The University
MISSION
As the flagship institution of the state, the vision of Louisiana State University is to be a leading research-extensive university, challenging undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development. Designated as both a land-grant and sea-grant institution, the mission of Louisiana State University is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts.
In implementing its mission, LSU is committed to:
- offer a broad array of undergraduate degree programs and extensive graduate research opportunities designed to attract and educate highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students;
- employ faculty who are excellent teacherscholars, nationally competitive in research and creative activities, and who contribute to a world-class knowledge base that is transferable to educational, professional, cultural, and economic enterprises; and
- use its extensive resources to solve economic, environmental, and social challenges.
(Mission Statement approved June 2003)
Teaching
The University has over 1,450 full-time and part-time faculty members. The Boyd Professorship—named in honor of two early University presidents, David and Thomas Boyd—is the highest professorial rank awarded. The William A. Read Professorship of English Literature and the Nicholson Professorship of Mathematics are comparable to the Boyd Professorship.
Other awards for outstanding achievement are Endowed Chairs, Endowed Professorships, LSU Foundation Professorships, Alumni Professorships, Distinguished Faculty Fellowships, and the annual Distinguished Research Master Award. Recognized authorities in various fields are appointed as consulting professors or visiting lecturers.
The University is committed to the principle that excellence in teaching depends upon qualified and conscientious instructors. LSU boasts a nationally and internationally recruited faculty—approximately 85 percent of whom have terminal degrees. Many faculty members are international authorities in their fields and bring esteem and recognition to the University. The recipients of such coveted awards as the Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, LSU professors represent an enviable array of knowledge.
Research
LSU is one of a small number of universities nationwide designated as a land, sea and space grant institution. According to a report by the National Research Council, LSU consistently ranks among the top 30 universities i n total federal, state, and private expenditures. The University's success in the leveraging of state funds to obtain federal dollars places it among the best in the nation and represents a good investment of taxpayers' money. The economic result of this activity is the creation of 2,250 new jobs, $55 million in new income for Louisiana households, and $125 million in new sales to Louisiana firms.
The University Libraries comprise the largest research library in the state. And LSU's Office of Intellectual Property ranks among the nation's top 20 university patent receivers. The University now holds 237 patents and received more than $213,000 in licensing revenue in 2005-06.
In addition to more than 40 institutes, centers for advanced study, and other specialized units headquartered at LSU, various state and federal governmental units maintain offices and laboratories on campus. LSU injects more than a half-billion dollars into the Baton Rouge economy annually, with direct expenditures of more than $344 million by all units in Baton Rouge, creating sales of nearly $672 million.
At any given time, more than 2,500 sponsored research projects are in progress. Additionally, faculty and staff members and graduate students pursue numerous research projects that are not sponsored by outside agencies. Since the 2001-2002 fiscal year, external research funding at LSU has increased more than 44 percent. LSU annually brings in more than $140 million in grants and contracts from federal, state, and private sources—a significant factor for the Louisiana economy. Other research projects and instructional programs are undertaken through the LSU Agricultural Center, the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Public Service
Government, education, business, and industry in Louisiana benefit daily from the outreach services provided by LSU. New technology is transferred from University laboratories to the community, providing a vital boost to the economy and helping to find answers to some of Louisiana's most pressing environmental issues.
Several LSU divisions provide public services to the community and state.
- The LSU Cartographic Information Center (CIC), ranked among the largest academic map libraries in the U.S., holds a vast collection of maps, globes, journals, monographs, photographs, slides, and atlases. The center serves patrons from the LSU community, local businesses, state agencies, and the general public.
- The J. Bennett Johnston, Sr., Center for Advanced Microstructures & Devices (CAMD) is a high-tech research center that serves the public by providing: an infrastructure for economic diversity within the state in the area of microfabrication; testing services for local area gas, oil, and chemical industries; a focus for material science research and development at LSU and within the state; and scientific outreach to students in elementary school through graduate school.
- The LSU Center for Internal Auditing (LSUCIA) is an internationally recognized program that provides students with nationwide internships and career opportunities. The LSUCIA also provides executive training for professionals.
- Continuing Education provides valuable learning opportunities by extending LSU's resources beyond the campus through workshops, short courses, extramural courses, correspondence courses, institutes, seminars, and conferences.
- The Division of Student Life & Academic Services matches community needs with student and faculty resources through its academic service learning program, LSU PLUS, coordinated through University College; and the Student Community Outreach Center, coordinated through the Center for Student Leadership & Involvement.
- The LSU Earth Scan Laboratory, a satellite earth station, receives large area images of the earth, providing detailed maps of hurricanes, their structure, location, and movement every 30 minutes to the State Office of Emergency Preparedness. This information is used for decision and management support, evacuation, and early warning.
- The LSU FACES Laboratory is a public service, research, and educational facility designated to assist law enforcement agencies in the positive identification of human remains, profile analysis, and trauma analysis. Since 1981, this laboratory unit of the Department of Geography & Anthropology, the only one of its kind in the state and region, has offered complete methods of identification through forensic anthropological autopsy and computer-generated techniques.
- The LSU Hurricane Center is a multidisciplinary center addressing hurricanes and other hazards and their impacts on the natural, built, and human environments. Center faculty work closely with resource managers and emergency preparedness decision-makers, transferring the latest information and technology in areas such as storm prediction, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
- The mission of the Entrepreneurial Institute is to enhance efforts to develop and sustain entrepreneurial and family business opportunities in the state of Louisiana. Specific activities carried out by the institute include, but are not limited to, educational seminars and workshops in an executive education format, University course work, business planning and consultation, and venture funding assistance, with a prime goal of job creation for Louisiana.
- The College of Agriculture’s Les Voyageurs student speakers bureau conducts programs for middle and high school age student groups on career opportunities and career decision making in the agricultural and natural sciences.
- The Louisiana Business & Technology Center (LBTC) is a small business incubator on campus that is the home to 25 start-up businesses. The LBTC offers flexible space, business equipment, and consulting services to those firms and outside clients through the LSU Small Business Development Center. In addition, the LBTC operates the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office for the state of Louisiana, that, through its offices at LSU and NASA/SSC, provides technical assistance to Louisiana companies through NASA and other federal laboratories. Graduate and undergraduate students work on projects through the LBTC.
- The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, a division of the LSU Agricultural Center, is a statewide program that maintains agricultural agents and specialists in each of Louisiana's 64 parishes.
- The Louisiana Geological Survey performs geological investigations that benefit the state of Louisiana by encouraging the economic development of the natural (energy, mineral, water, and environmental) resources of the state, protecting the state and its citizens from natural, geological, and environmental hazards, and ensuring the transfer of geological information.
- The Louisiana Population Data Center's Survey Research Lab provides survey research services to the LSU community, as well as to various government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
- The Louisiana Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory provides a comprehensive animal disease diagnostic service to the agricultural and general communities.
- The Public Policy Research Laboratory combines the talents and disciplinary perspectives of economists, mass communication scholars, and political scientists. The lab offers an innovative approach to original public opinion research on behalf of policy makers, state and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, media outlets, and academicians. It is a partnership of the Manship School of Mass Communications Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs and the E. J. Ourso College of Business.
- The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs provides symposia, forums and research on the relationships between the media and social, economic and political issues.
- The Office of Community Design & Development in the College of Art & Design, provides architectural, landscape, and interior design services, as well as community planning, technical assistance, and educational outreach to local communities, housing authorities, and community development corporations.
- The Office of Sea Grant Development communicates the results of marine and coastal research through practical assistance, educational programs, and various media products. Public service efforts are conducted through the Sea Grant Legal Program, Marine Extension Services, Advisory Services in Marine Recreation and Tourism, and the Communications Office.
- The Office of Social Service Research & Development assists social service agencies in the areas of research, program evaluation, program development, grant writing, technical assistance, information, specialized training, and advocacy activities.
- The School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Teaching Hospital & Clinics offers tertiary, secondary, and primary care services for animals of the pet-owning public and animal industries of Louisiana and surrounding states. Specialty services in large and small animal internal medicine and surgery, cardiology, dermatology, avian and exotic animal medicine, radiation and medical oncology, ophthalmology, radiology, pathology, and theriogenology are available.
- The Applied Math Clinic, offered by the Dept. of Mathematics, works on mathematical modeling projects for local industries and provides “real-world” experience for advanced undergraduate math majors as a capstone experience.
The University also offers numerous cultural and entertainment events, including lectures, musical performances, and plays, to the community each year. In the College of Music & Dramatic Arts, the Department of Theatre and Swine Palace Productions present 10-12 theatrical productions, each of which runs over extended periods of time. The School of Music presents more than 250 recitals and concerts, many of which are free to the campus community and general public. These latter offerings include fully staged operas; choral, band, jazz, and orchestral concerts; and faculty and student recitals. In addition, LSU’s museums—including the Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural Science, and the unique Rural Life Museum and Windrush Gardens—are open to all citizens.
