hurdling adversity - Louisiana Tech Alumni

Transcription

N o. 2 4
|
summer 2010
HURDLING
ADVERSITY
2010 Honda Inspiration Award
Winner Antoinette Cobb
HOMECOMING ’10
Football. Food. Friends. Fun!
QUEST FOR EXCELLENCE
It’s a new ballgame
TECH’S SEAL OF APPROVAL
‘Good Housekeeping’ chief Rosemary Ellis
Louisiana Tech University
www.latech.edu
contents
Alumni Association
Officers
Marsha Theis Jabour
– President
Ricky Stubbs
– Vice President
Jeff Parker
– Treasurer
Lomax Napper
– Past President
Jason Bullock
– Member-at-Large
Daniel D. Reneau
– Ex-Officio
2 From the 16th Floor
Boldly Forward
Alumni association staff
Corre Stegall
– Vice President for University Advancement
Ryan Richard
– Director of Alumni Relations
Jackie Kitchingham
– Coordinator of Advancement Programs
Barbara Swart
– Administrative Coordinator
marketing and
public relations
Dave Guerin
– Director
Teddy Allen
– Writer/Editor
Mark Coleman
– Designer
Donny Crowe
– Photographer
Louisiana Tech Magazine is published
semiannually by the Louisiana Tech Alumni
Association.
We welcome your letters:
Louisiana Tech Magazine
P.O. Box 3183 | Ruston LA 71272
www.latechalumni.org
After cancer surgery, honor graduate
and track star Antoinette Cobb
continues to run with purpose
3Marbury Alumni Association
Scholarships
You might have already made a down payment
on your child’s education
Board of directors
Doyle Adams, Tim Brandon, Joe Brown,
Sean Cangelosi, Lisa Porter Clark,
Leigh Laird Cordill, Nathan Darby,
Wendell Delaney, Gil Dowies,
James Ginn, Ben Haley, Andrew Hicks,
Larry Jackson, Bobby Jefcoat,
Rex Jones, Rusty Mabry,
Dave Matthiesen, Philip McCrary,
Dawn Young McDaniel, Fred McGaha,
Stacee Miller Priddy,
Caroline Wilkerson Reaves, David Rentrop,
Michele Stewart Robinson, Terry Snook,
Michael Stephens, Julie Strong Talbot,
Brandon Walpole
‘Maybe This Can
Help Somebody’
A Word from the
Alumni Director
Summer is almost over, and soon the campus will be busy with the arrival of this
year’s freshman class and the return of the current student body, all eagerly awaiting the
opportunity to cheer on their Bulldogs at the first home game of the season against Navy
on September 18. I hope you will make plans to be there too, and that before you enter the
stadium, you’ll join the Alumni Association at the Argent Pavilion Tailgate Party; again this
year, the tailgate food is free, thanks to our great sponsors. If you are unable to make it back
to watch your Bulldogs in action, you can read the latest news about the team online at
www.latechalumni.org or www.latechsports.com. During the season, you will have the
opportunity to watch the Bulldogs play on ESPN2 on Tuesday, October 26, as they take on
Boise State; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CST.
Football will surely be a highlight of the fall, but also exciting are the numerous
construction projects on campus that are being completed and new projects that will just
be getting started. If you drive through the campus today, you’ll see construction of the
Enterprise Campus underway, the final touches being put on the renovated Visual Arts
building that will house the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology
(CEnIT), land being cleared for the new College of Business building, and an aggressive crew
of builders working on the addition to the Lambright Intramural Center which includes
new swimming pools and a state-of-the-art wellness center. Louisiana Tech continues to
move forward, providing students with the facilities they need to succeed in all areas of their
university experience.
Much of Tech’s success can be attributed to faithful supporters like you and an
administration that is dedicated to moving the University forward, regardless of the
circumstances. Over the past year, Tech has faced some major hurdles, but alumni, friends,
fans and parents have shown their commitment to the University and the administration by
making gifts to the Foundation, being members of the Alumni Association, buying season
tickets to their favorite sporting events and helping to recruit the best and brightest students.
Thank you for your part in perpetuating the Tech Tradition of excellence!
I hope that you enjoy the interesting stories in this edition of the magazine and that they
make you proud to be associated with Louisiana Tech. Make sure to take note of the tailgate
parties that the Alumni Association will host this fall (see a list on the back cover) and the
numerous activities that will surround Homecoming ’10 weekend (see page 17 ) October 15 - 16.
Thanks again for your support and loyalty!
8 Hall of Distinguished Alumni
Rosemary Ellis
10 Connect To Tech
Visit campus and your friends, anyplace, any
time
14Athletics
» Achievements and awards
» Net gains
» A plateful of awards for T-Spoon
» E-Rupp-Tion
» An offensive baseball season
» Waits leaves a record wake
16 Hitting A High Note
U.S. Navy Band drum major Joe
Brown found his rhythm at Tech
17 Homecoming 2010
October 15-16: The most
anticipated weekend of the year
18 They’re Chirping Our Song
Armstrong Cricket Farms Engineers A Winner
19
4
Still Giving Us Some Kix
Kix Brooks sings Tech’s praises
20 Tech’s Other ‘Spread Offense’
Young Alums share their talents and Tech’s
reputation
22 News Around Campus
26 Foundation Spotlight
28 News About You
Ryan W. Richard
Marriages, Births and Deaths,
formerly an insert, is now a part of
the News About You section.
Quest for Excellence
12
Student-athletes, fans have a new front door
Anna
Lamkin
Kendall
Guillot
The Marbury
Alumni
Association
Scholarships
Don’t forget: You just might
have helped pay for your child’s
education – 25 years ago.
Daniel
Dupuy
from the 16th floor
Boldly Forward
During the past 18 months, Louisiana Tech University has once
again proven that a great university is the product of great people.
Using the power of shared vision, dedication, forethought and
study, we’ve achieved more as a team than would ever have been
possible as individuals.
Withstanding a series of multi-million dollar budget cuts, we
have not only survived because of this Tech Spirit of caring and
devotion, but we have also renewed our commitment to our TECH
2020 mission and vision. We must captain our own ship.
With that attitude, and with the clear and unwavering core
mission and obligation of meeting the needs and expectations of
the student body, the Tech family and campus community can
overcome just about anything in the pursuit of our mission.
Despite a dire budget situation that has caused and will continue
to cause hard decisions to be made, never have I been more proud
to be a part of Louisiana Tech.
While I can’t predict the future, I can certainly sense morale,
and it’s never been higher. Hard times have only cemented our
resolve and demonstrated again that Tech’s culture of caring, of
valuing our greatest asset – our people – will make the lining in
any cloud a shining silver.
With the success of both our students and our University in our
hands, we move forward aggressively.
We move forward with a freshman class ACT average score of
23.5, up a full point from five years ago. That’s huge.
We move forward with the highest overall graduation rate and
highest student-athlete four-year graduation rate of all public
universities in the state that play football.
We move forward with more than 80 percent of our first-time
full-time freshmen receiving TOPS.
We move forward with the state’s best average in the time it
takes to get a degree.
We move forward having proven our No. 1 ranking should
performance-based funding be implemented, and having proven
that for every dollar the state spends on Louisiana Tech, it gets
seven back.
This issue of Tech Magazine illustrates other successes,
including the privately funded Quest for Excellence and a new
centerpiece for the College of Business. You’ll note in these pages
the strides made by current students and alumni, young and old,
who continue to carry the Tech banner with purpose and pride.
It’s doubtful that there has ever been a more pivotal time in the
history of the University. But equally true, there has never been a
time when the culture of caring has been more evident.
Tech doesn’t have to prove itself; Tech HAS proven itself.
We’ll survive and prosper because of the Spirit of Tech, a spirit
that makes itself evident in our care for one another and for this
campus community.
We will protect our people and prepare our students. We have a
long track record as a foundation. Now we continue the mission. I
join with Linda in telling you it has never been a bigger honor than
it is now to serve alongside you.
Marbury Alumni Association
Scholarships
Beverly
Napper
Daniel D. Reneau
ALL IN THE FAMILY: These are four of the 15 Louisiana Tech students who
received the Marbury Alumni Association Scholarship this year: Clockwise from top
left, Anna Lamkin, Interior Design, Ruston (parents Harrel,’80, and Janie, ‘83); Kendall
Guillot, Nursing, West Monroe (parents Kenny, ‘88, and Michelle); Beverly Napper,
Business, Ruston (parents Stan, ‘80, and Vicki); Daniel Dupuy, Management and
Entrepreneurship, West Monroe (parents Stanley, ‘86, and Susan, ‘87).
2 | Louisiana Tech Magazine
Ever since he was carried as a kid to Louisiana
Tech ballgames with his parents from his
hometown of West Monroe, Kendall Guillot knew
he’d be a Bulldog.
“My dad’s been really active in the alumni
association, and my mom, even though she didn’t
go to school here, told me she’d rather I go here,”
Guillot said. “I love it. They make you feel like
you’re a part of something here. I’ve never felt like I
was lost in a big group.”
What made his freshman year even better was
the financial help he received from the Alumni
Association, which provides 15 scholarships
annually for children of alumni.
The Association had given these scholarships
as a way of honoring the legacies of Tech alumni
and of encouraging them to send their children to
Tech. The scholarships are named for the family
of William and Virginia Marbury because of their
intense dedication to Tech over a long period of
time. Their generous gift made the addition to
the Marbury Alumni Center possible, and the
scholarships are a particularly appropriate way
to continue both the Marburys’ legacy and the
legacies of other Tech graduates.
• A $1,000 one-time scholarship given annually
to 15 freshmen of Tech alumni.
• Awarded through the Office of Admissions.
• Any student who completes an application for
admission and lists their parent(s) as being a
graduate qualifies for consideration.
• Usually given to incoming freshmen who
haven’t received other scholarships.
• Given to both in-state and out-of-state
qualifiers.
• For more information contact Ryan Richard,
Director of Alumni Relations, at 318-255-7950.
www.latech.edu | 3
‘Maybe this
can help
somebody’
Determined and grateful after recovering
from colon cancer, Louisiana Tech track
champion and honor graduate Antoinette
Cobb continues to run with purpose
When the doctor told her she had colon
cancer, the teenaged girl from smalltown South Louisiana didn’t think
about being anyone’s inspiration.
She just wanted to know exactly what she had, what her chances were, and what she could do
to make it back for her sophomore year on Louisiana Tech’s women’s track and field team.
“All I wanted,” said Antoinette Cobb, “was to run fast again, and jump hurdles.”
It’s a scary story, the journey of Cobb from college freshman athlete to stay-at-home
sophomore. Chemo treatments. A deadly disease. Surgery. A loss of 35 pounds.
But what she didn’t lose was her confidence, her faith, or her will and desire. To get better. To
run again.
“After the initial shock, taking stock of everything and dealing with being sick, I just prayed
about it,” she said. “Then it was just getting through the treatments. The surgeon said it would
be OK for me to run again. The oncologist said my energy might never be the same. But really, I
never asked them about it.
“Not going back,” she said, “was never an option.”
From tiny Weyanoke near Zachary, Cobb tried out for the junior high basketball team. She
didn’t make it. Some of her friends wandered over to the track. So did she. Whether she was fast
or not, she had no idea.
“I guess we can thank the middle school basketball coach for pushing me into track,” she said.
“Really, the track coach didn’t think I was very fast either. A couple of years later, the high school
coach had me go over the hurdles one day…”
She’s done a lot of that since. She finished her Tech career in May as one of the most
accomplished athletes in the school’s history.
• This spring she ran the fastest 100 meter hurdles of any Western Athletic Conference female
athlete since 1999.
• She broke the school record twice and ran nine of the 10 fastest times on the team in the
100m hurdles.
(continued)
“I didn’t think about coming back to be successful academically and
athletically to inspire anyone. But now, I’m happy and honored that I can
share my story, even though it’s a bad experience. Hopefully, if someone’s
going through a hard time, maybe this can help somebody.”- Antoinette Cobb
www.latech.edu | 5
Malcolm Butler, Associate
Athletics Director, Media Relations
“Antoinette not only epitomizes
what a student-athlete should
be, but she embodies what we
as individuals should strive to
be. What an incredible story hers
is… a story filled with joy and
pain and so many emotions that
only she truly knows what she
has experienced and overcome.
And what makes her even
more amazing is the fact she
truly believes that she hasn’t
accomplished anything out of the
ordinary. Antoinette is a young
lady who has beaten cancer,
developed a reputation as one
of the top sprinters in the nation
and still found the strength,
energy and time to be one of the
University’s top students. I’d say
that’s extraordinary in my book.”
Gary Stanley, Head Coach
“We thought she’d be a good
runner, but we didn’t know
she’d be this good. Of course,
her battling the illness was just
unbelievable. She’s just a class
act, which anyone who meets her
figures out pretty fast. She’s the
best example of a model studentathlete that I’ve had in my 28
years at Louisiana Tech. Just a
phenomenal person. Somebody
you just want to be around. She’s
really the epitome of what we’d
want our program to resemble.”
Charles Ryan, Assistant
Coach
“She never backed down
from a challenge – practice,
meets, alternative events.
She’s a talented young woman
athletically, but her mental
toughness and work ethic far
outdistance her talent.”
DOCTOR OF HURDLEOLOGY?: An honor graduate, Cobb might try running professionally before
attending med school.
• She’s a five-time WAC champion and a leader on Tech teams that have dominated conference
competition during her career.
But those numbers didn’t seem possible the summer after Cobb’s freshman season. What she
thought was food poisoning was a diagnosis of colon cancer. Ninety percent of such cases affect
people more than 50 years old.
Cobb was 19.
“Never,” said head coach Gary Stanley, “had anything like that happened to me as a coach
before. I was stunned.”
When she phoned assistant coach Shawn Jackson to say she wasn’t coming back to school
for her sophomore year, he thought it was “like one of those conversations we had when I was
recruiting her; I thought she just wanted to concentrate on academics. Then she told me it was
cancer.
“I was trying to think of something to say, to think of anything to say, anything that might
encourage her,” Jackson said. “But if you know her, it won’t surprise you that she was the one who
basically started encouraging me. ‘It’s going to be OK,’ she said.”
She came back to school in the spring, ran a little, began practicing fearlessly in the fall.
“We were shocked when we learned she was sick,” Stanley said, “and we couldn’t believe it
when she came back.”
This spring, Cobb was ranked seventh in the nation and as high as 16th in the world in the
100 meter hurdles. She’d also overcome the third-deadliest form of cancer.
Serious hurdles.
In June in Los Angeles, she was honored by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards and the
American Honda Corporation with the 22nd Annual Honda Inspiration Award in a ceremony on
the UCLA campus.
“I didn’t think about anything like this happening when I was going through being sick,”
Cobb said. “I didn’t think about coming back to be successful academically and athletically to
inspire anyone. But now, I’m happy and honored that I can share my story, even though it’s a bad
experience. Hopefully, if someone’s going through a hard time, maybe this can help somebody.”
A new assistant coach showed up shortly after Cobb returned for her redshirt sophomore year:
Charles Ryan. He’d work with the hurdlers.
He knew about her sickness. He knew she was majoring in biology, an honor student who
wished to become a doctor. Jackson, his fellow assistant, recalls that first practice back between
the two. Jackson was interested in checking on Cobb, just to see if she could survive.
“Coach Ryan was putting her through some drills and he stopped and said to her, ‘You know,
they tell me you’re smart, but the way you’re doing what I’m trying to get you to do here, you
don’t seem that smart to me at all.’”
Cobb stopped, walked over to Jackson and told him he could
leave, that she’d be fine.
“She knew then,” Jackson said, “that she had a coach who
wouldn’t show favoritism or be oversensitive because she’d been
sick. She knew she had someone who’d push her.”
And Ryan did. He knew immediately that she took track more
seriously than most other athletes. And after seeing her in some
rhythm segments between hurdles, he knew she had the ability to
be special, to do some things most athletes couldn’t do. That was
during their first year together.
“As a junior, she got hold of it,” Ryan said. “Halfway through her
junior indoor season, she was beating people everyone else knew by
name. That’s when her mentality changed. She got more aggressive.
She never stopped at the wall; she pushed through the wall. And
she allowed me to push her to the limit.”
Her final WAC meet, the tournament championships at the Jim
Mize Complex in Ruston, was stellar. But at the NCAA prelims in
late May in North Carolina, she crashed a hurdle. Both hurdler and
coach cried in the parking lot.
“I told her,” Ryan said, “‘This cannot be your last race. If you can
find it in you, you deserve to run at USA,’” – the U.S. Track and
Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa in June.
“I was ready to walk away,” Cobb said, “That last race was almost
too much.”
But as she’d done before, Cobb regrouped. She ran. And
against pros, she finished 12th and barely missed advancing to the
semifinals.
“A lot of people couldn’t have done that,” Ryan said. “I’m glad she
did. It ended the way it should have, with her on her feet.”
“I’m hardly ever happy with any of my races,” Cobb said, “but
that one, I was excited. A low, and then a high.”
She’s in graduate school now, deciding whether or not to take a
try at running professionally or continue in school without a break.
By fall, she’ll have decided.
“A few weeks ago, I had things planned out,” she said. “But I
don’t know. This is the most uncertain I’ve been in a while.”
She’s run this race of uncertainty before. A friend and coach
who’s watched her overcome every hurdle in the past three years
has an idea of how this one will turn out.
“The best thing about her situation is that she doesn’t have to
turn pro; she has the option,” Ryan said. “Most people don’t. But
she’s a phenomenal person. She’s the most determined person I’ve
ever dealt with.
“At the U.S. Championships, the 11 runners who beat her are
supremely more talented than her, yet she was right there,” Ryan
said. “She’s a product of her hard work and the fact that she’s the
most mentally tough person I’ve ever met in my life. She won’t
understand this fully, because we’ve had our athlete-coach battles,
but she’s the easiest person I’ve ever had to coach. Every day is a joy
to work with her. I love that girl to death.”
Louisiana Tech Track and Field 2009-2010 Highlights
Track - Indoor:
• Indoor women’s team captured the 2010 WAC title, fifth in last six years.
• Set team record with 175 points at the WAC championship meet (fifth most in WAC
history).
• Men’s and women’s team combined for 56 all-conference performers at Indoor
Championships.
• Men’s and women’s teams combined for 17 WAC champions.
• Quanisha Sales was named the WAC Indoor Freshman of the Year.
• Albert Fullwood was named the WAC Male Performer of the Year.
• Men’s distance medley team set a new school record.
Track and Field – Outdoor:
• Antoinette Cobb set a new school record in the 60m hurdles and recorded the
seventh-fastest 60m hurdles time in the WAC this season.
• Cobb ran the state’s fastest time in the 100m hurdles with a school record mark
of 13.07 set at the WAC Outdoor Championships in Ruston as she won her fifth
conference title of her career. Cobb’s WAC title in the 100m hurdles, as well as her
top three finishes in the 100m and 200m dashes, helped propel the Lady Techsters
to their sixth consecutive WAC outdoor title.
• Women’s team won the WAC with a program-record 194 points. The Lady Techsters dominated in
the sprints and relays to continue one of the most dominant streaks in the history of the Western Athletic Conference.
• Fullwood, a senior, named the WAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning all four races he competed in: the 200m and
400m dashes along with the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Fullwood’s title in the 400m dash is his fourth in as many years - a race he
has never lost at the conference championships.
• Bulldogs finished third in the WAC with 118 points, the fourth consecutive year the Tech men have finished third.
• Cobb named the WAC Track Athlete of the Week on five separate occasions and won the award three weeks in a row. She is the first
WAC student-athlete to receive the accolade three weeks in a row since the WAC began keeping record of the award winners in 2000.
• The outdoor men’s sprint medley relay team set a new school record of 3:20.85 (Fullwood, Mike Coleman, Demonte Willis, Alwayne
Green)
• Posted 26 athletes on the all-Louisiana track and field teams.
• Gary Stanley earned his 20th Coach of the Year title; named women’s WAC coach of the year during both the indoor and outdoor
seasons.
albert
fullwood
www.latech.edu | 7
Tell us about your visit “back home” to Ruston.
My visit was great—it was wonderful to connect with some old
friends, see some former professors and be back in Ruston. I had
not been on campus in a few years, and there were several changes:
The rebuilding of Hale Hall, for instance. When it was in its
condemned state, I had an art studio there as a junior and senior
graphic design major!
Degrees:
Journalism and graphic design ’83
Current Position:
Editor-In-Chief, Good Housekeeping
magazine since 2006; oversees content
of the 25 million-circulation magazine,
its highly-trafficked Web site, and the
Good Housekeeping Research Institute,
responsible for the Good Housekeeping
Seal.
Were you nervous at all on The Big Day?
I was excited and honored to be a part of commencement. But
nervous? No. I do a fair amount of public speaking these days, so
butterflies-in-the-stomach are generally a thing of the past for me.
Did you see yourself, in 1983, as a future Tower
Medallion honoree? How does this honor make you
feel?
I had no expectation that I would ever receive an award such as
this. I’m very honored, a little surprised and extremely humbled.
Family:
James G. “Jim” Anderson, photography
’82; Lucy (6)
Resides:
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Talk a little about your home and high school and your
interests then, hobby-wise and academically.
Journalism was always a big part of my life, growing up in Fordyce,
Arkansas. I started a “newspaper” in fifth grade that I sweet-talked
the principal’s secretary into mimeographing for me. I was on both
my high school yearbook and newspaper staffs, and I always loved
English classes. And most of all, I always loved magazines—I was
making clip files before I could read, pulling pages that I liked out
of magazines and putting them in a file to keep.
Prior to Good Housekeeping:
Senior vice president and editorial
director of Prevention magazine;
consultant to Real Simple and the
AOL Web Properties division; Web site
director and executive editor of Expedia
Travels; executive editor of Time Inc.
Interactive and Time Inc. New Media;
help positions at Working Woman, Self
and Travel & Leisure magazines.
You knew you wanted to be an editor or something like
that in the field when…
I took my first journalism class: Newswriting 101. I had been
studying graphic design for a couple of years, and while I loved
design, I knew from almost the first day of class that THIS was
my real calling. Sallie Rose Hollis, my professor, was terrific, and
made the reality of a career in journalism come alive for me. Wiley
Hilburn’s classes helped to cement those feelings.
From Tech professor emeritus
Wiley Hilburn:
“She was not only a good student but a
nice person to be around. On the college
newspaper, she was like the captain
of the team. She was very bright and
creative. She was an excellent feature
writer, and we are so proud of her.”
Rosemary Ellis
Hall of Distinguished Alumni
The Tower Medallion Award
signifies membership in the Hall
and is awarded to Tech alums who
have distinguished themselves by
exceptional achievement, community
service and humanitarian activities.
One of the most accomplished journalists ever to train in the
noun-and-verb-infested nooks and crannies of Keeny Hall,
Rosemary Ellis was inducted into Louisiana Tech’s Hall of
Distinguished Alumni during spring commencement exercises
Saturday, May 22, in the Thomas Assembly Center.
Her alma mater made her work overtime: Ellis also served as
commencement speaker. She still made time to answer some
questions about Newswriting 101, her fifth-grade newspaper, and
an ongoing battle for closet space.
What sort of general advice can
you offer to today’s students
who have big dreams?
Basically, I believe in finding your
true passion, thinking big...and then
being prepared and even happy to do
all the scut work it inevitably takes
to make that dream happen. The
big rewards come, but they are built
on the back of being willing to do
whatever it takes—whether that’s
volunteering to take on the work that
no one else wants to do or practicing
whatever you’re doing until you are
really, really good at it.
Your magazine’s mission is
“to offer smart advice and
inspiration for creating a
happier, more beautiful
life for the reader and
her family.” How does the
magazine help your family’s
mission?
I AM the Good Housekeeping
reader: I live in a leafy neighborhood close to the Brooklyn Bridge
with Jim, our 6-year-old daughter Lucy and our one-eyed cat
Bica. I wish I had more closet space and more time to myself, but
beyond that, it’s a very happy life. I’m incredibly fortunate.
Most Good Housekeeping readers feel the same way—that life is
happy, but often chaotic as you try to juggle having a home, being
a parent, sustaining a marriage, doing good work in your career
and adding on whatever community and/or religious activities
you take on. The job of the magazine is to help readers navigate all
that—that’s why the opening department of the magazine is called
Good (enough) Housekeeping.
Compare being editor of The Tech Talk to being editor
of Good Housekeeping! Is everything ‘relative’?
Well, first things first: I wasn’t ever the editor of The Tech Talk!
But I was on staff and eventually wrote a column, which I loved
doing. When I was in college, I regularly stayed up all night to
finish projects; now I get up at 5 or 5:15 every morning to tackle
work. The schedule is different, but the commitment is the same.
Finally, can you give your fellow alums a brief sketch/
outline of your professional life during the past 25
years.
I moved to NYC just after graduation and got a job at McCall’s
magazine as an editorial assistant (aka secretary), and was
subsequently promoted to assistant editor and then associate
editor there.
Then I moved to Travel & Leisure as an associate editor, and was
eventually promoted to senior editor.
From there, I went to Self as articles editor, and then to Working
Woman as executive editor. After that, I took a break from
magazines and went to Time, Inc. (the mega-publisher who
publishes Sports Illustrated, In Style, Time, Money, People, and a
number of other magazines) to work in their digital group; this
was the early days of the web. By the time I left, I was running all
of the Time, Inc. websites on a day-to-day basis—it was a great job,
and I learned a lot. After
that, I went to a magazine/
website start-up called
Expedia Travels, where I
was executive editor of the
magazine and director of
the website. After that, I
consulted on web projects
for a couple of years, and
then became editor-inchief and editorial director
at Prevention magazine.
And after that, to Good
Housekeeping. Whew!
SWEET!: Rosemary
Ellis celebrates Good
Housekeeping’s125 years
with Ace of Cakes star, Duff
Goldman.
www.latech.edu | 9
onnect to Tech
It’s easier than ever to visit the Louisiana Tech campus and get University
news. No matter where you are, you are connected. Here’s how:
latechalumni.org – Tech’s redesigned
Division of University Advancement website!
This welcoming new-look site gives you easy access to the
most up-to-date information about the Alumni Association,
the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC) and the University
Foundation and the latest University and athletics news headlines
from both campus and athletics.
You can also update your information in the News About You
section. New job? Recent marriage? Maybe a baby? We love to hear
what our alumni are up to. This section is just for you.
Under the Connect tab, sign up for electronic newsletters (the
enews, a monthly email newsletter, or the Tech Update, a daily
email) and search for old college friends.
The new site is also secure for online gifts. Designate your gift
to the area of your choice – whether it’s the college you graduated
from, the general University Fund or athletics through LTAC. It’s
your call!
Click the Events tab for complete details of all events hosted by
the Division; you can even make your reservation online!
Facebook.com/latechalumni – Tech’s
Facebook page
2010 BULLDOg FOOTBALL
www.latechsports.com
ORDER YOUR FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
ONLINE TODAY!
Don’t miss out on using this social networking tool to help us
help Tech as we share a common purpose and plan: a love for our
University and a commitment to help Tech grow, not only bigger
but stronger. “Like” our page – you’ll love it.
latechalumni.org/printdirectory
Find out more at this site about Louisiana Tech University
Alumni Today, the first publication ever to feature listings
along with photos and essays submitted by alumni. Harris
Connect, producer of more than 4,000 directories for a variety of
universities, colleges, high schools and membership associations
in the United States and Canada, is working with the University
to produce what will be the most current and complete reference
of graduates who wish to participate in the project. Learn more
online, watch the mail for your postcard, and respond by Oct. 1.
Directories will be available for purchase in January.
NOW you’re more connected than ever!
09.18
NAVY
09.25
SOUTHERN MISS
10.09
UTAH STATE
10.16
IDAHO
11.06
FRESNO STATE
12.04
NEVADA
Contact the LA Tech Ticket Office at 318.257.3631, or e-mail at [email protected].
LA Tech Ticket Office • PO Box 3046 • Ruston, LA 71272
Time Out For Tech
Saturday, Sept. 25 or Dec. 4
Don’t miss your chance to see what Louisiana Tech is all about.
Experience all the components of college life: Academics Activities - Athletics. This program is designed to give you
and your family a chance to visit the campus and academic
departments and even take in a football game during the day.
For more information, call or visit us online:
318.257.3036 or 1.800.LATECH1
www.latech.edu/admissions/toft
www.latech.edu | 11
Quest for
Dan Reneau, President
“The top research universities in the nation are complemented
by outstanding athletics programs. As one of the region’s premier
research institutions, Louisiana Tech recognizes the value of
providing superior facilities and resources to future Tech studentathletes so that they have every opportunity to perform at the
highest levels of intercollegiate competition. Quest for Excellence
is a watershed event in the history of our athletics program and,
through the private contributions of our friends and supporters,
will put our University shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most
progressive and respected programs in the nation.”
Excellence
Bruce Van De Velde, Athletics Director
“This project addresses many of the needs of our student-athletes,
enhances recruiting and provides a source of pride for our alumni
and fans. It enhances the academic and athletic quality for every
sport, generates revenue and addresses many of the equity goals
outlined in our Tech 2020 strategic plan. Our vision is a quest for
excellence and a desire, focus and commitment to be an institution
that values academic and athletic excellence. This campaign will
establish a foundation for our future as the premier research and
athletic institution in northern Louisiana.”
Steve Davison, Project Chair of the Quest for Excellence Leadership
team
“As a former Louisiana Tech student-athlete and proud alum, I have
been excited to see the progress that we’ve made since we joined
the Western Athletic Conference almost a decade ago. However,
we need to continue our growth both on and off the playing fields.
This facility will elevate our University and athletics program to the
next level. It’s imperative that our fans and alumni help make this a
reality. Our institution is on the cusp of becoming what every Tech
fan has dreamed about. This facility is just the next step.”
Terry Bradshaw, Hall of Fame Quarterback, Leadership Team
member and former Tech great
“When this is complete, we’ll be more attractive to the blue-chip
athlete and it will enable us to attract more in-state recruits than
ever before. This is huge for Louisiana Tech and will make all of our
alumni proud.”
Louisiana Tech athletics will soon have a new
front door. Through it, Tech student-athletes
and dedicated fans will walk into a proud
new chapter in the University’s rich tradition.
It’s a new ballgame. With a new player. A really big
player. Like, 90,000 square-feet-plus big.
The Campaign for Louisiana Tech Athletics kicked off this
summer with a driven and determined vision: a multipurpose
athletic training facility of more than 90,000 square feet located
at the south end of Joe Aillet Stadium, an impressing and inviting
physical manifestation of the University’s and community’s
commitment to the success of Tech athletics.
It comes with a cost: $20 million in private contributions.
But it comes with an impressive payoff: a facility that serves
every arm of Tech athletics, increases the quality of life in the
community, and becomes one of the finest multipurpose buildings
on any non-BCS campus.
And, the Campaign comes at a crucial time, not just for Tech
but for all of college athletics, especially football. With the game’s
landscape changing, with conferences unstable and economics
tight, programs are at a crucial crossroads. Some will act and move
ahead; some will stand pat and fall behind.
Tech’s unprecedented and still developing Campaign is a call to
commitment and a money-where-your-heart-is statement to both
athletics and academics.
The cost of not moving forward? Imagine playing basketball in
the 21st century in Memorial Gym or football pre-Aillet Stadium.
Instead, Tech is looking at a facility that will draw not only
athletes, coaches and fans, but also exposure and revenue.
Metaphorically, fans and freshmen will step into the future when
they step into this architectural mix of tradition and tomorrow. In
reality, they’ll step into a gem that will hold, among other things,
the following:
• More than 6,600 square feet of sports medicine and
rehabilitation space;
• More than 9,000 square feet of strength and conditioning
space;
• More than 4,000 square feet of academic achievement space,
including study halls and tutoring rooms;
• More than 8,000 square feet of seating in club, lounge and
luxury box seating for events;
• Team offices and select locker rooms and meeting space for
football, baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, golf, bowling, and
track and field; and,
• A two-story stadium lobby featuring Tech Legends displays
and memorabilia.
Informally operating for several months, the Campaign seeks to
generate the funding by the summer of 2012. Depending on funds
raised and athletic program needs, physical construction could
begin at any time.
Private leadership gifts totaling more than $9 million have been
raised. These initial leadership gifts have come from Dr. Guthrie
Jarrell, Rick Shirley, Terry Bradshaw and members of the Davison
family, including James, Todd, Steve and Jim. The Leadership Team
has already identified a number of other donors who have vowed
to make pledges to the project.
The global design firm Populous, which has created Yankee
Stadium, Busch Stadium, PETCO Park and Oriole Park at Camden
Yards, among other facilities both in the professional and collegiate
worlds, is developing the master plan. For more information, visit
www.populous.com.
To view more conceptual art of the Tech Athletic Facility and to
support the Campaign through an investment gift, visit the Tech
Athletics website, www.latechsports.com.
www.latech.edu | 13
E-Rupp-Tion:
Bulldogs double-up on wins again
Athletic Department
achievements and awards
They struggled in a balanced Western Athletic Conference,
but Tech’s basketball Bulldogs won their most games in 25 years,
finishing 24-11 and fourth in the WAC at 9-7. It was the second
straight season that Tech improved by nine wins over the previous
seasons.
Head coach Kerry Rupp was named Louisiana Coach of the
Year as Tech, for the first time in 19 seasons, received votes in the
AP Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs were 17-2 in mid-January and, again
for the first time since the 1984-85 season, had a 10-game win streak.
• Won the NCAA Pack-the-House Challenge
for the WAC for the third straight year, one of
only two schools in the country to win it three
straight years.
• Won the 2010 Turnkey PRISM Award, given to
the college that best exemplifies development
in the four categories of Marketing/Branding,
Fan Development, Community Relations and
Customer/Client Service.
NBA comes calling
• Dave Nitz named the Louisiana Sportscaster
of the Year by the National Sportscasters and
Sportswriters Association. Nitz also broadcast
his 2,000th LA Tech event during the year.
• Louisiana Tech ranked No. 1 in the state among
Football Bowl Subdivision public institutions
in the most recent four-year student-athlete
graduation rate average, according to the
Federal Graduation Rate Report.
• Launched redesigned athletics website in
October, latechsports.com
• Ranked No. 3 in the Excellence in Management
Cup, which recognizes the most efficient
athletic departments in the country. This
awards athletic departments that win the most
conference and national championships, while
at the same time have the lowest expenses.
Young Net Gains
Vivian ten Dolle was the only freshman in
the Western Athletic Conference to compete
in the No. 1 position for her team. The talented
freshman was
a solid 18-11
overall in
singles, 13-9
in dual match
play and 5-2
in tournament
play, and she
was named
honorable
mention on
the Louisiana
College
women’s tennis
team.
The Lady
Techsters
earned the
program’s
first ever WAC
match win this
spring, topping San Jose State 5-2 on April 10.
From the Netherlands, ten Dolle also earned
second team All-WAC honors, the first Lady
Techster tennis player to receive the recognition
since 2002.
For T-Spoon,
a plateful of awards
In her first full season as LA Tech’s head coach, Teresa Weatherspoon led the
program to its first NCAA Tournament since 2006 and earned a serious string
of recognition, first for her short-term coaching accomplishments, then for her
sterling playing career.
The award trifecta began when the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
(WBCA) named her the recipient of the 2010 Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie
Coach of the Year award.
Then in June, Weatherspoon was inducted into both the Women’s Basketball
Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The former Lady Techster
point guard earned the Wade Trophy in 1988 as the nation’s top player and went
on to have eight successful seasons in the WNBA with the New York Liberty and
the Los Angeles Sparks.
Not a bad career. And not a bad rookie season or offseason, either.
The distinguished WBCA award honors a Division I coach who has led their
team to a successful season during their first year at the helm.
“One of the WBCA’s core values is to assist in the growth and development
of young coaches,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “I look forward each season to
watching first-time Division I head coaches take the reign of their programs and
lead them to success. Teresa Weatherspoon has done just that this season, and we
are proud to honor her and Louisiana Tech with this award.”
LA Tech, 23-9, went an impressive 10-4 on the road this year, and of the
nine losses this winter, four came by four points or less, including a four-point
loss to Sweet 16 participant Mississippi State and a three-point loss to NCAA
Tournament participant LSU.
The Techsters earned a second place regular season WAC finish and the WAC
Tournament Championship under Weatherspoon.
“Under her leadership,” Tech Athletics Director Bruce Van De Velde said, “our
women’s basketball program is back on the national stage.”
“This award is a team award,” Weatherspoon said. “Our success this year was
due to the hard work and dedication of our entire coaching staff and our young
ladies. I am proud of what we were able to accomplish this year, and look forward
to what the future holds.”
Weatherspoon has a career coaching record of 32-11 at LA Tech after taking
over the program as interim head coach on February 9, 2009, and winning her
first eight games. As a former Lady Techster, Weatherspoon led her team to four
NCAA Tournaments, two NCAA Women’s Final Four appearances (1987, 1988)
and the 1988 National Championship title.
Senior forward Magnum Rolle was selected with the 51st pick
of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers and
President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird moved up six slots
in the second round to obtain the rights to the 51st pick, originally
owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A March graduate with a bachelor’s in sociology, the 6-foot-11
Freeport, Bahamas native is the first Bulldog to be selected in the
NBA Draft since Paul Millsap was taken by the Utah Jazz with the
47th pick in 2006.
Rolle averaged 13.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and a league-leading
2.1 blocks per game. Rolle made 33 starts last season, scored in
double figures 24 times, recorded 11 double doubles, pulled down
a career-high 17 rebounds on three separate occasions, and scored
a career-high 29 points in a win over Houston.
Rolle also became the 12th LA Tech player ever selected in the
NBA Draft, joining Millsap, P.J. Brown (1992, New Jersey, 29th),
Baseball:
RecordSetters
Bulldog baseball was a big hit
this spring, literally. The Bulldogs
set single-season school records
in runs, RBI, hits and doubles.
Pitching staff injuries kept the
’Dogs from capitalizing during the
hit-happy season; Tech finished
27-30 overall, 11-13 and fifth in
the WAC.
Tech ranked in the top 25
nationally in hits, batting average,
scoring, runs, slugging percentage,
doubles and homers.
Devon Dageford and Mark
Threlkeld were All-WAC first
team; Academic All-American
Clint Ewing, Joey Ford and Alex
Williams were second team.
Dageford was also first-team
All State selection; the senior
outfielder hit .373 with 17 homers,
56 RBI and a school-record 21
doubles.
Ron Ellis (1992, Phoenix,
49th), Randy White (1989,
Dallas, 8th), Karl Malone
(1985, Utah, 13th), Rennie
Bailey (1984, Detroit), Willie
Simmons (1985, Sacramento,
76th), Victor King (1979,
Los Angeles Lakers, 39th),
Mike McConathy (1977,
Chicago, 79th), Mike Green
(1973, Seattle, 4th) and
Jackie Moreland (1960,
Detroit, 4th).
Big Doings for
Best Dunkin’
Dawg
magnum
rolle
Tech great Karl
Malone, director of
basketball promotions
and assistant strength
and conditioning coach,
was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall
of Fame August 13 in Springfield, Mass. Malone was a three-time
(1982-85) Sporting News All-American while leading the Bulldogs
to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1985. He ranks sixth all-time at
LA Tech with 1,716 points in just three seasons. Recruited out
of Summerfield, La., Malone became a two-time NBA MVP and
14-time NBA All-Star with the Utah Jazz and a two-time Olympic
gold medalist with Team USA.
The Waits
Is Over
The career of the most outstanding offensive
player in Lady Techster softball history ended
with the team’s two-and-out exit from the
WAC Tournament in New Mexico.
Senior Amberly Waits, shortstop on the AllLouisiana team for the third straight year, hit
.412 this spring with 10 homers, 40 runs scored
and 31 RBI. She is the program’s career leader
in numerous offensive categories including
batting average, hits, home runs, RBI, triples,
total bases and slugging percentage.
Junior pitcher Meghan Krieg (18-16), who
totaled a LA Tech single-season record 260
strikeouts and pitched two-hitters against
NCAA Tournament teams Arkansas, Auburn
and Notre Dame, was honorable mention allstate, along with teammates Kylie Bassett and
Meghan Knowles.
Tech finished 26-21 for its third straight
winning season, including a 13-4 mark at the
Lady Techster Softball Complex.
www.latech.edu | 15
HOMECOMING 2010
The most anticipated weekend of the Louisiana
Tech year falls in mid-October.
Fall weather.
Football.
Food and friends.
Sound like fun?
It always is.
It’s Homecoming ’10, Oct. 15 and 16 on the Tech campus, in Joe Aillet Stadium and
around Ruston.
Come early for Friday’s Alumni Awards luncheon and pep rally. While planned events
include club reunions and class receptions, unrehearsed events are sure to spring up, as
they do whenever familiar faces and places mix.
Homecoming’s spotlight event kicks off at 3 p.m. on Saturday: Tech’s Bulldogs will
meet Western Athletic Conference foe Idaho in Joe Aillet Stadium. First-year Tech head
coach Sonny Dykes has stirred up plenty of preseason excitement; this special Saturday
afternoon will be a perfect time for midseason support.
By good fortune and persistence, Tech is fortunate to welcome to campus and
to Howard Auditorium on the evening of the 16th the oldest continuously active
professional musical organization in America. Founded in 1778 by an Act of Congress,
“The President’s Own” Marching Band consists of some of the country’s most dedicated
and talented musicians.
How about that for a big finish!?
“Tech’s instructors imparted more than just knowledge;
they taught me how to succeed.” - Joe Brown
Hitting a high note
From high school band junkie to leader of one of
the most prestigious service bands in the world, Joe
Brown found his rhythm at Louisiana Tech.
United States Navy Band drum major Joe Brown has a
problem September 18. That’s the autumn Saturday when the football team
representing his employer, the United States Navy, plays the football team of
his alma mater, Louisiana Tech.
Kickoff is 6 p.m. in Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston. Though based on the East
Coast, the Mississippi native hopes to attend.
“I guess I could show up in my Navy uniform with a Tech T-shirt on,”
said Brown (music ’82), who played in Tech’s marching Band of Pride before
joining the Navy, auditioning for its premier band, and rising through the ranks
to drum major of what is technically a “special White House support unit.”
Brown’s march to a leading position in his profession began in Ruston.
He came to study the baritone horn and played trombone in the marching
band and the basketball band, where he had courtside seats to a pair of Lady
Techsters basketball national championships.
“From the instructors to playing in all the ensembles, my experience at
Tech was very positive and motivating,” he said. “The tools I gained while
at Tech were more extensive than just professional knowledge. The attitude
instilled in me and my classmates gave me the confidence to set high goals
and work to achieve them. Tech’s instructors imparted more than just
knowledge; they taught me how to succeed.”
The U.S. Navy Band plays Full Honors Arrival ceremonies, presidential
concerts, musical honors for military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery
and many other patriotic events, including national tours.
“The most unexpected ‘perk’ of my job has been the sense of pride I feel
every day just getting to serve my country while doing something I love,” he
said. “I get to be part of many historical events, as well as lead a group of some
of the most talented musicians in the world.”
‘Success breeds success’
Brown provided these updates on his college
roommates:
Donald Kitchens: Leader of award-winning
school bands for more than 25 years in the
Plano, Texas area.
Marty Courtney: Formerly associate band
director at the University of Memphis, now in
his 22nd year as music educator and his seventh
year as Director of Bands at Lewisville (Texas)
High.
Kenny Vise: Director of highly successful high
school music program in Austin, Texas.
Paul Hageman: Chair of the Music Department,
Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Brigadier General James J. Jones, the only one
of Brown’s roommates who did not follow a
musical career: Deputy Director of Operations,
U.S. Central Command at MacDill AFB in Florida.”
Brown: “All of my roommates have been a great
inspiration to me…Tech provided an atmosphere
of excellence that motivated many of us to
succeed in our career fields. I was surrounded by
other highly motivated students all the time…
Tech instilled a drive in us that enabled each
of us to reach our goals. All of our instructors
were successful musicians and great instructors,
and they gave us all a sense that we could do
whatever we set our minds to do.”
Homecoming 2010
Schedule of Events
Friday, October 15
Alumni Awards Luncheon
• Louisiana Tech Student Center, noon
• Presentations include Alumnus of the
Year, Young Alumnus of the Year, and
Distinguished Alumni of each of the
Colleges
Class of 1960 Reception
• Ropp Center - 5 p.m.
Pep Rally and Presentation of the Court
• Thomas Assembly Center - 7 p.m.
African American Network Reunion
• Location to be announced - 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 16
Alumni and Friends Open House
• Marbury Alumni Center - 9 a.m. to noon
Admissions Office Open House
• Hale Hall - 9 a.m. to noon
African American Network Reunion
Activities - throughout the day
• Locations to be announced
Bookstore Open House
• 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
14th Annual Golden Society Brunch
• Louisiana Tech Student Center - 9: 30 a.m.
• Honoring the Class of 1960 and prior
years
Alumni and Friends Barbecue Tailgate
• Argent Pavilion - 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs. Idaho Vandals
• Joe Aillet Stadium - 3 p.m.
• To purchase tickets visit
www.latechsports.com or call the Ticket
Office at 318-257-3631
“The President’s Own” Marine Band
Concert
• Howard Auditorium - 7:30 p.m.
• Tickets are required and can be obtained
by contacting the Marbury Alumni Center
at 318-255-7950.
(Except for Saturday’s kickoff and Marine
Band concert, and due to the probable
addition of other events, all times are
tentative. Check the Homecoming website
– www.latechalumni.org/homecoming2010
– for up-to-the-minute information on
Homecoming ’10!)
For more information on Joe Brown, visit www.latech.edu/techtriumphs
www.latech.edu | 17
Still Giving us Some
They’re
chirping
our song!
One of Louisiana Tech’s most accomplished
and supportive alums, Kix Brooks is strumming
his way down a new but still familiar highway.
Armstrong Cricket Farms
engineers a winner.
Business is always hopping around
Armstrong Cricket Farms, as you might
expect. Constant care of 70 million crickets
will keep you on your toes.
But Jack Armstrong (civil engineering
’74) is up to the task. In West Monroe, he
runs the business his grandfather started
as a fish bait service in 1947. Today the
cricket game is a bit more diverse. And a
lot more busy.
“Louisiana Tech engineering teaches
you to solve problems,” said Armstrong,
who worked with an engineering firm for
one year after graduation before getting
into the industry his family began. “Tech
teaches its engineers not to give up. We
were taught to have safety factors for
everything we designed, too.
“With the cricket industry, you’re
dealing with a live thing. You’ve got
weather conditions, feed problems, any
number of things. Tech taught me how
to work situations out. Our professors
stressed we couldn’t leave any stone
unturned. It’s a lot of little things.”
It’s 10 million little things a week
at the West Monroe farm. That’s how
many crickets are born each week – 10
million – and that’s how many crickets are
shipped weekly to Canada, Europe, South
Africa and every state in the Union except
Hawaii. A cricket that starts the week
in West Monroe might end the week as
supper for a lizard in Johannesburg or for a
bird in Montreal.
“When I started, our business was 95
percent for fish bait,” he said. “Now it’s 95
percent animal food and 5 percent fish
bait.”
His brother Jimmy runs the tackle
part of the ever-diversifying business.
Their brother Jeff, a Tech business
administration graduate in 1979, runs
a smaller farm in Georgia – though 55
million crickets on the Georgia site is
hardly small.
“He knows how to run it,” Jack said,
“and I know how to produce the product.
Our big expertise is shipping these crickets
to large distribution centers. When the
business started changing, it lit a fire under
me. Tech engineering and not forgetting
how to work seven days a week solved the
problem.”
Weekly, Armstrong has crickets
trucking to California or flying overnight
to Canada. And in seven different sizes
too, roughly 1,000 crickets per box.
Figuring out how to ship five million small
crickets on a truck across the country is
different than figuring out how to ship two
million big ones on an airplane to Europe,
once you factor in air conditioning, food
and other shipping conditions.
“Everything’s got to be alive,” he said.
“Shipping to Winnipeg, for instance, is a
challenge in the wintertime. Anchorage
isn’t real easy either.”
The crickets are often shipped with
tiny heat packs, the same heat packs Tech
football players have put in their socks or
held in their hands during on-the-road
cold weather games.
“When I found out those things might
help, I let Tech know that I had the largest
stockpile of heat packs over here than they
could find in a five-state area,” Armstrong
said. “If I find out there’s something I can
help with at Tech, I try to give them a call
and get involved.”
He’s quick to help like that. And
Armstrong’s friends know who to call if
they have a child considering Tech.
“You can’t help but be impressed with
Louisiana Tech,” Armstrong said. “The
hands-on learning the professors gave us…
the way they taught us how to study and
look at things from every angle. Just look
at how good the whole University is and
where our focus is, how much research
we’re drawing. I know I made the right
choice in schools. You get a lot more
there than you get at other schools where
you might get lost. Whether it’s athletics
or academics, none of us should miss a
chance to talk about all the positive things
and all the new things we have going on.”
For more of our conversation with Jack Armstrong,
go to latech.edu/techtriumphs.
KIX
He’s written hit songs for other artists, been part of the highest selling duo
in country music history, is partner in a successful Tennessee vineyard and winery and is in his fourth
year as host of the long-running syndicated radio program, “American Country Countdown.”
But Kix Brooks (speech communications ’78) didn’t just fall out of an oil truck or off a hay bale
and land in Nashville’s high cotton. Success took a lot of work and focus for the guy who sang lead on
the 1995 hit “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone,” one of 23 No. 1’s for Brooks & Dunn.
No need to miss him yet. Though Brooks and longtime teammate Ronnie Dunn are taking a
break, neither has retired.
“I don’t know who was the first to use the ‘R’ word, but Ronnie and I both continue to
make music,” Brooks said. “We’re still the best of friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have
another CD down the road. But we’re two grown men who worked together for 20 years
without a break. We never used the ‘retire’ word; we just said we need a break from this and
people started burying us. We might not ever work together again. But we might.
“Ronnie and I have been blessed with more success than we’d ever dreamed of,” Brooks said.
“It was a partnership. Now, it’s refreshing to make music and not have to run it by anybody.”
Besides his love for music, Brooks has a heart for helping. He’s on the board of a Nashville
children’s hospital, the spokesperson for a Tennessee children’s home, and he’s involved in a
project with other musicians to record songs written by children with chronic diseases for a
to-be-released CD.
Another constant: Brooks’ love for Louisiana Tech. The annual Bradshaw/Brooks Golf
Tournament at Squire Creek Country Club is the most visible way, but not the only way,
Brooks helps his University.
“I want to thank everybody for their support; it’s always great, getting together at
Squire Creek. Supporting Louisiana Tech is something we’ve all got to remember to
keep doing,” he said. “The older I get, the more I appreciate my school and realize
how much I love it, and that’s the truth.”
It took him a few strums to find his rhythm. A year in Dallas at SMU taught
him he “wasn’t cut out for it. It didn’t fit my lifestyle,” he said. “Tech did.”
He lived with friends in a house off Cooktown Road, played music at
Sundown West three nights a week and, through the patience and intuition of
teachers, found confidence in the classroom.
“He always committed 100 percent to anything he pursued: music,
theatre, fun, friends, family… I always found it wonderful that regardless
of any negativity around him, I never heard him say an unkind word
about anyone,” said Katie Robinson, former director of Tech’s School of
the Performing Arts. “He is humbled by his talents and good fortune.”
He learned how to write music progressions, wrote and performed a
three-act play, even left Tech one year to work on the pipeline in Alaska, an
$800-a-week gig and a “no-brainer,” he said. “If you have focus, you’re not
going to be afraid to work a year if you need to. I never had the intention of
not going back to school. I wanted to buy a new guitar and a car and get back
to school work.”
He fully appreciated how much Tech had helped him when, his first time
in a Nashville music studio, backup singers needed him to arrange vocals for
a song he’d written. “It took a while, but I did it,” he said. “My teachers had
patience and confidence in me; that helped give me confidence in myself.”
“People don’t realize how competitive this business is,” he said. “A bull
rider wrote me on Facebook and wanted to know how he could break
into the songwriting business. I wrote back, ‘How do I break into the
bull riding business?’ I’d guess the answer is you’ve gotta start riding
bulls. Hang out at corrals. Every chance you get, you gotta get on a
bull and get thrown down in the dirt.”
For much more of our conversation with Kix (and for more about his Tech career
from Dr. Robinson), go to latech.edu/techtriumphs
www.latech.edu | 19
Marion Lawrence Sewell, DVM
occupation: Veterinarian
degree: Animal science ’04
hometown: Duanesburg, NY
resides in: Ruston
age: 32
family: Husband Lt. Col. Rowdy Sewell, USMC
(general studies ’89), daughter Rosemary (2)
Tech’s other ‘spread offense’
Louisiana Tech’s young alums continue to share both their talents and the good word about
their University.
A friend of dogs and ’Dawgs
Her patients can be difficult to deal with, especially after she
mends a complicated orthopedic injury.
“Our pets,” said Ruston veterinarian Marion Sewell, “don’t
understand the term ‘kennel rest.’”
If they only knew how well trained their doctor was, they’d obey
better.
Sewell left Louisiana Tech with a degree from Tech’s College
of Applied and Natural Sciences, a ticket to vet school and plenty
of confidence. That makes her patients lucky dogs – and cats and
birds and fish.
“No question the curriculum got me prepared for vet school,”
said Sewell, who began working at Ruston Animal Clinic after
graduating from vet school in June of 2007. For the past 18
months, she’s owned the clinic.
“Reese Hall and South Campus provided me with a lot more
hands-on experience than I’d have gotten at LSU, and definitely
more than at LSUA, where I’d transferred from,” she said. “There’s
the working farm and the working dairy…If you want to be a part
of Reese Hall and if you want experience, Dr. (William) Green and
Dr. (Mark) Murphey will make sure you get it. They told me if I’d
do what they told me to do, I’d make it.”
She has. Her daily dose of doctoring challenges might take the
form of a heartworm problem, a pet-hit-by-car scenario or any
number of chronic skin conditions.
“The first dog I had as an adult got injured and I spent a lot
of time at the veterinarian getting her well,” Sewell said. “I hadn’t
realized how vast the field of vet medicine was until that point; it
piqued my interest.
“The challenging academics with hands-on mentoring, the kind
of training and education that focuses on student involvement and
interpersonal skills and development have been invaluable in my
professional life,” she said. “I learned problem solving and time
management because of the tasks assigned; I gained self-esteem
too, knowing that if I could excel at Tech, I could be successful
with hard work.”
She’s a Tech football tailgater, and she employs pre-vet students
at her business. She’s attended an awards banquet honoring
students in the agricultural sciences department, spoken at
meetings of Tech pre-vet students, and participated in mock
interviews with students.
“Anytime they call me, if I can go, I’ll go,” she said of her
teachers’ requests. “’I think that’s one of the reasons I’m compelled
to do it – because when I was a student, that was so helpful to me.”
A solid college history
Going to bat for Tech
Robert Lay migrated to Louisiana Tech from South Louisiana,
then he migrated from one curriculum to another. It’s no wonder
that his advice to incoming freshmen would be to “take classes
outside your comfort zone.”
“I started as a computer science major,” said Lay. “But after
taking several English and history courses, I discovered a love for
the humanities. Even if you keep the same major, you always learn
something useful from classes outside your subject area. Knowing
a little bit about science, art, economics and literature can open a
lot of doors.”
Lay’s switch to history puts him up to his elbows in historical
preservation every day now as an archivist at the Robert J. Dole
Institute of Politics. Lay’s job includes preserving the records of
the past (such as the records of Senator Dole’s career) and making
them available for research.
“Senator Dole’s collection constitutes more than 5,000 boxes of
material, which translates into millions of sheets of paper, so there’s
sometimes a lot of head-scratching and wondering what we’re
looking at,” said Lay, who described working with Congressional
collections as “extremely rewarding and fascinating. Since I’m
handling the actual memos, letters (and other paperwork)
generated by the Senator and his staff, I’m getting an insider’s look
into how the Senate works, what the Senators think of each other,
and what their actual feelings are on important issues.”
A distinguished honors graduate, Lay felt comfortable at Tech
when professors welcomed him into their offices during his
freshman year to ask him what he wanted to do and where he
wished to go in his career.
“I needed a school where I could talk to someone who was
where I wanted to be,” said Lay, who worked as a graduate
assistant in Tech’s Department of Special Collections, Manuscripts
and Archives in Prescott Memorial Library. “I’ve always felt
either as prepared or more prepared than other archivists. The
A former Diamond Darling for the Louisiana Tech baseball
team, Dallas attorney and Claiborne Parish native Jessica
Hammons has found herself playing extra innings lately as a fullfledged grownup.
“I definitely don’t get back to campus as often as I would like,”
said Hammons, a Claiborne Academy grad. “I’ve been working
full-time and have had two babies in the past two-and-a-half years,
so unfortunately, neither of those lend themselves to making many
Robert A. Lay, Jr.
Occupation: Archivist,
Dole Institute
degree: History ’04, master’s
history ’06
hometown: Morgan City
resides in: Lawrence, Kan.
age: 28
family: Parents Robert and
Anne Lay
faculty at Tech had as much a hand in preparing me as any of
my coursework; my professors knew me and took the time to
make sure I was on the right track…The exposure to principles
of research and information that I gained at Tech have been
indispensable to me as an archivist.”
Since he’s in the information business, he’s not shy when the
name of his alma mater comes up, either.
“If they haven’t heard a lot about Louisiana Tech,” he said, “I
make sure to inform them about it.”
Jessica Watson
Hammons
Occupation: Attorney
degree: Accounting ’00
hometown: Homer
resides in: Dallas
age: 31
family: Husband Bud,
daughters Samantha (2) and
Sydney (7 months); yellow
lab Kannon
trips back to Ruston. But I’m hopeful to get to come over for a
football game this fall. It seems like Ruston has really taken off in
the past few years, which is so wonderful to see!”
Hammons transferred to Tech at the end of her freshman year
and found the University had “a great small-town feel while still
providing me with the educational basis to go on to law school
and to begin a career in the legal world. Because our classes were
smaller than at larger schools, I felt like I benefited from the
personal relationships with my professors and with other students.
“I work on a daily basis with graduates from Ivy League schools
and other well-known colleges and universities,” she said, “and I
always feel that my degree from Tech enables me to work side by
side with all of these people.”
She hears the Louisiana Tech name often in Dallas, especially
in regard to Tech’s engineering and business colleges and, of
course, she hears Tech mentioned a lot during football season.
It’s a university, she said, that gave her a solid foundation and a
wealth of confidence when she arrived in Dallas the summer after
her final year of law school with only a summer clerkship, yet was
working full-time by September.
Her advice to Tech’s Young Alums of tomorrow: “Take your
studies seriously, because grades are definitely important in helping
you, especially when you’re starting out. Establishing a good work
ethic early on will help you in your work life after college. Given
that, remember that your time in college can be some of the best
years of your life, so enjoy them!”
www.latech.edu | 21
news around campus
news around campus
Gilbert earns national recognition
for advocacy of first-year students
Progress,
on-campus
construction
continue with new
home for College
of Business
A 42,000-square-foot state-ofthe-art building being constructed
on the east edge of the campus
will serve as the centerpiece of the
business and entrepreneurship
programs at Tech.
The new College of Business
building and other campus
construction projects are a function
of Tech 2020, Louisiana Tech’s longrange strategic plan and foundation
for the future.
“This facility is part of a larger plan to move our University
forward and will serve as a beacon for the best and brightest
students in our area,” said Tech President Dan Reneau. “We are
providing educational opportunities unrivaled anywhere in north
Louisiana.”
Top Dawgs make an
impression – and money
Cash and prizes of $15,500 were awarded to the top three
finishers and for “spirit” and “best presentation” at the annual TOP
DAWG Business Plan Competition.
CC SynFuels (Cecil Garrick, senior accounting major, John
Rollo, senior nanosystems engineering major, and David Veals,
senior mechanical engineering major) won first place and $4,000
with a new system of chemical reactors which produce a synthetic
diesel fuel.
Second place and $2,000 was awarded to Veritas Imaging (Alan
THEY TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS: (left to right) For their big win,
David Veals, Cecil Garrick and John Rollo receive a big check from
Bulldog Entrepreneurs CEO and ’10 economics graduate Demetra
Allen Brown.
Students and faculty will have access to new classrooms, offices,
computer labs, two auditoriums, meeting rooms, research centers
and student support and career centers.
Funding for the new facility comes from a $12.4 million capital
outlay from the state as well as private contributions from some of
the College’s most generous and active alums. These financial gifts
and resources will afford the College opportunities for long-term
growth and program development.
Katzenmeyer, junior environmental science major, and Casey
Roper, junior finance major). Veritas develops custom imaging
systems focusing on scanning, archiving, comparing and analyzing
images.
WebGrams (Gadhadar Reddy, master’s in molecular sciences
and nanotechnology major, and Mohit Jain, master’s computer
science major) won third place and $1,000 for a web portal
allowing convenient access to Web 2.0 applications.
In addition to the cash awards, the Louisiana Tech Enterprise
Center sponsors incubator space valued at $4,500 for six months to
the winning teams.
Jones Walker recognized the team with the most entrepreneurial
spirit through sponsorship of the $2,000 Jones Walker
Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. This award went to Prodigy
Powersports (junior mechanical engineering majors Roy
Humphries II, John Dighton and Sierra Irwin) for an innovative
electric four-wheeler.
Veritas Imaging also won the $2,000 Ruston-Lincoln Parish
Business Awards Best Presentation Award. Proceeds generated
by the Ruston-Lincoln Parish Business Awards Breakfast, a
collaborative event of the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
and the Louisiana Tech College of Business, fund the award.
Supporting sponsors for the TOP DAWG include the Louisiana
Tech College of Business, Louisiana Tech College of Engineering
and Science, the Louisiana Tech Student Activity Grant, the Center
for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology (CEnIT), the
Louisiana Tech Enterprise Center, and the Technology Business
Development Center (TBDC).
The TOP DAWG was established in 2002 and was organized
by the student organization Bulldog Entrepreneurs, (formerly The
Association of Business Engineering and Science Entrepreneurs,
or ABESE). Bulldog Entrepreneurs promotes and cultivates an
entrepreneurial culture on the Tech campus.
Guice honored
with 2009 Robert
E. Russ Award
Dr. Leslie K. Guice, vice president for
research and development at Louisiana
Tech, received the 2009 Robert E. Russ
Award from the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber
of Commerce.
The award is one of the most prestigious
civic honors that can be presented to a
citizen of Lincoln Parish. It was established
to recognize those who have contributed to
the civic, business or cultural advancement
or development of the region in an
outstanding manner.
Guice has served on the faculty and
administration at Tech since 1978 and has
been the catalyst for many of Tech’s new
entrepreneurial and innovation enterprises.
Most recently, Guice led the planning
and establishment of Tech’s new research
park, Enterprise Campus, which will serve
as a home for high-tech companies and
government agencies looking to utilize
the intellectual and research strengths of
Louisiana Tech.
Guice’s work has further led to
development of cyber-related programs
such as the Center for Secure Cyberspace
and the Cyber Research Laboratory. These
entities will both be housed in Tech Pointe,
the first multi-tenant facility currently
under construction at Enterprise Campus.
Additionally, the partnership he has
created with the Cyber Innovation Center
in Bossier City has established Tech as a
leader in cyber research and education.
Stacy Gilbert, director of co-curricular programs and disability services at
Louisiana Tech University, has been recognized as an Outstanding First-Year Student
Advocate by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students
in Transition at the University of South Carolina.
Gilbert was selected from a distinguished pool of candidates as one of ten
educators nationally who have demonstrated exceptional work on behalf of first-year
students and for the impact their efforts have on the students and culture of their
institutions.
Gilbert credits Dr. Linda Griffin, Tech’s dean of student development, and Dr.
Norman Pumphrey, director of Tech’s Bulldog Achievement Resource Center, as well
as Louisiana Tech’s rich history of programs aimed at helping the first-year student,
for creating a solid foundation for the First-Year Experience program.
Louisiana Tech’s First-Year Experience program was created to support and
advance efforts to
improve academic
and co-curricular
resources into and
through the firstyear student’s higher
education experience.
It focuses primarily on
giving the first-year
student the resources
and support needed to
successfully transition
to college.
Tech Named To Honor Roll
Louisiana Tech is on the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service
Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for
involvement in volunteerism, service-learning and civic engagement.
Six projects were submitted through Tech’s Center for Academic and Professional
Development (CAPD). The projects were led by faculty from the Colleges of Applied
and Natural Sciences, Engineering and Science, and Liberal Arts.
• Maternal Newborn Community Outreach Program – Nancy Darland and
Tanya Sims, Nursing
• Habitat for Humanity Home Construction – Kevin Stevens, Architecture
• Earthquake Simulation Chamber – Mel Corley, Mechanical Engineering
• Mentoring Boy Scouts for Aviation Badges – Gary Odom, Aviation
• Sparta Conservation Project – Aaron Lusby and Gary Kennedy, Agricultural
Sciences
• Shaken Baby Syndrome Education – Tanya Sims and Donna Hood, Nursing
“This is a great honor, and is clearly due to the efforts of the faculty whose projects
were submitted as exemplary service-learning projects at Louisiana Tech,” said Dr.
Rick Simmons, director of the CAPD.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the
annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities from
around the nation for their impact on various social and civic issues.
Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the scope and
innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities,
incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic servicelearning courses.
www.latech.edu | 23
news around campus
Simmons
publishes
‘Grand’ book
Dr. Rick Simmons, the
George K. Anding Endowed
Professor of English and
director of the Honors
Program at Louisiana Tech,
has published his third book,
Hidden History of the Grand
Strand.
The book chronicles the
often-overlooked aspects
of the history of the coastal area of South Carolina from
Georgetown to Little River, known as the Grand Strand,
which includes Simmons’ home, Pawleys Island. The book
looks at events spanning more than 500 years, from the
lost Spanish flagship Capitana in 1526 to the German
U-Boats that reportedly roamed the Intracoastal Waterway
with the help of local collaborators during World War II.
The book also examines little-known aspects of local
history such as the now-vanished villages of La Grange
and Lafayette; the great canal on North Island; the wrecks
of the Freeda A Wyley, the USS Harvest Moon, and the
City of Richmond; and the stories behind the legend of Old
Gunn Church, the Ocean Forest Hotel, the U-Boat pens
on the Waccamaw River, and Blackbeard’s lair on Drunken
Jack Island.
The book is available online at Amazon.com, Barnes
& Noble.com and other national book retailers. Hidden
History of the Grand Strand follows his previous books
Factory Lives: Four 19th-Century British Working-Class
Autobiographies (Broadview Press, 2007) and Defending
South Carolina’s Coast: The Civil War from Georgetown to
Little River (The History Press, 2009).
news around campus
Executive MBA
Program Expanding
At a time when Louisiana universities are shrinking their programs,
Louisiana Tech has one that is expanding.
The College of Business started an Executive MBA program at
the Technology Transfer Center in Shreveport in January 2009 with
an inaugural class of 14 students. They will complete the last of four
terms this fall and will graduate in November.
A second program was started in Monroe in January of this year
with 23 students. This program is held at CenturyLink’s headquarters
in conjunction with the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s College of
Business.
“With the start-up success of the Shreveport program, we felt we
had the opportunity to expand our presence to the Monroe market,”
said James Lumpkin, Dean of the College of Business. “We found that
there was considerable interest in executive business education in
Monroe.”
Added Sean Dwyer, Director of the EMBA programs, “Taken
together, in less than two years the College of Business has added
37 full-time graduate students to Louisiana Tech’s enrollment, a
significant achievement from an enrollment perspective. In addition,
we now have a significant presence in the Monroe and Shreveport
markets that we previously did not have. Both are programs for which
Louisiana Tech alumni should be quite proud.”
Louisiana Tech’s Executive MBA programs differ from its campusbased MBA program in two primary ways. First, enrollment is limited
to those who have significant managerial and business experience.
Secondly, classes are held on alternating weekends on Friday evenings
and Saturdays. In addition, student interaction during classes is a large
part of the learning experience, allowing the executives to share their
insights and experience with their classmates.
Applications are currently being accepted for the second cohort of
students in Shreveport who will begin classes in January 2011.
For more information, go to www.business.latech.edu/emba or
contact Dwyer at [email protected] or (318) 257-3584.
Civil engineering students float to victory –
in a concrete canoe
Louisiana Tech placed first in the Deep South Conference of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 2010 Concrete Canoe
Competition this spring in New Orleans.
The Concrete Canoe Competition requires each university to design, construct and race a canoe made mostly of concrete. Canoes were
judged for technical design, innovative use of advanced materials,
aesthetics, construction and performance.
Since last fall, Tech’s students had been developing a special
high-strength, low density concrete hull specifically for the event.
They held several “cold practices” on local lakes over the winter to
make sure they could achieve the best performance of the hull.
Professor and faculty advisor Rob McKim said, “I have never
worked with a better group of students. This is a team effort that
requires leadership, technical skills and lots of hard work.”
LSU’s team placed second; the University of Memphis was
third.
Marketing,
business
professor
receives
prestigious
national award
Dr. Barry J. Babin, chair of the
department of marketing and
analysis and the Max P. Watson
professor of business at Louisiana Tech, received the prestigious
Harold W. Berkman Service Award from the Academy of
Marketing Science (AMS).
This award was established in 2005 and is given to an
individual for distinguished longtime service to the AMS and the
marketing discipline. The award was created to honor Berkman,
who is the founder of the AMS as well as the Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science.
Babin is respected for his research in the area of consumer
and employee interface within the exchange environment. He has
co-authored several books and engages in consulting and teaching
activities centered around consumer research approaches,
creativity and problem solving.
Tech engineering and
science students win big
Louisiana Tech engineering and science students placed first
in design, first in team spirit, second in urban car concept and
13th in the combustible fuels category this spring in the 2010
Shell Eco Marathon in Houston.
Shell sponsors the annual event as a challenge to students
to design and build the most fuel efficient vehicles possible.
Tech entered three cars and competed against schools such
as the University of Houston, Purdue, Penn State, NYU
and universities from Italy and Canada. The students who
participated in the project did so as volunteers, designing,
building, painting and testing the cars on their own time,
usually in the evenings after class and on weekends.
This year, the Louisiana Tech team received some special
recognition as Shell used its red urban design as the image for
its worldwide poster. Dr. Heath Tims, assistant professor of
mechanical engineering and the Tech team’s faculty sponsor,
also served on the event’s steering committee.
Human Ecology
professor authors
one of 2009’s
best ‘workfamily’ research
articles
Dr. Tammy Harpel, associate
professor and graduate program
coordinator for family and child
studies at Louisiana Tech, was recognized by the Center for
Families at Purdue University and the Boston College Center for
Work and Family for authoring one of the 20 best “work-family”
research articles of 2009.
As part of the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in
Work-Family Research competition, Harpel’s article was selected
from a pool of more than 2,000 papers published in 75 of the
world’s leading English-language scholarly journals.
The award aims to raise awareness of excellent work-family
research, foster debate about standards of excellence and identify
studies deemed as the “best of the best” on which to base future
research.
“Dr. Harpel’s accomplishment further exemplifies the high
quality of research being produced at Louisiana Tech,” said Amy
Yates, director of Tech’s School of Human Ecology. “To have a
faculty member’s work recognized in the top 1 percent of scholarly
family research speaks to the high caliber of faculty we have here
in the School of Human Ecology as well as to the excellence of the
Family and Child Studies Program.”
The School of Human Ecology at Louisiana Tech University
was the first of its kind in the state and only the third in the south
to offer programs in the human ecology disciplines.
www.latech.edu | 25
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
distinguished history, call 1-800-738-7950.
t
ligh
t
o
p
s
Estates of A.W. and Screven Thompson
Fund Two $1 Million Chairs
N
IE
E N GI
EE
LEGE O
NCE
OL
F
C
A substantial gift from the Estates of A.W. (Addison Walter) and
Screven Thompson to Louisiana Tech University recently funded
two $1 million chairs. The gift from the estates totaled $1.2 million
and was matched with $800,000 from the Louisiana Education
Quality Support Fund, established by the State of Louisiana, to
create two chairs – one benefiting the College of Business and one
benefiting the College of Liberal Arts.
The $1 million chair in the College of Business will benefit the
Department of Finance and will be named in memory of Virginia
Spinks Thompson, mother of A.W.
The $1 million chair in the School of Literature and Language,
College of Liberal Arts, was created in memory of Screven’s mother,
Eunice Coon Williamson, who was a member of the Tech faculty
and taught both English and Latin.
The chairs enhance Louisiana Tech’s attractiveness in recruiting
and retaining top faculty. The recipients of each chair will
be expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarly
productivity, service effectiveness and collegiality.
A.W. and Screven Thompson
A.W. and Screven Thompson were longtime residents of the
Ruston community. A.W. graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1936 with a bachelor’s degree in business. Following graduation,
A.W. Thompson served in the United States Army, and upon his return to Ruston he began his lifelong career as a banking professional.
A.W. Thompson began his banking career at First National Bank in Ruston and, in 1975, became president of Ruston Building and Loan
until his retirement in 1992. He continued as Director Emeritus at the Bank of Ruston until his death in July of 2009.
Screven Thompson was married to A.W. for 73 years and supported him in his career while participating in a number of civic and
community organizations. The Thompsons were longtime members of Trinity United Methodist Church.
RIN G & SC
Lagniappe Ladies Make First Grant
Awards
The Lagniappe Ladies, Louisiana Tech’s ladies-only giving
society, has made its first grant awards totaling $34,500. Forty-four
grant applications were made; these eight were funded:
1. Prescott Memorial Library, $5,000: Funding for liberal arts
book collection.
2. Louisiana Tech Chapter of the National Student SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association, $5,000: Funds to renovate
the Speech and Hearing Center.
3. Tech Choral Society, $3,500: Funds to purchase new risers
for the Louisiana Tech Choirs.
4. Louisiana Tech School of Architecture, $5,000: Funds will
be used to repair broken tools or buy new tools to use while
building the Habitat for Humanity house.
5. Faculty of the Scientific and Technical Presentations Class,
English 363, in the School of Literature and Language,
$1,000: Funds will be used to purchase classroom tools
and resources to be used by the Scientific and Technical
Presentations faculty to provide a more fully developed and
useful learning environment for the students in these classes.
6. Louisiana Tech School of Forestry, $5,000: The funds will
be used to construct a nature trail on the Louisiana Tech
Arboretum located at the Tech Farm on South Campus.
The construction of this trail is part of a larger Arboretum
revitalization plan tasked with three major goals: to provide
an outdoor laboratory for student instruction, environmental
research, and community outreach.
7. Marie Bukowski/Yuri Lvov, School of Art/Engineering,
$5,000: Marie Bukowski and Yuri Lvov will analyze
hundreds of images of micro and nano objects with confocal
fluorescent laser microscopy and electron microscopy
produced at our Engineering Department. These images will
include unique never before seen by human eye acts, such as
nano-modification of viruses and microbes when researchers
build on these natural objects shells and other new tools,
remarkable images of drug nanocapsules fighting cancer
cells, wood microfibers modified with nano-engineering
for better paper production, etc. Then, with these images, a
body of artistic work will be created through inspiration to
bring scientific phenomena to larger social groups. All these
will enhance artistic vision, making Louisiana Tech’s visual
art more unique, and will help promote Louisiana Tech’s
engineering achievement for better public awareness of new
nano and micro technology.
8. The College of Engineering and Science, $5,000: Funds
will be used to refurbish a Steinway grand piano which was
donated to the College for use in the Biomedical Engineering
Building Rotunda.
Lagniappe Ladies, formed in August 2009, is a giving circle,
created for women who passionately support the mission and the
vision of Louisiana Tech. This group of Tech alumnae and friends
pool financial resources, then jointly decide how the resources
are spent. In essence, the group awards grants to campus projects,
programs and initiatives that it deems would make the most
significant impact upon the University and the community.
Total funding of a large project or program is not initially
among the objectives of the Lagniappe Ladies; rather, this group
seeks to find ways to make significant enhancements to existing
projects, programs and organizations. True to their name, they
want to be “something extra” that makes the difference between
adequacy and excellence.
Lagniappe Ladies has grown to nearly 40 members and is
currently recruiting members. To become a member of the
Lagniappe Ladies giving circle, one must donate a minimum
annual gift of $1,000. The group solicits grant proposals from
campus entities and programs and meets in the spring to award
the grants it feels are most consequential to the University. By
becoming a member now, you may participate in the awarding of
grants in the spring.
For more information about becoming a member of Lagniappe
Ladies, contact Jennifer Riley or Corre Stegall at (318) 255-7950, or
at [email protected] or [email protected].
College of Engineering and Science Receives Million
Dollar Gift
Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science recently received a generous gift of $1 million
from Tim and Elaine Petrus (1976 graduates) and XTO Energy, Inc. of Fort Worth.
The gift has a dual purpose and will create the Petrus Family Engineering Scholarship as well as fund
the Petrus STEM Research Center to be housed in the University’s proposed Integrated Engineering and
Science Education Building.
Tim Petrus, executive vice-president of XTO Energy, made the gift in honor of his parents and his
brothers and hopes it will encourage other Tech graduates to also support the University.
Once funded and constructed, the Integrated Engineering and Science Building will serve the College
of Engineering and Science, providing highly valuable space for the College. Bogard Hall, in service since
1941, is currently the College’s main building utilized for engineering and science classes and laboratories.
State-of-the art classroom and laboratory space, especially for freshman and sophomore engineering
classes, as well as new office space for faculty are planned for the new facility.
From left to right: Jennifer Riley, Marie Bukowski, and Yuri Lvov
From left to right: Jennifer Riley, dean of Library Services Mike
Dicarlo, and library staffer Lynell Buckley
www.latech.edu | 27
n e w s a b o u t yo u
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 online at
www.latechalumni.org where you can then click on “News About You.”
LOUIS BONNETTE
Calling The Shots
Sr. Associate Athletics Director/Sports Information Director, McNeese
State University
Hometown: Pineville
Current residence: Lake Charles
Degree: Journalism, ’63
How I got to Tech: There were about five or six of us from Pineville High
School who decided to go to Louisiana Tech; we all wanted to be engineers,
[but] I think that of that group, only one made it through as an engineer.
My best memories of Tech: My years at Tech were some of my best. I really
enjoyed the time I was there. I met my wife Willene there; I made friends with a lot of great athletes and
coaches; I just enjoyed going to school and taking part in all of the activities that the school provided.
My advice for college freshmen today: My advice to college freshmen is that “you can do it.” Earning a college
degree is not that difficult; it just takes commitment.
The most exciting or gratifying part of sports writing: The event and then the athletes and the coaches who you
work with. I have covered and written about some of the best in the nation. I really enjoy the interviewing,
[the] putting together of and the writing of a story.
During my 44 years at McNeese, I’m most proud of: I think just the fact that I have done my job to the best of my
ability and have been recognized for it. Also, I am very proud of my sons who have followed in my profession;
Michael is the [sports information director] at LSU, and Matthew is assistant SID at Northwestern State. My
daughter Anne had all the training to be an SID, but she chose the nursing profession.
How I chose my career: After I got out of engineering, I went into journalism because it was a field that I had
been interested in. Our instructors were Kenneth Hewins and Pete Dosher. Pete was also the school’s sports
information director. I learned a lot from Pete about covering sports, and when I graduated I joined the
Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise as a sports writer; about three years later I was offered the job at McNeese State
University and have been here since.
1954
Jack B. Scoggins, mechanical
engineering, was honored by the
Department of Transportation and
the Federal Aviation Administration
with the rare Wright Brothers “Master
Pilot” Award given to pilots with 50
or more years of flying experience.
That experience includes teaching
and certifying numerous others
pilots on various models of planes,
instruments, helicopters and gliders.
1956
L. Paul Teague, petroleum
engineering, was inducted into the
Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Hall of
Fame in Denver. On his retirement
from Texaco as regional vice
president, he joined the board of Key
Production Company, which is now
Cimarex Energy Company, the largest
oil and gas company headquartered
in Colorado. Teague currently serves
as Director of Cimarex Energy
Company and Chairman of the
Compensation and Governance
Committee.
1957
Ronald ‘Ron’ Harrell, petroleum
engineering, was elected as a Life
Director of the Louisiana Tech
Engineering and Science Foundation
at the May 8 meeting. He is Chairman
Emeritus and Advisor to the Board of
Ryder Scott Co. in Houston.
1960
J. Sherwood
White,
chemical
engineering,
received the
Volunteer
Award from
Molina
Healthcare
of Florida at its first Community
Champions Awards dinner, held at
the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.
He has been involved in numerous
organizations during his nearly 40
years of community service and
volunteerism. His first volunteer
position was teaching teens and
coordinating the youth program at St.
Petersburg First Baptist Church. As a
board member for the St. Petersburg
Free Clinic, he recently led efforts to
improve facilities at Beacon House,
an emergency shelter for homeless
men. He is currently a nominee for
the Senior Hall of Fame for all of his
community work.
1962
J. Frank Betts,
accounting,
was elected
Chairman
of the
International
Board of
Directors of
CPA Associates
International, Inc. He is a founding
and managing member of Eubank
& Betts, PLLC in Jackson, Miss.
He is also director of Peer Review
Services and assists many CPA firms
in complying with standards in the
quality of their audit and accounting
practices.
Henry Bert Crawley, physics,
received the 2010 Distinguished
Alumni Award from the College
of Engineering and Science. These
awards recognize individuals from
each program or discipline of
the college for their professional
accomplishments in engineering
and science, as well as for their
outstanding service as ambassadors
for Tech. Crawley is a professor of
physics at Iowa State University.
1963
Bobby B. Lyle, mechanical
engineering, has been elected to the
Communities Foundation of Texas
board of trustees. He will act as a
steward for almost 900 charitable
funds and exercise final authority
over all foundation investments and
charitable grants. He is chairman,
president and CEO of Lyco Holdings,
Inc. in Dallas.
1964
D. Wayne Parker, business
administration, is the new University
of Louisiana System Board vice chair.
He was appointed to the board in
2003 and has served the past two
years as parliamentarian.
J. Michael
‘Mike’
Pearson, civil
engineering,
was elected
Secretary
for the
Louisiana Tech
Engineering
and Science Foundation for 2010-11
at the May 8 meeting. He is CEO of
Orion Marine Group in Houston.
1971
Michael Kern, chemical engineering,
was elected to a three-year term as
a Director of the Louisiana Tech
at the May 8 meeting. He is retired
senior vice president of Huntsman
Corp. in Houston.
William ‘Bill’ Slack, electrical
engineering, was elected to a threeyear term as a Director of the
Louisiana Tech Engineering and
Science Foundation at the May 8
meeting. He is president and owner of
B&D Electrical Contractors and Slack
Building, LLC in Longview, Texas.
1972
Martha
“Cookie”
Moore Greer,
elementary
education, has
been named
Tennessee’s
2010 National
Distinguished
Principal by the National Association
of Elementary School Principals.
She is serving her 12th year as a
principal in Kingsport City Schools
and is principal at John Sevier Middle
School in Kingsport.
Travis L. Taylor, forestry, was elected
Secretary of the American Logging
Council at the annual conference
held in Flagstaff, Ariz., in September
2009. He will become president in
three years. He has been logging for
42 years.
A. C. Hollins, Jr., construction
technology, was elected President of
the Louisiana Tech Engineering and
Science Foundation for 2010-11 at the
May 8 meeting. He is the Assistant
General Manager and Director of
Site Operations for National Security
Technologies (manages the Nevada
Test Site facilities) in Las Vegas.
1969
1973
1967
O.K. “Buddy” Davis, journalism, was
named “Mr. Basketball 2010” by the
Louisiana Association of Basketball
Coaches. The award goes to someone
who has made a significant, longterm contribution to the game in the
state and at any level. He is a sports
writer for the Ruston Daily Leader.
C. Shelby Patrick, medical
technology, was named 2009-10
“Leader of the Year” by the Texas
Classroom Teachers Association. He
teaches chemistry at Hirschi High
School in Wichita Falls, Texas/
William “Tommy” Barr, civil
engineering, has been hired by
Hunt, Guillot & Associates, LLC
as relationship manager for HGA
Pipeline Division. He is a professional
engineer with more than 30 years
of experience in oil and gas project
activities.
Connie Elkins
Bradford,
elementary
education
(master’s
curriculum
and instruction
1998), was
Richard Oxner
Flying and Fighting
Air Force Colonel, Commander 189th Mission Support Group
Hometown: New Sarpy
Currently reside in: Washington, D.C.
Degree and year of graduation: Mechanical engineering, ’87
What brought me to Tech: Growing up in South Louisiana, it seemed that most
everyone went to a college close to home - Southeastern, Nicholls, LSU, etc.
I was a big LSU Tigers football fan but didn’t want to be just a number at
a large university. I originally planned to go to the New Mexico Institute
of Mining and Technology, but due to cost, my parents couldn’t afford to
send me, so I turned my focus a little closer to home. After a little searching, I found Louisiana Tech; the
university had a good engineering program, and it was just the right fit with about 10,000 students at the time
I enrolled.
How I chose my career: After graduating from Tech in 1987, I spent some time doing nuclear power work, but I
grew up always wanting to be a part of the military. Through an odd series of events, I landed in the Arkansas
Air National Guard. I didn’t know the ANG existed until 1990 after a friend of mine, also a Louisiana Tech
grad, enlisted. I joined just before Desert Shield/Storm. He was soon discharged due to medical reasons, and I
have been a part of it ever since. We joke that I am his only contribution to the Arkansas Air National Guard.
The biggest challenge of being responsible for more than 420 Guardsmen: Keeping them trained and up to
speed in our current environment. With the onslaught of technology, our systems, training requirements,
regulations, instructions, etc, change with lightning speed and to keep someone up to date and current that you
see only 39 days a year is really, really tough. We have some outstanding men and women who, as Guardsmen,
struggle to balance a civilian job, families, school and the military and deploying for up to a year overseas.
My advice to college freshmen today: I think I would have three things to tell them. 1) Become critical thinkers,
2) think for yourself, and 3) continue your education at every opportunity…When I say, “continue your
education,” that doesn’t necessarily equal a higher degree. It means look, watch, read and listen to the world
around you and develop a deeper understanding of what, why and how things occur. Seek to understand the
root of the problems, not just the symptoms.
My best memories of Tech: I probably shouldn’t put those in print.... but it is definitely the people I met and
some of the things that we did together. I met people from all over the world and the United States and
remain friends with several of those today, even though once again, we are scattered throughout the country.
May I mention a specific weekend road trip to New Orleans? Probably shouldn’t.....
recently appointed by Governor
Bobby Jindal to the Governor’s
Advisory Council on Safe and Drug
Free Schools and Communities. She
is also a member of the Louisiana
Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education and is principal of Cedar
Creek School in Ruston.
Ronnie A. Sims, history, was
inducted into Lamar University’s
Educator Hall of Fame November 5,
2009. Inductees are Lamar University
graduates who have distinguished
themselves in education and teaching.
He is the superintendent of the
Lumberton Independent School
District.
1974
Douglas E. Carnahan, Jr., civil
engineering technology, has been
elected to Merrick & Company’s
board of directors. He has been with
the firm for the past seven years
and upon retiring in late 2009 was
elected to the board to continue
his contribution to the firm that is
headquartered in Aurora, Colo.
1975
William ‘Bill’ Brown, civil
engineering, became past president of
the Louisiana Tech Engineering and
Science Foundation for 2010-11 at the
May 8 meeting. He is vice president
for engineering for Tidewater Inc. in
Metairie.
Steven ‘Steve’ Saucier, chemical
meeting. He is CEO of Robbins, LLC,
Muscle Shoals, Ala.
1976
Suzanne Nolte Blackwelder, business
education, has been reappointed to
the Lincoln Parish Board of Election
Supervisors by Governor Bobby
Jindal. The Lincoln Parish Board
of Election Supervisors, within the
Parish Boards of Election Supervisors,
monitors the preparation for and
the conduction of elections within
Lincoln Parish.
Timothy L. Petrus, petroleum
meeting. He is returning to the board,
having previously served 2002-05.
He will also serve on the Nominating
Committee. Petrus is vice president
of XTO Energy (recently acquired by
ExxonMobil) in Fort Worth.
1977
Gary Young, economics, has been
selected to serve as interim provost
and vice chancellor for academic
affairs at Montana State University
Billings. He has been dean of the
College of Business since December
2006.
Tony R. Young, psychology, has
been appointed by Governor Bobby
Jindal to the Louisiana State Board
of Examiners of Psychologists. He is
www.latech.edu | 29
Carl G. Mayer
Where there’s a Goodwill, there’s a way
Senior Vice President/COO of Goodwill
Hometown: Bossier City
Now resides in: Haughton
Degree and year of graduation: Accounting, ’77
How I got to Tech: …it seemed preordained that I would go to Tech. I never
gave other possibilities much thought. My father, the late William G. Mayer
Sr., graduated from Tech in civil engineering in the late 1940s. He met
my mother, the late Tommye Watson Mayer, while she was also attending
Tech. Then my two older sisters, Carolyn Mayer Hunter and Jeanne Mayer
Jerding, both got degrees at Tech, as did my older brother, William G. Mayer Jr. By the time I came along
there was really no decision to be made!
An average day on the job: Our Goodwill employs over 500 people in the northernmost 26 parishes in
Louisiana and is part of a network of over 180 Goodwills throughout the world. There really is no average day
here, and that’s one of the things I really love about my job. It is a place that presents endless opportunities for
our employees, the clients we serve and for me personally.
How Tech helped prepare me: In addition to the obvious great education I received at Tech, I learned about the
importance and lifelong value of relationships. I was challenged to set my goals as high as possible: work hard,
enjoy life and accomplish much.
Advice to incoming freshmen: I would tell them a few things: 1) Take a deep breath, look around and absorb it
all. Your college days will be some of your best memories, so make sure they are all great memories. 2) Never
do anything you cannot be proud of – who knows, you may be running for President someday. 3) Don’t take
yourself too seriously; no one else really does. And last but not least: 4) when you hit the real world, never
consider yourself indispensable to your employer – you’re likely not.
If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s: There is little satisfaction in doing things the easy way. I’ll paraphrase JFK’s
explanation for committing the U.S. to go to the moon: “We do these things not because they are easy, but
because they are hard.” With that being said, I also know there is a difference in doing things easily and doing
things efficiently.
My favorite memories of Tech: My friends. I got to know better the folks that I had known prior to my days at
Tech, and of course made many new lifelong friends. We even had an intramural team that actually won the
Campus Championship in the Independent Division one year, which was pretty cool. We figured if you at
least participated in every sport, did OK in some and won one or two that you could win the Championship,
so that’s what we did. I even ran – and I use that term loosely - in the Cross County event once with a few
other guys.
a psychology professor at Louisiana
Tech University.
1978
George Baldwin, petroleum
engineering, was elected Treasurer
of the Louisiana Tech Engineering
Foundation at the May 8 meeting
for 2010-11. He will also serve
as Chairman of the Investment
Committee He is president of Ensight
III Energy in Shreveport.
Sandy Price Johnson, mathematics,
was elected to a second term as
at the May 8 meeting and will serve
as a member of the Investment
Committee. She is president and
owner of Barrios Technology, Inc. in
Houston.
Michael D. Killgore, civil
engineering, was recently named
executive vice president, director of
construction services for Primoris
Services Corporation, one of the
largest specialty contractors and
engineering companies in the United
States. He has more than 30 years
of experience in the construction
industry, 20 years of which have been
in a management capacity.
Eugene L. Trammell, mechanical
engineering, has joined the Service
Assurance Business Unit of CA,
Inc. as senior advisor, business
unit operations in the South San
Francisco facility. He will lead the
customer relationship programs
and organizational and cultural
development.
1979
DeNeise Nettles Barlow, education,
has been awarded the Southwest
Regional Council for the National
Recreation and Parks Association
Fellow Award. She is director of
Recreational Service at the Louisiana
Methodist Children’s Home.
Dave Nitz,
journalism, has
been named
Louisiana
Sportscaster
of the Year by
the National
Sportscasters
and
Sportswriters Association. He is in
his 35th year of broadcasting Bulldog
basketball, football and baseball,
and he recently called his 2,000th
game at Tech. His time at Tech is the
fourth-longest tenure of any current
broadcaster at one school.
1980
Hilton Nicholson, electrical
engineering, was elected Vice
President of the Louisiana Tech
for 2010-11; he will become President
in 2011. He is CEO of SIXNET in
Clifton Park, N.Y.
Katherine
Taken Smith,
business
administration
(Doctor of
Business
Administration,
1986), was
presented the
Outstanding Educator Award by the
Academy of Educational Leadership
at its international conference in New
Orleans. The award recognizes her
innovative and creative teaching. She
teaches global marketing, consumer
behavior, retailing and marketing
research at Texas A&M University’s
Mays Business School Marketing
Department.
Rae Lynn
Woods
Mitchell,
English
education
(master’s
English 1981),
has been
elected chair of
the Marketing and Public Relations
Council for the Association of
Schools of Public Health (ASPH)
followings its national annual meeting
in Philadelphia. She is director of
communications and institutional
advancement in the Texas A&M
Health Science Center School of
Rural Public Health.
1981
Frederick C. Berry, electrical
engineering (master’s electrical
engineering 1983, doctorate
engineering 1988), has been
appointed vice president of academics
at Milwaukee School of Engineering.
His areas of expertise are in circuits,
power systems, control systems,
signals and systems, and electrical
engineering design.
Walter “Rick” Holloway, pre-med,
has been elected to the Ozark Medical
Center’s board of directors. For the
past 13 years, he has been in private
practice focusing primarily on general
urology at the Urology Center of West
Plains, Mo. He also serves as chiefelect for the OMC medical staff.
1982
Teresa L. Buford, apparel and textile
merchandising, has been selected
by Stanford Who’s Who due to her
dedicated work in the healthcare
industry. She is a registered nurse
for OMC Medical Hospital in Baton
Rouge.
Ancel ‘Monty’ Offutt, electrical
meeting. He is an Associate Technical
Fellow at Boeing Co. in Huntsville,
Ala.
Suzanne Stinson
A Call to Order
Court Administrator/President of National Association for Court
Management
Terri West Towns, math education
(master’s special education 1991), has
been appointed by Governor Bobby
Jindal to the Bayou Lake D’Arbonne
Watershed District.
Hometown: Benton
Now resides in: Benton
Degree and year of graduation: Office administration ’81; general studies,
business administration ’88; master’s, business administration ’92; master’s,
industrial/oorganizational psychology ’94
1983
Jenna Price
Carpenter,
math, has
been elected
to the Board
of Governors
of the
Mathematical
Association of
America for the Louisiana-Mississippi
Section. She is the associate dean
for administration and strategic
initiatives and the Wayne and Juanita
Spinks professor of mathematics
for the College of Engineering and
Science.
1984
Keith D. Crump, civil engineering,
was recently named group vice
president for Cleco Power LLC, a
subsidiary of Cleco Corporation. He
has been with Cleco since 1989. In
his new position, Crump continues
to lead regulatory affairs, retail
operations and resource planning and
also assumes oversight of customer
service and energy delivery.
1985
W. Bryan Chapman, geology
(master’s finance 1986), has joined
IBERIABANK as executive vice
president and energy lending
manager to start an energy-lending
group. He is based in Houston and
has more than 23 years of experience
in energy lending.
Donna “Dee” Day Cochran, math,
has been appointed to the Louisiana
Physical Therapy Board. She is
director of rehabilitation services
at LSU Health Sciences CenterShreveport. She will represent
physical therapists that have an
unrestricted license to practice
physical therapy.
Robert R. Garner, chemical
engineering, has been promoted
both to vice president of operations
and engineering for the Syrgis group
and to general manager of Syrgis
Performance Specialties. He joined
Syrgis in January 2005 as the vice
president of manufacturing for
PChem, a Syrgis operating company,
and was promoted to vice president
of Manufacturing for the Syrgis global
group in October 2007. He has 30
years of experience in production,
maintenance, engineering, product/
Advice to incoming freshmen: Take advantage of every opportunity afforded you
at school so that you won’t have regrets later in life.
Favorite memories of Tech: I enjoyed being in the marching band and going to football games!
How I got to Tech: I was the first of eight children in my family to attend college; six of my siblings are older
than I am. Several of my high school teachers that I admired attended Tech, and I aspired to attend the same
university. I met my soon-to-be Harper dorm roommate at an after-school job we worked together, and it
seemed to be the logical move. I received a band scholarship and business scholarship, which in addition to
my Louisiana National Guard tuition exemption helped pay my way through school.
How Tech prepared me for my current position: At first, not knowing what I wanted to pursue, I only received
my associate’s degree. I was fortunate to have landed a job as an official court reporter, a position I
maintained for 15 years. Because I’m a “Type A” nerd, I continued my education, first receiving my bachelor’s
degree, and then later two graduate degrees, all from Tech. Court systems across the country had grown to
the extent that there was a need for court administration. Our court created the position in 1993, and because
of my court experience and advanced degrees, the judges hired me to fill the position first as deputy court
administrator, and then in 1996 as the court administrator; I’ve served there since.
How I became NACM president: I had to be elected to serve on the board of directors for three years and then be
elected to serve on the officer track, first as secretary treasurer, vice-president, president-elect and president.
Because of an eight-year commitment (I must after this year serve as immediate past president), it requires
considerable support from my judges, staff and family.
If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s: Actually I’ve learned several things, and I’m still learning. If I had to limit it
to one, it’s to forgive and never burn bridges. You only hurt yourself by harboring negative feelings.
process development, process
commercialization, contracts and
transition management with various
manufacturing companies.
Elizabeth Williams Lambert-Saul,
apparel and textile merchandising,
has been hired as Vice President
of Community Affairs for the Real
Estate Council in Dallas. She has
more than 20 years of experience
in commercial real estate and
commercial real estate finance and
has been active in philanthropy
and other real estate-related trade
associations throughout her career.
Patrick H. Yancey, petroleum
engineering, has become a member
of the Louisiana Bar Foundation. The
foundation helps provide free legal
services to people across Louisiana.
He is a specialist in civil personal
injury.
1987
Miro D. Lago, history, has been
appointed general manager of the
Hilton Garden Inn Jackson, Miss. He
has worked in the hotel industry for
20 years.
Rodney
A. Young,
management
information
systems, has
released his
brand new
Jazz CD
titled, “Atlanta
Chilled,” a collection of songs that
reflect the life and emotions of the
people of Atlanta. His first CD is
titled “Deluxe Eden.”
1988
John S. Deaton, finance, has joined
Patrice & Associates, one of the
nation’s largest privately held search
firms specializing in the hospitality
industry, as Vice President of
Operations. He will be responsible
for the strategic development
and management of the Patrice
& Associates brand through the
introduction of new products and
client services as well as franchisee
support.
Rodney A. Ray, land surveying
technology, has written and produced
a feature film “Flag of My Father”
starring John Schneider and William
Devane. He was also a 15-year Tech
adjunct faculty member and started
the Monroe-based film company
R-Squared Productions in 2008.
James P. Reburn, accounting, has
been named interim dean of Samford
University’s Brock School of Business.
He has served as associate dean
since 2005 and joined the Samford
faculty in 1996, teaching primarily
accounting and information systems.
1989
Denise Coolman Attaway, journalism
(master’s English 2003), was recently
hired as the assistant to the executive
of the Livingston Parish Chamber of
Commerce. She has past experience
in news reporting at several
newspapers and radio stations.
C. Greg Lott, finance, has been
named president of Progressive Bank’s
Shreveport-Bossier City market.
www.latech.edu | 31
1990
Maribel Tuten
Childress,
elementary
education
(master’s
elementary
counseling
1993), has been
named master
principal by the state of Arkansas’
Board of Education. She completed
three years of rigorous professional
development plus additional
performance evaluations from the
Arkansas Leadership Academy. She
is principal of Monitor Elementary
School in Springdale.
1991
Bert Loe, accounting, was recently
elected as the executive vice president
for Standard Enterprises of Monroe.
1992
Anthony W. Galli, electrical
engineering (master’s electrical
engineering 1994), became vice
president of Transmission and
Technical Services at Clean Line
Energy Partners, LLC, a company
that focuses on developing long haul
HVDC transmission to connect
consumers to the very best wind
resources in the country.
University. He and his wife, Jennifer,
have a four-year-old son, Jack.
Michelle McGinnis Storch, health
and physical education, was named
the 2009 Joan Orr Air Force
Spouse of the Year. The award is
given in recognition of the most
outstanding Air Force spouse’s
volunteer achievements. She was
commended for her accomplishments
in organizing charitable events, fund
raising and helping other Air Force
spouses.
1994
Amy Gatlin Adams, elementary
education (master’s elementary
counseling 1996), has been appointed
as the elementary coordinator of
Cedar Creek School in Ruston. She
has taught at Cedar Creek School for
16 years.
1995
Ellen Turner, chemical engineering,
was elected to a three-year term as
at the May 8 meeting. She will also
serve on the Awards & Recognition
Committee. She is principal engineer,
technical services rep for Eastman
Chemical in Kingsport, Tenn.
1996
Thomas Marshall Hill, civil
engineering, a 19-year veteran
with the Louisiana Department of
Transportation, has been named the
new administrator for the agency’s
Monroe District headquarters.
Louis C. Glover, chemistry,
completed his doctorate in
supervision, curriculum, and
instruction-higher education at Texas
A&M University-Commerce, in
December 2009.
D. Layne Weeks, psychology, has
been appointed executive vice
president and chief operating officer
of Red River Valley BIDCO, Inc., a
provider of small and intermediate
business development loans. He has
more than 20 years of experience in
banking and finance.
Joshua D. McDaniel, wildlife
conservation, has been appointed
senior regulatory specialist of C&C
Technologies. His background
includes service on the state technical
advisory committee for the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation
Service and certification as a Wetland
Delineator.
1993
Chris Cook,
journalism, has
been promoted
to Director of
Communications
at Texas Tech
University
in Lubbock.
Cook, the Red
Raiders’ longtime sports information
director, will oversee the media
relations efforts of the university and
act as the university’s spokesperson.
He also will assist in the development
and execution of a comprehensive
communications strategy to align
with the university’s newly adopted
strategic plan. Cook was an assistant
sports information director for five
years at Saint Louis University from
1994-99 and spent the 1993-94 season
as an intern at Western Kentucky
1998
Susan F. Sharp, business management
and entrepreneurship, was selected
as the “Teacher of the Year” for the
high school level by the LaSalle Parish
School Board. She teaches English
Language Arts at the 10th grade level
at Jena High School, a position she
has held for the past five years of her
seven years of teaching experience.
1999
David Christopher Daniel, political
science, was recently elected to serve
as vice president of The Stricker
Foundation, an organization which
seeks to improve long-term healthcare
in the Metro-Jackson (Mississippi)
area. He was also recently inducted
with honorary membership into
Phi Delta Phi, an international
legal fraternity established in 1869
to promote a higher standard of
professional ethics. Phi Delta Phi is
among the oldest legal organizations
in North America.
2001
recently passed the state professional
engineering exam and is now a
registered professional engineer. He
is a project engineer for McClelland
Consulting Engineers, Inc. of Little
Rock.
Jane Short Watson, curriculum and
instruction, was the first recipient
of the First Lady’s Award given by
Supriya Jindal, Louisiana Governor
Bobby Jindal’s wife. The award is
designed to recognize teachers who
make a positive difference in the lives
of children in Louisiana. She has
25 years of experience in education
and currently is the literacy coach at
Ruston Elementary School.
2006
2002
Kathleen Putsch-Permenter, civil
engineering, has been awarded the
Richard Van Trump Award by the
Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas
Society of Professional Engineers. She
is an engineer with Halff Associates
in Fort Worth.
Jacob Brister, agricultural business,
has been promoted to chief of the
project management branch of the
programs and project management
division with the Army Corps of
Engineers’ Vicksburg, Miss., district
office.
Matthew C.
Vermillion,
computer
information
systems
(accounting
2004), has
accepted the
position of
assistant controller with Martin
Resource Management Corp. located
in Kilgore, Texas. After working
at KPMG for five years, he was
promoted to audit manager and
headed up the audit engagement team
as the Lead In-Charge at CenturyTel,
Inc. (now CenturyLink, Inc.).
2003
Timothy Paul Anderson, accounting,
has been named partner at Cowart,
Sargent & Webb, CPAs. His
practice focuses on providing audit
and accounting services to small
businesses and governmental and
non-profit organizations.
Ann L. Skinner, English (master’s
English 2005), has been hired by
Send Word Now in technical sales
and support initiatives for the United
Kingdom and Europe. Send Word
Now is the leading global provider
of emergency notification services.
She is a member of the Association
of Contingency Planners and is an
experienced emergency notification
trainer, relationships manager and
consultant, and has a strong technical
background.
2005
Lauren Massingale Butler, finance,
has been promoted to assistant vice
president at Ouachita Independent
Bank.
John Doyle, civil engineering,
Ryan C. Collins, accounting,
graduated from Officer Candidate
School phase III training at North
Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Wash. He was
commissioned as a second lieutenant
in the U.S. Army National Guard
and will serve as a member of a
designated unit in the Louisiana
Army National Guard.
John Corey Whaley, English (master’s
secondary education 2009), has had
his debut novel purchased by Simon
& Schuster. The novel will be released
in May of 2011.
2008
Teresa
Weatherspoon,
general studies,
has been
selected as the
2010 Maggie
Dixon Division
I Rookie Coach
of the Year
by the Women’s Basketball Coaches
Association after leading the Lady
Techsters to a 23-9 record and berth
in the NCAA Tournament. This
summer she was inducted into both
the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
in Knoxville, Tenn. and the Louisiana
Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches.
2009
David Dark, geography, was recently
promoted to plant manager with
Hexion Specialty Chemical located in
Alexandria. He and his wife, Shannon
Sibley Dark, reside in Natchitoches
with their three children.
Matthew W. Pullin, electrical
engineering, has joined Hunt, Guillot
& Associates as an engineer to the
Electrical and Instrumentation
Department.
D. Andy Smith, computer science,
has joined Hunt, Guillot & Associates
as an IT support technician.
2010
David James McGuirt, journalism,
is a district executive for the Boy
Scouts of America with the Louisiana
Purchase Council in Alexandria.
wedded bliss
Baton Rouge
1978
2003
Joyce Mann Witte, secretarial science,
and Kerry Whitefield Foster, July 10,
2009, Shreveport
Ronald Louis Landry, Jr., forestry,
and Julia Katie Sanson, March 20,
2010, Monroe
1995
Paul Alexander Pharris, English
(master’s speech 2005), and Lily
Siphironia Jeane, March 13, 2010,
Raleigh, N.C.
Brent Lamar Downs, civil
engineering, and Ashley Elaine
McCoy, March 27, 2010, West
Monroe
1999
Ashley Michelle McMahon, civil
engineering, and Mike Kerns, Dec.
31, 2009, Lake Charles
Allison Elizabeth Rushton, early
childhood education, and Matthew
Griffin, Feb.14, 2010, Magnolia, Ark.
2000
Margot Marion Bell, biology, and
Richard Paul Eason, computer
information systems 1999, Jan. 9,
2010, Shreveport
2001
Brian Daniel Atchley, civil
engineering, and Delise Nicole Hart,
Dec. 20, 2009, Shreveport
Melissa Anne Campbell, marketing
(master’s business administration
2003), and Alan Dawson, Jan. 16,
2010, Houston
2004
Ashley Denise Roach, marketing,
and Shon Christopher Smith, Feb. 17,
2010, Ruston
Lindsey Erin Daniel, architecture,
and Daniel Kyle Allen, business
management and entrepreneurship
2008, May 8, 2010, Ruston
2005
David Matthew Abrams, architecture,
and Angela Clare David, May 8, 2010,
Shreveport
Erin Page Bordelon, accounting
2006), and Matthew Corey Cross,
April 17, 2010, Alexandria
John Patrick Crawford, chemical
engineering, and Lauren Kelly Spano,
April 24, 2010, Haughton
Justin Matthew Hicks, construction
engineering technology, and Jessica
Leigh Holmes, March 13, 2010,
Bossier City
Jason Kyle Russell, business
administration, and Sara Elizabeth
Burling, Dec. 5, 2009, Bossier City
Joshua Paul Holstead, biology, and
Kathryn Frances Haynie, May 15,
2010, West Monroe
David Adam Scott, business
administration (master’s business
administration 2002), and Jessica
Lynne Martin, Oct. 3, 2009, Monterey
Park, Calif.
Jennifer Dawn Larsen, family and
child studies (master’s family and
consumer sciences 2007), and Charles
Ernest Hogan, computer information
systems 2004 (master’s industrial/
organizational psychology 2007),
April 10, 2010, Shreveport
Shayla Annette Simon, speech
pathology, and James Carlton
Ferguson, II, May 22, 2010, Broussard
Christopher Blake Walker, health
and physical education, and Amanda
Nicole Taylor, Jan. 16, 2010, Minden
Julie Marie Williams, marketing, and
Trent Ratcliff Bondy, April 24, 2010,
Ashley Brooke Williams, marketing,
and Timothy Lance Chance, finance
2002, Dec. 12, 2009, Benton
Angela Michelle Thompson, general
studies, and Michael Buck Norton,
Dec. 12, 2009, Shreveport
Anna Lee Mitchell, health and
physical education/wellness, and
Christian Andrew Cox, June 5, 2010,
Rochester, Minn.
Maggie Lynn Cathey, nursing, and
Jeremiah Alan Raab, June 5, 2010,
Shreveport
Katherine Grace Sutton, English
(master’s English 2007), and Stuart
Lawson Murphy, general studies
2009, May 22, 2010, Ruston
2006
Melissa Erin Feduccia, marketing,
and Rick Dale Hines, April 24, 2010,
Deville
Andrea Adele Andries, architecture,
and Alex Deshotels, Aug. 22, 2009,
Baton Rouge
Jacqueline Elayne Stevens,
general studies, and Brock Wesley
Kitchingham, computer information
systems 2006, May 1, 2010, Monroe
Jeremiah Christopher Sutton,
kinesiology and health promotion,
and Monica Ann Woolley, Feb. 27,
2010, Quitman
Jamie Ann Johnson, speech, and
Tyler Cade McConathy, Dec. 27,
2009, Marion, Ark.
2002
Jennifer Michelle Quinnelly, speech,
and Stephen G. Bell, biology, Dec. 19,
2009, Ruston
Sandi Deniece Locklear, mechanical
engineering, and Jason Daniel
Thomas, environmental science 2007,
March 13, 2010,
Erin Kathryn Loyd, interior design,
and John Tsimis, May 22, 2010,
Shreveport
Angela Jill Pentecost, psychology
(master’s counseling and guidance
2007), and Corey Wade May,
sociology 2009, April 3, 2010, Ruston
Krystal Ann Penuell, marketing, and
Kevin Paul Duncan, June 5, 2010,
Bossier City
Jessica Tara Burford, general studies,
and Mark Aaron Pendleton, March
20, 2010, Stonewall
Thomas Kelly Irvin, industrial
engineering, and Jaime Ainè LaBove,
March 13, 2010, Shreveport
Hillary Claire Peel, English, and
Robert Aulds, Dec. 19, 2009,
Chatham
Mary Elizabeth Roberson, nursing,
and Austin Garrett Jans, Feb.27, 2010,
Sterlington
Jennifer Lynn Sharp, biology, and
Eric Ashley White, May 8, 2010,
Shreveport
Carolyn Renee Slack, preprofessional
speech language pathology (master’s
speech pathology 2008), and Lee
Alymer Rainwater, forestry 2002,
June 12, 2010, Shreveport
Katie Vallery, accounting (master’s
accounting 2007), and Caleb Loftin,
May 1, 2010, Delhi
2007
Sarah Asfar, preprofessional speech
language pathology (master’s speech
pathology 2009), and Jeremy Carter,
May 29, 2010, Ruston
Aubri Jaye Brantly, general studies,
and Bruce Duane Branch, Jr., June 5,
2010, Bossier City
Amy Renee Cain, mechanical
engineering (master’s engineereing
2009), and Justin Matthew Scalfano,
Dec. 28, 2009, Bossier City
Amelia Louise Crumpler, marketing,
and Dustin Lynn Jenkins, April 24,
2010, Monroe
West Monroe
Lindsey Amanda McMillon, nursing,
and Alexander James Collins, general
studies 2004, April 10, 2010, Minden
Carrie Elizabeth Michael, biology,
and Christian Evans Bubenzer,
communication design 2009, May 1,
2010, Homer
Susannah Ruth Sally, biology, and
Joshua Paul Parks, forestry, March
13, 2010, West Monroe
Katie Matilda Stephenson, English,
and Matthew Thomas Steed, biology,
March 12, 2010, Ruston
Dana Michelle Taylor, business
administration, and John Roy
Brunson, Dec. 5, 2009, Bossier City
Laura Ashley Walpole, merchandise
and consumer studies, and Aaron
Grey Worley, April 17, 2010, Ruston
2008
Lauren Nicole Barron, family and
child studies, and Joshua Andrew
Brian, forestry 2009, April 17, 2010,
Shreveport
Jace Joseph Benoit, biomedical
engineering, and Jessica Lynn Savoie,
April 10, 2010, Webster, Texas
Clinton Jared Foster, electrical
engineering technology, and Erin
Marie Eppinette, May 8, 2010, West
Monroe
Kelly Lauren Garner, biology, and
Arif Yurdagul, biology, May 8, 2010,
Shreveport
Katie Annette Garrett, elementary
education, and Robert Alex
Dempsey, mechanical engineering
2010, May 29, 2010, Haughton
Angela Beth Gleason, biology, and
Robert Charles Smith, May 15, 2010,
Shreveport
Lane Elizabeth Griffith, civil
engineering, and Paul Forrest King,
mechanical engineering 2008, April
17, 2010, Ruston
Jacie Ann Johnson, nutrition and
dietetics, and Joseph Clinton Davis,
psychology, Dec. 12, 2009, Pasadena,
Calif.
Callie A. Killian, human resources
management (master’s business
administration 2009), and Travis
Edward Taylor, business management
and entrepreneurship 2006, March 13,
2010, Bossier City
Caleb Scott Duplissey, electrical
engineering technology, and Megan
Lynn Rentz, March 12, 2010, Monroe
Megan Elizabeth Krestensen,
communication design, and James
Richard McDavitt, electrical
engineering technology 2009, Jan. 16,
2010, Calhoun
Marissa Racheè Gilley, speech, and
Edward Brooks Greer, May 8, 2010,
Brent Allen May, environmental
science, and Amanda Lea Joseph,
www.latech.edu | 33
March 13, 2010, West Monroe
Amber Michelle Neal,
preprofessional speech language
pathology, and Jake Austin Linn, Dec.
12, 2009, Shreveport
Valerie Taylor, kinesiology and health
promotions, and Stewart Thompson,
May 8, 2010, Shreveport
Alaina Michelle Watson, biology, and
Ryan S. Strain, electrical engineering
technology, Jan. 16, 2010, Grand
Prairie, Texas
McKenzie Leigh Williams, biology,
and Seth Jisc Holloway, biology 2007,
June 5, 2010, New Orleans
2009
Kimberly Danielle Ashy,
communication design, and Kyle
Turner Swart, general studies, May 8,
2010, Ruston
Elizabeth LeMoyne Christian, music,
and Richard Paul Grisso, human
resources management 2007, April
24, 2010, Ruston
Jana Nicole Duncan, elementary
education, and Michael Scott Davis,
sociology, June 12, 2010, Ruston
Megan S. Elliott, elementary
education, and Dustin Kyle Kain,
geography, Jan. 1, 2010, Birmingham,
Ala.
Linnea Marie Fayard (master’s
general counseling), Teddy Allen,
journalism (master’s English 1984),
May 15, 2010, Ruston
Nathan R. Hendricks, marketing, and
Tina Louise Ardoin, March 6, 2010,
Shreveport
Laura Lee Johnston, English
education, and Justin Blake Brown,
Dec. 19, 2009, Calhoun
Karren Lovelady, marketing, and
Noah Bergeron, Nov. 28, 2009,
Ruston
Mary Anne Mellon, social studies,
and David Garrison Hilton,
secondary education, Dec. 12, 2009,
Woodworth
Samuel Clunan Paradise, mechanical
engineering, and Jessica Dallas James,
April 17, 2010, Bossier City
Christopher Roy Reigelman, aviation
management, and Katherine Laverne
Fountain, May 1, 2010, Ruston
Sarah J. Shadoin, family and child
studies, and Joey Elawadi, March 27,
2010, Ruston
2010
Kristen Laine Cloud, early childhood
education, and David James Poe,
family and child studies 2007, March
13, 2010, Baton Rouge
Morgan Leann Dyer, civil
engineering, and Michael Thomas
Porter, June 5, 2010, Pineville
Jeremy Farrar Magee, forestry 2000,
daughter, Avery Elizabeth, March 8,
2010, Ruston
Amanda Renee Farris, medical
technology, and Coy Daniel Cockrell,
sociology 2009, April 20, 2010,
Haughton
2001
Reba Elizabeth McCoy, wildlife
conservation, and Neil Douglas
Redford, mechanical engineering,
May 29, 2010, Castor
Justin Cole Nabors, construction
engineering technology, and Sarah
Elizabeth Clements, May 29, 2010,
Shreveport
Meggie A. Price, psychology, and
John M. Rowland, finance, March 27,
2010, Ruston
stork report
1993
Michelle McGinnis Storch, health
and physical education, and Steven
Joseph Storch, daughter, Marlee Rae,
Aug. 13, 2009, Fayetteville, N.C.
1995
Lori Rich Spellman, elementary
education, and Patrick Spellman, son,
James Jackson, Sept. 9, 2009, Corinth,
Texas
1997
Lana Jackson Bullock, sociology, and
Jason Paul Bullock, animal biology
1999, son, Jackson Paul, Feb. 8, 2010,
Ruston
Meredith Musgrove Whitaker,
early childhood education (master’s
curriculum and instruction 2002),
and Ron Whitaker, forestry 1996,
daughter, Ella Katherine, May 12,
2010, Ruston
1998
Judson Golden Banks, marketing,
and Gina Dressel Banks, son, Reid
William, Dec. 11, 2009, Baton Rouge
Tia Johnson Crowley, sociology,
and Wendell Martin Crowley, Jr.,
electrical engineering technology
2003, son, Wendell Martin, III, Nov.
10, 2009, New Orleans
Stephanie Kearns Greer, general
studies, and Thomas “Trey” Marbury
Greer, architecture 1998, daughter,
Lily Elissa, Feb. 18, 2010, Flint, Texas
Bridget Stevens Hazel, general
studies, and Chris Hazel, daughter,
Madelyn Grace, April 7, 2010,
Leesville
Allyson Lanclos Vogt, history, and
Benjamin Aaron Vogt, marketing,
daughter, Annemarie Clair, May 23,
2010, Baton Rouge
2002
Cory Willis Dawsey, sociology, and
Jennie McManus Dawsey, daughter,
Eden Lane, Dec. 14, 2009, Ruston
Brooke Lassiter Stoehr, business
administration, and Scott Stoehr,
daughter, Aubrey Ellen, March 25,
2010, Lubbock, Texas
Kasie Burnum Woods, family infancy
and early childhood education, and
Jay Bradley Woods, forestry 2003,
son, Bradley Martin, April 18, 2010,
Ruston
2003
Elizabeth Ganey Cramer, elementary
education (master’s curriculum and
instruction 2005), and Shawn Cramer,
daughter, Drew Elizabeth, May 21,
2009, Ruston
Michael John Lenard, sociology, and
Brandi Stanley Lenard, daughter,
Brooks Ann, May 12, 2010, West
Monroe
2000
Adam Michael McGuirt, business
administration, and April St. Andre
McGuirt, daughter, Emily Grace,
April 8, 2010, Ruston
Stephen Kirk Blackwelder,
mechanical engineering, and
Elizabeth Rivera Garcia Blackwelder,
daughter, Victoria Elizabeth, May 13,
2010, Keller, Texas
J’Nell Moentmann Sanderson, family
and child studies, and Joshua Lynn
Sanderson, secondary education
2004, daughter, Addison Joy, Dec. 2,
2009, Choudrant
Miranda Gemelli Gashel, psychology,
and Eric James Gashel, marketing
2000 (computer information systems
2001), son, Camden Reece, April 14,
2010, Ruston
Lori Lutes Seacrist, kinesiology and
health promotion, and Philip Seacrist,
daughter, Shelby Grace, July 9, 2009,
Dubach
Leah Young Madden, medical
technology, and Wesley Madden,
nursing 2006, daughter, Avangeline
Grace, Dec. 20, 2009, Ruston
Johnathan Lamar Spillers, health
and physical education (master’s
curriculum and instruction 2007),
and Tiffany Spillers, son, Cason
Charles, June 24, 2009, West Monroe
Tara Decker Magee, preprofessional
speech language pathology, and
2004
Valerie Gashel Costanza, nutrition
and dietetics (master’s nutrition and
dietetics 2005), and Samuel Thomas
Costanza, industrial engineering
2003, daughter, Amelia Claire, April
13, 2010, Ruston
Amber Obaze Ford, psychology,
and Daryl Ford, forestry 2005, son,
Darren Lee, May 4, 2010, Haynesville
Garson Hood Woodard, family
infancy and early childhood
education, and Matthew Clayton
Woodard, accounting 2003 (master’s
accounting 2004), son Campbell
Clayton, June 3, 2010, Ruston
Elise Autin Sanchez, health
information technology (photography
2006), and Truett Daniel Sanchez,
civil engineering 2004, son, Roman
Truett, Jan. 7, 2010, New Orleans
Susan Strain Williams, biology
education, and James Zachary
Williams, history 2004, son, Bennett
Hardy, March 8, 2010, Ruston
2005
Misty Cheek Falting, speech language
hearing therapy (master’s speech
pathology 2007), and Christopher
Kyle Falting, secondary education
2006 (master’s curriculum and
instruction 2008), daughter, Lilla Joy,
Sept. 9, 2009, Bossier City
Stacey McInerney Goss, industrial
engineering, and Brian Goss, son,
Evan Michael, Oct. 15, 2009, Bay City,
Mich.
Laura McMillian Kiletico, business
administration, and Micah Joel
Kiletico, civil engineering 2003,
daughter, Olivia Louise, April 20,
2010, Sneads Ferry, N.C.
Julia Styrsky Sutterfield, accounting,
and Danny Sutterfield, son, Patrick
Cullen, July 26, 2009, Westworth
Village, Texas
2006
Leah James Gordon, finance,
and Matthew Gordon, secondary
education 2006, daughter, Graycen
Leigh, May 19, 2009, West Monroe
Amanda Lafitte Iles, animal science,
and John Clint Iles, forestry 2006,
daughter, Sydney Kaye, Feb. 22, 2010,
Woodworth
2007
Carrifrances DiCarlo Alexander,
biology (master’s secondary education
2009), and Michael Alexander, son,
Luke Michael, Nov. 2, 2009, Ruston
Karla Duty Doss, early childhood
education, and Marshal Doss,
daughter, Annaliese Marie, Feb. 1,
2010, Dubach
Keri Kuhnell Murphy, speech, and
Jonathon Murphy, speech 2008,
daughter, Molly Belle, Aug. 23, 2009,
Dubach
Natalie Mangum Moffit, secondary
education, and Keith Moffit, biology
2008, son, Turner Davis, Aug. 16,
2009, Kansas City, Mo.
2009
Mary Lucille Fallin Dring, 89,
education, Dec. 31, 2009, Simsboro
Loette Malone McIntosh, 88,
education (master’s education 1962),
May 14, 2010, Bernice
Sarah Alice Norris, 88, arts and
sciences, March 5, 2010, El Dorado,
Ark.
Brendan J. Banks, general studies,
and Jaalisa Banks, son, Braxton
Robert, March 1, 2010, Grand Prairie,
Texas
1944
in memoriam
Ray Edward Witter, 84, chemical
engineering, Dec. 22, 2009, Pensacola,
Fla.
1933
Madeline Haughton Teer, 97, home
economics, Dec. 9, 2009, Delhi
1934
Margaret Burt Madden, 95,
education, Feb. 22, 2010, Shreveport
1937
Sallie Daigre Perkins, 93, accounting,
Dec. 10, 2009, Baton Rouge
1938
Peggy Price Ford, 92, education,
April 23, 2010, West Monroe
B. Frank Walker, 93, business, Jan.
12, 2010, Meadowlakes, Texas
Robbie Auger Watson, 92, home
economics, Jan. 19, 2010, Houston
1939
Vera Hood Gill, 91, English, Jan. 31,
2010, Castroville, Texas
Comiel Holladay Kendall, 91,
business, Dec. 17, 2009, Shreveport
Joe E. Mitcham, Sr., 92, music, March
15, 2010, Ruston
1940
Chamblee H. McDonald, 95,
mechanical/electrical engineering,
Yvonne Henry Oliver, 91, education,
Jan. 11, 2010, North Augusta, S.C.
Joyce Hinkie Posey, 90, home
economics, March 6, 2010,
Downsville
1945
LaFaye Auger Keith, 84, office
administration, April 2, 2010,
Shreveport
1946
Suzanne Thurmon, 84, business, Jan.
19, 2010, Longview, Texas
1947
John Blanks Williams, 84,
mechanical engineering, March 6,
2010, Bossier City
Margaret Deloach Clark, 94,
education, Feb. 26, 2010, Ruston
Mable Hood Pitre, 81, business
Shreveport
Allen Maurice Potier, 82, mechanical
engineering, March 18, 2010, Orange,
Texas
Joann Weldon Sanders, 80, home
economics education (master’s home
economics education 1969), May 15,
2010, Bernice
Sherman C. Justus, Jr., 85, chemical
engineering, April 9, 2010, Amite
Elizabeth Chapman Lowe, 83, home
economics, Jan. 15, 2010, Minden
1951
1948
Henry Everett Mitchell, 88, zoology,
Feb. 18, 2010, Ruston
Mary Margaret Hodge Sour, 81,
sociology, Dec. 19, 2009, Shreveport
1949
Janice Garmany Bane, 82, business
administration, Dec. 1, 2009, Houston
John Dillard Edwards, 81,
accounting, April 14, 2010, Monroe
Ousby Reives “Bobby” Cunningham,
Jr., 79, business administration, April
6, 2010, Shreveport
Edward Jackson Grigg, 84, forestry,
Jan. 28, 2010, Winnfield
1954
Truis R. Young, 85, journalism,
March 25, 2010, Arcadia
Ramona I. Wigley, 81, education,
Charles Grady Cobb, 78, accounting,
May 16, 2010, El Dorado, Ark.
Howard Hamilton Smith, 82,
business administration, Feb. 26,
2010, Monroe
Charles M. Noble, Jr., 81, forestry,
Feb. 3, 2010, Rayville
John W. Perritt, Sr., 90, health and
physical education, March 1, 2010,
Ruston
1953
Margaret Carter Plugge, 78,
education, April 18, 2010, Granbury,
Texas
Sarah Capps Griffin, 84, business
administration, Jan. 14, 2010, North
Syracuse, N.Y.
Madge Davis King, 83, office
administration, March 14, 2010,
Houston
Betty Self Spivey, 79, medical
technology, April 13, 2010, Bossier
City
Betty Blaushild Smith, 80, office
administration, Oct. 10, 2009,
Hattiesburg, Miss.
John Kent Colvin, 81, education,
March 20, 2010, Shreveport
James H. Matthews, 87, agricutural
business, June 5, 2010, Homer
Samuel E. Dale, Jr., 88, agricultural
science, May 25, 2010, Sicily Island
James L. McFarland, 84, business
Colleyville, Texas
Carolyn Green Doles, 84, education,
Feb. 25, 2010, Ferriday
Arey Moss O’Neal, 89, business
administration, June 10, 2010,
Shreveport
Edwina Worsham Courtney, 88,
education, May 29, 2010, DeRidder
Vernon Ross Lay, Jr., 84, business
administration, March 19, 2010,
Ruston
1950
1941
1942
Jarrell Francis Heard, 86, education,
May 4, 2010, Minden
Frances Barnes Bullington, 82,
elementary education, Dec. 18, 2009,
Monroe
Jack Edwin Kelly, 83, forestry, Dec.
28, 2009, Homer
Thomas J. Wilson, 91, mechanical
engineering, Jan. 4, 2010, Austin,
Texas
Kenneth E. Griswold, 86, preprofessional social welfare (master’s
education 1965), Dec. 13, 2009, West
Monroe
Charlotte Thomas Alley, 78,
education, Dec. 7, 2009, Cabot, Ark.
Nell Moody Barnwell, 79, home
economics, Dec. 20, 2009, Houston
Gilbert Whitelaw Hills, Jr., 82,
electrical engineering, May 2, 2010,
Ruston
Jo Beth Taylor Bridges, 75,
elementary education (master’s
elementary education 1968), Feb.16,
2010, Downsville
Robert Alex Laney, 77, English
education, Dec. 29, 2009, Ruston
Jeane Owen Welsh, 75, business
education, Aug. 14, 2009, Cookeville,
Tenn.
William Carl Womack, 79,
mechanical engineering (master’s
mechanical engineering 1961), March
21, 2010, Lafayette, Colo.
1956
Lawrence Barbay, 75, accounting, Jan.
28, 2010, Austin, Texas
Jo Ann Duck Hawkins, 75, home
economics, April 10, 2010, Forest Hill
Richard William McCoy, 79,
education (master’s education 1971),
Dec. 19, 2009, Dubach
Charles R. McKaskle, 80, business,
May 7, 2010, Hammond
James Ray Thomas, 75, electrical
engineering, May 11, 2010, Aledo,
Texas
Martha Ann Tucker, 75, home
economics education, April 15, 2010,
Austin, Texas
1957
Leonard Hamilton Martin, 80, life
sciences, Jan. 6, 2010, Ruston
Betty Joyce Lambert, 80, business,
March 1, 2010, Lewisville, Texas
Martha Wheatly Rose, 75, medical
technology, March 17, 2010, Ruston
Elton A. Lamkin, 83, education, Dec.
8, 2009, Ruston
Shirley Craft Smathers, 74,
education, Dec. 25, 2009, Tampa, Fla.
Ottis C. Morris, 86, life sciences,
March 16, 2009 , Russellville, Ark.
1958
Luther E. Self, 82, plant science, Dec.
10, 2009, Oil City
Charles William Simpson, 84,
business administration, April 28,
2010, Ruston
Marjorie Johnston Clayton, 74,
education, May 20, 2010, Haughton
Claud Allen Ezell, Jr., 79, health and
Winnsboro
www.latech.edu | 35
1959
Charles Clem Barham, 76, pre-law,
Herbert Clayton Farmer, 75, health
and physical education (master’s
health and physcial education 1966),
May 1, 2010, Choudrant
Howard E. McGrew, 77, forestry, Dec.
7, 2009, Longview, Texas
Roy Ussery Swayze, 73, medical
technology, April 2, 2010, New
Orleans
Charles Edward Ward, 77, education
1967), June 11, 2010, Bernice
Stay connected
Julia Jones Cochran, 89, education,
Donald Ray Harrison, 64,
civil engineering (master’s civil
engineering 1973), Feb. 9, 2010,
Monroe
Peggy Williamson Haynes, 66,
history, April 19, 2010, Ruston
Gerard Patrick McGowan, 69,
business, April 10, 2010, Mahwah, N.J.
Joseph Mitchell Smith, 63, pre-med,
March 24, 2010, Ruston
1969
1960
Joseph Larry Caulfield, 61, chemical
engineering, Dec. 28, 2009, Plano,
Texas
Richard A. Bennett, 72, finance,
Lawrence A. Kahlden, Sr., 73,
education, April 9, 2010, Shreveport
Randall Owen Dunagan, 73, math,
Jan. 25, 2010, West Monroe
Mary Storey van Diest, 62, general
studies (master’s English 1972), Feb.
2010, Ruston
Milo Edward Shearer, 71, math,
March 12, 2010, Huntsville, Ala.
1961
Patsy Traylor McCracken, 69,
elementary education (master’s
education 1968), Dec. 13, 2009, Marion
Lottie Tarver Wilkins, 84, education,
April 16, 2010, Columbia
1962
Charles Howard Garris, 71, math,
April 28, 2010, Conroe, Texas
1965
Carl Henry Giles, 67, math, April 16,
2010, Oden, Ark.
Billy J. Morris, 69, geology, April 13,
2010, Rockwall, Texas
1966
Diane Farrar, 65, pre-professional
social welfare (master’s elementary
education 1974), Jan. 27, 2010,
Farmerville
Boyce Hensley, 78, health and
Haughton
1967
Ernest William Bamburg, Jr., 65,
social studies (master’s counseling
and guidance 1971), Feb. 12, 2010,
Winnfield
James Herbert Gilbert, 70, forestry,
March 21, 2010, Monroe
Cynthia Cook Golmon, 64, education
(master’s education 1972), April 22,
2010, Pineville
1968
Milburn John Baker, Jr., 65, chemical
engineering, April 6, 2010, Houston
1970
Robert Edward Belville, Jr., 66,
business administration, Dec. 29,
2009, Beaumont, Texas
Joe William May, 62, life sciences,
March 8, 2010, Columbia
Kenneth Marvin Rascoe, 62, forestry,
Feb. 4, 2010, Minden
1971
Allen Tevis Tinkham, 67, business
administration, April 15, 2010, Houston
Kenneth Ray Wreyford, 63,
education, May 31, 2010, Springhill
1972
Warren Douglas Figueiredo, 58,
French education, May 19, 2010,
Baton Rouge
John Allen Mullins, 60, education,
Jan. 23, 2010, Beaumont, Texas
Stephen Emmett Whiteman, 59,
agricultural business, March 25, 2010,
Ringgold
1974
Thomas Marshall Aiken, 57,
chemical engineering, May 23, 2010,
Houston
Gerold Joseph Flotte, 58, wildlife
conservation, Jan. 6, 2010, Slidell
Faye Shelburne Keer, 82, counseling
and guidance, June 5, 2010, San
Antonio, Texas
Alvin L. Roberts, 59, art, Dec. 30,
2009, Mesquite, Texas
1975
Buel Gene Taylor, Jr., 56, zoology
(science education 1977, master’s
science education 1978, civil
engineering 1980), March 20, 2010,
Gibsland
1976
James Gregory Caver, 54, English,
June 9, 2010, Dubach
Jeffery Scott Jackson, 57, business
administration, Jan. 3, 2010, Belpre,
Ohio
William Aylmer Rainwater, 62,
animal science, April 8, 2010, Ruston
Ernest Gene Richardson, 75, business
administration, Dec. 14, 2009,
Meridian, Miss.
Norvin Lewis Wagner, 82, elementary
education (master’s elementary
education 1974), March 17, 2010,
Bossier City
1973
Laverne Holland Best, 85, English,
May 29, 2010, Arcadia
Joseph David Barrett, 50, agricultural
business (master’s botany 1986),
March 25, 2010, Bossier City
1986
Donald Francis L’Italien, 69, history,
May 10, 2010, Bossier City
1987
Edward Juarez, business
administration, May 25, 2010,
Baytown, Texas
Suzanne Maljean Yeglic, 84, library
science, Dec. 22, 2009, Bossier City
1978
Carolyn Morton Hill, 51, secretarial
science, Sept. 19, 2009, Muleshoe,
Texas
1979
Evelyn Hoard Brazell, 52, early
childhood education, Dec. 22, 2009,
Shreveport
Gloria Owens Bryan, 78, special
education, March 1, 2010, Shreveport
George Donald Cook, III, 61,
journalism, April 23, 2010,
Charleston, W.V.
Ruby Ashbrook McDonald, 80,
special education, April 15, 2010,
Bossier City
Marsha Theis Jabour (’73)
Alumni Association President
1988
Mary Jane Pagan Dillard, 60, apparel
and textile merchandise, Dec. 25,
2009, Keller, Texas
Jerrilynn Ferrier Himes, 51, nursing,
Feb. 18, 2010, Barksdale AFB
Marjorie Meadors Miller, 48,
psychology, Feb. 22, 2010, Grayson
1989
Roger Scott Stanley, 43, mechanical
engineering (master’s mechanical
engineering 1992, doctorate
engineering 1997), March 30, 2010,
Haughton
Mark Stephen Oliver, 41, general
studies, May 2010, Bossier City
Treby White Staten, 87, elementary
education, Feb. 2, 2010, Springhill
Roy Jirak, 62, geology, May 19, 2010,
Staten Island, N.Y.
1982
1977
Raymond Van Forcier, 61,
agricultural education, May 1, 2010,
Keithville
“Louisiana Tech University is boldly moving
forward with its mission to be a top public
research University with a nationally competitive
athletic program. Your membership in the Tech
Alumni Association positively impacts activities
and programs that are essential to the success
of the University. Don’t miss this opportunity
to show your support for the Tech Family with
an investment in its future. A strong alumni
association helps create an even stronger
University. Join the Louisiana Tech Alumni
Association today!”
Linda Kirkendoll Dotie, 51, business
education, June 6, 2010, Shreveport
Michael Glenn Turner, 43, general
studies, Dec. 26, 2009, Karnack, Texas
Susan Taylor Haley, 69, counseling
and guidance, March 26, 2010,
Ruston
Join the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association today
1980
Elizabeth Schulte Love, 85, nutrition
and dietetics (master’s home
economics 1977), April 13, 2010,
West Monroe
Peter C. Evans, 62, political science,
April 3, 2010, Mandeville
Mary Scott Hobdy, 84, English
education, April 15, 2010, Grambling
Lawrence Curtis Peka, 69, sociology,
April 17, 2010, Bossier City
1991
1994
thank you for your support.
The Louisiana Tech Alumni Association salutes these Lifetime Members:
Rodney & Nancy Alexander
Darryl R. Asken
Milton R. Ballard
Brian T. Brumbaugh
E. Elton Calhoun, Jr.
Aaron & Caitlin Dablow
Don & Kelly DeSoto
Nathan & Alicia Hendricks
A.C. Hollins, Jr.
Greg & Katie Kahmann
Robert & Angela LaCaze
Don L. Pepper
Kellie Dunbar Schmeeckle
Ted R. Scurlock
Sally Ann Swearingen
Brad & Cheryl Taylor
These names have been added to the lifetime roster since the previous issue of the magazine.
Please cut along dotted line and send to the following address or join online at www.latechalumni.org/dues.
Alumni Information Update – mail to: Alumni Association | P.O. Box 3183 | Ruston LA 71272
Amanda Hamilton Burns, 40, animal
science, Feb. 28, 2010, Grayson
________________________________________________________________________________________
Suzanne Kennedy Spies, 38,
accounting, March 31, 2010, Houston
________________________________________________________________________________________
1995
________________________________________________________________________________________
Eric Agu Medvedev, 38, business
Haughton
1996
Reginald Wayne Page, Jr., 45,
elementary education, Jan. 10, 2010,
Mansfield, Texas
2002
Kyle William Douglas, 29, forestry,
April 12, 2010, Waskom, Texas
2003
Kent Douglas Shilling, 40,
professional aviation, Feb. 22, 2010,
Springfield, Ky.
Name: Last
Spouse’s Name: Last
First
Middle/Maiden
First
Home Address: Street
Class
Middle/Maiden
City
Degree
Coll./Univ. & Class
State
ZIP
Degree
Home Phone #
________________________________________________________________________________________
Employer
Bus. Address
Bus. Phone #
Position
________________________________________________________________________________________
Spouse’s Employer
Bus. Address
Bus. Phone #
Position
________________________________________________________________________________________
Email Address
Spouse’s Email Address
■ $35 Single Membership ■ $50 Joint Membership ■ $500 Single Life Membership ■ $600 Joint Life Membership ■ $35 Parents’ Membership
I have enclosed: $______________
Charge to my
■ Visa ■ MasterCard
Please
make your check payable to the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association.
Thank
you for your membership and continued support of Louisiana Tech.
_______________________________________________________________
Card #
Expiration Date
Three Digit Security Code
_______________________________________________________________
Signature as it appears on your credit card
Louisiana Tech Alumni Association
900 Tech Drive
P.O. Box 3183
Ruston, LA 71272-0001
nonprofit org.
u.s. postage
pa i d
MWI
p
Association
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2-5 p.m.
LA Tech vs. Navy (kickoff 6 p.m.)
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2 - 5 p.m.
LA Tech vs. Southern Miss (kickoff 6 p.m.)
Saturday, Oct. 9, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
LA Tech vs. Utah State (kickoff 3 p.m.)
Saturday, Oct. 16 - HOMECOMING, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
LA Tech vs. Idaho (kickoff 3 p.m.)
10
20
Tailgate
fun Alumni
fellowshi
Tech
food
football
friends
Louisiana
Tailgating at Louisiana Tech continues to grow each year. This
year you are invited to participate in the Alumni Association’s
FREE tailgates prior to each home game under the Argent
Pavilion (located on Tailgate Alley adjacent to Joe Aillet Stadium).
Come join in the fun and visit with other alumni and fans! We look
forward to visiting with you at the Argent Pavilion!
Saturday, Nov. 6 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
LA Tech vs. Fresno State (kickoff 3 p.m.)
Saturday, Dec. 4, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
LA Tech vs. Nevada (kickoff 2 p.m.)
Away Game Tailgates!
The Alumni Association will also sponsor tailgate events at the Port City Classic
on Sept. 4 in Shreveport and at Texas A&M on Sept. 11. For complete details on
these events call 800-738-7950 or visit www.latechalumni.org/tailgates.
Barnes & Noble College Bookstore
at Louisiana Tech Bookstore
www.latech.bncollege.com
(318) 254-5200
Catering for Louisiana
Tech and for You!
(318) 257-3213

hurdling adversity - Louisiana Tech Alumni

Transcription

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