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N o. 3 1 | w i N t e r 2 0 1 4
m ag a z i n e
Evolution of thE logo
Louisiana Tech
Set in StoneTwo traditions:Tech XXIand ourAlumni Walkway
Alumni AssociAtionOfficersCaroline Wilkerson Reaves, PresidentBrennan Easley, Vice PresidentDave Matthiesen, TreasurerCathi Cox-Boniol, Member-at-LargeJason Bullock, Past PresidentLeslie K. Guice, Ex-Officio
BOard Of directOrsJoanie Burton Andrew,Paula Hampton Aultman, Ed Chavanne,David Caston, Lacie Frasier Covington,Lee Denny, Remerson Edwards,Brent Gregory, Kelly Harp Haber,Eric Johnson, Jeff Lee, Greg Lott,Brandie McNabb Martin,Paige Baughman Oliver, Jeff Pace,Cynthia Aillet Pettiette, Greg Ross,Mark Shoffner, Chris Stegall, Wade Stephens,Dustin Sumrall, Kim Ashy Swart,Bradley Walker, Ray Weaver, Keith Welch,Barry West, James Wilkerson, Trey Williams
alumni assOciatiOn staffCorre Anding Stegall – Vice President for University Advancement
Ryan W. Richard – Director of Alumni Relations
Jimmy D. Washington – Coordinator of Advancement Programs
Barbara Britt Swart – Administrative Coordinator
Lisa Graves Smith – Communications Coordinator/Editor
university communicAtionsDave Guerin – Executive Director
Teddy Allen – Writer/Editor
Mark Coleman – Designer
Donny Crowe – Photographer
Tom Morris, Kevin Beasley, Tech Archives – Contributing Photographers
Louisiana Tech Magazine is published semiannually by the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association.
We welcome your comments or suggestions.
contents
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latechalumni.org Alumni Association, University Foundation and LTAC.
latech.edu News for today’s and tomorrow’s students.
latechsports.com All Tech athletics, from tickets to game times.
facebook.com/latech facebook.com/latechalumni facebook.com/latechathletics All your Tech “friends” are right here!
twitter.com/latech Get hooked up for quick answers to your Tweets.
youtube.com/louisianatech Tech videos created by staff, faculty and students.
flickr.com/photos/louisiana_tech/collections Collection of recent Tech photos, updated regularly.
linkedin.com/edu/school?id=18428 Network for Tech alums and business professionals.
He’s our School’s ReAL ChampMeet Tech XXI
Alumnus of the Year Steve Davison
ConnECt with tEChMarbury Alumni CenterLouisiana Tech University
P.O. Box 3183 Ruston, LA 71272
1.800.738.7950318.255.7950
A Word from the Alumni DirectorAs you can see, my family LOVES Tech! We feel fortunate to call Ruston home and to have
the opportunity to participate in Tech events throughout the year.It may be difficult for you to travel to the campus because of work, family and just
generally busy lives – I know that some of you have not been back since you graduated. But I hope you’ll make 2014 the year that you take time and make plans to “come home” to Ruston. The Tech campus is ever changing – we’d love an opportunity to show you around – but the heart and soul of the University, its loyal, dedicated students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, remains the same.
The Alumni Association, along with the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC), will host a Spring Football Game Tailgate in Ruston on April 12. And maybe we’ll be coming to your area. We’re making plans to host several “Tech’s In Town” events in various cities. We’ll be taking a bus full of Tech fans to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to cheer on the Bulldog basketball team on March 2. And Tech will participate with other Louisiana schools at a Washington D.C. crawfish boil on June 14.
Follow us on Facebook (Louisiana Tech Alumni Association page), and update your information regularly at LaTechAlumni.org/Update (or by calling 318-255-7950) to be sure you’re aware of news and events.
I hope to see you this year – whether it’s in your town or mine. It’s always fun when the Tech Family gets together!
Ryan W. Richard (’98, ’02)
Winning LogoLambright and the State-and-T12
DoGGone PHotoGeniC: Ryan Richard (far right) and his family – Kathleen (2000, speech communications), Trenton (bottom left, Class of 2029) and Jacob (Class of 2031) – had their “team picture” made during Homecoming ’13 with CHAMP (middle!) at a new Alumni Association event, “Breakfast with CHAMP.” Stay in touch and get Homecoming ’14 updates at LaTechAlumni.org. Get the picture?
2 From the 16th Floor
4 A Set-in-Stone traditionAlumni Walkway
6 it’s YoUR Alumni Association
9 Young Alumnus of the YearBrent Tippen
10 economic Mission: PossibleTrenchless Technology Center making positive international impact for private companies – and for you and me
15 Professors We LoveWiley Hilburn Jr.
16 Athletics Roundup
22 news Around Campus
28 techipedia
30 news About You
40 Building tradition Neilson Hall
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I can see many excellent faculty members all across campus who bring greater value to our students every day because of their commitment to teaching and learning. Our faculty and staff are always exploring new ways to help students learn and grow. Innovative instruction has been a hallmark of Tech for many years, and that has provided our graduates with a competitive advantage.
I have seen many of our graduates return to campus to see their brick along the Alumni Walkway, reflecting back upon their time at Tech and the faculty who helped them to succeed.
I can see superb faculty members and students involved in research, discovery and innovation. These faculty are often working together across disciplines in areas where many opportunities for discovery and innovation exist…business and engineering, art and computer science, education and speech, sociology and mathematics: when they get together, great things happen.
I can see students, faculty and staff engaged in service – service to our community, state and nation.
Through all of these developments, Louisiana Tech has risen in national prominence and has emerged as the region’s only Tier One national research university.
I see Tech as an entrepreneurial research university, one that is focused on global challenges and on advancing economic prosperity in North Louisiana. For example, Dr. Erez Allouche has developed an innovative approach for using environmentally hazardous waste material to produce concrete with very beneficial properties, working in partnership with companies locally and globally. (Read more on pages 10-11 about how companies are investing in this and other on-campus research.)
I see Louisiana Tech as an institution with a rich history and culture, an institution with a great brand identity, and an institution poised for growth and greater impacts.
More students from across the region and the nation are looking to Louisiana Tech. Our freshman class increased by almost 20 percent in the fall of 2013, and that level of interest is continuing for 2014. The academic quality of our freshmen continues to improve: This fall’s average ACT score for freshmen was a Tech all-time high of 24.5, and 79 students scored 32 or higher; seven of those were National Merit Finalists.
Our alumni and friends will be key to helping us reach our long-term enrollment growth goals. We believe that growth is essential for Louisiana Tech and our region. And I am confident that our alumni and friends will continue to be there with us. No matter how you look at it, Tech is a solid investment for all of us.
Leslie K. Guice
From the 16th FloorSitting in the southwest corner of the 16th floor of Wyly Tower over the past few months has provided me with a greater perspective of Louisiana Tech.
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Follow Dr. Guice on his blog at GuiceBlog.LaTech.edu and on twitter @LKGuice.
He’s our school’s REAL Champ!
Meet the new Big Man on Campus. The head honcho. The big cheese.
Sir Stud Muffin.Every guy wants to be his bud, every girl wants to ride in his
car – and would, if he had one.Tech XXI is the University’s newest mascot, the campus VIB
– Very Important Bulldog.“He’s the man,” said Champ, Louisiana Tech’s other much
taller and more mobile mascot. “It’s his world; the rest of us are just livin’ in it.”
A 22-month-old English bulldog, Tech XXI was recruited from a Missouri breeder, arrived on campus in late summer and made his debut during Homecoming 2013 weekend in October.
Tech XXI lives during his off hours locally with Tech graduates Michelle and Greg Scott and their children Connor (16), Skyelar (14) and Jordan (11), plus several other pets the Scotts are rearing. The family gladly endured an in-depth application process to earn the privilege of taking care of the living symbol of Tech’s strength and unity.
Welcome to Ruston’s newest Top Dog.
tech XXi (with help from the Scotts) speAksDOB: April 16, 2012
Weight: 52 pounds
Height: A not-overly-tall 18 inches from floor to head when standing on all four legs.
Favorite food: Chicken, but I don’t get it very often. It’s a health thing.
Favorite dog besides yourself: Big Boy, the chocolate lab, my “brother from another mother” who lives with us, because he has such a soft mouth and will lay down on his belly and back to play with me! We will play for hours!
Favorite place to take a nap: On the couch.
What you like about LA Tech: The school’s welcoming attitude, the BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS, that I was chosen to represent the University, that I am allowed to lead the football team out onto the football field, that I am treated like royalty. Also the REGAL BLUES – duh!.
Pet peeves: Being rolled onto my back, not that it can be done. I should say someone TRYING to roll me onto my back. Also someone walking into the room without petting me. And change, like some smart guy moving the furniture in the house around, or moving my dog bowls. The big one: being told to get off the couch. Oh, and I hate to text message.
Favorite time of day to nap: ANY TIME, but especially after playing with Big Boy.
Favorite color: I have two: red and blue.
What do you do to relax? Play with my toys; I’ve got a deflated soccer ball and ropes and squeaky toys. Also having my ears rubbed and sniffing around the yard.
Hobbies: Tearing up paper, sleeping, going to LA Tech games. (Back in December it was unwrapping wrapped Christmas presents – that weren’t mine. My bad.)
Do you get a lot of ticket requests? Not a ton, but when I do, I just hike my leg. I’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
Tell us about your other brothers and sisters besides Big Boy, Connor, Skyelar and Jordan: Well inside there’s Swizzle, a rescued long-legged Chihuahua; outside is Madison, a golden retriever who’s 14, a 7-year-old German shepherd named Bella, a long-haired cat named Granite and a short-haired cat, Fred, who hasn’t needed a haircut since the Eisenhower Administration. True story!, true story! (Not really. We like to tease Fred, as if he even cares. He’s a cat!)
What does the family think of you, honestly: They think I’m awesome! “He has a sweet temperament,” they said, “is very tolerant, smart and laid-back. He adjusted quickly and well to the household. He is a VERY COOL DOG, and we are so glad that Tech chose us as his caregiver.”
What is something the fans don’t know about you: That I love taking a shower. Just love it! I’ll walk into the shower if the door is open and just sit down and plead with my eyes for SOMEbody to give me a shower! And don’t tell anyone this, but I’m actually VERY good about wearing hats, clothes, and being posed.
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Buildings are built one brick at a time.Graduates are built the same way: one class, one day, one
quarter, one academic year – one brick – at a time.When that illustration turns into something tangible, something
almost literally concrete, the result is our Alumni Brick Walkway, updated this fall after a multi-year break.
“The Alumni Walkway is a meaningful and unique tribute to each and every graduate of Louisiana Tech,” alumni director Ryan Richard said. “Their name will forever be a part of the Tech campus.”
The Walkway begins at the east corner of Centennial Plaza, just south of Howard Auditorium, with the brick of the University’s first graduate, Harry Howard, Class of 1897.
The bricks run west down Centennial Walkway, circle Centennial Tower and the giant Tech seal in front of the Student Center, then progress past Tolliver Hall and end going north down Wisteria Drive.
When you graduated, you earned your brick, and your name is engraved on it and set in alphabetical order among your fellow graduates’ bricks in your graduating class.
“All our names are presented in the same manner,” said vice president for student affairs Jim King. “All of the graduates’ names placed along the walkway reveal the chronological history of the University, with no one name more important than the last and each name contributing equally to the progression of the path and to the progression of Louisiana Tech’s history.
“We should all take pride in our alma mater,” he said, “because we have all contributed to the success of the University in our own unique way.”
Keepsake bricks are available through the Alumni Association (see inset on opposite page), but King and his office – along with director of recreational services Bobby Dowling – are in charge of and responsible for this particular tradition, one that began 20 years ago during the University’s centennial celebration. Construction began on the Walkway at that time, funded through a student fee after King, then the University’s housing director, and a couple of students dreamed up the idea.
The road that ran between the Student Center and Harper Hall – 8,500 cars came through that tight area each day, King said – was closed, the area excavated, and that $3.6 million project turned into Centennial Plaza.
After 1993, the graduating classes were added in stops and starts, depending on equipment and manpower available: sometimes one class was added, sometimes two, sometimes in consecutive years and sometimes with several years between
additions. Due to ongoing underground utility work on campus, additions stopped with the Class of 2001.
During the 2012-13 school year, Dowling, along with employees and student workers from Student Affairs, organized and laid out the Class of 2002 bricks in the area in front of Tolliver. During the 2013 summer, the same group began the organization of and laying out of bricks through the Class of 2012.
“I already have the names for 2013; just waiting on the command to have them engraved,” Dowling said. “It costs about $20,000 per year to engrave and install the next year, and we have the money each year to do it; the Class of 2013 should be inset
by Homecoming in the fall,” probably in early summer when foot traffic lessens.
The bricks will continue down Wisteria to Railroad Avenue; the route from there will be determined through the continuing master planning design effort .
“The week of Homecoming this year, I watched a mom and her daughter take each other’s picture by their respective bricks,” said Will Dearmon, Student Government Association president in 2012-13 and now a coordinator of co-curricular activities and special programs for Student Affairs. “There’s been such a response from alumni in the past six months since the Walkway’s been
updated, it’s been a little surprising, even for us.”Student Affairs employees now have a name for “the event”
when they see pairs or groups searching for and posing along the Walkway: Odyssey to the Brick.
“If you haven’t seen your brick,” Richard said, “it’s time to make plans. It’s one of the most meaningful changes that continue to enhance our campus. The Walkway’s one of the things that makes you even more proud to be an alum of Louisiana Tech.”
“The Alumni Walkway is worth every cent because it’s a manifestation of the Tech Family,” King said. “It’s a history lesson about the school.”
Graduates walk the walkAlumni Walkway a set-in-stone tradition
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Get Your own Replica Brick – or one For Your Favorite Graduates
Alumni wanting to display a replica of their brick in their home or office have the opportunity to purchase one through the
Louisiana Tech Alumni Association. Additional details can be found on the back of this issue
or at LaTechAlumni.org/AlumniBrick.
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“The Alumni Walkway is worth every cent because it’s a manifestation of the Tech Family. It’s a history lesson about the school.”Jim King, vice president for student affairs
■ 1897 - ’50s■ ’60s - ’70s■ ’80s - ’90s■ 2000 - 2006■ 2007 - 2012
STUDeNT CeNTeR
oDYSSeY CoMPLete: Linda Griffin, dean of student development, visits the Class of ’05 – and her own brick.
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It’s Fun to be an AlumYOUR Alumni Association
at Work (and Play)
The Louisiana Tech Alumni Association is YOUR Alumni Association. The staff of the Marbury Alumni Center seeks to better associate you with your University, and mostly with one another.
You are a friend and/or an alum of the flagship University of North Louisiana, a living, evolving institution that continues to grow in all areas of academics and athletics. One of our goals at the Marbury Alumni Center is to keep you as informed as possible – online, in person and through publications such as this one – about all the opportunities Louisiana Tech presents for both tomorrow’s students and for today’s. For sure, we have a good word for you to help spread.
Our purpose is also to involve you in what your University offers for its students of yesterday. When you left Tech, you were told that you would always be a part of the University. Students for a short time, alumni for a lifetime. You are the “Tech Family.” And the more, the merrier. Recruit a student for tomorrow and an alumni member for today.
These photos you see of Alumni Association activities and events aren’t pictures of the staff. These are pictures of you—Tech’s Alumni and Friends. That’s what makes an Alumni Association event. Your annual dues and your involvement make them possible, and fun.
“The Alumni Association is our lifeline to Louisiana Tech and
fellow alumni and friends,” said Ruston’s Jeff Parker, an Association past president. “The Association is the Tech Family. It keeps us connected. It keeps us updated on current events, triumphs, challenges and the future of our University. It also represents the alumni voice on campus. It is up to all of the Tech Family to keep moving this great University forward, and it starts with joining the Alumni Association.”
“Our Alumni Association is dedicated to serving not only the students and alumni of Louisiana Tech, but also the community,” said current Association president Caroline Reaves. “I am constantly amazed at everything they can do with a relatively small group of people. They truly want every event to be a wonderful experience for all those who attend.”
Thanks to loyal dues-paying members, the Alumni Association this past year was able to accomplish some noteworthy goals:• Provided 15 legacies with $1,000 scholarships• Awarded the first runner-up in the Miss Tech Pageant a $1,000
scholarship• Mailed more than 150 special “Born to be a Bulldog” baby wipes
holders to parents. (Having a baby? Once he or she arrives, send the details to [email protected], and we’ll mail you one too!)
• Hosted more than 40 alumni events, including tailgates, game- watching parties, a trip to the North Carolina State/Louisiana
Tech football game, and regional gatherings of alumni and fans.In addition, the Alumni Association published the Louisiana
Tech Magazine for Association members and donors. You’ll continue to receive this publication twice a year. Please keep it visible; we want it to be a conversation starter!
So join us. It’s work, but it’s for YOUR University, and it’s fun. The more we’re together, the better we’ll be. Remember, it’s YOUR Alumni Association. Join the fun!
Make THE Difference: Join Your Alumni Association:• Online at LaTechAlumni.org/dues, or;• By calling the Louisiana Tech Marbury Alumni Center at
318.255.7950• Membership dues are $35 annually for an individual and $50 for
a couple; a lifetime membership is $750 for an individual and $1,000 for a couple.
The Alumni Association is part of the Division of University Advancement and is located in the Marbury Alumni Center.Director: Ryan Richard ([email protected])Coordinator: Jimmy Washington ([email protected])Administrative Assistant: Barbara Swart ([email protected])
Phone: 1.800.738.7950 / 318.255.7950
1. Alumnus of the year Steve Davison (left) and Tech president Les Guice at the Alumni Awards Luncheon in October.
2. Fan favorites Terry Bradshaw and Phil Robertson, both former Bulldog quarterbacks, were introduced on the field in Aillet Stadium and given jerseys with their numbers from their playing days before Tech’s first-ever Conference USA game, Sept. 12, 2013, against Tulane.
3. The Alumni Association hosted events featuring University celebrities such as President Guice, head football coach Skip Holtz and athletics director Tommy McClelland in cities throughout the region. Shown is a January 2014 gathering in Alexandria.
4. Tech alum and writer/actor/entertainer Trace Adkins delivered a solid National Anthem before the Bulldogs’ Homecoming game against North Texas State in mid-October.
5. we can help you keep your newest Bullpup clean.
6. Not enrolled – but already Bulldogs!: Future Tech alums william (5) and Madeline (3) McDaniel. Parents are Jeremy (Class of 2000) and Kimberly Mire (Class of 2003) McDaniel of Baton Rouge.
7. The Happening XXXii, sponsored by Argent Financial, ushered in a new tailgate-type atmosphere for the annual event at the Monroe Civic Center.
8. Alumni and fans gather at the Argent Pavilion on Tailgate Alley for free food and Blue Bell ice cream – thanks to the Alumni Association and its sponsors – prior to each home football game.
9. Fans of all ages enjoy Breakfast with Champ, the Association’s newest Homecoming Day event.
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Duron to Carr – to Stevie D?:An (as yet) incomplete love story
“You have to write a story about me?” asked Steve Davison, after being named the University’s Alumnus of the Year. He shook his head. Thought for a moment.
“Well,” he said, “I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my barber: You don’t have much to work with, so just try to do the best you can.”
Actually there’s plenty to work with, even though Steve prefers a low profile in what’s become a full plate of spotlight volunteer duties. One of five children of Dianne and James Davison, Tech
graduates and supporters for more than half a century, Steve was born with Tech blue in his blood. He likes it that way.
“The first Tech memory I have: Duron to Carr, listening on the radio,” he said, tuning his mind back to one of the most famous plays in Tech’s athletic history. “That’s where it started for me.”
On Dec. 8, 1973, a Denny Duron-to-Roger Carr last-few-seconds touchdown pass beat Boise State, 38-34, in the NCAA Division I-AA football semifinals in Wichita Falls, Texas, a prelude to Tech’s anticlimactic 34-0 whipping of Western Kentucky the next weekend in Sacramento, Calif., for the I-AA title. That Duron-Carr play came in the middle of what many still refer to as Tech football’s Glory Years: the Bulldogs were 44-4 from the 1971-74 seasons.
Before he’d turned 10, young Steve’s hometown university had claimed three national football titles.
“Easy way to get spoiled,” he said. “Easy way to get a skewed view.”
But he’s an athlete – he lettered four times for Gravy Patterson’s Bulldog baseball teams – and a lawyer, businessman and competitor in the world of thoroughbred racing. He’s been around the block once or twice since listening in a bunk bed and a shared room on 428 Forest Circle to “Duron-to-Carr!” He’s long been aware that Glory Years don’t fall out of Ruston peach trees, that sustained greatness is hard to bottle.
“Our facilities, the quality of our coaches and academic assistants, and the quality of our student-athletes, each of those areas affects the other,” he said. “It’s not easy winning in everything all the time. But I think we can make a lot of noise in our new conference (C-USA) and in the world of mid-majors. Louisiana Tech has made noise for a long time; everybody knows who we are. With everyone’s help, we can take another step, reach another level, and sustain the atmosphere of championships that maybe spoiled a few of us. But that’s not such a bad goal.”
Davison is “color man emeritus” for Tech football; he called games with Tech Sports Hall of Fame member “Freeway” Dave Nitz for seven seasons before he and wife Sarah became parents to newborn twins three years ago. He’s heavily involved in Lincoln Parish Boys and Girls Club and in Temple Baptist Church, and he has received the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Young Business Person of the Year award.
But still he makes time for Tech, though if you ask him why he loves the University, he won’t be able to give you a solid answer.
“I’ve thought and thought about it, but I couldn’t tell you, really; I’ve just always loved it,” he said. “Maybe it’s a trait I inherited from my father, if that’s possible.
“But I’ve seen our school change so many lives,” he said. “Not just in athletics, but I’ve got good friends from every college, and all of them will speak to how Louisiana Tech made a difference for them. It has for me. My family feels the same way: We’re Tech fans, but we’re Tech family too.”
The research park. The new business building. The improvement in housing and at the Lambright Sports and Wellness Center. Davison mentions all those as “game-changers” for a modern Tech. If the state will adequately fund the University, he’s certain Tech friends and alums can do the rest.
He’s doing his part, even going as far as to send fresh blood onto campus. Nephew Thomas is one of 2014’s first Tech graduates. Steve’s son Michael and another nephew, James III, will graduate Ruston High this spring; the first cousins are scheduled to enroll at Tech in the fall.
“For better or worse,” Davison said, “we’re sending in another generation.”
AlUmnUs Of the YeAR
Steve K.Davison ’89
Degree: Management, pre-lawhometown: Rustonlives in: Choudrant
• Ruston attorney, developer of Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, and owner of Kentucky-based Twin Creeks Farms thoroughbred breeding and racing operation
• Chairman of Quest for Excellence Campaign and member of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Council
‘Stay true to yourself and where you come from’
Brent Tippen is out front in the field of modern communication.
He speaks for an international company, addresses global issues, serves on a global crisis response team and advises others, and manages key corporate-level issues that have effect worldwide, and often he communicates through the many tiers of an ever-expanding, ever-changing landscape of social media.
But how he’s managed this modern career so well in the swift river of warp-speed communication is through a philosophy as old as the first drop of sweat.
“Work your hardest and do your best,” said Tippen, who turns 32 in June but is already one of Chevron Corporation’s top communication assets; he became the company’s spokesman – that’s just one part of a multi-faceted job – in 2011.
“You may not be the smartest person at every board table you sit at,” Tippen said, “but if you work hard and always stay true to yourself and where you come from, people always want you to be a part of their team.”
Lisa Merritt was Tippen’s academic advisor at Tech; she and her husband Kevin, each a speech communication instructor at Tech, also grew to be a couple of Tippen’s encouragers and friends.
“The truth is, he was not a great student,” Lisa said, “but he has always been a great communicator. He has an uncanny ability to connect with people and make them feel appreciated and important…He works in a corporation where individuals have highly specialized roles – engineers, accountants, researchers, attorneys, chemists, stockholders – but it takes someone like him to bring all those folks together.”
“Brent has always been driven, with high aspirations,” Lisa said. “If Kevin and I were of any help to him, it was to make him understand that, without the university degree, he wouldn’t be able to achieve those dreams. He was so ready to get out in the world and do his thing that he had a hard time focusing on school.”
Once he’d graduated, he focused on the work, quickly and efficiently learning from a trio of jobs – in areas of community engagement, in government affairs and public policy, and in media relations – that led him to and trained him for his newest challenge.
“I’ve had the opportunity to handle some very complex and controversial issues,” he said, “and have learned to adapt quickly in new environments and to integrate to a changing world of communications through social and digital media.”
Now, literally all over the world, he’s using his Tech education.“Tech provided me with a unique experience to be very active
on campus while also receiving a high quality education,” he said. “I was able to bring real-life experience into the classroom and integrate it in real time with my education. I included my work experiences in my research projects and my research projects into my work experiences. All my professors were hands-on in helping me achieve my academic goals …
“I feel like my intimate relationship with my University and the preparation Tech helped provide allows me to compete on a national scale for jobs, many times competing with Ivy League-educated colleagues.”
for more on Brent, go to latech.edu/techtriumphs
Degree: Speech communicationhometown: West Monroelives in: San Francisco
• Global external communications advisor and company spokesman for Chevron Corporation
• Founding member of Chevron’s social media working team responsible for the launch of Chevron’s corporate Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn sites
• Former regional director for U.S. Senator David Vitter
• Provided crisis communication support during the BP oil spill and served as federal representative for Hurricane Katrina
• President of freshman class and member of Student Government Association while a student at Tech
YOUng AlUmnUs Of the YeAR
Steven Brent Tippen ’04
StePPinG UP to tHe PLAte: A chairman of Tech’s Quest for excellence, Davison shows off the new multi-functional Bulldog Baseball locker room, just one recent and much-needed part of the campaign’s payoff.
CoMe toGetHeR, RiGHt noW: in the forefront of the rapidly changing world of modern communication, Tippen took time during a Homecoming week trip to Tech to share his expertise with tomorrow’s young alums.
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Economic Mission: Possibletrenchless technology Center making positive international impact for private companies – and for you and me
There’s gold in that concrete. Louisiana Tech’s Trenchless Technology
Center (TTC) continues to tap into it, to the University’s and the region’s benefit.
Most of us seldom if ever think of the international world of underground utilities, which is trenchless technology in a nutshell. Nor do we think of Tech’s role in it. We don’t see it, and it’s not glamorous when we do.
But Tech’s TTC, dedicated to providing solutions for the trenchless industry, has already laid a solid foundation in benefitting our area and state.
Tech’s campus is one of two “Ground Zero” spots in the world (a Chicago-based research center is the other) for trenchless technology innovation, research and application. People from all over the world come to Ruston to find out exactly what we’re doing. They pay money just to serve on TTC’s Industry Advisory Board and get the inside scoop on the latest developments in trenchless technology. And better than anyone on an already innovative, progressive campus, TTC sets the bar when it comes to Louisiana Tech’s interaction with private companies; TTC is in steady contact with markets that are interested in these newly developed technologies and discoveries – which helps us in a few very important ways.
• For one, products we need and use, even if we don’t realize we need and use them, are better because of TTC’s work.
• The University, from its licensing of products developed by TTC, is able to pour more revenue back into research programs, scientists and facilities.
• The students, the No. 1 priority at Tech, benefit from learning from the best in an environment filled with real-world challenges and breakthroughs, again, at Ground Zero. They get an education, plus experience.
• With each new breakthrough and contact with private industry, part of Tech’s mission grows closer to being
realized completely. “Part of our economic development
mission is that we want to develop new technologies that move out into the market, that generate new business opportunities for people in our region, new activity and wealth and jobs,” said Tech’s executive director for enterprise and economic development Davy Norris. “We want to make an impact in Ruston and in north Louisiana. But if it’s happening in south Arkansas, in Oregon, anywhere, that’s good too: what we want is to help with addressing these big problems, to make a positive difference.
“Among research universities, most do a solid job of basic and applied research,” he said. “Tech excels in taking the applied research and bringing it up to commercial application. Tech gets this research to the point that it can be handed off to a commercial entity.”
That’s where money comes from – money for the commercial buyer’s business, for locals who benefit from any prospering enterprise, and for both the University and the student, who’ll take
that knowledge and the working-through-the-problems process into the world after leaving campus with much more than an already valuable Louisiana Tech diploma.
Each step increases the likelihood of “new venture success and maximizing the local economic impact of new technology development,” Norris said.
No recent on-campus economic success story – and there are several – illustrates this better than TTC’s geopolymer concrete development and its gain in commercialization partners. Consider this quick scenario:
Concrete is, by volume, the largest manufactured product on the planet and by far the largest construction material. But environmentally, it’s very unfriendly.
Now, consider that fly ash – ash flakes released into the air by furnaces – is one of the world’s largest pollutants, thanks to coal-burning power plants. For decades, man was putting the waste in the ground, in storage tanks and in landfills.
Then came welcomed geopolymer technology, around for more than 30 years now. It uses fly ash to make concrete, a
process that reduces the “carbon footprint” of traditional concrete by 90 percent and energy consumption by 85 percent.
Tech didn’t invent geopolymer technology, but it’s on its way to perfecting it – or at least making it practical for a wide range of applications. The end result is products sold on the market.
During the past few years, a team of Tech researchers, led by associate professor of civil engineering and TTC director Erez Allouche, have developed patented geopolymer “binder” technology, corrosion resistant concrete, with emphasis on commercialization in the field of high-end materials, materials that must be physically and chemically stable at high temperatures. (Think NASA launching pads, incinerators, reactors, kilns, furnaces, chemical or manufacturing plants, and chemical hauling or storage tanks.)
Allouche was honored recently with the 2012 Louisiana Technology Product of the Year award for his innovative “green” geopolymer concrete technology, “yet another indication of our ability to convert cutting-edge research to commercially viable products that support economic development activities in our state,” he said. “The Trenchless Technology Center alone will be launching five new technologies into the marketplace during the next year in collaboration with regional and international industry partners.”
Tech researchers have made several impressive breakthroughs in solving
logical, simple problems that might never cross the mind of the non-chemist. For instance, fly ash varies dramatically in properties, depending on where it comes from: what part of the country, what kind of coal, what changes the coal might have experienced over time; depending on its properties, various kinds of fly ash have to be “mixed” in various ways to result in the proper, reliable concrete needed for a specific use in a specific environment.
Tech researchers from across campus – just to illustrate how sharp the TTC crew is, and how well the rest of the University works with them – not only have combined to discover different “recipes” for the proper mixing of different fly ash, but also have developed software that can calculate fly ash properties and proper recipes so users might solve the problems and create the proper geopolymer on site without a scientist’s supervision.
A theory of what could be a new business: a geopolymer customer calls Tech, relays its fly ash properties and concrete needs, and Tech in turn plugs in the properties, determines the recipe through its software, mixes the formula and ships it to the site.
Tech has even developed a concrete that can be sprayed on. If heat wears out a kiln brick, for instance, it and the bricks around it don’t have to be pulled out and replaced: spray can rehabilitate the area.
Of course, the University is just that, a university, not a private business. Tech’s
mission is to educate students, and to better do that, Tech works hard to develop products and technologies in collaboration with its students and for the benefit of both its students and the world. Tech’s presence adds quality to the area, and the better Tech is, the more positively it affects the area around it, and the wider its reach and positive affect.
Something to shout about. Maybe it’s time to do just that, to let more people know about an opportunity with a new and proven technology and far-reaching impact.
M.L. Smith, Jr., LLC is a Ruston-based company that operates nationwide constructing tanks and refractories. M.L. Smith is one company that has been instrumental with assisting and collaborating with Tech’s TTC for more than four years with real-world industrial test installations. It’s the kind of partner Allouche and Tech are looking for.
If you wish to be a commercialization partner with Louisiana Tech – to use, sell or commercialize a geopolymer product – or if you wish to help in field testing in “real life” conditions by placing sample products in problem areas or corrosive environments, or for more information on Louisiana Tech and TTC and the Innovation Enterprise Fund, contact Davy Norris at (318) 257-3978 or [email protected], Tech’s Trenchless Technology Center at (318) 257-4072, or visit LaTechInnovation.org
WoRLD RenoWneD CHeMiSt one oF teCH’S oWnDr. yuri Lvov, professor of chemistry
and T. Pipes eminent endowed Chair in Micro and Nanosystems at Louisiana Tech’s institute for Micromanufacturing, whose expertise in nanotechnology and nanoscience is recognized around the world, has been selected to receive the prestigious Humboldt Research Award in chemistry, also known as the Humboldt
Prize, by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.Tech’s chief scientist in nanotechnology, Lvov received the
award for his groundbreaking work in the chemistry of nano-scale systems and becomes one of the first scientists in Louisiana to receive the award for work in chemistry. The University has long benefitted from his dedication to undergraduate and graduate education as well as his basic and applied research that is leading to commercial applications.
“The significance of yuri’s contributions to the field of chemistry and nanoscience are matched only by the impact he has had on the academic and research reputation of Louisiana
Tech,” said Tech president Les Guice. “He provides our students with a unique opportunity to learn from and work side-by-side with one of the world’s most respected research scientists, right here in northern Louisiana.”
Lvov has pioneered two important nanotechnology methods: an electrostatic layer-by-layer nanoassembly and clay nanotubes for functional polymer composites. Researchers from around the world have followed his innovative research techniques.
The Humboldt Prize is conferred upon internationally renowned scientists in recognition of lifetime achievements in research. it also recognizes those whose fundamental discoveries or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge innovations in the future.
Lvov’s scientific papers have been cited more than 12,000 times, making him one of the most highly cited chemists in the world today. He is also the author of more than 250 peer reviewed publications and has been invited to present talks at more than 120 national or international scientific conferences and lectures, at over 50 major universities and companies.
SoLiD ReSeARCH: Under the direction of a faculty spearheaded by Allouche (left), students such as Jane Huang (above), a doctoral student in engineering with a construction materials emphasis, are mixing up winning recipes in their work with “green” concrete. Huang’s faculty advisor is Carlos Mentes, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Tech’s Alternative Cementitious Binder Laboratory.
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Lambright came to Tech in 1967, retired in 1979 and passed away less than a year later. He left in his wake a well-known legacy of winning. But few today know that the author of so many titles also dreamed up and drew up one of America’s sharpest, most recognizable athletic logos.
Like so many of Lambright’s other ideas, Tech’s distinctive State-and-T was ahead of its time, and money in the bank.
Few football teams had logos on their helmets when Tech began
sporting its new decal, then a blue state and white “T” with no white border, on red helmets. The season before – Lambright’s first, in 1967 – the Bulldogs wore the same helmets they’d worn for several seasons: white, with a red stripe down the center from front to rear.
“Maxie was so disappointed they didn’t have something flashy to go on their uniforms,” said Maxie’s wife Gerry Lambright, who still lives in the Ruston home the couple built their first year in town.
Who Dreamed up the State-and-T?maxie lambright diagrams a winnerLouisiana Sports Hall of Fame member Maxie Lambright, who won seven conference championships and five assorted national titles in the college division level during his dozen years as Tech’s head football coach, drew up more than winning plays for the Bulldogs.
“He wasn’t much of an artist, but all year he worked and worked on it. The original, a prototype for the decal, is probably in this house somewhere.”
Mary Richardson, Lambright’s secretary then, now retired in Ruston, remembers the day he put a rough drawing on a piece of ditto machine paper on her desk.
“I said, ‘I like it. But what’s it for?’ And he said it’s for decals for the helmets,” Richardson said. “He wasn’t artsy at all, but he was the best boss, the absolute best. And of all his ideas, this one is near the top.”
The paper soon made its way to Tech’s art department in the basement of what is now University Hall. Raymond Nichols, who’d become head of Tech’s art department, handed it off to one of his student workers, his son, Ray.
“I don’t have much memory of drawing it or actually doing it, except that I did it,” said Ray, who retired from a college teaching career in 2006 to focus on Lead Graffiti, his family’s letterpress studio in Newark, Del. “I was on the side of the basement toward town, in this little room, almost like a wire cage, but I thought of it as my office. It was a good place to work, mostly open down there. I can’t remember physically doing it, I just remember having done it, and without the white outline. And I remember liking it.”
The clean, engaging decal was a start. “Maxie didn’t care much how he looked,” Lambright said
of her husband, “but he sure did want his teams to look good.”
They did. The result of Lambright’s idea and rough sketch combined with Nichols’ artist’s eye and hand saw immediate success.
In Lambright’s rookie year, the Bulldogs were 3-7. In 1968, the first with the helmet decal, the Bulldogs finished 9-2, received the school’s first bowl invitation (and whipped Akron, 33-13, in the Grantland Rice Bowl), developed an All-American junior quarterback in Terry Bradshaw and pulled off “The Bomb,” a State Fair fourth-quarter gem from Bradshaw to Ken Liberto that’s one of the most memorable plays in Tech football history.
Something was cooking. As the logo got legs, so did the Bulldogs. From 1971-74, Lambright led his teams on a 44-4 run that included five post-season victories, four Southland Conference championships, two national championships and the nation’s longest winning streak (23 games) in 1973 and 1974.
“It seemed as if everywhere you looked,” Nichols said, “it was there.”
Lambright didn’t want it that way. Look at a photo of his 1968 coaching staff and you see his assistants wearing new T-shirts, emblazoned with the crisp new logo, the only ones on campus and the first shirts of their kind.
“He wanted it only for football,” Richardson said; Gerry Lambright seconds that.
“Oh, he was selfish with it,” she said. “He didn’t want anybody to use it except the team. I think some sporting goods store in Lafayette was the first to make some shirts with it on there, and Maxie couldn’t tell them not to; it wasn’t copyrighted. Then it
seems it just was all over the place.”
“You looked at helmets, it was there,” Nichols said. “The center of the football field, it was there. Then in the Tonk. And at center court in the gym. Today when I see it on
TV, trust me, I think about it.”The State-and-T was too good for its
own good. One sport couldn’t hold it. But Lambright might be pleased to know that his “football only” logo has served the University well.
“I love it and always have,” said now semi-retired Keith Prince, who came to Tech as sports information director one year after the decal showed up and, with the help of longtime local artist “Bino” Hinojosa, featured the logo in numerous compelling ways as athletic “branding” picked up through the 1970s and ’80s. “Coach Lambright is definitely the man who deserves the credit. I’ve used it often and in many ways with all sports. It just sets us apart.”
“Last year we generated more than $100,000 in royalties, a
WHo DAt?: in a nondescript helmet, Bob Brunet rushes for the Bulldogs in 1967, their final State-and-T-less season.
in ’68, teCH WAS ’DA BoMB: Liberto caught this pass from Bradshaw for an 82-yard touchdown in the final moments of a 42-39 comeback win over Northwestern State in the State Fair Game in 1968, Tech’s first season wearing its flashy new decal.
tHRee’S CoMPAnY: Mary Richardson (with ruler) and longtime Tech ticket manager and All-everything assistant Flo Miskelley (center) explain X’s and O’s to a coachable but confused Lambright, who drew up Tech’s distinctive State-and-T on his own.
niCHoLS’ WoRtH: The logo’s original artist’s update (left) of his 1968-era interpretation of Lambright’s idea and sketch. “Louisiana has such a wonderful texture, such a beautiful outline…i hate to lose that,” said Ray Nichols.
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record year for us,” said Dave Guerin, Tech’s executive director of communications. “I may be biased, but Tech’s State-and-T is one of the strongest and most visually appealing marks in the nation. The key to its continued growth will be to find new retailers, throughout the state and region, who will invest in stocking Tech merchandise and logoed apparel, and also to ensure the accuracy and consistency in how the logo is reproduced.”
Ahh, reproduction. Through the years the logo has morphed a bit, and that hasn’t set so well with everyone. The state is now thicker in the middle, its eastern Mississippi River boundary and Gulf nuances more squared in deference to a more modern, streamlined presentation. Most recently Rickabaugh Graphics, a Georgia-based graphic design studio whose clients include Texas A&M, Baylor, Ohio State, Coca-Cola and MGM Grand,
redesigned the State-and-T and other Tech logos; those are now the University’s official brands.
The idea and spirit of the newest alteration is certainly true to Lambright’s original, and one thing is easy to agree on: the State-and-T has been a glorious game-changer, a timely and timeless idea that continues to make a difference for Tech after nearly half a century.
“When I talk about my history, usually with art students, this is ‘The Big Early Project,’” said Nichols, who graduated from Tech in advertising design in 1971. “I was a pretty awful student to start with; I’d just gotten out of engineering and into the art department. This was a big deal to me. It still is. You don’t get projects like that a lot. I’ve had some good ones, but not the same scope as that.”
LoGo SHUFFLe: Although Lambright wanted it to belong exclusively to football, the State-and-T, tinkered with by graphic artists through the years, has been used by all Tech sports and on everything from serving trays to coffee cups.
CURRent LoGo CURRent AtHLetiCS LoGoCURRent LoGo WitH WoRDMARk
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FAculty And stAFF We loveYou were a student once, and someone’s encouragement and dedication back then makes a difference in your life still. A Tech faculty or staff member inspired, instructed, directed or simply listened. Someone cared. Someone assured you that dreaming was not just OK, it was preferred, even necessary. Without their influence, where would we be?
Maybe it’s time we said thank you. Email your 600-word submission to [email protected] or send to Faculty and Staff We Love, Marbury Alumni Center, Louisiana Tech University, P.O. Box 3183, Ruston, LA 71272.
Wiley Wilson Hilburn Jr.(february 20, 1938 – January 16, 2014)
In the mid-1970s in Wiley Hilburn’s creative writing class, a young journalism student turned in a paper that contained, most unfortunately, this phrase: “…the frost-kissed turnips.”
What Wiley wrote on his paper – he had some classics when he was advising students – was this, though I paraphrase, but only slightly:
“You are from a big city in Arkansas. The only thing you know about greens is from crayons and the grass your daddy made you mow. You know little about frost and probably nothing about kissing. Three strikes. Write what you KNOW!”
Hello.That gentleman went on to become a fine photo-journalist, another in a long
line of students who learned from the pen and the mind and the patience – and the good heart – of Wiley Hilburn.
Practically, his instruction was simple, yet hard to pull off:Work at writing: no magic writing butterfly is going to sprinkle magic writing
dust on you. Read and write. Keep a journal;Write what you know: if you don’t know it, and you want to write about it,
learn. Ask questions. Your readers aren’t stupid; don’t prove to them you are. You can’t fool readers;
Use significant detail: What did the guy look like? Did he fidget when you talked to him? What is the setting? The sounds and textures? The mood? What makes this place or this person different from every other?
And sometimes, a writer has to take his shirt off: the only way to make people feel less lonely is to show them that you’ve been there too. It’s about honesty, not self-loathing. But that’s your job. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.
Wiley endeared himself to his students, certainly to readers of his longtime column, by the way he shared the truth. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was honest, plus efficient and compelling. We students trusted Wiley because he proved to us he knew what he was talking about, and he proved to us he cared, genuinely, about us, whether we were Hemingway wannabes, frustrated athletes, aspiring business pros or “just wanting to pass journalism class.”
One day outside George T. Madison Hall, in the parking lot, he encouraged me to get, well, a college major. He’d heard I had good grades in English. He offered me a spot on the tech talk. And he gave me the two best lessons I’ve ever had in writing, right there: “It’s hard work,” he said, and “let’s stick to writing what you know.” And then, thankfully, he said this: “I’ll help you.” He put me on the sports staff. He coached me up. He built my confidence. As busy as he was – with family, with writing, with teaching and with just being Wiley – he showed me he cared about me. As it is with good writing, good living means showing, not just telling. Wiley was good at both, the writing and, infinitely more important, the living.
As wonderful as he was as a teacher, his greatest gift, at least to me, was that he was, through the years, 100 percent Wiley, 100 percent of the time. It takes knowing exactly where you live, who you are and who you love to pull that off, and still it’s harder than it looks. That’s why so few of us do it. Wiley did.
ABoUt WiLeY HiLBURn: Born and raised in Ruston, wiley graduated from Tech in 1960 and in 2010 was the Distinguished Alumnus for Tech’s College of Liberal Arts. He started his writing career at age 16 as a sportswriter for The Ruston Daily Leader. After a few years at newspapers, he came back to college – this time as a teacher -- and for 41 years was chairman of Tech’s journalism department and director of its news bureau. He also advised the student-produced newspaper, The Tech Talk, and served as the University’s spokesperson. He wrote a weekly column for The (Shreveport) Times and The News-Star for more than three decades; for several years he wrote weekly editorials as well. He passed away after a brief illness in January of this year, leaving behind thousands of dear friends, grateful former students and admiring fans, all who miss him greatly.
ABoUt tHe AUtHoR: Like many others, Teddy Allen (’82) was a friend, fan and since-college student of wiley’s.
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no beginners’ luckSnakebit in first C-USA season, Tech springs toward regrouping
They’d lost more starters and seniors than all but one team in the country, including most of the pieces from a 2012 team that led the nation in scoring offense and won nine games. They’d gained 10 new opponents and a new coaching staff.
So a 2013 LA Tech football team that started out as a big puzzle ended as one that couldn’t make the pieces fit. There was inexperience, but also turnovers that seemed to come at the worst times. The quarterback position was unsettled all fall, and injuries to two of the team’s and Conference USA’s best offensive players, running backs Tevin King and Kenneth Dixon (right), didn’t help.
Add that up and it equals a 4-8 record, 3-5 its first go-round in Conference USA.
Not what the Bulldogs wanted. But coming off a Western Athletic Conference title in 2011 and an exciting 9-3 season in 2012, the Bulldogs had to start over somewhere. Tech will go into its spring season with a much better idea of who can do what, who can’t, and exactly what it’ll take to win in the new geographically friendly conference.
Nothing is really a secret anymore: Tech will look to improve everywhere, get stronger and smarter and faster, protect the ball (the ’Dogs averaged nearly three turnovers a game), and hope injuries won’t play the same part in 2014 as they did last season.
Despite the disappointment and heartbreaking losses – especially the back-to-back downers to Tulane, 24-15, in Aillet Stadium and the 13-10 setback at Kansas – there were bright spots, including a rookie-led kicking game that was arguably the most consistent aspect of the whole fall. Tech’s net punting average was 37 yards, and Kyle Fischer was 18-of-23 on field goals, including a 49-yarder.
Besides signees on its rosters, Tech will have a new face on its coaching staff. Head coach Skip Holtz announced in January that former Texas and Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has been hired in the same capacity with the Bulldogs. Diaz brings an impressive resume that includes 14 years of experience and appearances in 12 bowl games. He was most recently the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas (2011-13), a team that showed vast improvement in run defense during his tenure.
Diaz inherits a defense that was the fourth most-improved unit in the country. Overall LA Tech ranked 63rd in the nation in total defense in 2013, allowing an average of 408.2 yards per game.
Here are your individual award winners from the January banquet honoring the 2013 team, along with these key dates to remember: Spring practice begins March 14, the T-Day Spring Game is April 12, and Tech opens its 2014 season Aug. 30 against Oklahoma at Norman.
teAM AWARDSDr. Les Guice Academic Award - Xavier woodsDavison Family Community Service Award - Hunter Leekarl Malone Strength & Conditioning Award - D.J. BanksWillie Roaf Lineman of the Year - iK enemkpali
oFFenSive AWARDSScout team Award - Jeremy LongCrunch Award - Blake Martineffort Award - Andrew Guillottroy edwards offensive Skill Player of the Year - Hunter Leeterry Bradshaw offensive Player of the Year - Kenneth Dixon
DeFenSive AWARDSScout team Award - Joseph BrunsonCrunch Award - iK enemkpalieffort Award - iK enemkpalitramon Williams Defensive Back of the Year - Adairius BarnesFred Dean Defensive Player of the Year - Justin ellis
SPeCiAL teAM AWARDSScout team Award - Michael MimsCrunch Award - Kentrell Briceeffort Award - Josh RossMatt Stover Special teams Player of the Year - Beau Fitte, Blake Martin
the program honored 21 players named to the viCtorS Club, players that were graded as a winner by the coaching staff in at least eight of the 12 games: Bryson Abraham, Adairius Barnes, Mitchell Bell, Kentrell Brice, Josh Cuthbert, Kenneth Dixon, Vontarrius Dora, Justin Ellis, IK Enemkpali, Beau Fitte, Jon Greenwalt, Sterling Griffin, Andrew Guillot, Kendrick James, Hunter Lee, Le’Vander Liggins, Blake Martin, Connor Nichols, Mike Schrang, Matt Shepperd and Xavier Woods.
XAvieR WooDS D.J. BAnkS
With Plenty to Shout About, team tommy Settles inOn the job since July 16, the youngest athletics director in
Football Bowl Subdivision schools has found pleasant resolution to any young dad’s biggest fear.
“This move wasn’t all about me,” said Tech AD Tommy McClelland, a student-athlete graduate of Northwestern State who came to Ruston after six years as AD at McNeese State. He’s also the father of two preschool boys. “With our young family, Jessica and I looked at this move as something that was big in that way, not just concerning my career.
“Small towns are great, but sometimes they’ll have a tendency to be non-accepting to outsiders,” said McClelland, 32. “It can be hard to find your niche. The thing that’s overwhelmed us about the
community of Ruston is that we’ve been completely embraced, not just at work but in friendships forged, in the church community…it’s been very refreshing, for our whole family to be accepted and made to feel a part of the town so
quickly and sincerely.”His East Texas in-laws are happier too. “They’re a lot closer
now,” he said. “I’d say they were pretty happy about the move.”Six months into his job, he’s still trying to remember names and
take advantage of opportunities. “I haven’t met every Lady Techster and Bulldogs fan, but I’m
trying to and looking forward to any chance I have to do just that,” said McClelland, who’s made notable strides both in the University’s Quest for Excellence Campaign and in securing the Paul Millsap Vision video board (see next page), presented by Community Trust Bank.
“Our No.1 priority as fans right now is to finish strong in supporting our basketball teams,” McClelland said. “The men have a very realistic possibility of playing in the postseason; we need to do all we can in terms of encouragement and atmosphere to make sure that happens.”
McClelland’s challenges to fans have, since he arrived, remained the same and aren’t likely to change.
“The first thing is, if you’re within driving distance of the campus, become a season ticket holder,” he said. “Tickets to Tech games are the lifeblood of what we do. It not only supports the programs financially, it encourages the student-athletes when we’re physically there to cheer for them and let them know how much they’re appreciated.
“Two is join LTAC, and that’s if you’re in Ruston or anywhere on the globe. Financial support is vital to our sustaining and improving and increasing our success. Being a supporter of the Foundation sets us up to enhance everything we do as a University athletic department.
“And three,” he said, “support our capital projects and special programs. Together, we can continue building the kind of Tech future we can all be proud of. We might even surprise ourselves. The bigger we dream and the harder and smarter we work, we put ourselves in position to have the kind of sustained success all of Louisiana Tech’s family and friends expect.”
“HeY, i’M A FAn, too!:” Along with wife Jessica and sons Lawson and Grayson, the energetic McClelland (far left) has fit right in with the Ruston crowd -- and sometimes with the rowdy Blue Crew in the TAC.
LoYAL AnD LeGenDARY: A gathering of distinguished Louisiana Tech athletes and spouses from the 1940s, better known as the National Association for the Advancement of Grandstand Quarterbacks (NAAGQ), met at the Shreveport Club this fall. John Baker Barr hosted this group that has met annually since 1948 to recall many victories, great stories and few defeats from the days associated with legendary Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Joe Aillet. (Front row, from left:) Jimmy Mize, Jimmy Gilbert, CeCe Holstead, John Baker Barr, Clem Henderson, Margie Michael, June Smith, Myrna Sanford and Dorothy Aillet. (Back row, from left:) Mel Barney, Carolyn Barney, Minnie Mize, Red Aucoin, Beverly Aucoin, Harriett Dowies, Carrell Dowies, Jack Brittain, Red Smith, Leo Sanford and Bobby Aillet. (photo by Sandra Dyson)
A.L. Williams: LHSAA Hall of Fame inductee
Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2007 inductee A. L. Williams earned another well-deserved honor: In late January, he was one of eight new inductees into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Williams earned football letters at Tech from 1953-56, then returned to Tech in 1983 as his alma mater’s head football coach. He coached through the 1986 season and, in 1984, led the Bulldogs to the Southland Conference title and a runner-up finish in the Division I-AA National Championship playoffs. After graduating from Tech, Williams coached at Woodlawn High in Shreveport. In either seasons, his teams were 64-25 and won four district titles, plus the 1968 state championship.
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Bulldog Hoops: it’s all about ‘TeAM’The Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team battled through the first two-thirds of the
season with the same number of wins and only one more loss (17-4) as they did last season, but this year’s team is more experienced, more improved and more motivated than ever to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.
The Bulldogs must continue to defend at a high level while having a consistent offensive output in each game in order to continue its winning ways through the tough Conference USA schedule.
It’ll take all hands on deck to make postseason history, but that’s the nature of this Tech team. Nine players are averaging at least 13 minutes playing time per game.
Alex Hamilton, the only Bulldogs to have started every game through January, has been as big a surprise as any player on this unselfish team. Thought he played in every game last season, the Florida sophomore has improved dramatically all around. After injury sidelined indefinitely the team’s leading scorer, Raheem Appleby, in mid-January, Hamilton picked up the scoring pace a bit and led the Bulldogs in points-scored in three straight games with 19 at Southern Miss and 22 and 24 at home against Charlotte and Marshall, respectively.
follow the Bulldogs @latechhoops and the lady techsters @latechWBB on twitter.
Look! in the sky! it’s Super Scoreboard!Paul Millsap vision Presented by CTB a game-changer
Welcome to your new amplified experience at Thomas Assembly Center.A high-definition video display board is the focal point of a $1.2 million project that
makes games on Tech’s newly designed home hardwood much more alive, fan friendly and interactive.
“This has drastically changed the game experience for our fans and student-athletes,” Tech AD Tommy McClelland said. “We are excited to make such a major improvement to the Thomas Assembly Center (TAC); projects like this cannot happen without the help of great supporters.”
In addition to the board, the project also includes a customized sound system for the TAC and a video board control room which will be utilized for both football and basketball. The quality is evident; all it takes to make anyone a believer is attendance at one game.
The entire project is funded through a number of avenues, including the University’s partnership with LA Tech Sports Properties, a property of Learfield Sports, as well as private donations. Lead sponsors and donors are Community Trust Bank and Tech Sports Hall of Fame member Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks, along with other anonymous gifts.
Additional donors are being sought to complete funding for the project.The Paul Millsap Vision Presented by Community Trust Bank includes four LED center
hung video displays, two LED ribbon board displays and four new corner courtside displays.
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Lady techsters search for consistency
Teresa Weatherspoon and the Lady Techster basketball team knew it was facing a daunting non-conference schedule that included the likes of South Carolina, Texas A&M, LSU, Virginia and Ole Miss. And although the Lady Techsters competed admirably against those foes, this year’s version of the LA Tech women’s basketball program is still searching for its identity as it enters Conference USA play. Tech was up and down through the first two-thirds of the season; lack of consistency has been its biggest issue. Whether scoring, rebounding, defending or taking care of the basketball, the Lady Techsters have been solid at times, yet have lacked the ability to put it all together for 40 minutes.
Junior Whitney Frazier has been the one consistent for Tech, averaging 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game through January. From El Dorado, Ark., Frazier’s best games have come against the best competition, including a 25-point performance against LSU and a 24-point effort against Ole Miss. In order for Frazier and the Lady Techsters to make a run in C-USA action and into March, they will have to overcome the deficiencies that have plagued them at critical times in the first half of the season. The conference tournament gives them a chance to make some noise and build toward next winter.Purchase basketball tickets to the C-uSA Postseason tournament
March 11-15 in El Paso at the Don Haskins Center by calling the Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631 or by emailing [email protected].
Buddy Davis began writing for the leader in 1964 during his college days as a Tech journalism major and has since written more words than any other writer about the University’s athletic programs, coaches and student-athletes. He has covered all five national championship teams, hundreds of games and dozens of conference titles and postseason appearances. He also covered the national
Hall of Fame inductions for Karl Malone, Terry Bradshaw, Leon Barmore, Fred Dean and Willie Roaf. He was named the Louisiana Sportswriter of the Year in 1995 by the National Sportswriters Association and honored with the Distinguished Service Award in sports journalism in 2009 by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA).
Bill Galloway led Texas A&M to three straight top five finishes in the nation, then came to Ruston in 1982 and immediately built the Lady Techster softball program into a national contender. During his 21 years here, Galloway coached the Lady Techsters to 17 winning seasons, including a pair of 50-plus win seasons, eight trips to the NCAA Tournament and three trips to the
Women’s College World Series. He was 726-362 at Tech and 208-48 in three seasons at Texas A&M; those 934 career wins rank in the top 30 in the history of Division I softball. He was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2001.
Walter Johnson was one of the most dominating defensive players ever to suit up for the Bulldog football program; playing defensive end from 1983-86, he led Tech to three winning seasons in the Football Championships Subdivision. The two-time All-American was named the state’s 1986 Defensive Player of the Year by the LSWA and was also a three-time all-Southland Conference selection.
He helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1984 NCAA I-AA National Championship game as the Tech defense held point-a-minute Mississippi Valley State and the Jerry Rice-led Delta Devils to only 19 points and forced seven turnovers in the memorable first round win in Ruston. He’s Tech’s all-time sacks leader with 38. Johnson
was selected in the second round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and spent three years playing pro football.
April Malveo starred for the Lady Techsters from 1995-99 and is one of the most decorated female track and field athletes in the history of the program, the first ever inducted into the University’s Athletics Hall of Fame. The two-time All-American earned the top honors in the shot put and discus in 1999. The three-time NCAA qualifier was a nine-time Sun Belt Conference champion
in the shot put, discus and weight throw and was a 14-time All-Sun Belt honoree. She led the Lady Techster program to its first ever team title as Tech captured the 1999 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor title, starting a decade of dominance for head coach Gary Stanley’s ladies. Malveo was also named the Sun Belt’s Outstanding Meet Performer three times, including the 1997 Indoor, 1998 Indoor and 1998 Outdoor championships. She holds the school record in the discus with a mark of 187 feet, 10 inches, set at the 1999 Texas Relays.
George Stone played the 1965-66 seasons for the Bulldog baseball team under legendary coach Berry Hinton; he was named All-Gulf States Conference both seasons, recorded a no-hitter against UL-Monroe (formerly NLU) in 1966, and still holds numerous single season and career pitching records. Stone currently ranks No. 2 in career earned run average (1.49). He also played basketball for two years at Tech. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft and spent nine seasons playing for the Braves and the New York Mets. He is one of only two Bulldog baseball players to have played in a World Series as he helped lead the Mets to the 1973 National League pennant. He won 60 games in his MLB career.
DoUBLe viSion: Senior guard Cordarius Johnson scores from below the rim and, in the background on Paul Millsap vision Presented by CTB, above it.
LA tech Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 2013Legendary Ruston Daily Leader executive sports editor and award-winning writer O.K.
“Buddy” Davis, National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Famer Bill Galloway, record-setting defensive end Walter Johnson, three-time All-American thrower April Malveo and World Series pitcher George Stone were inducted into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in a Waggonner Room ceremony in Thomas Assembly Center Nov. 9.
The five-person class is the 14th inducted and brings the prestigious group’s total to 87 since 1984’s inaugural class: Joe Aillet, Terry Bradshaw, Atley Donald, Garland Gregory, Pam Kelly, Maxie Lambright and Jackie Moreland.
notHinG CoUntS: Sometimes, zero is plenty. Hamilton, a shifty playmaking sophomore, has been one of the team’s most reliable scorers, able to pull up or get to the rim through traffic and finish with either hand.
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Golf: Taking a swing at the next stepIn a new league, new challenges become new opportunities. That is the viewpoint
Tech’s golf team is taking this year as it enters its first season as a member of Conference USA.
The program has risen quickly under head coach Jeff Parks, now in his fifth season at the helm. With improvement comes higher expectations: Parks has already guided the program to its highest ranking ever – 59th during the 2010-11 season.
This year that base starts with a pair of seniors in Jack Lempke and Travis Wilmore; the pair has plenty of experience. A trio of sophomores – Victor Lange, Brandon Newton and Ben Robinson – help round out this talented team, which should get added help from Pineville’s Chuck Spears (left), a transfer from LSU.
The Bulldogs finished third out of 12 teams in the school’s annual fall tournament at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant and will make a run at the team title there in the Argent Financial Classic on March 3-4.
The new challenge and new opportunities this season will come at the Conference USA Championships. The league title meet is in Edmond, Okla., a much gentler terrain than the Las Vegas desert terrain the Western Athletic Championships were held on. However LA Tech will face a much more challenging league; a handful of C-USA teams are ranked in the top 100.
follow @latechgolf on twitter.
track and Field: Looking past the tape and toward the NCAAsWhile most of the 300-or-so track and field programs across
the country often set their sights on qualifying a student-athlete for the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championships, at Louisiana Tech the goal is not if but how many.
Last year Ruston native Trey Hadnot won the bronze medal in the 200m at the NCAA Indoor Championships, propelling the Bulldogs to a 32nd place finish, higher than such schools as UCLA, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio State, Kentucky, Illinois, California, Duke, Villanova, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado, Michigan, Washington and Rice, to name just a few, at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Now Hadnot, a three-time All-America sprinter, returns for his fourth and final campaign in a Tech jersey, a gold medal as his goal.
Top performances aren’t limited to the men’s squad either as senior Kim Francis, a six-time WAC champion and 14-time all-conference honoree, is primed to claim her first All-America honor. School records fall when Francis glides over the hurdles: She finished 21st in the 100m hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season, just a few spots away from an All-America title.
On the conference scale, both teams will be challenged in a new league, but that is a challenge head coach Gary Stanley is an old pro at. Now in his 25th year as head coach of the program, Stanley has already navigated his teams through four other conferences; he’s earned Coach of the Year honors in each and every one.
Tech sent 20 athletes competing in 16 events to the NCAA East Prelims last season, and 16 of those 20 athletes return this season. In other words, the bar is once again set high – for more than just the high jumpers.
follow @latechtandf on twitter.
Softball: Pitching should be aces for Lady Techsters
Head coach Mark Montgomery and the Lady Techsters ended a 12-year affiliation with the WAC by posting a 27-26 overall record, an 11-10 mark in league play and the highest finish ever in the WAC standings.
Going into C-USA, Montgomery knows he must replace six graduated starters but is confident in his nine returnees and nine newcomers: one junior college transfer, two Division I transfers and six high school stars.
Tech might arguably boast its deepest pitching staff since the 2008 Lady Techster team, which won the WAC Tournament and advanced to the program’s ninth NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Auburn twice before falling to eventual national runner-up Texas A&M. 2013 WAC Freshman of the Year Anna Cross (top, 6-8, 3.06 ERA) returns for her second season. She’s joined in the rotation by junior college star Bianca Duran (named Region 9 Pitcher and Player of the Year in 2013) and freshman Pauline Tufi (three-time Gatorade Player of the Year
in Alaska). Cross, Duran and Tufi all complement each other’s skill sets in the circle; Montgomery feels that this could be the strength of this year’s team.
Offensively, Tech set the program record for highest team batting average (.283) last year and swiped almost 100 bases. However, the Lady Techsters lacked power, an area Montgomery feels will improve this season. In addition to returning all-WAC performer Erin Kipp (bottom,.349, 14 doubles, 4 HR, 22 RBI), Cross (.323, 9 doubles, 6 HR, 29 RBI) and catcher Alayna Kipp (.267, 4 doubles, 2 HR), LA Tech welcomes back red-shirt senior Katelynn Hill (.252, 6 doubles, 7 HR in 2012) and adds heart-of-the-order power in Duran (.545, 23 HR, 85 RBI in 2012 at Western Nebraska CC) and Tufi (.842, 6 HR, 36 RBI as a senior at West Anchorage HS).
Tech will face plenty of challenges in C-USA, which sent four teams to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
for all the latest on lady techster softball, follow @lAtechsB on twitter; like the team’s facebook page at facebook.com/louisianatechsoftball.
Baseball: Lots of firsts and a fresh start
After a disappointing 2013 season, Tech returns in 2014 with a fresh start as a first-year member of Conference USA, a brand new locker room and players’ lounge to call home, a new hitting coach, and 17 newcomers to make up this year’s roster.
Tech joins the likes of some of the nation’s top teams in C-USA. The Bulldogs will play Tulane, Rice, Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, UTSA, UAB, FIU, Marshall and Charlotte in league play.
Despite losing a large senior class last season, Louisiana Tech returns 15 letterwinners, including 10 position players with starting experience.
This year’s hitters will be coached by a familiar face; Olen Parker is in his second season on the Tech staff, his first as the fulltime hitting instructor for a program that struggled offensively for the better part of last spring.
The Bulldogs return six pitchers that recorded innings in 2013. Included in those six is junior right-hander Phil Maton, who continues to shine as the stalwart of the staff after leading the team on the mound as both a freshman and sophomore. Maton is the lone weekend starter returning for LA Tech.
follow @latechBsB on twitter.
tennis: Riding momentum into the springNew head coach Chad Camper, a four-year letterman,
champion and holder of three program records at Wright State, and most recently the Raiders’ associate head coach, takes over a program coming off one of its most successful springs seasons in history, finishing 2013 with a 15-5 overall record and a 7-1 league record. Previously, the Lady Techsters were a combined 1-26 against conference opponents.
The nucleus of the team returns, including the conference Freshman of the Year Joanna Nalborska (right). She recorded an 11-2 mark in singles and a perfect 13-0 mark in doubles during her freshman campaign, and turned around to post an impressive fall season with three singles finals appearances and a “round of 16” appearance at the ITA Southern Regionals.
The entire team performed well in the fall: In the biggest fall tournament of the season, LA Tech notched victories over SEC players from Mississippi State, LSU, Ole Miss and Auburn.
All-conference sophomores Alexandra Starkova and Manoela Chiacchio return as well. Chiacchio ended 2013 with an 11-match winning streak while surrendering only one set. Starkova was locked in at the No. 2 spot, went a perfect 10-0 and was selected to the WAC All-Tournament team.
The fourth sophomore is Taly Merker, who compiled a 9-5 fall record, including four straight wins to reach the finals of
the ITA Southern Regionals B Draw.
Two freshmen arrived in Marta Sramkova and Jazmin Britos to provide more depth to an already potent team, especially in doubles. The duo partnered up to go 4-1 in the fall, including a flight one championship at the NSU Lady Demon Fall Invite.
The lone senior is Melanie Urvoy who brings a ton of leadership and experience. Both will certainly be needed against a challenging Techsters schedule that features three matches against nationally ranked teams – TCU (30th), SMU (52nd) and league foe North Texas (60th).
“This is a close knit team and they have really bought into the direction we are heading as a program,” said Camper. “With a lot of practice and vision, we will reach our goals.”
follow @latechten on twitter.
tRACk tHiS tRio: (from left to right) Francis, javelin thrower Joshua Cox and Hadnot each advanced to the NCAA postseason last year and look to do the same this spring.
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n e W s A r o u n d c A m p u sc o l l e g e o F A p p l i e d A n d n At u r A l s c i e n c e s
James liberatos, Dean
n e W s A r o u n d c A m p u sc o l l e g e o F b u s i n e s s
James lumpkin, Dean
Annual show, auction sets record
Christmas came early for Tech’s Department of Agriculture: its annual Poinsettia Show and Auction raised a record $16,175 that will be used to fund scholarships. The auction was in early December at Squire Creek Country Club.
A stained glass artwork piece featuring a poinsettia and Tech Bulldog created by former Tech vice president Dr. Virgil Orr was auctioned for $1,000.
DiStinGUiSHeD ALUMni, APPLieD AnD nAtURAL SCienCeSBeN HALey (’60) AND BOB HALey (’62)
For the first time, one of Tech’s academic colleges honored brothers at the same time with this recognition. No dynamic duo could be more deserving, which makes this distinction a special privilege for the University.
The Haley brothers are graduates of Homer High School, of Tech and of LSU Medical School. They were the point men in their families’ establishment of the F.C. and Gladys M. Haley Scholarship endowment honoring their parents, who were also longtime and stalwart Tech supporters.
Ben served as Anesthesiologist and co-director of respiratory therapy and co-director and director of the department of anesthesia for Lincoln General Hospital (now Northern Louisiana Medical Center).
He also served as an anesthesiologist for several rural hospitals in Richland and Morehouse parishes before retiring in 2003 from active medical practice.
Bob made his professional home in Shreveport where his career as an anesthesiologist at Schumpert Medical Center spanned 30 years. At Schumpert, he was president of the medical center staff and also served as the president of the Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists. He and wife Brenda now split time between homes in Florida and McKinney, Texas.
Both Ben and Bob have been leaders in numerous professional organizations and served on countless boards in their communities, but they have always made time to give back to their University with service to the Alumni Association, the Foundation Board and the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club. All three of Ben’s children are Tech graduates, as is his wife, Rebecca. Bob, Brenda and their three daughters established a deeply appreciated golf scholarship endowment for the University.
Three nursing faculty members make presentation
Division of Nursing assistant professor Tara Haskins (top), assistant professor Patti McFadden (middle) and associate professor Tanya Sims (bottom) represented Tech at the International Association of Forensic Nurses’ annual conference in California.
The trio presented “Improving Client Outcomes: Embedding Forensics in Undergraduate Simulation,” which focused on sexual assault, domestic violence and elder abuse recognition, resulting from a collaborative effort of division faculty to integrate forensic nursing principles and Quality Education and Safety for Nurses (QSEN) core competencies into the nursing curriculum through simulation.
Gift funds landscaping
The newly landscaped area surrounding the College of Business building is named Davis Memorial Garden to honor Louie Randolph Davis Sr., the late father of 1974 business graduate Randy Davis, whose donation funded the project.
“This is a wonderful gift from Randy Davis,’ said College dean James Lumpkin. “Randy’s willingness to provide an aesthetically pleasing environment surrounding the building that will last for generations is simply outstanding.”
Louie Davis was born in Stephens, Ark., where he met and married Edna “Tootsie” Davis. Davis was drafted into the Army, then served in the Navy as well. In 1970, following his military service, he started South States, Inc., a wholesale hardware and building material distributor. Randy Davis worked fulltime with his father in the family business until 1987.
Marbury Lecture Series
Tech business alum Kenny Guillot was the keynote speaker at the 8th annual Marbury Lecture Series in the Davis Auditorium of the College of Business building. Guillot is vice president and
resident director of Merrill Lynch in Monroe.Prior to this evening lecture at Tech, Guillot spoke
in the morning to Cedar Creek School students, Future Business Leaders Club members and to faculty members of all Lincoln Parish schools.
The lecture is part of the annual William Ardis Marbury Jr. and Virginia Lomax Marbury Lecture Series hosted by the College of Business and Cedar Creek School.
Teaching personal finance in public schools
Lincoln Parish schoolteachers now have classroom resources and curriculum ideas to enhance their social studies and business curricula, thanks to staff from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank and Tech’s College of Business faculty.
Princeton Williams and Steven Clayton of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank conducted a daylong workshop in the fall for Lincoln Parish educators to introduce economics and personal finance into the curriculum.
DiStinGUiSHeD ALUMnUS, CoLLeGe oF BUSineSSKeiTH CALDweLL (’83)
At his church in Katy, Texas, Keith Caldwell serves. No surprise that it’s the church’s finance committee he serves on, nor that the committee feels blessed to have him.
So does his alma mater. A graduate in accounting, Keith is a certified public accountant who began his career with
KPMG, rose to the senior management level and served as a national instructor for KPMG’s training programs.
He joined Murphy Oil Corporation in 2001 as assistant controller in financial reporting in their corporate office in el Dorado, Ark., and remained in that position until 2007, when
he moved to Houston to take a position as manager of finance for Murphy exploration and Production Company. He was promoted to vice president of finance for Murphy exploration and Production in 2011, a position he currently holds.
Murphy exploration and Production is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corporation engaged in crude oil and natural gas production activities in the United States, Malaysia, the U.K. sector of the North Sea, and the Republic of Congo. The company explores for oil and gas worldwide.
Despite his busy schedule, Keith continues to be actively involved at Tech as a member of the College of Business Advisory Board. He and his wife, Janet Gerami Caldwell, also a Tech graduate, have three sons.
National speakers highlight Business Analytics Day
The Business Analytics Group hosted the first Business Analytics Day at the Louisiana Tech Shreveport Center this winter.
The day featured two nationally renowned speakers. Bill Franks, chief analytics officer of Teradata and author of the book “Taming the Big Data Tidal Wave,” spoke first, followed by Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporter Alan Schwarz, national correspondent for education with “The New York Times.” Schwarz is best known for his series of articles exposing the risks associated with concussions among football players.
Forestry earns much-needed donationTech’s Forestry Department hosted a reception to thank members
of the Martin Foundation, the charitable arm of the RoyOMartin Companies, for the donation of four 15-passenger vans.
The Martin Foundation has helped Tech programs by providing scholarship funds since 1998. The Martin Companies have hired a multitude of Tech graduates, both foresters and engineers, over the years. The number of Tech graduates employed by the company exceeds the number of its employed graduates from any other school.
“The quality and qualification that Louisiana Tech forestry graduates have upon leaving the University is outstanding,” said Roy Martin, president of RoyOMartin. “They are realistic and ready to contribute to the growth of our company and the forestry industry through the practical skills and knowledge they obtain at Louisiana Tech.”
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New courses lead to accreditationTwo concentrations in the College recently received accreditation from the
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.The CACREP granted accreditation to Tech’s clinical mental health counseling and
school counseling, which are both concentrations within the counseling and guidance master’s program. CACREP adopted a new set of standards for accreditation in 2009, and new courses needed to be created to fulfill the new requirements.
CACREP assesses a program’s learning environment, professional identity and professional practice. Site reviewers made no fixes on Tech’s newest courses; not a single standard was unmet. Each standard required is addressed and assessed in multiple courses.
A.E. Phillips Lab School earns another “A”
A.E. Phillips Laboratory School at Tech achieved a School Performance Score (SPS) of 126.3 out of 150 to earn an “A” grade from the Louisiana Department of Education as part of its 2013 accountability assessment of the state’s public-funded schools.
A.E. Phillips’ SPS of 126.3 was the highest of any other school’s in north central Louisiana and one of the highest in the state. Scores are based on student achievement on state standardized tests and additional measures of student success, such as credit accumulation, completion of rigorous courses and graduation.
n e W s A r o u n d c A m p u sc o l l e g e o F e d u c At i o n
lawrence leonard, Dean
n e W s A r o u n d c A m p u sc o l l e g e o F e n g i n e e r i n g A n d s c i e n c e
hisham hegab, Interim Dean
DiStinGUiSHeD ALUMnUS, CoLLeGe oF eDUCAtionSUSAN ADAMS (’84, ’95)
Susan Adams has the perseverance and tenacity of her alma mater’s mascot, both in loyalty to her University and as an example to students who refuse to stop working toward their dreams and goals.
Susan received an associate degree in general studies in 1984, continued her education to earn her bachelor’s in
psychology in 1995, then earned her doctorate in counselor education in 2000 from Texas A&M-Commerce. Since, she’s pursued additional training in her area and is currently associate professor of counseling and education at Texas women’s University in Denton. She also has a private practice, is an internationally known speaker on the subject of adults dealing
with grief and loss, and has published many articles -- appropriate for all ages – on the subject of dealing with loss and crisis.
She is the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Adult Development and Aging, immediate past president of the Texas Counseling Association, and in 2008 was named Counselor educator of the year by the Texas Association for Counselor education and Supervision.
She’s been recognized numerous times by Texas women’s University for her dedication and service to that institution. She also volunteers in her community and was awarded the 2013 Hero Award by the Denton County emergency Preparedness Team and Medical Reserve Corps intervention Team.
Her husband John and all four of their children are Tech grads.
DiStinGUiSHeD ALUMnUS, enGineeRinG AnD SCienCeJ. MiCHAeL “MiKe” PeARSON (’69)
Besides holding a civil engineering degree from Tech, Mike holds a commercial pilot’s license, is a registered professional engineer in Louisiana, Texas and idaho, and served in the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer in the infantry from 1969 to 1972.
Today he serves as president and chief executive officer of Orion Marine Group, a Houston-based heavy civil and marine construction company. He has been at the forefront of the company’s growth; Forbes listed the company as one of the 200 best small companies in the U.S. Orion Marine Group ranks 17th.
After military service, Mike began a career with McDermott
international in New Orleans as a field engineer. in 1997, he became president and chief executive officer of international industrial Services in Houston, then moved to executive positions with Transoceanic Shipping Company, enron engineering and Construction, and Global industries before joining Orion in 2006.
Mike is immediate past president of Tech’s engineering and Science Board and has worked tirelessly on the College’s building campaign. Orion’s Board of Directors made a substantial contribution to the project in his honor.
Mike, his wife Candace and their two sons are all Tech graduates, so in more ways than one, the Pearsons’ investment in Louisiana higher education in general and in Tech in particular has been substantial.
Boyd State’s “Professional of the Year”Instructor of kinesiology and director of adult fitness Rhonda Boyd is the College/
University Health Education Professional of the Year, awarded by the Louisiana Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (LAHPERD). Boyd was formally presented with the award at the state association’s convention in Baton Rouge in November.
Boyd (left) also received the 2013-14 Virgil Orr Junior Faculty Award at the fall faculty and staff meeting, in recognition of her teaching, research excellence and valuable contributions to the success of Tech’s students. David Szymanski, (right) associate professor of kinesiology and strength and conditioning coach for Tech’s baseball team, was recognized at the same meeting as the 2013-14 recipient of the University Senate Chair Award.
Physicists share in Nobel celebrationTech faculty involved in a major, internationally anticipated scientific
effort celebrated the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ awarding of the Nobel Prize in physics to theorists Peter Higgs and Francois Englert for their work developing the theory of what is now known as the Higgs field.
A team of Tech physicists, along with scientists from around the country, played a significant role in advancing the theory, which gives elementary particles mass, and in discovering the particle that proves the existence of the Higgs field, the Higgs boson.
“While I had hoped that the experiments themselves would win the award, it is still exciting to be mentioned in the Nobel citation,” said Lee Sawyer, Tech’s director of physics and chemistry and one of the faculty scientists from Tech who have been working on the project and with the Large Hadron Collider (pictured). “The quest to discover the Higgs boson and the source of particle masses was a 50-year mission that began with Englert, Higgs and the late Robert Brout, and culminated with the measurements made by our experiment, ATLAS, and our colleagues, CMS, last year at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland.”
louisiana tech magazine featured these contributions from Tech – specifically the work of Sawyer, Dick Greenwood and Markus Wobisch – in a 2009 cover story titled “Tech on the World Stage: What’s the Matter.”
COES works with area high schools to improve STEM skills
Faculty from Tech’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Talent Expansion Program (LaTechSTEP), a partnership between Tech’s College of Engineering and Science and eight high schools in Caddo Parish, kicked off this year’s “Tech Step” program this fall in Shreveport.
The program is a collaborative partnership with the Caddo Parish School Board and Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City. LaTechSTEP focuses on professional development of high school STEM teachers followed by “Discovery Weekends” where University faculty and high school teachers collaborate as a team to present engineering design projects to high school students.
Lvov makes worldwide impact, opens doors for students
Since receiving the Best of Small Tech U.S. National Innovator Award in 2008, Yuri Lvov, researcher and professor of chemistry at Tech, has continued to gain worldwide recognition for his work in micro and nanotechnology.
Lvov, who also holds the Tolbert Pipes Eminent Endowed Chair in Micro and Nanosystems, most recently had research published that involves the use of naturally occurring clay tubes measuring only a few billionths of a meter in diameter. Such tubes are called nanotubes because one nanometer equals one billionth of a meter.
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Community plays student-created video games
Communication design and computer science students collaborated Fall quarter in an advanced web class to create various video games that were introduced to the public at a Game
Launch, the culmination of 10 weeks of game design and development by five student teams. This collaborative effort allowed each team of students to create their own mobile game.
“This class is kind of an experiment,” said associate professor of art Jerry Berg. “We’re trying to figure out where we are with our program. My focus is interactive web design. I knew there needed to be more focus in advanced web design.”
Department of music hosts national festival
Tech’s department of music hosted its first national event, the National Association of Composers/USA National Festival.
“This is the second oldest music composition group in America,” said associate professor of music Dr. Joe Alexander. “This is a national group; people came from all over the country.”
Most of the musicians who performed were faculty members, but some were students as well. Tech graduate Joshua Carver and former faculty members Alan Goldspiel and Mel Mobley were among the performers.
Dedication of writing lab in GTM honors Minor
A state-of-the-art technical writing lab was dedicated Sept. 13 honoring a former associate dean who also served Tech’s English department for more than 30 years.
The Dennis E. Minor Technical Writing Lab is used by classes in technical writing and presentation classes.
Minor served as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1998 until his retirement in 2005. He died in 2006.
Located in Room 209 of George T. Madison Hall, the lab has 25 computers and ergonomic workstations equipped with the latest software including digital multimedia smart classroom instructional technology.
One for the Money: Finance and Administration VP Joe Thomas retires
Through ups and downs, including the biggest state budget crisis in the past half century and drastic slashes to the funding of higher education in Louisiana, Joe Thomas has been a steady hand and mind in keeping the ship that is Louisiana Tech afloat.
Day after day, he’s balanced, adjusted and re-adjusted. As the University’s vice president for finance and administration, Thomas has performed these mini-miracles for no less than four decades.
When he retired Jan. 22, Thomas did so having left it all on the financial field.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Joe has served Louisiana Tech with the utmost professionalism and integrity, and has helped our university navigate through some of the most challenging and yet most successful times in its history,” said Tech president Les Guice. “His tireless efforts and his commitment to building a strong fiscal and physical campus infrastructure has been a cornerstone of Louisiana Tech’s growth and institutional stability.
“I congratulate Joe on his retirement and sincerely thank him for being a trusted colleague and a true advocate for Louisiana Tech.”
Thomas will remain with Tech on a part-time basis to assist with several ongoing projects. Meanwhile, he’ll travel a little, enjoy his grandchildren and continue to take pride in the significant advancements the University has made in its educational programs, its graduate and research activities and its service commitment to the state.
“Our students continue to help us set new levels of educational excellence,” Thomas said. “I am pleased to have been part of a tremendous team that has worked hard to achieve these goals.”
Thomas’ career at Louisiana Tech and in the finance industry has been one of exemplary leadership and achievement. In addition to his duties as vice president for finance and administration, Thomas has served on a number of University’s councils and committees, including the Administrative and Planning Council, Technology Fee Committee, NCAA Self Study Steering Committee, NCAA Financial Integrity Committee, and University Grievance Committee.
He has also given a great deal of time to serving his community, serving in roles to aid local health care, public service and local industry.
Thomas’ daily duties at Louisiana Tech will be assumed by Lisa Cole, who has been promoted from comptroller to assistant vice president for finance and comptroller, and Sam Wallace, who has been promoted from director of facilities to assistant vice president for administration and facilities.
Thomas, who graduated from Louisiana Tech in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and 1972 with an MBA, has served as vice president for finance and administration since 2006. He also served as Louisiana Tech’s vice president for financial services from 1997 to 2006, comptroller and investment officer from 1979 to 1997, and assistant comptroller and director of systems and procedures from 1973 to 1979.
Dog Bytes• Former professor and head of the speech
department in the College of Liberal Arts, Sheryl Shoemaker, a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, moved into the position of Interim Dean, Graduate School as former graduate school head Terry McConathy became the University’s Vice President of Academic Affairs.
• During spring commencement, three faculty members were honored for excellence in teaching, research and advising. Mel Corley, Century Telephone Enterprises Professor and director of civil, mechanical and construction engineering technology, was awarded the Foundation’s Professorship Award. The F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award was presented to Brad Cicciarelli, a lecturer in chemical and mechanical engineering in the COES. The Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Award went to Daphne Jewell, an instructor of biological sciences in the College of Applied and Natural Sciences.
• Tech students Katie Falgoust, Sidney Hernton and Joshua Wheat accompanied Wayne Hogue, Shreveport-Bossier City program coordinator for Tech, to the United States Air Force Academy to attend the 20th Annual National Character & Leadership Symposium (NCLS).
• A record 2,200 prospective students and their parents were welcomed to Tech this fall for its “Time Out for Tech” student recruitment and get-acquainted event.
• Seven National Merit Scholars joined Tech in its most recent freshman class, the largest number since 2004. These “best and brightest” are Matthew Brandl of West Monroe, Beverly Case of Yukon, Okla., Randi Domingue of Monroe, John Herren of Ruston, John “Jack” Mertens of Natchitoches, Lexi Miller of Brandon, Miss., and Dustin Morvant of West Monroe.
• Tech was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll again; Tech is the only public university in north Louisiana and only institution in the University of Louisiana System to have made the roll every year since 2008.
COES selects 2013 Distinguished Alumni
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Donald Kaczvinsky, Dean
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Champ
DiStinGUiSHeD ALUMnUS, CoLLeGe oF LiBeRAL ARtSO.K. “BUDDy” DAviS (’69)
A native of Ruston, Buddy has been sports editor of the Ruston Daily Leader since the year after he graduated from Tech. Besides hundreds of prep, college and amateur events in north Louisiana, he has covered four Olympics, 13 Super Bowls, three world Series, two major league all-star games, three NCAA track and field
championships, three NBA championships, 10 Sugar Bowls, and numerous NCAA men’s and women’s tournament games, plus all of Tech’s five national championship teams.
Buddy is widely acknowledged as the unequaled historian of the past half-century of Louisiana Tech, Lincoln Parish and north
Louisiana athletics. while he’s a household name around north Louisiana, his fame reaches much farther. in 2009, Buddy was presented the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, and in 2010, he was named “Mr. Basketball” by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches for his significant, long-term contributions to the game. in 2011, Buddy was the Louisiana Sports writers Association’s Class ii Columnist of the year, and that group presented him with its prestigious Mac Russo Award for his contributions to the progress and ideals of the Association.
And this fall, Buddy was inducted into Tech’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
AIAS promotes green space
A little gray turned a little green for a few hours this fall.
Tech’s American Institute of Architecture Students participated in the worldwide Park(ing) Day, in which a local parking spot is turned into a temporary public park. The AIAS students chose an area near Tolliver Hall and placed sod and even a tree and a park bench for students to relax.
The event’s goal: raise awareness for the need for public parks and green spaces.
“SoCiAliSm vS. CAPitAliSm”Mel Barney (electrical engineering ’51) covers the administrations of 13 U.S. Presidents who held office during Barney’s lifetime. each chapter discusses a president and the most important governmental activities and policy changes during his administration. Barney and wife Carolyn Haggard Barney (education ’50) live in Dallas.} Available on Amazon, at MelBarney.com and from Merit Books, 3548 Golfing Green Dr., Dallas, TX 75234.
“SkiDAwAy SCEnES: iSlAnD Short StoriES”Larry Larance (speech ’50) creates a fictionalized version of the experiences of an unusual community, a Georgia barrier island largely populated by retired people who have experienced much of what life has to offer. And while not sensational enough to make the evening news, they are the stories that sketch the genuine American monograph. Larance and wife Beth live on Skidaway, one of the Georgia barrier islands near Savannah.}Available on Amazon and at PenmanPublishers.com
“SAving trES rioS”John Witzel (business’74) presents a fictional novel about a decorated Air Force sergeant named Robert Madden, who becomes a school teacher after he retires from the service. After finding himself faced with the toughest school he has ever experienced and a drug lord with a score to settle, he must use all of his training to survive and protect his students. witzel, a 22-year U.S. Air Force veteran, lives in Papillion, Neb., where he is currently serving his 12th year as a school board director and yMCA board member.}Available on Amazon.
If you’re a published alum, send your information to the Marbury Alumni Center so we can include it in Bulldog Bookshelf. Send to [email protected] or call (318) 255-7950.
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Never too old to learn – and earn – a master’smcConnell: A grad student at age 81
In pursuit of higher education, Jean McConnell, 81, reflects a Tech Bulldog tenacity and determination you find more often in students six decades her junior.
Since 1976, on and off, McConnell has climbed class by class and quarter by quarter toward her undergraduate college degree. Two years ago, she received her earned reward: a Louisiana Tech diploma. Actually, it was her second. She earned her associate degree in general studies in ’09, her bachelor’s in general studies in ’12.
“I had to stop going to school for a while once we had twins,” said McConnell, who nonetheless never took her eye off her goal. Tech was there to help her every step of the way: to make her degree in general studies happen,
she took full advantage of the Tech-Barksdale campus, one of three physical locations that support Tech in Shreveport-Bossier City.
“Mom has always put family first, which is the main reason she didn’t finish her education when she was younger,” said Patrick McConnell, one of Jean and Russell McConnell’s four children and an adjunct professor at Tech-Barksdale. “She made sure we (her family) were provided for at home and our needs came first. She has put as much effort into her education now, as she put into our lives then.”
“My family, especially my husband, was very supportive,” said Jean of Russell, 85, who knows a thing or two about higher education; he semi-retired in 2009 after 32 years teaching carpentry to students at Louisiana Technical College in Shreveport. “He has a master’s degree; he was the one who encouraged me to go back to school.”
And so, beginning with the current academic year, she re-enrolled at Tech to pursue her master’s, two years after earning her undergrad degree and “taking a little break.”
“There’s fun in learning,” she said. “I love the interaction with the students and instructors. The faculty’s been so helpful; I just enjoy my classes.”
Neither of her parents graduated from high school; they encouraged her during her growing-up years to stick it out in school, even if, they said, she had to do it on her own. Though she’s had strong support, it’s still Jean who’s had to go to the classes, complete assignments and do the actual work of learning.
“But I’m having a ball,” said Jean, who for nearly 30 years has worked, and still works, for Dr. Alan Borne, an internal medicine doctor in Shreveport. So not only is she 81 and in graduate school, but she’s a student working her way through school. Her graduate degree will be in liberal arts, a master’s of counseling and guidance with a concentration in human services.
“If nothing else,” she said, “it keeps the brain cells working. If you’re in your 50s or 60s, you’ve got to keep your mind going. Research says if you don’t use it, you lose it.”
for more information about tech’s availability to help shreveport-Bossier City students and potential students, visit shreveBossier.latech.edu, call (318) 671-7803, email [email protected] or visit Barksdale.latech.edu.
TECHIPEDIAthe free encyclopedia about lOUIsIAnA teChLouisiana Tech University, or Tech or LA Tech, is the flagship university of north Louisiana.
eStABLiSHeD: 1894
Motto: Union, Justice and Confidence
MiSSion: As a selective admissions, comprehensive public university, Louisiana Tech is committed to quality in teaching, research, creative activity, public service and economic development. Louisiana Tech maintains as its highest priority the education and development of its students in a challenging, yet safe and supportive, community of learners. Louisiana Tech provides a technology-rich, interdisciplinary teaching, learning and research environment to ensure student and faculty success.
SHRevePoRt-BoSSieR CitY ConneCtion: There is more of Tech, for you, in Shreveport-Bossier, which boasts three local physical locations that support the University: Louisiana Tech University - Shreveport Center, 8028 Shreve Park Drive, Shreveport; Louisiana Tech University – Barksdale, Barksdale AFB educational Center; Cyber innovation Center, 6300 east Texas Street, Suite 100, Bossier City.
enRoLLMent: 11,014
LivinG ALUMni: 76,467
HoW to enRoLL: } Apply online; complete information at
LaTech.edu/Admissions
} Apply on campus at Hale Hall
} Call (318) 257-3036 or (800) 528-3241
} Needed: $20 for application fee, ACT/SAT scores, high school transcripts
} Out-of-state fee waived for legacies
DeGRee oF DiFFiCULtY: “if nothing else, it keeps the brain cells working,” a happy McConnell, Class of ’12, said of her long-pursued Tech diploma.
1973, Again: the national champs return to RustonMembers of Tech’s 1973 national championship
football team gathered on campus for a reunion in November and were recognized during halftime of Tech’s victory over Southern Mississippi on the field where they made such happy history 40 years ago.
The 1973 Louisiana Tech Football team played in the middle of what is considered the greatest three-year stretch in Tech football history. Not to be outdone by the first national championship team in 1972, the ‘73 squad won 12 consecutive games.
The Bulldogs dropped a close 21-19 decision at Eastern Michigan to start the year, but domination quickly followed: nine wins by 15 points or more, a perfect record at home and four shutouts, including a 34-0 dismantling of Western Kentucky in the Division II National Championship game in Sacramento, Calif.
SenioRS MoMent: Guys who completed their eligibility as champs in ’73 and attended the reunion were (from left)
Roger Carr, Fred Stafford, John Causey, Mike Swinney, Lewis Cobb, Glen Berteau, Charlie New, Denny Duron. Unable to
attend were seniors Huey Kirby and Lewis Frost.
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1959Fred L. Hoogland, horticulture, of Ruston was honored at a ceremony in October for his role in the development of Ruston’s Lincoln Parish Park. Hoogland secured property for the park in 1982, and it became fully operational in 1990. The 30-acre lake at the park has been named Hoogland Lake in his honor.
1969Mike L. Burrow, mechanical engineering, of Beaumont, Texas, is founder and CEO of Burrow Global, which
has been named Houston’s fastest-growing private company for 2013 by the Houston Business Journal. Mr. Burrow was a founder of Matrix Engineers and Petrocon Engineering,
and he served as Petrocon’s CEO during its merger to become EnGlobal Engineering.
1972Steve H. Townsend, business administration, of Gaithersburg, Md., was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of Intermodal Transportation Institute (ITI) at the University of Denver. Mr. Townsend has served as president and chief executive officer of Keolis America, Inc. since 2007.
1978Dr. Martha A. Littlefield, animal science, of Baton Rouge completed her certification in veterinary acupuncture in June.
1979P. Jeff Bertsch, mechanical engineering, of Houston has been selected as the new Deputy Chief of the Space Transportation Vehicle
Division at NASA. Prior to this, he served in many leadership roles within the Flight Design and Dynamics Division.
E. Hunter Lancaster III, English (civil engineering 1990), of S. E. Huey Co. in Monroe was elected national director for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana, which includes more than 140 member firms.
Donald H. “Dut” LeBlanc Jr., accounting, of Shreveport was presented by the nominating committee at KPMG’s Board
of Directors meeting in July 2013 as one of three partners to fill positions on the board. He was selected from the more than 1,800 partners in the U.S. partnership of KPMG. Dut is a tax partner based in KMPG’s
Shreveport office and has more than 34 years of experience.
1980Timothy Cotita, nursing, of Monroe was awarded a Master of Science in Health Care Ethics degree during Creighton University’s May commencement ceremony.
1982Kevin Bayles, business administration, of West Monroe was named the Northeast Louisiana Association of Realtors’ 2012 Realtor of the Year. Bayles is a past president of the association.
Cathi Cox-Boniol, education (master’s education 1983), of Ruston was named the recipient of the
Order of the Pearl by Kappa Delta Sorority at its national convention in Boston. This distinction honors Kappa Delta alumnae who have achieved prominence in professional and civic service.
Drake Mills, finance, of Ruston was named Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the Gulf Coast region. Mills is chief executive of Community Trust Bank.
1983Archie Neal Brown III, construction engineering technology, of Monroe was selected as the director of Ouachita Parish Homeland Security. He is a Rayville native with 20 years of military experience.
1984Dr. Michael D. Richardson, animal science, has been named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America. Mike serves
as professor of horticulture at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
1985Dr. William C. “Bill” Smith Jr., marketing, of Hattiesburg, Miss., was appointed as Chairman of the Department of Economic
Development and Tourism at the University of Southern Mississippi. Smith has taught for more than 30 years.
1986Stanley D. Dupuy, finance, of West Monroe has been named Sigma Nu Fraternity’s Alumni Chapter Officer of the Year. He has served as the Louisiana Tech Alumni Chapter president since 2011.
John R. Warner, forestry, of Conroe, Texas, had an article published by U.S. Forest Service Interface
South about the rapidly changing landownership patterns in the southeastern Texas/Houston area. John is an Urban District Forester with Texas A&M Forest Service in Conroe. To view the article, visit http://www.interfacesouth.org/products/leaves/partnership-spurs-diversity-outreach-projects-in-texas/index_html.
1989James F. “Jim” Justiss III, petroleum engineering (geology 1990), of Jena was named president of Justiss Oil
Company. Jim’s father, J. F. Justiss Jr. (business 1952) stepped down and passed the helm to his son after successfully leading the company for most of its 67-year history. Jim has served as vice president of operations since 1995.
1990Keith Barrios, business administration, of Thibodaux has joined Lafourche-based Community Bank as an assistant vice president and branch manager. Barrios has more than 10 years of banking experience.
1991Toni Hyams Crawford, finance, of Ruston has been promoted to the position of partner with Massingale and Associates. She will help promote the firm’s mission of serving people who are looking for an advisor that specializes in the financial and emotional aspects of the various financial life stages, especially retirement.
1994J. Ryan Spillers, civil engineering, of Lazenby & Associates in West
Monroe was elected member at large for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana, which includes more than 140 member firms.
Brian Turner, master’s finance, of West Monroe has been promoted to chief credit officer at Louisiana Land Bank.
1996Kermit E. Spears, social sciences (master’s industrial and organizational psychology
1998), of Pflugerville, Texas, has been named chief human resources officer for Fort Bend (Texas) Independent School District. He has worked in the HR field for more than 18 years, most recently as corporate director of HR for Dell Global Services.
1997Brandon S. Anschultz, studio art, of St. Louis was one of three artists selected by the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis for the Great Rivers Biennial 2014. The exhibit will run May 9 through August 10, 2014.
Steven Michael “Mike” Futch, construction engineering technology, of Cypress, Texas, has been promoted
to Senior Vice President, Regional and Integrity Construction, by Willbros Group, Inc. Futch has more than 16 years of experience in the pipeline industry.
1999Heather Howard Prejean, human resources management, of Zachary has been named chamber director of the
Zachary Chamber of Commerce.
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WhAt’s neW With you?Do you have news to share in the News About you section? we want to share the stories of your accomplishments and milestones. Photos are always welcome, too. Submit your information for News About you at [email protected].
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deborAh “debbie” edney (’91)
“There are SO MANY ways to give back!”
Honored with an Outstanding Pro Bono Service award from Legal Services of Southern Piedmont in North Carolina, where she practices law, Debbie makes a meaningful impact on access to justice in her community and state.
Title: Partner, Parker Poe: Attorneys and Counselors at Law
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario Canada
Now resides in: Charlotte, N.C.
Degree: B.S. animal science; B.A. journalism
Family: Brian McKean and daughter Connelly McKean (3)
Why choose this career? After graduating from Tech I worked for the Monroe News Star for about six months and then left with the intention of going to Syracuse University to get my master’s in journalism. But Syracuse is no Ruston, so I left and returned to Toronto where my parents lived and fell into public relations work which was neither satisfying nor fun for me. A good friend from Tech was in law school at that time and he said it was “right up my alley,” so I took the LSAT and did well enough to decide maybe it was the right move.
Tell us a bit about the pro bono work, why you were honored, and what made the work worthwhile to you: Guaranteeing access to justice to those who can’t generally afford a lawyer is a fundamental tenet of both our firm and the bar association. I do a variety of pro bono work, including drafting wills and powers of attorney, handling cases for tenants being treated unfairly by landlords, and handling appeals for children through North Carolina’s guardian ad litem program. I was actually honored along with one of my partners for the work we did to manage the pro bono work at Parker Poe and assign cases to a wide variety of attorneys in our firm, as well as for the individual work we each do for those in need. What makes the work worthwhile is when I get a hug from a pro bono client (I think my corporate clients are great, but they don’t hug very often!), or I learn that one of the children I worked for has been adopted in part because of the work I did for them: those moments are priceless.
How would you encourage students to contribute to helping low-income families, whether the students are interested in law or not, and how did you become interested in being a legal representative in that particular area: There are SO MANY ways to give back! We had a stuffed animal drive and then donated the stuffed animals to a shelter where children are taken when they have to be removed from their parents’ home because of abuse or other circumstances; our staff donates hours to help the local food charity box and deliver food; anyone with a little (free) training can become a guardian ad litem (the legal representative of a child in a lawsuit) and represent an abused or neglected child. Volunteer to go and read at a local low income school, or at a local homeless shelter to cook and serve food once a month.
Your best memories of Tech: This is going to sound so corny, but almost all my memories are wonderful. The friends I made at Tech are probably the best thing I got from my time in Ruston, but the wonderful memories could really fill a book!
Read more about Debbie at latech.edu/techtriumphs.
mArtie J. cordAro (’98)
Title: President and general manager, Omaha Storm Chasers Baseball Club
Hometown: Ruston
Now resides in: Omaha, Neb.
Degree: B. S. marketing
Named 2011 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Co-Executive of the Year by Ballpark Digest last year, Cordaro was in November named MiLB’s Executive of the Year by Baseball America.
“Working in the baseball industry is a privilege, not a right, and I am humbled each day that I have reached this position in my career,” said Cordaro, now going into his 16th year in the industry, the eighth in his current
position. “There are so many great operators and executives in minor league baseball, and I know that each and every one shares my passion for this great game. Though this is a tremendous personal honor, it is the efforts of our staff and the support from our fans that have been awarded.”
During the 2013 season – capped by the Storm Chasers taking home the Triple-A National Championship – the team welcomed more than 400,000 fans for the fourth straight season and topped more than 300,000 fans in a season for the 26th consecutive year.
Under Cordaro’s leadership, Omaha was named the 2013 Pacific Coast League nominee for the inaugural John Henry Moss Community Service Award, presented to a club that demonstrates an outstanding, ongoing commitment to charitable service, support and leadership within their local community.
Cordaro led the process of the successful rebranding and renaming of the Omaha Triple-A franchise in 2010 (from the Royals to the Storm Chasers) and was intimately involved in every aspect of the research, negotiation process and project management to build a new ballpark in Sarpy County, thus keeping Triple-A Baseball in the Omaha Metro area. The Royals had played in Rosenblatt Stadium, former site of the College World Series.
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HoMe RUn: Cordaro with werner Park’s One-Millionth Fan
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2007Joseph P. Bramande, civil engineering, of Houston has joined Pulse Structural Monitoring as the business development manager for marine systems. He joins the company after five years with ExxonMobil.
Andrew T. Pringle, business management and entrepreneurship, of Shreveport was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Andrew is employed at Red River Bank.
2008Stacey A. Smith, political science, of Shreveport was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Stacey is an attorney at Hayter & Peatross in Shreveport.
2010Ashley Burkett-Hoyle, master’s education, of Calhoun was named The (Monroe) News-Star’s 2013 All-Northeast
Louisiana Softball Coach of the Year. She coached West Ouachita to a 21-7 record and a Class 4A semifinal appearance in her first season as the Lady Chief head coach.
2012Kelly Masters Beard, nutrition and dietetics, of Houston volunteered as a dietetic intern at Camp Victory in Leesville, a camp specifically for children with diabetes. The interns provide campers with fun, educational activities on appropriate food choices to help manage their diabetes.
Terrance Blankenship, certificate secondary education, of Jonesboro has been named head coach of the Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers. Blankenship has served as an assistant for the past two seasons.
Cody Parsley, mechanical engineering, is working in Stavenger, Norway, as an engineer for the T. D. Williamson
Company.
Wedded bliss1978Martha A. Littlefield, animal science, and Joel Goldman, Nov. 6, 2013, Baton Rouge
1990Robert James Gonzales Jr., political science, and Brittany Lee MacNealy, Nov. 9, 2013, St John, V.I.
1993Michelle Lynette Allen, accounting (master’s accounting 1994), and Brian Cassel, Oct. 19, 2013, Ruston
2000Ashlee Hope King, general studies, and Michael J. Fairbairn, March 2, 2013, Garland, Texas
Sandra Lee Parkman, health and physical education fitness/wellness, and Lomax Bailey Napper, master’s business administration 2001 (master’s education 2002), Nov. 2, 2013, Ruston
2003Adam Lee Bamburg, sociology, and Abbey Norwood, April 27, 2013, Ruston
Jessica Alanna Stevens, human resources management, and Matthew David Thurman, health and physical education fitness/wellness 2002 (nursing 2009), Nov. 30, 2013, Ruston
2004Karla Florene Noles, English (master’s English 2006), and Shin Deok Ra, July 6, 2013, Ruston
Jennifer Dianne Norris, political science, and Thomas Henry Soto, sociology 2001 (master’s history 2004), Sept. 21, 2013, Ruston
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Reagan Roberts Smith, accounting (master’s 2000), of Houston was promoted to Assistant Controller of Upstream Operations at Eagle Rock Energy Partners.
Stacy Smith Smith, psychology, of Bossier City was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Stacy is a clinical research coordinator at LSU Health Shreveport.
2000Michael Burrows, aviation management, of Lafayette has been elected as president of the Louisiana Airport Managers and Associates.
Burrows serves as Lafayette Regional Airport’s Deputy Director of Aviation.
LaToya D. Hemphill, merchandising and consumer affairs, of Shreveport was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. LaToya works as Assistant Director for Community Engagement at Centenary College.
Dr. Julie A. Mook, biology, of Shreveport was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Julie works as a surgeon and oncologist at Breast Care Specialists in Shreveport.
2001Dr. Michael Barnidge Jr., biomedical engineering, of Monroe has joined Radiology Associates as a radiologist, practicing primarily in St. Francis Medical Center’s facilities in Monroe.
2002Bradley S. Matthiesen, business management and entrepreneurship, of San Antonio graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University in May 2013 with an MBA in management. Brad currently works as a casualty claims adjuster with USAA.
Melissa Lisenby Rainbolt, general studies (master’s industrial/organization psychology 2006),
of Bossier City was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Melissa is director of human resources and office manager at Vintage Realty Company in Shreveport.
Michael J. Sievers, architecture, of Bossier City was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Michael is a project architect at Leblanc & Young Architects in Shreveport.
2003Stephen P. Hemelt, journalism, has been named editor of The Natchez Democrat, natchezdemocrat.com and affiliated publications. Previously, Hemelt was managing editor of The Daily Herald in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
Nikki Buffington Porter, biology, of Shreveport was named to the 2013 class of 40 Under 40 young professionals and was honored at the Northwest Louisiana Young Professionals Gala in December. Nikki works as a clinical instructor at LSU Health Shreveport.
Adam Terry, journalism, of Washington, D.C., has been named chief of staff for Fifth District Congressman Vance McAllister.
2005Ryan J. Colgin, graphic design, of Metairie has joined Zehnder Communications as interactive designer. Colgin is responsible for concepts
and executions for websites, online advertising, mobile sites and social applications. While at Tech, he was co-founder of UG2, a student-led graphic design group. His designs earned six student Addy Awards as well as a feature in Print magazine’s regional design annual.
2006Travis G. Napper, marketing, of Ruston has been named one of 30 future leaders of the destination marketing
industry by Destination Marketing Association International. He serves as president and CEO of Ruston Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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henry mitchell settoon (’94, ’95, ’99)
“Realize that you spend most of your waking hours working, so it should be at something you really enjoy.”
An accountant and teacher who’s now an artist and designer, Henry Mitchell Settoon has been published for his design work and continues to build, design and discover.
Title: Self-employed artist, builder and designer
Hometown: Oak Grove
Now resides in: New Orleans
Degree: B.S. accounting/marketing; M.A. professional accountancy; B.A. interior design
Tell us what a regular day in your work life is like: I work for myself, so it varies widely. In the past week or so, I’ve been on the job site for a bathroom/bedroom remodel, helped a friend style a home for publication in new Orleans home and lifestyle magazine, and painted some commissioned art pieces.
Describe House Proud and your work in it: house Proud: Unique Design/louisiana, is by Valorie Hart, published by Glitterati. house Proud is a coffee table book documenting the interiors of homes throughout the state. They range from New Orleans to Alexandria, from mansions to cottages. Valorie Hart, a professional decorator, is also a design writer. She has a successful blog and writes for local and national publications. The book contains pictures of my personal home, as well as the story behind its design.
How can we see a copy, and how can we see more of your work? The book is available online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the publisher, Glitterati.
What brought you to Tech? Many members of my family are Tech alums, and I was indoctrinated early in the belief of Tech’s greatness.
Why did you choose this career? I enjoyed my years of accounting education, but I never really loved it. Once I graduated and started working in my field, I realized I wanted to spend my days doing something I loved. After a bit of soul searching, I realized my passion was design. I was still living in Ruston, and I knew Tech’s interior design and architecture departments were well respected and accredited; I decided to go back to school, managing to work my curriculum around my day job.
Your advice to Tech freshmen today: Try to be open to different ideas and ways of doing things. While having a definite degree in mind, a definite career path planned, and a projected graduation date are all good things, realize that you spend most of your waking hours working, so it should be at something you really enjoy. For a lot of reasons, not least of all the friends I made, I don’t regret my decision to finish my business degrees before starting design school, but I’d be lying if don’t occasionally play the “what if ” game and wonder how things would have worked out if I had admitted my dissatisfaction with my chosen degree earlier.
How did Tech prepare you for your career and, in general, life after college? The thing that keeps coming back to me is just the quality of the teachers. I was so lucky to have some wonderful teachers in both my business and design curriculums, and the things they taught me have been invaluable.
Read more about henry mitchell at latech.edu/techtriumphs.
timothy A. smith (’10, ’11)
“There is no replacement for hard work and dedication in everything you do.”
As a rookie fresh out of Tech, he won a top award in his profession as he hit the ground running.
Title: Audit Senior Assistant at Deloitte & Touche LLP
Hometown: Bossier City
Now resides in: Dallas
Degree: B.S. accounting, M.A. professional accountancy
Tell us a bit about a regular “Day in the Life of Tim” at work: What can I say other than that there is no such thing as a typical day. Most
people think of accountants as people who sit in an office crunching numbers all day with limited personal interaction; well I am here to tell you that at least in my case, that cannot be further from the truth. First of all, I am rarely if ever working at our office in Dallas; usually I am out at the client site, which in my short career has consisted of Albuquerque, San Francisco, New York City and various cities in the Dallas metroplex. Secondly, my day consists of an unlimited amount of personal interaction, both with my engagement team (other Deloitte employees) and the client. Finally, one of the things I have most enjoyed about my job thus far is that as soon as you start to become comfortable with one area/assignment, you are assigned to a new area/assignment, and thus you are constantly growing the depth and breadth of your knowledge.
What brought you to Tech? I came to LA Tech initially because of TOPS (a Louisiana merit-based scholarship program) and the University’s close proximity to Bossier City, my hometown. I also liked the overall campus atmosphere and size, while in high school I decided I wanted to attend a university that had all the advantages/opportunities available on a large campus while also small enough to not make you feel like just a number. Tech offered the best of both worlds.
Your best memories of Tech: I joined/participated in as many organizations as my free time would permit. I was a member of Student Recruiters for three years and the Business Student Association for two years. I was also involved in Beta Alpha Psi (Accounting Society), a few other business/honor societies, and was also a member of SAE fraternity (assistant treasurer, treasurer and president). All these organizations allowed me the opportunity to meet and interact with many people and have molded me into the person I am today. The connections I made during my college career and all of the athletic events, rounds of golf played at Ruston Country Club, intramural events and volleyball games on Friday afternoons with those people are by far my best memories of Tech.
Your advice to Tech freshmen today: Be determined, set your goals and diligently work to achieve those goals, but at the same time don’t forget that change is all right. And never take yourself too seriously or you may miss some of the most rewarding experiences that Tech can offer.
What are your hobbies? I like to read, mostly historical and business-related books. I also like to play golf and volleyball, and of course cheer on the Bulldogs.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s…”: There is no replacement for hard work and dedication in everything you do.
Read more about tim at latech.edu/techtriumphs.
and health promotion, and Kelsey Janine Nolan, Sept. 14, 2013, Ruston
Rachel Edna Woodward, sociology, and Heath Christopher High, Nov. 23, 2013, Shreveport
2010Ondie Lasha Eddlemon, family and child studies (master’s counseling and guidance 2012), and Caleb Chipmon, April 6, 2013, Hineston
Janet Lynne Holland, general studies (master’s counseling and guidance 2013), and Kevin Laine Attaway, Oct. 5, 2013, Bossier City
Samantha Joann Kelly, biology, and Hunter Alexander Norwood, construction engineering technology 2012, May 25, 2013, Saint Joseph
Morgan Lynn Kelpe, speech pathology (master’s speech pathology 2012), and Gary Thomas Northen III, marketing 2012, Aug. 17, 2013, Shreveport
Lauren Kate Lambert, political science, and Zachary Stephen Tompkins, English 2008, Oct. 19, 2013, Prairieville
Haley Britt Langston, kinesiology and health promotion, and Norman Ballou Robbins III, Nov. 2, 2013, Fort Worth, Texas
Meredith Danielle McEachern, psychology (studio art 2010), and Douglas Eugene Piper Jr., Sept. 28, 2013, Shreveport
Monika Arlinda Richardson, biology, and Joshua Wimberly Stewart, environmental science 2005, Oct. 12, 2013, Ruston
Taylor Haas Richardson, nutrition and dietetics, and William Alexander Burt, general studies 2013, June 14, 2013, Ruston
Gina Marie Spatafore, early childhood education, and Bruce Jacob Wilson, general studies 2008, June 8, 2013, Baton Rouge
2011Charles Sawyer Avery, nursing, and Grace Brumley, June 2, 2013, Dubach
Christina Marie Behrens, accounting, and John Nolan Grady, biomedical engineering 2009, Feb. 16, 2013, Brandon, Miss.
Sarah Elizabeth Carson, biology, and Thomas Weston Brantley, marketing 2011 (master’s business administration 2012), Oct. 5, 2013, Shreveport
Morgan Ruth Colvin, nursing, and Phillip Hunter Boggs, Oct. 26, 2013, Choudrant
Laura Kathryn Cook, studio art, and Michael Todd Maggio, graphic design 1993, June 22, 2013, Ruston
Lainey Alyse Heckel, nursing, and Adam Reed Walker, construction engineering technology 2012, May 25, 2013, Homer
Sarah Elizabeth Knowles, nutrition and dietetics (dietetics 2012, master’s nutrition and dietetics 2013), and Russell Michael Colvin, civil engineering 2012, Aug. 3, 2013, Ruston
Magen Elise Letson, master’s elementary education, and Kelby Jay McKoin, Aug. 3, 2013, West Monroe
Alayna Mason, speech pathology, and Joshua Colvin, June 2, 2013, Baton Rouge
Haley Alyce O’Neal, nursing, and
Vernon Casey Jones, Oct. 26, 2013, Ruston
Haley Danielle Speer, early childhood education, and John Dustin McHale, marketing 2006, June 13, 2013, Haynesville
Jeffrey David Witte, general studies, and Heather Paige Vickers, June 29, 2013, Shreveport
2012Ashley Elizabeth Archer, nursing, and Thomas W Hanna III, chemistry 2013, June 29, 2013, Ruston
John L. Avis, forestry, and Courtney A. Andrews, June 8, 2013, West Monroe
Kendall Rae Coleman, master’s elementary education, and Adam Benjamin Lillich, July 20, 2013, Bossier City
Megan E. Cruse, kinesiology and health promotion, and Devin Ferguson, July 27, 2013, Quitman
Talbot Courtney Flournoy, dietetics (master’s nutrition and dietetics 2013), and Wilson Trimble Mabray, June 29, 2013, Shreveport
Landry Charmayne Glover, nursing, and Joseph Bagwell, July 6, 2013, Ruston
Kevin Lane Parker, electrical engineering, and Kathryn Elizabeth Womble, July 27, 2013, Calhoun
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Heather Rene Womack, general studies, and James Robert Wells, July 6, 2013, Richton, Miss.
2005Courtney Elizabeth Bryan, finance, and Duncan Mitchell Sheaffer, June 8, 2013, Houston, Texas
Logan Joseph Hunt, forestry, and Megan Carlisle Bates, July 6, 2013, Ruston
Lindsey Anne Sellers, music, and Daniel Miller, Nov. 2, 2013, Ruston
2006Sunny Rae Journey, psychology (master’s special education 2013), and Parker Mitchell, Nov. 2, 2013, Ruston
2007Amy Ruth Aycock, nursing, and Jason Kavanaugh, Oct. 19, 2013,
Dubach
Erin Lee Eaton, biology, and Brian Thomas Langford, June 15, 2013, Shreveport
Christine Marie Echols, marketing, and Adam Zeigler, July 27, 2013, Frisco, Texas
Jacob Brice Fusilier, mechanical engineering, and Caroline Nealy Brown, May 25, 2013, Baton Rouge
Robert John Horne Jr., construction engineering technology, and Emily Ann McElroy, June 29, 2013, Shreveport
Judson Holley Lorant, business management and entrepreneurship, and Kimberly Jaye Noland, June 8, 2013, Shreveport
Sara Frances Philley, sociology, and Jonathan Louis Edwards, construction engineering technology 2006, Aug. 24, 2013, Monroe
Joshua Seth Vines, agricultural business, and Ana Marie Bernal, June 22, 2013, West Monroe,
2008Kevon I. Bagot, sociology, and Naima Gaskin, Feb. 23, 2013, Houston, Texas
Katie Beth Cheshier, speech pathology (master’s speech pathology 2010), and Charles Patrick Golden Jr., kinesiology and health promotion 2009, July 20, 2013, Ruston
Cynthia Hana Halwick, biology, and Cody Clayton Oldham, June 29, 2013, North Richland Hills, Texas
Catherine Lee Jones, speech, and Jacob Tyler Simmons, sociology 2011, June 8, 2013, Nashville, Tenn.
Theodore Littleton Smith, communication design, and Kathryn Nicole Douglas, Nov. 16, 2013, Ruston
William David Smith, mechanical engineering, and Abby Blayke Canterbury, Aug. 24, 2013, Sterlington
2009Kelly Anne Cain, accounting (master’s business administration 2010), and Bobby Alan Quackenbush, Oct. 19, 2013, Bossier City
Laura Lee Eason, speech pathology, and Jeremy Russell Cefalu, biology 2009, June 8, 2013, Shreveport
Keri Nicole Hart, merchandising and consumer studies, and Cody Ryan Chandler, June 1, 2013, Farmerville
Cody Nicole Herring, human resources management, and Arthur Elijah Nealy III, May 25, 2013, Dubach
Amy Louise Offill, computer information systems, and Clint J. Nesmith, computer information systems 2009, Sept. 14, 2013, Monroe
Jordan Ross Parker, business management and entrepreneurship, and Rikki Jane Weger, Oct. 26, 2013, Shreveport
Madeline Claire Roberts, speech, and Andrew Michael DeBlieux, Sept. 21, 2013, Natchitoches
Joshua Harold Stanley, kinesiology
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34 | LOuiSiANA TECH MAGAziNE
rAy sAlinAs (’05)
“There really is no substitute for hard work.”
Against major odds, Ray (pictured near left) and friend/business partner Dru Riess (far left) turned a failing business into Popular Ink, a packaging solutions and printing corporation that’s become a true success story built on integrity and determination.
Title: Executive Vice President, Popular Ink Corp.
Hometown: Bossier City
Now resides in: McKinney, Texas
Degree: B.A. biomedical engineering (and completed core concentrations in both mechanical and electrical engineering)
Summarize how you and a like-minded friend took on a failing business and, in less than five years, were on the cover of the McKinney (Texas) Magazine as a remarkable success story: I think the combination of intelligence, determination and ignorance served us well. I say this because we were very bright and capable yet too young/inexperienced to fully understand how heavily the odds were stacked against us. Looking back at it now as a much more seasoned businessman, it’s very difficult to explain how we managed to overcome all the adversity we faced with no working knowledge of the packaging industry, no working capital and a mountain of pre-existing debt…I guess ignorance truly is bliss because blindly we started down a tumultuous path that would eventually find us featured in several local and national publications as a remarkable success story.
What brought you to Tech? A combination of the state’s TOPS (scholarship) program and Tech’s reputation as an outstanding engineering university. I was actually accepted to attend both Rice and Duke, but the overwhelming cost of attending these schools was tough to justify when I could attend a solid state school for free (because of TOPS). I was very good at math, so a degree in engineering seemed to make the most sense…I qualified for additional academic scholarships and was able to earn my degree practically for free. Tough to beat that …
“If I’ve learned one thing, it’s …”: There really is no substitute for hard work. It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are … If you’re not willing to work hard, chances are you will not go very far in whatever field you chose.
What are your hobbies? Outside of work, I’m a gym rat. I competed in my first physique competition over the summer, and plan to do at least one more in 2014…I am also an avid snowboarder due to my time in Colorado.
How did Tech prepare you for business and for life after college? My biggest takeaway in terms of preparation for business is all of the work we did in groups as part of the engineering curriculum. I was always a solid student but was never the brightest in any of my engineering classes. However, in every classroom group project I found myself in, I always emerged as the leader of that group. I learned quickly I had the ability to lead intelligent people. In many cases these people were even more intelligent than I was, but they wanted/needed leadership/direction, and I was always able to direct that path from start to finish. I learned I was able to key in on people’s strengths and utilize those strengths in the best interest of the group…I discovered and developed this skill during my time at Tech and it has been invaluable to me as I’ve grown/developed Popular Ink into the multimillion dollar corporation it is today.
Read more about Ray at latech.edu/techtriumphs or at popular-ink.com.
blAkely c. dunn (’85)
“Don’t expect to be given anything worthwhile. Plan out your career path and position yourself to achieve it. Own your path.”
One day a 1,000-years-old building stopped him in his teenaged tracks and inspired him to see a part of himself, and the impact he might make on the future, in a whole new way.
Title: President/CADM Architecture, Inc., and President & Chair of the Board/National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
Hometown: El Dorado, Ark.
Now resides in: El Dorado
Degree: B.A., architecture
Tell us how you got into the architect business: Growing up I had always thought I wanted to be an aerospace engineer...I guess that was a natural result of a childhood in the 60s: wanting to be an astronaut! When I was 17, I was fortunate enough to spend half of my summer in Switzerland traveling. One afternoon I was in the courtyard of an incredible ancient castle on the shore of Lake Geneva and vividly remember thinking about whomever had laid out the design of that structure was still affecting people 1,000 years later. It was at that moment I made the decision to become an architect.
What brought you to Tech? I considered attending the University of Arkansas but found the program at Tech to be more suited to my preferences. I liked the faculty and the balance between theory and “reality” in its curriculum. Being close to home was a definite plus as well!
Your advice to Tech freshmen today: Don’t expect to be given anything worthwhile. Plan out your career path and position yourself to achieve it. Own your path.
How did Tech prepare you for your career and, in general, life after college? I think the rigor of the program prepared me for the rigors of such a challenging profession. Architecture teaches you how to analyze a problem and develop an appropriate solution; that’s a useful skill in almost every aspect of life.
Advice you’d give to any Tech student considering a career in architecture: Be willing to work long hours after other programs’ students have finished for the day or the week and are out having fun at night and on weekends. That was as hard on me and my classmates as anything. Studying architecture will require some sacrifices that others don’t have to make, but in the end it was worth it. It’s incredibly rewarding to see people affected by something that was first in your mind. Not many professions allow that.
Talk about your heroes of the craft, and also about how you describe your architectural style: There have been so many wonderful architects dating back to antiquity. I guess those I appreciate the most in the modern era are probably Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. I would describe our work as contextualistic and regional; we believe a building should respect its context and its environment: it should look like it belongs where it is. We can’t take design elements from our projects in Florida and use them in Wisconsin: that wouldn’t make any sense.
Read more about Blakely at latech.edu/techtriumphs.
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(master’s accounting 2009), daughter, Briley Elise, Nov. 1, 2013, Ruston
Megan Barbara Reynolds Gardner, biology, and Matthew Benjamin Gardner, sociology 2007, son, Waylon Everett, June 27, 2013, Mandeville
Christy Marie Giddens-Guice, family and child studies (master’s counseling and guidance 2011), and Bret Clayton Guice, history 2011, son, Christopher Michael, May 25, 2013, Jacksonville, Fla.
Rosilynn Virginia Smith Gillum, sociology, and Michael Edwin Gillum, marketing 2004, son, Patrick Michael, June 10, 2013, Ruston
Jackson Daniel Hinton, civil engineering, and Tracey LeAnn Minter Hinton, daughter, Aniston Mclin, Nov. 14, 2013, Vicksburg, Miss.
Amanda Nicole Wallace Johnson, elementary education, and Justin Shane Johnson, daughter, Ella Lynne, May 21, 2013, Dubach
Paige Elizabeth Stinson Smith, merchandising and consumer studies (master’s elementary education 2010), and Jason Richard Smith, political science 2009, daughter, Parkes Elizabeth, May 30, 2013, West Monroe
Kimberly Danielle Ashy Swart, communication design, and Kyle Turner Swart, general studies 2009, daughters, Kadence Lee and Kinsley Ann, June 15, 2013, Pineville
Brian Andrew Wyatt, architectural studies 2009 (master’s architecture 2010) and Katie Cooper Wyatt, daughter, Bria Kate, Oct. 15, 2013, Shreveport
2011Jessica Ann Bergeron Bruce, early childhood education, and Matthew R. Bruce, civil engineering 2010, daughter, Dorothy Lee, Aug. 17, 2013, Sherwood, Ark.
Emily Leeanne Essmeier Carpenter, general studies, and Jared Carpenter, daughter, Evangelyn Rae, Sept. 19, 2013, Quitman
Maggie E. Bullock Fontana, journalism, and Reginald Fontana, son, Harrison Peter, Oct. 19, 2013, Monroe
Lindsay Carol Burton Sanderson, speech pathology (master’s speech pathology 2013), and Justin Sanderson, son, Kipton Michael, Aug. 27, 2013, Choudrant
2012Meghan LeeAnne Waller Mattison, nursing, and Stephen T. Mattison, environmental science 2013, son, Owen Thomas, June 26, 2013, Lafayette
Danyelle McDaniel O’Neal, master’s secondary education, and Justin Tandy O’Neal, daughter, Anniston Joy, Oct. 8, 2013, Ruston
Luke August Simmering, doctorate industrial/organizational psychology, and Morgan Simmering, daughter, Clara Jean, Aug. 19, 2013, Centerton, Ark.
2013Shelby Key Eizel, marketing, and Craig Eizel, daughter, Kaydence Caroline, June 5, 2013, Shreveport
FRiENDS AND FORMER STuDENTSMatthew Doc Weiland, and Lindsey Weiland, daughter, Alyssa Kate, May 31, 2013, Shreveport
in memoriAm1934Mary Jo Terrill Wood, 100, business, May 20, 2013, Ruston
1938Mary Alice McKinney Snelling, 96, education, June 25, 2013, Kerrville, Texas
1939Mary Virginia “Ginny” Cameron Bynum, 94, business, Sept. 19, 2013, Astoria, Ore.
Malcolm Allen McKellar, 96, zoology, May 30, 2013, Lewisville, Texas
Virginia Galloway Trout, 97, business, Oct. 14, 2013, Shreveport
1940Sibyl Wurster Brooks, 93, English, Oct. 13, 2013, Monroe
Marzee White Mitcham, 93, arts and sciences, Nov. 27, 2013, Ruston
1941John Betz Baker, 92, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, Oct. 31, 2013, Monroe, Wis.
Mary Frances Robinson Kirkman, 94, arts and sciences, Sept. 22, 2013, Greenville, Texas
1942Emma Jean Toler Simmons Arner, 90, business administration, Dec. 3, 2013, West Monroe
Mary Ella Sims Blackiston, 92, human ecology, Jan. 22, 2013, Malden, Mo.
Lena Josephine Wilson Golson, 92, human ecology, Oct. 23, 2013, Rock Hill, S.C.
William Andrew “Bill” McBride Jr., 92, pre-med, Sept. 4, 2013, Shreveport
1943Grace Brownlee Balcom, 91, human ecology, Aug. 17, 2013, Baton Rouge
Tessibel Pierce Caskey, arts and sciences, April 2013, Friendswood, Texas
Evelyn Janice Atkinson Conway, 90, accounting, July 20, 2013, Keller, Texas
Mary Jeanne Mabry Doherty, 90, zoology (master’s English 1964), Sept. 24, 2013, Natchitoches
Mary Eleanor Hollis, 91, arts and sciences, Aug. 14, 2013, Hendersonville, Tenn.
Maxine Bradley Mayer, 90, office administration, Dec. 3, 2013, McKinney, Texas
Henrie Alfred Waldroup Norman, 90, arts and sciences (master’s arts and sciences 1966), Oct. 19, 2013, Shreveport
Margaret Fuller Sheehan, 91, business, Oct. 21, 2013, Ruston
Charlotte Hollis Williams, 90, office administration, Sept. 21, 2013, Santa Fe, N.M.
Alice Louise Cochran Williamson, 92, office administration, Aug. 24, 2013, Vivian
Rachel Jean Nolen Witt, 92, human ecology, Dec. 2, 2013, Pittsburg, Kan.
1944Mary Elizabeth Beagle, 89, office administration, Aug. 28, 2013, Alexandria
1945Alice Stafford Berry, 88, office administration, July 11, 2013, Abbeville, S.C.
Dorothy Cottrell Eldred, 90, education, May 24, 2013, Oakdale
1946Betty Linquist Jones, 86, business, Sept. 18, 2013, Monroe
Cecil Marshall McKenzie, 88, arts and sciences, Sept. 28, 2013, Shreveport
Doris Wells McMillan, 87, business administration, Oct. 31, 2013, Shreveport
Frank C. “Red” Stewart Jr., 93, mechanical engineering, Oct. 12, 2013, Ruston
1947Mary Margaret Stamps Barr, 87, medical technology, Sept. 24, 2013, Shreveport
Charles S. Goodgame, 90, business administration, Aug. 25, 2013, St Petersburg, Fla.
Martha Caroline Goff Hanacek, 91, office administration, Jan. 26, 2013, Schulenburg, Texas
Willis Eugene “Bill” Lewis, 89, accounting, Oct. 16, 2013, Stone Mountain, Ga.
1948Blake Hicks Albritton, 87, education, Oct. 13, 2013, Farmerville
Christine Leake Edwards, 86, secretarial science, Nov. 6, 2013, Houston, Texas
John Malon Farrar Jr., 89, chemical engineering, Sept. 7, 2013, Ruston
James Wilmont “Jim” Sligh, 86, mechanical engineering, June 4, 2013, Natchez, Miss.
1949James Gus Cameron, 91, accounting, June 28, 2013, Shreveport
Mary Lee Koonce Collier, 84, human ecology, Oct. 9, 2013, Shreveport
Robert Royal “Bob” Dennis Jr., 88, chemical engineering, Oct. 27, 2013, Baton Rouge
John Chester Derr, 92, forestry, Nov. 25, 2013, Winnfield
Anna Jo Sarah “Sally” Savage Gullatt, 84, education, Oct. 1, 2013, West Monroe
James Ray “J. R.” Hood, 89, accounting, Oct. 14, 2013, Monroe
Charles Douglas Johnston, 87, chemical engineering, Oct. 21, 2013, Lafayette
Mary Beth Durrett Lowery, 84, English, Aug. 29, 2013, Shreveport
Katie Cooper McClaran, 84, office administration, June 21, 2013, Independence, Mo.
Alva Byron Odom Jr., 87, business administration, July 28, 2013, Simsboro
Mary Ella Hearne Reed, 84, education (master’s education 1965), May 19, 2013, West Monroe
Claud Gilbert Robinson Jr., 89, business administration, Nov. 24, 2013, El Dorado, Ark.
L. Norman Welch, business administration, Feb. 14, 2013, Jena
1950Gerald Roland “Gerry” Dyson, 88, civil engineering, Sept. 3, 2013, Baton Rouge
John Miller Futch, 88, forestry, July 9, 2013, Arcadia
Leon Gober Jr., 88, electrical engineering, Oct. 2, 2013, The Woodlands, Texas
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2013Hannah Carleen Dumas, accounting, and Blaze Braden Thomas, finance 2013, June 29, 2013, Calhoun
Kelsey Kay Griffith, family and child studies, and Kendall Ray Gomez, June 15, 2013, Grand Cane
Sara Kay Hilton, psychology, and Corey Nicholas Gunter, April 6, 2013, Ruston
Sady Beth Johnson, nursing, and Mitchell Dane Raymond, May 25, 2013, Farmerville
Gaelin Nicole Reese, studio art, and Christopher L. Craighead Jr., business management and entrepreneurship 2012, June 1, 2013, Tallahassee, Fla.
Samantha Gene Tatro, civil engineering, and David Michael Chatelain, civil engineering 2013, May 31, 2013, Alexandria
Lance Gordon Walker, mechanical engineering, and Allison Renee Salsbury, March 2, 2013, Quitman
Brennan Michael White, mechanical engineering, and Rachel Moncrief, May 25, 2013, New Iberia
Jamie Elizabeth Young, biology, and Jordan Lee Atwell, Oct. 5, 2013, Ruston
stork report1992Katherine Marie Baker Herzog, accounting, and Paul David Herzog, son, Bradley, April 28, 2013, Lake Zurich, Ill.
1994Darrell Kevin Dyson, sociology, and Stephanie Dyson, daughter Annistyn Lynn, Sept. 22, 2013, Owasso, Okla.
William Kyle Green, pre-law, and Amy Green, son, Dayton Hays, Sept. 17, 2013, Dubach
1997Aubry J. Henkel, management information systems, and Rachel Doucet Henkel, son, Gideon John, April 3, 2013, Prairieville
2001Rebecca Leigh Felker Clark, elementary education, and Todd Casey Clark, marketing 2002, daughter, Addison Claire, Oct. 25, 2013, Ruston
2002Bradley Scott Bourgeois, accounting, and Adrienne Renee Freiss Bourgeois, daughter, Molly Catherine, May 13, 2013, Baton Rouge
Jennifer Leigh Tigner Hartley,
interior design (master’s elementary education 2007), and Michael Chase Hartley, marketing 2007, daughter, Laura Leighton, May 16, 2013, Bossier City
Emily Diane Reger Robinson, speech, and Matthew Robinson, son, Reid Matthew, May 23, 2013, Shreveport
2003James Michael Baxter, agricultural business, and Bonnie Tindall Baxter, son, James Ryder, Oct. 30, 2013, Calhoun
Jill Ann McBride Cordaro, human resources management (master’s industrial/organizational psychology 2007), and Joseph Alex Cordaro, computer information systems 2001, daughters, Airiana Katherine and Alexandra Ann, Dec. 2, 2013, Frisco, Texas
James Walter Moore III, business management and entrepreneurship, and Arabella Ochiltree Montgomery Moore, son, James Walter IV, Sept. 29, 2013, Monroe
Catherine Marie Biessenberger Oliver, chemistry, and Ronald Paige Oliver Jr., psychology 2002 (master’s counseling and guidance 2007), daughter, Audrey Claire, Aug. 20, 2013, Carencro
Robert Charles Smith Jr., computer information systems, and Amy Bower Smith, sons, Robert Charles III and Reid Cowen, July 8, 2013, Metairie
2004Cason Elaine Sadler Wilkinson, psychology (master’s industrial/organizational psychology 2005, master’s counseling and guidance 2007), and Joshua Wilkinson, daughter, Hollis Lynn, July 2, 2013, Shreveport
2005Sarah Elizabeth Goubert Bradford, studio art and psychology, and Charles Davis Bradford, political science 2005, daughter, Archer Brooks, May 3, 2013, Katy, Texas
Steven Charles Burgess Jr., biology, and Kathryn Thomas Burgess, daughter, Abigail Grace, June 4, 2013, Madisonville
Erin Frances Eubanks Hinton, speech pathology (master’s speech pathology 2008), and Hugh Clark Hinton Jr., business management and entrepreneurship 2008, daughter, Zoe Kathleen, Nov. 18, 2013, West Monroe
Mistie Michelle Hicks Oliver, business management and entrepreneurship (master’s business administration 2008), and Lane Oliver, daughter, Emily Kate, June 11,
2013, Midland, Texas
Sara Michelle Bass Zenter, industrial engineering, and Stephen David Zenter, industrial engineering 2006, son, Andrew Craft, March 25, 2013, Houston, Texas
2006Jade Berbert Heggins, sociology, and Tony Lynn Heggins Jr., sons, Coyle Anthony and Everest Jayden, July 18, 2013, Gahanna, Ohio
Susan Vanessa Bullard Mayer, architecture, and Michael Joseph Mayer, computer information systems 2005, son, Andrew Joseph, Sept. 25, 2013, Charlotte, N.C.
Mandy L. Sampey McVay, finance, son, Mason Blakeney, May 14, 2013, Destrehan
Kayla Melane Dowling Slocum, early childhood education, and Kenneth E. Slocum III, agricultural business 2007, son, Andrew Norman, July 1, 2013, Simsboro
Blair Elizabeth Bahlinger Walpole, speech, and Johnson Leamon Walpole, business management and entrepreneurship 2006, son, River Brantley, Aug. 26, 2013, Ruston
2007Mary Victoria Soto Brister, merchandising and consumer studies, and Christopher Mayes Brister, son, Mayes Hartley, Nov. 6, 2013, Nashville, Tenn.
Carrie Elizabeth Michael Bubenzer, biology, and Christian Evans Bubenzer, communication design 2009, son, Christian Evans II, June 8, 2013, Shreveport
Chelsea Lee Richardson Lange, communication design (master’s education 2012), and Matthew Judson Lange, graphic design 2004, son, Judson Howard, Nov. 24, 2013, Gainesville, Ga.
Amanda Leigh Campbell McGaugh, elementary education, and David Melton McGaugh Jr., human resources management 2006, son, Campbell Allen, Oct. 21, 2013, Calhoun
Jennifer Nicole McHenry Patton, nursing, and Patrick Michael Patton, agricultural business 2008, son, Harper Hayes, Feb. 18, 2013, Ruston
Haley Elyse Nardini Perot, health information and information management (elementary education 2013), and Joshua Adams Perot, sociology 2007, daughter, Carson Suzanne, Nov. 29, 2013, Ruston
Cydni M. Hightower Scroggs, family and child studies (master’s counseling and guidance 2013), and Matthew Christopher Scroggs, accounting 2007, daughter, Lyla Reese, June 3,
2013, Ruston
Lindsey Blair Keith Vincent, English education (master’s curriculum and instruction 2008), and Matthew Richard Vincent, biology 2009 (master’s secondary education 2013), son, Korbin Keith, July 27, 2013, Ruston
Mary Elizabeth Scriber Walsh, marketing, and Jonathan L. Walsh, general studies 2013, son, Maurice Joseph, Oct. 29, 2013, Ruston
Tamika N. Kursh Williams, sociology, and Ted Williams, daughter, Tayden Necole, Nov. 15, 2013, Prosper, Texas
Laura Ashley Walpole Worley, merchandising and consumer studies, and Aaron Grey Worley, daughter, Allie Grey, July 19, 2013, Little Elm, Texas
2008Katherine Keeton Bearden, master’s engineering (doctorate engineering 2013), and Steven Doyle Bearden Jr., mechanical engineering 2006 (master’s engineering 2008, doctorate engineering 2010), daughter, Juliette Renee, July 11, 2013, Arlington, Va.
Kirby Schutzman Best, marketing, and Garrett Best, daughter, Rylie Lynn, Oct. 17, 2013, Ruston
Tiffany L. Cigich Cargill, elementary education, and Chad Cargill, son, Connor Brice, June 28, 2013, Longview, Texas
Nikki Raelene Jones DeOliviera, English, and Bryan DeOliviera, daughter, Evangeline Lily, Nov. 6, 2013, Ruston
Millie Carroll Haymon, family and child studies (master’s early childhood education 2010), and Jacob Daniel Haymon, construction engineering technology 2007, daughter, Pippa Gwen, Sept. 4, 2013, Ruston
Emily Elizabeth Carey Lang, family and child studies, and Brian Scott Lang, medical technology 2008, son, Scott Robert, Nov. 8, 2013, Norfolk, Va.
Randalle Emma Marie Roberts, finance, and John S. Roberts Jr., son, Jack Steven, Oct. 12, 2013, Pineville
Elizabeth A. Pierre Speights, early childhood education, and Robby Speights, son, Wesley James, May 1, 2013, Ruston
Katherine Ashley Fuller Walker, English education, and Jason Lewis Walker, history 1996, daughter, Emily Kate, Aug. 6, 2013, Ruston
2009Candice Japlin Cannady Cole, early childhood education, and David Thomas Cole, accounting 2008
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Brian Lee “Butch” Smart, 69, math education (master’s health and physical education 1972), May 22, 2013, Highlands, N.C.
John Topping Wilson, 67, accounting (master’s accounting 1969), Nov. 23, 2013, Shreveport
1969Gerald David “Sharkey” Lynde, 66, mechanical engineering, Oct. 4, 2013, Ruston
Stephen Hugh Martin, 66, electrical engineering, Oct. 6, 2013, Bernice
1970Billy John Pate, 78, civil engineering, Sept. 19, 2013, Shreveport
1971James L. Bauchat Jr., 75, business, Nov. 1, 2013, Lubbock, Texas
Anna Elizabeth Willis Curtis, 90, education, Nov. 10, 2013, Shreveport
Robert Don Huie, 63, business administration, Sept. 7, 2013, Bossier City
James Charles Swanner, 75, business administration, May 30, 2013, Junction City, Ark.
Mildred Naomi Windham Wagnon, 81, consumer affairs, Aug. 10, 2013, Ruston
1972Dorothy Jeanne “Dot” Sallier Colvin, 82, master’s counseling, Aug. 17, 2013, Dubach
Bertrand Joseph “Bert” Heckel Sr., 76, education, June 1, 2013, Homer
George Turner, 93, agricultural business, May 29, 2013, Minden
1973David Durr Blackwell, 65, forestry, May 23, 2013, Dothan, Ala.
Robert Henry “Bob” Felknor, 70, animal science, June 14, 2013, Denham Springs
James Nolan “Jim” Hawkins, 68, business administration, July 5, 2013, Center, Texas
Ryman Lynn May, 64, professional aviation, Aug. 22, 2013, Simsboro
Beatrice Woolley Rosenblath, 62, business administration, May 19, 2013, Shreveport
1974Michael Barnidge Sr., 62, general studies (master’s engineering 2003), Dec. 1, 2013, Monroe
William Mark Elkins, 62, plant science, Sept. 19, 2013, Slaughter
Larry Wayne Garner Sr., 62,
journalism, Aug. 18, 2013, Belle Chasse
1975Mark Dixon Hodges, 59, forestry, Aug. 5, 2013, Baton Rouge
Vincent Joseph Ryan, 79, general studies, July 30, 2013, North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Odis Gerald Wehrly, 77, professional aviation, Sept. 2, 2013, Angleton, Texas
1976Alvin Gerald Powell, 67, general studies, Sept. 23, 2013, Lufkin, Texas
1977John Henry Shepherd Jr., 63, English, Jan. 25, 2013, New Orleans
1978Benigno Andres Martinez III, 59, mechanical engineering, Nov. 6, 2013, Dickinson, Texas
Gary Joe Thomas, 56, art education, July 15, 2013, Haughton
1979Louie D. Cobb Jr., 60, business administration, Dec. 4, 2013, Shreveport
Donald Francis Rainey, 65, master’s business management and entrepreneurship, Feb. 16, 2013, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1980Joe Allen Hall, 61, agricultural technology, Nov. 11, 2013, Marion
William David “Skinner” Hindmon, 82, master’s counseling, Oct. 26, 2013, Monroe
1981Dennis Clayton Daniel, 54, business, Nov. 23, 2013, New York, N.Y.
Dwayne Dejean Franklin, 55, electrical engineering, July 1, 2013, Houston, Texas
Loretta McPherson Mitchell, 73, health information administration, Oct. 15, 2013, Simsboro
Mark Alan Moses, 54, finance (accounting 1982), Sept. 4, 2013, Leesville
1982Irvin Willard Dahlberg, 79, petroleum engineering, June 3, 2013, Bossier City
Mark Henry Sibley, 54, pre-med, Aug. 3, 2013, Baton Rouge
Gary Robert Valentine, 52, business administration, Feb. 9, 2013, Broken Arrow, Okla.
1983Gregory Wayne Alexander, 50, business technology, Sept. 10, 2013, Ruston
Joseph Michael Burns III, 55, associate general studies (general studies 1984), Oct. 20, 2013, Manlius, N.Y.
Billy James King, 85, general studies, June 6, 2013, Benton
Walton Edward “Ned” McBride III, 61, physics, Nov. 24, 2013, Slidell
Mark Arnold Rosenzweig, 52, agricultural technology, June 14, 2013, Metairie
James Fred Williams, 72, English education (master’s English education 1985), July 21, 2013, Bossier City
1985Lori Young Cupps, 50, mathematics, July 10, 2013, Manchester, Mo.
Byron Curtis Dickerson, 50, pre-med, Oct. 23, 2013, Suwanee, Ga.
John Francis Freasier, 50, computer science, May 2, 2013, Richardson, Texas
1986Terri Elaine Spencer Harris, 49, health information technology, Aug. 2, 2013, Plano, Texas
1987Antoinette Christine Smith Murphy, 60, geology, March 15, 2013, Goldvein, Va.
Steven Earl Vining, 50, business management and entrepreneurship, Nov. 19, 2013, Frisco, Texas
1991Jeffrey Davis Lumpkin, 46, history, May 21, 2013, Winston Salem, N.C.
Pauline Ann “Paula” Quinn, 52, general studies, July 12, 2013, Tulsa, Okla.
1992Kristy Lynn McConnell, 60, associate general studies (general studies 1995), June 27, 2013, Shreveport
1994Louis John Squitieri, 60, associate general studies (general studies 1999), Aug. 7, 2013, Bossier City
1995Richard Karl Mitchell, 48, master’s business management and entrepreneurship, July 19, 2013, Shreveport
2000Scott Christopher Rogers, 35, mechanical engineering, April 25,
2013, Paris, Texas
2001Ellen N. Hamilton, 41, master’s health and physicsical education, Sept. 2, 2013, Benton
2004Darius Roshern Smith, 31, computer information systems, June 1, 2013, Rayville
2006Vickie Lynn Ahern Wright, 56, general studies, Nov. 22, 2013, Shreveport
2008Christopher Glyn Edmiston, 29, social studies education, Aug. 13, 2013, Choudrant
Paul Edwin “Red” Hynes, 73, general studies, Aug. 22, 2013, Weatherford, Texas
2009Branson Burnett Beasley Sparks, 26, economics, June 19, 2013, Alexandria
FRiENDS OR RETiRED FACuLTY/STAFFRiley E. Baker, 87, July 15, 2013, Ruston
Earl Eugene “Gene” Callens Jr., 73, Dec. 5, 2013, Ruston
Thomas William “Tommy” Craig, 66, Aug. 16, 2013, Simsboro
James Travis “J. T.” Fulton, Nov. 17, 2013, Tallulah
Janell Jones Goss, 77, Nov. 23, 2013, Dallas, Texas
Carl L. Holstead, 71, Aug. 22, 2013, Choudrant
Lindsey Paul “Buddy” Juneau, 77, Oct. 3, 2013, Bossier City
Nolan Phillip LeCompte Jr., 77, July 26, 2013, Houma
Karen Lewis, 71, Aug. 25, 2013, Ruston
George Allen Love, 88, Oct. 3, 2013, Alpine, Utah
Novem Miller Mason, 70, May 15, 2013, Greensboro, N.C.
John David Peel Sr., 78, July 22, 2013, Quitman
Sarah Margaret Regan, 70, July 15, 2013, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Robert Earl Roberts, 70, Oct. 14, 2013, New Orleans
Sam Rubin Jr., 86, July 22, 2013, Monroe
Hubert E. “Bud” Storer, 82, July 8, 2013, Shreveport
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Charles W. Gorton, 84, mechanical engineering, Feb. 10, 2013, Nashville, Tenn.
Rice William Gregory Jr., 87, mechanical engineering, Sept. 9, 2013, Monroe
Arnott Lewis Jones Jr., 93, mechanical engineering, Aug. 17, 2013, Shreveport
Felton O. McDonald, 86, forestry, Oct. 16, 2013, Homer
Mastin Alonza Robison, 87, business administration, Aug. 25, 2013, Oil City
Wayne Eugene Williamson, 88, civil engineering, Oct. 13, 2013, Minden
1951George Earl Cole, 83, marketing, Sept. 9, 2013, Arcadia
Lamar Watts Colvin, 84, agricultural sciences, Dec. 4, 2013, Dubach
Jimmie C. Miller, 85, mechanical engineering, Sept. 5, 2013, Hampton, Va.
Richard C. “Red” Rivers, 91, electrical engineering, Oct. 1, 2013, Manzanita, Ore.
1952Zane Hays Baker, 85, education, Oct. 27, 2013, Houston, Texas
Kenneth Rogers Bird, 86, business administration, Sept. 30, 2013, Ruston
Darvis Edwin “Bill” Coody, 94, accounting, July 22, 2013, West Monroe
Martha Ann Alexander Dickens, 82, education, Dec. 1, 2013, Shreveport
Michael J. Gavin, 83, education, Feb. 26, 2013, Milford, Conn.
Larry Lane Crowe Gentry, 81, education, May 19, 2013, Shreveport
Thomas David Guthrie Jr., 87, mechanical engineering (master’s mechanical engineering 1963), Nov. 13, 2013, Panama City, Fla.
Clifford L. Lutz, 89, civil engineering, July 10, 2013, Bedford, Texas
James Herschel “Jim” McDonald, 82, chemical engineering, June 2, 2013, Northfield, Ill.
Dorothy Elaine “Dot” Calhoun McRee, 85, medical technology, Sept. 7, 2013, Victoria, Texas
Carol J. Williamson Riddle-Kreuser, 82, education, Oct. 18, 2013, Prior Lake, Minn.
Sidney Fletcher Rivers, 85, business administration, Nov. 1, 2013, Shreveport
A. R. “Jack” Shipp Jr., 87, forestry, Nov. 9, 2013, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1954Ira John “Johnny” Hall, 80, geography (finance 1957), Sept. 2, 2013, Ruston
Dolph Horton McCleish, 81, health and physical education, Aug. 23, 2013, Monroe
O. D. Prather, 84, music, Dec. 8, 2013, Dubach
Zeke E. Tettleton, 80, business education, July 9, 2013, Farmerville
1955Robert Reed Cooper, 80, electrical engineering, April 26, 2013, Tampa, Fla.
Doris Jean Wactor Elkins, 79, education (master’s reading 1973), Sept. 6, 2013, Spearsville
Annette Proctor Grafton, 60, education, July 19, 2013, Homer
Freeman Edgar Smith, 80, business administration, Nov. 13, 2013, Houston, Texas
Houston “Sonny” Taylor Jr., 84, civil engineering, April 28, 2013, Gardendale, Ala.
1956Sharon Hall Jinks, 77, education (master’s 1960), May 31, 2013, Keithville
James Marvin “Mac” McBride, 78, mechanical engineering, Aug. 23, 2013, Ruston
Jo Ann Swanner Rogers, 77, elementary education (master’s elementary education 1967), May 21, 2013, Jonesboro
1957Jacob R. “Dick” Brown, 82, electrical engineering, Jan. 16, 2013, Indialantic, Fla.
Richard Drew Carey, 78, history, Nov. 29, 2013, Minden
Barbara Jean Lundy Teer, 76, education, Feb. 21, 2013, Baton Rouge
1958James Thomas Ballard, 76, civil engineering (master’s civil engineering 1967), Aug. 16, 2013, Vicksburg, Miss.
James Melton Bryant, 78, forestry, July 19, 2013, Minden
Glenn Wayne Cobb, 76, life sciences, Oct. 29, 2013, Lake Charles
James Edward Cryer, 81, electrical engineering, Aug. 19, 2013, McKinney, Texas
Thurman Ralph “T. R.” McClellan, 77, geology, July 2, 2013, Benton
James C. “Jim” Wagnon Sr., 83, civil
engineering, July 5, 2013, Ruston
1959Lucy May Winham Bonneville, 76, secondary education, Oct. 28, 2013, Alexandria
James Don Mashaw, 83, accounting, Nov. 7, 2013, Farmerville
Lonnie Franklin Newton Jr., 81, geology, Dec. 2, 2013, Houston, Texas
James Hubert “Jim” Taylor, 81, forestry wildlife, Sept. 18, 2013, Minden
Charles Edward “Ed” Williams, 81, mechanical engineering, Aug. 3, 2013, Fort Smith, Ark.
1960William Crawford “Bill” Fullerton II, 78, English, June 17, 2013, New Iberia
Charles Dalton Malone, 80, mathematics, Sept. 21, 2013, Longview, Texas
Aubrey A. “Skip” Wolleson Jr., 74, business administration, Sept. 10, 2013, Winnsboro
1961Edward Harmon Ayres Jr., 78, education (master’s education 1965), May 8, 2013, Elm Grove
Helen Ward Davis, 83, education, April 1, 2013, Alexandria
Edna Jan Barnette Greene, 73, education, Sept. 22, 2013, Benton
William R. Lewis, 72, mathematics, Feb. 6, 2013, Malvern, Ark.
Patricia Deason Stanley, 73, education (master’s education 1966), Oct. 24, 2013, Anaheim, Calif.
Ronald Hobart “Ron” Thompson Sr., science education (master’s chemistry 1968), Oct. 24, 2013, Ruston
1962James Sherman Capello, 74, mechanical engineering, Jan. 10, 2013, Midlothian, Texas
Marilyn Charleen Miller Cole, 73, education, Oct. 24, 2013, Shreveport
Tommie Frank Gadberry, 79, civil engineering (master’s civil engineering 1966), Nov. 29, 2013, Hot Springs National Park, Ark.
George K. Gilbert Jr., 73, accounting, June 7, 2013, Houston, Texas
Thomas Duaine Head, 80, education, Dec. 2, 2013, Bernice
Elliott Leroy Slocum, 72, accounting, Oct. 28, 2013, Greensboro, Ga.
1963Ronny Herbert Capps Sr., 72,
accounting, May 24, 2013, Elkins Park, Pa.
Floyd Edward Jones, 73, wildlife conservation, May 29, 2013, Bossier City
Dan H. Martin III, 72, forestry, May 3, 2013, Covington
Richard Edwin Van Cleave, 72, business administration, Dec. 9, 2013, Shreveport
1964Billy Dean Bryan, 73, master’s business, Sept. 16, 2013, Downsville
Mary Jane King Eiland, 70, human ecology education, May 28, 2013, Delhi
Travis Morgan Talley, 76, medical technology, July 2, 2013, Bastrop
1965John Anthony Higgins, 71, master’s mathematics, Oct. 30, 2013, Middletown, Del.
Travis Wendel Smith, 81, mechanical engineering, June 2, 2013, Frankston, Texas
1966John Charles Blake, 69, English, Sept. 12, 2013, West Monroe
Walter Andrew Brister Jr., 86, master’s education, Nov. 18, 2013, Monroe
Martha Evelyn Tatum Jordan, 69, education, Nov. 1, 2013, Monroe
James Carol “Jim” Mathis, 70, chemical engineering, Jan. 5, 2013, Lake Charles
Daniel Bruce McCallum, 69, mathematics, Oct. 13, 2013, North Little Rock, Ark.
Woodrow Wilson Reeder Jr., 69, business administration (master’s business administration 1968), May 20, 2013, Bernice
1968William Vernon Bevill Jr., 68, wildlife conservation, April 30, 2013, Mountain City, Texas
Jerry Lamar Brazzel, 67, civil engineering, July 13, 2013, Dubach
Ralph Norman Fountain, 68, education, Sept. 29, 2013, Las Vegas, Nev.
William Austin Gay Sr., 75, master’s business administration, Sept. 3, 2013, Woodbine, Ga.
Loyce Dianne Stubblefield Poole, 66, education, June 14, 2013, Hallsville, Texas
Samuel Poole “Sammy” Riser Jr., 71, animal science, July 10, 2013, Choudrant
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Though it was 11 stories tall – the tallest dorm on Louisiana Tech’s campus – it could never hold all the stories lived out inside it by the 760 male students who roomed there each academic quarter during its 40 years of use.
Opened in 1968 and closed at the end of 2009’s Spring quarter, Neilson Hall served as a home away from home, a study hall, a TV lounge, a factory for college male shenanigans and a launching pad for items that could be tossed from windows.
The Alumni Association posted a picture of both Neilson Hall and eight-story Caruthers Hall on its Facebook page this fall, announcing their impending date with the wrecking ball. The picture’s caption read: “Oh, if those walls could talk…”
The page quickly got hundreds of likes and 100-plus comments, many expressing a certain amount of gratitude that the walls, conveniently, would never be able to squeal.
Neilson was built for $2,740,188. The amount of the contract with Gulf Services Contracting for the demolition of Neilson, Caruthers and the Married Student Housing structures on South Campus is
$1,094,092.Asbestos and material that
can be recycled was removed from the dorms before the wrecking ball began its pounding on Neilson’s southeast corner in November.
Neilson was named after Patrick Douglas Neilson (pictured), who retired from the University in 1949 after serving as an instructor in electrical engineering, as Dean of Men and as head of the physics department.
Today, the “new” Neilson is part of University Park, a housing complex that includes four other commons: Thatcher, Kidd, Sutton and Caruthers. The site of Neilson and Caruthers will likely be developed as green space, recreation fields, parking or modern dorms. What won’t disappear are the memories of what happened in those dorms’ 19 stories over four decades.
special thanks to Archives and special Collections, Prescott memorial library, and to Joshua Williams and thomas soto, authors, “louisiana tech University Building history.”
Neilson Hall: Hello, wrecking ball, goodbye to another high rise home
BUILDING TRADITION | Each issue, we look back at Louisiana Tech’s history through its buildings and their namesakes.
WE ARE your universityMake a difference! Give to the University Fund at LATechAlumni.org or call the Louisiana Tech University Foundation at 1-800-738-7950 or 318-255-7950.
WE ARE CUTTING EDGELouisiana Tech University offers the State of Louisiana’s only:• B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
(public university)
• B.S. in Cyber Engineering
• B.S. in Geographic Information Science
• B.S. in Nanosystems Engineering
• M.S. in Health Information Management (1 of 4 in the nation)
• M.S. in Molecular Sciences and Nanotechnology
• Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
(public university)
• Doctorate of Business Administration
• Ph.D. in Computational Analysis and Modeling
• Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
• Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Ph.D. in Molecular Sciences and Nanotechnology
• Aviation Management Program
WE ARE opportunityLouisiana Tech has established itself as a leader in educational excellence.
• Recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a Tier One ‘National University’
• Ranked as one of the nation’s 25 Most Affordable Colleges by Newsweek and The Daily Beast
• Average freshman ACT of 24.1
• �Ninety�percent�of�first-year�and�senior�students�rate�their�entire educational experience as “good or excellent” and would choose to attend Louisiana Tech again
WE ARE the futureLouisiana Tech not only prepares its graduates for a career, it also prepares them to excel in life with a reputation for being out-of-the-box�thinkers�and�problem�solvers.
• Ranked #1 in Louisiana and in the Top 25 in the nation for providing its graduates with the best return on their investment (ROI) in their college educations, according to AdvisorOne
• Ranked #1 in Louisiana universities in starting median pay for graduates by Payscale.com’s�2012-13�College�Salary�Report
WE ARE louisiana techThanks�to�a�high-achieving�student�body,�dedicated�faculty�and staff, and most of all you�-�our loyal alumni and friends�-�Louisiana Tech remains rich in tradition. We can no longer rely on state support to maintain that tradition. The Tech Family must join together and invest in our University’s future. Your gift to the University Fund is your commitment to the educational experiences so deserved by Louisiana Tech’s current and future students and an investment in the rich tradition that remains an integral part of the Louisiana Tech experience. Every gift counts. Please give today.
We are cutting edge. We are opportunity. We are the future.
We are Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech Alumni Association900 Tech DriveP.O. Box 3183Ruston, LA 71272-0001
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A S S O C I A T I O N
loyali w i l l e v e r b e . . .
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Ownyour pieceof the AlumniWalkway!
Order yours today at www.LATechAlumni.org/AlumniBrickor call the Marbury Alumni Center at 318-255-7950
Take advantage of this opportunity to purchase a personalized keepsake of your Alumni Walkway brick!Your keepsake brick replica can reflect the same inscription that is on your Alumni Walkway brick, or you have the
opportunity to change your inscription to reflect your current name and class year(s).
