bradshaw`s stunning gift

Transcription

N o. 1 6
|
spring/summer 2006
bradshaw’s
stunning gift
Tech gains mother lode of
memorabilia
BEACON IN THE STORM
Post-hurricane service brings Pulitzer
A NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS
Researchers a study in contrasts
ALL WORK AND GREAT PLAY
Athletics steps up the game
Louisiana Tech University
www.latech.edu
contents
Alumn i A s s o c iat i o n
Of f i c e r s
Tim King
– President
Kenny Guillot
– Vice President
Russ Nolan
– Treasurer
Steve Bates
– Past President
2 | From the 16th Floor
Keeping the future close
Daniel D. Reneau
– Ex-Officio
4 | Bradshaw Brings it Home
Keeps memories, gives trophies
Boa r d o f d i r e c t o rs
Bobby Aillet, Ron Ainsworth, John Allen, Dr. John Areno, Lyn Bankston, Paige Baughman, Ayres Bradford, Allison Bushnell, Audis Byrd, Carrol Cochran, Mark Colwick, John Denny, Wayne Fleming, Dr. Grant Glover, Chris Hammons, Jeff Hawley, Justin Hinckley, Marsha Jabour, Chris Jordan, Dr. John Maxwell, Mac McBride, Dawn McDaniel, Cliff Merritt, Lomax Napper, Stephanie Sisemore, Kristy Smith, Markus Snowden, Barry Stevens, Eddie Tinsley, Bennie Thornell
Alu m n i a s s o c iat i on staff
Corre Stegall
– Vice President for University Advancement
Ryan Richard
– Director of Alumni Relations
Barbara Swart
– Administrative Coordinator
E ditori a l a n d
Design Te a m
Darlene Bush Tucker
– Senior Writer/Editor
Mark Coleman
– Designer, Louisiana Tech Department of Marketing and
Public Relations
A Word from the Alumni Director
8 | Prized Tech Alum
Pulitzer for public service
10 | New Roles in Alumni Relations
Since the last publication of the Louisiana Tech Magazine, changes have taken place
in the administration of the Alumni Association. In December, Kyle Edmiston
resigned as director of Alumni Relations to pursue a career with the Lincoln Parish
Convention and Visitors Bureau. The entire staff of the Division of University
Advancement wishes Kyle the best in his new position.
New director, new coordinator
12 | Alumni Association Officers
Bound by a passion for Tech
In January, I was appointed director of Alumni Relations. I look forward to working
with the Alumni Association Board and all of Tech’s alumni and friends to continue
the outstanding programs and services that have been provided over the years.
14 | A Life of Integrity
Al Bourland receives Tower Medallion
Numerous events are planned this summer, including the largest alumni event of the
year, Happening XXV, scheduled for August 8 at the Monroe Civic Center. This fall
the ever-popular tailgate parties will continue to be held under the big white tent
on Tailgate Alley adjacent to Joe Aillet Stadium prior to each home game. Tailgates
will also be held at two “away” game sites, Texas A&M and North Texas. The largest
tailgate, of course, will be the Homecoming barbecue scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14.
All alumni and friends of the university are invited to participate in the various
events held throughout the year; for a complete listing of Alumni Association events,
visit www.latechalumni.org.
We hope several of the upcoming events will fit into your schedule so that we can
visit in person to talk about the exciting progress taking place on campus. Until
then, I hope this issue of the Louisiana Tech Magazine will provide you with
information that interests you and makes you proud to be part of the “Tech Family.”
15 | Always Put Students First
‘Dr. Jack’ – 1917-2006
16 | Education Pays
Economy-boosting college
18 | Divergent Research Projects
Common goal: a better world
20 | Athletic Excellence
Teams on the move
4
22 | Foundation Spotlight
A family affair for alums
Donny Crowe
– Photographer, Louisiana Tech Department of Marketing
and Public Relations
24 | Young Alumni
14
Kate Archer, Anna Holton, Judith Roberts
– Contributing Writers
20
24
They chose stage, law, space
26 | News Around Campus
Nick Oza, David Purdy
– Contributing Photographers, Sun Herald
The dynamic that is Tech
28 | News About You
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
About the Cover
www.latechalumni.org
Among the treasures Terry Bradshaw gave his
alma mater was his NFL Hall of Fame bust.
A mural master plus milestones
32 | What Matters to an Athlete’s Parents
Dad covers the bases
from the
16th floor
The hurricanes that this state endured less than a year ago are
going to affect the way we at Louisiana Tech do things for years
to come. But if the storms have affected our commitment to
education and research, it’s only been to strengthen our resolve
to do all we can to help make this state and region stronger
and more economically viable.
We all need one another, and that has never been more evident
than in the wake of Katrina and Rita when we all pitched in
and saw the staggering weight of need, sorrow and destruction
begin to be eased and borne up by the great support of an
often invisible network of caring and compassion.
On many fronts, and especially because of evacuee numbers,
we do face some uncertainties where fall enrollment is
concerned. What we don’t face is the worry that we won’t draw
the best students – because we always will, from both inside
and outside our state. That’s who we are, and that’s who our
students are.
“Our alumni are the best, as are our
students. We want a future as full of
promise as they are.”
- Daniel D. Reneau, president
Someone not accustomed to how things are done at Tech
might continually be surprised to see such a string of
achievements – but not us. We went one better and topped
off the year with the largest graduating class in our history and
saw almost 900 people walk away holding a golden key to their
own future.
Well, maybe a few things still had the power to amaze us
– namely Terry Bradshaw.
He did it when he played for Tech back in the late ’60s, he did
it when he played for the Steelers in the ’70s, he did it after
he retired from football and went on to become even more of
a household name and took Tech’s name along with him. But
apparently, he was not finished astonishing and delighting us.
Now he has given his alma mater, Louisiana Tech, his great
store of trophies, including his four Super Bowl rings – count
them, four. We are still pinching ourselves.
But then we always did have amazing alumni, and you can
learn more about some of them in the stories you are about to
read, including one about a hot-air ballooning champion who
just happens to be the new director of Alumni Relations, Ryan
Richard. Many of you already know him, and that’s good – it’s
handy when someone’s already broken in, isn’t it?
Among our other features is one in which we tell the story of
a Biloxi newspaper’s executive editor, journalism alum Stan
Tiner. He and his staff just collected a Pulitzer for public
service in the wake of their heroic and unabated coverage of the
hurricane, work that they did while struggling with their own
personal losses.
Our alumni are the best, as are our students. We want a future
as full of promise as they are. Next we want a research park so
industry newcomers generated by our incubation center can
stay and continue their work. Another goal is that we want
to be one of the top 50 research institutions. With all of us
on board, there’s no reason we can’t achieve these things. The
promise that is Tech has never been more attainable.
When Dr. Sally Clausen, our system president, was here last,
she told an audience that I could go absolutely anyplace, that I
would be welcomed at any school anywhere. Maybe so, maybe
not. I honestly have never given it any thought – because why
would I want to be anywhere on earth but here during this
remarkable time?
Budget cuts were a concern a year ago, and we did feel that
bite. But Tech has never operated in a fantasy land free of
challenges. We have always been prepared for the inevitability
of tough times and have always met them with equanimity.
We did so in this case as well, and never let the cuts touch our
classrooms.
And so we arrive at this moment, the same moment we have
arrived at over and over throughout this university’s great
history, and that moment is the future. We have so much to
look forward to. But a bright future is never possible without a
plan, and it’s never possible without a past in which good plans
were executed. So indulge me while I briefly look back with
pride.
Our biomed building moved closer to capping $100 million
in campus construction, we got the first “grid” computer
deployed in the state from the LONI project, we built an
enrichment center for our students, we got a stellar SACS
recommendation, we rose to a Doctoral II status, we were
ranked third nationally in micro- and nanotechnology
education, we received our first intellectual property royalties,
our business incubator welcomed its first tenants, we recorded
a high for alumni giving, and we cheered on an amazing year
in Tech athletics.
2 | Louisiana Tech Magazine
Try saying all that in one breath – and those are just some of
the highlights.
1
2
3
1 | L ouisiana Tech recently took delivery of its LONI “grid” computer. LONI is a fiber-optics network that interconnects mainframe computers at
the state’s research universities.
2 | Louisiana Tech is ranked third in the nation for micro- and nanotechnology education.
3 | Numbering nearly 900, Louisiana Tech’s spring graduating class was the largest in Tech’s history.
www.latech.edu | 3
“It’s kind of your shrine, and I’ve never been big on shrines. At
first I didn’t like it, it was just too much, and then a few people
would show up and we would end up there – it’s my game
room – then I would watch them walking around looking at all
this stuff. A lot of professional athletes, athletes in general, we
all put that stuff up, and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want
to do it. But I thought, hey, that’s kind of nice, they’re enjoying
it. But I also thought that really, I could do without it.”
Besides giving general campus visitors something to look at, he
thought a display at Tech of such items might send a message
to student-athletes – weighing Tech against an LSU or a Notre
Dame – that Tech could nurture their academic and athletic
dreams as well as anyone.
He said he hoped the rings might even give Tech a recruiting
edge.
“Or maybe not,” he said. “I don’t want to be too presumptuous
here in thinking that this is going to sway anybody. I’m
just proud of my school, and I haven’t done enough for the
university. Of all of the great things that have happened to
me, I’ve always said that by far, my best four years ever in
my athletic career were right here, without question, without
hesitation, and I just thought it would be kind of nice if this
stuff had a permanent home.”
Bradshaw turns his past
into a remarkable present
Alum says he has the memories, Tech can have the rest
If it hadn’t been 10 days since April Fools’ Day, Tech
alumnus Terry Bradshaw, famous for tomfoolery, might only
have drawn disbelieving chuckles when he told Louisiana Tech
what he was going to give the university.
• NFL Hall of Fame bust
• Four replica Lombardi trophies awarded to the Super
Bowl winners
• Super Bowl game helmet and jersey
Anyhow, he doesn’t exactly wear the rings, he said, calling
them “too big and gaudy.” His favorite is the IX ring,
however, because it was his first, but also because of its relative
simplicity. He said that his getting that one alone “would have
been plenty.”
Who?
“I don’t need these things to remind me of anything. I played
in these games,” said Bradshaw, 57.
But Bradshaw – author, actor, FOX NFL Sunday co-host,
commercial spokesman – is a complex person, and his reasons
for the donations reflected that.
And then there is the matter of his education. Bradshaw
recalled that he earned his 1970 degree in physical education
the hard way.
He said the idea came after he “re-did” his house. The redesign
company had unearthed his memorabilia and displayed it.
Bradshaw, returning from an extended trip, was taken aback.
“I learned that if you slept through the final because you
studied all night and then sprinted to the professor’s office just
knowing he’d let you take this test … well, he told me what a
He once agreed to wear Puma shoes in Super Bowl X for
$2,500 so he could afford to fly his parents to the Miami
game and put them up in style – then, extremely rattled by
the unfamiliar footwear, he had to work extra hard to mentally
square himself to go out and play well.
He also recalled the anguish of an injury costing him a
spot in the Pro Bowl and thus the $1,800 that would have
supplemented his $45,000 annual salary – a salary, he said, that
taxes cut in half.
(continued)
“It’s a tremendous gift for the university; it’s
unlike anything that I’ve ever heard of from
who we know as the greatest quarterback
to ever play the game.”
– Jim Oakes, athletic director
It was at Tech, he said, that he learned about offense, defense
and balance, and about the running game. He also learned
how to do something he was famously successful at while
wearing No. 12 for the Steelers. “I called all my own plays here
in college, which is unheard of today,” he said, “and when I
got into pro football as a rookie, I was used to making those
choices.”
(Bradshaw the college athlete did Tech a couple good turns too,
after he came from Woodlawn High in Shreveport. He had a
record-setting career at Tech in the late 1960s, was the No. 1
overall pick in the NFL draft in 1970, and became a starter the
year after that, drawing major attention to his university.)
• College and pro Football Hall of Fame rings
Bradshaw regaled reporters and Tech officials alike with his
stories, a few in particular about how, to his chagrin, he has
seen pro salaries evolve.
Bradshaw said Coach Maxie Lambright instilled toughness
in him and offensive coordinator Mickey Slaughter instilled
confidence. “I’ve always said, when people asked me the
greatest influence on my life – Mickey Slaughter.”
Besides the Super Bowl victories, Bradshaw led the Steelers to
eight AFC Central championships before retiring in 1983. In
1989, during his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into
the NFL Hall of Fame.
• Four rings from Super Bowls IX, X, XIII and XIV
CHANGES IN PRO MONEY
GIVING TECH CREDIT
Because who gives away four Super Bowl rings – only one
other player even has that many – and then throws onto the
pile virtually every other top symbol of his legendary 14-season
Pittsburgh Steelers career? Plus promises to send more when he
“opens some more boxes”?
Bradshaw, that’s who, during a news conference held while
he was in town for the Terry Bradshaw/Kix Brooks Golf
Tournament fund-raiser at Squire Creek Country Club. The
donated items – which will be housed in the Charles Wyly
Athletic Center – include:
great kid I was and that he was proud to have me in the class
– and he sure looked forward to having me in that class again
next term. So I did learn that things aren’t given to you in life.
And I got through here, and I’m really proud of that.”
Freshman Bulldogs football player Nick Worzel of Wayne, N.J.,
chats with Terry Bradshaw.
www.latech.edu | 5
now available!
“You can’t put a price tag on something like
this. This is probably the most significant gift
Tag yourself as a Louisiana Tech supporter with
your very own Tech license plate. Now is the
time to replace that worn-out tag and show
everyone your Tech pride.
of this kind to any program in America, and
from probably the best quarterback to ever
play the game.”
Nominations are now being accepted for
the Louisiana Tech Sports Hall of Fame. The
deadline for nominations to be received is Sept.
1, 2006. Nomination forms are available from
the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, P.O.
Box 3046, Ruston LA 71272 or by calling (318)
257-4111.
– Jack Bicknell, head football coach
He recalled making only $1,500 in endorsements in one offseason and only $70,000 in the wake of his fourth Super Bowl
win. “Now they pay a guy a hundred million bucks and hope
he wins the Super Bowl,” he said. “Kind of crazy, isn’t it?”
To order, call the Department of Motor Vehicles at
(225) 925-6371
and ask for the Louisiana Tech license plate.
Have your vehicle registration available when you call.
To order online, go to
http://omv.dps.state.la.us
and click on “Special Plates.”
THE SAINTS PLAN
Asked if he might not have accrued a few dimes since, based
on his move to buy the New Orleans Saints in November, he
replied: “No, but my friends had a few dimes.”
The Saints, forced out of New Orleans by Katrina, were
playing home games in San Antonio and at LSU. Statements
by Saints owner Tom Benson and Texas officials fed rumors
that Benson wanted to move the team to San Antonio
permanently. Though the NFL opposed that move, it seemed
the league might back a move to Los Angeles. To thwart such
events, Bradshaw and his investors planned to buy the team.
“I just felt like someone had to step up for the Saints and
the state of Louisiana and the citizens affected by Katrina,”
Bradshaw said.
Ultimately Benson would not sell. “But I felt as though all the
publicity we got helped push this thing a little faster in getting
the ’Dome ready,” Bradshaw said.
WHY HE DIDN’T SHOW
You may have heard that Bradshaw and Joe Montana (the
other four-rings guy) were criticized for not going to a
pregame celebration for past Super Bowl MVPs held during
the Super Bowl in Detroit. Bradshaw said emphatically that
it had nothing to do with appearance fees, as rumored, and
everything to do with the fact that he is a homebody.
On Super Bowl Sunday, he said, he likes to be home with
friends and family. “I cook all day, and we play games all day,
and it’s a festive atmosphere, and that’s the way it’s always been
unless FOX is broadcasting the game. And so I just don’t go.”
THE NAKED TRUTH
Only a truly smart guy could have taken the “Bayou Bumpkin”
persona and made such a franchise out of it. This year,
Bradshaw starred in “Failure to Launch” alongside Oscar
winner Kathy Bates. He appears in the film – ahem – a little
shy of clothes. He had started trying to act years ago but didn’t
have much success, so he moved on. Then they called for him
to read for “Launch.”
Louisiana Tech
Sports Hall of Fame
Nominations Sought
Bradshaw after sinking a putt at Squire Creek.
License plates are available only to Louisiana residents. A portion of the fee
helps support scholarships for Tech students.
No. 1, the self-described homebody didn’t want to travel to
Los Angeles, and No. 2, he didn’t think they would want him
anyway once they heard him read. Then they asked him if he
would read in New Orleans. Nope. Then they asked would
he read if they came to him. OK, but y’all have to come after
church, he said.
“So I read and then I shook the director’s hand and thanked
him and he left and I forgot about it. But I got a call a few
weeks later saying I had the part.”
He was asked if he was OK with the script’s “butt” scene, and
he said sure. It didn’t seem too different from a locker room
show. But when the movie came out, the scene was more
revealing than he thought.
The purpose of the Louisiana Tech Sports Hall
of Fame is to honor those who have contributed
to the athletic program of the university. Persons
may be recognized for their contributions
as individual athletes or for other unique
contributions to the program.
The Alumni Association will sponsor tailgates before
all home games as well as at “away” game sites
(Texas A&M and North Texas).
September 2
Tech @ University of Nebraska
September 9OPEN
September 16Tech vs. Nicholls State University
September 23
Tech @ Texas A&M University
September 30
Tech @ Clemson University
October 7
Tech @ Boise State University*
October 14Tech vs. University of Idaho* (HC)
October 21Tech vs. Utah State University*
October 28
Tech @ San Jose State University*
November 4
Tech @ University of North Texas
November 11
Tech @ University of Hawaii*
November 18Tech vs. University of Nevada*
November 24Tech vs. Fresno State University*
December 2
Tech @ New Mexico State University*
TBA
6 p.m.
TBA
12 noon
5 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
5 p.m.
TBA
10 p.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
2 p.m.
*Western Athletic Conference games
Home games in bold | Game Time CST
“My daughter goes, ‘Oh, my God, Daddy, oh Daddy’ – and
it wasn’t like that when I first saw it,” said Bradshaw, father of
two daughters, Rachael and Erin. “Maybe they tested it and
everybody wanted more of me. It wasn’t pretty. I went on a
diet after that. And it took me forever to tell my parents and
preacher about it.”
On the bright side, he said he enjoyed his scenes with Bates
– “She’s a great kisser” – and was looking forward to his next
movie, rumored to have been written by Billy Bob Thornton.
“I’ve got a suit on in that one,” he said.
www.latech.edu | 7
A PRIZE
NEWSPAPER
DELIVERS
Amid daunting
challenges that
continue, a Pulitzer
has commended
the south Mississippi
newspaper that
published unabated
despite a hurricane
that drove the region
to its knees.
At right, front-page photos are discussed by Sun Herald staffers and
other Knight Ridder editors sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after
Katrina. Louisiana Tech alum Stan Tiner is second from right. From left
are Patrick Schneider, Charlotte Observer; Drew Tarter, Sun Herald;
Mike McQueen, Macon Telegraph; Stan Tiner, Sun Herald; Brian
Monroe, Knight Ridder. (Photo by Nick Oza/Sun Herald) Above,
shots of boats resting in houses dramatically convey a taste of the
massive damage Katrina left in southern Mississippi. (Photo by David
Purdy/Sun Herald)
For its Hurricane Katrina coverage, Mississippi’s Sun
Herald has won a Pulitzer Prize in the esteemed category of
public service.
“We were given a pretty bad circumstance on Aug. 29,”
says the Biloxi newspaper’s executive editor, Louisiana Tech
journalism alum Stan Tiner. But, he points out, newspaper
staffers continued to work amid the same hardships and
personal woes that their readers were enduring, thereby
preserving the paper’s 121-year-old tradition of never missing a
day of printing – a valiant effort that helped shore up a ravaged
community in desperate need of information.
Q: What did putting that paper out mean to people inside and
outside the newsroom?
Stan Tiner: When people saw newspapers being delivered, it
astonished them. They thought none of their institutions were
working. It seemed to give them a sense of confidence that
we were not entirely defeated. And people in the newsroom
said, “Thank God I’ve got this job” – because so many
others lost their jobs and lost everything they had, and 60 of
our employees lost their homes, and almost everybody had
significant damage. As for the prize, we dedicated it to the
people of south Mississippi because they inspired us with their
courage and willingness to stand up out of the rubble and get
on with life under the most extreme circumstances.
Q: What characterizes this south Mississippi community?
ST: The coast has in common with the rest of the state a
certain unreconstructed “by gosh, we’re Mississippi” attitude,
and that stood up well after the storm. Almost everyone in
Mississippi has a gun and a chain saw. And it turned out
to be important that we had chain saws because like in my
neighborhood, after the storm, every street was totally covered
with trees and debris and you literally couldn’t get out. So
when the wind died down to 40, 50 miles an hour, we stuck
our heads out like prairie dogs. Then everyone got their chain
saws out. It’s just part of what we do here, survive hurricanes
and rebuild.
Q: The feeling is that the newspaper’s hardest work lies ahead?
ST: You have an entire 70-mile coast essentially obliterated.
We have a bigger task ahead of us than we had behind us. The
stakes are that high. If our mission is to cover south Mississippi
– 11 towns, cities and communities – well enough to meet new
post-storm challenges, then it’s not just about the cops beat and
city hall anymore. Right now, there’s no more important beat
than insurance. And there’s transportation and public health
issues. So every day we’re learning more about what we don’t
know and educating ourselves on that, and no one’s sending in
a lot of new resources for us to do that with.
Q: Has the prize brought attention to massive destruction still
plaguing south Mississippi?
ST: You might say, “Why does it matter to the people in
Mississippi if they’re on TV or in the newspaper?” And
certainly there has been coverage of the Mississippi story
– but understand that not getting that exposure has real
consequences. I’ve had very smart people say to me, “Y’all
back to normal yet?” And we are by no means back to normal.
And if people have “Katrina Fatigue” and say OK, let’s move
on, then our plight will continue to need more attention. So,
trying not to be consumed in the New Orleans story is a vital
part of our role, and the prize helps us call attention to that.
Q: As you all ministered to readers’ needs, were staffers ministered
to as well?
ST: Half our carriers evacuated, half our newspaper boxes
were destroyed, and 68,700 homes didn’t exist anymore, so we
had to find people in different places and deliver the papers.
So everybody did everything, and it unified the whole paper.
And when you saw somebody in your newsroom who said, “I
just went to my home and there’s a slab there,” and when you
saw grown men break down, it broke your heart. We quickly
realized we were going to make this together or we weren’t
going to make it at all. One of our people didn’t come back for
many days, and with no communications I would send runners
to check on her. Finally two of us went to her house. When
I got there her house was torn up and full of mud. She had
belongings laid out on boards, and she was trying to dry out
pictures. We gave her water, soap and clean clothes. She was
the last person to come back, and when she walked into the
newsroom, the whole group stood and cheered. We had people
who lost family members, and we knew about those things, but
Knight Ridder also brought in counselors; there was a room
where our counselor would visit with you; she was aware that
I was not likely to do that, me an old Marine, so she would
come around and give me a plum or an orange, and she would
want to talk. We had group sessions, talked about things like
sleep deprivation. We became more mindful of the mental and
emotional state of people dealing with insurance adjusters, of
staffers who might have gone to their house three times to meet
with a roofer who kept not showing. So we had to be flexible
with schedules. Knight Ridder did a good job of bringing in
resources like gasoline, but we had to calculate how much gas
you would need that day to cover the story and then give you
a chit for four gallons, five gallons, and then you would go to
a guy who hand-cranked gas out of a barrel. It was a different
world, and we had to adjust.
Q: What did you learn about people from the hurricane
experience?
ST: People volunteered from every state, from almost every
town of any size in America, and faith-based groups came, and
different professions – teachers helping teachers, newspaper
people helping newspapers. If anyone ever doubted that
America has a big heart, they have been proved wrong.
Q: Could you get any more Southern than a sweet-tea Pulitzer
party?
ST: The sweet tea seemed like a good way to represent who we
are. I call it “Mississippi champagne.”
Q: You were the first Tech Talk editor under Wiley Hilburn. Did
that play into your career?
ST: I had been to Vietnam in the Marine Corps and saw
combat correspondents there, so I knew that was what I
wanted to do when I went back to Tech on the GI Bill. We
had a free speech alley where students did speak out against the
war, and desegregation was taking place. I hired Reggie Owens,
(now a Tech associate professor in journalism), and he was the
first African-American writer on The Tech Talk. As for student
ownership of the newspaper, prior to Wiley coming, it was
pretty much a faculty paper. So to be part of all that change
was amazing. A lot of what I took into newspapers came from
a sense of confidence that arose from having been a part of that
at Tech.
Q: You grew up in Webster Parish and note that you were born in
Springhill because there was no place to be born in Cotton Valley,
a testimonial to your rural roots. How did that background, along
with your time at Tech, shape you and others like you?
ST: In those days there was a dividing line between the old
Tech, the little rural campus where everybody knew each other,
and then the ’60s transformation, both in America and at
Tech. Tech was becoming more cosmopolitan, new buildings
were being built, Tech President F. Jay Taylor was bringing
in speakers with a national or international perspective.
A lot was going on, but Tech never lost its piney-woods
charm. The people came from all those little parishes around
north Louisiana that produced some very impressive people,
and the combination of those strong rural values and the
transformational aspects of the university was a good one. I
later went to Harvard on a fellowship, and my Tech professors
stood up very well in that comparison.
www.latech.edu | 9
Longtime Alumni Relations staffers
take on new roles
Ryan Richard takes over for
departing director
New role almost old hat
for Barbara Swart
Barbara Swart, administrative coordinator for the Alumni
Association, is more than a capable teammate for Richard,
given that she’s a veteran, too. A 1978 Tech business grad, the
Leesville native first worked in admissions but came to the
Alumni Center in 1986.
But Ryan Richard just happened to be a bit of a Marbury
Alumni Center veteran himself and was able to take on the role
permanently in January.
The Baton Rouge native came to Tech as a student in 1994
and became ad manager for the campus newspaper.
“If you take in the entire division of University Advancement,
the staff has grown from the six people who were here in
1986,” she says. “It’s doubled since then, and the building has
expanded over the years, too, in order to accommodate us.”
“The Tech Talk taught me selling and how to work with
different types of people,” Richard says. “I got the opportunity
to network with business owners who I bonded with and who
treated me like a son.”
Married to Tech computer information systems instructor John
Swart since 1979, she began working in Tech admissions in
1980 when her husband returned to school to get his master’s
in computer science. (He also has from Tech a bachelor’s in
wildlife management and an MBA.) After taking a break in
1985 to have youngest son Kyle, she next went to work in the
Alumni Center and never left.
He also formed strong friendships on campus, he says,
including one with Dr. Jean Hall back before the current Tech
golf coach retired from his position as Tech’s vice president for
student affairs and also for University Advancement.
He earned his MBA in 2002 and was hired as director of
development and coordinator of alumni programs where his
role centered on keeping alumni connected with Tech, getting
them to return to campus to see progress the university has
made, and hosting events to keep alumni informed about the
university.
But mom Marie, a teacher, had heard good things about Tech
and in June 1994 convinced her son to at least visit.
“So 12 years later,” he says, smiling, “here I am, director of
alumni relations.”
When after 10 years Kyle Edmiston left his position as director
of Louisiana Tech’s Alumni Relations to become executive
director of the Lincoln Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau,
it might have been tough to find someone to fill his shoes.
Richard graduated from Tech with a marketing degree in 1998
and worked for admissions as director of orientation from
1998 to 2001. As he pursued his MBA, he became a graduate
assistant for University Advancement.
The Richards may never have met had Ryan followed the
crowd. “Growing up in Baton Rouge, I intended to go to LSU
with my buddies,” he says.
In 2004, halfway through his director/coordinator stint, he
married Kathleen Burnum, who has a bachelor’s from Tech
in speech communication and a master’s in social work from
Florida State. A native of Quitman, Kathleen was the 2005
Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Young
Person of the Year and formerly coordinated a federal health
care grant through Tech. She has just taken a position with
United Way of Northeast Louisiana. Other changes ahead are
that the Richards have a baby due in January.
Kyle is now a junior graphic design major at Tech, and brother
Wesley is a senior finance major at – where else? – Tech. The
family lives near Choudrant with their sheltie Dusty.
also doing some fishing and boating. They diverge on other
pursuits: She collects Noah’s arks; he collects Mustangs.
Swart happily continues in a growing alumni role today. She
coordinates and helps design all of the Alumni Association’s
mail pieces, including 11,000 for the Happening, Tech’s largest
alumni event – which she also orchestrates. She also organizes
events such as 50-year reunions, small dinners in rural parishes,
and crawfish boils.
Swart, “a big sports fan,” is secretary/treasurer for the Lady
Techsters Tip-Off Club’s board of directors. The group of
supporters, a serious band of backers with bylaws, organizes
events such as the Lady Techsters Celebration Banquet, the
Welcome Back Dinner, and hospitality nights where fans can
meet the players.
“I’m also the clearinghouse for everything that goes into News
About You and the births, marriages and deaths section, and I
even take care of things like address changes,” Swart says.
The Swarts enjoy working with Habitat for Humanity and
Email your news to [email protected]
She also sends all brand-new Tech babies a bib – “if I know
about them,” she says, laughing.
father-son relationship really gets off the ground
George Richard and son Ryan were a
picture of ballooning pride early on.
It started out as a flight of fancy.
When Ryan Richard, director of Louisiana
Tech’s Alumni Relations, was 12, he asked his
dad to take him to a hot-air balloon race being
held across the Mississippi River from Baton
Rouge in Port Allen.
Father and son checked it out the first day
and the next day got invited for a ride. Three
months later, George Richard bought a balloon.
“Normally a person has to order one and they
ship it,” Ryan says, “but we didn’t know that so
we drove to a North Carolina factory to buy
one. I don’t know if Dad even knew how to
spell balloon.”
The factory people were aghast when father
and son showed up to buy a balloon as if it
were a loaf of bread. The owner came out and
told them no way. So the Richards took him to
lunch. “Before we returned home,” Ryan says,
“we had a balloon and someone was not going
to get one they had ordered.”
Upon returning to Baton Rouge, George
Richard made arrangements to get his license,
and then he got his license to teach—which
enabled him to teach his son who received
his student license on his 14th birthday, the
youngest you could be. He got his private
license at 16 and could fly others, but not
commercially. “I flew for 4-H,” Ryan says. “The
balloon had a 4-H logo and promoted that you
didn’t have to have a duck, chicken or goat to
be in 4-H.”
In 1991, he became the youngest pilot
to fly in the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon
Championship, an event his dad helped bring
back to Baton Rouge in 2003. At 18 he got
his commercial license and could instruct and
fly for hire, handy since by then his dad had
started a ballooning business. For a year of
his college days, the son flew a balloon for the
Louisiana Lottery. He and his dad now have an
exclusive contract to fly the balloon belonging
to The (Baton Rouge) Advocate newspaper and
WBRZ-TV News Channel 2.
For a time, the Richards traveled around
competing in balloon races where one of the
toughest competitors Ryan faced was his dad,
the 2004 Louisiana State Champion, a title
Ryan held in 1993. “I don’t get to compete as
much as I used to,” Ryan says. “My focus has
changed from aggressive competition to just
enjoying a leisurely flight.”
Father and son will next compete against
each other August 2-6 at the Pennington
Balloon Championships in Baton Rouge.
George Richard still competes in about 10
events a year and has been ranked among the
top 50 balloon pilots in the nation for the last
five years, No. 3 in 2004.
Ryan’s sister Rene’ is also a balloon pilot,
though she would rather take in the view than
compete. Ryan’s sister Ashley enjoys flying but
not as a pilot. Ryan’s wife, Kathleen, rides with
Ryan or helps out on the ground crew.
Today George Richard is executive director
of Louisiana Ballooning Foundation, and his son
has a major hobby to list alongside camping
and canoeing. “All because I wanted to go to a
balloon race when I was 12,” Richard says.
www.latech.edu | 11
OFFICEHOLDERS CHANGE
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ROLES
A 1984 graduate of West Monroe High, Guillot graduated
from Tech in 1988 with a degree in finance. He worked in the
financial services industry for 18 years, currently as a financial
adviser for Merrill Lynch in Monroe.
Outgoing president took
Tech to school
He played baseball at Tech from 1984 to 1987 during part of
the long, successful run as coach by the legendary Pat “Gravy”
Patterson. Guillot is “thrilled” today to see the team exploding
back on the scene. “They’re on the right track to success,” he says.
Long before he was the Alumni
Association’s departing president,
Tim King took action when he
noticed his alma mater was not
represented at his daughter’s
Katy, Texas, high school’s “college
night.”
tim king
Outgoing Alumni
Association president
The 1969 business grad contacted
Louisiana Tech’s admissions office,
which then sent him the necessary
materials to start working with
Taylor High where daughter
Ashlee (now a 2000 Tech alum
herself ) was in school.
By the time the longtime Halliburton financial services
executive transferred to New Orleans a few years later, Tech was
represented at college nights in 28 more Houston-area high
schools.
“We put together a group of recruiters, alums, by word of
mouth,” he says.
King was motivated to steer young people to Tech because the
only high school guidance he ever got about higher ed was
when his school counselor told him it was a waste of his time
and his parents’ money for him to go to college – which only
reinforced his desire to go.
Despite growing up in Baton Rouge as an LSU fan, he
nonetheless chose to go to Tech after his father and he toured
the campus. The decision changed his life, he says.
“It took me a couple of years, because I didn’t have great study
habits, but during my last two years there, I made the dean’s
list and the president’s list,” he says.
He credits Tech with the turnaround, which he says might not
have happened at a university less committed to its students.
For example: “There was this one young Tech English professor
who one day asked some of us to stay,” King remembers. “He
told us we weren’t going to make it without extra help, and he
offered to come in on Saturdays and help us. At Tech, there
were always people like that, people who just wanted to see you
succeed.”
Tech brought him something else – wife Kay, now a retired
teacher of 34 years, who he met at Tech in history class. Today
they live in McKinney, Texas, and King works out of Dallas.
Add to all that, he says, being Alumni Association president
and the joys that came with it. “I presented Al Bourland’s
Tower Medallion to him at spring commencement; it was
thrilling to be up there on that stage, having been told college
would be a waste of time for me.”
He says he is counting a lot of other blessings these days,
namely having just got through thyroid surgery he needed
because of a malignancy and having survived a 2003 heart
attack. Now back to work despite follow-up treatments, he says
he’s “still here and still productive” and still enjoying a career
that has taken him all over the world.
He says marrying his wife and adopting his daughter are
his life’s biggest blessings, but that Tech merits mention in
the blessings department too. Previously an association vice
president and board member, he says he has always looked for
ways to give back to his university.
He says he and his West Monroe family – wife Michelle and
children Kendall, 15, and Taylor, 12 – have been “blessed”
by their associations with Tech. Michelle, now a marketing
director, was a bat girl for Northeast (now ULM) when Guillot
played ball for Tech, and they were “best friends” growing
up. Like in his own family, with its history of connections, he
wants to see alumni reap a similar sense of belonging.
“We have to be the bridge for people who have left
the university, connect them back to Tech and to the
administration and keep them abreast of how we are
progressing,” he says. “It’s important we build support from
alumni and friends for our students, our student-athletes, our
faculty and our coaches. When they succeed, we all succeed.”
He says that every person can give, and the options are endless
– financially, through the gifts of time and involvement,
and by networking with others who can help support Tech’s
educational goals.
Vice president back home in
north Louisiana
The Alumni Association’s
incoming vice president, John
Allen of Calhoun, is a kind of
groupie.
The target of his admiration?
Corre Stegall, vice president for
University Advancement. He
even named his daughter, now
a Louisiana Tech MBA grad, for
the former teacher he has long
admired.
Association treasurer
welcomed back
Longtime Alumni Association
treasurer Russ Nolan is continuity
embodied as he comes in for
another year in the position he has
now held a decade.
New president sees role as
‘bridge’ builder
As president, he expects to have
more strategic concerns about
keeping the big picture in mind,
and maybe less of a detail-oriented
role. But one thing won’t change,
Kenny guillot
Incoming Alumni
he says. The association has to
Association president
keep being creative about building
and maintaining awareness among
alumni and friends about what the university does and making
them want to be involved.
In addition to his Alumni Association work and board
membership with the Louisiana Tech University Foundation,
Nolan is the Lincoln Parish campaign chairman for the
United Way, past president and a member of the Ruston
Kiwanis Club, and a representative for Chamber of Commerce
Northern Exposure Lobbying.
“We just want people, when they come to Tech, to feel that
this is family,” he says.
“Tech just provided me so much to meet the world with,” he says.
As incoming Alumni Association
president and outgoing vice
president, Kenny Guillot expects
his role to shift a little, but not his
focus – which is the Tech Family
and helping to keep its members
together.
Nolan is married to Janet, the director of admissions at Cedar
Creek School, and they have two children, Blake and Ryan.
russ nolan
Alumni Association
treasurer
“I enjoy bringing some of my
experience to helping a great
organization,” says Russ, a veteran
of the financial services industry
who is now with JPMorgan Chase
Bank and its legacy banks since
1981.
The Ruston resident says besides
a passion for Louisiana Tech, he
likes working with everyone at the Marbury Alumni Center.
“They’re so good and talented and dedicated,” he says, “and
you look at a university the size of Tech, our small staff is doing
two to three times more than others with much larger staffs.”
Nolan graduated magna cum laude from Louisiana Tech in
1978 with a degree in political science and history, and in 1992
completed work at LSU in the Graduate School of Banking of
the South.
When he graduated with his first degree, he says it didn’t
matter that he didn’t find the right job in his major because
Tech taught him to think and that was a valuable commodity
in entry-level jobs anywhere, and in particular in his case,
financial services. (That and a “strong desire to eat,” he jokes.)
john allen
Incoming Alumni
Association vice president
“Corre taught me in high school,
and then she taught me over at
Tech,” Allen says. “She was young,
and all the students just absolutely loved her. We thought she
was so cool.”
After Allen graduated from West Monroe High in 1969, he
went to Tech on a track scholarship, lettering four times under
Jimmy Mize, who coached at Tech from 1946 to 1977. Allen
left Tech in 1973 with a business degree.
He then got into pipeline construction because that’s what his
dad did. (“He offered me a job at graduation, and I was broke,
so I took it.”) But he made the career his own and eventually
oversaw an international pipeline construction business
based in Houston for more than two decades and served 10
years on the board of directors for U.S. Pipeline Contractors
Association. He retired at 49. Today he retains pipeline
industry-related business interests, but moved from Houston to
Calhoun three years ago.
He now stays more involved with family and community
programs. He is married to Lake Charles native JoAnn and has
two daughters, Corre, of course, and Juliann, who goes to West
Ouachita High; and son Chance, who’s at Central Elementary
in Calhoun.
Allen previously served on the Alumni Association board for
five years.
“I was confident that the education I got at Tech gave me
multiple options to succeed,” he says. “The environment,
particularly in upper-level classes, was small and interactive.
The professors were wonderful.”
www.latech.edu | 13
Cars make a perfect circle for
Tower Medallion honoree Al Bourland
topics including “The Changing Congress,” “No-Fault Basic
Protection Insurance Plan,” and “Consumerism – Is It a Buy?”
His political and industry insight has appeared in Newsweek,
The Washington Times, The Washington Post, The
Washington Star, The Baltimore Sun, The National Journal,
Industry Week, and Business Insurance. His critiques of
presidential State of the Union addresses and discussions of
legislative matters have appeared in national television forums,
and he has joined in written and published debates concerning
issues such as the constitutionality of the legislative veto concept.
Shreveport and Caddo Parish recently christened the first
street in the Caddo Parish Industrial Park as “Al Bourland
Drive.” The first tenant in the industrial park was Oakley
Sub Assembly, a supplier for the local GM plant. Bourland
coordinated the first meetings between GM executives and
Louisiana’s top officials in the U.S. Congress, and those
meetings led to the location of the GM truck plant in
Shreveport.
At GM in New York, Bourland got his start in government
relations when he traveled to Washington and Albany to cover
hearings that might affect GM’s insurance interests.
As a graduating senior at Louisiana Tech in 1950, the
political science major went to a campus job fair interview with
General Motors because he wanted to go places – literally.
“I heard that you would get a company car,” Al Bourland
says. “For a boy from north Louisiana who didn’t have a car, it
sounded good to me. They gave me an aptitude test, I passed
it, I got the job.”
Nearly 50 years later, he is retired as president of DaimlerBenz Washington Inc., (the Daimler-Benz group is now
DaimlerChrysler), and living in Vienna, Va., with his wife,
Ruston native and Tech alum Liz (Hazel E. Whelan).
Bourland has also directed the legislative and political action
departments of the nation’s largest business federation, the
Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and he has
served on the board of directors of the National Association
of Manufacturers and the European American Chamber of
Commerce. He spent 18 years with the Industry Government
Relations Office of GM, including service as senior Washington
representative and manager of federal consumer affairs.
He also served two years on the Montvale, N.J., Board of
Education, and terms as president for the Barristers Place
Property Owners Association in Vienna, Va., and for the
Seclusion Shores Property Owners Association in Mineral, Va.
Well-regarded as a public speaker by universities and industry
organizations nationwide, he has spoken and written on
Bourland, who attended South Texas College of Law in
Houston and is a member of the Texas State Bar and
admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, found
his law background invaluable in a town where, at times,
perhaps a third of the lobbyists were lawyers and many of
the congressional staffs were largely comprised of Ivy League
lawyers. Monitoring congressional hearings, Bourland earned
broad access to “The Hill.”
Based on a reputation for honesty and political acumen,
Bourland once gained a powerful senator’s agreement to cosponsor a bill amendment favorable to GM’s interests. Bourland
brought to the senator’s attention, however, that another interest
group in his home state would not like it. The lawmaker
then backed out of the sponsoring role – but impressed with
Bourland’s honesty, he promised to vote for the bill.
Bourland says that attending church and growing up in
Haynesville, a town that cared enough to help mold him into
an Eagle Scout, gave him confidence and taught him to operate
as much by his values as by his professional skills.
“Tech did the same thing for me by giving me access to my
first job opportunity and a future career that turned out quite
nicely,” Bourland says.
Global Register’s Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals
recently announced that Bourland will be included in its 200607 edition which will be registered in the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C.
Everyone knew ‘Dr. Jack’ on a first-name basis
Dr. Joseph Jackson “Jack” Thigpen died in May
after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s. The retired dean
of Louisiana Tech’s former College of Engineering was a
lifelong resident of Ruston, a Tech partisan and an advocate
on students’ behalf.
Growing up as a friend of Thigpen’s son, Jack Jr., former
Lady Techsters Coach Leon Barmore remembers Thigpen
going beyond the classroom to embrace students as part of
the Tech family and often of his own family.
“From the ninth grade on, I was at Dr. Jack’s house every
Saturday morning, so he was like
family to me,” Barmore recalls.
“I lived way out in the country,
and he would always give me
a ride after school. I never met
a person more giving, kind or
interested in helping others. And
I never saw him lose his temper
or composure.”
Not only was Thigpen’s home
always open to him, his wallet
often was, too. Thigpen paid
for the rehearsal dinner when
Barmore, then a struggling
college student, married wife
Rachel in 1966. “He was always
doing something like that,”
Barmore says. “There is just
no way I would be where I am
today without him. I couldn’t
have climbed the ladder like I
have without his help.”
engineering in 1951, and a doctorate in mechanical
engineering in 1959, with both his graduate degrees earned
from the University of Texas at Austin.
After that, he served as Tech’s chairman of the department
of mechanical engineering (1953-68), associate dean and
director of engineering research (1968-76) and dean of the
College of Engineering from 1976 until he retired in 1982.
Upon his retirement, Thigpen was awarded the Tower
Medallion. In 1994, he was named one of the top 100 Tech
graduates.
Thigpen served in the
Engineering Aviation Battalion
for 27 months in Australia and
New Zealand during WWII.
He then taught military history
at the United States Military
Academy following his first
tour, as well as during the
Korean War. He served in the
Army Reserves until he retired a
colonel.
He was a city councilman, a
member of the Kiwanis Club
(including serving as president),
active in many capacities at First
Baptist Church and a Boy Scout
leader honored with the Silver
Beaver for service.
Thigpen played football,
basketball, baseball, and ran
track during his high school
and college years. As a student
at West Point he played
lacrosse for the first time and
became captain of his team and
then was named to the All-American lacrosse team. An
enthusiastic runner, he was a well-known figure at the Tech
track, helping with numerous track meets. In 1995, he was
inducted into Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame.
dr. joseph jackson “jack” thigpen
1917 – 2006
Barmore isn’t the only alumnus
who wouldn’t be where he is
today without Thigpen. Mac
McBride, executive director of
the Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science Foundation,
says if it weren’t for Thigpen, many students would never
have seen their engineering careers come to fruition.
“In the ’50s and ’60s, there was no retention program,”
McBride says. “The intent was to weed people out. They
used to tell freshman, ‘Hey, look around you. The guy on
your left or right may not be here in four years.’ But Dr.
Jack would make every effort to encourage students and
keep them in school.”
Thigpen received his bachelor’s in engineering from Tech in
1936, a second bachelor’s in engineering from the United
States Military Academy in 1941, a master’s in mechanical
Thigpen was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years,
Ruth Thigpen. In addition to his son, a retired Cedar
Creek athletic director, he is survived by a daughter, Dr.
Sally Thigpen, an associate professor in Tech’s College of
Education; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial scholarship fund has been established through the
Louisiana Tech Foundation. Designate contributions to Thigpen
Fund, and send to P.O. Box 3183, Ruston LA 71272.
www.latech.edu | 15
“One of the things the College of Education does well is
that we do work that adds to this community.”
– Dr. Jo Ann Dauzat, dean of the College of Education
Ramsey said CATALyST began back in 1992, and since that time, has received $12
million in research grants.
However, she also said that the grant money CATALyST receives is usually specified
for one thing or another, and the money from the CVB would supply the items not
covered by other grants.
“These funds allow us to get T-shirts for the program, advertise for the program and
feed the teachers,” Ramsey said.
“It allows our program to go a step above and lets teachers realize that we value them
and that the public values their work.”
At Louisiana Tech’s IDEA Place, Dr.
Julie Holmes works with students in
the Louisiana GEAR UP Explorers
Camp program in which youngsters
from all over the state spend a
week exploring college and career
opportunities and working on math
and science skills. Students in this
group came from Monroe City Schools
as part of the PK-16 Partnership, one
of a variety of initiatives underwritten
by $600,000 from the Board of
Regents and designed to raise school
performance scores and make entering
postsecondary education a logical and
expected next step after high school.
Grants reward College of Education’s
economy-boosting programs
Seen as supporting the Lincoln Parish economy, two
educational programs at Louisiana Tech received grants this
spring from the Ruston-Lincoln Convention and Visitors
Bureau.
The Investigate Discover Explore Ask (IDEA) Place was
awarded $5,000, and the Center for Applied Teaching and
Learning to Yield Scientific Thinking (CATALyST) was given
$2,500.
“The IDEA Place had a half-million-dollar impact in the
tourism economy in Lincoln Parish,” said Bill Elmore,
chairman of the CVB. “The university is a tremendous asset to
us. CATALyST supports the scientific areas, and we had almost
a half-million-dollar impact from their programs.”
Tech President Dan Reneau said that he was appreciative of the
grants as well as of the CVB’s day-to-day support.
“This is an indicator of the close relationship that exists in this
community. It’s sincere,” Reneau said. “They help make our
job so much easier.”
Linda Ramsey, who oversees CATALyST, said participants in
her programs filled 750 hotel room nights last year, and the
IDEA Place filled 1,000 rooms last year.
“Our programs both bring people to town,” Ramsey said.
“CATALyST focuses on science and math education for
teachers. We have 11 programs that run through the
summer, and the teachers return throughout the year for the
workshops.”
Some of the summer programs include “Clues,” a forensic
science program, and “The Ripple Program” for teachers
interested in learning more about physics.
“We help them learn a deeper understanding of the math and
science that they are teaching, and we provide them with the
resources needed to take back to their classrooms,” Ramsey said.
Glenn Beer, head of the IDEA Place, said his program mainly focused on students.
“We hold an annual conference, and we had about 450 who attended,” Beer said.
“The majority of the attendees were middle school to high schoolers.”
The IDEA Place also hosts Louisiana GEAR UP, Gaining Early Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, for which the grant will help.
GEAR UP sponsors Explorer Clubs in 11 parishes.
“The purpose of Explorer Clubs is to give students leadership roles in their schools
and encourage them to attend postsecondary school,” Beer said.
“Through LA GEAR UP, we put on summer camps where we introduce the students
to Explorer Clubs.”
Beer added that about 2,500 students had participated in the summer program
throughout the years.
“This year we will serve about 900 students,” he said. “We’re growing and serving
more students each year.”
– From The Ruston Daily Leader
Education event features Elders on health care
Dr. Joycelyn Elders, the 16th surgeon general for the U.S. Public Health Service, spoke at Louisiana
Tech in May at the second annual College of Education Diversity Panel Discussion.
Now a professor of pediatric endocrinology at Arkansas Medical Center, she presented “Cultural
Sensitivity and Diversity Issues in Health Care” as part of the second annual College of Education
Diversity Panel.
In her presentation at Tech, she criticized a lack of access to health care for many and said that the
United States has “a sick-care system” rather than a health care system and that “patients are talking
to doctors, and doctors are talking to machines.” Voicing particular concern about increased health
risks among minorities and the poor, she repeatedly pointed to the need for more education.
As surgeon general, she argued the case for universal health coverage and was a strong advocate
for comprehensive health education, including sex education in schools. Outspoken in those views, she
had to resign after only 15 months.
The event was sponsored by the College of Education, Better Health for the Delta, the United
African American Men’s Association and Tech’s Student Government Association. Better Health for the
Delta, which partners with the College of Education, networks 15 rural hospitals, 10 school districts,
10 police juries and other entities to improve health care in rural regions of Louisiana.
www.latech.edu | 17
Researchers share a drive to discover
WHAT MAKES EMPLOYEES, CELLS, FUELS BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO? RESEARCHERS ASK
THESE QUESTIONS AND INVESTIGATE THE ANSWERS ON BEHALF OF US ALL
“We have come up with several distinct reasons for forgiveness,
such as the relationship is too important, he or she apologized,
the offender has too much power over me so I have no
choice, or my religion requires me to forgive,” Bennett says.
“If individuals forgive because they are afraid not to, they are
unlikely to see positive health outcomes. However, if they
forgive because they feel mercy for the offender, they are likely
to have better health and life satisfaction.”
So while snide remarks and backstabbing may earn a lot of
laughs and ratings in prime time, Bennett and her colleagues
are helping prove that kind of behavior is best left to the TV
characters – unless you want to end up in a reality version of
“ER.”
Work runs on hope of gasoline
alternative
One of Dr. Rebecca Bennett’s projects involves studying the
effects of media and television workplace portrayals on the
behavior of real employees.
Study of office behavior looks to
media portrayals
Are TV programs like “The Office” causing problems for
offices in the real world? Is it really possible that employees
might be taking their cues from fictitious professionals?
Questions like these are part of the research being conducted
in the College of Administration and Business by Dr. Rebecca
Bennett, Herbert McElveen Endowed Professorship recipient
and an associate professor of management.
Anybody tired of paying high gas prices should perk up at
the prospective benefits of Dr. Tabbetha Dobbins’ recent
research. Dobbins, an assistant professor of physics in a joint
faculty position between Louisiana Tech and Grambling State
universities, is working on the development of a safe hydrogen
fuel as an alternative to gasoline.
“President Bush, in his most recent State of the Union address,
discussed the need for the development of technology for
renewable energy,” Dobbins says. “New technologies must
meet energy demands at costs low enough to satisfy the energy
consumer. One response to the energy problem is the fuel cell
which runs on hydrogen fuel.”
“One of my recent research projects is looking at the effect of
media and television on new employees’ perceptions of what
is appropriate at work,” Bennett says. “If people watch a lot
of TV and see employees goofing off or talking back to their
bosses, maybe they will think that’s OK.”
“Hydride materials, which contain chemically bound hydrogen
atoms, are being researched for their ability to meet on-board
hydrogen storage requirements,” Dobbins says. “Hydrogen
can be safely stored in these materials and hydrogen gas can be
released on demand.”
Dobbins’ research specifically targets the role of catalysts in the
hydride materials.
“These catalysts reduce the temperature of hydrogen gas release
to below 125C and also increase the rate at which hydrogen gas
can be released from the hydrides,” Dobbins says.
Motivated by the technical challenges faced by the United
States and the world, and the need to meet future energy
consumption demands, Dobbins has been working on
hydrogen research since early 2004.
“At present, the U.S. Department of Energy has set goals,
targets and deadlines for hydrogen storage materials,” Dobbins
says. “Leading scientists have indicated broad area scientific
research directions. Also, individual scientists, and collaborative
groups of scientists, are working on innovative approaches to
solving key technical challenges associated with these materials.”
Dobbins says all of these factors, combined with cutting-edge
technologies, “make the energy problem an exciting one to
work on at this time.”
Dobbins’ research is funded by the Basic Energy Sciences
Division of the Department of Energy, the Division of
Materials Research of the National Science Foundation and the
Louisiana Board of Regents.
Acanthamoeba castellanii and how it responds to environmental
stress might not sound all that relevant to our everyday lives.
But the tricks this free-living protist (single-celled nonparasitic,
nonsymbiotic microorganism) performs to protect itself are
more than meaningful to Dr. Wendy C. Trzyna, an assistant
professor of biological sciences at Louisiana Tech, and to the
team of students assisting in her research.
Bennett is also interested in finding out how employees
respond when they are mistreated at work, and why some
retaliate while others choose to move past the offenses.
Dobbins says the obstacle standing between hydrogen fuel and
highway use is the safe on-board storage of the fuel.
Cell’s self-preservation instincts offer
up lessons
Primarily, Bennett and colleagues focus on finding out why
employees act the way they do. Although many employees
avoid confrontation and let problems roll off their backs, others
choose to harass co-workers, steal, sabotage, slow productivity
and gossip.
Bennett’s research seems to be paying off, offering answers that
not only benefit businesses, but employees as well, and on an
all-important personal level – health.
Once perfected for use, these fuel cells are slated for automotive
application by the U.S. Department of Energy FreedomCar
Project. However, in addition to automobile fuel, hydrogen can
also be used to power electrical plants and buildings.
Dr. Tabbetha Dobbins is participating in the development of a
safe hydrogen alternative to gasoline.
Overwhelming environmental stress, such as nutrient
deprivation or a number of other abnormal and adverse
conditions, triggers the formation of a dormant form of the
cell that is encased in a highly resistant cellulose-containing
structure. More simply, the cell forms a shell to protect itself
during times of stress. It then morphs back to normal when
conditions are again comfortable.
Dr. Wendy C. Trzyna is trying to get cells to give up some
secrets that could help save lives.
Currently unknown, Trzyna says, are the genes and associated
processes by which the cell converts one kind of signal or
stimulus into another, or how the chain of messages takes place
to achieve encystation, or the formation of the protective shelllike barrier.
“We are investigating the process of encystation at the molecular
level in this tiny amoeba as a model for how single cells ‘sense’
and respond to stress in their environments,” she says.
In cloning and characterizing different genes, Trzyna is
investigating proteases (enzymes) in this amoeba that also have
related proteins (homologs) in multicellular animals and which
help trigger cell deaths. Understanding that process could
potentially lead to learning how to make harmful single cells
self-destruct.
“There is considerable interest in these proteases in general,
especially as relates to the control of cell proliferation,” Trzyna
says.
Among the most direct research benefits is the prospect of an
improved treatment for amoebic keratitis, a painful, sightthreatening eye infection associated with soft contact lenses and
caused by certain strains of Acanthamoeba castellanii.
Trzyna says her main motivation for embarking on this research
is Acanthamoeba’s similarities to all living cells. For that reason,
researchers can focus on that one cell without involving other
cells or tissues, and research of Acanthamoeba means having
more information about all cells when the pressure is on to
map out strategies related to health care.
“What we discover about Acanthamoeba’s ability to respond
to stressful situations is applicable to cells in general,” Trzyna
says, “because all cells must cope with stress and changing
environmental conditions in order to survive.”
www.latech.edu | 19
“We had a lot of new faces on that team, and of the 150-odd
points we’d scored the year before indoors, we’d lost 75 points
off that team,” says head coach Gary Stanley. “People think
we just rolled in with the same team and took a consecutive
championship, but nothing could be further from the truth
– 75 points is a ton of points to replace.”
But they did it, and Stanley was named the 2006 WAC
Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year, his third in a row of six.
Graduating senior Donesha Spivey earned High Point.
“She was a jewel for us,” Stanley says. “Look at the amount of
points she scored indoors and outdoors, and that’s a pretty big
hit.”
But the team didn’t have nearly as many women graduating
this year as the year before, especially in terms of scoring
standouts. Still, nothing is guaranteed except that a new,
concerted effort is needed, Stanley says.
“When you look at repeating four consecutive championships,
indoor, outdoor, indoor, outdoor – that’s an anomaly. Matter
of fact, it really has nothing to do with the team from last year.
Those other schools don’t care one bit about you winning last
year. They don’t have a championship ring on their finger, and
they want one.”
Athletes Score With Heart, Hard Work
Bright baseball season
It was a make or break schedule, and Louisiana Tech not only
refused to break, the Bulldogs ended the season at 33-25,
the most wins by a Bulldog baseball team since 1989. They
also enjoyed a first-place run, in April, for the first time since
joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2001.
“We played an extremely tough schedule,” says head baseball
coach Wade Simoneaux, “especially with our non-conference
opponents. And to get that many wins with the schedule we
played is very good for this young ball club.”
Simoneaux characterized the team as having a lot of heart and
fight. “They are happy when they win and extremely sad when
they lose, and that’s how it should be.”
Justifiably confident going into the 2006 WAC Tournament,
the team’s hopes were fed by the fact that the top two teams in
the conference going in, Fresno and Hawaii, had a combined
12 losses for the entire year in conference, with Tech having
beat them five of those 12. But when the Bulldogs fell to
Hawaii in the tournament, it failed to wipe out progress the
team had made.
“Our expectations from our players, coaches and fans are much
higher now, and I want our fans to get mad when we don’t do
things right, I want our players to be able to get on each other
when they’re not team-oriented,” Simoneaux says. “It makes a
big difference in the outcome of your season when you have
higher expectations.”
Meanwhile everyone is looking forward to another season of
play at the improved J.C. Love Field where improvements were
realized with the help of four years’ sweat equity from coaches
and players alike.
“It has become a beautiful showplace,” Simoneaux says. The
addition of University Park has added a more passionate
element of support for the players, “a kind of Camden Yards,”
like in Baltimore, he says.
“You have people on the balconies, the students getting onto
the opponents, cheering for our guys, and you know the more
people, especially students, cheering for us, it really makes a
difference.”
PILING ON THE TRACK WINS
From afar, it’s easier to take their accomplishments for granted.
Not so for the coaches and team members who were there
and part of the Louisiana Tech Indoor track and field team
bringing home a second consecutive WAC championship for
the women.
Other challenges include the program’s staff size, by far the
smallest in the conference – “The NCAA allows six full-time
coaches for track and field, and besides me we have Shawn
Jackson, and then Larry Carmichael part time,” Stanley says.
So he really values his longtime staff: “Larry’s been here about
18 years, and Shawn’s been here around 12; that’s unusual in
our business. So that’s a big thing because if you have turnover
and change, you miss a step a lot of times.”
Stanley is just scanning the horizon for now. “It takes some
serendipity and hard work, but given those two, great things
will happen.”
Note: More great things have already happened: Just as this
magazine was about to go to press, Tech assistant coach Shawn
Jackson was named the NCAA Mid-East Regional assistant
coach of the year, and at the outdoor WAC championship
meet in Honolulu, Tech’s women were No. 1, Spivey was
Outstanding Performer, and Stanley was named women’s
outdoor Coach of the Year – just as he was for indoor.
A ‘Long’ look ahead
Last season’s Lady Techsters posted a beautifully lopsided 265 record, won both the Western Athletic Conference regular
season and tournament titles, finished ranked in both Top
25 polls, and played valiantly in the program’s 25th straight
NCAA Tournament appearance despite being injury-plagued.
Head coach Chris Long says his players’ NCAA efforts
characterize the heart of the team. “We go into that NCAA
tournament against Florida State with two of our better players
not nearly at 100 percent,” he says, “and it’s very difficult to
beat a good Florida State team in that case, but the kids battled
the entire game.”
Next season might prove tougher, but Long likes his chances.
Expect everyone to get some wish fulfillment as new and
old team members flex their muscles minus leading scorers
Tasha Williams and Aarica Ray-Boyd, and stare down a nonconference schedule that includes LSU, Western Kentucky,
Kansas State, Tennessee, Alabama and Arizona.
“We’ve got some good players coming back, and our recruiting
class was very good,” Long says. Among the signees are
Mississippi’s and Alabama’s top high school players and four
others, all standouts on their previous teams.
Long’s peers in the WAC think he’s a standout, too, so in his
first season at the helm of the Lady Techsters, Long was named
WAC Coach of the Year.
A TEAM ON THE REBOUND
Louisiana Tech’s men’s basketball team enjoyed a 20-win
season, a kind of hallmark of good teams, and earned a berth
in the National Invitation Tournament after making it into the
semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Keith Richard, head coach for Bulldogs basketball, says it was
the “feel-good year” that everyone needed.
“We really did accomplish a lot in a short amount of time,”
Richard says. “We traveled all over this country – we only
played 12 home games and played 21 on the road. We played
in four different time zones, we got a variety of TV exposure,
played on ESPN a couple of times, and so it was a very, very
good year.”
Then in the same time frame, numbers-gatherer Paul Millsap
became the first student-athlete in the history of college
basketball to lead the NCAA in rebounding for three straight
years; he then elected to forgo his senior year and enter the
2006 NBA draft.
Richard says Millsap brought Tech basketball a lot of
recognition nationally and probably will bring more with the
NBA draft. He expects to feel the loss of the phenomenal
player keenly, but is already strategizing about the future.
“We’re going to be different next year,” he says. “There will
be a new best player on next year’s team, and we’ve got a lot
of experience returning – I really like that, eight returning
players.”
He says the team is going to try to play a faster-paced game
in which fans can see more use of the three-point line. “I’m
excited that our four new players, all extremely athletic and
quick, are going to be able to bring some of the same qualities
to our style of play next year that we expect from our returning
players.”
www.latech.edu | 21
f o u n d at i o n s po t l i g h t
f o u n d at i o n s po t l i g h t
Family builds on legacy of the
‘self-made man’ they loved
Gift possible because
of ‘major’ change
were billed once a month. The Piggly Wigglys ushered into the
area the option of paying cash and of shopping in a more selfservice-type store.
George A. Baldwin Jr., who earned a petroleum engineering
degree from Louisiana Tech in 1978, says he sold out electrical
engineering.
Carol Denny said the finance and entrepreneurship
endowments to the College of Administration and Business
speak directly to her father’s background.
But because he did so, he says, he and wife Jean Murphy
Baldwin were recently able to make Tech the gift of two
$200,000 endowed professorships, one for the College of
Education and one for the College of Engineering and Science
– plus donate $20,000 to the engineering scholarship fund
BEST. He credits Dr. Robert Mack Caruthers, today a Tech
professor/department head emeritus, for leading him to
petroleum engineering.
“We chose finance because he was very involved in Ruston’s
financial institutions, and entrepreneurship because he
was such a self-made man,” she said of her Tech business
administration alum dad. “He had the help of business skills
he learned at Louisiana Tech—so on our father’s behalf, we
wanted to benefit students for years to come.”
She said her father had always been generous but low-key
about it. For example, he had quietly helped “put a lot of
young people through Louisiana Tech.” The family agreed that
at least this once, the quietly generous man would have been
pleased enough about the impact of the gifts that he wouldn’t
have minded the fuss.
“Tech was so good to us, so important to us and to our joint
lives, we always knew if we had the chance to do something for
Tech, we would,” Baldwin says. And after the sale of his second
oil and gas business partnership in 2005, he and his wife, also
an alum, were able to do that. All because he pursued a degree
he had never heard of before.
From left are Eddie Barnes, Deenie Barnes, Carol Barnes Denny
and Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau. The Barnes family has
honored the late John Ed Barnes Sr. by creating in his name a $1
million eminent scholar chair in finance and a $100,000 endowed
professorship in entrepreneurship at Louisiana Tech.
At a May 9 lunch where the family was honored by Tech
President Dan Reneau, his wife, Linda Reneau, and the
Louisiana Tech University Foundation, Reneau stressed how
profoundly the endowments support a central need.
Baldwin was a senior in 1974 when Caruthers came to
Southwood High in Shreveport fishing for petroleum
engineering majors – his bait, a modest scholarship. Baldwin
already knew that for price and proximity, he was going to
Tech. He also already knew that he was going into EE because
it seemed “cool” to work with electronics.
A late Ruston business leader has been honored through the
creation at Louisiana Tech of a $1 million eminent scholar
chair in finance and a $100,000 endowed professorship in
entrepreneurship.
“The most essential element in a great university is qualified,
motivated and talented faculty members. These gifts enable the
university to attract and retain the very best, and these gifts are
established to work not only for today’s Louisiana Tech, but to
ensure its future, as well.”
Baldwin thinks the principal made a group of seniors go
listen to Caruthers, Baldwin among them. Besides dangling
the scholarship, Caruthers explained that the petroleum and
electrical tracks were the same up to a point and that Baldwin
could swap if things didn’t work out in PE.
Reneau praised Barnes, a longtime friend, for his business
acumen and his dedication to the betterment of the
community and the university. But he said he also admired and
respected Barnes just for being the person that he was.
“I had never even heard of petroleum engineering,” Baldwin
says. But he figured he had the EE option if he needed it, so he
took the scholarship. Each summer he worked in the oil and
gas industry and made tuition money.
“This family honors a great man,” Reneau said.
Soon he was hooked, and good thing: “I finally got around to
taking the electrical engineering course they make everyone
take, and I hated it!”
Geraldine “Deenie” Barnes and her children, Carol Barnes
Denny and John Ed “Eddie” Barnes Jr., established the
endowments in the name of their husband and father, John
Ed Barnes, who died of cancer in 2004. In addition to 1950s
success as the owner of two Piggly Wiggly grocery stores,
Barnes held longtime leadership roles in financial institutions
including Ruston Building & Loan (Bank of Ruston) and
Ruston State Bank (Chase Bank).
Barnes’ stores, which he sold in the mid-1970s, were famous
for offering great meat at good prices—including in the early
1960s, grill-quality steaks cut small and sold for about 25
cents each. Out-of-towners brought ice chests when they came
to Ruston so they could take some Piggly Wiggly meat back
home, Barnes’ family remembered.
“He went someplace special to buy that meat; he was hard
to please when it came to buying meat for the stores,” Mrs.
Barnes said.
The stores with the great meat also had innovation to
commend them. Up until Barnes opened the stores in the early
1950s, area residents charged their goods at big mercantiles and
Carol Denny, a Tech alum along with husband Benny, her
brother and a host of other close family, said her dad is easy to
sum up: “He was larger than life.”
As for any philosophy that might have played into his
successes, she said it was simply that “he did it his way.” To
warm laughter her mother responded, “Capitalize that.”
(The $100,000 professorship and the $1,000,000 chair are
part of the Louisiana Board of Regents’ Education Quality
Support Fund program. Endowments are created by private
contributions to the University Foundation that equal 60
percent of the endowment and are matched by 40 percent from
the regents. Tech now has 122 endowed professorships and 11
eminent scholar chairs.)
He got his degree, married a couple of days later, had a
quick honeymoon and then went straight to work at Arkla
Exploration Co. He left there and worked for some smaller
companies but returned to Arkla and stayed until 1993 when
he went to work for an oil and gas investment partnership that
was sold in 2001.
He and his partners then built up another generation of
the partnership and sold it as well, in 2005; that’s the sale
he credits for his family’s ability to give the professorships.
Now he’s president of a third generation, EnSight III Energy
Partners, LP, which acquires and develops oil and gas
properties.
George Baldwin sports a red tie as he gathers with, second from
left, wife Jean, and Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau and his
wife, Linda.
He says he and his wife – who he calls the far more interesting
and attractive of the two of them – always had a deal: “I would
make the money, and she would do all the stuff that matters.”
Jean Baldwin, whose bachelor’s in education and master’s in
counseling both came from Tech, is a freelance mental health
professional affiliated with Samaritan Counseling Center in
Shreveport. Her passion is education and training, principally
in the area of healthy relationships and dating violence, which
she pursues with her current-culture, multimedia presentations
to audiences of high school girls. She also does premarital
counseling for couples and counseling on effective parenting.
The Baldwins, both graduates of Southwood High, renewed
their friendship when they went to Tech, Baldwin says. “So it’s
not just an education and a degree we’re proud of, but that the
earliest years of our relationship played out there and made a
good foundation that carried us through 28 years.”
The couple has two daughters: Mary Kathleen, 25, who
graduates this summer from the University of North Texas
with a master’s in counseling and who will continue working
in the UNT career counseling center; and Molly Kristen, who
has a degree in international marketing from Texas Christian
University and plans to pursue career opportunities in Fort
Worth.
“I have a career I love, a comfortable lifestyle, and we’re able
to do things for our family and others, and that all came from
Dr. Caruthers encouraging me to try petroleum engineering,”
Baldwin says. “Tech is just such a cornerstone of our life
experience.”
(The $200,000 professorships are part of the Louisiana
Board of Regents’ Education Quality Support Fund program.
Endowments are created by private contributions to the
University Foundation that equal 60 percent of the endowment
and are matched by 40 percent from the regents.)
www.latech.edu | 23
yo u n g a l u m n i
yo u n g a l u m n i
ANDREW
ELIZABETH
Class of ‘99
B.S., Business Management
with Pre-law Option
Class of ‘97
M.A., Speech with Theatre
Concentration
Class of ‘01
B.A., Speech with Theatre
Concentration
JOHNStON
Out there and
loving it
Our young alumni are all over, making their
corners of the world better, more talented and
more committed places. In this collection alone,
they are happily running the show in theatre
but raising a family, they are holding court and
loving every minute of it, they are dancing with
joy about their decision to join the culture of
space exploration. They are Tech Triumphs.
TARA
TAYLOR
THE LAW OF RETURNS
WORLD’S A STAGE, A FAMILY
Space Odyssey
Hometown: Ruston
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Hometown: Shreveport
Now resides in: Shreveport
Now resides in: Burnsville, N.C.
Now resides in: Houston
Further education: 2002, J.D.; B.C.L., Bachelor of Civil Law,
LSU Paul M. Hebert Law School
Undergraduate education: 1995, B.A., Theatre, Northern
Michigan University
How I got to Tech: It was simple: I’m from Ruston and I got a
scholarship.
What I do now: Managing and artistic director, Parkway
Playhouse, North Carolina’s oldest continually operating
summer theatre.
The story of my major: Throughout high school I planned to
major in dance. However, at some point during my senior year,
I had a change of heart. I would dance as a hobby, but make
a living as an engineer. After making that decision, I knew
Tech was the place to be. It is the best engineering school in
Louisiana and has the most innovative programs.
Current position: Associate attorney, Mayer, Smith & Roberts,
L.L.P.
About my job: I do insurance defense litigation. I handle cases
such as automobile accidents, products liability, premises
liability (slip and fall), obliterated food (bug in the food), and
workers compensation.
After graduating from Tech: I went to LSU law school, graduated
three years later, and then began my legal career at Pettiette,
Armand, Dunkelman, Woodley, Byrd & Cromwell in
Shreveport. They are also an insurance defense litigation firm. I
came to Mayer, Smith & Roberts last year.
When I’m in court: I occasionally get butterflies, but I mostly feel
excited to argue my position. However, I am not in court very
often because most of my work is pre-trial litigation.
Memories of Tech: Through my extracurricular activities I made
lifelong friends, learned about myself, and had leadership
opportunities.
If I weren’t a lawyer, I’d probably be: No idea. I’ve wanted to be a
lawyer for as long as I can recall.
If I’ve learned one thing in life, it is: You have to work hard to
get where you are. You can only make it so far on handouts or
knowing the right people.
Triumph in my career: I’m not related to any attorneys, and I
didn’t know many attorneys well. I got a position at a firm
through my achievements alone – no favors, no connections.
GALL
About my job: It’s an exciting challenge to be CEO of the
company and principal resident artist. I must be bottomline oriented and creative at the same time. We put on about
seven plays a year and I handle all the hiring and casting for
productions.
After getting my master’s: I got an internship at the renowned
Goodman Theatre in Chicago. After the internship, I got
a “day job” as director of operations for a development and
commercial real estate firm. Meanwhile, I established Wing
and Groove Theatre Company in Chicago’s Wicker Park. Our
small company was made up of Tech grads, and it was named
in honor of Scott Gilbert’s lecture on the “wing and groove”
invention for opera house scenery changes. (Gilbert, a former
Tech theatre instructor, is now artistic director at The Foothill
Theatre Company in Nevada City, Calif.) I was artistic director
for four years and we did a lot of theatre in a short time. In
2000, I became artistic director of Highland Repertory Theatre
in Asheville, N.C. I started working with Parkway Theatre
in 2004 after it lost its managing director. I thought I would
help them through two seasons, but I fell in love with this
company and the community. Parkway is set in the middle of
the Appalachians. It’s in a new building that emphasizes the
mountain heritage. So I chose the Parkway. I can work out of
my home office. I hear my wife playing with our daughter,
Hunter, and son, Beckett. I also teach film and communication
courses at Mayland Community College.
What I do now: I am certified as an Onboard Data Interfaces
and Networks (ODIN) Flight Controller for the International
Space Station at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
After graduating: United Space Alliance, a NASA contractor,
came to Tech’s career fair. I got a job with United Space
Alliance and worked there for a year as a flight controller.
When my husband, Ross Taylor (2001, B.S., Mechanical
Engineering), and I were married, I moved to Austin where he
was enrolled at the University of Texas. I worked for NetQoS,
a network performance management company founded by a
Tech grad. After two years, my former NASA boss called and
asked if I would return to NASA. The timing was right because
my husband was about to graduate, and I was thrilled about
the opportunity to return to the space industry.
About my job: I am responsible for the real-time operation of
the Command and Data Handling (C&DH) systems for the
International Space Station (ISS), which is the network of
computers responsible for controlling all of the ISS systems. I
am also the C&DH team lead for the European Space Agency’s
(ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and backup for the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer
Vehicle (HTV).
Memories of Tech: I remember enjoying professor Mark Guinn’s
stage combat courses and going to impromptu poetry readings
next to Lady of the Mist.
About my summer fellowship: I was recently awarded a NASA
fellowship to attend International Space University’s Summer
Session Program in Strasbourg, France. I will represent Johnson
Space Center for this two-month program. The program will
focus on international, intercultural and interdisciplinary teams
in the space industry.
Triumphs in my life: I have a wonderful marriage and family. I
never expected to be such a family man.
Instead of work, something I’d rather do on a Monday morning:
Dance.
www.latech.edu | 25
n e w s a r o u n d c a mp u s
n e w s a r o u n d c a mp u s
Students put hearts into
Habitat home
Smith reclaims SGA
presidency after appeals
When a ribbon cutting was held for the Habitat for
Humanity home on Circle Drive in Ruston, more than
30 Louisiana Tech architecture students were proudly in
attendance.
Louisiana Tech senior marketing major Caleb
Smith of Gilbert has reclaimed his victory as
2006-07 president of the Student Government
Association after Tech’s Academic Review
Board upheld the Student Organization
Committee’s decision to back Smith in his
appeal of his disqualification.
An excited April Austin and her four children cut the
yellow ribbon in front of their new home. “I’m ready
to move in,” she said. “The kids are ready for their own
rooms.”
Austin put in a $500 deposit and 300 hours’ work
required by Habitat for Humanity. She said she enjoyed
being directly involved.
“The students asked me about the ideas. They showed
me the designs and asked me to pick one out,” Austin
said. “I love this house. Words cannot express how I feel.”
April Austin and her children cut the ribbon to their new home.
The project also had assistance from Weyerhaeuser,
including volunteers from the company’s different north
Louisiana operations, said Martin Elshout, general
manager of Louisiana Particleboard. “Each business
would take a Saturday and come and work. Some worked
several Saturdays.”
Weyerhaeuser also donated two-by-fours from the Mount St. Helen’s forest. After the
eruption there, Weyerhaeuser planted 45 acres of trees, and the donated lumber was from
the first thinning of the trees.
“When you count the lumber and monetary support, it was probably $30,000 worth
of donations for the home,” Elshout said. “We are just thrilled to work with the local
Habitat chapter and Louisiana Tech. They’ve done an extremely good job. I’m sure it’s
one of the best Habitat homes in the country.”
Ruston Mayor Dan Hollingsworth said he too was impressed with everyone’s
contributions to the project.
Above, Mary Green of Mandeville and
below, Aaron Sanderson of West Monroe
got in some Habitat work before graduating
with architecture degrees in May.
“These fifth-year architecture students were so involved, and we’re so grateful to
Weyerhaeuser for contributing materials and volunteers,” Hollingsworth said. “To have a
community like ours that reaches out is very important.”
Tech looms large in
nanotechnology
ranking
Louisiana Tech was recently ranked
third in the nation for micro- and
nanotechnology education, ranking
above University of California at
Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, the
University of Maryland, Rice University
and Rutgers University.
The survey was published by Small
Times, a magazine that focuses on
business news and information about
small tech, including nanotechnology
and microsystems.
The magazine also praised the number
of topics at Tech that can lead to
degrees; the fact that many students
who pursue doctorates in engineering
conduct research at Tech’s Institute for
Micromanufacturing; and the number
of faculty and students who conduct
micro- and nano research.
To give an indication of the type
of work involved in micro- and
nanotechnology: Micrometers are used
to measure small devices the size of cells
or hairs; nanometers are used to measure
the sizes of molecules and atoms.
The protest had said Smith was in constitutional violation of a number of SGA
constitutional rules, but Smith rebutted the protest claims.
In a May Ruston Daily Leader editorial, the process was seen as giving students lessons
about appeals processes in a democratic society.
17 student-athletes
trade uniforms for
caps, gowns
Seventeen Louisiana Tech studentathletes received their diplomas during
spring commencement ceremonies that
took place at the Thomas Assembly
Center, according to Stacy Gilbert,
assistant athletic director in charge of
academics.
Gilbert additionally noted that 15
Tech student-athletes earned a perfect
4.0 GPA for the spring quarter while
another 72 student-athletes earned a
3.0 GPA average or better.
Graduating baseball player Brandon
Haygood of Bossier City collects his diploma.
Allen Tuten, president of the local Habitat affiliate, said this was the 13th Habitat home
in Ruston and the third dedicated in the 2005-06 year.
Largest graduating class stands up for
‘lessons’ speaker
“This was the students’ project. We gave them some administrative support, but this
is their project, and they did an outstanding job,” Tuten said. “The design is certainly
different. The students utilized their creative talent, but it is affordable housing for a
family who otherwise couldn’t have had a new home.”
Louisiana Tech’s largest graduating class in history – 892, up from 872 last year
– gave a rare standing ovation this spring to its commencement speaker, Dr. Belle S.
Wheelan, president of the Commission on Colleges for the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools.
Karl Puljak, interim director of the School of Architecture, said the students had matured
over the course of this project.
Among the messages in Wheelan’s brief speech were these bits of advice:
“One thing the students have learned about this project is that it takes a lot of people to
do this,” he said. “There’s a lot of coordination that has to happen. The students have left
something here that is important. They’ve left a part of their heart here.”
– From The Ruston Daily Leader
The SGA Supreme Court had voided his
presidency following a written protest filed by
a campaign supporter of the second-highest
vote getter, Matt Babcock. When Smith
Caleb Smith
appealed the decision to the committee and
2006-07 SGA president
won, Babcock and his supporters appealed the
reinstatement action to the review board, which then backed the committee.
Dr. Belle S. Wheelan got graduates on their feet.
Keep dreaming; learn to laugh; have no regrets; be as kind to the janitor as you are to
the chairman of the board; keep asking questions; say “thank you,” and say it often;
keep playing – we don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we
stop playing; and give back.
www.latech.edu | 27
news about you
What’s new with you?
Foundation for 2006-07.
Do you have news to share in the News About You section?
1977 ...........................
Have you changed jobs, received a promotion, started a company? Written a book? Received an award? Made a
scientific breakthrough? Exhibited your work in an art show? Married, had a child?
News About You is just that. We want to share the stories of your accomplishments and milestones. Photos are always
welcome, too. You can submit your information for News About You online at www.latechalumni.org and click on “Send
Announcements.” Or, fill out the form on page 31 and mail your information to us.
Cheryl L. Hackney
Classroom Community
Hometown: My family was stationed at Barksdale Air Force
Base when I enrolled at Louisiana Tech.
Degree: 1981, B.A., Elementary Education
Further education: M.A., Education, Centenary College; Ed.S.,
Education and Reading Specialist (master’s 30+), Louisiana
State University; National Board Certified Teacher
My position: First-grade teacher, Shreve Island Elementary,
Shreveport
1962 ...........................
J. Frank Betts,
accounting, was
elected to the
board of directors
of CPA Associates
International Inc.
for 2006. He is
managing member
of Eubank & Betts,
PLLC, in Jackson,
Miss.
1963 ...........................
On being selected for the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program: In November, I leave for a
three-week trip designed to immerse American teachers in Japanese education and culture. I will
be traveling with teachers from all 50 states on this tour funded by the Japanese government.
I’ll gain a broader worldview and first-hand knowledge that I can take back to my classroom.
I’m interested in seeing how reading levels compare to my students and how Japanese teachers
maintain decorum in their classrooms. By traveling abroad, I’ll be better equipped to help my
students grow in their understanding of other cultures.
Phoebe Allen, art education (master’s art
education 1966), will have an exhibition
of her paintings at the Schepis Museum in
Columbia July 5 through Sept. 5. She is a
professor emeritus at Louisiana Tech where she
taught in the School of Art and the School of
Architecture for 33 years.
After graduating: I went to work for an oil company for seven years. I didn’t feel secure or mature
enough to be a teacher right away. I’m glad I waited until I felt the calling. When I took a
master’s-level education course at Tech Barksdale, I realized that I had to teach. I felt stagnant in
a desk job. On the contrary, every day is different in teaching. You are continually growing and
changing with new curriculums, theories and students. You never get bored.
1967 ...........................
Why I teach first grade: Their minds are like sponges. First-graders are eager to come to school
and learn all they can. They also want to please their teacher. At 8 a.m., there’s nothing more
wonderful than seeing my students bursting with excitement to be at school.
Triumph in my career: On Nov. 17, 2001, I became a National Board Certified Teacher. I still
pinch myself when I think about it.
1957 ...........................
Ron Harrell,
petroleum engineering,
CEO emeritus and
adviser to the board
at Ryder Scott, has
been elected treasurer
of the Louisiana Tech
Engineering and
Science Foundation
for 2006-07.
1960 ...........................
J.B. “Bob” Roddey, chemical engineering,
of Oil City, president and owner of Roddey
Engineering Services in Shreveport, has been
elected to a three-year term as a director of
the Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science
Foundation.
Daniel “Danny” Gray, civil engineering
(master’s civil engineering 1968), a selfemployed consultant, retired from McDermott
International, has been elected to a threeyear term as a director of the Louisiana Tech
Engineering and Science Foundation.
1968 ...........................
Tom Singletary, math, a consultant with
Pacific Coast Technologies and retired vice
president with CenturyTel, has been elected
as a Life Director of the Louisiana Tech
Engineering and Science Foundation. He
served five years on the foundation board
where he served one year as president.
1972 ...........................
A.C. Hollins Jr., construction technology,
assistant general manager and director of site
operations for National Security Technologies
in Las Vegas, has been elected secretary of
initiatives for Children’s.
T.W. Hudson
Akin, business
administration, is
the new executive
vice president
for the Office of
Development with
Children’s Medical
Center in Dallas. He
will lead fund-raising
and development
Peter Main, journalism and English, is
principal communications consultant with
AEP Texas, an electric utility serving south and
west Texas. He and his family live in Corpus
Christi, Texas.
1978 ...........................
Gene Trammel, mechanical engineering,
director of customer service for NetQos
of Austin, has been elected vice president
of the Louisiana Tech Engineering and
Science Foundation for 2006-07. He has just
completed three years on the board and served
as secretary this past year.
1979 ...........................
Don Friday, mechanical engineering, an
Edward Jones investment representative for
18 years, was named a principal with the
firm’s holding company, the Jones Financial
Companies, L.L.L.P. He is one of only 55
individuals chosen from more than 32,000
associates across the globe to join the firm’s
262 principals. He and his wife, Micki, and
their children live in Shreveport.
1980 ...........................
Martha Peaslee Levine, zoology/pre-medicine,
has written for a picture book, “Stop That
Nose!” Levine is a psychiatrist at Penn
State/Hershey Medical Center in the Eating
Disorders Clinic. She makes school visits and
leads writing/creativity workshops.
Hilton Nicholson, electrical engineering,
president of Wireline and Wireless Division
of ADC in Minneapolis, has been elected to a
three-year term as a director of the Louisiana
Tech Engineering and Science Foundation.
1981 ...........................
Laurey Conway, industrial engineering,
training associate at Eastman Chemical, has
Don Alexander
Mural Master
Hometown: Monroe
Degree: 1960, B.F.A., Fine Art
Further education: M.A., Commercial Art, The Art Center (Los
Angeles); M.F.A., Design, University of Kansas; Art Education,
University of Kansas.
What I do now: Portrait and mural artist
Murals I’ve painted: Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist
Bureau’s “Inside These Walls” (1997); Gannett’s “Let the Good
Times Roll” (2000); Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex Museum’s “The Jester” (2003); Holiday Inn’s
“Shreveport Rose” (2004); and artspace’s “Folk Art Gallery” (currently in production).
After graduating from Tech: After completing my degree in commercial art, I went to The Art
Center in Los Angeles and then returned to Monroe and worked in advertising. Before long, I
had the itch to go back to school. I earned my M.F.A. at University of Kansas, and then I came
back to Louisiana to teach advertising and commercial art at Northwestern State. Five years later,
I returned to Kansas to get my doctorate. I also took courses in art education to complement
my classroom teaching. Then I moved to LSU-Shreveport where I taught advertising and
commercial art for 27 years. I retired six years ago.
Mural painting 101: First, I submit sketches to the organization sponsoring the mural contest.
When my artwork is selected, I plan how to make it the size of a mural. Next, I prep the surface
and choose paint that is suitable for the surface. For larger murals, I project the image onto the
building. I make a transparency at Kinko’s and project the image at night. Then, I get on the
scaffolding and trace the image with charcoal. After I get it drawn, I pick out an area that would
be a good point of departure – a part that everything else can be based on. Everything falls into
place as long as the weather cooperates.
On mural strategies: It’s no different from painting a picture. The principles and proportions are
the same—you just scale up. It felt awesome to paint a 50-foot-tall rose on the Holiday Inn. It’s
what catches your eye when you enter downtown. Being up high didn’t bother me because I had
the experience with doing The (Shreveport) Times’ building mural. The only thing that was kind
of treacherous was the wind that would come around the corner and then move the boom.
been elected to a three-year term as a director
of the Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science
Foundation. She previously served on the
board and was president in 2000.
Terri Richardson Hebert, library science
(elementary education – library science
1985), obtained a doctorate in educational
administration from Stephen F. Austin. She
will become an assistant professor of middlelevel education with an emphasis on math/
science at the University of Central Arkansas
in Conway, Ark., in August.
Carol Patton Phillips, history, has been named
administrator of the historic home of President
William Henry Harrison. The mansion,
located in Vincennes, Ind., and constructed in
1803, is on the National Register of Historic
Places and receives more than 100,000 visitors
a year.
1985 ...........................
Matt Dunigan, business administration,
will be among the 2006 inductees into the
Canadian Football League Hall of Fame. He is
a broadcaster for TSN’s Friday Night Football
telecasts for the CFL football games. He and
his wife, Kathy (music 1984), live in Elbow
Valley, Alberta Canada.
1987 ...........................
Arne Aamodt, mechanical engineering,
mockup manager at NASA Johnson Space
Center, has been elected to a three-year term
as a director of the Louisiana Tech Engineering
and Science Foundation.
Ed Hall, chemistry, technical manager for
Shield Pack in West Monroe, has been
Foundation.
www.latech.edu | 29
news about you
EARL LEY
Cycling for celiac disease
Hometown: Albuquerque, N.M.
Now resides in: Bellevue, Wash.
Degree: 1967, B.S., Electrical Engineering
Position: Retired software quality assurance
engineer, The Boeing Co.
How I got to Tech: I graduated from Bossier
High School and followed my friends 70 miles
down the road.
After graduating: I served for 20 years in the
U.S. Air Force as a systems engineer. After retiring from the Air Force, I went to work for
Boeing. I worked on software quality compliance for the Boeing 777, the largest twin-engine
airplane in the world. It was great to see new airplanes roll out and go on their maiden flights.
Fan of flying: I enjoyed getting my commercial pilot’s license. I specialized in aerobatics, and I
couldn’t get enough of it. I got my private pilot’s license at Tech.
How I became a serious cyclist: After retiring from the Air Force at age 45, I started riding with the
Boeing software kids. I chased them for months! I had always biked to work at the Pentagon.
But, the Boeing group really taught me how to ride like a pro.
I stopped biking when: I became violently ill in 1997, and it took six months for doctors to
diagnose me with celiac disease. I was off my bike for 17 months in all. My body cannot digest
wheat, rye and barley. Celiac disease causes a person to have a very sensitive digestive system and
weakened immune system. I am on a strict, gluten-free diet. I have to check everything I put in my
mouth. I read a lot of labels and call 800 numbers to verify the ingredients in processed foods.
My coast-to-coast bike ride: I’m biking to raise awareness about celiac disease. I signed up with
Adventure Cycling Association for a loaded tour, which means I carry all my camping gear. We
started in San Diego last September. I came down with strep throat in Hatch, N.M., and had
to rest for three days. The group went on and I decided to change my route to follow Interstate
20 and Highway 80 because I grew up in this area. I ride about 50 miles a day and stop every
couple hours. I’m burning about 4,000 calories a day – more if it’s hilly. In all, I will bike 2,650
miles and end in Savannah, Ga. I keep a diary at crazyguyonabike.com. Search for celiac.
Good honk, bad honk: West Texas was extremely bicycle friendly. Drivers always moved over and
didn’t crowd the road. One trucker played me a tune on his horn. You can tell the difference
between a friendly and unfriendly honk.
Filling up on the road: I eat freeze-dried, gluten-free meals. I snack on Lay’s potato chips and corn
chips with bean dip.
I knew I was grown up when: I realized I had the power to look on the positive side of things.
You’re not grown up if all you do is dwell on what’s deficient in the world. You have the power
to work through things and be positive.
When I arrive at the Atlantic Ocean: I’ll dip my back tire in the ocean, get my picture taken, and
call it a done deal. I like to get things done. I’ll check this off my list and celebrate with glutenfree food!
Deborah Wells, biomedical engineering,
manager of facilities and laboratories for
Bionetics Corp. at the Kennedy Space Center,
has been elected president of the Louisiana
Tech Engineering and Science Foundation
for 2006-07. She has served on the board
for three years. She previously served on the
Biomedical Engineering Advisory Board and as
its president.
1988 ...........................
Paula Lansford Beasley, pre-law, was named
one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas Under 40 by
D Magazine. She graduated summa cum laude
and received her juris doctor from Southern
Methodist University. She is with Scheef and
Stone, L.L.P. She and her husband, Keith
(graphic design 1986), live in Dallas.
1991 ...........................
1998 ...........................
Trey Little, accounting, was elected president
of the National Association of Insurance and
Financial Advisors for Louisiana for 2005-06.
He works for Little and Associates in Baton
Rouge.
Mark Wells, animal biology, works for the
Paraclete Group as a counselor/therapist in
Westminster, Colo.
2000 ...........................
Now resides in: North Brunswick, N.J.
1992 ...........................
Marty Stokley, general studies, is the assistant
ticket manager at the University of Texas. His
wife, Rhonda Giltner Stokley (biology 2000),
is a dentist in Austin, Texas.
Further education: 1996, M.S., Civil Engineering, Louisiana
Tech; 2000, M.B.A., University of Rochester
David Keller,
chemical
engineering,
has been named
plant manager of
Teknor Color Co.’s
Jacksonville, Texas,
plant. He will be
responsible for all
manufacturing and
support functions
for the color concentrate, compounding and
blending operations. He will also coordinate
the implementation of Teknor’s ERP system
and support the standardization of goals for
both the Texas lab and production areas.
1993 ...........................
Deborah Richter, chemical engineering, Zone
A process department head for ExxonMobil
in the Torrance, Calif., facility, has been
Foundation.
Wayne Wynn “Trey” Williams, journalism,
has joined the staff of Congressman Bobby
Jindal as communications director for his
Louisiana office.
1996 ...........................
James H. Smith, vocational agriculture
education, has been elected president of the
faculty senate at Texas Tech University for the
2006-07 academic year. He also received a
promotion to associate professor with tenure.
1997 ...........................
John Griffin, marketing, has joined Festina
Watch Co. in Dallas with home offices in New
York as regional sales manager responsible for
New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Louisiana and Mississippi.
Mark Littrell, architecture, earned his
architecture license from the state of Arkansas.
He is also vice president of the American
Concrete Institute’s Arkansas chapter. He and
his wife, Aimee (speech-language pathology
1997), live in Little Rock.
2001 ...........................
Jeff Milstead, computer information systems,
has been promoted to applications system
analyst/programmer in the Technology Services
Department at CLECO in Pineville.
2003 ...........................
Kimberly Mire McDaniel, civil engineering,
a traffic engineer with Spalding, DeDecker
Associates in Rochester Hills, Mich., has been
elected to a three-year term as an associate
director of the Louisiana Tech Engineering and
Science Foundation. She is currently working
on her master’s in civil engineering at Wayne
State.
2004 ...........................
Adam Hough, computer science, is a systems
analyst II for the LSU Center of Computation
and Technology, High Performance
Computing Group.
John David Wilkerson, accounting, has been
promoted to the rank of major. He is currently
serving as the cost analyst for the Marine
Corps/Information Systems and Infrastructure
Product Group. He and his wife, Melanie
Zahnen Wilkerson (chemical engineering
2003), live in Stafford, Va.
2005 ...........................
Amber Miles,
journalism, will
work as an intern
at the San Antonio
Express-News for
the summer of 2006.
Then she will begin
a two-year stint with
Hearst Newspapers.
She will work at three
newspapers for eight
months at a time.
Tao Zhan
Engineering Investments
Hometown: Beijing, China
Bachelor’s: B.S., Applied Mathematics, Peking University
First engineering job: During the summer of 1993, I went to
the East Coast and got an interview with URS Corp., a global
engineering firm. I got a job in my first interview. My URS
project involved designing the monorail at Newark International
Airport. When I finished my work on the project in 1998, I went to business school for two
years. While working at URS, I realized that finance, investment and engineering are closely
connected. I view my education as three-dimensional. I draw on my science, business and
engineering backgrounds.
Current position: Vice president, Portfolio Analysis Group, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.
About my job: I am in charge of marketing Merrill Lynch brands in China. I have many
connections to my homeland, which helps me excel in my job. I help introduce global financial
products to the Chinese government and help to achieve a $500 million global mandate from
them. The second part of my job pertains to math modeling, which is where engineering comes
in. I help to manage $15 billion non-investment grade portfolios. I use math and engineering
concepts to structure financial projects. Before I came to Merrill Lynch, I worked for JPMorgan
Chase for four years in global investment and corporate banking. Again, part of my job involved
math modeling to price bank loans and develop structures for financial products. My team was
pretty famous on Wall Street.
About Wall Street: It’s intense – long hours. My workday is 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Then I go home
and have dinner with my family. I return to work from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. because I must be
accessible to my Chinese clients during their business hours.
Back and forth to China: I make almost monthly trips to Beijing to meet with clients face to face.
When I go back, I don’t have jet lag because I’m so excited to be in my home city. I get this
surge of energy, even though I may have nine meetings lined up over two days. The downside
to traveling is I have to leave my wife and two children (ages 2 and 5) behind. My wife is from
Beijing and my parents live there. We all wish there could be more pleasure trips to Beijing to be
with family.
My treasured letter: I still have my Louisiana Tech acceptance letter, signed by Dr. Les Guice.
The letter symbolizes an important phase of my life. Through a Tech civil engineering graduate
assistantship, I had the opportunity to come to the United States to study. I can’t put into words
what Louisiana Tech means to me. It was my gateway to go after my dreams.
To send your news, please visit www.latechalumni.org
and click on the “What’s new with You?” link.
AFRICAN AMERICAN ALUMNI NETWORK
All African American alumni of Louisiana Tech University interested
in participating in an alumni network are asked to contact:
Theron Jackson at [email protected] or
Tammy Phelps at [email protected]
www.latech.edu | 31
What Matters to a student’s family: A Parent speaks
Dear Louisiana Tech Family:
When you live in Merrill, Wis., it takes a lot of trust to hand
over your child to a university as far away as Louisiana Tech.
When Coach Brian Rountree called and asked our son Nick
if he wanted to come to Louisiana Tech and play baseball, I
said, “Where?” I guess Tech is the best-kept secret in the South
– but it’s not a secret to us anymore. Since that time, Tech has
earned our trust, and much more.
Coach Wade Simoneaux, Coach
Rountree and their wives showed
Nick and my wife, Janet, around
campus when they first came
down. The coaches made a huge
impression on my wife and Nick
because they said baseball wasn’t
the only reason to come to Tech
– No. 1 was the great education
he would get; No. 2 was the Tech
Family because a family is handy
to have when Mom and Dad are
six states away; No. 3 was baseball.
Coach Simoneaux and told him I was giving him the best
thing I have – my son – and then I watched Nick pack two
suitcases and fly away. Now I see him with a high GPA, and
I see him winning not just as an athlete but also as a sound
student. The professors care, too, and you see that as early on
as freshman University Seminar classes.
Stay connected.
Join the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association today.
“I have been so blessed in my college experience with Louisiana Tech,
both academically and athletically. I still stay in touch with many of
the friends I made, particularly the ones I made while playing baseball
Nick has three brothers. Chris just graduated from the
University of Southern California, Alex is a high school junior,
and Tyrus is in fifth grade. Because
of Nick’s experience, Alex not only
sees Tech as a great university,
but he understands better what’s
important to look for in a school.
for Tech. Tech will always be your extended family, too – and it’s
important to stay connected to your family.”
- Kenny Guillot (‘88), incoming Alumni Association president
We look at President Reneau’s
outstanding leadership and the
university taking in Tulane after the
hurricane and we know that Tech
is a class organization. We look at
Ryan Richard and Barry Morales;
they are also in leadership roles at
Tech but they ask me, just some
ordinary dad in Wisconsin, hey,
Bob, what do you think?
As a standout three-sport athlete,
Nick was heavily recruited. The
thing is, so many of the schools
You see great athletes remaining
talked only from the perspective
connected to their university
Bob and Janet Grunenwald gather with sons Nick and Ty for
of athletics. But an athlete is one
– Karl Malone, Bert Jones, Terry
a family portrait after the middle game of Louisiana Tech’s
home sweep of Fresno State in April.
blown-out knee away from being
Bradshaw. You have an outstanding
like anyone else. So when you
ballgame announcer like Dave Nitz.
look at what’s important, it has to be about getting a sound
education. All the coaches – Toby White and Fran Andermann,
You go to Tech Farm and get an ice cream cone and see the
too – that’s what they’re about: You go to class, you study, you
animals; that’s just so enjoyable. Driving around campus,
do your homework, you get your education, you prepare for
students worry about you, ask if you found the building you
your future.
were looking for, and usually they don’t point, they take you
there. You hear them saying yes ma’am and yes sir. Ruston, too,
We could not be more thankful for the education Nick is
is class all the way.
getting, but those coaches are also boosting that baseball
program to a national scale. And that has to do with them
Whether we’re on campus or at a road game, it always feels like
establishing a firm foundation – education, family, playing
home. We’re just grateful and honored to be part of the Tech
winning baseball.
Family.
Nick may be on scholarship, but I owe Louisiana Tech a huge
debt. When Nick was about to go down to school, I wrote
Please cut along dotted line and send to the following address or join online at www.latechalumni.org/association.
Alumni Information Update – mail to: Alumni Association | P.O. Box 3183 | Ruston LA 71272
________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: Last
First
Spouse’s Name: Last
First
Middle/Maiden
Coll./Univ. & Class
Degree
Social Security #
City
State
ZIP
Home Phone #
Bus. Address
Bus. Phone #
Position with Firm
________________________________________________________________________________________
Spouse’s Employer
for your support.
Dr. Robert & Patricia Flournoy
Randy Harrison
Donald Hilburn
Dr. Walter & Sidney Holloway
Bobby Pettit
Dr. Eugene & Rebecca Steadman
These names have been added to the lifetime roster since the previous issue of the magazine.
Social Security #
________________________________________________________________________________________
Bus. Address
Bus. Phone #
Position with Firm
________________________________________________________________________________________
The Louisiana Tech Alumni Association salutes these Lifetime Members
Danny Almond
Ronnie & Rebecca Bounds
Ayres & Connie Bradford
Kenny & Lisa Clark
Degree
________________________________________________________________________________________
Employer
thank you
Class
________________________________________________________________________________________
Home Address: Street
Sincerely,
Bob and Janet Grunenwald
Middle/Maiden
Email Address
Brian & Barbara Still
Tia Toms
Sherry Vaughan
Spouse’s Email Address
■ $35 Single Membership ■ $50 Joint Membership ■ $500 Single Life Membership ■ $600 Joint Life 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 Number
Expiration Date
_______________________________________________________________
Signature as it appears on your credit card
Newly sisters
Pictured above are members of Lambda Theta Sorority, formed in 1926 on the Louisiana Tech campus. In 1931, the same year that stamps were
a low 2 cents and unemployment was a high 16.3 percent, the Lambda Thetas were installed as the Alpha Chi Chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority,
thereby becoming Tech’s first national sorority chapter. The chapter celebrated its 75th anniversary in April with a weekend celebration that drew
nearly 400 to the Tech campus.
Louisiana Tech University
Division of University Advancement
P.O. Box 3183
Ruston, LA 71272-0001
nonprofit org.
u.s. postage
pa i d
jackson, Ms
permit no. 80

bradshaw`s stunning gift

Transcription

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