N O. 3 4
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Hempstead
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MMER 2015
Louisiana Tech
ttle River
Nevada
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Bowie
Ouachita
Drew
Calhoun
Bradley
Miller
Lafayette
M AG A Z I N E
Columbia
Union
Ashley
Cass
Claiborne
Bossier
arrison
Morehouse
West C
Webster
Caddo
Ruston
Shreveport
Monroe
Bienville
Richland
Jackson
anola
Franklin
De Soto
Caldwell
Red River
Winn
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Shelby
Natchitoches
Grant
La Salle
Catahoula
Concordia
Augustine
Sabine
Rapides
Vernon
Avoyelles
I-20 INNOVATION CORRIDOR
What it is, and why you should care (a lot)
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
CONTENTS
OFFICERS
Brennan Easley, President
Dave Matthiesen, Vice President
Cathi Cox-Boniol, Treasurer
Phillip Parker, Member-at-Large
Caroline Wilkerson Reaves, Past President
Leslie K. Guice, Ex-Officio
2 From the 16th Floor
3Tower Medallion
Charles Tullis
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Paula Hampton Aultman, Ed Chavanne,
Philip Cole, Tony Corley, Casey Covington,
Will Dearmon, Remerson Edwards,
Ben Erwin, Eric Johnson, John Malone,
Rodney Manning, Kimberly Mire McDaniel,
Troy O’Laughlin, Paige Baughman Oliver,
Brent Parker, Phillip Parker,
Cynthia Aillet Pettiette, Greg Ross, Mit Scott,
Mark Shoffner, Stuart Snook, Jeff Thompson,
Linda Simonetti Turner, Ray Weaver,
Chris Weego, Anita Lyon West,
James Wilkerson, Becky Turner Wilson,
Jason Zavala
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF
Wes Cavin
– Director of Alumni Relations
Wes@LaTechAlumni.org
Jimmy Washington
– Coordinator of Advancement Programs
Jimmy@LaTechAlumni.org
Barbara Britt Swart
– Administrative Coordinator
Barbara@LaTechAlumni.org
Lisa Graves Smith
– Director of Advancement Services
Lisa@LaTechAlumni.org
UNIVERSITY
COMMUNICATIONS
A Word from the
ALUMNI DIRECTOR
Dear Alumni and Friends,
The 2014-15 academic year is in the books and what a great year it was. But with the end
of one school year comes planning for the next, and I am so excited heading into my second
year as your Director of Alumni Relations about the direction of Louisiana Tech University.
This issue of Louisiana Tech Magazine highlights many of my reasons:
• economic development along Interstate 20;
• Tech’s progress on, of all places, the racecar track;
• our University’s mission of volunteerism, clearly on display;
• academic updates from our five colleges; plus,
• alumni news and much more.
Begin the 2015-16 year in Louisiana Tech style by joining us August 27th at the Monroe
Civic Center for The Happening XXXIV. The next week, we’ll kick off the year officially
with fall quarter; alumni gather in the Quad to welcome the freshman class with the First
Year Experience Convocation. Visit LaTechAlumni.org to remain updated on these as well
as other alumni events.
Fall means football, too. The Heart of Dallas Bowl champion Bulldogs will host six
opponents, including the University of North Texas for Homecoming 2015 on November
7. The Alumni Association will host several Homecoming activities, including a 50-year
reunion for the Class of 1965 and Breakfast with Champ for all the young Bulldog fans. If
you haven’t been to campus recently, it will be a great weekend to visit. Again, check the
website for Homecoming details as they develop, and come cheer on the Bulldogs as they
charge the field from the brand new Davison Athletics Complex.
Always know that your continued support of Louisiana Tech University is greatly appreciated!
Go Bulldogs and Lady Techsters,
19 Tech’s Presidential Pipeline
John Allen and Ronnie Wise
21 Brooks, Off the Record
Special honor from CMA
Mark Coleman
– Designer
Donny Crowe
– Photographer
27Bulldog Bookshelf
28 It’s Fun To Be An Alum
30Foundation Spotlight
32 Faculty and Staff We Love
Dallas Lutes
33News About You
40Techipedia
41 Building Tradition
The Log Cabin and The Wigwam
David Silverman
Donn Jones
Steve Batz
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
– Contributing Photographers
I-20 Corridor story: Photos provided by
CenturyLink, CIC, CSC, IBM and Monster Moto.
Special thanks to Wesley Palmer and Tech’s
Geographic Information Science department
for the map generation.
Louisiana Tech Magazine is published
semiannually by the Louisiana Tech
Alumni Association.
We welcome your comments or
suggestions.
Wes Cavin
CONNECT WITH TECH
Marbury Alumni Center
Louisiana Tech University
P.O. Box 3183
Ruston, LA 71272
1.800.738.7950
318.255.7950
318.251.8324 (FAX)
I-20 Corridor
22 News Around Campus
A college-by-college glance
Dave Guerin
– Executive Director
Teddy Allen
– Writer/Editor
4
20 Entertainment Two-Step
Backus and Lynch and two Grammys
10
Big Wheels Rollin’
The No. 17 Louisiana Tech car
LaTechAlumni.org
Alumni Association, University Foundation and LTAC.
LaTech.edu
News for today’s and tomorrow’s students.
LATechSports.com
All Tech athletics, from tickets to game times.
facebook.com/LaTech
facebook.com/LaTechAlumni
facebook.com/LATechAthletics
All your Tech “friends” are right here!
twitter.com/LaTech
Get hooked up for quick answers to your Tweets.
youtube.com/LouisianaTech
Tech videos created by staff, faculty and students.
flickr.com/photos/louisiana_tech/collections
Collection of recent Tech photos, updated regularly.
12
@LATechSports
Davison Athletics Complex; football
preview; spring sports wrap; the
inaugural ‘Techspys’
A LEADER, AND LEADERS-TO-BE:
Tullis leaves his home in Longview
to visit Ruston regularly. This day he
brought a van filled with high school
recruits and took time to meet some
engineering students in Bogard Hall’s
Freshman Projects Lab, a critical
component of Tech’s Living With the
Lab curriculum, and one his financial
support helped to make possible.
From the 16th Floor
Of all the things I’m responsible for and of all the things I have
the opportunity to participate in, my biggest responsibility is to
our students, and my biggest joy is in presenting them the valuable
degrees they have earned.
Moments before more than 800 students received diplomas during
our most recent graduation ceremonies, senior Air Force scientist
and keynote speaker Kamal Jabbour suggested to them they not go
through life “as spectators. Do not aim to be someone important;
take risks and seek to do something significant.”
The message from Kamal, one of the most well-received and
compelling personalities we’ve ever welcomed to Thomas Assembly
Center, is one we are trying to live out each day here at Louisiana
Tech. As we take risks and seek to accomplish significant goals for our
University, our area and our world, we do so while holding to the same
core values Jabbour hoped our graduates would use to guide their
lives: “Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.”
You will read in this issue of Louisiana Tech Magazine about some
of our ongoing opportunistic risks, and of our ongoing successes.
You’ll read that we are ambitiously developing an Interstate 20
economic engine, with Tech as the fuel. You’ll read about our first
cyber engineering graduates. You’ll read about how each of our Big
Four sports improved and brought us a pair of championships. We
have updates about your proven and energetic new deans in three
of our five colleges and about the continued successes, both in each
college and in our talented family of alumni.
From freshman convocation through the annual Midnight
Breakfast, this year and your University have prospered because of
your extraordinary support and encouragement. The best is yet to
come.
As always, Kathy and I remain grateful and honored to be a part
of this University family and look forward to seeing you soon. Let’s
team up to make this our best year yet.
Leslie K. Guice
Follow Dr. Guice on his blog
at GuiceBlog.LaTech.edu and
on twitter @LKGuice.
2 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Hall of
Distinguished
Alumni
Charles E. Tullis is Louisiana Tech’s newest
Tower Medallion recipient and inductee into
the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
Recruiter. Encourager. Friend. Supporter. Benefactor.
Charles Tullis has expressed his commitment to Louisiana Tech
time and again, and in almost every way imaginable.
Recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award for Mechanical
Engineering in 2008 and the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in
the College of Engineering and Science in 2009, Tullis (mechanical
engineering ’51) became the 75th inductee into Tech’s Hall of
Distinguished Alumni when he was awarded the University’s
Tower Medallion. Induction was during spring commencement
exercises Saturday, May 23, in the Thomas Assembly Center.
“I’m extremely honored, but it’s a little hard for me to
understand,” Tullis said of the honor. “I just get a lot of satisfaction
from helping somebody get where they need to be. I don’t want
any glory or anything like that. It’s all in a day’s work, as far as I’m
concerned.
“Early in 1951,” he said, “I stood in the hallway in Bogard Hall
where the dean told me, ‘You’ve graduated. You can do this. Now
go make a million dollars.’ And I said, ‘Well, if I do, I’ll send half of
it back here.’ I’m obligated as long as I live to fulfill that promise.
And I have the peace of mind that I’ve taken what’s been given to
me and made something of it.”
What Tullis loves besides Louisiana Tech and the potential
engineers he sees and recruits near his East Texas home is the
Longview, Texas, company he acquired in 1965; KingTool has since
designed and marketed a line of oil and gas separation equipment
which has proven very successful through the decades.
“There’s no telling how many thousands of pieces of equipment
we’ve sent to the field, and we haven’t had a complaint yet,” he said.
“We might get one tomorrow, but that’ll be the first one.”
Tullis is “not retired or semi-retired” from KingTool; he’s
there each morning at 6:15, Monday through Friday. He’s been
very involved in his community and, throughout his ongoing
career, very involved with his alma mater, which remains grateful
for his example, his ingenuity, his inspiration, kindness and
encouragement. He’s a servant and leader, not only to aspiring
engineers, but also to and for the entire Tech Family.
The Tower Medallion Award recognizes
Louisiana Tech alumni who have
distinguished themselves by exceptional
professional achievement, community service
and humanitarian activities.
LATECH.EDU | 3
Lafayette
Columbia
Union
Ashley
Humphreys
Cass
Holmes
Winston
Attala
Sharkey
Claiborne
Bossier
Morehouse
Caddo
Ruston
Shreveport
Monroe
Richland
Bienville
Red River
Caldwell
Natchitoches
Grant
La Salle
Catahoula
Opportunity meets planning meets results. You could see it for the past 10 years
if you were lookingSabine
for it. But what’s coming clearly into focus for even the casual
north Louisiana observer is the payoff from Louisiana Tech’s I-20 Economic Plan
and Innovation Enterprise, a strategic, very purposeful
undertaking to make
Rapides
the University evenVernon
more relevant and financially stable and the region more
Avoyelles
economically prosperous for the long term. The goal is for everyone to win.
4 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
regions in the nation.”
If the undertaking has a name, it’s the
I-20 Innovation Corridor. Plainly stated,
it’s an action to turn the I-20 corridor
into a place that means economic synergy
and prosperity, a place that means fresh
ideas, products and ways of getting things
done more effectively and efficiently, a
place that means good business, and not
just for locals but for global vendors and
corporations.
An example is Benteler Steel, a Germanbased company that two years ago began
building a million-square-foot plant at
the Port of Shreveport-Bossier to take
advantage of the Red River, the current
climate of industry, the promising future
and the ready workforce now enrolled
and learning at Tech and other area
universities.
The keys are planning and partnerships.
§
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220
Newton
Jackson
Hinds
Rankin
“A goodSmith
university will
Jasper
use its intellectual and
Simpson
Copiah
programmatic strengths
for the betterment of
Jefferson
the institution. A great
59
Covington
university usesJones
these
Adams
Lawrence
Jefferson Davis
Lincoln
assets for the betterment
BUDDY UP: Recent partnerships with global IT companies such as CenturyLink and the under55a new demand for more than 2,000
of society.”
construction Computer Sciences Corporation have resulted in
§
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55
§
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Concordia
Augustine
About 15 years ago – around
the beginning of the new millennium
– Louisiana Tech began an intentional
strategic effort to enhance the overall
quality and competitiveness of the
institution. Tech did this in a very specific
way: by incorporating a higher level of
interdisciplinary academic and research
activities into its basic mission and
programs.
These academic, innovation and
economic development programs have
offered Tech’s students, graduates and
community new growth opportunities.
Add the support from public and private
partners to the University’s leadership
through its willingness to serve, and
you have what Tech president Les Guice
has called “the backbone of a businessfriendly environment that is making
north Louisiana one of the most attractive
Scott
Madison
Tensas
Winn
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Louisiana Tech’s plan to fuel the future, today
Neshoba
Franklin
49
Shelby
Issaquena
Vicksburg
EYEING I-20
De Soto
Leake
55
Warren
Jackson
anola
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Webster
East Carroll
arrison
Yazoo
West Carroll
“Economic and community development
cannot exist in a vacuum,” said Guice. “It
relies on institutions like Louisiana Tech
and partners like the Cyber Innovation
Center, who encourage and actively support
an entrepreneurial spirit and who recognize
the value of the opportunities that these
relationships create.
“There has been considerable growth
of industries and interest in the region,
in large part because of the talent the
universities provide,” Guice said. “And
we have a great opportunity to further
link higher education more closely
with business and industry, to stimulate
even greater growth through research,
innovation, workforce development and
partnerships.
Like the Cyber Innovation Center
(CIC), a not-for-profit research
corporation highly visible in Bossier City
§
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college graduates, from a variety of academic disciplines, to fill new jobs that have been created by
these companies.
(see
guest column, page 9), some of the
Wilkinson
Amite
results of what began more than a decade
ago are no longer just incubator businesses
or drawing-board ideas. Consider some of
the other crucial cogs – and Tech’s regional
partners – along the I-20 Innovation
Corridor, and some of the main things
each brings to the table:
Louisiana Tech: Intellect,
programmatic strength, stability,
laboratories, connections worldwide,
entrepreneurial spirit, a mix of experience,
youth and energy;
Area colleges and universities:
Graduates, faculty, more ideas and
specialized programs, desire and energy;
CenturyLink: Led by CEO and
president Glen Post (accounting, Tech
Classes of ’74, ’76), the third largest
telecommunications in America and
a global leader in cloud infrastructure
and hosted IT solutions for enterprise
customers;
IBM: In February, IBM and
CenturyLink announced a 10-year
business transformation project between
– Les Guice, President, Louisiana Tech
Marion
the two;Pike
IBM will open and staff the new
Walthall
applications development
innovation
center in Monroe to create at least 400 new
roles for professionals, approximately 400
more indirect jobs, and draw heavily on
the state’s college and university graduates.
IBM will work closely with local professors
to recommend curricular innovations
focused on technology, math and software
development;
Computer Sciences Corporation
(CSC): 116,000-square-foot technology
center at National Cyber Research Park
(developed by CIC) in Bossier City, the
project will result in 1,600 regional jobs.
To support the project, a higher education
initiative funded by the state and led by
Tech will expand dramatically the number
of regional graduates in computer science
and related fields, (such as Tech’s new
cyber engineering program, the first in the
nation, which realized its first six graduates
in May);
Cyber Innovation Center: Anchors
the National Cyber Research Park and
serves as catalyst for the development and
Forrest
expansion ofLamar
a knowledge-based workforcePerry
throughout the region;
Benteler Steel: The steel mill facility
will create at least 675 jobs, many of them
high tech, and 1,000 construction jobs; the
building itself is a $975 million investment
for the production of steel tubes used in
automotive, line pipe, and construction
sectors, to name a few;
Camp Minden Industrial Complex:
The federal government deeded the
nearly 15,000-acre property to the state
10 years ago. Today the property is a
Louisiana National Guard training site but
also an industrial complex for economic
development. Camp Minden is focused
on managing its existing resources and
maximizing opportunities for both military
training and commercial operations.
And on campus:
Tech Pointe (on Enterprise Campus):
A 43,000-square-foot, multi-tenant facility
supporting high-tech companies ’roundthe-clock (see Davy Norris Q&A for
(continued)
LATECH.EDU | 5
MORE THAN JUST CYBER FRIENDS: Anchoring
the National Cyber Research Park, Cyber
Innovation Center (CIC, lighted) and Tech have
established a most-complementary relationship,
one that’s bloomed with several everybody-wins
opportunities. Integrated Technology Center in
Bossier City is growing, in part through the support
of Tech’s IT partnerships.
more, page 8); also houses the Cyberspace
Research Lab to support specialized cyber
research;
The Center for Biomedical
Engineering Research Science (CBERS):
Opened in 1985 and exists to develop and
promote basic and translational biomedical
research, intellectual property, and strong
ties with biotechnology and medical
industry, and to strengthen the educational
experience and potential of its engineering
and science students in biosciences. The
center has established and continues to
pursue research partnerships with academic
institutions, medical centers and industry
locally and worldwide. The internationally
acclaimed program and faculty assures the
center is actively engaged in all major fields
of biomedical research;
Institute for Micromanufacturing:
Harnesses intellectual capital from faculty
and students working on interdisciplinary
research in order to develop technology
and inventions. Research at Tech produces
five times the national average on report
of inventions (ROI) per expenditures.
License/option activity at Tech has more
than quadrupled during the past five years;
Cyber Engineering Degree: In
August, Guice presented diplomas to
the first five cyber engineering college
graduates in the country. The first
undergraduate degree of its kind, cyber
engineering (CYEN) is a fusion of
computer science, electrical engineering
and mathematics, with the integration
of the humanities, in order to equip
students with commanding the cyber
world, from systems solutions to creating
new functions to designing mathematical
structures necessary for engineering across
cyberspace. Louisiana Tech is essentially
the first university to begin actively and
purposefully preparing students to be
technical leaders in cyber security with
6 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
WIN, WIN, IBM: The company’s new applications development innovation center in Monroe will draw heavily on the state’s
university graduates, and IBM leaders will work closely with local professors to recommend curricular innovations.
a thorough understanding
– socially, politically and
ethically – of the associated
security concerns.
Besides these gains and partnerships,
the University and north Louisiana
received another boost in April when
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny
Pritzker announced that Tech was among
only 17 winners of the 2014 Regional
Innovation Strategies (RIS) i6 Program
national competition designed to advance
innovation and capacity-building activities
in regions nationwide.
Tech will receive $500,000 to build
the I-20 Corridor “Maker’s Innovation
Network.”
Maker-spaces are hotbeds of innovation:
imagine under one roof, all you need to
pursue several diverse ideas and bring a
new product to market. That’s the concept
of a maker-space, a facility of synergy
growing from the integration of workforce
development, entrepreneurship and
business development. Tech previously
won a $1.2 million i6 Challenge grant in
2011 (one of six nation-wide), which led
to the establishment of the LA_i6 Proof of
Concept Center for advancement of green
technology innovations. That was followed
by another national award of $500,000
(one of 12 nation-wide) to create the I-20
Corridor Regional Business Accelerator.
These new programs, adding perfectly
to Tech’s 15-year-old focus, will allow for
broad engagement with innovations and
entrepreneurs across the I-20 corridor,
regardless of socio-economic status or
location. What you have, instead of an
exclusive club and secrecy, is entrepreneurs
and innovators from all walks of life within
a common melting pot of enthusiasm, will,
perseverance and vision.
Of note is that while the University
and region have benefited greatly from
the support and engagement of numerous
partners, the most impactful teammates in
the University’s strictly innovation efforts
have been entrepreneurs and business
partners. They’ve come from on campus
and off. They include students with ideas
and ambition, as well as experienced
business owners who’ve succeeded and
learned from setbacks. They’ve contributed
ideas for new products, energy to push
projects and new ventures forward, and
funding to support the programs and kickstart new companies.
Overall, the partnerships are examples
of what Tech has been able to develop
as a whole: a uniquely flexible, marketoriented and responsive infrastructure that
is easily accessible for outside partners. It’s
a climate that can leverage the capabilities
of students, faculty and facilities – and
other university relationships – to support
business development and economic
growth efforts.
The largest employer in Lincoln Parish
and a proven good neighbor, Tech obviously
has a major direct impact on the economics
of north Louisiana. But that impact is being
purposefully broadened, an action to begin
a reaction that is becoming what Guice has
called “a driving force in the economic and
community growth of our region.
“Louisiana Tech’s institutional vision is an
ambitious one and there is still much that
we are striving to achieve,” he said. “The
future success of our University and our
region is built on strengthening our existing
partnerships while seeking to develop
new relationships with the people and the
organizations coming into our region.”
In no small part because of Tech and
its vision, north Louisiana has become
a hotspot with all the things needed to
succeed in the high-tech knowledge
economy of the 21st century.
“The universities and other partners
in the state can support everything from
idea formation to product development
to company launch to highly skilled
workforce pipeline needs of major
employers,” Guice said. “Tech and our
regional partners are doing just that in the
I-20 corridor region with everyone from
students to experienced pros to global
companies to fledgling startups.”
What can each of us do to help? Keep up
with what’s happening along The Corridor,
and with Tech’s involvement and progress.
Stay updated through the Tech website
(latech.edu and latechinnovation.org). Spread
the word to tomorrow’s Tech students.
It is vital that Tech grow its student
population to 15,000 by 2020, not just
for more assured financial stability in
the wake of decreasing state funding
today, but also to supply its partners with
high-level, dependable, responsible and
confident co-workers, therefore expanding
on the sorts of economic opportunities
coming into view in a way they never have
before. Because above all, Tech remains
committed to producing the state’s most
highly qualified graduates, teammates who
are prepared to serve as leaders in society
and in organizations across the globe.
These developments are the engine; Tech is
providing the fuel.
(Turn the page for visits with LA Tech
Innovation Point Man Davy Norris and
CIC president Craig Spohn.)
Partnerships illustrated: Monster Moto motors into Ruston
The bike company’s move to Ruston illustrates the assets of Tech and the positive
payoff of genuine relationships. Everybody wins!
When motorcycle company Monster Moto announced this spring that it would move its
headquarters and production facility to Ruston and create nearly 200 jobs, Tech president
Les Guice said something he hopes he gets to repeat again and again.
“It’s exciting,” he said, “to see the I-20 corridor light up with this project and many others.”
The Monster Moto move is the most recent example of the kind of large-scale
collaboration growing along the I-20 Innovation Corridor that Guice and Tech are working
to build. The University, state, area and city officials – as well as local business people and
community leaders – worked together to land a company that will pay an average annual
wage of $46,800 and create hundreds of new direct and indirect jobs.
But Guice said that company CEO Alexander Keechle “made it clear in his
announcement that the main attraction for (Monster Moto) was the talented students at
Louisiana Tech.”
“What Louisiana Tech has here is unparalleled,” Keechle told The News Star, and added
that he envisions a partnership with the College of Engineering and Science “to develop
new products or improve existing ones.”
To house the company’s operations, a group of investors led by the Graham family of
Lincoln Builders, currently building the Davison Athletics Complex in the south end zone
of Aillet Stadium, will construct a 100,000-square-foot facility at the former site of Ruston’s
municipal airport.
“This is absolutely the best place for us to be,” Keechle said. “It’s a place where
handshakes still matter.”
The kinds of handshakes, collaborations, and partnerships that can lead to a new era of
prosperity for the I-20 Corridor.
GO ’DOGS GO!: Monster Moto CEO Alex Keechle
shows off a special edition of the Monster Moto
bikes that will be produced in Ruston.
LATECH.EDU | 7
nation in spinning out new technologies
and new startup companies. Our
innovation and entrepreneurship programs
have supported the efforts of more than
150 local entrepreneurs through the early
stages of their ventures. More than 40 new
technology-based businesses – software
development, biotechnology, alternative
fuels, advanced building materials, digital
media and consumer products – have
emerged from these efforts, right here,
during that time. Some have the potential
to be the new regional employment drivers
for north Louisiana.
TECH TALK: Norris talks with students
in the Biomedical Engineering
Building. Tech Pointe, the first building
in Enterprise Campus, is a multitenant facility supporting high-tech
companies 24/7.
A Visit with Davy Norris: Q&A with Davy Norris, Chief
Innovation Officer for Louisiana Tech
Investments to support an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship are
critical for economic prosperity.
Tech is playing a pivotal and vital role
in advancing innovation and economic
development in the region and state.
Norris has been at the forefront: he and his
Innovation Enterprise team have worked
to secure more than $10 million in highly
competitive federal grants and have raised
similar levels of private funding to support
Tech’s innovation and entrepreneurship
programs, crucial investments in Tech’s
economic development mission. In light of
state support dwindling, the importance of
Tech’s ability to secure that money – and
the importance of the trust and confidence
that the University has earned by modeling
how a school should use its assets to
support innovation – can’t be overstated.
The university’s outreach efforts have
also been critical in attracting early stage
funding to startup companies affiliated
with Tech’s Innovation Enterprise.
This spring Norris shared some of his
perspectives concerning Tech’s crucial role
in advancing innovation locally so it can
be used globally.
Why is the University so important to the
growth of our region?
Norris: “A university has unique assets
for stimulating and supporting innovation
and entrepreneurship that leads to high
quality economic growth in a region.
An environment that is conducive to
innovation and entrepreneurship is critical
8 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
for any region hoping to be competitive
in the global economy of the 21st century.
The most successful regions of the country
in building these types of innovation
ecosystems—and the highly skilled
workforce to support it—have prospered
greatly over the last several decades. And
at the core of any of those prosperous
and innovative regions is a well-funded
and broadly supported university with
a thriving environment of collaborative
discovery, creativity and innovation.”
Would we do well to think of the
University as a living force instead of
static buildings?
Norris: Naturally. That’s the point.
The universities fueling these thriving
ecosystems are strategically connected to
the key stakeholders in the surrounding
region through partnerships that catalyze
innovation and lead to new, high quality
economic growth. You have passionate
technical experts and bold entrepreneurs
blending with eager and energetic
students, all to create the new products
that revitalize old firms and industries
and also create new firms and entirely
new opportunities for economic growth.
Along the I-20 corridor, Tech has taken
on a focused and strategic mission to be a
leader in building an innovation ecosystem
that has the potential to lead a new era of
economic prosperity for our region. That’s
opportunity for our students and people
across the region. As a university, we aren’t
in the profit business. We are catalysts.
Ideally, our efforts help the region to
prosper, and the region’s prosperity
benefits Louisiana Tech. At Tech, we call
this our Innovation Enterprise, and it is a
primary element of our university mission,
along with education and research.
What are some examples of how these
investments and partnerships have
worked so far.
Norris: We’ve built leading-edge
proof-of-concept and prototyping centers
for development of new technologies
and new products that can form the
basis for new and expanded business
ventures, revitalize declining or stagnant
sectors, and even catalyze the formation
of entire new industries. We’ve created
nationally recognized innovation and
entrepreneurship programs that engage
not only students and faculty, but also
community partners, business leaders,
investors and technology development
experts in a culture of entrepreneurship
around new technology, new products
and new business startups. And our
new Enterprise Campus—a masterplanned research park with leading-edge
infrastructure—is poised to support the
recruitment, retention and expansion of
high-growth, technology-based businesses
that can dramatically impact the prosperity
of our region.
It seems the progress of this Innovation
Enterprise has been rapid during its first
decade.
Norris: Since 2006, Louisiana Tech has
ranked among the top universities in the
Lincoln Parish is being thought of as a
techno center all of a sudden. Enterprise
Campus, expanding and only three years
old, is already home to some innovative
partner companies.
Norris: Our Enterprise Campus tenants
and other partner companies represent
some great variety. But they are all
drivers of innovation. Computer Sciences
Corporation is a global multi-national
IT solutions company with more than
70,000 employees, and they have created a
comprehensive partnership with Louisiana
Tech to support the growth of their new
Integrated Technology Center in Bossier
City. Radiance Technologies is a mid-sized
firm based in Huntsville, Ala., with a major
defense-focused research and development
division based right here in our Enterprise
Campus. The Fenway Group is a smaller
technology and creative services company
with offices in Dallas, Boston and the
Louisiana Tech Enterprise Campus.
Fenway has created an entire new division
of their company called Fenway Xperience
in partnership with Louisiana Tech. Blue
Arx is a digital media services startup
company with a core team based in the
Enterprise Campus to directly engage with
our students. 5 Dynamics, based in Ruston,
is an education and training consulting
company that optimizes the performance
of people and organizations through a
proprietary method and software, serving
clients around the world. And GreenQube
is a cloud services company ushering in
the age of the agile office. These types of
university partnerships are the reason that
a recent study by Competitive Strategies
Group of Atlanta rated Lincoln Parish as
the only parish in Louisiana to rank high
on their Innovation Index. The University’s
goal is for all of the I-20 corridor to rank
highly in innovation, and our investments
are aligned with that goal.
Tell us what’s at stake.
Norris: The growth and success to date
of this Innovation Enterprise and our
regional innovation ecosystem has resulted
from strategic and sustained investment
and effort. But these gains and the promise
of a prosperous future that they offer for
our region are vulnerable in the current
climate of funding for higher education;
that prosperous future can easily evaporate
if the University can’t afford to continue
to lead in collaboration with our many
regional partners.
Tech and CIC together: How and why it works
Craig Spohn, president of Cyber Innovation Center (CIC), tells us how the University and CIC are partnering to
build the I-20 Innovation Corridor and make a difference, not just for Tech students present, past and future, but
for everyone.
Personal relationships between
organizations are the starting point
for most opportunities, especially
for opportunities in development.
The Louisiana Tech/CIC partnership
was firmly established on a relationship of our trust of and
admiration for the leadership team at Tech.
The specific goals of the CIC and Tech are remarkably
complementary. Just as background, the CIC has one purpose
with multiple benefits derived from that purpose. Simply stated,
the purpose is to create jobs in North Louisiana. There are many
obvious and valuable reasons for this purpose, but the primary
one is to provide more and better opportunities for Louisiana
students to stay in Louisiana. The investment Louisiana makes
in its students has not been capitalized on because our local
economy did not provide the jobs that allowed them an enticing
reason to stay. The jobs we seek to create will give graduates
opportunities to use their degrees in North Louisiana for the
purpose of contributing to advance capacity for national issues
in the cyber realm. Defense, intelligence and technology sectors
will benefit.
Louisiana Tech and CIC have actually been working closely
together for several years. This extraordinary partnership has led
to many positive outcomes already. We began together working
with area high schools to create a summer camp experience for
high school students, using Tech faculty on Tech’s campus and
focusing on cyber particulars. The result of this particular effort
is a nationally recognized model for cyber education that is
being rolled out in every state across the nation, made possible
with funding from the Department of Homeland Security.
The partnership has also led to the first cyber engineering
degree program offered in the nation. The program produced its
first graduates – they’re in high demand – this spring.
The recognition of value generated in similar programs was key
to the recruitment of a Fortune 100 company that will create
800 technology jobs in the National Cyber Research Park located
in Bossier City. As part of this endeavor, $9 million has been
allocated to Tech to increase the number of graduates from both
the cyber engineering and computer science departments.
Additionally, this relationship has brought the quality of the
Tech student population to the attention of the nation’s top
intelligence agencies. Tech is providing more interns to these
agencies than any other university.
Working together, the CIC and Tech are transferring technology
from basic research conducted at the University to applied
technology serving the national security interest. This may
sound simple enough, but this is one area of collaboration that
has proven to be very difficult in public-private partnerships. It
is the extraordinary relationship of the two organizations that
makes this possible.
These are just some examples of the partnership. In the near
future, we will be announcing some exciting developments and
advancements of this partnership. These announcements will
further expand the value proposition of the combined efforts of
this unique partnership.
LATECH.EDU | 9
Tech freshman engineering student Ernesto Eterovic of South
America has been racing since his feet could reach the pedals
(see inset bottom) and is well known for his racing back in his
home country of Bolivia. In the Dakar Rally, an annual off-road
endurance race for international racers and all-terrain vehicles
back home, he sported his University’s logo on his car.
It’s another example of interdisciplinary learning, the mix of
engineering and engines. And it’s led to some pretty significant
positive publicity for a university continuing on the fast track.
ROLL ON!: Tech students, faculty, staff, friends and racing fans rolled from
Ruston to the Talladega 200 to support their favorite ARCA racer and car.
“It’s an honor…to sport the Bulldog
colors and logos.”
– Buster Graham, driver, the No. 17 Louisiana Tech car, ARCA
Racing Series
Big Wheels Rollin’
10 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
A state fair meets college football
tailgate meets Lollapalooza…that’s
what Talladega Superspeedway on race
weekend felt like to an auto racing
rookie. I have never considered myself
a “race fan.” Not because I don’t like the
sport, but more because I have never
really found a reason to watch. The No.
17 Louisiana Tech car emblazoned with Bulldog logos and color
from tip to tail, running on one of NASCAR’s most famous tracks
(even I knew that) in a nationally-televised race, gave me that
reason.
And I enjoyed every minute of it.
One of the first things that struck me was the sheer power of
these cars. Standing just off the backstretch of the track, not only
do you hear the roar of a 500-horsepower engine, but you can
actually feel it go through you, followed by a strong gust of wind a
few seconds later. There’s also the tailgating that takes place outside
the track, around the track and even inside the track. The activity
and excitement coming from the mass of RVs and campers parked
around souvenir trucks, corporate tents and even concert stages
is enough to make you almost forget there’s still a race to be run.
Sorry football fans...race fans have tailgating and the “pregame”
experience down to a science. It’s not even close.
And then there are those fans. Perhaps ‘fan’ is not a strong
enough tag to describe their passion and dedication to their
drivers…and their disdain for those who are not. Imagine the
Hatfields and McCoys owning racing teams. In talking with a few
and telling them this was my first race experience, I was given a
thorough and detailed lesson that would make any Tech professor
proud. Some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable sports fans
I’ve ever met. It was a pleasure.
I was told that seeing my first race at Talladega was one of the
best possible intros into the world of auto racing. I may not yet
consider myself a true racing fan, but as a result of my Talladega
experience, I now have a reason to watch.
– Dave “Gear Box” Guerin, executive director, University
Communications
Louisiana Tech is fasssst broadening its name and its brand
by getting down there where the rubber meets the road.
Once a generous benefactor saw a unique branding
opportunity and presented it to pro stock car racer Buster Graham,
the race was on to get a Louisiana Tech car on the track.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to drive the No. 17
Louisiana Tech car…to represent such an upper-tier university and
sport the Bulldog colors and logos,” said Graham, who showcased
the car initially in February at Daytona International Speedway in
the Lucas Oil 500. With Tech fans in attendance after making the
drive to Alabama from Ruston, Graham and his Tech Ford Fusion
race car competed on May 1 at Talladega Superspeedway in the
Talladega 200.
Graham and the Tech car are competing in the Automobile
Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series, often used as a
feeder series into the three national touring series of NASCAR;
Graham is teamed with highly successful Roulo Brothers Racing.
Because of television coverage, Graham’s experience in ARCA
racing and Roulo Brothers’ knack for making cars go fast, racing
Life in the fast lane
fans are now getting educated even more about Louisiana Tech.
“This is such an exciting opportunity for Tech to expose its
brand to a whole new segment of sports fan,” said Tech president
Les Guice. “We’re extremely grateful to Buster, his race team
and sponsors, and the generosity of our supporters who make it
possible for us to share our Bulldog pride and passion with race
fans across the country.”
Tech is making circles around publicity by going around
publicly in circles. Tech’s Eco-Car team (see page 27) has been
getting national television coverage and even international
magazine coverage for a few years now for its success in the
Shell Eco Marathon America’s competitions. Back in October,
internationally known Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and
Kimi Räikkönen tested the Tech team’s innovative engineering
during Fan Fest before the United States Grand Prix in Austin,
Texas, and drove a couple of the team’s cars around the
demonstration track near the Circuit of Americas.
ERNESTO ETEROVIC
HOMETOWN: Santa Cruz, Bolivia
MAJOR: Industrial engineering
WHY HE CHOSE TECH: “Because we have a really good engineering
program that is well known and respected in my country.”
HOW LONG HE’S BEEN RACING: “Since I could reach the pedals.”
HOW DO YOUR MAJOR AND RACING COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER? “Both are
about how you organize your team – parts of your car and logistics.
Also, both are about thinking faster and more efficiently; industrial
engineering is all about making things more efficient.”
WHEN ARE YOU RACING AGAIN? “I will probably not participate in the Dakar
Rally next year, but when I do, I will be proud to take the Tech name
again.”
DO PEOPLE IN BOLIVIA OR WHEREVER YOU RACE ASK YOU ABOUT THE TECH LOGO (SEE
PHOTO)? “Yes, a lot of people asked me where the logo was from. And
some friends of my dad’s who studied at Tech were really happy that I
was taking that logo.”
LATECH.EDU | 11
Not Your
Ordinary Joe
In April of 2014, to begin expansion
of Joe Aillet Fieldhouse, ground was broken.
Now it’s time to break the new South
End Zone facility in, beginning with its
name. In June, the University announced
the $20 million-plus project in Joe Aillet
Stadium would be named the Davison
Athletics Complex, a tribute to the
tremendous contributions of the Davison
family and in recognition of a legacy and
tradition of support for Tech that began
with Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Davison.
Except for weather delays and darkness
– and sometimes not even that held things
up – work has proceeded on schedule.
By the sound of things at the spring
game, the updated Joe will hold sound
better thanks to the new 70,000-square
foot facility that takes the place of the
“hill.” Those who have yet to see it should
be surprised by the cozy atmosphere the
facility creates inside the stadium, and by
the building’s beauty.
But that’s not all that’s new.
Tech has installed a new turf called
FieldTurf Revolution, advertised as being
“designed to be the very best synthetic turf
system with unparalleled player safety and
turf drainage rates.”
The three-story South End Zone
DogHouse contains coaches’ offices and
a weight room more than twice the size
How much BITE will these Bulldogs have?
If they can block and kick and punt, and if another graduate-school transfer
quarterback can find the Ruston magic, the Bulldogs might even improve on
what was a delightfully surprising 2014 season.
of the one
it replaces.
It has a
supplement
and nutrition
bar and
offers a view
of the playing field.
The building also houses a multifunctional dining space and the football
locker room and team meeting room. Up
top at the club level are 302 chair back
seats for major supporters; there is a
waiting list for seats.
The Davison Athletics Complex is
the current jewel of Tech’s “Quest for
Excellence” campaign to improve Tech
2015 BULLDOGS SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 SOUTHERN
ASN
6 p.m.
Sept. 10 (Thurs.) at Western Kentucky*
FOX
7 p.m.
Sept. 19 at Kansas State
FOX 2 p.m.
Sept. 26
Florida International Univ.*
FOX
1:30 p.m.
Oct. 3 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
ASN
6 p.m.
Oct. 10
at Univ. of Texas San Antonio*
ASN
6 p.m.
Oct. 17
at Mississippi State
TBA
TBA
Oct. 24 MIDDLE TENNESSEE*
ASN
2:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 (Fri.)
at Rice*
FOX
7 p.m.
Nov. 7 (HC)
NORTH TEXAS*
FOX
2:30 p.m.
Nov. 14
Bye
Nov. 21
at Univ. of Texas El Paso*
FOX
TBA
Nov. 28
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI*
FOXTBA
Dec. 5
C-USA Championship Game
ESPN/ESPN2TBA
*CUSA Game
12 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
athletics, to serve as a “game-changer” for
football and to benefit multiple University
programs, as well as the community.
The building will aid in generating both
revenue and interest. The campaign began
in 2010.
The University plans to “officially”
christen the Davison Athletics Complex
with an Open House and dedication this
fall.
For the first time in school history, all of Louisiana
Tech’s football games will be televised. The only official
announcement not made yet is Tech’s Oct. 17 game at
Mississippi State but the SEC television contract ensures that
game will be televised with time and network likely to be
announced 12 days prior to the game.
Four games will be shown on the American South Network,
a close partner with Conference USA, including the season
opener against Southern in newly expanded Joe Aillet
Stadium. The Sept. 5 game will be the first ever football game
between the two Louisiana schools.
Fox Sports will pick up seven Tech games, including the
Bulldogs’ Sept. 19 game at Kansas State as part of the Big 12
Conference television contract.
This season marks the fifth year of a multi-platform media
rights agreement between Conference USA and FOX Sports to
broadcast a minimum of 30 games. Games appear on either
FOX Sports 1, on FOX Sports Networks’ owned and affiliated
regional networks (which reach more than 85 million homes)
or on FOX College Sports.
The 2015 C-USA Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 5 is
scheduled to air on either ESPN or ESPN 2 in the stadium of
the host (regular season champ or highest rated) C-USA team.
Louisiana Tech scored more than
30 points in seven games and more than
40 in five on its way through a surprising
season – or whatever you call it when
you’re picked to finish fourth in your
division but instead play in the conference
title game and then win a bowl game.
How they did it was with a bit of hocus
pocus. The kicking was up and down and
the offensive line was unstable a good bit
of the time. And the quarterback hadn’t
thrown an in-season pass in two years.
Yet this team was able to win just as
many games – the Heart of Dallas Bowl
champ Bulldogs (35-18 over Illinois)
finished 9-5 – as that record-setting
offensive team of 2012, the one that
led the nation in scoring offense. 2012
senior quarterback Colby Cameron had
half of the season before to get ready for
that memorable 9-3 year, as did a steady
offensive line that seldom missed a play
as Tech zipped up and down the field
at dizzying rates and the senior-heavy
Bulldogs averaged 51.5 points a game.
And still, coming off a 4-8 season –
Skip Holtz’s first as Tech’s head coach
– the 2014 Bulldogs got it done. There
was speed at receiver, and most all of it
returns, including Conference USA AllFreshman, all-purpose pass catcher/kick
returner Carlos Henderson (1, right).
There was junior Kenneth Dixon, who
continued to rush up the record-book
charts: 1,299 yards rushing, 30 catches and
29 TDs. There was the Newcomer of the
Year – hello, quarterback Cody Sokol – the
Iowa graduate transfer who proved to be
just what Holtz ordered.
And finally, there was the gift that keeps
on giving: forced turnover. An average of
more than three a game – 26 interceptions
and 16 fumble recoveries – for an FBSbest 42. Tech’s offense turned those into a
nation’s-best 178 points.
It all worked, never more so than in
the regular season finale when, as a sort
of exclamation point, Tech whipped Rice,
76-31.
Tech won’t be overlooked this year; one
early poll has the Bulldogs picked to finish
second on the C-USA West to Western
Kentucky, a team beat in Ruston, 59-10,
last season.
Either way, preseason polls concerning
this team shouldn’t matter. Holtz’s “let’s
concentrate on ourselves and what WE
need to do” message puts the Bulldogs
playing against their own potential
anyway. Should they play up to that, the
Bulldogs have a solid chance of winning
the league and playing for their fourth
bowl championship in the program’s
history.
The biggest questions are in the
trenches and in the kicking, both usually
overlooked by fans. Pay attention this year
as these are the groups with the most to
prove on what’s otherwise an experienced
team.
It’s likely Tech will again start a fifthyear graduate transfer at quarterback. Jeff
Driskell (6, bottom, with starting center
Kirby Wixson, 73), played his final game
for the Florida Gators in a 28-20 win over
East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl
in January. He enrolled in Tech’s graduate
school in the spring quarter and was
impressive in the spring game, as
were Ryan Higgins, the sometimes
starter as a freshman in 2013, and
redshirt freshmen Price Wilson. All
three looked good passing to the
Bulldogs’ many different receivers,
a mix of tall and short, fast and fastenough, thick and thin.
The line and secondary are where
Tech returns its six defensive starters,
but end Deldrick Canry played a lot
last year and corner Bryson Abraham
is a three-year letterman at corner.
Linebacker is where Tech is thin,
although projected starters Beau Fitte,
C.J. Cleveland and Nick Thomason,
who really stepped up in Tech’s final two
games, played a lot in 2014. Cleveland and
Thomason each missed spring practice
due to injuries, so backups (now maybe
starters?) got all the reps; no doubt that six
or seven will play in those three linebacker
spots. Michael Mims was mainly a special
teamer last season but has bulked up and
moved from the backfield to linebacker,
and Russell Farris made a lot of plays last
year as a freshman backup. So while the
unit is not proven as is, the promise is
there.
You could say the same for this team.
LATECH.EDU | 13
New faces,
same goal
After sharing the conference regular season
title for two years, the third time was the
charm this past season as the Bulldogs were
sole champions of Conference USA, the first
outright title for the program since 1999.
A completely new coaching staff, some
new-to-the-TAC players and some steady
veterans will work to continue a growing
standard of Bulldog Basketball excellence.
Some things have gotten fairly familiar during the past four
years of Bulldogs hoops in Thomas Assembly Center.
A fun team and energetic coaching staff. TV cameras and
announcers. A game-changer for the fan experience in Millsap
Vision, an “entertainment center” embraced by the most
consistently loud and supportive crowds in 25 years.
But what’s become most familiar of all is the best thing
yet: winning. The Bulldogs have won 30 straight in the TAC
and have either shared or outright won the Conference USA
championship in each of the past three seasons.
Not long after coach Mike White showed up as a rookie
head coach four years ago, so did three of the most memorable
players-to-be in the program’s history: Speedy Smith (2015
C-USA Player of the Year), Raheem Appleby (2015 Second
Team All-CUSA) and Michale Kyser (2015 C-USA AllDefensive Team).
But White is now the head coach at Florida, and the trio
that make up the all-time winningest class in history (101
wins) are out of eligibility. That doesn’t mean the winning has
to come to an end.
Even though 47 percent of the team’s minutes played are
gone with the departure of the engaging Speedy-HeemKyser trio, the roster is still peppered with talent that should
continue to showcase an aggressive style of play on defense
and offense – and plenty of Dunkin’ Dogs.
The returning cast is led by two players who each started
all 36 games last season and were two of the team’s top three
scorers in two-time all-conference selection Alex Hamilton
and 2014-15 newcomer Eric McCree.
Ready to step in for more playing time and more
opportunity are the three rising sophomores in Jacobi Boykins,
Dayon Griffin and Joniah White. Adding to the depth will also
be senior Qiydar Davis and junior Merrill Holden.
Leading the 2015-16 Bulldogs from courtside will be Eric
Konkol, praised by A.D. Tommy McClelland as one of the
nation’s rising stars in the coaching profession and already a
coach with a solid reputation for being a top-notch national
recruiter. The 38-year-old became the program’s 18th head
coach when he was hired May 18. He begins his first Division
I head coaching job after spending the past four seasons on
Jim Larranaga’s Miami Hurricanes staff. Konkol also coached
under Larranaga at George Mason.
14 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
A Year of No Kidding Around
“Our goal is to keep pushing
forward and continue to
challenge for Conference USA
championships
and trips to
the NCAA
Tournament.”
– Eric Konkol
It was the first year on the Lady Techster sideline for the kid. In April of 2014, Tyler
Summitt, the young man that Tech fans watched grow up – a boy and early teen during
Tech’s rivalry days against his Hall of Fame mother Pat and the Tennessee Lady Vols –
traded in his orange for Columbia blue.
The national exposure was instant. “A Summitt To Coach Lady Techsters?!” A Who’s
Who of national media outlets converged on Ruston, including 60 Minute Sports, ESPN,
NBC Nightly News, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and many, many more. It was the
type of exposure that carries a price tag that can’t be truly calculated.
On the court, the younger Summitt instilled a brand of basketball that made Lady
Techster fans proud and that brought another Hall of Famer, Leon Barmore, back into
the fold. Summitt and Co. recorded the program’s 39th winning season and set the
foundation – with guarded optimism – for more success in the coming years.
If one man can accurately judge the direction of the program, it should be
Malcolm Butler, the “Voice of the Lady Techsters,” Tech’s associate athletic director/
communications and the person who has witnessed more Lady Techsters basketball games in the past nearly 20 years than any other
person on the planet. Here’s his take on his coach and yours, and his opinion on where the storied program is headed.
“Tyler Summitt is only 23 years old…”
That was the prevailing thought in my mind when I shook
hands with Tyler the day before his press conference in April of
2014. I think I hid my thoughts well as I also met his wonderful
wife, AnDe.
I’m glad I did. Because 10 minutes later my thoughts had
changed.
Who cares if he is 23. Tyler Summitt is impressive.
And although Tyler is now the ripe old age of 24 – he turns an
ancient 25 in September – my opinion has only increased in its
magnitude.
Tyler Summitt is impressive.
I have interacted with him on a daily basis for almost 18
months. Spent many full days with him on the road and at
home through a full season. And I have developed even stronger
impressions.
Tyler can coach. He can recruit. He can motivate. And most of
all, he can teach.
He is organized. He is consistent. He is detail-oriented.
Tyler Summitt is impressive.
He reminds me so much of Leon Barmore. That’s the biggest
compliment I can give him. He has that “it” factor that great
coaches possess.
I am not an expert.
However, I have seen more Lady Techster basketball games in
the last 16 years than any other person alive, thus I guess I am a
pseudo-expert on the recent history of this program.
I’ve seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly at times.
And I’m here to tell you that the good is coming back.
Tyler Summitt is impressive.
Tyler, Mickie DeMoss, Bernitha Johnson and Amber Smith
are bringing back the work ethic and culture that made the Lady
Techster basketball program.
It will take time. However, conference championships, NCAA
appearances and possible runs to the Sweet 16 aren’t beyond the
realm of possibility.
Tyler Summitt is impressive.
One senior and more baby steps
The ship was righted, and after the only two losing seasons in the program’s history, the Lady Techsters turned that around last winter
and recorded the program’s 39th winning season in a storied 41-year history.
But Summit and Co. aren’t in a position to make promises, not yet. This season
the Lady Techsters will suit up nine players that have never worn a Tech uniform;
nine players is 75-percent of Tech’s scholarship players.
The Lady Techsters do promise to compete. Of that, Summitt will make sure.
Tech’s lone senior in 2015-16 will be forward Brandi Wingate (pictured),
named Conference-USA’s Sixth Player of the Year in 2015. Junior forward
Kevione Moten, junior guard Ruby Richie and sophomore guard/forward Tiara
Davenport also return.
Those four have a combined 14 collegiate starts, making Tech one of the
youngest teams in the country.
Marquette transfers Brooke Pumroy and Ashley Santos – who sat out this
year due to the NCAA transfer rule – provide immediate help; both have been
through battles when they played in the Big East for the Golden Eagles, where
Summitt was an assistant. Tech also welcomes five freshmen, one junior college
transfer and one Division I transfer.
With only one senior on the roster, the 2015-16 season will be an opportunity
for Tech fans to watch the future of this program begin its maturation process.
LATECH.EDU | 15
Bulldog Baseball @LATechBSB
Bulldog Bytes @LATechSports
Greg Goff and his staff battled a rainy
spring in Goff ’s first year in J.C. Love Field
at Pat Patterson Park. Rescheduling and
moving starting times much more than
usual was just another adjustment the
old Bulldogs and their new coaching staff
had to make on the way to what was an
unusually wet but promising spring.
With basically the same team as the year
before, Goff led the Bulldogs to a 10-win
improvement over the previous season
with a 25-27 mark. The .480 winning
percentage was second highest of any firstyear head coach in Bulldog baseball history.
The Bulldogs actually came into the last
weekend of games with a chance to finish
above .500.
Tech dominated in its non-conference
slate, posting a 17-6 record – the third best
in program history – including a 12-game
winning streak, tied for the longest in
program history.
xx Tech tennis defeated Southland Conference champion and
NCAA Tournament participant Northwestern State. Junior
Alexandra Starkova and sophomore Jazmin Britos earned
All-Conference USA honors and registered three combined
singles victories against nationally-ranked opponents…
@LATechGolf
Victor Lange (front row,
second from right) was one of the
individual success stories this year.
The junior Bulldog golfer earned
the Conference USA Golfer of
the Year award – a first for a Tech
player – and competed in his
second consecutive NCAA regional,
another Bulldog first. Lange, who
ended the year ranked 80th in the
country, set numerous state and
school records, including the lowest
round (62). As a team the Bulldogs
won the Memphis Intercollegiate.
Goff and Co. showed significant
improvement in almost every statistical
category to help Goff, an 11-year
coaching veteran, reach his 400th career
win, May 12 against Northwestern State.
The Bulldogs scored 100 more runs
and drove in 99 more runs in 2015
than in 2014, and the team on-base
percentage increased by 40 points.
The “new” old Bulldogs picked up
support at home as the season wore on.
“The support we had this year at the
ballpark was absolutely unbelievable,”
Goff said. “Our fans were the major
reason we had such a great record at
home and we want to continue to build
on that.”
Goff expects 40 players, including the
21 representing his first recruiting class,
on campus this fall to battle for 35 spots.
Championships…
THROWING A BB: Sophomore Braden Bristo was 4-2
with a save – and an earned spot on the Conference
USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll – for the
vastly improved Bulldogs.
@LATechSB
xx 124 student-athletes earned recognition on the Conference
USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll; 27 earned the C-USA
Commissioner’s Academic Medal…
xx Ryan Allen became the
12th former Bulldog to be on
a winning Super Bowl team
and the 15th Bulldog to play
for an NFL champion. The
two-time Ray Guy Award
winner finished his second
season in the NFL as the
punter for New England in
the Patriots’ 28-24 victory
over Seattle in Super Bowl
XLIX in February…
xx For the seventh straight year the
University recorded all-time highs in the
most recent Federal Graduation Rate
Report released by the NCAA in the fall. Tech’s student-athletes
recorded a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 81 percent and
a Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 60 percent, which both
were improvements over last year’s numbers. Tech’s 81-percent
GSR ranks as the highest in the state among Division I footballplaying public institutions, tied with only LSU. Tech’s GSR is
one percentage point higher than last year’s (80) and easily
outdistances the state average of 69 percent among the other nine
Division I football-playing public institutions in the state. Tech
also recorded the second highest FGR of any Division I footballplaying public institution in the state at 60 percent, which also
bests last year’s mark of 59 percent…
xx Former Tech football player and assistant
coach Pat Collins was inducted into the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as part of
the Class of 2015 in June; Lady Techster
great Venus Lacy is a member of the Hall’s
Class of 2014…
xx Athletic Communications teammates
Malcolm Butler, Patrick Walsh, Kane
McGuire and Anna Claire Thomas,
along with Tech Athletics Hall of Famer Dave Nitz, won eight
awards in the 2015 Louisiana Sports Writers Association sports
information contest, the most by any other school in the state
for the second straight year. The office was also honored by the
College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in
the organization’s publications contest; Tech’s track and field
media guide ranked second best in the nation. Of the 14 awards
categories announced by CoSIDA, Tech was the only school from
Conference USA to receive a publications award. Tech had seven
media guides overall ranked in the top 10 in the nation; baseball
ranked fourth and softball fifth.
COMIN’ IN HOT!: As a junior this spring, Bianca
• The .294 team batting average was
Duran batted .359 with 11 doubles and nine
homers, including a grand slam in a 13-11 comethe highest in program history and a
from-behind win over Lamar. In the circle she
vast improvement over last year’s .250
was 14-13 with a 2.78 ERA, five complete-game
shutouts and four combined shutouts.
average;
• The 2.91 team earned run average was almost a full run-per-game better than last
year’s 3.75;
• The .962 team fielding percentage was the second highest in the last decade and an
improvement over last year’s .953;
Offensively, power numbers were up. Tech’s .451 slugging percentage, 253 runs scored
and 230 RBI were all program records while the 46 home runs were the second most (59 in
2009) in program history.
Most importantly, the Lady Techsters earned a 31-19 record, a 12-win improvement
from 2014. It marked the first time a LA Tech team finished at least 12 games above .500
since the 1999 team posted a 34-18 record under Hall of Fame coach Bill Galloway.
16 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
xx Volleyball’s Rebecca Redgen was named second team AllConference USA, the first all-conference honoree for LA Tech
since 2009…
xx Louisiana Tech’s bowling program joined the newly-formed
Southland Bowling League, along with seven other NCAA
women’s teams. The Southland Bowling League was formed
with the immediate goals of competing at the highest level and
automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the
near future…
Lady Techster Softball
Mark Montgomery and the Lady Techster
softball team recorded one of the best seasons
in the past 15 years, winning 31 games – the
most wins since 2008. Tech posted a 12-9
mark in the highly competitive Conference
USA and entered the final weekend of the
regular season with a chance to claim first
place in the West Division (despite being
picked next-to-last in the preseason coaches’
poll).
Tech set program records for team batting
average, runs scored, slugging percentage
and RBI while improving statistically in both
pitching and fielding. And they lose only two
seniors.
From strictly a statistical side, Louisiana
Tech improved in every phase of the game
this season.
xx Bulldog track and field star Jarvis
Gotch finished ranked eighth in the
world in the indoor long jump. He
became just the 11th collegiate athlete to
ever jump over 8.00m in the long jump
since 2010, the first from a non-Power 5
school. Tech earned 16 NCAA East Prelim
entries, three more than last year (113 since
2010). Gotch finished 18th at the NCAA
xx Former Tech football coach and athletic
director Maxie Lambright is listed on the
2016 ballot for induction into the College
Football Hall of Fame; the announcement
of the 2016 class will be made in January…
Lady Techster Soccer @LATechSOC
The Lady Techster soccer team proved league coaches wrong.
After being tabbed to finish 12th out of 14 in the preseason poll, this
surprising team posted a 13-6-3 record and the program’s first ever
postseason win, an upset over No. 3 seed UTEP in the Conference
USA quarterfinals. Kevin Sherry was named the state coach of the
year and Kathryn Sloan was voted the Player of the Year by the
Louisiana Sports Writers Association. And for the seventh straight
year, the program received the NSCAA Team Academic award for
posting a team grade-point-average of 3.0 or higher. The team’s GPA
of 3.37 for the 2013-14 academic year (it was 3.445 this year) was the
highest cumulative team GPA in the state.
SMARTLY DONE:
Swedish senior
defender Nicole
Jaquemet, a perennial
All-Academic league
selection, and her
teammates excelled
in the classroom and
surpassed expectations
on the field.
LATECH.EDU | 17
A celebration of competition and ‘team’
If it’s anything like the inaugural event, you don’t
want to miss the 2016 TECHSPYS next spring
Howard Auditorium was the site.
Student-athletes were the guests of
honor. They were also the entertainment
and served as the majority of the audience
The event? The inaugural Techspys, a
“spinoff show” of the popular Espys, to
recognize and honor student-athletes and
teams for their in-the-game accomplishments
during the year. We forgot our recording of
the alma mater to play to close out the show
– oops! – but that was about the only fumble
in an event that will grow in both community
and University participation.
Everyone dressed up. Videos highlighted
accomplishments. Student-athletes entertained
with skits, dances and songs. University friends
and administrators awarded the Techspys – crystal
trophies -- with help from the Regal Blues. And the
whole thing was over in an efficient 100-minutes.
There were even refreshments in the foyer during
the pre-show and interviews in the Quad on the blue
carpet.
The entire evening was one long highlight, an
event you’ll want to become part of. Don’t miss the
2016 TECHSPYS!
BACK TO BACK BULLDOGS: Ronnie Wise (left)
pins pipe tongs, emblematic of the pipeline
industry, on John Allen in recognition of services
of the outgoing president; the Tech graduates
served consecutive terms as president of the Pipe
Line Contractors Association (PLCA) in 2013-14.
Here are the winners from the first annual Techspys:
Female Top Performances of the Year – Against Southern
Miss, the Lady Techsters beat Southern Miss, 7-0, behind a 6-RBI,
complete-game shutout performance from Pauline Tufi, (bottom
left with former Vice President for University Advancement Corre
Stegall).
Male Top Performance of the Year – Victor Lange (bottom right
with late-’80s baseball letterman Steve Davison) birdies 9 of last
11 holes to shoot a 62, setting and tying multiple records, in
the final round of the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate at Squire Creek
Country Club.
SAAC Award – Women’s Soccer, for its support of the University,
the community, of SAAC and of its fellow student-athletes.
Female Freshman of the Year – Jazmin Britos of Villarrica,
Paraguay was part of a six-match winning streak, a Conference
USA Player of the Week and earned a 9-3 record in singles.
Male Freshman of the Year – Carlos Henderson, whose 19.6
yards per catch was handy but whose speed at receiver or as a
return man kept defenses backpedaling.
Team Comeback Performance of the Year – Women’s
Basketball (top right), for coming from 18 down – Tech trailed
42-24 with 17:11 to play – and recorded the fourth largest
come-from-behind victory in program history, beating AlabamaBirmingham at Bartow Arena in January.
Female Play of the Year – Pauline Tufi hit a walkoff two-run
homer against SFA.
18 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Male Play of the Year – (fan vote) Junior running back Kenneth
Dixon busts a 99-yard touchdown run at Louisiana-Lafayette to
start the Bulldogs toward a 48-20 route of the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Highest Team GPA – Women’s Soccer, 3.445.
Female Athlete of the Year – Whitney Frazier was a first-team
All-Conference USA player for the Lady Techsters with averages
of 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. A senior, Frazier
made 99 consecutive starts, shot 49 percent from field, scored in
double figures 23 times and recorded five double doubles. She
is one of only 14 players in LA Tech history with at least 1,500
points and 800 rebounds.
Male Athlete of the Year – Kenneth “Speedy” Smith was
Conference USA Player of the Year. His 267 assists this season
– and average of 7.4 a game – were the most of any other
NCAA Division I player in the country. He’s the program’s career
record holder in assists (858) and steals (258). The two-time
All-Conference USA First Team and C-USA All-Defensive Team
selection was the only player from C-USA to be named AllAmerica (honorable mention) and is the first LA Tech player to
receive this honor since Paul Millsap was an honorable mention
selection in 2006.
Courage Award – Track and field’s Jaquvis Hart, (top left with LA
Tech Athletics Hall of Famer Buddy Davis).
Presidential Award – Speedy Smith
Team of the Year – FOOTBALL – West Division Conference USA
champs, Heart of Dallas Bowl champs, 9-5 overall
Tech’s Presidential Pipeline
Tech grads lead national association in consecutive terms
The 16th floor of Wyly Tower is not the only place
one can find where two Bulldogs have held back-to-back
presidential terms.
Louisiana Tech University graduates John Allen (business ’73)
and Ronnie Wise (civil engineering ’80) served consecutive terms
as president of the Pipe Line Contractors Association, a national
association that negotiates labor agreements and supports safe
practices in oil and natural gas pipelining. During Allen and Wise’s
one-year terms in 2013 and 2014, respectively, they represented
the association’s 75 to 80 contractor members and more than 200
associate members in affairs like holding annual meetings and
maintaining contacts with union and political groups.
Charlie Joyce, a former PLCA president and longtime friend of
both men, noted one’s sharpened understanding of an important
part of the nation’s energy picture when serving as president.
“It’s important because it signifies that you have had a
leadership role in the pipeline industry,” Joyce said.
With a rise in non-union companies, Joyce said Allen and
Wise used their business and engineering skills to help union
contractors compete in a shrinking market. Pat Tielborg, PLCA
managing director and general counsel, said the members of
the association are competitors, and despite bidding against one
another in the field, past presidents like Allen and Wise have had
the ability to get along and negotiate well when the members work
together.
“They’re successful pipeline contractors,” said Dale Morris,
former president of pipeline construction company Gregory
Cook, Inc., in Houston, and past PLCA president. “They’re very
concerned and considerate of their employees.”
Despite the experience each gained from years of work in
pipelining, a large part of the foundation of the success of both
Allen and Wise began in Ruston at the University. Joyce said both
men express pride in being graduates; each made a significant
contribution toward construction of the Argent Pavilion. Also,
Allen has had a hand in several other Tech projects, like the
renovation of the baseball locker room at Pat Patterson Park; Allen
was the University’s Alumnus of the Year in 2012.
“He’s proud of Louisiana Tech, and he’s very much involved,”
Joyce said. “He’s particularly proud of the people they send into
our industry.”
The spirit of the University had been influential in PLCA
leadership before Allen and Wise, as they were not the first
Bulldogs to serve as president; Bill Leone (mathematics ’71) served
as president in 2007.
Allen and Wise are just two of the many well-respected Tech
graduates in the pipeline industry, Joyce said.
“Both have a good sense of humor,” Joyce said, “and have a good
understanding that in order for employers to prosper, you have to
have a well-trained and well-compensated workforce.”
– Juliann Allen (master’s business administration ’15)
LATECH.EDU | 19
mark
ben
stephen
BROOKS,
The entertainment two-step
A pair of alums win a pair of Grammys
Well, that didn’t take long.
The pair of young and ambitious Louisiana Tech graduates
moved to Nashville less than four years ago and already have some
impressive hardware most people in the entertainment business
spend most of their careers hoping to realize.
Entertainers/writers/musicians Ben Backus (business
administration, ’10) and Stephen Lynch (sustainable supply chain
management ’10), a student assistant at Marbury Alumni Center
from 2006 to 2009, won two Grammys at the 57th Grammy Awards.
“It wasn’t a goal,” Backus told the Ruston Daily Leader, “but it
was incredible.”
Ben and Stephen joined the contemporary Christian band for
King & Country three years ago. The group won Grammys for Best
Contemporary Christian Performance/Song for its collaboration
with Lecrae on “Messengers” and Best Contemporary Christian
Music Album for its latest album “Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong.”
Mark Campbell was also a double-winner; he didn’t attend
Louisiana Tech but moved to Ruston when he was four months
old. That’s when his father, Bill Campbell, Tech professor, director
of biological sciences, and former interim dean of the College of
Applied and Natural Sciences, began working at the University.
Mark, once the roommate of both Ben and Stephen in Ruston,
joined for King & Country about six months before Ben and
Stephen did.
“We definitely consider Mark a Rustonite,” said Lynch in an
interview with Louisiana Tech Magazine during a day off from
a three-week tour on the West Coast this spring. Mark is one of
“seven young and crazy and energetic guys,” Lynch said, that make
up the band which, along with rapper/songwriter Lecrae, were big
winners in this year’s Christian Gospel categories.
“We had very little involvement with the song of the year, even
though our names were on it,” Lynch said. “That’s a complete opposite
of what the album was. The band’s thumbprint is all over that.”
20 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Australian brothers Luke and Joel Smallbone, the original for
King & Country duo, were joined in the band by Ben and Stephen
not long after the pair had moved from Ruston to Tennessee after
graduating from Tech. Backus met Joel Smallbone at a Fourth of
July party in Nashville.
What has happened since is a sound that “blends elements of an
orchestra and rock band” with “everybody changing instruments
almost every song and often marching around the stage,” Lynch
said. The guys incorporate a concert bass drum, tubular bells and
chimes, even a cello that Ben bought used at a good rate – even
though he’d never played one before. “It was in the show a few days
later,” Stephen said.
“The pool, the outlets for playing, weren’t in Ruston, but the
energy and passion for music definitely was,” Stephen said. “You’re
able to grow only as much as your environment allows you to. We
felt we’d done all we could in Ruston and thought Nashville would
be a good place to make our new home.
“But both Ben and I have a lot of respect for the people who
gave us our first opportunities to play at home and explore our
opportunities as a band,” Stephen said. “We asked ourselves how we
could both give people the music they want to hear and at the same
time create stuff we wanted to hear. The total picture of what we did
at Tech gave us a good picture of how to blend those two together.”
All three young men come back to Ruston when the tour
schedule allows.
“Ruston was definitely not a town we needed to run away from,”
he said. “The opportunity to pursue music like we wanted to make
wasn’t there, that’s all. We’re proud of our Ruston roots and proud
to have learned the life lessons you get when you go to Tech, a
university that respects both education and the individual. The
growth and spirit that is Tech is contagious; everything we’ve tried
to do in Nashville embodies the Tech spirit. We want to do the best
we can to represent where we come from.”
COUNTRY COMES TO
TOWN: Kix flanked by
(from left to right) Tech
classmate Walker Innis and
wife Georgia, Steve and
Sarah Davison, Renee and
Todd Davison, and Jessica
and Tech AD Tommy
McClelland.
Off The Record
On an easygoing night in Nashville,
the CMA honors Kix for something
besides his music.
He didn’t have to sing on stage for his supper, but he
did have to work for it. Most of that was way behind the scenes.
Kix Brooks (speech communications ’78) was honored in March
with the Country Music Association’s first CMA Foundation
Humanitarian Award in a cozy event at the City Winery. Reba
McEntire was the presenter.
Several Ruston couples were there to support their friend and
one of Louisiana Tech’s biggest fans. Brooks is a Bulldog, but he has
also partnered over the years with the CMA Foundation, Monroe
Harding Children’s Home, Operation Finally Home, the USO and
the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
“It’s easy to take time for things that matter,” Brooks told
Louisiana Tech Magazine. “I can’t say that I’m able to do everything
I want to for different charities, but as blessed as my life has been, I
can’t imagine not doing my best to give back.”
The Tech Family has long known of Brooks’ willingness to lend a
hand, not only to help but also to lead. The Bradshaw/Brooks Golf
Tournament is the University’s premier athletic fundraising event,
thanks to Terry Bradshaw and Kix. He’s also donated memorabilia
for display on campus, guitars and awards and props from one of
Nashville’s most successful entertainment careers.
As a member of Brooks & Dunn, he was responsible for the sale
of more than 30 million albums during the 20-year partnership.
He’s still writing songs and performing – he’ll be with McEntire and
buddy Ronnie Dunn at The Colosseum at Ceasars Palace in Las
Vegas Dec 2, 4 and 6 – and he’s now a syndicated radio personality.
But his work with charities is just as impressive as his work in
the music business.
“Thanks to his contributions in the creation of the CMA
Foundation and in the birth of CMA Instrumental Healthcare, as
well as to the efforts he has volunteered to the other great causes
represented here tonight, Kix’s philanthropic endeavors will be as
highly regarded as his many musical contributions,” said Sarah
Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, during the inaugural event
in March. “CMA is honored to be able to present our first ever
CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award to Kix Brooks.”
Some of the people who supported Brooks since his childhood
are gone now, but he thinks he knows how they would have felt
about his 20th CMA Award – but the first one that had nothing to
do with music.
“I was very young when cancer took my mother, a Tech
graduate,” Brooks said, “but my grandparents helped raise me, and
I know through the way they lived their lives what a wonderful
person she must have been. I think both my parents would have
been more proud of me being recognized this way than any music
awards that I might have ever won.”
Another of Brooks’ friends was C.D. Barnes, a “hard-driving
pipeliner like my dad,” Brooks said. “Like a lot of those guys, C.D.
drank too much. But when he realized that, he stopped and spent
the rest of his life helping those less fortunate and many who
shared his problem. His dedication to helping others will always be
an inspiration to me.”
The CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award was developed by
the CMA Awards and Recognition Committee to honor people
who have supported humanitarian efforts through community
leadership, donations, volunteering and advocacy.
LATECH.EDU | 21
NEWS AROUND CAMPUS
C O L L E G E O F A P P L I E D A N D N AT U R A L S C I E N C E S
NEWS AROUND CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Gary Kennedy, Dean
Chris Martin, Dean
Kennedy: Once a freshman, now a dean
New dean will “fight
like a bulldog...”
A freshman at Louisiana Tech in the late 1970s, Gary Kennedy, professor and head of the University’s agricultural sciences department,
is the new dean of the College of Applied and Natural Sciences.
“While I was unsure of my career goals as a freshman, Louisiana Tech faculty and staff played a critical role in shaping my decisions and
developing the confidence that would place me on a career path that I would have never envisioned,” Kennedy said. “…. We are a diverse
College with schools or departments in agricultural sciences, biological sciences, forestry, health informatics and information management,
human ecology, and nursing. I committed to developing opportunities for all of these units.”
Kennedy earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1983 and an MBA in finance in 1990. He completed his PH.D. (agricultural
economics LSU ’95) and returned to Tech in 1997 as an assistant professor in agribusiness.
During Kennedy’s tenure as department head of agricultural sciences, enrollment in animal science and agricultural business degree
programs increased from 136 students in 2001 to 245 students in 2014 – an increase of 80 percent.
Bill Campbell, longtime professor and head of Tech’s biological sciences, had served exceptionally as the interim dean since the
retirement of James Liberatos in December of 2014.
From left: Greene, Blackstock, Funderburk, Lites, Stewart, Raj and Egginton.
Endowed scholarship honors distinguished professor, veterinarian
For more than 40 years, William Green
has served Lincoln Parish as one of the
most highly regarded veterinarians in north
Louisiana.
From 1973 to 1999, he did so through
his practice based in his hometown in
Dubach. And since 1980, he has done so
by serving as the university veterinarian
and a professor of animal science.
Now Green will continue serving the
University, both as a professor and through
as endowed scholarship being established
in his honor and targeted for animal
science pre-veterinary medicine students
at Tech.
“Our goal is to raise $20,000 to endow
a scholarship, which would allow us to
award one annually,” said incoming dean
Gary Kennedy. “If we raise $40,000, we can
award two per year and so on.”
Serving as one of the advisers for preveterinary medicine students and a teacher
of six different classes related to animal
science and veterinary medicine, Green has
played a major role in Tech’s agricultural
sciences department. A few years ago,
Kennedy received a letter from the dean of
the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine that
praised the preparation of Tech students
admitted to veterinary school and indicated
that Tech’s were the best prepared and most
capable of any students enrolled in LSU’s
School.
“Dr. Green has had a tremendous impact
on so many of his students,” Kennedy
said. “They have greatly benefited from
22 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
his experience as a Doctor of Veterinary
Medicine who has practiced for more than
26 years. The success of those students in
being admitted to and graduating from
schools of veterinary medicine is a direct
reflection on Dr. Green’s renowned approach
to advising and educating students.”
William Green Endowed Scholarship
Your gifts will honor Dr. Green and what he means
and has long meant to the University, and the endowed
scholarships realized will support and recognize academic
excellence.
To support animal science students through the
scholarship fund, send donations (made payable to the
Louisiana Tech Foundation) to Louisiana Tech University
Foundation, P.O. Box 1190, Ruston, LA 71273-1190.
Economic Scholars earn unique
learning opportunity
Five economics majors participated in the Dallas Federal Reserve
Bank’s 2015 Economics Scholars Program.
The group traveled to Dallas and, with undergraduates and faculty
from 40 other universities, learned more about the science of economic
research and its presentation.
The students who attended were Hunter Greene, Sarah Funderburk,
Michael Lites, Priya Raj, and Tech’s 2014 Economics Student of the Year,
Erica Stewart.
“We could not be more proud of this group of young scholars,” said
economics professor Rob Blackstock, who accompanied the group along
with fellow Tech professor Jared Egginton.
Blackstock said the group is not only planning to return next year, but
will present original research that will prepare them for graduate school
and professional careers.
Chris Martin, who assumed leadership of Louisiana
Tech’s College of Business as its new dean on July 1,
promises “an open and collaborative environment with
clear and honest communication at the forefront” and,
in true Tech spirit, to “fight like a bulldog for what’s
important.”
Formerly the dean of the Frost School of Business
at Centenary College of Shreveport, Martin said with
technology and innovation at the core of business today,
Tech’s College of Business is uniquely positioned to
provide students with business acumen, as well as the
knowledge and ability to manage technological change
and innovate in a global economy.
“Internal collaborations such as the Center for
Entrepreneurship and Information Technology and
the Center for Information Assurance, and external
partnerships with CSC and the Cyber Innovation
Center are great examples of opportunities already
underway,” Martin said. That intersection of business
and technology provide a competitive edge for graduates
and is an advantage I look forward to building upon.”
Tim Bisping served as interim dean during the past
year, providing crucial continuity necessary to the
successful transition and the College’s maintaining
momentum.
Martin was formally educated at Georgia Institute
of Technology (Ph.D. ’87), SMU (master’s ’83) and
Vanderbilt (psychology ’81).
COB, Dale Carnegie Training partner to trail execs
Alumni, please help spread the word: A global leader in leadership and management training, Dale
Carnegie Training (DCT) and the College have partnered to deliver management, leadership and
performance training courses to business professionals in the Northern Louisiana region.
The partnership is one of only a handful that Dale Carnegie Training has established with universities
nationwide. The partnership, and the distinction it brings, is expected to benefit Louisiana Tech greatly.
Dale Carnegie Training is known in the business community as one of an elite few among leadership and
performance training firms worldwide.
The College, through its Center for Executive and Professional Development, will market and host the
training programs while DCT will deliver the Dale Carnegie courses, of which there are over a dozen, said
Sean Dwyer (pictured), recently appointed Director of the CEPD.
In addition to publicly held courses and seminars that will be held in the College’s state-of-the-art building and at Tech’s Shreveport
Center campus, private, on-site training will be offered to northern Louisiana organizations at their business location, training that
can be tailored to firms’ specific needs.
The hope is that alumni not only will spread the good news of this opportunity but also will enroll in the first two training sessions
to help ensure the success of the partnership. The first two training programs will be the well-known Dale Carnegie Course which will
be held at the Tech Shreveport Center beginning August 18 and in the College of Business on September 14. A 10 percent discount
will apply to all alumni who enroll.
For information on these courses, contact Dwyer (dwyer@LaTech.edu or 318-257-3584) or visit business.latech.edu/centers/cepd.
LATECH.EDU | 23
NEWS AROUND CAMPUS
C O L L E G E O F E D U C AT I O N
NEWS AROUND CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
Don Schillinger, Dean
Leading with the
common purpose
of achieving
excellence
The College’s Chase Bank
Endowed Associate Professor and also
its interim dean for nearly a year, Don
Schillinger is now dean of the College
he joined in 2006.
Among many other
accomplishments during his nine
years at Tech, Schillinger has
established both the Caddo Parish
Teacher Leader Institute and the
UTeachTech program, and has
re-visioned the College’s plan.
“The College of Education is
blessed with an outstanding and
diverse administration, faculty and
staff who serve the common purpose
of achieving excellence through
education by being committed to
supporting students, engaging in
productive research and providing
added value to their community,” said
Schillinger. “It is a joy to co-labor
each day beside a team of dedicated
and collegial professionals with
a shared goal that is greater than
individual success.”
He served as associate dean of
undergraduate studies and director
of clinical and field experiences
from 2009 to 2012, and as director
of assessment and accreditation (IT
supervision) from 2012 until he
assumed the interim deanship in
2014.
Schillinger earned his Ph.D.
(secondary education ’04) and master’s
from the University of Mississippi
and his undergrad degree from the
University of Central Florida.
During his Tech tenure, Schillinger
has been honored with the College’s
Outstanding Service Award (2009)
and Outstanding Faculty Grants
Award (2008), as well as the College’s
Outstanding Grantsmanship Award
in the Department of Curriculum and
Instruction (2008).
24 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Hisham Hegab, Dean
Louisiana Tech researchers contributing
to noise safety standards for electric vehicles
The Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness (PDRIB) at Tech
is conducting human trials to determine if electric and hybrid electric vehicles traveling
at low speeds provide sufficient sound to be safe for pedestrians, especially those who are
blind and visually-impaired.
The World Blind Union (WBU), in partnership with the National Federation of the
Blind (NFB), is working with the United Nations to develop an international minimum
sound standard for electric and
hybrid electric vehicles. The
standard would require electric
and hybrid vehicles to be equipped
with a sound generating device
known as an “Acoustic Vehicle
Alerting System.”
“Louisiana Tech is at the
forefront in innovative research
in the area of education and
rehabilitation for the blind,” said
Edward Bell, director of Tech’s
PDRIB. “We are proud to represent
Tech and are confident in the
impact that our research will
have on the United Nations and
auto manufacturers as they seek
Data concerning noise output on electric cars, gathered by
Tech researchers through tests such as this one, have played
to make vehicles that are both
an important role in helping automobile makers build cars
environmentally friendly and safe
that are both environmentally friendly and safe for visually
for pedestrians.”
impaired pedestrians.
Associate dean visits White House
for science fair
Jenna Carpenter, associate dean for undergraduate studies and chair of the
national steering committee for the National Academy of Engineering Grand
Challenge Scholars Program (NAE GCSP), visited the White House as President
Barack Obama interacted with young engineers and scientists from across the
nation at the 2015 White House Science Fair.
K-12 student winners from science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM) competitions from throughout the U.S. presented their inventions and
discoveries to President Obama.
Tech became part of the NAE GCSP in 2009 and has combined
interdisciplinary courses and activities outside of the classroom to help students
better understand the broader social, cultural and ethical implications of their
technology.
This year’s Fair not only highlighted research and prototyping skills of
burgeoning scientists and engineers, but also focused on girls and women in
STEM and the growing need and opportunity for diversity in the fields. Carpenter
said that initiatives such as the White House Science Fair help diversify science
and engineering by highlighting a larger variety of methods and applications than
generally considered in the traditionally male-dominated fields.
For more information about Louisiana Tech’s Grand Challenge Scholars
Program, visit http://coes.latech.edu/students/gcscholars.php.
The College’s 2015 Distinguished Alumni
are among its many graduates recognized as
industry and community leaders, and also as
role models for today’s students, the future’s
generations of engineers and scientists. Your
University says congratulations and thank you.
William Rainey Brown IV, civil engineering ’75,
of Austin, Texas, vice president and corporate
officer of Tidewater Marine.
Stephen Ray Crosby, chemistry ’71, of Houston,
president of Coastal Spray Company.
Timothy John Cutt, petroleum engineering ’83,
of Houston, president of Petroleum and Patash
at BHP Billiton Petroleum.
John Henry Dansby II, electrical engineering
technology ’95, of Eureka, Mo., vice president
for Global Manufacturing at Harley Davidson.
Steven Michael Futch, construction engineering
technology ’97, of Cypress, Texas, consultant and
advisor for Private Equity Interests in Oil and
Gas.
Larry Laymond Hock, chemical engineering
’69, of Minden, president of Petrochem
Operating Services.
John Triche Irving, mechanical engineering
’63, of Minden, founder of Minden Plastics and
Engineered Products, (honored posthumously).
Counseling psychology
doctoral students earn
coveted internships
For the third consecutive year, Tech’s counseling
psychology Ph.D. program in the Department of Psychology
and Behavioral Sciences achieved a 100 percent match
rate, with all six of its applicants being placed as part of the
Internship Matching Program sponsored by the Association
of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers.
Tech’s students and their placements are Terri Duck
(University of Notre Dame), Rebecca Granda (Veterans
Affairs-New Jersey Health Care System in Lyons, New Jersey), Laura Harris (North
Louisiana Psychology Internship Consortium in Shreveport), Devin Merritt (U.S. Air Force/
Lackland AFB in San Antonio), Jay Middleton (Kansas State University) and Rose Niles
(University of Kansas).
“Completing an internship is a requirement for students in APA-accredited programs,
but when there are more intern applicants than there are internship sites, it is easy to feel
discouraged,” said Donna Thomas (pictured), the George and Jean Baldwin Endowed
Professor in Education and department head for psychology and behavioral sciences.
“The 100 percent match rate demonstrates that the consistent, collaborative efforts of the
students, faculty, and department are producing exceptional outcomes.”
2015 Distinguished
Alumni
Thomas Richard Larry Jr., physics ’00 (master’s
’03), of Dubach, diagnostic medical physicist
and partner in KLS Physics Group.
James August Petrus Jr., electrical engineering
’64 (master’s ’67), of Tuscon, Ariz., project
management consultant.
Brian Matthew Pikkula, biomedical
engineering ’97, of Sugar Land, Texas, president
and CTO of Forward Science Technologies.
FROM BOGARD HALL, IT’S ECO-CAR LIVE!: A crew from NBC spent an afternoon with
Tech’s Eco-Car Team for a story that aired focusing on the Shell Eco-Marathon and published
the video here: http://www.today.com/money/redemption-records-ltu-students-outmakethefuture-t14086.
The piece is an interview with professor Heath Tims and several of the students; the focus is
on how the project connects to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
education.
After struggling when the program began in 2008, the “team” made a breakthrough in 2011
when LA Tech’s UrbanConcept competition car, codenamed “Roadster,” set a U.S. record of
646 MPG. It propelled the team to first place in the Americas competition. Since then, Tech’s
team has gone on to win the Design Award twice and set the U.S. record for best energy
efficiency in a diesel vehicle (489 MPG). Besides becoming more proficient and innovative in
STEM subjects and applications, the team has also brought Tech international publicity.
For more on how Tech is making itself known through the racing world, check out “Big
Wheels” on pp 10-11.
Thomas William Singletary, mathematics
and statistics ’68, of West Monroe, retired vice
president and consultant for CenturyLink.
Selden Olin Swain, industrial engineering ’87,
of Cypress, Texas, regional general manager
Supply Chain, The Americas, of Triumph
International of Europe.
Stephen Warren Westmoreland, computer
science ’77, of Vancouver, Wash., chief
information officer, The Linux Foundation.
LATECH.EDU | 25
NEWS AROUND CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF LIBER AL ARTS
Donald Kaczvinsky, Dean
School of Design hits bull’s-eye with range
CONTRIBUTIONS FOR A LIFETIME: Susan Roach
(left), director of the School of Literature and Language,
receives the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
2015 Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Humanities
from Drew Tessier of LEH Board of Directors at a spring
awards dinner in Baton Rouge. Roach, who holds the
Mildred Saunders Adams Endowed Professorship in
English at Tech, was honored “for her tireless work as a
folklorist, including the documentation and presentation
of Louisiana arts and crafts, music, ritual traditions,
occupational lore, and foodways. She served as a key
leader in Louisiana folklorists’ response to Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, and continues to author new
scholarship, most recently in her groundbreaking ‘Delta
Pieces’ project.”
Associate professor receives
recognition from France
Dolliann Hurtig
(pictured), an
associate professor
of French, was
awarded as an
exemplary educator
from Gregor
Trumel, the consul
general of France.
Hurtig received
the title of
“Chevalier dans
l’Ordre des Palms Academiques de France” from
the country’s government.
“I am very honored that the French Minister
of Education, his office, has honored me with the
distinction of the title of ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre
des Palmes Academiques,’” Hurtig said. “It is an
honor that very few receive. The honor represents
a lifetime devoted to teaching, research, service
and a love of the beautiful French language, its
refined culture, its enormous literature, its rich
civilization.”
26 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Louisiana Tech’s School of Design partnered with MedCamps of Louisiana
recently to construct an archery and paintball range (pictured) to improve the
campers’ experience.
Architecture students at Tech designed and built a barrier free, wheelchair
accessible pavilion and gathering space for MedCamps that can be used for
archery and paintball activities.
Tech’s School of Design program frequently partners with various Lincoln
Parish organizations in order to give back to the community. In previous years
the students have built a Habitat for Humanity house and constructed park
pavilions. Last year’s partnership between Tech and MedCamps produced The
Larkin Gibbs Memorial Pavilion and Gardens at the camp.
MedCamps of
Louisiana is a nonprofit organization
that provides a
series of one-week
camps each summer
for children in
the state who
have a variety of
physical and mental
disabilities.
Tech Travels plans new adventures
for students, alumni
Students and alumni have an opportunity to broaden their horizons with
overseas studies through Tech Travels.
Students have a chance to visit Italy, Paris, London or Costa Rica this
academic year and gain college credit in a variety of subjects, such as foreign
language or history, for the experience. Additionally, Jonathan Donehoo, who is
in charge of the Tech Travels programs, said that many alumni have expressed
interest in taking alumni trips through the University to continue their own
cultural education.
While travel abroad studies are expensive, Donehoo said students have a
new perspective on the world when
they return and emphasized how
beneficial it is for students to have
overseas experience – both for
personal and professional benefits.
“It sets them apart even on a
resume,” Donehoo said.
Travel scholarships are available,
and other trips to a variety of
locations are constantly in the
works.
For more information about
Tech Travels, visit TechTravels.
LaTech.edu or, for up-to-themoment information, visit the
program’s Facebook page.
BULLDOG BOOKSHELF
“GOD’S STORY”
Al R. Bates (commercial art ’52) calls his novel
“the true story of our Creators, Annunaki,”
who came to Earth, first to mine gold for
their home planet and then to save the
spiritually intelligent from the Apocalypse.
As he pondered the difrerence between love
and true love, Bates was taken out of his body
and on a trip back in time to show him the
true history of humanity and his answer. On
returning, Enki asked him to write a novel
based on his experiences.
}Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
“FROM HERE TO NEARLY THERE”
Jason Mitchell (computer information systems
’01), who goes by the penname Alec Merta,
has written his first novel. It combines his
enthusiasm for the sci-fi he grew up reading
and his love of travelogue and is the first
in Mitchell’s series “A Voyage in the Near
Distance.” The story is centered on a character
that finds his everyday life disrupted by a
paranormal occurrence. Mitchell, an Alexandria
native, currently lives in Alpharetta, Ga., with
his wife and son.
}
Available on Amazon and Audible
“BORN TO BE A BULLDOG”
Amanda Arnold Cauley (psychology ‘01)
has written this book with the vision of
providing Louisiana Tech athletes a resource
for promoting literacy in North Louisiana. Have
you ever wanted to be part of something big?
Something bigger than yourself and your
family? Join Baby Bulldog as he discovers
that he is part of an even bigger Bulldog
Family. Amanda and her husband, Nick, live in
Choudrant and are raising three Baby Bulldogs
of their own: Harper Leigh, Baylor Kate, and
Josephine Joy.
}
A
vailable on MascotBooks.com
“JANIE’S UNBELIEVABLE JOURNEY:
INSPIRATIONAL LETTERS WRITTEN ALONG
THE WAY”
Janie Sue Wilkins (English ‘51) has written
her inspirational memoir, the true story of her
life as a wife, mother and educator. The reader
will learn what led Janie to dedicate her life to
children, her own and those she would touch
throughout her lifetime. Janie lives in Florida to
be close to her children and grandchildren.
}
Available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble
“SWEET TEA TIMES”
Jay Grelen (journalism ‘79) says he learned
everything he knows about writing from
the late Wiley Hilburn, longtime director
of Louisiana Tech’s journalism school. The
selections in Jay’s second book of newspaper
columns first appeared in his Sweet Tea
column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
from 2004 to 2011. In the foreword, Gov. Mike
Huckabee wrote that Jay’s columns “were
must-reads for the people of Arkansas.” Jay,
editor of The Tech Talk in 1978-79, grew up in
Pineville and now lives near Little Rock.
}
Available at Amazon and at JayGrelenSweetTea.com
“WHAT GOD TOLD ME”
Roger D. Lee (mechanical engineering ‘74)
began writing a poem each week to capture
the meaning of the Sunday sermons as a gift
to his wife. Now he has turned those poems
into a daily devotional book, from a man’s
perspective. If you have only five minutes each
day but want to start a relationship with your
higher power, these snapshots from words
based on Bible teachings are for you.
}
A
vailable on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris
“ENGAGED TO BE MURDERED”
Christopher M. Hunter (computer information
systems ’09) has written this opener to “The
James Ellis Mystery Series.” Ellis, the main
character of the series, is a 22-year-old who
goes through a journey of self discovery while
solving murders that ravage his hometown of
Carrington, La. Chris lives in Monroe.
}
Available on Amazon
“FOLLOWING MY FATHER’S PATH”
Ron L. Mullins (photography ‘81) has written
this fictional 9/11 story following the son of
terrorists in America. The story begins with the
birth of Mustaeen Fahkri on September 11,
2001, to the parents of terrorists in America
and part of the team that was to attack the
White House. We watch Mustaeen (The Chosen
One) grow up struggling to live in two cultures.
}
A
vailable as an ebook on Amazon and
Smashwords.
If you’re a published alumnus, send your
information to the Marbury Alumni Center
so we can include it in Bulldog Bookshelf.
Send to News@LaTechAlumni.org.
LATECH.EDU | 27
It’s Fun to be an
1.These usual suspects from the Northwest
Louisiana Tech Advancement Group (TAG) did
the heavy lifting to make Tech & Tails XIII, an
event soaring in popularity, a huge success this
spring in the Bossier Civic Center.
ALUM
2.Coordinator of Advancement Programs Jimmy
Washington visits with Francine (English ’86) and
Lawrence (political science ’84) Coleman at the
Atlanta-area Alumni and Friends Crawfish Boil.
1
3
3.Patrick Cobb (pre-med ’81), on vacation from
his oncology practice in Montana, might
have been the only Bulldog fan listening via
radio in Bora Bora to Tech’s third straight NIT
appearance.
3
2
4.Alumni and friends represented Tech at the
Washington D.C. crawfish boil held jointly
each year with other alumni associations from
Louisiana. Only two Louisiana schools had
more people present than Tech; it was a great
showing for Tech and a fun time.
5.Kim and Ray Weaver were among the 1,000plus Tech fans at Tech & Tails XIII.
5
4
6.Tech fan Greg Morrison won the auction for
this shirt belonging to Tech head football
coach Skip Holtz at Tech & Tails XIII; Morrison’s
wife, Grady, graduated in 1984 (accounting)
and with her master’s (accounting) in 1985.
7.Addison (left) and little sis Stella helped
cheer on the Bulldogs in Thomas Assembly
Center the night they captured outright the
Conference USA regular season basketball
championship; their parents Emily (general
studies ’05) and Ray Spoon (psychology ’04) are
former Tech cheerleaders and helped coach
the 2014-15 squad.
6
The annual Alumni Awards Luncheon. The Class of 1965 Reunion. The Pep Rally, the
Presentation of the Court, tailgating and your Louisiana Tech Bulldogs playing Conference
USA opponent the University of North Texas in Joe Aillet Stadium on a Saturday afternoon.
It’s Homecoming ’15, so to get the latest up-to-date info as events for alumni and students
are scheduled, stay in touch with us at LaTechAlumni.org/Homecoming2015.
See you there, and Go ’Dogs!
The Alumni Association is part of the Division of University Advancement
and is located in the Marbury Alumni Center.
Director: Wes Cavin (Wes@LaTechAlumni.org)
Coordinator of Advancement Programs: Jimmy Washington (Jimmy@LaTechAlumni.org)
Administrative Assistant: Barbara Swart (Barbara@LaTechAlumni.org)
Phone: 1.800.738.7950 / 318.255.7950
facebook.com/LaTechAlumni
28 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
7
A
E
C
N
O
G
O
D
L
L
U
BALWAYS A BULLDOG
Show your
Bulldog Pride and
join the Alumni
Association
today!
visit
LATechAlumni.org
or call
318-255-7950
LATECH.EDU | 29
FOUNDATION
Donors of the Louisiana Tech University Foundation offer private gifts for a pure and
public cause: to support the educational mission of the University. For information on
how to be a part of the Foundation’s mission, call 1-800-738-7950.
H
G
I
L
T
SPO
T
The Patrick F. Taylor
Foundation
$1 million scholarship fund supports
life-changing opportunities
In December, the Board of Trustees of the Patrick F. Taylor
Foundation presented Louisiana Tech University with a gift of
$920,000 to fund scholarships for first-generation and academically
outstanding students.
In addition to the gift from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation,
Louisiana Tech will seek $80,000 in matching funds for firstgeneration scholars from the Louisiana Board of
Regents to establish a total scholarship fund of $1
million.
“The generosity of Mrs. Phyllis Taylor and the
Patrick F. Taylor Foundation will create life-changing
opportunities for the scholarship recipients and
enable Louisiana Tech to support them in realizing
their college dreams,” said Tech President Les Guice.
“The impact and importance of gifts such as this
cannot be overstated. It allows us to recruit and retain
outstanding students, and to provide them with an
excellent education and experience on our campus.
“On behalf of our university community and the
future recipients of these scholarships, I sincerely
thank the Taylor Foundation for its strong advocacy
and support for higher education opportunities in
Louisiana.”
The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation was founded in 1985 by
Patrick and Phyllis Taylor as a gesture of thanks to the nation that
had given them so much. Its mission is to promote the common
good and well-being of all the people in our nation, primarily by
promoting universal and unlimited educational opportunities based
solely on each individual’s ability and willingness to learn.
Mr. Taylor passed away in November 2004, but he continues to
have life-changing impacts on college students across the nation
through the work of the Foundation. Today, the Patrick F. Taylor
Foundation is led by Mrs. Taylor, who continues the couple’s
educational crusade. The Foundation also monitors the Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) in Louisiana and
programs in other states to ensure qualified students will continue
to receive the opportunity to obtain a college education based on
their own high school achievements. While education is its primary
area of interest, the Foundation also supports advances in law
enforcement, the military, community charitable organizations and
humanitarian efforts.
“The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation is proud to partner with
30 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Louisiana Tech in providing
scholarships to students
of need,” said Mrs. Taylor.
“Louisiana Tech has had a
long history of developing a
unique position in the field of higher education in Louisiana. These
scholarships will make it possible for some of our youth in financial
need, and deserving of the opportunity, to take advantage of what
Louisiana Tech has to offer.”
Dr. Guice credits President Emeritus Dan Reneau for Louisiana
Tech’s relationship with the Taylors and the Taylor Foundation,
which was forged during his tenure as president. Mrs. Taylor served
as keynote speaker for Louisiana Tech’s fall 2012 commencement
(pictured) and was recognized by Reneau for the crucial role she
and her late husband have played in the lives of college students in
the state of Louisiana.
Members of the board of Trustees of the Patrick F. Taylor
Foundation will continue to have contact with their scholarship
recipients during their studies at Louisiana Tech, offering them
encouragement and monitoring their progress.
To Our Benefactors: “Thank you!”
It’s impossible to put a price tag on the overall lives-long
impact made on faculty and students by the private donations and
scholarship support from Louisiana Tech’s major benefactors and
loyal donors.
Endowments. Planned gifts. Professorships and eminent scholar
chairs. Benefactors make those possible, and the gifts in turn
provide all sorts of possibilities for the University through the lives
the gifts touch, both directly and indirectly.
Dr. and Mrs. Les Guice and the Louisiana Tech University
Foundation Board were the hosts of a springtime Benefactors
Dinner honoring those to whom the University owes so much
gratitude. The Student Center was the setting for more than 200
of Tech’s most loyal contributors to enjoy dinner, one another’s
company, and visits with faculty, students and administrators who
offered insight into the impacts that gifts to the University make.
The night’s theme was appropriately one of Tech’s Tenets:
Commitment.
A SIGN OF GRATITUDE: Grateful Tech students welcomed their special
guests on an early spring evening in the Quad.
SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT: College of Applied and Natural Sciences
dean Gary Kennedy, joined by students Savannah Langston, Eva Edinger and
Evan Puckett, had an opportunity to share with the University’s benefactors
both the very practical and intangible difference that scholarships and
private support make.
I’LL HAVE S’MORE, PLEASE: Guests enjoyed a dessert reception – including
this help-yourself s’more bar – after dinner. Benefactors Bill and Linda Nelson
(right). Bill is a past president of the Foundation.
“ON BEHALF OF THE FOUNDATION…”: President Guice represented
the University and Board in thanking major benefactors. For the second
consecutive year, the program’s panel format allowed professors and
students to share with the evening’s special guests the direct results of their
generous gifts.
LATECH.EDU | 31
N E W S A B O U T YO U
FACULTY AND STAFF WE LOVE
You were a student once, and someone’s encouragement and dedication back then makes a difference
in your life still. A Tech faculty or staff member inspired, instructed, directed or simply listened. Someone
cared. Someone assured you that dreaming was not just okay, it was preferred, even necessary. Without their
influence, where would we be?
Maybe it’s time we said thank you. Email your 600-word submission to WeLove@LaTechAlumni.org or send to
Faculty and Staff We Love, Marbury Alumni Center, Louisiana Tech University, P.O. Box 3183, Ruston, LA 71272.
Dallas D. Lutes
When I graduated from Neville High School in Monroe in June of 1955,
I didn’t plan to go to college. I was going to join the Navy after Christmas. However,
most of my friends did go to college that fall. Many of them enrolled at Louisiana Tech.
That fall when my friends came home, we got together and they told me how
great college life was: football games on Saturday afternoon, dances Saturday night.
Then in late October, I spent the weekend at Tech with one of them. We went to the
football game and the Saturday night dance. I had a great time, but I still wasn’t sure
college was for me. When my friends all came home at Christmas (and the end of the
fall semester), we all got together several times and they (particularly those at Tech)
encouraged me to start college in January. After talking with my parents, I did enroll
at Tech. I wasn’t sure what to major in, so I took a general course for freshmen. One of
those courses was freshman botany. It was taught by Dr. Dallas Lutes. This course, as
taught by Dr. Lutes, changed my life.
Dr. Lutes was such an inspiration that I changed my major course to botany. Over
the next three years, including two summers, I took every course offered in the botany
and bacteriology departments. I became particularly interested in plant pathology.
Since Dr. Lutes had his doctorate in plant pathology, he became my mentor.
During my senior year I became his lab assistant and taught two freshman botany
labs. Dr. Lutes also asked me to teach one of his freshman lecture classes on several
occasions when he was unable to.
As graduation got closer, I began to wonder what I could do for employment with
a degree in botany and bacteriology. I could not afford to go to graduate school on my
own. If Tech had not cost my parents the less-than-$50-per-month for room and board
and practically nothing else, I would not have been able to afford to go to college. So,
I talked to Dr. Lutes about what I should do. He encouraged me to apply to several
universities for some type of assistantship. In the spring of 1959, I began to get replies.
Most were from schools with strong plant pathology departments. I was particularly
interested in the one from Purdue University. So, I accepted their offer.
In my first year at Purdue, I became very homesick. I had never been any farther
from home than the 30 miles from Monroe to Ruston. I had kept in contact with Dr.
Lutes, and when he realized what was happening, he gave me the encouragement to
continue. I did, and eventually earned my doctorate and took a job with the University
of Georgia.
For several years, I kept in contact with Dr. Lutes, mostly through exchanging
Christmas cards. Then in 1968, I got a letter from Dr. Lutes, who had become head
of the department of botany and bacteriology. It was a job offer at Tech! I would
have loved to have taken the offer, but I was married, our second child had just been
born and we had just bought a house. After talking with my wife and discussing the
situation, I had to decline the offer.
I am now retired from the University of Georgia and have not heard from Dr.
Lutes for many years. But there is no question in my mind that if I had not taken that
beginning botany course under Dr. Dallas Lutes, I would not be where I am today.
32 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU?
Do you have news to share in the News About You section? We want to share the stories of your accomplishments and
milestones. Photos are always welcome, too. Submit your information for News About You at News@LaTechAlumni.org.
1975
Carey Wicker
III, political
science, of
Metairie
will serve as
president of
the Allstate
Sugar Bowl
Committee for
the 2015-16 year. He’s been a member
of the committee since 1987 and will
oversee the Sugar Bowl’s first game
in its new relationship with the Big
12 and SEC. Wicker is an attorney
who has been in private practice since
1978 and has been a partner and
principal of the Capitelli and Wicker
law firm since 1987.
1977
Dr. Rob Martin, wildlife conservation
(master’s botany 1983), of Halls,
Tenn., received the Bill and Mary
Adcock Outstanding Faculty Award at
Dyersburg State Community College.
He is associate professor of biology.
1980
ABOUT DALLAS LUTES:
Dallas Lutes, class of ’49, majored in
botany at Louisiana Tech. He holds a
doctorate in plant science from the
University of Missouri, 1955. He taught
at East Texas State College in 1954,
then came to Tech as a professor the
next year. He retired from the campus
as head of the department of botany
and bacteriology in 1989. From that
time until 2012, he taught plant science
classes at Tech-Barksdale. Dr. Lutes
celebrated his 90th birthday July 12,
2015. He is retired in Ruston.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Samuel S. “Sam” Thompson Jr., class
of ’59, earned a master’s in plant
pathology from Purdue University in
1961 and his doctorate from Purdue
in 1965. In 1962, he took a job as
extension plant pathologist with the
University of Georgia. He was based in
Tifton, Ga., and worked in that position
until his retirement in 1992. Today he
lives in Rebecca, Ga.
Jim Liner,
accounting,
of Ruston
became the first
person to be
elected Ruston
City Marshal
on a parishwide ballot.
He took office on January 1 after
having served as chief deputy with
the Marshal’s office for more than 30
years.
1981
Richmond, Texas. The 750-plus
acre area is used for youth and adult
outdoor activities.
1983
Jenna Price
Carpenter,
mathematics,
has been
selected as the
founding dean
of Campbell
University’s
engineering school, which will launch
in 2016. She previously served as an
endowed professor, associate dean for
undergraduate studies, and director
of the Office for Women in Science
and Engineering at Tech’s College of
Engineering and Science.
1985
Todd Colvin,
agricultural
business, of
West Monroe
has been
promoted to
president of
Richland State
Bank. Todd has
been with RSB for 14 years and was
previously the bank’s chief lending
officer.
Hank Kennedy, electrical
engineering, of Charleston, S.C.,
has been named plant manager of
General Dynamic’s Joint Systems
Manufacturing Center in Lima,
Ohio. Hank has been with General
Dynamics Land Systems, which
manages the plant, since 1985 and
most recently worked in Charleston.
Mark Bodron, marketing (master’s
finance 1982, accounting 1984),
of Houston is co-author of the
recently published 6th edition of the
Bloomberg BNA Tax Management
Portfolio No. 351-6th T.M., Plan
Qualification-Pension and ProfitSharing Plans. He is a partner in the
executive compensation/employee
benefits practice group of the
Houston law firm Baker Botts L.L.P.
1986
1982
William
Mitchell
“Mitch” Redd,
business
management
and
entrepreneurship,
of Sulphur has
been elected
judge for the 14th Judicial District
in Louisiana. Redd was a partner in
the law firm Liles & Redd LC in Lake
Jim Kidda,
petroleum
engineering,
of Sugar Land,
Texas, has been
selected as the
new program
coordinator
for Long Acres
Ranch Nature Tourism Center near
Bobby R. Zeigler Jr., business
administration, of Willow Park,
Texas, has recently been hired as
business controller for Air Center
Helicopters, Inc. in Burleson, Texas.
Air Center Helicopters, Inc. is the
largest helicopter operator based in
the DFW Metroplex.
1987
Charles for 16 years, before becoming
the managing partner of W. Mitchell
Redd LLC.
Kellye Williams
Walker,
marketing, of
Jenkintown, Pa.,
has been elected
to serve as
corporate vice
president and
general counsel
for Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Kristi Doggett Moody, political
science, of Little Rock, Ark., has
been named senior vice president of
law and corporate secretary for the
board of directors for Windstream
Corporation. Kristi joined
Windstream in 2006.
Steven L. Picou, professional aviation,
has been selected to serve as executive
director of Lafayette Regional
Airport. He previously served as
deputy director of the Amarillo
International Airport.
1988
1996
Bill Bezio, architecture, of West
Linn, Ore., has been promoted
to architecture department head
at Mackenzie, a design firm.
He has more than 20 years of
professional experience in design and
construction.
Erin W. Begley, accounting (master’s
accounting 1998), of Monroe
has been named director of tax
accounting at CenturyLink.
1991
Michael C.
Stephens
Jr., chemical
engineering,
of Memphis,
Tenn., has been
named product
managerpackaging
segment for International Paper’s
Coated Paperboard Division.
1992
Col. Lawrence C. Hicks, general
studies, of El Dorado, Ark., assumed
command of the 86th Logistics
Readiness Group during a ceremony
held July 2014 at Ramstein Air Base
in Germany.
Bill Jordan, electrical engineering,
of Spring, Texas, has been appointed
Vice President Supply at GDF Suez
Energy Resources NA, Inc. He joined
GDF Suez in 2004.
Greg E.
Kahmann,
finance, of West
Monroe has
been named
executive vice
president and
northeast
Louisiana
president of IberiaBank. Greg has
more than 20 years of experience in
the banking and finance industry,
and he most recently served as
the regional group manager for
IberiaBank’s northeast Louisiana
market.
David G. Slayter, professional
aviation, has been named airport
manager for Vance Brand Municipal
Airport in Longmont, Colo. He
has been the executive director of
the Houma-Terrebonne Airport
Commission since 2009 and has spent
more than 20 years in the aviation
industry.
Amy Taunton Young, health
information management, of Deville
has been named facility privacy officer
and co-ethics and compliance officer
at Rapides Regional Medical Center.
1998
Paige
Baughman
Oliver,
computer
information
systems, of
Monroe has
taken over as
president and
chief executive at Bank of Oak Ridge.
She previously served as executive
vice president of investor relations
and strategic initiatives at Community
Trust Bank in Monroe.
Bob Webber, doctorate educational
leadership, of Monroe has been
named principal at St. Frederick
Catholic High School. He retired
from the Ouachita Parish school
system after serving as the
superintendent for the last 14 years.
1999
Chris Daniel,
political
science, of
Pass Christian,
Miss., was
recognized by
the MS Business
LATECH.EDU | 33
N E W S A B O U T YO U
N E W S A B O U T YO U
Journal as one of Mississippi’s leading
attorneys. Chris is a prosecuting
attorney for the State of Mississippi
and serves as assistant district
attorney assigned to the Hancock
County Office of the District
Attorneys for the 2nd Judicial
District. He also teaches as an adjunct
professor at Tulane University in the
area of homeland security studies.
NICHOLAS A. (NICK) BROWN (’82)
“HOW is so much more important than WHAT in all that you do!”
TITLE: President and Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of
Directors, Elected 2003 Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP); spp.org
HOMETOWN: Hope, Ark.
HIGH SCHOOL: Hope High
Keith B. Snook, finance (master’s
business administration 2010), of
Frisco, Texas, has joined Supreme
Corporation as South Central
regional sales manager. He has
almost 15 years of sales development,
training and management experience.
2000
Jennifer Hinckley Vidrine, business
management and entrepreneurship, of
Dodson has a new job as comptroller
for Winn Lumber Company, LLC.
2002
Ardian Zika,
marketing, has
been appointed
by Florida
Community
Bank to the
post of senior
vice president
and commercial
banking director. Ardian has 12 years
of combined commercial banking and
lending experience.
2003
Luke J. Letlow,
computer
information
systems, of
Monroe has
been named
chief of staff
by 5th District
Congressman
Ralph Abraham.
Denis Poljak,
master’s
business
administration,
of Shreveport
has been
promoted to
senior vice
president in
Morgan Stanley’s wealth management
office in Shreveport. Dennis has
been with Morgan Stanley Wealth
Management since 2009.
NOW RESIDES IN: Little Rock (30-year resident of Little Rock and 30-year
employee of SPP)
DEGREE: B.S., electrical engineering (Harvard Business School Advanced
Management Program Professional Engineer, Master Electrician,
Instrument Rated Private Pilot)
FAMILY: Wife, Susan; grown children Nolan, Chesley, Jaime and Lana; Lana’s
daughters Emma and Hailey; dogs Scruffy and Marley.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS CAREER? Because of my love of electricity and it being the fundamental foundation of
our society and economy. Electrification is the greatest achievement of the 20th century and the single one
that the remaining top 20 greatest achievements depend on.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TECH? Because of the relatively small teacher/student ratio, the experience and teaching
ability of the professors and the school’s proximity to my home in Arkansas.
HOW DID TECH PREPARE YOU FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE? Very well, by introducing me to professors who had extensive
experience in various fields prior to their careers in higher education. The University also exposed me to a
much larger environment than Hope (population 10,000) and Ouachita Baptist (1,100 students).
YOUR BEST MEMORIES OF TECH: My best memories of LA Tech were the camaraderie between students (Tau Beta
Pi and Eta Kappa Nu), the friendships with faculty, studying with my good friend Nick Akins (CEO and
Chair of the Board of American Electric Power) and trips to Wilmart for a frozen beverage after a softball
game.
YOUR PROFESSIONAL CAREER AFTER TECH: I left Tech to work as an engineer in the System Planning Department
at Southwestern Electric Power Company in Shreveport. Three years to-the-day later I started as the
seventh employee at Southwest Power Pool in Little Rock. Today, we have almost 600 employees and
ensure that electric utilities in 14 states have access to reliable sources of power at affordable rates.
YOUR ADVICE TO TODAY’S FRESHMEN: It’s simple: Spend your college career learning how to learn, because
learning really begins when you leave college. Even today, the more I learn the more I realize just how
much I don’t know.
WILL YOU EXPLAIN SPP’S BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY OF “BUILDING UP” AND SERVING, AS WELL AS THE PRACTICAL DIFFERENCE IT
MAKES? Our business philosophy at SPP is passionately focused on our mission, values and culture. Culture
truly is the ultimate business strategy, and when separated, culture will eat strategy for breakfast every day.
We are passionate about our employees and were selected by Arkansas Business magazine as Arkansas’ Best
Place to Work in 2014. We also have been recognized by Principal Financial Group as one of The Principal
10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security, a national program honoring companies with a
commitment to programs that contribute to employees’ long-term financial security.
WHEN I COME TO ARKANSAS, I SHOULDN’T MISS …: Don’t miss the wonderful lakes and streams in the mountainous
northwest, duck and deer hunting in the southeastern plains, Hope watermelons, Nashville peaches,
Warren tomatoes, and Cabot strawberries.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? For fun I sing in the River City Men’s Chorus, play the trumpet, play at golf, pool,
table tennis and water skiing.
WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO? “HOW is so much more important than WHAT in all that you do!”
Read more about Nick at LaTech.edu
34 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Michael T.
Johnson,
sociology, of
Glenn Heights,
Texas, is head
football coach
at Bishop
Dunne High
Kristin Caston Hildebrand,
accounting (master’s accounting
2005), of Kilgore, Texas, has been
promoted to senior tax manager
with Curtis Blakely & Co. CPA firm.
Kristin joined the firm in 2005 and is
a member of the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants and
Texas Society of CPAs.
2007
Trent Vines, finance, has been named
account executive for middle market
commercial accounts with Travelers
Insurance in their South Central
Regional Office in Richardson, Texas.
2008
Kevin Caballero, master’s curriculum
and instruction, has been named boys
basketball coach at Denham Springs
High School. He has spent the past
eight years in the same capacity at
Sterlington High School.
2012
Ann Marie
Sledge,
psychology,
of Hammond
received
the Dean
Patricia Evans
Scholarship,
presented
to a 2L student who embodies the
attributes of an ethical attorney
and demonstrates special interest
in community service, during
Mississippi College School of Law’s
annual Law Day ceremony.
2013
Matthew
Rich, English,
of Ruston
received two
awards from
Mississippi
College School
of Law during
its annual Law
Day ceremony. Rich was the recipient
of the Copeland Cook Taylor and
Bush Moot Court Competition Dean
Alton H. Harvey Award for Best
Brief and the Mississippi Corporate
Counsel Association Endowed
Scholarship in Law Award.
WEDDED BLISS
2004
Amber Obaze Ford, psychology, has
been named girls’ basketball coach
at Ouachita Parish High School in
Monroe. Amber previously spent
three years as girls’ basketball coach at
Rayville High School where her team
produced a 61-32 record and won the
2013 Class 3A state championship.
served as head coach since 2011.
School in Dallas, winner of the 2014
TAPPS (Texas Association of Private
and Parochial Schools) state title.
Johnson is an alumnus of Bishop
Dunne, and he was a football letter
winner at Tech.
2005
Cory L. Emerson, health and physical
education, has been hired as the
boys’ basketball coach at Sterlington
High School. Cory spent 2005-06 as
director of basketball operations at
Tech before becoming assistant coach
at Caldwell in 2007, where he has
1995
Nanette Jolie Gauthier, speech
pathology, and Richard Lane Kramel,
May 2, 2015, Pineville
2001
John Sevier Ziegler Jr., history
(master’s business administration
2003, civil engineering 2010), and
Sara Danielle Ansolabehere, March
21, 2015, Bakersfield, Calif.
Bridget Diane Webster, civil
engineering, and Chance Tate
Skinner, April 11, 2015, Ruston
2003
2011
Jackson Pyburn Matthews, biology
(geographic information science
2010), and Stephanie Yvonne
Mitchell, Dec. 29, 2014, Ruston
Katelyn A. Broomfield, family and
consumer science education, and
Robert Wayne Bares, Jan. 3, 2015,
Abbeville
2005
Michael Rolf Smith, finance, and
Danielle Lugo Schelmety, April 11,
2015, Ruston
Matthew Colt Graham, marketing,
and Rebecca Lynn Evans, April 25,
2015, Ruston
Bevin Brooks Sutton, general
studies, and Andrew Bridwell
Hicks, psychology 2004, Jan. 3, 2015,
Shreveport
Robin Nicole Vidrine, master’s
counseling and guidance, and Ryan
Tabb, Feb. 28, 2015, Scott
2007
Jared Lee Milton, business
management and entrepreneurship,
and Whitney Sisemore, Oct. 25, 2014,
Bossier City
2008
Hunter Johnson Harrison,
psychology, and Caitlin Ashley Fuller,
April 25, 2015, West Monroe
Kristy Renea Nelson, health
information and information
management, and Sean Thomas
Landry, Oct. 18, 2014, Kenner
Laura Kathleen Williamson, biology,
and Gilliam Aaron Woodham III,
March 7, 2015, Shreveport
2009
Katie Michelle Noles, elementary
education, and James Close Watts,
Dec. 13, 2014, Ruston
Karen Denise Pye, accounting
(master’s accounting 2009), and Jessie
Thomas Tubbs, March 14, 2015,
Sterlington
2010
Lauren Renee Durrett, sociology,
and Michael Brandon Charrier,
construction engineering technology
2012, March 1, 2015, Ruston
Lauren Nichole Hyatt, art education,
and Bolton Preis Warren, agricultural
business 2013, Oct. 11, 2014, Ruston
Tracy Wayne “Trace” Kaiser, business
management and entrepreneurship,
and Ami Cathleen Knox, March 28,
2015, Covington
Elizabeth Felicia “Lizzy” Tripple,
marketing, and Thomas Eugene
Hickman, electrical engineering
technology, April 11, 2015, El
Dorado, Ark.
2012
Julie Elizabeth Kajor, biology, and
Michael William Broadwell, Jan. 31,
2015, Alexandria
Erin Dale McCown, math education,
and Wesley Grayson Simpson,
chemical engineering 2013, March 28,
2015, Calhoun
2014, The Woodlands, Texas
Emily Celeste Palmer, biology, and
Richard Todd Smith, December 2014,
Shreveport
Kirsti Angelle Roundtree, nursing,
and Brenton Garrett Hill, marketing
2013, April 11, 2015, Ruston
Brittany Danielle Welch, early
childhood education, and Tyler Cobb,
March 14, 2015, Choudrant
2015
Kara Lindsay Tubbs, master’s health
informatics, and John Brian Jenkins,
Aug. 23, 2014, Baton Rouge
STORK REPORT
1990
Danielle Theresa Richardelle,
biology, and Beau Zachary Downey,
mechanical engineering 2012, Dec.
20, 2014, Gonzales
Jonathan Foster Lewis, electrical
engineering (master’s electrical
engineering 1992), and Ivy Lewis,
son, Joshua Daniel, March 24, 2015,
Pflugerville, Texas
2013
1996
Taylor M. Ainsworth, merchandising
and consumer studies, and Blake
Branch, Nov. 22, 2014, West Monroe
Marcy Lane Brewster Moore,
accounting (master’s business
administration 1998), and Jason
Leroy Moore, biomedical engineering
2003, son, Maddox Lincoln, Dec. 20,
2014, Daphne, Ala.
Kristi Marie Butler, animal science,
and Zachary Thomas Laffitte,
agricultural business 2012, Dec. 19,
2014, Eros
Marisa Michael Estes, English
education, and John E. Gleason,
marketing 2014, Nov. 29, 2014,
Farmerville
Daniel Scott Kendrick, electrical
engineering technology, and Lauren
Elizabeth Fletcher, April 18, 2015,
Tyler, Texas
Austin Devone Payne, accounting,
and Nicole Marie Guess, Nov. 22,
2014, Many
2014
Ross Nelson Blair, mechanical
engineering, and Tiffany A. Craft,
April 18, 2015, Brewton, Ala.
John Milton “Jack” Breckenridge,
chemical engineering, and Sarah
Claire Plaisance, April 24, 2015, Baton
Rouge
Hannah Dawn Clark, early childhood
education, and Daniel Todd Wallace,
April 25, 2015, Ruston
Mary Kate Hays, early childhood
education, and Steven James Cortez,
elementary education 2011 (master’s
curriculum and instruction 2012),
Dec. 20, 2014, Ruston
Magan Ashley Locantro, accounting,
and Justin Michael Lynch, computer
information systems 2011, June 28,
1999
Katherine McGuire Ellis Howland,
business administration (computer
information systems 2001), and
William Merrill Howland, son,
William Merrill Jr., March 31, 2015,
Baton Rouge
2002
William Michael Lancaster, business
management and entrepreneurship,
and Jennifer Bullock Lancaster,
daughter, Payton Leighanne, Dec. 13,
2014, Ruston
2004
Erin Elizabeth Akin Carroll, speech,
and Matthew Todd Carroll, son,
James Walker, March 3, 2015, West
Columbia, S. C.
Valerie Christine Gashel Costanza,
nutrition and dietetics (master’s
nutrition and dietetics 2005),
and Samuel Thomas Costanza,
industrial engineering 2003 (master’s
engineering and technology
management 2013), daughter, Nola
Delaune, Dec. 27, 2014, Ruston
Jennifer Dianne Norris Soto, political
science, and Thomas Henry Soto,
sociology 2001 (master’s history
2004), daughter, Emlyn Posey, Jan. 25,
2015, Ruston
LATECH.EDU | 35
N E W S A B O U T YO U
Courtney Denise Buffington Worley,
marketing, and Benjamin Martin
Worley, son, Deacon Benjamin, Dec.
2, 2014, Atlanta, Ga.
2005
Kristy Lee Stephens Burton, biology,
and Timothy Dustin Burton,
mechanical engineering 2004,
son, Clay Dustin, Jan. 21, 2015,
Farmerville
Elizabeth Irene Chisolm Matthews,
civil engineering (master’s
engineering 2007), and John
Clifton Matthews, construction
engineering technology 2004
(master’s engineering 2006, doctorate
engineering 2010), son, Alexander
James, April 5, 2015, Baton Rouge
Jennifer Michelle Micinski Woods,
graphic design, and Mark Jason
Woods, forestry 1999, son, Jonathon
Fisher, Nov. 13, 2013, Quitman
2006
Katie Jo Vallery Loftin, accounting
(master’s accounting 2007), and Caleb
Loftin, son, Knox Colton, Dec. 1,
2014, Delhi
2007
Catrina Lynette Neal Crowe, history,
and Wendell Marcus Crowe, health
and physical education 2006 (master’s
curriculum and instruction 2008),
daughter, Harper Moody, March 29,
2015, Ruston
Anne Marie Bollich Duke,
communication design, and Brock
Duke, daughter, Ivy Catherine, Feb.
24, 2015, McKinney, Texas
Molly Kathleen McCormack Lebrun,
family and child studies, and Clint
H. Lebrun, business management
and entrepreneurship 2005, daughter,
Finley Kathleen, Feb. 26, 2015,
Shreveport
Kristen Ann Guillot Michael,
nursing, and William Wasson
Michael, daughter, Emmy Catherine,
Jan. 9, 2015, Haughton
Nicola Fremen Smith, educational
services (elementary education 2008),
and Jeffrey Christopher Smith,
graphic design 2001, daughter,
Camille Grace, and son, Chase
Bryant, May 11, 2015, Ruston
Ann Marie Kees Tennison,
educational services, and Michael
Aaron Tennison, daughter, Ally Ann,
Feb. 25, 2015, McKinney, Texas
2008
Courtney Reine McGuffee Cameron,
speech, and Jonathan Allan
Cameron, accounting 2007 (master’s
accounting 2008), daughter, Charlotte
Reine, Dec. 5, 2014, Fort Worth,
Texas
36 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
N E W S A B O U T YO U
Meg Elizabeth Martin Moore, speech
pathology, and Bryan Anderson
Moore, kinesiology and health
promotion 2006, son, Austin James,
Dec. 16, 2014, Monroe
1940
1947
Oscar Landon Miles III, 94, business
administration, March 19, 2015,
Monroe
Robert Terhune “Bob” Anderson,
electrical engineering, Feb. 6, 2015,
Shreveport
Heather Michele Cruse Shaw,
educational services, and Timothy
David Shaw, business administration
2006, daughter, Emma Grace, March
31, 2015, Ruston
Eleanor Thrift Staggs, 96, education,
Jan. 8, 2015, Shreveport
Henry Bernstein III, 88, chemical
engineering, Jan. 9, 2015, Shreveport
1941
Jesse James “Buck” Hollis, 90,
education, Feb. 15, 2015, Winnsboro
Angela Beth Gleason Smith, biology,
and Robert Charles Smith II, son,
Robert Charles III, Dec. 8, 2014,
Tyler, Texas
Mandy Lea Bolling Smith, speech,
and John Robert Smith, construction
engineering technology 2008,
daughter, JoAnna Grace, May 4, 2015,
Ruston
Joseph Allan Thomas Jr., human
resources management (master’s
business administration 2010,
certificate in information assurance
2010), and Kate Warren Thomas,
son, Chapman Best, Dec. 30, 2014,
Shreveport
2009
Christy Marie Giddens-Guice, family
and child studies (master’s counseling
and guidance 2011), and Bret Clayton
Guice, history 2011, daughters,
Elizabeth Jane and Everly Marie, April
22, 2015, Jacksonville, Fla.
Katie Lynn Williams Walker,
kinesiology and health promotion
(master’s elementary education 2011),
and Bradley L. Walker, marketing
2004, daughter, Vivan Maxwell,
March 5, 2015, Ruston
2012
Morgan Dianne Simpson
Hollingsworth, kinesiology
and health promotion (master’s
elementary education 2014),
and Logan A. Hollingsworth,
construction engineering technology
2011, daughter, Laikyn Jennifer, Feb.
27, 2015, Minden
Leslie Ann Cook Lucadou, speech,
and Glenn Lucadou, daughter, Emma
Kate, March 4, 2015, Tomball, Texas
IN MEMORIAM
Boyakin Old Bird, 95, electrical
engineering, April 17, 2015,
Winchester, Va.
Coy E. McClung, 96, agricultural
sciences, Jan. 22, 2015, Minden
Helen Marie Bartlett Leoty, 88,
business, March 4, 2015, Tallulah
1948
Douglas Lyons McGuire, 93, English,
Feb. 21, 2015, Ruston
Wallace Stewart Baker Sr., 89,
mechanical engineering, Jan. 14,
2015, Winterville, N.C.
Mary Gatlin Prager, 94, business
administration, Dec. 6, 2014, Palisade,
Colo.
Benjamin Cephas “Benjy” Baugh,
88, arts and sciences, April 9, 2015,
Ruston
1942
Clement Vernon “Clem” Henderson
Sr., 92, education, March 9, 2015,
Shreveport
Elbie McDaniel Hall, 95, human
ecology, April 17, 2015, Ringgold
Mary June Brewster Mendias, 93,
English, Dec. 5, 2014, Dallas, Texas
George Philip Moran, 89, business
administration, Jan. 20, 2015,
Shreveport
Lee Edward “Ed” Orr, 94, chemical
engineering, March 21, 2015, Johnson
City, Tenn.
Una Lee Colson Shelton, 86,
education, Dec. 27, 2014, Rogers, Ark.
Rupert Moreland Thompson, 97,
arts and sciences, April 10, 2015,
Longville
1943
James Wilburn Evans, 91, electrical
engineering, Feb. 1, 2015, Ruston
James H. “Jim” Lee, 94, life sciences,
Dec. 13, 2014, Frederick, Md.
Lucille Baker Walker, 91, business
administration, Dec. 23, 2014,
Denton, Texas
1944
Morris Newton Grant, 90, chemical
engineering, March 22, 2015, Slidell
Thomas John “Tom” LaHood, 91,
business administration, Nov. 30,
2014, Lafayette
Melba Louise Lee McIntosh, 91,
English, Dec. 1, 2014, Oak Grove
1949
James G. “Jim” Ehlert, 91, history,
March 31, 2015, Orange, Texas
John Paul Hinton, 94, forestry, Jan.
18, 2015, Hemphill, Texas
Quinlan Thomas “Quin” Rosenblath
Jr., 91, electrical engineering, March
30, 2015, Mobile, Ala.
1950
Burton Philip Bodan, 87, English,
April 22, 2015, Memphis, Tenn.
James Edward Evans, 93, forestry,
Dec. 22, 2014, Dubach
Walter Julius Frank Jr., 84,
accounting, April 13, 2015, Plano,
Texas
Clinton LeFever Smith, 86, mechanical
engineering, Feb. 25, 2015, Shreveport
1951
Lorraine Cox McKinney, 93,
business, Dec. 7, 2014, Hosston
Dorothy Hogan Robertson, 83,
accounting, Jan. 23, 2015, Tulsa, Okla.
Betty Wall Samuel, 91, business,
March 13, 2015, Minden
Peggy Faye Blackwell Weldon, 84,
education, Feb. 16, 2015, Baton Rouge
1946
1952
Carrie Mae Stephenson Martorana,
96, education, Dec. 14, 2014, State
College, Pa.
Virginia Lane Richardson Streete,
88, human ecology, Jan. 22, 2015,
Lake Charles
Maureen Breazeal Barron, 101,
education, Nov. 24, 2014, Spearsville
1939
Sara Edna Wafer, 89, elementary
education (master’s education 1965),
Feb. 4, 2015, Shreveport
1937
Mabel Crawford “Peggy” Moseley
Garland, 98, human ecology, April 1,
2015, Shreveport
Terry Stovall LaGrone, 96, business
administration, March 3, 2015, San
Diego, Calif.
Bobbie Charles Crawley, 84, forestry,
Feb. 21, 2015, Jonesboro
Janie Louise Jacks Gould, 83,
education, Dec. 6, 2014, Jacksonville,
Texas
Lloyd Edwin Lindsey, 85, accounting,
Feb. 13, 2015, Camden, Ark.
GREG COCHRAN (’81)
William Ardis Lowrey, 85, electrical
engineering, Jan. 13, 2015, Dubach
“Always stand for what is right, even if you are standing alone.”
Minor Wallace Oglesby Jr., 84,
mechanical engineering, Dec. 7, 2014,
Hot Springs National Park, Ark.
TITLE: Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) Director for Sadara
Chemical Company; during the past 34 years, served in various roles for
Union Carbide and Dow Chemical in manufacturing and engineering,
supply chain, purchasing and EH&S.
Ralph Thomas Willis, 87, education,
April 2, 2015, Camden, Ark.
HOMETOWN: Bossier City
HIGH SCHOOL: Airline High
1953
NOW RESIDES IN: Al-Jubail, in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia,
“surrounded by sand and camels.”
Raymond Marvin “Ray” Clawson,
85, electrical engineering, April 9,
2015, Lake Charles
Ben N. Craton Jr., 88, agricultural
engineering, March 25, 2015,
Shreveport
Roberta Lois Crow Honeycutt, 83,
human ecology, Jan. 22, 2015, Lake
Charles
Bewford Allen Rose, 84, mechanical
engineering, Feb. 16, 2015, Shreveport
Jane Estelle Connell Stephenson, 82,
education, Jan. 11, 2015, Dallas, Texas
Johnnie Curtis Stocks Jr., 82, business
administration, April 1, 2015, Panama
City, Fla.
1954
William Louis “Bill” Cragon, 83,
business, March 9, 2015, Shreveport
1955
Norma Ann Smartt Baird, 79,
education, Nov. 21, 2014, Shreveport
Glenda Vee Willett Byargeon, 81,
human ecology education, Dec. 2,
2014, Vivian
Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Wollerson
Doyle, 81, education, Dec. 5, 2014,
Jonesville
Bobby Jay Frizzell, 82, chemical
engineering, Feb. 8, 2015, Magnolia,
Ark.
Jean McGough Tucker, 82, education,
Dec. 18, 2014, Farmerville
1956
Emmett Edward Batson, 80,
accounting, March 20, 2015, Baton
Rouge
DEGREE: B.S. mechanical engineering
FAMILY: Married 34 years to Cindy (Cole) Cochran (B.S. computer science
’81); daughter Sarah, 30, an attorney, and son Aaron, 28, a youth pastor. “Cindy and I could not be more
proud of our children!”
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS CAREER? I like to understand “how things work.” I chose my career based upon my
interest in manufacturing, and Dow Chemical provided the opportunity for me to use my skills in a variety
of roles and responsibilities.
WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF LIVING OUT OF THE COUNTRY? Pros: You get to experience a new culture and
expand your ways of thinking – more diversity is a good thing. And you get to meet people from all over the
world. Cons: Separation from family and friends can be difficult. In my experience, “there is no place like home.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL TECH PREPARED YOU? Provided me with the foundation of knowledge that enabled me to start
my career in the chemical manufacturing industry. At Tech I learned how to approach problems in a
practical way.
TALK ABOUT DOW CHEMICAL IN RESPECT TO ITS COMMITMENT TO STUDENTS. Dow Chemical has always maintained a
good appreciation and respect for the leading engineering scholastic programs in the U.S. and across the
globe. Dow has demonstrated visible and tangible support for Tech by their grant matching program, as
well as the donation program from the Dow Chemical Foundation.
IF I GO TO SAUDI, I SHOULDN’T MISS SEEING … WHAT? There are many very interesting landmarks and cities in Saudi
Arabia. I would recommend visiting Jeddah to see a diverse Saudi city and the beautiful coastline along
the Red Sea. The Red Sea is spectacular, and as a scuba diving enthusiast, diving into the Red Sea from the
Saudi Arabia side is a rare treat. Also the great desert region in the southeast of Saudi Arabia, known as the
“empty quarter,” is an amazing untouched vast desert.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR BEST MEMORIES OF TECH? I have a fond memory of my summers at Tech. I enjoyed going
to the summer quarter as my classes were smaller and offered more one-on-one time with the professors.
Also, Johnny’s is still one of my favorite pizza places!
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO TECH? The engineering program is well recognized as one of the best in the country; this
was true in 1981, and it is still true today.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO TODAY’S FRESHMEN? You are NOT in high school anymore, so you most likely need to
learn how to study and apply yourself in a whole new way. This was especially true for me. I found high
school an easy place to “get by,” and my freshman year at Tech was difficult for me because I really did not
know how to study. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Scuba diving; rebuilding classic Corvettes; tennis with Cindy.
Read more about Greg at LaTech.edu
James Stancil Cooper, 84, mechanical
engineering, Dec. 19, 2014, North
Richland Hills, Texas
education (master’s education 1962,
specialist social studies education
1970), Jan. 31, 2015, Bossier City
Richard Edward Davis, 80,
civil engineering, Nov. 23, 2014,
Alexandria
Evelyn Ruth Gilbert Harlon, 81,
education, Jan. 11, 2015, Shreveport
Billy Ray Wiggins, 85, education,
March 27, 2015, Shreveport
Robert Russell “Russ” Rainbolt, 81,
physics, April 22, 2015, Ruston
Andrew Sevier Ritchie, 81,
accounting, March 10, 2015,
Bellingham, Wash.
1957
George Laurin Risinger, 79, arts and
sciences, March 5, 2015, Shreveport
Charlie Dean “Doak” Walker, 81,
Roy Dale Cox, 79, chemical
engineering, Jan. 28, 2015, Longview,
Texas
1958
Daniel Louie Butler Jr., 78, business,
Feb. 12, 2015, Shreveport
Herman Harold Calhoun, 80,
agricultural engineering, Jan. 24,
2015, Lynchburg, Va.
James Elwyn Johnston, 77, chemical
engineering, Nov. 20, 2014,
Huntsville, Ala.
Albert Pitman Lee, business, Dec. 1,
2014, Elm Grove
LATECH.EDU | 37
N E W S A B O U T YO U
Seeber William “Bill” Mason, 80,
petroleum engineering, March 4,
2015, Spanish Fort, Ala.
Martha Lillian Willis Till, 77,
business education (master’s business
education 1969), Feb. 16, 2015,
Shreveport
Charles David Welsh, 85,
mathematics, Nov. 16, 2014,
Shrewsbury, Mass.
1959
John Edward Adcox, marketing, Dec.
22, 2014, Atlanta, Ga.
N E W S A B O U T YO U
William Allen “Billy” Kennedy, 75,
education, Feb. 8, 2015, Bernice
Inez Mize Spangler, 89, master’s
education, Dec. 5, 2014, West Monroe
1963
Johanna Marie Engelsman
McDonald, 72, education, March 12,
2015, Huntsville, Ala.
Cedric Larkin “Buddy” Norred, 74,
electrical engineering, Dec. 2, 2014,
Mc Kinney, Texas
1964
1971
Ronald Winston “Ronnie” Brown,
66, marketing, Jan. 10, 2015,
Shreveport
Glenda Kay Gilstrap Hall, 66, office
administration, March 7, 2015, Little
Rock, Ark.
Cathye Clarice Watson Woodard,
67, interior design, April 12, 2015,
Farmerville
1972
John C. Abrusley Jr., 65, business
administration, March 17, 2015,
Fulshear, Texas
Willard Smith Mahfouz, 87, social
welfare, March 26, 2015, Lake Charles
Stephen Wayne “Steve” Adams, 73,
forestry, April 26, 2015, Coushatta
Claude L. McMichael Jr., 77,
petroleum engineering (master’s
petroleum engineering 1962), Dec.
16, 2014, Plano, Texas
John Aaron Austin Jr., 72,
mathematics, April 26, 2015, San
Antonio, Texas
Randall Scott “Randy” Hall, 65,
electrical engineering (master’s
business administration 1973), May 1,
2015, Little Rock, Ark.
1965
1973
John Carroll Elkins, 71, civil
engineering, Feb. 14, 2015, Dogue, Va.
Kenneth Hayes Connell, 64, finance,
March 8, 2015, Madisonville
Annette Berry Prud’homme, 77,
elementary education, March 1, 2015,
Bastrop
Louis Victor Gibson, 71, education,
Dec. 22, 2014, West Monroe
1960
Tommy Glen Harvey, 73, general
studies-psychology, Jan. 1, 2015,
Jonesboro
James Spencer “Jim” Goins Jr., 66,
business administration, Feb. 10,
2015, Shreveport
Thomas Eugene “Tom” Nix Sr., 78,
education, Dec. 19, 2014, Farmerville
William Nathan Cabaniss,
76, accounting, Dec. 25, 2014,
Georgetown, Texas
Larry Richard Edwards, 76,
accounting, Jan. 2, 2015, Fort Worth,
Texas
Billy Roy “Bill” Foster, 82, civil
engineering, Nov. 12, 2014, Slidell
Reba Elizabeth Wiley Grubbs, 76,
education, Jan. 19, 2015, Waxahachie,
Texas
Freddie Maxine Pipes Land, 91,
education, Dec. 15, 2014, Ruston
Jimmy Eloye “Jim” McClary, 76,
chemical engineering, Nov. 30, 2014,
Fairfield Bay, Ark.
Benny Don Milligan, 76, English
education, Feb. 16, 2015, Greenwell
Springs
1961
Thomas Roy “Tom” Harris Sr., 75,
forestry, April 30, 2015, Deridder
Bobby Brown Hinton, 76, industrial
engineering, Nov. 20, 2014, Palatka, Fla.
Robert A. “Bob” Hunter Jr., 80,
education, Dec. 31, 2014, Sulphur
1962
Vollie Curtis Fields Jr., 74, electrical
engineering (master’s electrical
engineering 1963), June 9, 2014,
Lynnfield, Mass.
38 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
William Lane “Bill” Hightower, 80,
master’s business administration, Jan.
31, 2015, Quitman
1966
Tommie Dean Davis Herren, 85,
elementary education (master’s
elementary education 1968, specialist
elementary education 1975), Jan. 30,
2015, Dubach
Fletcher Thomas Tompkins, 75,
business administration, Jan. 10,
2015, Ruston
1967
Ranelle Carnahan Block, speech
language hearing therapy (master’s
speech pathology 1969), March 23,
2015, Louisville, Ky.
Travis Lynn Taylor, 69, forestry, Dec.
27, 2014, Goldonna
1968
William Edwin “Bill” Baugh Jr., 69,
pre-law, Jan. 17, 2015, Savannah, Ga.
1970
Neal Owen Bates, 67, electrical
engineering, Jan. 13, 2015, Terry,
Miss.
Harry Quitman “Bud” Gahagan Jr.,
67, accounting (master’s accounting
1971), April 17, 2015, Shreveport
James Henry “Jim” Harris, 66,
forestry, Nov. 21, 2014, Deridder
1974
Amy Hodges Graham, 63,
elementary education (master’s
elementary education, 1978), March
19, 2015, Elm Grove
Thomas Glenn Grice, 66, mechanical
engineering, Sept. 14, 2014, Marrero
1975
Carrie Peggie O’Bier, 64, sociology
(master’s history 1997), April 13,
2015, Haughton
Malcolm Randolph “Randy” Rogers
Jr., 63, business administration, Dec.
14, 2014, Shreveport
1976
Mary F. Goebel Dosher, 83, nursing,
March 29, 2015, Ruston
Dorothy Kasten Jewell, 86, master’s
counseling, Feb. 21, 2015, Ruston
1977
Randy Eugene Grisham, 61, forestry,
April 18, 2015, Plain Dealing
Cathy Denise Law, 58, journalism
(master’s counseling 1988), Feb. 1,
2015, Minden
Printis Monroe McGee, 57, business
administration, April 19, 2015,
Dayton, Texas
Peggy Lee Pruett, 60, apparel and
textile merchandise, Feb. 3, 2015,
Shreveport
Stephen Jefferson Westbrook, 82,
master’s business administration,
March 6, 2015, Shreveport
1979
Gale Allen McFarland, 61, master’s
botany, Dec. 18, 2014, Camden, Ark.
Kenneth Terry “Ken” Serpas, 60,
animal science, March 10, 2015,
Ruston
Daniel Bates (8 years) Assistant Professor, Library
Fernard Broadnax (28 years) Custodian 1, Recreation
Jenna Carpenter (26 years) Professor & Associate Dean,
Mathematics & Statistics
Charles Cicciarella (18 years) Associate Professor, Kinesiology
Jimmy Cook (28 years) Electronic Technician, Mechanical
Engineering
James Courtney (7 years) Professor, School of Accountancy &
Information Systems
Marcia Culpepper (12 years) Instructor, English
1980
James Dickson (18 years) Professor, School of Forestry
William J. “Bill” Barnhouse, 77,
general studies-psychology, Dec. 20,
2014, Franklin, Texas
Ted Englebrecht (14 years) Professor & Smolinski Chair, School
of Acct & Info. Systems
Norma Jean Lewis Paris, 78,
specialist counseling, Jan. 26, 2015,
Bossier City
1981
Donald William “Don” English, 56,
electrical engineering technology,
Feb. 11, 2015, Longview, Texas
Gerald Harris Frost, 74, master’s
business administration, March 2,
2015, Bowling Green, Ky.
1982
Lestine Renee “Tina” Ross Johnson,
54, industrial engineering, Jan. 28,
2015, Frisco, Texas
Ronnie B. Suggs, 68, master’s
counseling, March 29, 2015, Bossier
City
1983
Ellen Ruth Collins Potts, 77, master’s
English education, March 20, 2015,
Ruston
1986
Dana Baker Othmer, 50, office
administration, Dec. 16, 2014,
Zachary
1988
Kevin Todd Auld, 51, marketing,
March 16, 2015, Minden
Burt Victor Lattimore, 50, general
studies, Nov. 12, 2014, Meraux
1978
1992
Thomasine Lynda “Tina” Borden,
62, apparel and textile merchandise,
Jan. 7, 2015, Shreveport
Ira Kay “Ikey” Long, 76, master’s
counseling, Dec. 19, 2014, Shreveport
Anita Cross Kelley, 60, elementary
education (master’s reading 1980),
Jan. 26, 2015, Bernice
2014-2015 Retirees
1993
Betty Mathews Barlow, 71, nursing,
May 2, 2015, Hazlehurst, Miss.
Ji Fang (22 years) Senior Research Engineer, Institute for
Manufacturing
Scott Forrest (10 years )Dir. of Tech Transfer Ctr. /Research
Assistant Professor, Shreveport Ctr.
Catherine Fraser (7 years) Director of Development, College or
Engineering & Science
Christy Gearhart (14 years) Lab School Teacher, A. E. Phillips
Lab School
Jill Goulart (30 years) Administrative Coordinator 3, Liberal
Arts
Linda Griffin (29 years) Dean of Student Development, Student
Affairs
Linda Leonard (25 years) Financial Aid Counselor, Student
Financial Aid
James Liberatos (26 years) Professor & Dean, Applied & Natural
Sciences
Raymond Ralph McKinney (11 years) Specialized Laboratory
Instructor, Mechanical Engineering
Gary Odom (12 years) Associate Professor & Head, Professional
Aviation
Shirley Payne (25 years) Associate Professor, Nursing
Paul Ramsey (39 years) Professor, Biological Sciences
John William Ray, Jr. (28 years) Associate Professor, Electrical
Engineering
Sandra Richardson (19 years) Information Technology Officer,
Innovation Enterprise
Kenneth Robbins (17 years) Professor, School of Performing
Arts
Deborah Sanders (3 years )Administrative Coordinator 3,
Health Informatics & Info. Mgmt.
Mary Shively (15 years) Library Specialist 3, Library
Gloria Skains (17 years) Administrative Coordinator 3, College
of Business
Charles R. Smith (32 years) Operating Engineer Co-Generation,
Physical Plant
Corre Stegall (25 years) Vice President, University
Advancement
Eric Guilbeau (14 years) Professor & Director, Biomedical
Engineering
John Dennis Tatum (24 years) Electronic Technician, Buildings
& Grounds
Judy Guilbeau (5 years )Professional in Residence, School of
Accountancy & Info. Systems
Pamela Todd (23 years) Instructor, Nursing
Katherine Vellard (26 years) Professor, School of Art
David Harrell, Sr. (20 years) Painter, Buildings & Grounds
James Young (12 years) Painter, Buildings & Grounds
Christopher Henderson (33 years) Director, Technical Services
Tony Young (24years) Associate Professor, Psychology &
Behavioral Sciences
James Philip Johnston (17 years) Systems Programmer,
Computing Center
Barbara Layfield (19 years) Administrative Assistant 2, Student
Health Center
IN MEMORIAM
1996
2002
Mary Louise Roque Balthazar, 67,
general studies, March 19, 2015,
Shreveport
Jonathan Turner Bufkin, 34, health
and physical education, Dec. 23, 2014,
Arlington, Texas
(FRIENDS OR RETIRED
FACULTY/STAFF)
2000
2003
Dorothy Lee Adams Aillet, 86, April
11, 2015, Shreveport
Erika Glenese Thomas Hyde, 34,
sociology, May 5, 2014, Shreveport
Dustin Richard Carter, 34, biology,
March 21, 2015, Farmerville
2001
2014
Richard Everette Salley, 64, master’s
industrial/organizational psychology,
Dec. 31, 2014, Benton
Jennifer Lynn Hale, 30, general
studies, Dec. 23, 2014, West Monroe
Theodosia “Theo” Greer Barr, 83,
Jan. 18, 2015, Ruston
Stan Beeson, 64, Dec. 24, 2014,
Calhoun
Charles Wates “Charlie” Bussey Jr.,
80, April 2, 2015, Clemson, S.C.
John M. Heard, 84, April 22, 2015,
Ruston
Donald L. Kennedy, 92, April 20,
2015, Shreveport
Mabel Ruth Moore, 91, March 26,
2015, El Dorado, Ark.
Laura Opal Wilkins Rhodes, 103,
Jan. 1, 2015, Houston, Texas
Jerry West Watkins, 83, Feb. 3, 2015,
El Dorado, Ark.
LATECH.EDU | 39
TECHIPEDIA
the free encyclopedia about
LOUISIANA TECH
Louisiana Tech University, or Tech or LA Tech, is
the flagship university of north Louisiana.
ESTABLISHED: 1894
COLORS: Tech Blue, Tech Red
MISSION: As a selective admissions,
comprehensive public university, Louisiana
Tech is committed to quality in teaching,
research, creative activity, public service
and economic development. Louisiana
Tech maintains as its highest priority the
education and development of its students
in a challenging, yet safe and supportive,
community of learners. Louisiana Tech provides
a technology-rich, interdisciplinary teaching,
learning and research environment to ensure
student and faculty success.
ENROLLMENT: 11,271
LIVING ALUMNI: 77,841
HOW TO ENROLL:
} Apply online; complete information at LaTech.
edu/Admissions
} Apply on campus at Hale Hall
} Call (318) 257-3036 or (800) 528-3241
} Needed: $20 for application fee, ACT/SAT
scores, high school transcripts
Team Tech reaches to Nepal
BUILDING TRADITION |
Each issue, we look back at Louisiana Tech’s history
through its buildings and their namesakes.
Louisiana Tech students, staff, faculty and friends took part in a candlelight vigil
one spring evening to commemorate the lives lost in Nepal immediately after the
massive April earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people, injured more than
19,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. A number of Tech students from
Nepal – approximately 110 are enrolled – lost their homes.
Entire villages were damaged beyond recognition. Many of the country’s most
historic buildings and sites were lost.
The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mt. Everest that killed 19 people;
another earthquake in early May resulted in more destruction and loss of life.
More than 400 people attended the vigil. More than $4,500 was collected at that
time to help those living without food, water or electricity in Nepal. The money was
given to the American Red Cross for Nepal Earthquake Relief.
In an online letter addressed to the “Louisiana Tech Family,” Ashmit Pyakurel,
a senior biomedical engineering major and member of both the Namaste Nepal
Association and Tech’s Biomedical Engineering Society, wrote this after the vigil:
“Thank you for being there for us by donating for the restoration of Nepal…We
are touched by the response we received today … We are truly blessed to be living in
such a wonderful community. Please let others know about the earthquake and our
attempts at collecting funds for relief and rescue of people from rural Nepal. We will
be in and around different parts of Ruston for the whole week collecting funds and
donations…”
More money was raised in the following weeks through donation booths and
other fundraising events. The Muslim Student Association headed a boxed lunch
fundraiser that, with the help of other organizations, resulted in raising another
$1,000 that was sent to the Islamic Relief Organization working on the ground in
Nepal.
Relief work is ongoing. For
more information, visit Red
Cross America or OxFam
America. Get involved with
Team Tech (left).
} Out-of-state fee waived for legacies
TEAM TECH: For its leadership among
institutions of higher education in supporting
volunteerism, service-learning and community
involvement, Tech is the only public university
in North Louisiana and the only institution in
the University of Louisiana System named to
the President’s Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll every year since 2008.
Faculty, staff and students provide the
community and surrounding areas with interns,
employees, committee members, customers
and volunteer workers, adding a significant
value to the quality of life and economic
strength of our region.
The Master Plan
– 80 years ago
One of our University’s history books that charts the school
from 1895 to 1945 speaks of “an extensive building program”
which began in 1938 and involved the spending of $2,058,261.
During the next four years, for that cost, Bogard Hall, Howard
Auditorium, Aswell Hall, Robinson Hall, a new power and light
plant, and a dining hall were built. For another $100,000, repairs
– some general and some extensive – were made to several other
campus buildings.
Two long-gone buildings were erected for temporary use in
1931, then removed to make room for that 1938 expansion.
The Log Cabin (inset), operated by the Y.M.C.A., was a student
store; students today can buy general-needs items in either Tolliver
or in Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Louisiana Tech.
The Wigwam (top) was built for a temporary auditorium after
the old administration building was destroyed by fire in January
of 1936. It was cheap lumber and a tarred paper roof, a sawdust
floor and pine benches. But it had a stage, electrically controlled
ventilation, and in it all student meetings, public programs and
graduation exercises were held. It proved to be a good pinch-hitter
until Howard Auditorium was complete.
Fast forward 80-ish years. Tech has now put itself in position to
strategically grow, with purpose, during the next 80. The nation’s
top planning/research firm, Sasaki Associates, worked with the
University for more than a year to develop an ongoing master plan,
a living document that will evolve as the University continues to
plan and address space and programming needs. The most recent
plan is viewable online at LaTech.edu/MasterPlan.
Tech fans, friends, alumni and supporters will find the site
interesting to explore. Key outcomes of the analysis and the
resulting master plan strategies are listed. We’ll discuss those a bit
in the next edition. In the meantime, study the site. Imagine the
campus 10 years from now. Or another 80 years from now.
Special thanks to Archives and Special Collections, Prescott Memorial Library, to Sam Wallace, and to Joshua Williams and Thomas Soto,
authors, “Louisiana Tech University Building History.”
40 | LOUISIANA TECH MAGAZINE
Louisiana Tech Alumni Association
900 Tech Drive
P.O. Box 3183
Ruston, LA 71272-0001
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MARIETTA, GA
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Don’t miss
out on these
great events!
The Happening XXXIV, Monroe Civic Center
Alumni Tailgate at Argent Pavilion
First Year Experience Freshman Convocation
Alumni Tailgate at Argent Pavilion
Alumni Tailgate at Argent Pavilion
Alumni Tailgate in San Antonio, TX
Alumni Tailgate in Starkville, MS
Alumni Tailgate at Argent Pavilion
Alumni Tailgate in Houston, TX
Alumni Awards Luncheon (Homecoming)
50 year reunion (Homecoming)
Breakfast with Champ (Homecoming)
Alumni Tailgate at Argent Pavilion (Homecoming)
Alumni Tailgate at Argent Pavilion
More details about all of these events
will be posted at LaTechAlumni.org
as plans are finalized.*
For additional information, contact
the Marbury Alumni Center at
(318) 255-7950 or (800) 738-7950.
*Dates are subject to change.