informer - Lamar State College

INFORMER
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
News for the Students and Employees of Lamar State College-Orange
V O L U M E
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WELCOME BACK!
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In This Issue:
Welcome Back…… 1
What You May Have
Missed…………… 1
Done With Ike………2
You’re Invited………..3
Warrior Princess..…...3
Get Involved…………4
Calendar of Events…..4
hough the weather outside
may still be sizzling, it’s
official: summer is over.
Classes have been in full swing
for more than two weeks now
and it’s evident by the lack of
parking, the Green Avenue traffic and the sighs from students
that LSC-O’s fall semester is
well underway. With an almost
16 percent (almost 400 students) increase in enrollment
this fall, our beautiful little campus downtown is, clearly, the
place to be this year.
If you weren’t on campus
during the summer sessions,
you may be wondering what all
you missed. For starters, we had
record numbers for our summer
enrollment, as well, and on August 13, LSC-O said “farewell”
and “good luck” to more than
100 graduates. Back in June
work began on a major campus
makeover, and though it’s not
completed just yet, the new
trees and landscaping around
campus are promising signs that
we will be back in business
shortly.
Several exciting events are
scheduled throughout the semester, many of which you can
find information on within the
pages of this newsletter. Come
out and be a part of everything
that you can this semester, for
with everything that is going on
around you, it’s
sure to be the
best yet. On
behalf of all of
the employees
and administration at LSC-O,
we wish students, faculty
and staff a
most memorable semester.
What You May Have Missed This Summer:
LSC-O was the first school
in the state of Texas to receive a “H.O.T.
Unit” (Hands-on training)
for the process technology
department in June. The
purchase was made through
a $150,000 “Jobs and Education for Texans” grant.
and popcorn was donated
by EducationFirst Federal
Credit Union. Thanks to all
who came and participated!
100 + LSC-O students finally earned their degrees
at summer commencement
on August 13 at the Lutcher
Theater. 120 degrees were
conferred to these students.
Brown Claybar, mayor of
the City of Orange, was the
keynote speaker. Congratulations to all of our summer
grads!
LSC-O hosted a community-wide “Movie Night on
the Lawn” on August 20 as
part of the Orange SMASH
weekend. More than 100
people came out to watch
Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland on the 48-footwide inflatable screen.
Pizza was donated by Sabine Federal Credit Union
The Informer ~ Page 1 ~
September 2010
LSC-O’s Continuing
Education department
is offering all kinds of
new classes for the fall
semester, including
“Zumba” and
“Creative Holiday
Card Making” classes.
For more information
visit LSC-O’s website.
LSC-O is officially on
Facebook and Twitter!
Find us, friend us, follow us, and even stalk
us for dynamic and upto-date info on what’s
happening around
campus.
: LamarOrange
: Lamar_Orange
LSC-O: Finally Done With Ike!
lmost two years have passed since the residents of Orange, TX and students of Lamar State College-Orange
watched as Hurricane Ike put their homes and campus underwater. The damage was so significant that most people, including those at LSC-O, have spent the last two years renovating and cleaning up the mess that was left behind. But almost two
years to the day later, LSC-O is finally in the last stages of completing the campus renovations that were necessary after Ike.
While the indoor renovations have been done for months, the storm damaged many of the oak trees on campus, as
well as hundreds of other trees and shrubs. Much of the campus landscaping suffered significant damage due to salt water
infiltration from the flooding and trees suffered root damage from being blown over by Ike’s winds.
According to Dr. Michael Shahan, LSC-O president, the chance to redo the landscaping on campus has allowed
them to address the damage and to also make modifications that will improve the long-term appearance of the campus.
The decision to begin the makeover was made after settlement of the insurance for the damages. LSC-O has
worked with the firm, Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects and Site Planners from Alexandria, La., to develop a campus
landscape master plan. This plan coordinates the LSC-O campus landscaping with the landscape master plans for the City of
Orange and the Stark Foundation. These three entities are the primary stakeholders in “downtown” Orange and Shahan says
the properties are contiguous and complement one another.
Dana Rogers, Vice-President for Finance and Operations at LSC-O, said that through these efforts, when complete,
the projects should produce a civic and education complex in downtown Orange that will be both functional and ascetically
appealing. The campus used a competitive bid process and selected a vendor, Landscape Art, Inc., to do the landscaping
renovation.
“Our landscaping opportunity dovetailed with the desire of the city and the foundation to create a downtown master plan,” said Shahan. “We opted to use the same architect as they had (Jeffrey Carbo) in an effort to coordinate our campus landscaping with improvements being made by our downtown neighbors.”
Rogers says that the development of the campus master plan was completed and accepted by LSC-O in March and
that funding for the project has been done primarily through insurance proceeds and some supplemental grant funding.
Work began on June 28 and is expected to be completed by early September. The extensive project includes planting more
than 200 trees of various sizes and species and more than 2,300 shrubs. Initial landscaping for the campus was installed in
June 2001 and the last landscaping makeover was just after Hurricane Rita in 2006 when several new trees were planted.
“Jeffrey Carbo was interested in promoting the use of native tree plantings on campus that would better tolerate
inclement weather patterns experienced (in the Orange area) in recent years,” said Rogers. “Included in the master plan is
the addition of autumn fern to be planted around three older live oaks located on the northeast corner of campus. The plantings will discourage any intense activities within the root zone, decreasing the compaction of the soils around the roots, thus
increasing the longevity of the oaks.”
In addition, she says the plants will encourage the accumulation of natural leaf litter from the trees, creating a natural mulch layer within the root zone that will provide nutrients and prevent water evaporation and weed growth. Furthermore, there will be plantings of daylilies, Louisiana irises and decorative grasses on campus.
Though the summer is not generally the best time to achieve success with landscaping, administration proceeded in
the hope of completing most of the work prior to the fall semester beginning. Their consultants indicated that the LSC-O
sprinkler system would compensate for the summer heat and allow them to proceed with the makeover. They also agreed to
replace any of the plants that failed because of the extreme heat and weather.
“Hurricane Ike took a significant toll on campus landscaping,” said Shahan. “Although we are not finished, I am
very pleased by the way things look at this point.”
The Informer
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September 2010
“Tuohy: Warrior Princess”
Dubbed a “warrior princess” by
author Michael Lewis in his best-selling
book The Blind Side, Tuohy is the inspirational matriarch of the Tuohy family. A
Memphis, TN, native, Tuohy attended
Briarcrest Christian School and went on
to graduate from the University of Mississippi, with a bachelor’s of science degree in interior design. There Tuohy met
Sean Tuohy, her husband of 27 years.
Both were active and ambitious college
students: Tuohy was a cheerleader, campus favorite, homecoming maid and active member of her sorority; Sean became
a record-breaking SEC basketball champion and still holds several SEC assist
records. They are the proud parents of
daughter Collins, 23, and sons Michael
Oher, 23, and Sean, Jr., 16.
Tuohy owns “Flair I,” an interior
design firm with her mother and partner,
Virginia Roberts. Her work has been featured on HGTV, in numerous publications, and she has designed for such clients as Peyton Manning, Scottie Pippin,
Isaac Bruce and OJ Mayo. After recently
appearing in the season finale of ABC’s
Emmy-Award winning series Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition, Tuohy will be
joining the design team for season eight
in the 2010-2011 season.
The Tuohy family is actively involved in many civic and faith-based
organizations, including Grace Evangelical Church, of which they are founding
members. The Tuohy family’s life, as
chronicled in Lewis’ New York Times
number one best-seller, The Blind Side,
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went on to become a record-breaking
Hollywood blockbuster.
Almost two years after The Blind
Side burst onto the scene, Tuohy continues to make an impact. In July 2010, the
Tuohys released their book, In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving, and established their charity, Making
It Happen. Through both projects, Tuohy
continues her mission to inspire hope,
ignite generosity, and make it happen for
the deserving, but underserved youth.
At the podium, she shares her personal Blind Side observations, from seeing Michael Oher for the first time to
how the experience changed her as a person– and the Tuohys as a family. “He had
a much greater impact on our lives that
we did on his life,” she says.
September 2010
Get Involved!
The regional championship LSC-O Quiz Bowl team is actively seeking players for the new 2010-2011 season. All four members of last season’s groundbreaking team have moved on to greener pastures and we need
new people! Practices will be held on Mondays and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m., in AC 124. Practice sessions are
open to all.
What is Quiz Bowl? Quiz Bowl is a game in which two teams compete head-to-head to answer questions
from all areas of knowledge including history, literature, science, fine arts, current events, sports and popular
culture.
If you would like further information about Quiz Bowl, please contact Eric Owens, Elias Jureidini, or Dr.
Gwen Whitehead; or stop by a practice and pick up a buzzer!
The LSC-O Student Government Association is thrilled to see so many students enrolled this semester and
wishes all students, faculty and staff a wonderful Fall semester. Don’t forget to vote September 8th and 9th in
the Student Center for your Student Government Senators. These Senators are elected by you, for you!
The SGA welcomes everyone to join their meetings and participate in their events on campus this semester
and every semester. Meeting are held every Thursday in the Student Center at 4:00 p.m., in Room 202. If you
have any questions or comments, you can find the SGA in Room 106 of the Student Center. We look forward
to seeing you!
The Student Government
Association has gained three
new officers for the 20102011 school year:
President:: Jasmine Payne
Vice-President:: Robyn
Boudreaux
Secretary: Lisa Bertrand
Congrats, ladies!
S.G.A.
The Informer
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September 2010