing tractor.
Someone else told him she uses his book as “my
health bible.”
Defining and diagnosing fibromyalgia has
long been a problem for the medical profession,
Elrod writes, and there is no established medical test. Not until 1993 did the World Health
Organization recognize fibromyalgia as a painful muscle syndrome that causes widespread
fatigue, sleep disorders, depression, and anxiety.
Elrod maintains that the disease is manageable
and reversible.
Elrod’s book was the first on fibromyalgia
“I’m not seeking wealth or fame. I’m just trying
to help people with pain and health problems.”
done as an exercise scientist after earning master’s and doctoral degrees at LSU in health,
physical education, and recreation. The resulting book became successful largely by word-ofmouth, Elrod says, and because his regimens get
results.
He tells of thank-you phone calls he has received from recovered sufferers in such places as
to get to bookstore shelves, he believes. Today
Barnes & Noble lists more than a hundred fibromyalgia titles. Books-a-Million has an entire
shelf labeled “fibromyalgia.” Elrod has also published books with such terms as “supplements”
and “nutrition guide” in their titles. Another
book by Elrod, Reversing Degenerative Disease,
first appeared in bookstores in 2002.
14 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
This year Woodland is publishing three Elrod
booklets of about 40 pages each with “The Natural Approach to” in the titles, followed in each
case by the words “Lupus,” “Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome,” and “Arthritis.”
Not bad for a poor boy from the northeast Alabama town of Gadsden. Elrod was such an outstanding high school baseball player—All-State
in 1959—that a Baltimore Orioles scout signed
him for spring training. When he decided to go
to college, he got on a bus to Nicholls because
the Orioles scout and Nicholls coach Jim Hall
knew each other.
When Elrod arrived at the three-building campus in August 1960 with everything he owned
in a suitcase, he was immediately impressed by
Hall, President Charles C. Elkins, Thibodaux,
and the sight of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
At Stark Field he met teammates from Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, and Florida. He was
soon living in one of five little two-man trailers
next to Shaver Gym and later in a small white
frame structure sardonically called the Ponderosa (from the TV hit Bonanza).
On weekends Elrod and his fellow athletes
had access to Shaver Gym and pirogues, and
they would shoot at targets in the back of the
campus. In his freshman year Elrod helped his
class win the pirogue relay race. He even played
basketball one year for Coach Jack Holley.
He was a stalwart in the “N” Club before and
immediately after graduation. In 1962 he received the Golden Glove Award and, in his senior year, was team captain. Elrod played in every inning but three during four seasons: three
for Hall, one for Coach Ray Didier. (Hall took
Elrod out because, in a moment of forgetfulness,
Elrod defied the coach by dashing to second
base—successfully.)
His job was usually at second or third base,
sometimes left field. In a game Tulane was winning, Elrod ran from the left-field fence to throw
a Tulane runner out at home plate to tie the
game. Then he hit a homer in the tenth inning
for a Nicholls triumph. And there was the time,
he remembers, when he hit a grand slam to win
a game against a Jacksonville State team consisting of many of his boyhood friends.
After Nicholls, Elrod became a teacher-coach
at Thibodaux High and then at Ascension Catholic High in Donaldsonville. In 1969 and 1972
he completed LSU degrees in health, physical
education, and recreation. At age 28 he became
one of 12 original faculty members at Auburn
University at Montgomery, Alabama. “We literally built this university on what was a plantation for cotton,” he recalls. “There was nothing
there.” Today its enrollment exceeds 6,000.
After developing athletics, H&PE, intramurals, and serving in many capacities for 11 years,
Elrod started his own company, Dr. Joe M. Elrod
& Associates. Such baseball organizations as the
Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, and the Texas
Rangers turned to him as a consultant concerning conditioning, player development, and drug
abuse. He has worked with NASA, to say nothing of AT&T and McDonald’s.
Elrod has served on professional and civic
boards and committees, including some at the
state level. Many of his efforts involved children,
Special Olympics, fund drives, senior citizens,
and various aspects of education.
During six years at Alabama A&M University
he developed a master’s degree program. In the
decade that started in 1994, he was busy as an
author, speaker, and consultant, making radio
and television appearances, conducting seminars, and going on book-signing tours. Since
2007 he has been at Alabama State University in
Montgomery as an H&PE adjunct professor and
as academic adviser to student-athletes.
Elrod was especially busy in the first half of
2009 inviting athletes of the 1960s and their
spouses to a June get-together in Thibodaux to
renew friendships and to recall great times. Elrod is still in awe of the great hands of teammate
Ray Ferrand—hands, he says, which allowed
Ferrand to be an awesome batter and to beat the
pinball machine at the College Inn.
But his most cherished memory of Nicholls,
Elrod says, was finding a supportive family of
coaches, teammates, faculty, and staff. Neither
of his parents ever watched him play baseball
when he was a youngster or a young adult. But
he says he is grateful for the sacrifice his mom
made when he was a Nicholls student and she
sent him $5 every week from the $35 she earned
as a store clerk.
A memorable day, he says, was when Coach
Hall told him in his freshman year to go downtown to Coplon’s clothing store to pick out a
suit, a shirt, and a tie. For decades he wondered
who had been so generous to him. Not until he
tracked down Hall by telephone a few months
ago about the “family reunion” of athletes of the
1960s did he learn the identity of his benefactor:
President Elkins. •
OF NICHOLLS
City Girl
Tall Texan values teamwork.
M
by Norby Chabert
ore than anything else, Funaki Kefu considers herself a city girl. So, when the tall Texas
native with the Tongan ancestry—and a name
that sounds a little different, even by south
Louisiana standards—stepped foot on the
Nicholls campus for the first time, the small-town surroundings were something she had to get used to.
“At first I thought, there is nothing to do here!” she said,
laughing. “But as time went by I just realized that I would have
to find new ways to enjoy myself.”
The welcoming nature and laid-back lifestyle of bayou people were not part of Kefu’s experience growing up in inner-city
Houston. In Thibodaux she found no skyscrapers, no malls,
no bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic.
For most people who move to the Bayou Region from elsewhere, the easy living, unique culture, and excellent food have
a way of winning them over. This was not the case for her.
“I don’t like seafood,” she said. “And I’m so used to the fast-paced life in the city that being in
Thibodaux was quite the transition.”
While bayou-style food, music, and fun didn’t endear her new home-away-from-home to Kefu,
the Nicholls faculty, staff, fellow students, and Colonel fans did.
“The people here are amazing. They are genuinely nice and supportive. Everyone at Nicholls is
always more than willing to help you,” she said.
Getting accustomed to new places is nothing new for Kefu. She called both Arizona and Utah
home before her family settled in Houston, before she started middle school. At that point, though,
the journey that eventually would bring her to the Nicholls campus to play women’s basketball
with a full scholarship was just beginning.
“As long as I can remember, I’ve always been the biggest kid in my school,” said Kefu, who is 6’3”
tall. “In middle and high school, that helped me succeed in sports.”
A four-year letter winner in basketball for the Colonels, Kefu says volleyball was her first passion. “I love basketball, but volleyball came naturally to me,” she said. “Ultimately, the two sports
complemented each other—without volleyball I would never have been as good at basketball.”
Kefu’s athletic accomplishments in the gym drew Mark Cook, then the head coach of the Nicholls women’s basketball team, to recruit her. In her seventh and eighth grade years, Kefu’s team was
never beaten, going a perfect 22-0 and with MVP honors for Kefu in both seasons.
At Dobi High School, she began an impressive career as the only freshman on the varsity squad,
helping take her team to the district championship while earning honorable mention all-district
accolades. Over the next three years Kefu earned six varsity letters in basketball and volleyball. She
was named to the all-district squad in both sports all three years, and as a junior she was key in her
basketball team’s trip to the state finals for the first time in school history.
But the courts weren’t the only places where Kefu shone. Named female athlete of the year as a
senior, she also was named the homecoming queen and friendliest girl.
That friendliness endeared her to her teammates. Even though her teams at Nicholls never attained the on-court success that her high school teams did, Kefu kept on smiling and having fun.
“I love all of my teammates,” she said. “Win or lose, we still had fun.”
With her playing days at Nicholls now behind her, and only a semester to go before she receives
her accounting degree, Kefu said that Head Coach DoBee Plaisance has the women’s basketball
program headed in the right direction.
“Coach DoBee is gonna get it done!” Kefu said. She is a great coach and she has the support and
loyalty of her players.”
Like thousands of students before her, Funaki Kefu’s time in Thibodaux is drawing to a close.
Even after she returns to Houston, she plans to keep supporting her team and her alma mater.
“I love this place now. I’ll always come back and support it.” •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 15
FACES
OF NICHOLLS
An Eye for Beauty
Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic
and meditative occupation.
It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to
which a man gives his heart.
bromeliad flower
daylily and bee
Mexican petunia (ruellia)
—Karel Čapek,
The Gardener’s Year
D
r. Ridley Gros Jr., the retired Nicholls dean who repeatedly
got business administration programs nationally accredited,
delights in growing hundreds of flowers and plants in the
backyard of his 75-year-old Thibodaux home. But he also
photographs them with a digital camera and loves sharing
passion flower
clavia
the photos with friends and relatives.
On many summer days, the self-taught gardener spends about two hours watering
mammoth hanging baskets, about 80 bromeliads, lots of crotons, and a variety of
rare and common plants and flowers, to say nothing of cast iron plants, camellias,
and azaleas.
All are thriving in sunlight or shade, among a variety of trees and shrubs, sharing space with fountains, bricked areas—and even an authentic sugar kettle with a
population of brightly colored fish, big and little. The garden is a place of enchantment and serenity.
Photographs by Dr. Ridley Gros Jr.
16 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
ichoromga
Clavia
SPIDER LILY
Voilà! THE MAGAZINEYELLOW
OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 17
Live and Local
BY RENEE PIPER
Houma Impresario Puts Nicholls in the Spotlight
HTV anchor Jimmy Dagate on the set with Nicholls correspondent Renee Piper.
Nicholls Guests,
May 12, 2008–
May 12, 2009
Dr. Allen Alexander
S
ince May 2008, Nicholls has partnered with HTV-10, a locally
owned television station in Houma, to create a weekly, live
television broadcast designed to showcase the university’s
best and brightest.
The partnership has provided a priceless opportunity for Nicholls to share
its vast expertise and knowledge with residents of the Bayou Region. The
Dr. Glenn Antizzo
Dr. Badiollah Asrabadi
willingness of university faculty, staff, and students to share their insights and
information with viewers is the driving force behind the ongoing success of
the show.
During the show’s inaugural year, over 60 guests volunteered their time to
Alex Barnes
Dr. Laynie Barrilleaux
represent the best of Nicholls State University.
An Opportune Partnership
Dr. Scott Beslin
Dr. Adrienne Bethancourt
The partnership between Nicholls and HTV-10 began in March 2008 at the Louisiana Center for
Women and Government’s annual Hall of Fame luncheon and awards ceremony. The center is housed
at Nicholls, so members of the Nicholls Office of University Relations—Renee Piper, director, and Graham Harvey, writer and media relations specialist—were on hand to assist print and broadcast media
professionals who were reporting on the event.
18 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Martin Folse, owner and president of HTV-10,
was between interviews with Dr. Laura Badeaux,
the director of the LCWG, and broadcaster Connie
Chung, the event’s keynote speaker, when Piper approached him to ask about interviewing a Nicholls
faculty or staff member once a week on his station’s
Bayou Time program. Folse responded with great
interest, and offered to meet with Piper and Harvey
to work out the details.
Folse generously offered the two Nicholls reps 15
minutes of live airtime once a week to talk about
whatever they wanted—academics, athletics, research, events, fundraising, student life, servicelearning—anything at all. The only caveat? Folse
wanted a “Nicholls correspondent,” either Piper or
Harvey, to host the show.
A bit uneasy about being on camera, but certain of
the amazing opportunity for Nicholls that they simply couldn’t pass up, Piper and Harvey agreed. The
discussion continued and the trio determined that
the first Nicholls show would go live at 7:10 p.m. on
Monday, May 12, 2008. (The show later moved to
Tuesdays.)
Plunging headfirst into unknown waters, Piper
and Harvey, acting in their new roles as co-producers of a television show, immediately began working
to fill the weekly 15 minutes of airtime. They invited
university faculty, staff members, and student leaders to join them on the show to talk about their areas
of expertise. The slots filled quickly, and leading the
way was Dr. Stephen Hulbert, president of Nicholls. He was the first scheduled guest for the newly
launched show.
With the stage all set, the university was now in
the business of television production with HTV-10.
The Entrepreneur’s Vision
Martin Folse always had a passion for television.
“As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be
involved in television—acting, producing, owning,
you name it,” Folse says. So, when he had an opportunity to meet with the CEO for Vision Cable during a vacation to New York City, Folse jumped at the
chance. He asked if he could buy a channel from the
company. Vision Cable agreed, and HTV was born.
Folse was only 25 when HTV began operations in
1986 as a one-man show. “I used to film, edit, do announcing, sell (advertising), and clean the offices,”
Folse recalls. “I always tell people when they come
in that I would not ask them to do anything that I
would not do myself. That means anything, including climbing towers.”
Twenty-three years later and still owned by Folse, the only television station in the city of Houma
boasts two towers—one in Houma and one in Morgan City—and broadcasts to over 500,000 viewers
in south Louisiana. HTV has 13 employees and
streams programming live, 24 hours a day, online at
www.htv10.tv.
Located at 1202 St. Charles Street, just 20 minutes
south of the Nicholls campus, HTV is the area’s only
local source for televised news and other stories.
That distinction comes with a huge responsibility.
Before, during, and after hurricanes, residents of
Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary, Jefferson, and Assumption parishes rely on HTV for comprehensive,
locally oriented coverage.
Dr. Sumita Bhattacharyya Lester Bimah
Tonight’s Guests
The more than 60 different guests who have appeared on the Nicholls HTV show during its inaugural year have shared a breadth of knowledge on a
wide variety of topics. While some guests have made
a one-time appearance, others have made multiple
appearances, making them unintended local celebrities.
Discussions on the show are always informative
and can range from fun and light-hearted to serious
and critically important. From ghosts on campus to
campus safety, the topics range across the map of the
Nicholls landscape.
With so much progress being made toward improving the Nicholls physical plant, it is no surprise
that Mike Davis, assistant vice president for administration, has been a frequent HTV guest. Davis’s interviews have focused on campus safety initiatives,
such as the installation of a siren system; campus
facility improvements, such as the opening of three
new residence halls and renovations of Beauregard
Hall and Ellender Library; and one of the most anticipated events in Nicholls’s history, the demolition
of Long Hall last November.
Event promotion is a popular reason for guests to
appear on the show. No stranger to bright lights and
cameras, Chef Randy Cheramie, associate dean of
the John Folse Culinary Institute and a well-known
regional stage performer, has appeared to promote
Bite of the Arts, the Culinary Institute’s annual fall
fundraising dinner.
Angela Hammerli, distinguished service professor
of education and coordinator of Jubilee: A Festival
of the Arts and Humanities, was a guest on the show
several times, promoting such events as the Jubilee
Jambalaya Writers Conference and performances by
the Singers of United Lands.
Besides Davis, other members of the Nicholls administration have appeared on the show to discuss
important topics. President Hulbert talked about
guns on campus, facility renovations, and budget
cuts; Larry Howell, associate provost, examined the
university’s regional economic impact; Dr. David
Boudreaux, vice president for institutional advancement, promoted the Manning Passing Academy,
Women’s Night Out, and the A+ Sponsor a Scholar
Dr. David Boudreaux
Dr. Carol Britt
Dr. Luke Cashen
Norby Chabert
Dr. Ken Chadwick
Karen Chauvin
Randy Cheramie
Lee Daigle
Mike Davis
Dr. John Doucet
Cynthia DuBois
Dr. Ernest Ellender
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 19
Dr. Allyse Ferrara
Dr. Quenton Fontenot
Food and Wine Extravaganza; and Dr. Laynie Barrilleaux, assistant vice president for academic affairs,
discussed commencement exercises.
From negative to positive—hurricane damage and
budget cuts to economic impact and rising enrollment numbers—the Nicholls HTV show highlights
everything Nicholls.
Lights, Camera, Action
Dr. Henry Foust
Dr. Diane Garvey
Bobby Gallinsky
Lori Groover
Angela Hammerli
Dr. Neset Hikmet
Larry Howell
Dr. Stephen Hulbert
Craig Jaccuzzo
Jackie Jackson
Dr. Todd Keller
John Kerry
The 15-minute Nicholls segment airs live every
Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. during HTV’s Bayou Time program. The station’s local news and sports broadcast,
Bayou Time airs from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through
Friday. The two-hour show’s format features an HTV
anchor interviewing a variety of guests and fielding
questions and comments from telephone callers.
Although the Nicholls show is scheduled to begin at
7:10 and end at 7:25 p.m., those times can vary. During
the segment of Bayou Time that precedes the Nicholls
segment, Jimmy Dagate, the HTV Tuesday night anchor, usually takes calls from viewers. If the calls are
particularly entertaining, that segment may run a little
long and push the Nicholls segment back a bit.
One week prior to their scheduled appearance,
Nicholls guests are asked to provide a list of seven to
ten questions they want the Nicholls correspondent,
either Harvey or Piper, to ask them during the show.
The guests are asked to arrive 20 minutes prior to airtime. Upon arrival, they wait in a small, dimly lit area
that is in view of the Bayou Time producer, Jason Serigny. HTV staffers wearing headsets scurry around,
performing tasks to ensure the show runs smoothly
and on time.
While waiting for the show to begin, guests are given pointers and are briefed on what to expect during
the interview. For example: Avoid looking at the camera when you answer the question; look at the person
who asked it.
The studio phone is ringing non-stop, the wallmounted television is tuned to Bayou Time and the
volume is set at concert level. This is the point where
many first-time guests tend to get a bit anxious.
Dagate says, “We’ll be back after this commercial
break with our Nicholls State University show.” The
producer enters the waiting room and ushers the
Nicholls guests through two glass doors and down a
short, dark hallway, emerging on the set.
In stark contrast to the waiting area, the set is
brightly lighted and completely quiet. Seated at the
elegant, 22-foot dark wooden desk is Dagate, the anchorman, who is a practicing attorney by day.
Smiling, Dagate greets the Nicholls people with
warm Southern charm and asks, “How y’all doin’ tonight?” His relaxed disposition spills over the studio
and the guests, once anxious, are soon at ease. The
thermostat is placed at a frigid setting: the cold helps
20 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
keep the host and guests alert.
In the 30 seconds before Bayou Time is back
live, the Nicholls red “N” logo appears on the
three flat-screen monitors behind the desk,
Piper or Harvey takes the seat between Dagate
and the Nicholls guest, the cameraman offers
each guest an HTV mug filled with water, and
the producer synchs the desktop digital clocks.
The clocks—there are four of them strategically
placed on the desk—count down the remaining
time until a commercial break, helping the anchor and guests stay on schedule.
“And we’re back,” Dagate tells the viewers.
And the Nicholls segment begins. Some of the
Nicholls shows feature one guest and cover one
topic, while others have multiple guests and cover two topics. Changing guests in the middle of
the show is seamless to the viewer because the
15-minute segment is actually two seven-minute
segments with a one-minute commercial break
in the middle. When necessary, guests for the
first segment are replaced for the second segment during the commercial.
Becky Leblanc
Dr. Gary Lefleur
Dr. En Mao
Dr. Shawn Mauldin
Dr. Stephen Michot
Kim Montague
Nicholls correspondent Graham Harvey, right, shares a thought with
Martin Folse on the set of HTV-10’s Bayou Time.
Christy Naquin
Dr. Sonya Premeaux
Debbie Raziano
April Reed
Christian Samaha
Brigett Scott
Dr. Andy Simoncelli
Jennifer Smith
Ashlyn Thompson
Dr. Joseph Thysell
Brandie Toups
Dr. Chuck Viosca
Celeste Weuve
Gerard White
Dr. Kent White
The Future Looks Bright
Even though the Nicholls HTV partnership is
still quite young, it is evident that a long, prosperous future is ahead.
Folse recently purchased a building on the
corner of Main and Barrow streets in Houma.
Once home to Dupont’s department store, it has
been vacant since 2003. After extensive renovations are complete, the site will be home to a
new, state-of-the-art HTV-10 television studio,
preparing Folse to continue to serve the region
for years to come.
Nicholls doesn’t plan to let this valuable marketing opportunity slip away any time soon, according to Piper. “In fact, we’re always searching
for ways to add to and improve our show. We’d
like to start including live performances—showcasing the many talented students and faculty
members at Nicholls,” Piper says. “As the university continues to grow and flourish, there’s sure
to be subject matter for the foreseeable future.
Our goal is to create an informative show that
viewers are eager to watch.
“In light of the ongoing budget crisis, Nicholls needs this marketing communications tool
now more than ever,” Piper adds. “It is important for the public to know how crucial our university is to the Bayou Region and the state of
Louisiana. The Nicholls television broadcast is
a highly effective tool as we strive to maximize
the positive, public image of the university.” •
Who is Martin Folse?
Martin Folse is a Nicholls alumnus. He graduated from Nicholls
in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. His studies concentrated on broadcast and print journalism.
Folse is a songwriter and singer. Although best known for
his time spent in the HTV anchor chair, he has written and recorded almost 70 original songs—most of them belonging to
the contemporary country genre. Folse is a filmmaker. “I have always been intrigued with cameras,” he says. His fascination with film started when he was just 10
years old and he purchased his first Super 8 movie camera. Folse
was just 22 when he made his first movie, a monster/horror flick
entitled Nutria Man (renamed Terror in the Swamp).
Folse is a community supporter. HTV partners with the Thibodaux Lions Club each December to sponsor the Bayou vs.
River Showdown—a charity football game held in John L. Guidry
Stadium on the Nicholls campus. Event proceeds are donated to
Nicholls for student scholarships. The December 2008 game raised
$9,000 and provided funding for 18 scholarships.
Folse is passionate about history. That would explain his sincere,
almost child-like enthusiasm about purchasing an old, rundown
building. “A place like Dupont’s department store holds a lot of
memories for the people of Houma,” he says. “It killed me to see a
historic place sitting there for so long. I feel like we are resurrecting
part of our city’s history, and I’m proud to be a part of that.”
Folse is focused on the people of the Bayou Region. I think we
(HTV) basically do programming that caters to our area,” Folse
says. Referring to the major network affiliates based in New Orleans, he adds: “We don’t try to be WWL, and we don’t try to be
WDSU or WVUE. We’re HTV. Keeping it local is the station’s
focus.”
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 21
Accelerated Learning
An MBA program for working professionals meets goals fast.
N
by Graham Harvey
icholls has offered a Master
of Business Administration program for nearly 40
years. But many area professionals who might otherwise have sought the degree were unable to
do so because of their busy schedules.
In 2007, the College of Business Administration remedied the problem by launching the
Executive Master of Business Administration
(EMBA) program. In a relatively brief period
of time, it has attracted a diverse enrollment
of non-traditional students, from engineers to
business owners.
“The EMBA program was created to meet the
needs of working professionals,” said Dr. Luke
Cashen, EMBA program director and assistant
professor of management. “The program addresses the specific needs of those individuals who do not have the time to devote to the
structure of the traditional MBA program. Offering classes on alternate Saturdays and online allows participants to balance the rigors of
their work responsibilities with the demands of
their professors.”
EMBA participants do not spend eight hours
listening to lectures based on textbook readings. Rather, faculty members use a variety of
instructional methods depending on the nature
of the course and the learning objectives of the
specific class.
Courses are delivered sequentially, in a lockstep program wherein students begin and complete the program together. This system allows
for lasting professional networks and long-term
friendships.
“The delivery method of the EMBA program
allows participants to obtain their MBA in 17
months, which is incredibly attractive considering that the traditional route might take as
long as three and a half years, if done on a parttime basis,” Cashen said.
Required courses include 12 hours covering the language and tools of business analysis;
nine hours devoted to the organizational process, markets, and employees; nine hours concentrating on competitive success; and a threehour elective chosen by the student, based on
options provided by the faculty.
In the classroom, professors combine case
studies and research with their own business
experiences and research findings to lead lectures and discussions.
Students, meanwhile, share their professional experiences with one another, a critical
learning opportunity that sets the EMBA program apart from more traditional programs.
Study groups capitalize on students’ diversity,
and much of the coursework requires students
to prepare presentations and reports in teams.
Participants take the lead in their group when
working on a project pertaining to their area of
expertise, and they learn from their peers when
conducting projects on less familiar topics.
“The goal of the EMBA program is to provide
graduates with the perspectives and tools necessary to handle the challenges facing business
leaders in today’s dynamic global economy,”
said Dr. Shawn Mauldin, dean of the College
of Business Administration. “Based on feedback from the first EMBA class, I believe we
are accomplishing that goal and that there will
continue to be a strong demand to educate future business leaders and entrepreneurs in this
format.
“The College of Business Administration
has offered an MBA degree for almost four
decades,” Mauldin added. “Therefore, it was
an easy transition to create an Executive MBA
program. Both programs are nationally accredited by AACSB International, and they are very
important to the overall credibility and quality
of the College of Business Administration.”
The EMBA program classes are conducted
in the Barker Family Executive Classroom, a
newly remodeled executive-style facility in the
Duhé Building in Houma. Situated next to the
Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, the building
features computers that are electronically linked
to technology on the Nicholls main campus.
Named for the family of Nicholls Foundation
board member Dickie Barker, a 1955 Nicholls
graduate, the classroom opened on June 20,
2008. It accommodates 15 students in a boardroom environment. Suitable for case discussions, seminars, and lectures, the room encourages interaction among students and professors
via state-of-the-art, user-friendly technology.
Teaching tools include a viewing monitor that
allows interactive writing and recording on the
screen, ceiling-mounted surround speakers,
and a high-resolution projector.
“Throughout my adult life I have recognized
what Nicholls means to this community and to
this region,” Barker said. “The growth and development of Houma and Thibodaux have par-
Many backgrounds, a common goal.
The ten members of the first class of the Nicholls Executive MBA
program received their graduate degrees at the 2009 spring
commencement. In their footsteps are the twelve members of
the second EMBA cohort, who began their program on January
17, 2009. Much like their predecessors, members of the current
class have diverse backgrounds including engineering, financial
alleled the growth and maturity of Nicholls. An
executive MBA program that is accessible right
here at our doorsteps helps to make us more
competitive in a global economy.”
The total cost of the Nicholls EMBA program is $21,000 including tuition, fees, books,
materials, Saturday lunches, refreshments, and
graduation regalia. Although sponsoring companies may pay program costs or reimburse
participants, the participant is responsible for
direct payment to Nicholls.
“We are currently recruiting for our next
EMBA class, which begins in February 2010,”
Cashen said. “I have spoken with quite a few
potential students for the program and all have
found the format and time-frame very attractive. When potential students combine these
features with the solid curriculum, highly qualified faculty, and AACSB accreditation held by
the College of Business Administration, they
quickly recognize the excellence of the program.”
Reed Davison
K
ansas City native Reed Davison, a ship surveyor for the American Bureau of Shipping,
began his EMBA studies in January 2009.
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate spends his workdays off the coast of
Port Fourchon inspecting ships for seaworthiness. He said he wanted to attain an advanced degree in
order to become more upwardly mobile in his employer’s management structure.
A resident of Bayou Blue, Davison said he “couldn’t afford to take off work for two years in a traditional program,” so he was pleased to have found the Nicholls program—especially with its “perks.”
Among these, Davison concluded, are the hybrid schedule, the one-on-one attention provided by
faculty, and the affordable, all-inclusive cost—much of which his employer is shouldering.
“It’s an adult-based program,” Davison said. “We’re on a first-name basis with the professors, and
the curriculum is oriented toward people of differing backgrounds.”
services, manufacturing, management, and education.
22 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 23
Gwen Luc
W
ith two young daughters and a husband, plus a homebased business to run, Gwen Luc of Morgan City lacks
the time to pursue an MBA in a traditional graduate
school setting. Luc is co-owner of Payroll and Business Solutions
Inc., a family-run payroll and accounting firm, with clients ranging
from restaurants to oil and gas companies.
She and her husband had been discussing her desire to attain an
advanced degree for several years, but she did not wish to sacrifice
an inordinate amount of her personal and professional life in the
pursuit of her educational goals.
“I didn’t want to join a program that was entirely online,” Luc
said. “I wanted there to be an interactive element, both with professors and students.”
Finally, the 1994 graduate of the Nicholls College of Business
Administration received a mailing from her alma mater advertising an informational seminar for
the EMBA program. She attended the seminar, was recruited, and is now slated to graduate in May
2010.
Luc said her professors and peers have “opened her eyes” with regard to how the wider business
world operates.
She not only found the hybrid nature of the program perfectly
suited to her circumstances; she said she is especially gratified that
the academic quality remains “top-notch.” She said she can now
make better sense of her clients’ reports, ask questions she did not
know to ask before, and as a result, serve her clients better.
“Moreover, the faculty are highly dedicated to the individual student’s needs,” Luc said. “They seem to stop everything they’re doing
to provide personal support.”
Stephen Lowery
S
tephen Lowery, an electrical engineer for DynMcDermott, a
U.S. Department of Energy contractor in New Orleans, said
he was attracted to the EMBA program because of its nontraditional structure.
Having earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from
Louisiana Tech, Lowery joined DynMcDermott a year and a half
ago—and his work schedule is intense.
“I was looking for a flexible, versatile MBA program that fits my
schedule,” he said. “This program is highly convenient for a Kenner resident who travels a lot.”
Lowery serves as a liaison between DynMcDermott’s headquarters and field sites, administers engineering projects from conception to completion, and conducts presentations on safety and facility
upgrades.
In addition to the EMBA program’s manageable structure and engaging, cordial atmosphere, Lowery said the curriculum has already contributed to his success at work—especially when performing
cost-benefit analyses.
“I use these exact tools in my job,” he said. “It coincides perfectly with what I do.”
Lowery is slated to graduate from the program in May 2010.
24 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Lou Estay
L
ou Estay, B.S.N., a nurse and a 2009 EMBA graduate, has been director of surgery at Terrebonne General Medical Center for 13 years. She leads four departments, maintains the competencies and continuing education
of a large staff, oversees operating and capital budgets, and coordinates with surgeons and interdisciplinary
departments on a daily basis.
“As much as I love being a nurse and patients’ advocate, there is a huge business side to my role,” Estay said. “The
EMBA program at Nicholls was very inviting.”
A wife, mother, and grandmother whose prior business experience included her husband’s shrimping operation,
Estay was recruited via a Nicholls presentation at the hospital.
“The EMBA program has given me a broad organizational perspective of the whole hospital community,” Estay said.
“I don’t live in a silo any longer. The knowledge I’ve gained helps me in my day-to-day work. I’m more involved with
the budget, I’m working more closely with our accountants, and I have learned about the intergenerational characteristics of my coworkers.”
Such characteristics, Estay said, include the younger generation’s reliance on Internet communication—a shift from
the face-to-face preferences of her own generation. Recognizing and appreciating such differences helps her to understand, in turn, the organization’s human resources functions, she said.
A breast cancer survivor and self-described “lover of life,” the Dulac resident said the camaraderie she experienced
in the EMBA program—especially in group-work projects and one-on-one faculty interaction—contributed heftily to
her success. She emphasizes this when she pitches the program to peers and friends.
“I would recommend the EMBA program to anyone. Indeed I already have, many times, especially to those whose
lives do not allow for a traditional program,” Estay said. “The professors are knowledgeable, engaged, caring, and
compassionate. Plus, I learned about different companies and met people with varying life experiences. They will all
be a part of my life forever.” •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 25
Sweet, Sweet Sugar
Dr. Robert Falgout has directed the Nicholls sugar institutes for 32 years.
A worldwide industry depends on Nicholls
S
by Dr. Al Delahaye
ugar institutes conducted at Nicholls
each summer could be mistaken for
meetings of the United Nations. After
all, student accents vary as much as
their names and their international
addresses.
For the second institute of the summer of 2008,
Heidi Aaltonen and Mikko Heiska journeyed from
Finland, Elwaleed Ali and Haseeb Yaqubi came
from Canada, and Agnieszka Musial and Serah
Adegbenro flew in from London. Joining them at
Nicholls were Manuel Mendez of Argentina, John
Doyle of Maryland, Robert Ritter of Gramercy,
Louisiana, and 23 others, all casually dressed and
seemingly between the ages of 25 and 40.
They and past students have made the names
Nicholls State University and Dr. Robert Falgout
familiar around the world to most companies
that process or refine cane sugar. Nicholls has
had international recognition since the summer
of 1978 when it conducted its first cane-sugar
institute.
Falgout, who retired as a professor of agriculture
in 1998, has directed the sugar institutes for all 32
summers. He says they are the only ones of their
kind in the world.
Over the years they have drawn more than
1,500 participants from 16 U.S. states and 30
countries. About 48 refineries, 35 mills, and 30
companies have sent personnel to study at the
Nicholls institutes, which each last about 11 days.
When companies hire technical and
engineering graduates from an M.I.T. or a Cal
Tech, Falgout explains, they generally know little
or nothing about sugar refining and processing.
So companies send them to Nicholls to learn in
less than two weeks what would otherwise require
several years on the job.
The first institutes concerned only refiners,
those who produce white sugar. But since 1985,
26 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
a second institute for manufacturers of raw
cane sugar also has been offered. (Raw sugar,
sometimes called brown sugar, has a thin film of
molasses on it, is not sanitary, and cannot be sold
to the public as food.)
The refiners’ institute in summer 2008 was
a typical one. Thirty-two people from three
continents attended after their companies paid
$2,200 to Nicholls to cover their tuition, food, and
lodging. The Office of Continuing Education and
an advisory council assisted Falgout.
American Sugar Refining Co. of New York sent
11 of its employees from California, Maryland,
New York, and Louisiana. Tate & Lyle Sugars,
whose Thames refinery, Falgout says, is the biggest
in the world, sent nine employees from England.
In addition, there were students from Finland,
Canada, Argentina, and the states of Georgia and
Texas. Everyone received academic or continuing
education credit.
Institute participants each received binders
containing about 1,000 pages of notes prepared
by instructors. Only institute students are allowed
to have them, Falgout says; they are not for sale to
others, even those offering as much as $500.
On the first night, participants enjoyed hors
d’oeuvres and local food, including fried alligator.
The sessions were informal with much discussion
and many questions. Participants were tested on
each topic presented. Falgout began the institute
with an overview of the sugar industry. The other
nine faculty members included two Nicholls
alumni: Walter Simoneaux of Labadieville, who,
like Falgout, has been with the sugar institutes
from the very beginning, and Dr. Charles Richard
of New Orleans.
Instructors from Louisiana, Georgia, New
York, and England focused on 14 topics,
including energy economy, centrifugals and their
operation, operational computers, and high- and
low-grade crystallization. On the weekend, most
participants visited New Orleans on their own or
took a swamp tour.
Falgout took participants on four scheduled
field trips in south Louisiana. During the bus
rides, he mentioned that Louisiana had six
refineries in the 1960s but now only two, and
that the state in 1968 had 43 raw-sugar mills but
today only 11. Nonetheless, he always makes this
point: “We have the same amount of sugar being
produced now as in the mid-1960s, because the
mills are bigger and the farms are more efficient
and yield more sugar per acre.”
On the second to last day of the 2008 refiners’
institute, a four-member panel of experts spoke
and answered questions. One explained how to
find any relevant paper published since 1944,
commenting that “somebody has run into your
problem and has written about it.” Another
advised, “Don’t blame everything on the lab.” Yet
another gave this advice: “Make sure the truck
driver sees you take the sample, otherwise you
may get a bad shipment of lime.”
One panelist called the sugar industry “a nice
one,” because “you can walk into any sugar factory
and get help,” unlike in the oil industry where, he
said, workers in various units are forbidden to
talk to workers in other units.
Panelists included Chung Chi Chou, whom
Falgout identifies as the co-author of the Cane
Sugar Handbook, now in its 12th edition. He calls
that volume, which sells for about $600, “the bible
for cane sugar manufacturers and their chemists.”
Falgout proudly says that Chou, also the coauthor of The Handbook of Sugar Refining, has
taught at Nicholls institutes for 23 summers. He
is originally from Taiwan but lives in New York
where he is president of Dr. Chou Technologies
Inc.
Falgout probably could have joined Chou as a
panelist. After all, he has directed and sat through
more than 50 sugar institutes, and he himself
has an international reputation. For example, in
successful beet-sugar institute in Colorado.
He recommended to Dr. Carroll Falcon, head
of the Nicholls Department of Agriculture, that
Nicholls start one for cane sugar. (Dr. Falcon is
Since 1978 the Nicholls sugar institutes have
drawn more than 1,500 participants from 16
U.S. states and 30 countries.
1999 he was in China, touring facilities, making
recommendations, and conducting daylong
seminars in several cities. He was there as a guest
of the government, which allowed him “to stay in
the best hotels, dine on the best food.”
During a break after the institute panel had
finished, Hans Murmi of Finland said his
company imports sugar from Cuba and all over
the world and then refines it. “I’m familiar with
sugar beets,” he explained, “but I’m learning
about sugar cane.”
Peter F. Brown, a process technologist at a
refinery near London, said, “I’m learning about
processes we don’t use every day—and about
working standards.” And then he added: “I shall
be recommending this institute to other young
people.”
Ramiro Sayago, who spent 15 hours getting
from Argentina to “this very friendly university,”
commented that “I work in the lab and I’m
learning about the different processes and
technologies.”
At the closing banquet, awards included a
$1,500 scholarship to the company that sponsored
the student who made the highest overall test
score; it must be used to send someone from a
third-world country to Nicholls for training.
Chou presented the top student with a copy of his
handbook.
The concept of a sugar institute at Nicholls
began in the late 1970s when Joe Harrison,
refinery manager at Supreme Sugars, attended
a meeting in Toronto where he learned of a
today provost and vice president for academic
affairs at Nicholls.)
At a meeting of cane-sugar technologists in
San Francisco, Falcon and Carey W. Flowers Jr.
of the chemistry faculty received encouragement.
A Nicholls advisory committee of local refiners
resulted, and the first refined-sugar institute in
1978 enrolled 15 students. “I was the sugar man
in the ag department, so Carroll said you are a
natural to be director,” Falgout explains.
Seven years later, a raw-sugar institute began
at the request of sugar mills and even refiners.
Support comes from more than just mills and
refiners, Falgout says. Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola,
Mars Candy Co., and Ponce Candy (in the
Caribbean) have all sent someone at one time or
another, and so have chemical companies that
support the sugar industry. Past students have
come from the Philippines, Japan, and Korea and
from such population centers in the communist
realm as Hong Kong and Singapore.
At the close of an institute, participants write
evaluations and leave with complete information
about their fellow students and their instructors;
thus, information can be exchanged, questions
asked, and problems shared.
Chou says he comes to Nicholls summer after
summer because he likes to teach and to transfer
the technology to the next generation. “Sugar is
big around the world,” he declares, “and I always
emphasize the need for training.” Turning to
Falgout, he smiles and says, “Bob is going to save
the sugar industry by training technologists.” •
If it’s the U.S. vs. the World,
guess who wins at soccer.
A lot of sugar technicians can take the heat of a refinery or mill but not the heat of a
summer at Nicholls.
Dr. Robert Falgout, director of sugar institutes each summer, recalls students from distant
continents who chose to skip a meal rather than walk from residence hall to cafeteria.
He tells of one summer when heat ruined a soccer competition. As camaraderie among
students built day by day, soccer dominated casual conversations. Finally, students decided to
stage their own soccer Olympics: the U.S. vs. the World. They marked off a field, filled an ice
chest, and formed teams.
Then they kicked the ball only a few times. “They were wilted,” Falgout remembers. “The
Olympic match fizzled. They couldn’t take the heat, so they called it a draw.”
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 27
Field to Refinery
The process of cane sugar production.
BY TONY COOK
Sugar production is a highly mechanized industry. Cane fields around Thibodaux are tended yearround using specialized machines, some of them built locally. The harvested cane is turned into
raw sugar in mills that fill the air with steam plumes and an odor, familiar to every Bayou Region
resident, that is the smell of new money being made from the cane crop.
After producing new stalks for three years or so, existing cane plants are plowed under and replanted.
Grown in many other parts of the world as well, the
sugar cane plant is a Louisiana icon.
Trucks bring the harvested cane to the mill for processing into raw sugar. This mill is in Raceland. Similar mills are in
Thibodaux and ten other sites in south Louisiana.
28 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Sugar cane is harvested in the fall. Harvesting machines are manufactured in Thibodaux by John Deere, formerly
Cameco.
One by one, trucks are unloaded and their contents are readied for “grinding,” the local term for the process of making
raw sugar from the sugar cane plant.
Cut into small pieces by the harvesting machine,
the cane is collected in a wagon that hauls it out
of the field to waiting trucks.
Raw sugar, piled up like sand dunes, is loaded into trucks that take it to the refinery. Sugar refineries
are located in Arabi and Gramercy, as well as in Texas and Georgia.
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 29
Grinding Sugar Cane
S
ugar cane, a crop that has been grown in Louisiana for centuries and
remains an important part of the state’s economy, has to be moved to a
mill that is usually located close to the area of cultivation. Railcars and
trucks take the harvest from field to mill.
In a sugar mill, sugar cane is washed, chopped, and shredded by revolving knives. The shredded cane is repeatedly mixed with water and crushed
between rollers; the collected juices contain ten to 15 percent sucrose, and the
remaining fibrous solids, called bagasse, are burned for fuel. Bagasse makes a
sugar mill more than self-sufficient in energy; the surplus bagasse can be used for
animal feed, in paper manufacture, or burned to generate electricity.
The cane juice is next mixed with lime to adjust its acidity. This mixing arrests
sucrose’s decay into glucose and fructose, and precipitates out some impurities.
The mixture then sits, allowing the lime and other suspended solids to settle out,
and the clarified juice is concentrated in a multiple-effect evaporator to make a
syrup about 60 percent by weight in sucrose.
This syrup is further concentrated under vacuum until it becomes supersaturated, and then seeded with crystalline sugar. Upon cooling, sugar crystallizes
out of the syrup. A centrifuge is used to separate the sugar from the remaining liquid, or molasses. Additional crystallizations may be performed to extract
more sugar from the molasses; the molasses remaining after no more sugar can
be extracted from it in a cost-effective fashion is called blackstrap.
Raw sugar has a yellow to brown color. If a white product is desired, sulfur
dioxide may be bubbled through the cane juice before evaporation; this chemical bleaches many color-forming impurities into colorless ones. Sugar bleached
white by this sulfitation process is called “mill white,” “plantation white,” and
“crystal sugar.” This form of sugar is the form most commonly consumed in sugar cane-producing countries. •
Sugar Cane’s Second Harvest
Research at Nicholls promises economic and environmental benefits.
D
by Graham Harvey
r. Ramaraj Boopathy, Nicholls distinguished service professor of biological sciences, settled in the ideal
region to conduct his research. In
the heart of one of America’s prime
sugar cane growing regions, he is developing an
affordable method to produce fuel-grade ethanol from sugar cane crop residue. The procedure
could someday bolster the economy of south
Louisiana.
“We are addicted to imported oil,” Boopathy
said. “We need to be energy-independent, and
agriculture is a renewable, carbon-neutral resource.”
Deriving ethanol from corn is an established
industry, Boopathy said—but such food-based
fuel is expensive. His research, though still in its
early stages, suggests that ethanol derived from
the residual waste of sugar cane will be cheaper.
The potential production is ten times higher
than corn and contributes a more positive energy balance.
Boopathy’s lab work involves removing the
chemical bonds—or lignins—that link the cane’s
cellulose to the other chemicals in the residue.
Once accomplished, the sugar is extracted and
merged with yeast, producing ethanol.
yield in Louisiana is five tons of leaves per acre
(leaves and stalks are separated during harvest),
which, if converted, could pump an extra $300
million per year into the state economy via sugar cane producers’ profits, health care savings,
workforce development, and other economic
benefits.
The economic potential of sugar-cane-based
ethanol production in Louisiana is obvious,
Boopathy said. As recently as 2004, the state
was home to nearly 800 producers, farming
nearly 500,000 acres and producing more than
1,500,000 tons of sugar.
Moreover, Nicholls will be able to train the
emerging industry’s workforce—microbiologists, instrument specialists, bioprocess engineers, and fermentation experts—all of whom
will contribute to the economy. Companies such
as the Verenium Corporation, a Massachusettsbased ethanol development and marketing firm
with which Boopathy shares his research, could
employ such workers.
Verenium recently opened a start-up research
and development plant in Jennings, Louisiana.
Operating on a demonstration scale, the facility
has the capacity to produce 1.4 million gallons
of fuel-grade ethanol annually.
“We need to be energy-independent, and
agriculture is a renewable resource.”
“We know how to do it,” he said. “Now we
need to determine how to do it economically.”
Boopathy is optimistic about the future of
his research, especially with supporters like the
American Sugar Cane League, U.S. Department
of Energy, and Louisiana Board of Regents.
Hoping to expand his program within the next
two years—including harvesting an experimental crop—Boopathy said that when the process
finally becomes economical, south Louisiana
will notice a big difference.
Most notably, sugar cane producers will no
longer have to burn their fields after harvest—
a practice that pollutes the air and contributes
to such ailments as asthma and emphysema.
The residual sugar cane waste will instead be
converted to ethanol, a practice the U.S. Department of Energy hopes will be competitive with
corn-based ethanol production by 2012.
Boopathy said the current sugar cane residue
30 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Boopathy’s efforts are part of a larger initiative called the Clean Power and Energy Research
Consortium—or CPERC—a group of researchers who address scientific, engineering, and economic issues associated with power and energy
generation. Members include researchers from
Nicholls, Southern University in Baton Rouge,
the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Tulane
University, LSU, and the University of New Orleans.
CPERC members work to improve current
technology in power and energy generation, including the reduction of harmful emissions. The
consortium’s goals include developing new technologies for clean energy using biomass, coal,
and synthetic gas; generating hydrogen via thermochemical splitting of water; improving the
efficiency and reliability of gas turbine systems
used for power generation; promoting energy
conservation issues; and educating students and
the public on power and energy-related issues.
The Nicholls portion of the research program
is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of
Health, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Geological Survey, and BP America.
Boopathy himself maintains a busy schedule.
In addition to teaching and performing ethanolrelated research, he reviews proposals for the
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department
of Defense, and U.S. Department of Energy. He
also edits the International Journal of Biodeterioration and Biodegradation and was selected to visit Indonesia in 2006 as a Fulbright
Senior Scholar.
Before joining Nicholls in 1999, Boopathy
worked as a scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility
managed by the University of Chicago, where he
studied the bacterial degradation of trinitrotoluene—otherwise known as TNT. His credentials
include a bachelor’s degree and doctorate from
the University of Madras and a master’s degree
from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University—both
located in India. •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 31
You are
what you eat
The Nicholls dietetics program promotes better nutrition and health.
L
by Farren Clark
ouisiana has slipped to 50th in overall healthcare status, just below Mississippi, in the 2008 edition of an
annual study by the United Health
Foundation. The study indicates that
high rates of obesity and preventable hospitalizations are two factors that contribute to Louisiana’s poor healthcare status.
And it will take more than a pill to improve
the status of healthcare in Louisiana. The dietetics program in the Nicholls Department of Allied Health Sciences aims to positively impact
the status of healthcare in southeast Louisiana
by promoting healthy eating habits for treatment
and prevention of diseases and other aspects of
poor health.
While Nicholls is home to a renowned culinary program that approaches food as an art, the
university’s dietetics program focuses on food
as a science, according to Dr. Colette Leistner,
associate professor and director of the dietetics program. Leistner points out that creativity
is required in both fields, just applied in different ways. “For example, in a hospital setting, if
you don’t eat, you die.” Leistner says. “You might
not die without the medicine. You might not die
without the surgery. But if you don’t eat, you die.
Sometimes dietitians face limitations because of
the patient’s health concerns. In order to get that
person to eat, you have to come up with something new or different.”
A growing profession
The Nicholls dietetics program prepares its
students to become leaders in the field. At least
90 percent of graduates obtain an internship or
Dr. Colette Leistner
32 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
a dietetics-related job within a year after graduation. Also, at least 80 percent of alumni within
a five-year period become registered dietitians
after passing the required exam. Leistner says
that program produces 10 to 12 graduates a year.
Although the program is relatively small, the
faculty and students have a familiar relationship
that fosters a strong foundation of learning. “We
don’t want them to get lost in the shuffle,” Leistner says. “That’s typical of bigger universities.
The students like that we have a smaller group.
We know them. I visited a larger university during the spring and I saw that a professor couldn’t
name one of her students. That’s the way large
schools are.”
Dietetics is a broad field that offers various career opportunities. Leistner has held a number
of positions including school lunchroom manager and weight control instructor. “You’ll find
a job in dietetics,” she says. “You’ll be able to get
something you want.” The field also focuses on
everyday life and making healthy choices before
needing a hospital stay.
With 20 years of teaching experience, Leistner
recalls her journey from working with patients as
a clinical dietitian to educating college students
in dietetics, and the professional opportunities
the field offers. “Whether it’s teaching individual
clients, or a classroom of students, dietetics is
about teaching,” she says.
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that during the next five to seven years the
dietetics profession will grow about 10 percent
each year across the nation. “But those statistics
were created before we knew the extent or severity of the obesity epidemic,” says Simone Camel,
assistant professor and coordinator of the dietetics program. Camel has 20 years of clinical
practice and 13 years of teaching experience. She
says that attracting well-qualified professionals
to the Bayou Region is difficult and the demand
for dietitians will continue to increase. Leaving
the area to gain internship experience is a common choice for the Nicholls program’s graduates, according to Camel. “Louisiana doesn’t fare
well in healthcare,” Camel says. “We’re dead last,
and we need the bright minds to come back and
share their ideas.”
Camel herself returned to Louisiana from Texas Woman’s University in Houston in 2005. Her
research focuses on how poverty and food insecurity—the lack of sustainable access to enough
good food—interact to create the poor state of
health in Louisiana and elsewhere across the nation. For example, following Hurricane Katrina,
many of the affected areas did not have adequate
grocery stores within a reasonable distance.
Therefore, residents’ food choices were limited
Simone Camel
Jamie Luke
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 33
Brigett Scott
to what was available, affordable, and not necessarily healthy. Camel suggests that edible landscaping be factored into community planning in
order to encourage healthy eating: “I would love
to see satsuma trees in every housing development, so that the kids can eat while they’re playing outside and choose to eat what is naturally
provided as part of their daily routine.”
Teaching better
eating habits
As her high school graduation drew near in
the spring of 1998, Jamie Luke of Donaldsonville had to make a decision about her future.
“At that time, I didn’t know what a dietitian was,”
she says. “A girl who graduated a year before me
was going into dietetics. I was always interested
in nutrition, health, and exercise. So I figured it
would be a good path for me.” That fall, she enrolled in the Nicholls dietetics program. She became a member of the Lady Colonels track and
field and cross-country teams. Luke completed
her degree in dietetics in the spring of 2002. Today, she manages dietitians at Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma.
Luke describes the role of a dietitian not as
a strict food manager who demands sudden
changes in patients’ diets, but as an understanding educator who adapts knowledge of nutrition to a client or patient’s specific needs. Specifically, she says, cutting back on salt and sugar
addresses two health concerns common among
Louisiana residents: hypertension and diabetes.
“Down here, you tell a patient to cut back on either one of those and they’re like, ‘You must be
crazy! Can I still have my boiled crawfish?’
Stephanie
Abadie
34 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
“People eat a cup of rice with their crawfish
stew. They eat three cups. They don’t understand
that they have to watch their portion sizes. In
Louisiana, it’s hard to get people to understand
you can enjoy the foods down here, and still be
healthy or control your diabetes or hypertension,” Luke says.
Dietitians seek to educate their patients and
clients about the difference between enjoying
food and overindulgence. Stephanie Abadie, a
2007 dietetics graduate, has always liked to cook.
She remembers how her father enjoyed a cake
she baked when she was very young. “I forgot
to put eggs in it and he ate the whole thing!”
Abadie says. “He would eat anything.”
Abadie, who wanted to work with food and
interact with the public, enrolled at Nicholls intending to study culinary arts, but soon changed
her major to dietetics after taking nutrition
classes with Leistner. She recalls interacting with
the community by a creating a food bank, demonstrating recipes, and compiling health benefits
of those recipes for a local audience.
On a broader front, dietitians are concerned
about taking preventative action in order to
improve the health of the nation. “We’ve got so
many people who need to be treated after the
fact. But if our country moves toward a healthcare system that prevents diseases, in the long
run, it will be cheaper to provide healthcare,”
Abadie says. Abadie completed an internship at
LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center
while working on her master’s degree at the University of Southern Mississippi. Currently, she
is pursuing a doctorate in dietetics at Southern
Miss.
no longer offered through the dietetics program.
Scott coordinated the internship since its inception in 2003. She is teaching in the dietetics program this fall and is completing a dissertation
concerning breastfeeding and the social stigma
attached to the act.
The health implications of breastfeeding—or
the lack of breastfeeding—are what interests
Scott. “We’ve got a low breastfeeding rate here,”
Scott says. “Oregon, Washington, and California
show at least 95 percent of mothers breastfeed.
But in Lafourche Parish, only 12 percent do it. Is
this why we’re so unhealthy compared to people
in other states? It’s a socially unacceptable thing
here.”
Scott says that nutrition education and physical activity are key ingredients for a healthy lifestyle. She says people should reconsider their
perceptions of costs and benefits. For example,
she says, “Running is the punishment sport. We
teach that, rather than teaching people how to
jog for 30 minutes,” Scott says. “Or you’ll see
people parking next to their classroom, and then
driving to their next one. It’s really not that far
to walk.”
“People need to change, but they don’t want to
change,” says Christina Lapeyrouse of Houma.
The Nicholls dietetics program has served as a
stepping-stone toward her career in sports nutrition and exercise physiology. A 2009 dietetics
graduate, Lapeyrouse enjoys figure competition,
a version of bodybuilding.
Lapeyrouse got involved with “figure” in 2006.
In 2008, she took part in four shows, including
the National Physique Committee (NPC) Southern Classic, in which she placed third overall in
the figure competition. “I am competitive. I like
succeeding and reaching my goals,” Lapeyrouse
says.
Lapeyrouse says she enjoys helping people and
the sense of accomplishment that figure competition provides. “Currently, I train five women,
teaching them to pose and present themselves.
I recently took over their diet. Figure requires
huge sacrifices: no drinking and a number of
food limitations. But it’s all worth it when you’re
standing on stage with 10 girls, and your name
is called.” •
Christina
Lapeyrouse
Sowing the seeds of change
Brigett Scott, a Nicholls assistant professor of
dietetics and a Chackbay native, completed her
degree in dietetics from Nicholls in three and a
half years. She then completed her master’s and
is currently finishing her Ph.D. at the University
of Southern Mississippi. Family is a primary reason for choosing dietetics, Scott says. “I always
had an interest in medicine and having children.
So I did research to find something that would
allow me to have the flexibility to be a mother at
home.” She did not walk across the stage to receive her master’s degree because she was pregnant with her twins, Nicolas and Seth. (“Twins
run in my family, so it wasn’t a shock,” Scott says.
She and her husband, Tyler, also have a daughter, Sabrina.)
Adapting to change has been a necessity for
Scott. Due to the recent state budget reduction
at Nicholls, post-baccalaureate internships are
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 35
Lynyrd Skynyrd
In Concert
Musicians, comedians, authors, politicians, or other
notables, Nicholls brings “big names” to the bayou.
B
by Dr. Al Delahaye
Cheap Trick
George Carlin
Chasing fleeting fame
Through the years, more than 300 widely known performers and speakers have been booked by the university or stu-
ig names. Celebrities. Marquee idols. Stars and superstars. Hundreds of them have performed for and spoken to audiences at
dent entertainment officials. Sometimes students and ticket buyers showed up in small numbers—predicting the success
Nicholls over the years.
of a given concert bill is not an easy task. Nonetheless, most concerts got favorable reviews from the campus
Those audiences have sometimes been huge. Five thousand fans cheered the rock band Kansas when they performed in Stopher
Gym in fall 1983. A crowd of 9,000 applauded in spring 1984 when the Beach Boys filled Guidry Stadium with the sounds of
“California Girls.” And in fall 1984, the rock band Chicago drew a crowd of about 11,500 to the football practice fields to hear the
band’s hits “If You Leave Me Now” and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.”
There were several no-shows, too. In fall 1967, the non-appearance of singer Dionne Warwick, internationally famous at the time for songs like “Walk on By,” disappointed 2,300 fans who had packed Shaver
Gym; miscommunication resulted in no one meeting her at the New Orleans airport to bring her to
The following semester, the Pointer Sisters sang “I’m So Excited,” “Jump,” and other hits in fluorescent green, orange, and pink dresses before fireworks
The Pointer Sisters
Lily Tomlin
newspaper, the yearbook, or both.
lit up the sky for 6,500 rain-soaked concertgoers in Guidry Stadium.
Big-name concerts were not unusual at Nicholls in the 1960s, ´70s, and
Thibodaux. And, sadly, singer-songwriter Jim Croce of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” fame died in a plane
crash a month before his scheduled fall 1973 appearance.
Performers can be unpredictable. Comedienne Lily Tomlin in fall 1976 got a standing ova-
´80s. Today, contract costs are outrageously high, and top performers are
tion after her first show in Peltier Auditorium. But she walked off the stage ten minutes into
generally unwilling to appear at regional universities. So, student fees for en-
her second show, a first for her. She decided that the performer-audience “chemistry” was not
tertainment go mostly to Crawfish Day, Winterfest, and other events. How-
there—and she willingly went unpaid. All went well when George Carlin of seven-dirty-words
ever, in November 2008, Nicholls students once again brought big‑name,
fame presented stand-up comedy on campus in fall 1971 and fall 1987—especially when he
costly performers to town, dropping Winterfest in favor of a double bill at
referred to prominent Nicholls administrators by name to get big laughs.
the Thibodaux Civic Center with the rock band Yellowcard and R&B star
The Dream, BET’s 2008 best new artist.
Booking performers was usually a challenge for student leaders, partly because taste in entertainment varies from group to group and from time to time. And fads and popularities could change
in only a few months.
36 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 37
The Beach Boys
In spring 1965, the Artists and Lecturers Series
brought to the campus the Russ Carlyle Orchestra, famous for ballroom music, and the Dave
Brubeck Jazz Quartet, of “Take Five” renown.
Clarinetist Pete Fountain of New Orleans and
“Autumn Leaves” pianist Roger Williams also
performed in the mid-1960s.
Among the ten or so attractions brought to the
campus in 1971-72 were Christine Jorgensen, the sex-change personal-
Erlichman, Ted Koppel and Cokie Roberts of ABC News, and sports fig-
ity; Dick Gregory, the comedian and anti-war activist; and Rick Nelson of
ures Willie “Pops” Stargell and Dan Pastorini.
song, TV, and movie fame.
Put it in writing
In 1975, and then 10 years later, Nicholls audiences heard Charlie Dan-
Some music performers and groups were well known when they ap-
Some performers were little known when they came to Nicholls, such as
peared during the Elkins and Vernon Galliano presidential years, which
comedian Albert Brooks in the late 1960s and comedian Howie Mandel in
ended in 1983: Air Supply, the Chambers Brothers, Cheap Trick, the Cow-
the mid-1970s. Robert Klein, Sam Kinison, and David Steinberg have also
sills, Eddie Money, the Four Freshmen, the Four Seasons, Harry Simeone
done stand-up comedy at Nicholls.
Chorale, Mac Davis, Neil Diamond, Erroll Garner, the Lettermen, the Me-
Robert Penn Warren, who won Pulitzers as a novelist and as a poet, lec-
ters, Carlos Montoya, New Christy Minstrels, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the
tured in Peltier Auditorium in spring 1985; President and Mrs. Ronald
Platters, Gary Puckett, Rare Earth, Buddy Rich, Kenny Rogers, Serendipity
Reagan sent him an 80th-birthday telegram in care of Nicholls.
Singers, the Temptations, Gino Vanelli, and We Five.
Speakers in recent decades have included Gen. William Westmoreland,
Since that time, Nicholls audiences have heard Anita Baker, the Black
Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Watergate figures G. Gordon Liddy and John D.
Crowes, Cowboy Mouth, Exposé, Everclear, the Four Tops, Ronnie Mill-
iels and his band promise “The South’s Gonna Do It Again.” Southern
sap, REO Speedwagon, Third Eye Blind, and Travis Tritt.
Then, too, contracts could specify more than just payment. When the
rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd first performed “Free Bird” at Nicholls in 1974
rock group Wet Willie performed at the Thibodaux Civic Center in 1979
Through the years such Louisiana artists as Irma Thomas, Doug Ker-
and returned in 1992, getting rave reviews both times in the campus news-
under Nicholls sponsorship, a contract rider called for a lot more than
shaw, Gatemouth Brown, Professor Longhair, and Dr. John have played to
paper from Tommy Lyons of Houma.
Nicholls audiences. Louisiana symphony orchestras, choruses, and choirs
money: peanut butter and jelly, two cases of soft drinks, 12 bottles of Per-
Student Programming Association leaders lucked out when they booked
rier, three cases of Heineken beer, two gallons of milk, one quart each of
the rock group Starship because, at the time of its spring 1986 concert in
apple and grapefruit juice, two quarts of wine, two gallons of spring water,
Over the decades Nicholls has offered great variety, ranging from the
Shaver Gym, the band’s latest release, “Sara,” was No. 4 on the music charts.
a fifth each of gin and bourbon—and sandwich makings, but no processed
Harlem Globetrotters in Shaver Gym to The Miracle Worker in Talbot The-
The SPA was less fortunate two months later, reporting a Kool and the
cheese or meats.
ater, starring Mercedes Ruehl in the role of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller’s
Gang concert loss of $50,000.
teacher. (That was about 16 years before Ruehl would win a Hollywood
Variety adds spice
Oscar and a Broadway Tony in 1991). And there have been dance groups,
The special demands of “Rich Girl” singers Daryl Hall and John Oates
in fall 1981 included fresh bagels, sour cream, Russian vodka, and Dom
Perignon champagne.
have appeared at Nicholls many times.
music ensembles, and hypnotists.
Big names first began appearing at Nicholls in the final years of the
When Chicago returned to Nicholls for a Shaver Gym performance be-
Not every notable who visits Nicholls performs or speaks. Actors Jason
Charles C. Elkins presidency, when three Pulitzer Prize winners spoke
fore 3,300 fans in spring 1989, the total cost was $56,000, including almost
Robards and Louis Gosset Jr., while in the area making movies years apart,
on campus: biographer Margaret Coit, newspaper editor Hodding Carter,
$6,000 for a stage brought in from Nashville, an extra generator, an electri-
shopped in the Nicholls bookstore. Marjorie Lawrence, the opera star and
and novelist Shirley Ann Grau. When a string quartet arrived with credit
cian, and a clean-up crew. (The Thibodaux Civic Center was unavailable,
polio victim who was the subject of the 1955 Hollywood movie Interrupted
cards—but no cash—long before Thibodaux restaurants began accepting
and the musicians said no to an outdoor concert.)
them, a faculty member fed the musicians at his home.
38 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
The Charlie Daniels Band
Melody, attended a New Orleans Symphony concert in Shaver Gym. •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 39
COLONEL PRIDE
Imma Kosgei, left,
and Marion Chebet.
A Long, Lonely Road
Runners Pursue Dreams
For Kenyans, Nicholls is a
cherished home away from home.
O
Unable to hear, an athlete faces many challenges.
S
by Brandon Rizutto
by Brandon Rizutto
n August 16, 2006, two young Kenyan women, Marion Chebet and
Imma Kosgei, went to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, bound for college in the United
States on track and field scholarships. Chebet was
heading to the University of Wyoming; Kosegi’s
destination was Lubbock Christian University in
Texas.
Although both athletes left the same day from
the same airport with very similar future experiences ahead of them, neither of them knew the
other. The two Kenyans did not meet until they
both transferred to Nicholls.
“We talk about it all the time, how we both
left on the same day but didn’t know each other
until two years later,” said Chebet. “Most people
when they see us on campus think we are sisters
because we are always together.”
Both took different routes to get to Nicholls,
and now the two 23-year-old women find comfort in having someone from their native country to study and compete with—something they
didn’t have at their previous universities. With the
other, each found someone to speak Swahili, and
someone who understands the obstacles they had
to overcome to study in the United States.
“When they arrived, they were shy and kept to
themselves,” said Nicholls track and field coach
Scott Williamson. “Together they have become a
lot more social, and they are a great attribute to
our program and to Nicholls.”
Life back in Kenya wasn’t easy for either Kosgei
or Chebet—to say the least.
“When I was growing up, my family lived on a
farm and we were able to provide for ourselves.
But tribal warfare broke out and we lost our land.
That forced my father to move us to town,” said
Kosgei.
In the town of Iten, work was hard to find for
Kosgei’s father, Paul. Her mother, Miriam, battled
physical disabilities. Facing extreme financial
hardship, her family was unable to pay for Kosgei
to attend primary school.
However, the citizens of Iten would not let the
family’s situation prohibit Kosgei from going to
school. They pulled together the money to pay for
her education.
“I wouldn’t be here [at Nicholls]
today if it were not for everyone in
the town,” said Kosgei. “When you
come from where I am from, you
really do appreciate every little
thing. Nothing goes unnoticed.”
Chebet also overcame obstacles
on the family front, having never
really known her father because
he died when she was very young.
Fortunately, her strong-willed
mother, Catherine, pushed her
and her siblings.
“My mother was a schoolteacher, and was very serious about education. She was very strict when
it came to our studies. She worked constantly to
put us through school,” said Chebet.
Chebet and Kosgei both tell how, in Kenya,
most men do not view a woman with children
as a potential mate. Chebet’s mother had several
opportunities for marriage, but they all came at
a dear cost: she would have to abandon her children.
“She could have left us on the street or with our
grandparents so she could make a better life for
herself,” said Chebet. “But she stuck by us, and
wanted better for us. I can’t tell you how much
that meant to me and my brothers.”
During primary-school years, said both Chebet and Kosgei, each ran to school barefoot every
morning. At noon, they ran back home—over
five miles—for a lunch of bread and tea, then ran
back to school before it reopened at 12:45 p.m.
“If I needed something, I ran to go get it,” said
Chebet. “In order for our family to have water, we
would run to the river with pails and run back. It
was just understood.”
As they got older, both girls excelled at track
competition in distance running and sprinting,
and were noticed by scouts representing American colleges. Their scholarship offers in the United States were a dream come true, and each left
her beloved home, family, and friends to pursue
that dream.
“I remember when I first got to the U.S. and got
checked in at my dorm,” said Kosgei. “I asked my
coach if this entire place was for me, and when he
40 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
COLONEL PRIDE
said yes, I started to cry. I had never had my own
room, let alone a whole place to call my own.”
Kosgei grew up in a one-room house with no
electricity or running water—certainly there was
no air conditioning, or other amenities customary to the typical American lifestyle. Chebet was
dealt a similar hand growing up, but was fortunate to live in a two-room house.
Food was scarce in both households, and some
nights they went to sleep hungry. Sometimes
there would be nothing waiting for them when
they came home for lunch: they ran back to
school with an empty stomach.
“I’m so very thankful for three meals a day,”
said Chebet, seconded by Kosgei. “That was rarely
ever an option for us back home, so having that
option every day is such a blessing.”
Although Kenya has its downsides for both
Chebet and Kosgei, it is still home, though neither
has returned to Kenya since departing three years
ago. Both have plans for graduate school after receiving their bachelor’s degrees, further delaying
the return home to see families and friends.
But going back home with a college education,
and the ability to better themselves, their families,
and their country is worth the wait, both say. Kosgei is studying nursing at Nicholls, while Chebet
is seeking a degree in accounting.
“It has been such a blessing to be able to study
at Nicholls with Marion,” said Kosgei. “I could not
be more thankful and happy to be here and have
this great opportunity.” •
tudent-athlete Joseph ‘Joby’ Fryou, a junior who competes in cross-country for
Nicholls, tells a great story about himself. He tells it with wit and humor, not
one hint of sorrow.
Fryou shared his story with a writer through
two laptop computers, one across the table from
the other, relying on instant messaging as the
means of communication.
Fryou, 20, is deaf, and has been since he was
stricken by spinal meningitis at 15 months old.
The illness took away his hearing ability, leaving
him with a huge disadvantage very early in life.
“Sometimes it gets aggravating not being able
to communicate with people, but it’s good when
there are family riots,” typed Fryou with a grin
ear-to-ear. “All I have to do is shut my eyes, and
I can block it all out.”
Even though the Berwick, Louisiana, native
is able to charm anyone with his personality,
times were not always easy for him. Growing up
hearing impaired was lonely and hard; meeting
people and making friends was not easy.
“I owe a lot to my parents. They know who I
am and what I am capable of, and never stopped
pushing me; they never let me feel sorry for
myself,” typed Fryou. “A lot of times, they were
the only ones who believed in me when no one
else did. I’m very glad and also very fortunate
for that.”
Fryou was also fortunate to find a group of
friends at Berwick High School who looked beyond his disability, and saw who he really was.
“I had an outstanding group of close friends
at Berwick,” typed Fryou. “They learned how to
sign with me, so we could communicate. Besides
my family, no one had ever done that for me.”
After finding a close contingent of friends in
high school, Fryou found something else: running. Running served as his solace, his escape
from reality, and it was something that was totally dependent on him.
Fryou recalls his first race very well.
“The first race I ran in while in high school, I
was dead last. I watched everyone pass me, and
I knew I was last,” recalled Fryou. “At that moment, I was running for me—just for me—and
I promised myself I would cross that finish line,
even if it killed me.”
With his last-place finish as a freshman, Fryou
knew the sky was the limit. He worked hard to
perfect his skills and was an all-district selection
as a senior in 2007. Fryou was also an important
part of Berwick’s district championship in the
two-mile event that year.
He was also starting to garner some interest
from colleges for possible scholarships. However, most of the offers fell through.
“Other schools were skeptical, and backed
off of me because of my hearing,” typed Fryou.
“It made me very upset, but it didn’t stop me.
When Nicholls was interested, I pleaded with
Coach [Scott Williamson] to give me a shot. I
can still recall how great it was when I signed
to come here.”
“Having Joby on the team has been a great experience not only for him, but
for all of us as well,” said Williamson. “You have a greater
appreciation for the everyday,
little things in life that you
see him struggle with. He is
one of the hardest-working
student-athletes I have ever
been around.”
The transition to college
wasn’t an easy one for Fryou. Coming to Nicholls not
knowing anyone and, most
importantly, not knowing
anyone who could sign was
tough.
Fryou spent many lonely
nights, struggling to communicate with others. On top
of that, he was the victim of a
hit-and-run on campus.
“When I got hit in the
parking lot, it all happened so
fast that I didn’t get a chance
to see the license plate or
anything,” typed Fryou. “It
took me out of running for
two months with a swollen
left quad and knee. It made
me realize things happen and
you just have to face it as best
you can.”
After his accident, Fryou refused to be isolated
even further. He became more outgoing in his
efforts to meet people and make friends. His first
step was to become closer to his teammates.
He slowly but surely started to come out of
his shell, and in the process found his true passion in life: cooking. Starting this fall, Fryou will
be majoring in culinary arts, and could not be
more excited about his hopes of opening his
own French restaurant one day.
“I think that coming to Nicholls has been the
best opportunity that I have ever received. Not
a lot of deaf people get the chance to go to college, and that’s huge for me,” typed Fryou. “This
experience with a degree in the end gives me a
better chance at supporting myself and living a
normal life.” •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 41
& Ideas
Gallery
Stories
Grieving Families and Decaying Mansions
by Graham Harvey
A
cclaimed novelist, short story
writer, and 1969 Nicholls alumnus Tim Gautreaux expanded
his body of work this year with
The Missing, a novel published by
Knopf in March, and “Idols,” a short story published in the June 22 issue of The New Yorker.
Amid a series of sordid settings, The Missing details the quest
of south Louisianian
Sam Simoneaux to
find a kidnapped girl,
following his return
from war-torn France.
Reviewing the novel
for The Advocate, Greg
Langley praises Gautreaux as “a polished,
complete writer”—and
a Publisher’s Weekly review designates the novel’s protagonist as “a refreshingly candid voice, brimming with a lyrical
intensity that graces some of the best of Southern
literature.”
“Idols,” which can be read in its entirety at
www.newyorker.com, has a distinctly Southern
flavor as well. It chronicles the efforts of Julian,
a typewriter repairman, to restore an abandoned
Mississippi mansion that he inherited from distant relatives.
Gautreaux received high praise from critics and
readers for his 2003 novel, The Clearing, which
novelist Annie Proulx called “the finest American
novel in a long, long time.” In an interview published in the journal Southern Spaces, Margaret
D. Bauer of East Carolina University characterizes Gautreaux as the “cartographer of Louisiana
back roads.”
“Resisting simplistic labels of ‘Cajun’ and
‘Southern,’ Gautreaux’s storytelling reveals an
intimate understanding of southern Louisiana’s
white, working-class people and culture,” Bauer
says. “Often drawn from his own background,
Gautreaux’s characters are shaped by a range of
experiences, from working on steamboats and
fighting in world wars, to struggling in the 1980s
oil bust.”
“If a story does not deal with a moral question,
I don’t think it’s much of a story.” Gautreaux said
in an interview for The Atlantic in 1997.
The writer in residence at Southeastern Louisiana University before his retirement, the Morgan
City native received his doctorate from the University of South Carolina, after which he launched
“If a story does not deal with a moral
question, I don’t think it’s much of a story.”
a career as an academic and fiction writer.
In addition to The New Yorker, Gautreaux’s
work has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, and
GQ. His novels and short stories have earned
a variety of awards as well, including the 1999
Southeastern Booksellers Association Award,
1999 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Book Award, 2003 Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association Award, and 2005
John Dos Passos Prize. •
Cast netting at Robinson Canal in Chauvin, Louisiana, spring 2009.
Photographs By
Misty McElroy
Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, winter 2008.
Robinson Canal in Chauvin, Louisiana, spring 2009.
Tim Gautreaux
42 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 43
great aspirations
expressions
From Louisiana to Florida, a Journey in Time
A
by Tony Cook
t his office in Pensacola, a thriving
city that has stood in one form
or another beside a magnificent
bay in northwest Florida for 450
years, Dr. John J. Clune Jr. recalls
his undergraduate years at Nicholls.
Clune, now an associate professor and chair of
history at the University of West Florida, studied marketing at Nicholls. He switched his focus
from business to history after earning his B.S.
degree from Nicholls in 1986.
“My time at Nicholls in the ’80s was a wonderful experience for me,” he says. Born in New
Orleans and raised in Houma, Clune came to
Nicholls from Vandebilt Catholic High School.
His mother was a New Orleanian, his father a
New Yorker.
“I meant to study there for a while and then
transfer, but I fell in love with Nicholls and
stayed,” he recalls. “People like Dr. Blaise Bergiel, one of my marketing professors, inspired
me to hang around. He was a great teacher—and
a great character.”
With his Nicholls degree in hand, Clune
signed up with the Peace Corps in 1987 and
served in Guatemala for the next two years. This
proved to be a life-changing experience because
it fueled a strong interest in history and cultural
studies. When he came home, Clune’s next move
was north to Tuscaloosa and graduate school in
Latin American studies at the University of Alabama.
Still, he maintained his interest in business,
concentrating some of his studies in that area.
He worked as a cultural resources manager for
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans and the Louisiana Department of Culture,
area related to the early Spanish period of Florida
history. “There is very little evidence of the first
Spanish settlement above ground in Pensacola,”
he says, “but there is a lot of it below ground.”
The University of West Florida hired him as
an assistant professor of history in the fall of
1997 and gave him additional responsibilities
as project manager for its Archaeology Institute.
Although he taught history, Clune put his business background to good use as an administrator. He soon became the coordinator of his department’s program in historic preservation.
“My marketing studies at Nicholls have come
in handy throughout my career,” Clune says.
The Spanish achieved, then abandoned, their
first settlement of Pensacola from 1559 to 1561,
and Clune has helped to study the two known
“My marketing studies at Nicholls have come
in handy throughout my career.”
Recreation, and Tourism in Baton Rouge for
several years after earning his master’s degree.
By summer of 1997, Clune had earned a Ph.D.
in history from LSU, where his studies focused
on Latin America, early modern Europe, and
cultural geography. His dissertation on Cuban
convents during the Enlightenment era became
his first published book.
While working on his doctorate, Clune went
to Pensacola to study archaeological sites in the
archaeological sites remaining from that period.
When city leaders of Pensacola formed a committee to plan the celebration of its 450th anniversary in 2009, they turned to Clune and an
archaeologist colleague, Margo Stringfield, and
commissioned them to work on a commemorative book.
The result of their work was published by
the University Press of Florida in early 2009.
Titled Historic Pensacola, the book is a volume
44 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
in a series on colonial towns and cities edited
by Clune. Its pages are illustrated with numerous reproductions of maps and period art, and
the text is purposely written for a general audience. Even a few period recipes are included as
chapter breaks. Clune says the idea is to make all
the books in the series suitable for the general
reader and undergraduate college students.
Historic Pensacola tells a compelling story
about the city named after its native residents,
called the “Panzacola” (“long-haired people”) by
European colonists. In 1698, Spain established
the first permanent European settlement on
Pensacola Bay, sending colonists from Mexico
to establish a foothold in the region.
The Spanish presence was intended to counter expansion by France in the region around
Mobile, Alabama, and farther west in Louisiana.
France established Clune’s hometown, New Orleans, in 1718. The Spanish also wanted to keep
in check the English, who owned colonies along
the Atlantic seaboard.
Clune’s book divides the history of Pensacola
into five periods, each given its own chapter:
the first Spanish settlement, 1559-1561; the first
Pensacola, alternately controlled by Spain and
by France, 1698-1719; a period of Spanish rule
marked by devastating hurricanes and conflict
with other European powers, 1722-1763; British Pensacola, 1763-1781; and the final period
of Spanish domain, 1781-1821. The years afterward, of course, are the American period.
Although the fact is not widely known, part
of today’s state of Louisiana once belonged to
the English colony of West Florida after Spain
turned over ownership of the region to England
in 1763. Had those early borders remained in
place, people living in Kentwood and Covington, Louisiana, would today be residents of Florida. So would people living in present-day south
Mississippi and Alabama.
Clune, who has close family ties to south
Louisiana, visits his parents, John and Gretchen Clune of Houma, regularly. “I always go to
Thibodaux to see what’s new at Nicholls when
I’m home,” he says. He brings along his New
Orleans-born wife, Allison Morel Clune, and his
two young daughters, Gabrielle and Caroline.
With names like these, the two Clune girls
might well have been early settlers of their father’s
adopted city, which is only a short drive away
from his hometown by car—but long separated
from south Louisiana by the forces of history. •
Call us anything, just call us!
by Brandie M. Toups
The author is director of the Nicholls
Office of Continuing Education.
H
ow many names can one
department have? In my
ten years here at Nicholls,
the Office of Continuing
Education has had four official
names, including Camps and Conferences,
Lifelong Learning, and Continuing Non-Credit
Education and Conference Services.
Sometimes I laugh, because the name my
co-workers call this office that I affectionately
refer to as my “second home” depends on when
that person started working at Nicholls. (Those
who know me well may be thinking right
now: Are you sure it’s not her first home? In
Continuing Education, we work a lot outside
regular business hours, but it is a rewarding
experience.)
Why so many different names? To answer
this is also to answer another question: What
role does the Office of Continuing Education
play at Nicholls State University?
I often hear newcomers to our community
say that when they decided to move here, they
chose Thibodaux because of Nicholls. Many
other Americans do the same: they choose to
live in “college towns.” That fact points to the
important role that continuing education plays
at colleges and universities across the country.
People look to universities to be leaders in
educational growth, information exchange, and
technological improvements. At Nicholls, I am
proud to say, we do all of this with a personal
touch.
Adult non-credit programs, for-credit nondegree programs, conference services, summer
camps—our office does all that, and more. Each
program is an integral part of our mission,
which supports the university’s larger mission
of providing learning experiences in our region
through education and community service. The
Continuing Education office acts as an agent
for Nicholls in providing quality educational
programming and conferencing services to a
wide range of clients.
One function of the Office of Continuing
Education is to offer adult non-credit programs
and specified credit programs. Non-credit
programs are of two major types: community
enrichment and professional development.
These programs are generally open to the public
and do not require that participants have a high
school diploma. Most classes are scheduled in
the evenings or on Saturdays.
Community enrichment courses are primarily special-interest classes designed to expand
knowledge and create new opportunities, or
spark interest in a given subject. These courses
at individuals already in the workplace who
need to update their knowledge and skills.
These programs are held at Nicholls facilities
in Thibodaux or Houma, at local businesses,
or in other convenient locations. Some courses
award Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
upon successful completion.
Some of our programs offer university credit
upon completion. An example of this is the
sugar institutes, held in two sessions every
summer. Students from around the world
gather at Nicholls for intense instruction on
sugar production methods and issues, followed
by extensive examinations that rival anything
taken by a degree-seeking Nicholls student.
Another purpose of the Office of Continuing
Education is to offer youth programs to the
community, specifically for those ages 18 or
younger. Youth programs at Nicholls include
sports or athletics camps, recreation, selfdevelopment, and academics. Local residents,
university personnel, and national presenters
teach and direct the programs. All youth
programs and camps are open to the public.
Classes are held year-round including evenings,
weekends, and holidays.
Youth programs are my favorite. They are
the hardest because we have two clients to
please—the parent and the camper—but also
the most rewarding. Parents want to know that
their children are safe, having fun or learning
something worthwhile, and they are getting
what they paid for. The children simply want
to have fun and not be bored! We make sure all
of our clients are happy through unconditional
dedication. This is hard to do, but as I said, the
rewards are plentiful.
“People look to universities to be leaders in
educational growth, information exchange,
and technological improvements.”
include a variety of topics, such as computer
training, dance, music, and physical enrichment. My personal favorites are basket-weaving and yoga. Everyone else gets a kick out of
the ghost-hunting course, but that one really
freaks me out!
Professional development courses include
seminars, conferences, and workshops aimed
As my tenth summer in the Office of
Continuing Education ends, I look back and I
am thankful for the opportunity to work at this
wonderful institution. The relationships built
over the years with co-workers and visitors
on this beautiful campus are some of my most
treasured memories. I look forward to more
years and exciting programs to come. •
Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY • 45
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n the sixth century B.C., Confucius observed that a humane person
is one who, “in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for
others and who, in desiring individual attainment, helps others to
attain.” Nicholls is grateful for those generous donors listed below
who, through their generosity, have helped our students to attain
one of the great achievements on earth: an education.
Donations to Nicholls State University and the Nicholls Foundation by
alumni, friends, and corporations totaled $1.47 million during the 200809 fiscal year.
Donors are listed by giving level as of June 30, 2009. Every effort has
been made to publish a complete and accurate list. Please call at (985) 4484134 to report an error or omission.
$10,000 and above
Abdon Callais Offshore LLC
Mr. James H. Alexander
American Association of Drilling
Engineers–Lafayette Chapter
AT&T Inc.
Benbey Financial LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger
BP Corp. North America Inc.
Byron E. Talbot Contractor Inc.
Capital One Bank
Daniel Keating Memorial Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Allen J. Danos Jr.
The Fertel Foundation
Mr. Gerald N. Gaston
Goldring Family Foundation
Mr. James E. and Dr. Grace M. Gueydan
Horatio Alger Association of
Distinguished Americans Inc.
JPMorgan Chase
Lady of the Sea General Hospital
Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Lafont Jr.
The Lorio Foundation
Louisiana Workers Compensation Corp.
Major Equipment & Remediation
Mary and Al Danos Family Foundation
McDermott International Inc.
Mr. R. E. “Bob” Miller
Nicholls State University Alumni Federation
Nicholls State University Foundation
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin
Peltier Foundation
PPC Mechanical Seals
Scholarship America
Shell Oil Co.
SWDI LLC
Mr. Byron E. Talbot
Thibodaux Lions Club
Thibodaux Music Club
Wal-Mart Foundation
$5,000 to $9,999
Allied Shipyard Inc.
Baptist Collegiate Ministries
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Bollinger Shipyards
Bourgeois & Associates Inc.
Mr. Gavin P. Callais
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Candies
Cenac Towing Co.
Center for Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine
Environmental Safety & Health Consulting
Services Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Dean T. Falgoust
First American Bank
Louisiana Women’s Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Neil J. Maki
Manning Passing Academy
National Restaurant Association
Educational Foundation
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
Otto Candies LLC
Mrs. Shirley D. Picou
Rig-Chem Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher H. Riviere
Mr. and Mrs. William Clifford Smith
Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
Inc.–Delta Section
South Louisiana Bank
South Louisiana Economic Council
St. Charles Parish School Board
Stephanie Hebert Insurance Agency Inc.
Terrebonne General Medical Center
$2,500 to $4,999
Amanda Larpenter Memorial Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Barker III
Bruce Foods Corp.
Buquet Distributing Co. Inc.
Mrs. Glenny Lee Buquet
Charter Communications
Collegiate Development Services LP
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Davis
Delta Chapter–American
Petroleum Institute
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy A. Emerson
Entergy Corp.
Forty and Eight Voiture
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation
Freeport-McMoRan Foundation
The Giardina Family Foundation
Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo Association Inc.
Jefferson Dollars for Scholars
John Deere Thibodaux Inc.
Jones Insurance Services LLC
Louisiana Lottery
Mr. and Mrs. Milo L. Meacham Jr.
Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc.
PRO-NSU
RPC Inc.
Thibodaux Orthopaedic &
Sports Medicine Clinic
Thibodaux Regional Medical Center
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Thibodaux Regional Medical Center Auxiliary
Vanguard Vacuum Trucks Inc.
$1,000 to $2,499
Agriculture Alumni Association of NSU
Dr. and Mrs. Lee M. Arcement
Auto-Chlor Services Inc.
Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary Foundation
Dr. Allayne Barrilleaux
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Bartels
Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Bayou Chapter Medical Managers
Bayou Lafourche Arts Council
Birdsall Plaza LLC
Dr. and Mrs. Walter J. Birdsall Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jerald P. Block
Mr. Matthew F. and Dr. Elizabeth Block
Ms. Andrea Bollinger
Ms. Charlotte Bollinger
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher B. Bollinger
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony L. Boudreaux
Dr. and Mrs. David E. Boudreaux
Bourg Lions Club
Mrs. Clara C. Brady
Mr. and Mrs. James Brandt
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Breaux
Breaux Petroleum Products Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Brandon S. Brooks
Mr. Thomas C. Broome
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh F. Caffery
Mr. and Mrs. Corey Joseph Callais
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent A. Cannata
Mr. and Mrs. Donald T. Carmouche
Caro Foods Inc.
Mr. Arlen B. Cenac Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Marty Chabert
The Hon. and Mrs. Joel T. Chaisson II
Chaisson Senate Campaign Fund
Mr. Kerry J. Chauvin
Mr. and Mrs. Brian P. Cheramie
Mr. and Mrs. Kirt Chouest
Mr. and Mrs. Troy Cloutier
Coastal Commerce Bank
Colonel Athletic Association
Community Bank
Mr. and Mrs. Kurt J. Crosby
Drs. Ken and Maria Cruse
Danos & Curole Marine Contractors Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Garrett “Hank” Danos
Ms. Emily T. D’Arcangelo
Dr. and Mrs. Albert Davis
Delta Music Co. Inc.
Dr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Dial Jr.
Dr. Alton F. Doody
Doucet and Adams Inc.
Ms. Iris Doucet
Mr. Steven M. Dugal
Mr. and Mrs. Daniels Duplantis Sr.
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Ellender Jr.
Environmental Management Technologies Ltd.
ExxonMobil Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Carroll J. Falcon
Mrs. Marie Falgoust
Dr. Quentin Falgoust
Mr. and Mrs. Woody Falgoust
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Ferrara
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Mark P. Folse
Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Foret
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Fremin
Galliano Marine Services LLC
Gaubert Oil Co. Inc.
Mrs. Pat Gaubert
Mr. Jacob Giardina Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jake Giardina
Mr. Glenn A. Gisclair
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Gossen
Dr. and Mrs. Ridley Gros Jr.
Shell contributes to successful program. The Petroleum Services Safety Technology program in the Department
of Applied Sciences received nearly $25,000 from Shell Oil Company in March. Founded in 1973, the program
has produced more than 1,000 graduates who have managerial and technical jobs in the petroleum industry.
From left: Dr. Terry Dantin, head of the Department of Applied Sciences; Dr. Badiollah Asrabadi, dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences; Reggie Sexton, Shell human resources operations excellence leader; Sandra
Daleo, Shell communication and community analyst; Tom Broom, Shell operations learning and development
manager; Dr. Rebecca Pennington, assistant vice president for development and university relations; Rick
Reso, associate director of development; and Michael Gautreaux, instructor of safety technology.
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Mr. and Mrs. Lee Welch
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Wood Sr.
Ms. Angela M. Yesse
Zyber Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$500 to $999
Lafonts establish scholarship fund. Dr. David Boudreaux, left, vice president for institutional advancement,
accepts a $60,000 donation from Kim Corales Lafont and Henry Lafont Jr. to establish the Henry Lafont Jr.
and Kim Corales Lafont First-Generation Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship. With a matching contribution
of $40,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the endowment totals $100,000. Eligible first-generation
college students who graduate from South Lafourche High School will receive a minimum $1,000 per
academic year from the scholarship fund.
Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh E. Hamilton
Mr. and Mrs. John Hassell
Drs. Leo and Carolyn Hebert
The Houma Courier/Daily Comet
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence C. Howell
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen T. Hulbert
Mr. Ronald J. Hymel
J. B. Levert Land Co. Inc.
The Jerry Ledet Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. John J. Jones Jr.
Juneau Marine Refrigeration & A/C Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kelton
Kiwanis Club of Houma
L & M Botruc Rental Inc.
Lab-A-Daux Home Improvement LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Vic Lafont
Lafourche Parish School Board
Dr. and Mrs. Barry G. Landry
Mr. Christian D. Lapeyre
Mr. William D. Lapeyre
Mr. Todd Lawson
Dr. Nolan P. LeCompte Jr.
Mr. and Jerry P. Ledet Jr.
Mr. Timothy R. Lindsley III
Louisiana Tugs LLC
Lynn M. LeBoeuf Memorial Scholarship Fund
Mr. Marvin V. Marmande Jr.
Masonic Educational Foundation Inc.
Ms. Jo Ann Matthews
Mr. and Mrs. John Melancon Jr.
MidSouth Bank
Milk Products LP–Lafayette
Dr. and Mrs. Charles Monier Jr.
Montco Offshore Inc.
Dr. Richard A. Morvant Jr.
Ms. Lucy N. Naquin
Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Naquin
National Merit Scholarship Corp.
NYT Capital Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Orgeron
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Pate
Mr. Glynn P. Pellegrin
Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Pellegrin
Mrs. Grace F. Peltier
Dr. and Mrs. Henry Peltier
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen G. Peltier
Mr. Royce and Dr. Rebecca T. Pennington
Peterson Agency Inc.
Dr. Wayne J. Pharo
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Pitre
Dr. Mahlon Poche Jr.
Prospect Station Inc.
R.S.I. Group Inc.
Raceland Ag Service Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen J. Rebstock Jr.
Richard Weimer Architects AIA LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Riché
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Riviere
Robichaux Farms Inc.
Dr. and Mrs. Francis A. Robichaux II
Mr. and Mrs. Howard J. Robichaux
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Robichaux Jr.
Rotary Club–Thibodaux
Mr. Ryne S. Simmons
South Central La. Chapter of the
Society of La. CPAs
Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Stagg III
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
Mr. Robert J. Stumm
Superior Labor Services
T. Baker Smith & Son Inc.
Terrebonne Motor Co. Inc.
Tessie Cantrelle Insurance Inc.
Thibodaux Service League Community Fund
Thibodaux Woman’s Club
Mr. and Mrs. George Toups
Valentine Chemicals LLC
VES Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest A. Vicknair Jr.
W. S. Hornsby III CLU CHFC
Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Watkins
Mr. and Mrs. Charles K. Weaver Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Weimer
American Culinary Federation–Bayou Chapter
American Sugar Cane League
Dr. and Mrs. Donald J. Ayo
Ms. Kelly Barker
Bayou Civitan Inc.
Bayou Industrial Group Inc.
Bayou Society for Human Resource
Management
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bednarz
Beta Gamma Sigma Inc.
Mr. Michael J. Blanchard
Brooks Law Office
Mr. and Mrs. Andre M. Brunet
Mr. Charles M. Callais
Mr. Craig A. Cheramie
Todd J. Cheramie
Chevron Matching Gift Program
Christen & Associates APLC
CTCO
District Investments LLC
Duplantis Design Group PC
Mr. and Mrs. Emmett M. Eymard
Femmes Natales
Mr. and Mrs. Miles Forrest
Drs. Nick and Elaine Fry
Georgia Gulf Corp.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Gilbert
Ms. Elizabeth Gros
Mr. Michael Gros
Mr. and Mrs. Tab A. Guidry
Dr. and Mrs. Ernest C. Hansen Jr.
Ms. Ann T. Hebert
Dr. and Mrs. Mark F. Hebert
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney D. Hingle
Mr. D. Douglas Howard
Mr. Harold Judell
Kiwanis Club of Thibodaux
Dr. Betty A. Kleen
Mr. and Mrs. Peter S. Knoop Jr.
Mr. Frank R. Kolwe Jr.
Lafourche Parish United States
Bowling Congress
Ms. Cindy Larpenter
Mr. Perry LeBlanc
Mr. Mark H. Lee
Louis P. Ledet Memorial Scholarship Fund
Louisiana Offshore Oil Port LLC
Malcolm Dienes LLC
Dr. and Mrs. Shawn Mauldin
Morvant and Cavell Attorneys at Law
Mr. Alan W. Murphy
Northwestern Mutual Foundation
Propane Education & Research Council Inc.
Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Quinilty
R & M Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Robichaux Jr.
Sallie Mae Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Scaffidi
Shaver-Robichaux Agency Inc.
Shell Oil Co. Foundation
St. Bernadette KC Council No. 7355
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St. Martin & Williams & Bourque APLC
St. Mary Parish School Food Service
Association
Superior Shipyard & Fabrication Inc.
Mr. Neal Swanner
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Theriot
Thibodaux Women’s Center
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Thibodeaux
Mr. Ron M. Thibodeaux
Thompson Construction Co.
Mrs. John Van Vrancken
William Smith CPA LLC
Willis & Mildred Pellerin Foundation
$250 to $499
Mr. Jerome M. Barbera
Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Becker
Mr. David Bergeron
Mr. Keith Besson
Dr. Adrienne G. Bethancourt
Mr. Michael J. Blanchard
Dr. and Mrs. Irving M. Blatt
Ms. Louise Bonin
Bourgeois Meat Market Inc.
Mrs. Bobby Breaux
Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Brown
Mr. and Mrs. Larry J. Buccola
Mr. Nicklus H. Caplenor
Dr. John J. Cavan
Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Clarke Jr.
Mr. Michel Claudet
Ms. Gayle P. Clement
Mr. Richard A. Clements
Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Conrad
Ms. and Mr. Maryann L. Cote
Cowen Clinic for Rehabilitation Medicine APMC
Custom Apparel Solutions
Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. Davis
The Deitchman Charitable Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Deitchman
Delta Millwork Inc.
Ms. Erin M. Deroche
Mrs. Nancy Diefenthal
Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux
Mrs. Catherine Dunn
Dr. and Mrs. Curtis Duplechain
Mr. and Mrs. C. Berwick Duval II
Mr. H. Thomas Ellender Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. David Elmore
F. Smith Knobloch Scholarship Fund
Mr. Kurt N. Fakier
Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Fakier
Dr. Joanne C. Ferriot
Mrs. Ruth O. Finkelstein
Mrs. Laulie Folse
Dr. and Mrs. Paul Thomas Gaudet
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene G. Gouaux Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas P. Graves
Dr. and Mrs. John H. Green
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Grossberg
Mr. Johnson Hale Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Hammerli
Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Hansen
Dr. and Mrs. Douglas B. Harris
Ann T. Hebert CPA
Dr. and Mrs. O. Cleveland Hill
Mr. William D. Hoffman
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J. B. Levert Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Lester L. Jay
Jubilee Festival of the Arts & Humanities
Kappa Tau Alpha Society of NSU
Ms. Evelyn Katz
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kolwe
Lafourche Parish Retired Teachers
Dr. and Mrs. Alex Lasseigne
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ledoux
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Lejeune
Dr. and Mrs. James Leonard
Louisiana Machinery Co. Inc.
Louisiana Paint & Supply
Dr. and Mrs. Wes Magee III
Ms. Joan M. Malbrough and
Mr. Tommy P. Hebert
Dr. and Mrs. David P. Manuel
Ms. Diane T. Martin
Mrs. and Mr. Kelly McCarthy
Mr. John and Dr. Melissa W. Melancon
Mr. Reginald Melancon
Michael J. Blanchard CPA APAC
Mike Bednarz State Farm Insurance
The Moody’s Foundation
Matching Gift Program
Mrs. Carol J. Morgan
Mr. and Mrs. Lionel O. Naquin Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Philip M. Neal
Mr. Neale D. Nugent
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Palmer
Dr. and Mrs. Sandeep A. Patel
Ms. Merrian Perez
Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Plaisance
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Plaisance
Pointe-Aux-Chenes Elementary School
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce E. Ponson
Mr. Ricky P. Pontiff
R. G. R. Inc.
Ralph O. Brennan Restaurant Group LLC
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Dr. and Mrs. P. Truett Ray Jr.
Real Estate Express LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Shawn M. Reppel
Mr. and Mrs. Kurt S. Risinger
Ms. Elizabeth Riviere
Roche Matching Gifts and Employee
Volunteer Programs
Mr. Anthony J. Savoie
Schriever Volunteer Fire Department
Mr. and Mrs. George Solomon Jr.
South Coast Gas Co. Inc.
Start Corp.
Synergy Bank
Dr. and Mrs. Victor E. Tedesco III
Terrebonne Financial Services Ltd.
Thomassie Construction Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory J. Torres
Ms. Lizbeth A. Turner and
Mr. Clarence Wolbrette
Mrs. Elizabeth M. Wagner
Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. Waguespack
Watkins Walker & Eroche APLC
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Weed
Dr. Velma S. Westbrook
Mr. and Mrs. Gerard A. White
Mr. Kyle S. Wilson
Xavier University of Louisiana
Mr. Robert E. Young
Ms. Sonia A. Zeringue
$249 and Under
A & R Floor Center Inc.
Mr. Thomas J. Abadie
Mr. and Mrs. Todd J. Adamietz
Ms. Brenda L. Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Karl M. Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Adams
Advanced Practices LLC
Local innkeepers assist athletes. The Hampton Inn of Thibodaux donated $25,000 worth of stays at the hotel
to Nicholls for athletics recruitment. From left: Mike Delaune, Hampton Inn director of sales; Rob Bernardi,
Nicholls athletics director; Ray Harrigill and Monica Sethi Harrigill, Hampton Inn owners; Dr. Stephen Hulbert,
Nicholls president; Blair Stancliff, Hampton Inn general manager; and Dana Moreau, regional vice president.
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Mr. and Mrs. Brock C. Akers
Ms. Azadeh Alavi
Ms. Cheryl T. Albert
Dr. and Mrs. Larry Albright
Ms. Joy C. Alcus
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Allen Alexander Jr.
Alexis A. Duval CPA LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Alfred
Ms. Maureen E. Alfred
Mr. Raylan F. Alleman
Ms. Helene B. Allen
Mr. and Mrs. Kerry L. Alley
Mr. and Mrs. P. Alvarez
Ms. Lainie R. S. Amedee
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Amedee Jr.
American Legion Auxilliary
American Legion–Ken Boudreaux Post #380
Ms. Dianne C. Andras
Mr. E. A. Angelloz
Anthony’s Pier 4 Restaurants
Dr. Glenn J. Antizzo
Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Arabie
Mr. and Mrs. Curtis A. Arcement
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy M. Arcemont III
Ms. April J. Arceneaux
Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Arceneaux
Mr. Jamie J. Arceneaux
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Arceneaux
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley A. Arceneaux
Mr. and Mrs. Steven P. Arceneaux
Mr. Leonard J. Armato
Mr. and Mrs. Roy L. Armstrong
Mr. Bryan T. Arnette
Ms. Alisha L. Aucoin
Ms. Cynthia A. Aucoin
Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Aucoin
Ms. Patty M. Aucoin
Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Aucoin
Mr. Travis J. Aucoin
Mr. Stephen J. Authement
Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Autin
Ms. Linda M. Avet
Mr. Adam J. Ayme
B. G. Jones Inc.
Mr. Christopher P. Babin
Ms. Ginny K. Babin
Mr. Paul L. Babin
Mr. and Mrs. Jacque F. Babin
Mr. Jerry A. Badeaux
Dr. Michele R. Bailliet
Ms. Victoria W. Baker
Mr. Damon J. Baldone
Mr. and Mrs. Gary W. Barbaro
Ms. Cynthia A. Barberot
Mr. and Mrs. Lynn P. Barbier
Ms. Edith E. Barker
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Barker
Dr. and Mrs. James Barr
Ms. Kelly J. Barrera
Barrett Interior Specialty & Supply Inc.
Ms. Betty B. Barrilleaux
Ms. Cecilia Barrilleaux
Ms. Christine D. Barrios
Ms. Dana C. Barrios
Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Battaglia
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Baudoin
Mr. Russell M. Baudoin
Bayouland Advertising
Mr. and Mrs. Mark C. Bazile
Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Beaudean
Mr. and Mrs. Edmond A. Becnel III
Mr. and Mrs. Gary P. Becnel
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Becnel
Mr. Jeffrey D. Beech
Mr. and Mrs. Ward D. Belanger
Mr. and Mrs. Gerd T. Benda
Ms. Debi S. Benoit
Ms. Joyce W. Benoit
Ms. Judith M. Benoit
Benoit Machine LLC
Ms. Wanda J. Beo
Ms. Susan M. Bercegeay
Mr. and Mrs. Travis P. Bergeron
Mr. Glenn C. Bergeron
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Bergeron Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Bergeron
Ms. Sydney A. Bergeron
Mr. Wayne C. Bergeron
Dr. and Mrs. Blaise J. Bergiel
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Bernard
Mrs. Linda Berry
Mr. Charles L. Berthelot
Mr. Gregory J. Berthelot
Beta Alpha Psi
Mr. William T. Bienvenu
Bienvenue Mortgage
Dr. and Mrs. John R. Bilello
Mr. David W. Billiot
Mr. and Mrs. Flint J. Bishop
Ms. Kitty W. Bishop
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Bisland Sr.
Mrs. and Mr. Jessica L. Blackledge
Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Blair
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Blanchard
Mr. Daniel P. Blanchard
Mr. and Mrs. Darrin J. Blanchard
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Blanchard Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jason Blanchard
Mr. Jacque T. Blanchard
Mr. and Mrs. James Blewett
Mr. and Mrs. Harold M. Block
Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bolton
Ms. Vivian Bonamy
Mr. and Mrs. Terry J. Bonvillain
Mr. and Mrs. Terry R. Book
Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Boquet
Dr. Deborah E. Bordelon
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory B. Boring
Mr. Charles J. Borne
Mr. and Mrs. Emile J. Borne Jr.
Mr. Gary P. Borne
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Borne
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Bosco
Mr. Larry S. Bossier
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry D. Bostic
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph O. Bosworth
Ms. Anastasia B. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Brophy J. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Percy Boudreaux Jr.
Ms. Colette D. Boudreaux
Ms. Connie Jo P. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Denis Boudreaux
Mr. David C. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Dirk J. Boudreaux
Name:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Home Address:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City:____________________________________________________________State:________________________________ Zip Code:_________________
Nicholls Major:________________________________________________________________________________________ Graduation Year:___________
Home Phone:______________________________________________________Cell Phone:____________________________________________________
E-mail Address:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Employer:________________________________________________________________________Job Title:______________________________________
Spouse’s Name:____________________________________________________________________Maiden Name:__________________________________
Spouse’s Nicholls Graduation Year and Major:________________________________________________________________________________________
Accomplishments:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Dr. Donald J. Boudreaux
Mr. George E. Boudreaux
Mr. George V. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Boudreaux
Ms. Kathryn A. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Boudreaux
Ms. Lynette R. Boudreaux
Ms. Malissa Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Mark J. Boudreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Boudreaux
Ms. Patrice A. Boudreaux
Mr. Perry J. Boudreaux
Mr. Scott M. Boudreaux
Ms. Kimberly M. Bounds
Mr. Doug M. Bourg
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bourgeois
Bourgeois Bennett LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Bourgeois
Mr. Jeremy M. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Todd M. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Bourgeois
Ms. Martha P. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. William P. Bourgeois
Mr. Phillip G. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Randy P. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Ron R. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Darren J. Bourgeois
Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Bouterie Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ivy Bouzigard Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Glynn T. Boyd
Mr. and Mrs. Todd Brady
Mr. and Mrs. Earl M. Brannon
Ms. Angie B. Braud
Jorge J. Bravo MD
Mr. Clay J. Breaud
Ms. Susan M. Breaud
Ms. Amy S. Breaux
Mr. Andrew J. Breaux
Mr. and Mrs. Kent Breaux
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Breaux
Ms. Julie M. Breaux
Mr. and Mrs. K. J. Breaux
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Breaux
Ms. Rebecca M. Breaux
Mr. and Mrs. James J. Brien Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Briggs
Ms. Andrea R. Brinkley
Ms. Eula R. Brinkley
Mr. Bennett A. and Dr. Carol Britt
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew E. Brodnax
Ms. Shari F. Brondum
Ms. Cheryl L. Brown
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel R. Brown III
Mr. and Mrs. Dale A. Brown
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory P. Brown
Ms. Susan G. Brown
Mrs. Lorraine B. Brownell
Ms. Madeline M. Browning
Mr. Carl A. Bruce
Mr. Rickie J. Bruce
Mr. Ferrell A. Brunet
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Brunet Jr.
Ms. Jan S. Brunet
Ms. Shirley Buckel
Ms. Diane F. Bueche
Ms. Ronna Bulera
Ms. Mary Ann Bulla
Mr. and Mrs. Walter H. Bumgardner
Ms. Sheri A. Buras
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Burt
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Butler
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph T. Butler
Mr. Kerry J. Buuck
Ms. Stephanie R. Caballero
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Caffery
The Hon. and Mrs. L. Charles Caillouet
Mr. James and Dr. Patricia B. Caillouet
Mr. and Mrs. Randle J. Caire
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph G. Caire
The Caldarera Group
Mr. Stephen Caldarera
Ms. Claudette C. Caldwell
Mr. and Mrs. Rowland E. Caldwell
Ms. Alice A. Calloway
Mr. George H. Cancienne Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Cancienne
The Cannata Corp.
Ms. Cheryl H. Cannon
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy B. Canter
Mr. Brent M. Cantrelle
Mr. Fred Carreras
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace A. Carrier Jr.
Mr. Gerald W. Carter
Ms. Amy C. Casey
Ms. Angela B. Cassard
Ms. Cynthia D. Cassard
Dr. Keri A. Cataldo
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Mr. Edward A. Catoire
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Cazaubon
Mr. and Mrs. Steven G. Cazenave
Mr. Norbert N. Chabert
Mr. and Mrs. David W. Chadwick
Dr. and Mrs. John R. Chadwick
Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth H. Chadwick
Ms. Dawn E. Chaisson
Mr. and Mrs. Don A. Champagne
Mr. and Mrs. Errol J. Champagne
Ms. Laura L. Champagne
Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Champagne
Mr. and Mrs. Melvin A. Champagne
Mr. P. M. Champagne
Ms. Yolande S. Charles
Mr. and Mrs. Scott M. Charlet
Mr. and Mrs. Mark L. Charpentier
Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Chase
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory M. Chase
Mr. Leonard J. Chauvin III
Ms. Sandi B. Chauvin
Ms. Christine D. Cheramie
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas J. Cheramie
Mr. and Mrs. Terry J. Cheramie
Ms. Gaye Cheramie
Mr. and Mrs. Riley J. Cheramie
Ms. Peggy F. Cherry
Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Chiasson
Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell J. Chiasson
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald P. Chiasson
Mrs. Ruth H. Chiasson
Mr. and Mrs. Darryl Christen
Mr. David F. Chu
Dr. Deborah H. Cibelli and
Mr. Stephen C. Rawlings
Mr. Coral C. Clark Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Marc E. Clause
Mr. and Mrs. Brian P. Clausen
Ms. Sylvia M. Clavier
Mr. and Mrs. Randy B. Clement
Mr. and Mrs. Dan J. Clement
Mr. Gary E. Clement
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Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Clement
Ms. Jacqueline S. Clements
Mr. and Mrs. Drew Clements
Dr. and Mrs. R. Morris Coats
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Cobb Jr.
Mr. Bernard G. Colley
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Collins
Mrs. and Mr. Cherie D. Collins
Mr. and Mrs. George J. Collins Jr.
Ms. Sheila M. Collins
Mr. and Mrs. Todd M. Colwart
Ms. Ashley E. Comeaux
Community Counseling & Consulting LLC
Mr. Craig M. Congemi
Mr. Paul Z. Cook
Mr. and Mrs. Tony S. Cook
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Corbin
Ms. Jana S. Cormier
Mr. Nelson B. Cortez
Ms. Raquel Cortina
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Couch
Mr. Gregory M. Courtney
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry E. Crail
Ms. Gwendolyn Cranshaw
Mr. Mark A. Crochet
Ms. Sally J. Crochet
Mr. Thomas Cruse
Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Cunningham
Mr. Cy C. Cunningham
Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds J. Curole Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Curole
Cycle World
Ms. Patricia P. Czeck
Ms. Lidia Dagostino
Ms. Aimee L. Daigle
Mr. Andre J. Daigle
Mr. Cory J. Daigle
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Daigle
Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Daigle
Mr. and Mrs. Dean C. Daigle
Daigle Himel Daigle Physical Therapy Center
Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie R. Daigrepont
Nicholls receives a new Steinway. Dr. Carol Britt,
director of the Department of Music, performed
in February on a new Steinway piano–a ninefoot concert grand valued at $110,000. Acquired
for the university by the Nicholls Foundation;
the Mary and Al Danos Family Foundation;
Benny Cenac of Houma; and proceeds from the
September 23, 2008, monster piano concert,
the piano is a showpiece on the Talbot Theater
stage.
50 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
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Dalton A. LeBlanc Insurance Agency Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald P. Danos
Ms. Adele M. Dantin
Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Dantin
Mr. and Mrs. Rene D’Arcangelo
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald P. Davey
David A. Waitz Engineering & Surveying Inc.
David Duet Services
Mr. and Mrs. Rodney David
Mr. Terrell I. David
Ms. Anita H. Davidson
Mr. Robert J. Davidson
Ms. Anedia M. Davis
Ms. Eileen A. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin B. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Eric S. Davy
Mr. and Mrs. John H. DeArmond
Mr. and Mrs. Dave J. Defelice Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Randy J. Dehart
Ms. Dina W. Delahoussaye
Ms. Lea A. Delatte
Mr. and Mrs. Manuel P. Delatte Jr.
Mr. Drew M. Delaune
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy L. Delaune Jr.
Mr. Kenneth J. Delcambre
Dr. and Mrs. John H. Dennis
Ms. Kathy G. Detiveaux
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Detiveaux
Ms. Laura A. Deville
Mr. Keyth A. Devillier
Mr. William F. Diehl
Mr. Mickey P. Diez
Ms. Randi S. Dill
Ms. Thea B. Dillard
Ms. Denise A. Dillon
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Dishman II
DMC Consultors LLC
DNL Veterinary Services PA Corp.
Ms. Carolyn Doiron
Mr. and Mrs. Ellis R. Doles
Mr. and Mrs. Dave A. Domangue
Mr. Mark J. Domangue
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Dominique
Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Dorand
Mr. and Mrs. Jules A. Dornier III
Mr. and Mrs. Bobby A. Dosser
Mr. John P. Doucet
Mr. Royce J. Doucet
Mr. and Mrs. Graham Douglas
Ms. Julia R. Doyle
Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. Dragna
Mr. and Mrs. Terry L. Draper
Mr. and Mrs. E. I. Dreher Jr.
Mr. Lloyd C. Dressel
Mr. Barry C. Druilhet
Ms. Joan E. Dryden
Ms. Cynthia M. DuBois
Ms. Jessica A. Dubois
Mr. and Mrs. David L. Duet
Ms. Eva M. Duet
Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick J. Duet
Ms. Rachael P. Duet
Ms. Tiffany Duet
Mr. and Mrs. Edwis O. Dufrene
Mr. and Mrs. Kendall P. Dufrene
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Dufrene
Mrs. and Mr. Cindy M. Dugas
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Mr. and Mrs. Scott J. Dugas
Ms. Robin M. Dugas
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Dugruise
Mr. and Mrs. David L. Duhon II
Dumel Construction Inc.
Ms. Lesley G. Dunagin
Ms. Amy M. Duncan
Mr. and Mrs. Norman Duplantis Jr.
Mr. Merle J. Duplantis
Mr. and Mrs. Melvin B. Duplantis Sr.
Duplantis Resources LLC
Ms. Susan A. Dupre
Dr. and Mrs. Peter J. Dupree
Ms. Atholyn L. Durr
E. J. Fields Machine Works Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. James Edmonson
Mr. Nicholas K. Edrington III
Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Edwards
Mr. Rene J. Elfer
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Elfert
Ms. Amanda E. Eliser
Mr. Allen J. Ellender III
Mr. Harrison P. Ellender Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ruble A. Encalade
Ms. Margo E. Erny CPA
Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Erwin
Mr. Eric C. Escher
Mr. Steve J. Escobar
Mr. and Mrs. Steven J. Eskine
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Esteve
Mr. Corey J. Eues
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Evans
Mr. and Mrs. Eddie J. Evans Jr.
Ms. Amanda S. Eymard
Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey A. Eymard
Ms. Brenda M. Falgoust
Mr. and Mrs. Brian P. Falgoust
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Falgoust
Ms. Wendy R. Falgoust
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Falgout
Ms. Evelyn G. Falgout
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Falgout
Dr. and Mrs. Robert N. Falgout
Family Doctor Clinic
Mr. and Mrs. Brad J. Fanguy
Mr. and Mrs. Keith G. Fanguy Sr.
Mr. Ronnie A. Fanguy
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Faslund
Ms. Sherrill A. Faucheaux
Ms. Margaret M. Faucheux
Mr. and Mrs. Robert K. Faul
Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Faulk
Mr. Robert T. Faulkner
Mrs. Cynthia S. Fay
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Felger
Ms. Georgya Ferguson
Mr. Thomas E. Fernandez
Mr. J. Robert B. Field
Mr. Larry J. Fields
Ms. Kristen D. Fillmore
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Folse
Dr. Craig P. Folse
Mr. and Mrs. Mark P. Folse
Ms. Theresa H. Folse
Ms. Virginia T. Folse
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Fontane
Ms. Avie M. Fontenot
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Dr. Quenton C. Fontenot and Dr. Allyse Ferrara
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Ford
Mr. and Mrs. Lance J. Ford
Mr. and Mrs. Luke Ford Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edison J. Foret
Mr. George J. Foret
Mr. and Mrs. Rudy L. Foret
Ms. Olivier Fortesa
Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan J. Fortner
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Fournet
Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Fournet Jr.
Fournet’s Pharmacy &
Professional Home Medical
Mr. Marcel P. Fournier
Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Foust III
Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Foust
Ms. Bonnie L. Francois
Ms. Lizetta M. Frederick
Mr. and Mrs. Wynn Fremen
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan Fremin
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Fremin
Mr. Justin G. Frey
Mr. and Mrs. Joey J. Fullilove
Dr. Patricia A. Gabilondo
Dr. Catherine Gaharan
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gaidry Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Gaidry
Mr. Charles S. Gaiennie
Mr. and Mrs. Donovan V. Galey
Ms. Aimee M. Galiano
Ms. Anne M. Galjour
Mr. and Mrs. James G. Gallagher
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy J. Gallagher CPA
Mr. Jonathon P. Galliano
Ms. Miriam Gaspard
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph J. Gaubert
Mr. and Mrs. Steven C. Gaubert
Mr. and Mrs. Don G. Gaudet
Mr. and Mrs. Michael M. Gauthier
Ms. Martha R. Gauthreaux
Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Gauthreaux
Mr. and Mrs. P. Keith Gautreau
Mr. Paul W. Gautreau
Mr. and Mrs. Guy Gautreaux
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Gereighty
Ms. Heloise M. Gilbert
Ms. Katie E. Giroir
Ms. Patti T. Givens
Mr. Earl R. Gochey
Mrs. Evelyn G. Gondron
Mr. and Mrs. James E. Goodwin
Mrs. Monique M. Gorham
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gorman
Mr. Louis Gouaux
Mr. and Mrs. James R. Goudeau
Ms. Shelli L. Goulas
Ms. Aimee C. Grabert
Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Grace III
Mr. Gregg Graffagnino
Mr. and Mrs. John Graham
Mr. Jason P. Graham
Mr. and Mrs. Gary P. Gravois
Mr. and Mrs. John R. Gravois
Ms. Michele D. Gray
Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Grayson
Mr. and Mrs. David A. Green
Mr. and Mrs. Lee M. Greiner Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. John M. Griffin
Ms. Kandy N. Griffin
Mr. and Mrs. Brad Griffin
Ms. Lauren M. Griffin
Ms. Brooke A. Gros
Mr. and Mrs. Edmond W. Gros
Mr. and Mrs. Lynn P. Gros
Mrs. and Mr. Monique L. Gros
Mr. and Mrs. Harley J. Gros
Mr. Ryan M. Gros
Ms. Stephanie A. Gros
Dr. and Michael P. Guarisco
Mr. Eric Gueniot
Ms. Debra A. Guidroz
Mr. and Mrs. Paxton E. Guidroz
Ms. Susan J. Guidroz
Mr. Walter S. Guidroz
Ms. Angela E. Guidry
Mr. and Mrs. Brad M. Guidry
Ms. Chrissy A. Guidry
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel W. Guidry
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice C. Guidry
Mrs. Jessica Q. Guidry
Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd J. Guidry Sr.
Mr. Lynn F. Guidry
Ms. Sara S. Guidry
Mr. and Mrs. Brian P. Guidry
Ms. Dana M. Guilbeau
Dr. Claudio Guillermo
Ms. Angela L. Guillory
Ms. Gaynel A. Guillot and Mr. Michael J. Becnel
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Guillot
Mrs. Megan L. Guillot
Mr. and Mrs. Todd A. Guillot
Mr. and Mrs. Eric Gustin
Mr. Phillip M. Guthrie
Mr. and Mrs. Lester M. Hackman Jr.
Ms. Karla M. Halpern
Ms. Myra M. Hammonds
Kathy A. Hancock
Mrs. Bernice P. Harang
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Harp II
Ms. Kathryn M. Harrell
Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Harris
Ms. Kakeisha R. Harris
Ms. Christine V. Harrison
Ms. Sheryl M. Harrison
Ms. Adele L. Hartman
Mr. and Mrs. Herman L. Hartman
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Harvey
Ms. Heidi B. Hatch
Mrs. Mary Haushahn
Ms. Patricia L. Haydel
Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie J. Haydel
Mr. and Mrs. Travis M. Head
Ms. Debora M. Heard
Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Hebert
Ms. Angelle L. Hebert
Hebert Appliance Service
Ms. Augustine C. Hebert
Mrs. Betty R. Hebert
Ms. Brittany L. Hebert
Mr. and Mrs. Corey J. Hebert
Mr. and Mrs. Eddie J. Hebert
Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell J. Hebert
Mrs. and Mr. Katie A. Hebert
Mr. Kevin P. Hebert
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Hebert
Mr. and Mrs. Morris Hebert
Mr. and Mrs. Corey J. Hebert
Mr. Alcide and Dr. Sandra Hebert
Mr. Terry Hebert
Ms. Dianne T. Heims
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Hellman
Ms. Deborah N. Hemleben
Mr. Michael C. Hemstreet
Ms. Carla C. Hernandez
Ms. Carol B. Hession
Mr. and Mrs. Randy C. Hicks
Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Hidalgo
Mrs. and Mr. Tisa L. Hill
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond A. Hodson Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ted L. Hoffmann
Mr. Chris A. Hogan
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent N. Holcomb
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Holmes
Honiron Inc.
Mr. J. Benny B. Hopson
Mr. Mark H. Hovsepian
Dr. and Mrs. Monroe M. Howell
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Hoychick
Mr. and Mrs. Jaret J. Hubbell
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry L. Hudson
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Hue
Mr. Henry M. Hulme
Mr. Norman Hunt
Ms. Cindy N. Hunter
Mr. and Mrs. Craig R. Hutchinson
Mr. Gary J. Hutchinson
Ms. Catherine O. Hymel
Mr. and Mrs. Octave P. Hymel Jr.
Ms. Sandra A. Ingols
Ms. Ashley N. Inness
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Isham
Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Jackson
Ms. Jackie W. Jackson
Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Jacquet
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony James
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Jandegian
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce C. Jayne
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Jeansonne
Ms. Amour D. Jenkins
Ms. Rosalind R. Jennings
Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Johnfroe
Ms. Deborah A. Johnson
Mr. Hubert Johnson
Mr. Jerrell A. Johnson
Ms. Lysandra G. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Merrick M. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin G. Jones
Mrs. Frances Jones
Mr. Jason G. Jones
Dr. Leslie Jones
Mr. William Jones Jr.
Ms. Marion T. Joseph
Mr. and Mrs. Irwin J. Joubert
Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Juenke
Mr. Babu J. Kamarajugadda
Mr. Donald E. Kasten
Ms. Patricia M. Keating
Ms. Judy L. Keegan
Mr. Craig J. Kees
Ms. Rebekah D. Kelleher
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Keller
Putting the “fun” in fundraising. Debbie Raziano, director of alumni affairs at Nicholls, auctions off items at the 13th annual Sponsor A+ Scholar Wine and Food
Extravaganza in the Cotillion Ballroom of the Bollinger Memorial Student Union on October 8, 2008. Proceeds from the event, totaling more than $40,000, benefit
Nicholls students with outstanding grades and leadership ability. First held in 1996, the fundraiser has brought in more than $320,000 and has helped more than
200 students.
Mr. Jeremy L. Kelley
Mr. Stephen D. Kelley
Ms. Judith F. Kenney
Dr. Marilyn B. Kilgen
Mr. Ronald H. Kilgen
Mr. Roger C. Kimball
Mr. Steve Kinchen
Ms. Addie C. King
Mr. Lenus A. King
Mr. and Mrs. Gary P. Kinler
Mr. John and Dr. Pamela Kirkley
Ms. Ann C. Kirkpatrick
Ms. Shannon C. Kirkpatrick
Dr. Kenneth S. Klaus
Ms. Marian S. Kleinpeter
Mrs. Kathy Kliebert
Ms. Vadelia B. Kliebert
Mr. and Mrs. Jim K. Klos
Mr. James E. Knobloch
Mr. and Mrs. Roland P. Knobloch Jr.
Mr. Gabriel S. Kora
Ms. Angela Kraemer
Ms. Kandi J. Kraemer
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Kraemer
Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Kuehl
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy M. Kyle
Ms. Kathryn H. Labat
Ms. Linda C. Lafont
Mr. and Mrs. Troy A. Lagarde
Mr. and Mrs. David M. LaGrange
Dr. Philip W. LaHaye
Mr. Brandon J. LaHoste
Mr. and Mrs. Julius Laiche
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Laiche
Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. Laiche
Dr. and Mrs. John P. Lajaunie
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel A. Lambert
Mr. and Mrs. Al Lambert
Mr. and Mrs. John K. Lambousy
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen L. Lambousy
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lamunyon
Mr. Brett M. Landry
Mr. Brian P. Landry
Ms. Christina C. Landry
Ms. Dusty T. Landry
Mr. Gary J. Landry
Mr. Gary T. Landry
Mr. Mathew G. Landry
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne J. Landry
Mr. and Mrs. Mark J. Landry
Ms. Tara G. Landry
Mr. Tommy P. Landry
Judge and Mrs. Walter I. Lanier III
Mrs. Angela LaPlante
Mr. and Mrs. Rudy B. Laris Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert LaRose
Ms. Brenda W. Lasalle
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Lasseigne
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey M. Latino
Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Lawrence
Mr. and Mrs. Theo D. Lawrence
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd T. Lawson
Mr. and Mrs. Minh V. Le
Le Higs Uniform Centers
Mr. and Mrs. Minh V. Le
Mr. Calvin Lebeau
Ms. Deborah J. Lebeouf
Mr. Armon J. Leblanc
Ms. Farrah E. Leblanc
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Leblanc
Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. LeBlanc
Mr. Oliver P. Leblanc Jr.
Ms. Susan B. Leboeuf
Mr. and Mrs. Terry J. LeBoeuf
Ms. Ann M. LeBouef
Ms. Karen LeBourgeois
Ms. Alena M. Lecompte
Ms. Sylvia M. Lecompte
Ms. Beryl R. Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan P. Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Bryce A. Ledet
Mr. Dee F. Ledet
Mr. Dennis J. Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Ledet
Mr. Michael M. Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Kerry Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ledet Sr.
Mr. Robert L. Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Stony P. Ledet
Mr. and Mrs. Aljean Ledet Jr.
Rev. and Mrs. Sherman Ledet
Ms. April S. Lee
Mr. Oliver L. Lee
Mr. and Mrs. James S. Lee
Ms. June G. Lefort
Mr. and Mrs. Albert I. Leftwich
Ms. Jan L. Leger
Ms. Karen E. Leger-Oubre
Ms. Anita M. Leggett
Mr. and Mrs. Lance P. Lejeune
Mr. and Mrs. William O. Lepine Jr.
Mr. David P. Leroux
Dr. and Mrs. J. Paul Leslie Jr.
Mr. and Ms. Andre Leveque
Ms. Marguerite C. Li Bassi
Ms. Phillis N. Lightell
Ms. Jackie Lindsley
Ms. Dawn B. Lirette
Mr. Jesse P. Lirette
Mr. Shawn N. Little
Mr. Wilmon J. Little
Mr. and Mrs. Julius Lobo
Mr. John W. Lodge
Ms. Martha A. Longman
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Lopez Sr.
Ms. Maggie S. Loup
Ms. Bridget M. Louque
Mr. and Mrs. J. Caro Louviere
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton E. Lovell
Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Lucito
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Luft
Ms. Joan D. Lyon
Mr. and Mrs. Carroll M. Lyons Jr.
Mr. Linard M. Lyons
Ms. Anna L. Mabile
Mr. and Mrs. Julius M. Mabile
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Ms. Marie A. Mabile
Ms. Nicole Mabile
Mr. and Mrs. L. Wayne Macks
Mr. Ronald A. Madere
Madewood Plantation House No. 2
Mr. Scott L. Magee
Ms. Susan K. Magee
Ms. Trudy A. Mahar
Ms. Mary T. Mahoney
Ms. Donna M. Maladonado
Malbrough and Lirette APLC
Mrs. Jacqueline W. Malcolm
Mr. Philip N. Malcolm
Mr. Jeffrey Marcel
Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Marcel
Mr. and Mrs. Ray J. Marcel
Ms. Beth P. Marcello
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Marcello
Mr. Paul C. Marchand
Ms. Christie L. Markins
Ms. Carol A. Marmande
Mr. Patrick C. Marmande
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald J. Marquette
Ms. Kristi A. Marse
Mrs. and Mr. Rachelle M. Martin
Mr. Richard J. Martin
Ms. Shelly P. Martin
Ms. Shirley Martin
Mr. Terral J. Martin Jr.
Ms. Kathleen M. Martinez
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Martinez
Ms. Bonnie B. Martiny
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Mason
Ms. Sarah M. Masterson
Mr. and Mrs. Dean P. Matherne
Ms. Denise D. Matherne
Ms. Karen P. Matherne
Mr. and Mrs. Randy J. Matherne
Mr. and Mrs. Edgar J. Mathews Jr.
Ms. Carol A. Mathias
Ms. Kandace M. Mauldin
Mr. Thomas G. Mayet
Ms. Cheryl A. Mayeux
MBA Association
Ms. Michelle L. McCabe
Mr. Michael G. McCann
Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. McCulla II
Mr. and Mrs. Mike McDonald
Mr. and Mrs. William L. McDonald
Dr. and Mrs. Harry J. McGaw
Mr. C. G. McGehee
Mr. and Mrs. Robert McMeel
Ms. Cora Lee W. McMillan
Mr. and Mrs. Terry J. McMillan
Mr. and Mrs. Flavious J. Meades
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Meche
Mr. Kirk Meche
Ms. Marsha M. Medine
Mr. and Mrs. Claude Medine
Mr. Steve M. Medine
Dr. and Mrs. Earl J. Melancon Jr.
Mr. Fred Melancon
Mr. and Mrs. David J. Melancon
Mr. John E. Melancon
Ms. Lacey M. Melancon
Mr. Ralph S. Melian
Ms. Laura L. Melton
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Melvin’s Restaurant of Houma Inc.
Ms. Doris D. Menezes
Ms. Barbara T. Meroney
Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Merrifield
Mr. Jonathon P. Michael
Dr. Stephen S. Michot
Dr. and Mrs. David Middleton
Mr. Marcus W. Milam
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Milazzo Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Miller
Mr. and Mrs. Kirt C. Millet
Mr. and Mrs. Rex Millhollon
Ms. Donna M. Milliman
Mint One Consulting LLC
Mr. Thomas A. Minton
Dr. L. Glen Mire
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Mire
Mr. and Mrs. Eric P. Mistretta
Ms. Melinda C. Mitchell
Mitch’s Landscaping & Lawn Care Co. Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Toby Mobley
Dr. and Mrs. Michael R. Moffett
Mr. and Mrs. Siamak Mokhtarnejad
Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Monceaux
Ms. Alice J. Moore
Mr. and Mrs. Ulysses Moore
Mr. Kevin P. Morales
Ms. Jeanne J. Morello
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Morgan
Mr. Clinton G. Morgan
Ms. Curtis L. Morgan
Mr. John P. Morgan
Ms. Melanie M. Morgan
Mr. Walter C. Morrison
Ms. Phyllis G. Morrisson
Mr. and Mrs. David C. Morvant
Mr. and Mrs. James C. Morvant
Mrs. Martha L. Morvant
Mr. Tommy J. Morvant
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Moss
Ms. Shawn K. Murphy
Ms. Phyllis A. Mury
Mrs. Kristy C. Myers
Myra’s Melange
Ms. Vickie C. Nagin
Ms. Bonnie C. Naquin
Mr. and Mrs. Craig J. Naquin
Ms. Dawn T. Naquin
Mr. and Mrs. Gary F. Naquin
Ms. Iris A. Naquin
Mr. and Mrs. Roland A. Naquin
Ms. Mildred R. Naquin
Mr. and Mrs. Randell M. Naquin CPA
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan L. Naquin
Mr. and Mrs. Greg M. Navarre
Mr. Clifton J. Neal
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis J. Neal
Ms. Megan C. Neal
Mrs. and Mr. Melissa L. Neal
Ms. Patricia J. Neal
Mr. and Mrs. Mitchel J. Neal
Ms. Deborah G. Nettles
New Orleans Saints
New York Life Insurance
New York Times Co. Foundation Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Newchurch
Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Newton Jr.
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Mr. and Mrs. A. V. Nguyen
Mr. and Mrs. Hansel Nini Jr.
Ms. Elizabeth R. Nixon
Mr. Anthony Nunez
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Ogden
Ole Metairie Car Care Inc.
Mr. Kenny Oliver
Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Olivier
Mr. and Mrs. Todd A. Olivier
Mr. and Mrs. Gary M. Oncale
Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Ordogne
Ms. Jennifer K. Ordone
Mr. and Mrs. Timmy Ordoyne
Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Ordoyne
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn J. Orgeron
Mr. Raymond Orgeron
Ms. Sally Orgeron
Ms. Steffanie Orgeron
Ms. Joan M. Ory
Ms. Russella Ostheimer
Ms. Sandra V. Oubre
Ms. Lois H. Parker
Ms. Anne M. Parr
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Patterson
Mr. William and Dr. Alice Pecoraro
Mr. Kirby J. Pellegrin
Mr. and Mrs. Levis Pellegrin Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Pellegrin
Ms. Pamela A. Pellegrin
Ms. Leslie B. Pelotto
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey A. Peltier III
Ms. Janice G. Peltier
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher G. Pena
Ms. and Mr. Maria P. Pender
Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. Pennison
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond A. Peters
Mr. and Mrs. Warren A. Petrie
Mr. Alan G. Phillips
Ms. Vanessa M. Piazza
Ms. and Mr. Carolyn B. Picciola
Mr. and Mrs. Gary S. Pickell
Mr. and Mrs. Chad L. Picou
Ms. Sharon L. Picou
Ms. Mary L. Pierce
Mr. Michael A. Pierce
Mr. Leland A. Pierre
Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Piper
Ms. Laura N. Pipsair
Mr. Michael A. Pitre
Mr. and Mrs. Robby P. Pitre
Mr. David M. Pitts
Ms. Lori T. Pizzuto
Ms. Leslie A. Plaisance
Ms. Leslie J. Plaisance
Mr. and Mrs. Morrison R. Plaisance
Mr. and Mrs. David Plater
Mr. and Mrs. Berhman A. Poché Jr.
Ms. Vicki N. Poche
Ms. Brittany G. Ponvelle
Ms. Dawn R. Poole
Ms. Katherine B. Porche
Ms. Linda P. Porche
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Portier
Ms. Pamela A. Pourciau
Ms. Sharey C. Powell
Ms. Brenda M. Prejean
Dr. Sonya Premeaux
Ms. Michelle W. Prentice
Ms. Suzette M. Prestenbach
Mr. Kevin A. Prevost
Mr. and Mrs. Gary T. Price
Mr. Jose M. Prieto
Mr. Anthony Priola
Ms. Andrea Prosper
Mr. and Mrs. Mark R. Quigley
Ms. Gail U. Quinn
Dr. and Mrs. Philip Rabalais
Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Rabalais
Raceland Raw Sugar Corp.
Drs. Mohammed and Dilruba S. Rais
Dr. Pasam Rao
Ms. Patricia Rasberry
Ms. Cindy H. Rathke
Mr. and Mrs. David A. Rauch
Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Rauhaus Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Alan D. Ray
Mr. Jacques F. Raymond
Ms. Debbie Raziano
Mr. Elliott J. Redmond
Mr. and Mrs. Steven B. Redmond
Mr. Anthony M. Reed
Mr. Gregory Reggio
Mr. Anthony W. Rentrop
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Reulet
Mr. and Mrs. A. Hunter Reynaud
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory S. Reynolds
Ms. Melissa C. Rhodes
Mr. Robert J. Ricau
Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Richard
Mr. and Mrs. James E. Richard Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Richard
Dr. and Mrs. Cyril J. Richard Jr.
The Honorable David M. Richard
Mr. and Mrs. Francis C. Richard
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Richard
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Richard Jr.
Ms. Peggy Richardson
Mr. and Mrs. Claude A. Riché Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ray J. Riché
Mr. and Mrs. Royal J. Richoux Jr.
Mr. Robert G. Riviere
Dr. Jacinda B. Roach
Dr. Susan W. Roark
Mr. Jean L. Robert
Ms. Mona D. Roberts
Mr. and Mrs. James E. Robey
Mr. and Mrs. Barry P. Robichaux
Ms. Debra S. Robichaux
Ms. Heather J. Robichaux
Mr. and Mrs. Howard J. Robichaux
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory P. Robichaux
Mr. Timothy and Dr. Susan Michele Robichaux
Dr. and Mrs. William H. Robichaux
Mr. Dean Robinson
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Rodrigue
Mr. Casey P. Rodrigue
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk J. Rodrigue
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Rodrigue
Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Rodrigue
Mr. James and Dr. Paulette R. Rodrigue
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk J. Rodrigue
Ms. Lisa G. Rogers
Ms. Maureen M. Rogers
Mr. Ryan J. Rogers
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Mr. Timothy J. Rogers
Mr. Karl D. Rohrer
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas E. Roland
Mr. Willie J. Rollins Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Eric P. Romero
Ms. Heather H. Rook
Mrs. and Mr. Catherine Ross
Rouses Enterprises LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry A. Rousseau
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Roussel
Ms. Robin M. Roussel
Mr. Louis E. Routier Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Roy
Mr. Jordan A. Roy
Ms. Vickie L. Royster
Mr. and Mrs. Horace Ruiz
Ms. Kristine A. Russell
Ms. and Mr. Deanna C. Saffold
Ms. Katina M. Samanie
Ms. Donna M. Sammarco
Sam’s Signs
Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Sanamo
Mr. and Mrs. Craig Sanchez
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Sanders
Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Sanders
Ms. Mary C. Sandolph
Mr. Derek L. Santiny
Ms. Mamilyn A. Savoie
Mr. Rusty J. Savoie
Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Savois III
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Sawyer
Mr. Andrew J. Schiro
Mr. and Mrs. Donald P. Schwab Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William S. Schwartz
Ms. Laurie A. Scioneaux
Mrs. Barbara W. Scott
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Z. Scott
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan P. Scott
Ms. Brenda A. Sedotal
Mr. and Mrs. David Sehrt
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Seibold
Mr. Douglas Self
Mr. John J. Serigny
Ms. Dorothy S. Sevier
Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Sevin
Ms. Tarjani Shah
Mr. Sterling H. Sheffie
Ms. Deborah D. Shelly
Mrs. and Mr. Barbara C. Shiflett
Ms. Allison R. Shuey
Mr. James M. Shugart
Mr. and Mrs. Stan Silverii
Mr. Bryan D. Simmons
Mr. and Mrs. Jason Simmons
Mr. Robert J. Simmons
Ms. Joyce H. Simoneaux
Ms. Angela Sirois
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Dan A. Smith
Mr. David D. Smith Jr.
Ms. Gretchen P. Smith
Ms. Maria R. Smith
Ms. Nicole R. Smith
Ms. Novella T. Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Smither
Ms. Toy B. Smoot
Mr. and Mrs. Jerome K. Snyder
Ms. Courtney H. Sobert
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Mrs. Cherise B. Soignet
Mr. Todd P. Soignet
Mr. Don R. Soileau
Ms. Henrietta L. Somme
Mr. Eric J. Songy
Ms. Rachel A. Soudelier
Mr. and Mrs. Rex H. Soule Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. David M. Spinella
Ms. Beverly K. Spooner
Mr. Scott Spreen
Ms. Anita A. St. Pierre
Ms. Lois A. St. Pierre
Ms. Sheila P. St. Pierre
Mr. and Mrs. Richard St. Romain
Mrs. and Mr. Noretta C. Stackel
Stagni & Co. LLC
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E. Stagni
Mr. and Mrs. Craig E. Stanga
Mr. and Mrs. Bill J. Stegelmeyer
Mr. Gerard P. Steib
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas G. Steib
Ms. Charlene P. Stein
Ms. Susan H. Stephen
Mr. Glynn H. Stephens
Ms. Robin T. Sternfels
Mr. Ernest Stewart III
Ms. Carolyn P. Stilts
Stirling Properties LLC
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Stone
Mr. Carlo W. Streva
Dr. and Mrs. J. B. Stroud
Mrs. and Mr. Sara C. Stueben
Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Sylvest
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Tabor
Mr. and Mrs. Randy J. Tabor
Ms. Mary E. Tanner
Mr. Charles C. Tartavoulle
Ms. Claire E. Tatum
Ms. Gayle C. Tauzin
Ms. Kristie R. Tauzin
Ms. Charleen M. Taylor
Ms. Sue D. Taylor
Teche Regional Medical Center
Dr. Victor E. Tedesco IV
Mr. Maurice Temfack
Mr. Paul and Dr. Alice B. Templet
Mr. Kent M. Templet
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Terracina
Ms. Cathy D. Terrebonne
Mr. Charles P. Terrebonne
Mr. Kerry T. Terrebonne
Ms. Mae E. Terrebonne
Ms. Barbara A. Theriot
Mr. and Mrs. Damon J. Theriot
Mr. Jerome M. Theriot
Ms. Judy G. Theriot
Ms. Nell T. Theriot
Ms. Pauline Theriot
Mr. and Mrs. Scott L. Theriot
Ms. Gayle T. Thibodaux
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald J. Thibodaux II
Mr. Horace J. Thibodaux
Mr. James P. Thibodaux
Dr. and Mrs. Donald P. Thibodaux
Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Thibodaux
Thibodaux Literary Club
Mr. Michael A. Thibodaux
Mr. and Mrs. Dirk P. Thibodaux
56 • Voilà! THE MAGAZINE OF NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
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Mr. and Mrs. Ernest A. Thibodaux Jr.
Ms. Anna L. Thibodeaux
Mr. Lynn P. Thibodeaux
Mr. Mark W. Thibodeaux
Ms. Ramona A. Thibodeaux
Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Thiel
Mr. and Mrs. Ruben Thomas
Mr. and Mrs. Troy W. Thompson Jr.
Thomson Higher Education
Ms. Rebecca L. Thurlo
Mr. and Mrs. Larry J. Tillman
Time Warner Matching Grants Program
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley J. Tisdale
Rev. Wilmer L. Todd
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Toepfer
Ms. Lacey O. Toledano
Ms. Anke Tonn
Ms. Debra P. Torline
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin G. Torres
Ms. Brandie M. Toups
Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Toups
Mr. Daniel J. Toups
Mr. and Mrs. Philip J. Toups Jr.
Ms. Elizabeth V. Toups
Ms. Gayle C. Toups
Ms. Lynne T. Toups
Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Toups
Mr. and Mrs. Royal J. Toups
Toups Notary Public Service
& Public Tag Agency
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Toups
Ms. Tammy T. Toups
Ms. Shirleen L. Trabeaux
Mr. and Mrs. Perry P. Trahan
Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Trahan
Ms. Phyl Trahan
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph G. Tranchina Jr.
Mr. David W. Traver
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Treuting
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Trevino
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Triplett
Ms. Alice L. Trosclair
Mr. and Mrs. Craig J. Trosclair
Mrs. Cynthia R. Trosclair
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Trotter
Mr. Allen G. Troxclair
Ms. Annie M. Truxillo
Mr. Travis A. Tullos
Dr. Anita Tully
Ms. Victoria A. Turner
Ms. Hollie M. Tuttle
Mr. and Mrs. Donnie Tynes
University of New Orleans Foundation
Mr. Justin A. Usey
Mr. Barry Uzee
Mr. Samuel M. Vaccarella
Ms. Peggy D. Vaccaro
Mr. and Mrs. David T. Vallot
Mr. and Mrs. Doug Vannoy
Ms. Lisa C. Vedros
Ms. Vickie A. Vedros
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne E. Veillon
Mr. Henry K. Veltman
Mr. Larry Verzwyvelt
Mr. Anthony Vesich
Ms. Julie B. Vesich
Mr. Van Viator
Mr. and Mrs. Barry P. Vice
Ms. Jeri-Lyn G. Vice
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Vicknair
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Vidrine
Mr. and Mrs. Kyle K. Vidrine
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony D. Viguerie II
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Villemarette
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel G. Vincent
Mr. Kristopher G. Voisin
Mr. and Mrs. Terrell V. Volter
Wachovia
Mr. and Mrs. Carroll J. Waguespack
Mr. and Mrs. Francis A. Waguespack III
Mr. Glenn J. Waguespack
Mr. Herman Waguespack Jr.
Ms. Ruth B. Waites
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry G. Walker
Mr. and Mrs. John R. Walker
Dr. and Mrs. Herman E. Walker
Mr. Randall S. Walker
Mr. Art Walters
Mr. Ben J. Walther
Ms. Keven Ann Walton
Mr. Gustave Washington
Mr. J. Louis Watkins III
Mr. George Watt
Mr. and Mrs. David W. Watts
Mr. Michael L. Wayne
Mr. and Mrs. Roger J. Weber
Ms. Jenny M. Weber
Mr. Carl J. Webre
Sheriff Craig Webre
Ms. Rosadel A. Webre
Justice and Mrs. John L. Weimer
Mr. David L. West
Mr. Matthew Whipple
Ms. Carol A. White
Mr. Kenneth J. Whitman
Mr. James Whitney
Mr. Leo F. Whitney
Ms. Naomi F. Whitney
Whitney National Bank
Mr. Stephen G. Wieschhaus
Mr. Huey R. Willis
Mrs. Anne Wilson
Ms. Lee A. Wilson
Dr. and Mrs. Paul J. Wilson
Mr. Andrew W. Wise
Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Wong
Mr. John M. Wood
Ms. Crystal D. Woods
Mr. Blyght J. Wunstell
Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey APLC
Mr. and Mrs. Danny Yarbrough
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Yates
Mr. Jay R. York
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Young
Mrs. and Mr. Demie C. Zeringue CPA
Mr. and Mrs. Gary J. Zeringue
Mr. and Mrs. Rhett Zeringue
Mr. Thaddeus Zeringue
Mr. Carl J. Zornes
Supporting the University
for over 40 Years
NICHOLLS
F O U N D AT I O N
For information about joining the Nicholls Foundation, call 985.448.4134