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Gov. Mike Foster late last month appointed William W. Rucks IV to the LSU Board of Supervisors.
Rucks is an investor and venture capitalist. In 1985, Rucks co-founded Flores & Rucks Inc., a publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production company that later became Ocean Energy Inc., one of the largest independent oil and gas concerns in the world. He served as vice chairman, president and director of the company until he retired in 1996.
"Billy Rucks is the kind of accomplished young businessman with the energy and love of LSU that will make him a visionary board member. He has shown his commitment to LSU through significant donations of his time and talents. I am delighted that he has agreed to serve as an LSU board member," Foster said.
Rucks graduated from LSU in 1979 and began his career as a petroleum landman with Union Oil Company of California. He remained with Union Oil until 1985, when he joined forces with his childhood friend, James C. Flores, to form a land management company that would eventually becomes Flores & Rucks Inc.
In 1998, Rucks was inducted into the Hall of Distinction of LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration. He was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction in 1999. In 1996, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted to name LSU's Department of Management the William W. and Catherine M. Rucks Department of Management.
"Billy Rucks is a fine young man who has shown not only great corporate leadership, but who has agreed to openly and generously share his significant talents for the purpose of advancing higher education in the state of Louisiana," said William Jenkins, LSU System President. "We are truly honored to have him join the board."
Rucks currently serves on the LSU Department of Management Executive Advisory Council, the LSU College of Business Administration Executive Advisory Council and is a member of the LSU Leadership Team. He also serves on the board of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette College of Business Administration Executive Advisory Council.
Rucks is also serving on the boards of directors of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Centre, Petroquest Energy Inc., OMNI Energy Services Inc., Moreno Energy Services and the Lake Austin Spa Resort Inc. He was formerly on the boards of Ocean Energy Inc., Bank One of Acadiana and the United Way of Acadiana.
Rucks is a native of Lafayette and is married to the former Catherine Ann May, who also attended LSU. They have two children, William W. Rucks V and Lane A. Rucks.
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New numbers issued to Vet School The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine has implemented a phone number rollover starting Dec. 11 that affects referring veterinarians and individual clients trying to reach the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Clinics. Individuals who call the old numbers with the 346- prefix will be informed of the changes and directed to the new numbers. The following are the new teaching hospital numbers and main school contacts: Small Animal Clinic: 578-9600 For more information regarding the phone rollover, contact the SVM Office of Public Programs at 578-9870. |
The Louisiana Board of Regents has approved a proposal by the School of Veterinary Medicine to reorganize the school's departmental academic structure. The plan was accepted at the board's Dec. 6 meeting.
Veterinary school administrators proposed changing the academic structure from six discipline-based departments to three consolidated departments to create pre-eminent research departments, provide more flexibility in research and graduate international programs and maximize use of school funds. The school decided that reorganization was necessary to establish a more efficient administrative structure and to create a structure that stimulates and enhances research activity.
The approved academic realignment will retain the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and combine the five remaining departments. The Department of Veterinary Science will no longer exist as a department at the veterinary school, but will remain on the main campus. The realignment will not require additional faculty or staff, and administrative and service units within the school will not be affected by the new academic structure.
Comparative Biomedical Sciences will include the former departments of Veterinary Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Veterinary Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology. Pathobiological Sciences will include the departments of Epidemiology and Community Health, Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology and Veterinary Pathology. Veterinary Clinical Sciences will remain unchanged.
"The current configuration of the veterinary departments has been in place since the school's opening in 1973. The discipline-oriented departments provided faculty with a sense of identity and focus during the formative years of the school when teaching and service were the primary goals. As the school has matured, our teaching of graduate and professional students and delivery of clinical veterinary and commodity-based services have become well established. The school now needs to enhance its research presence within the University as well as nationally and internationally," Veterinary School Dean Michael Groves said in his executive summary to the Board of Supervisors.
In addition, the executive summary outlined specific missions for each department. Comparative Biomedical Sciences will advance the understanding of normal structural components and physiological processes at the organism, cellular and molecular levels. Pathobiological Sciences will work to define the epidemiology and pathogenesis of physiologic and infectious diseases. Veterinary Clinical Sciences will define unknown aspects of disease processes in clinical settings and expand these observations with experimental studies when possible.
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| James Trott |
James W. Trott, associate dean of the College of Agriculture, has been named interim dean of students.
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Daniel M. Fogel announced the appointment, which became effective Dec. 1, 2000.
Fogel said Trott is an excellent choice to serve as interim dean.
"He has had great experience in working with students over the years and has served in a variety of administrative positions. He also holds an impressive background in research and public service."
Fogel said Trott will serve until a permanent dean can be found. He replaces Dr. John Baker, who recently stepped down as interim dean to return to teaching in the philosophy and religious studies department. Baker assumed the post after Thomas J. Risch resigned in May 1998.
The search for a permanent dean is ongoing, Fogel said, and the University hopes to have a permanent dean in place by June 30, 2001.
The previous service committee was unable to reach a consensus after interviewing several candidates. A new search committee is being formed to continue the search, Fogel said.
Former director of the LSU School of Vocational Education, Trott has served as associate dean of the College of Agriculture since 1992.
Trott joined LSU in 1978 after an academic stint at Auburn University where he received his bachelor's degree in industrial arts education and a master's and doctorate in vocational and adult education with an emphasis in educational administration.
In addition to being active in several professional organizations, he has served on numerous committees and worked with programs and initiatives within LSU and the LSU Agricultural Center.
He has served on Governors' task forces on vocational education and adult education and has consulted for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce.
During his tenure as associate dean, the College of Agriculture became the first senior college at LSU to admit freshmen directly to the senior college.
A course was implemented for entering agriculture freshmen designed to help them make the transition from high school to college, sharpen their time management and study skills, and make the best use of the resources available to them at LSU.
The College of Agriculture has been a campus leader in implementing writing-across- the-curriculum programs that are designed to provide graduates with exceptionally strong written and oral communication skills and the teaching of sections of business writing and technical writing courses that are designed to meet the particular needs of students in the food and agricultural sciences.
Veteran journalism educator Ralph S. Izard will join the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication as its new associate dean for graduate studies and research.
"Ralph Izard is one of the most respected educators in our field," said Manship School Dean John Hamilton in making the announcement. "He combines strong professional experience and scholarly achievement. No one is better qualified to build our doctoral program. He will also provide strong leadership for our new Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs."
Following a two-year term with the Media Studies Center/First Amendment Center in New York as Freedom Forum fellow, Izard now is professor emeritus with the Institute for International Journalism at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.
He previously served Ohio University for 32 years as a faculty member, including 12 years as director of the Scripps School of Journalism.
In New York, Izard was online editor of publications and coordinator of the International Initiative for Journalism Education. Author or editor of three books, Izard's articles include several on journalism ethics and professional development in journalism.
Included in his journalistic background is work for two newspapers and four bureaus of the Associated Press.
He has served as a consultant for the United States Information Service in the South Pacific and for Mitchell College of Advanced Education in Australia and has conducted professional journalism workshops on five continents.
He was president in 1992-93 of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and vice president for campus chapter affairs of the Society of Professional Journalists from 1976 to 1979. In 1985 he received the Wells Memorial Key, SPJ's highest national award for service.
This year the Manship School launched two new programs: the first doctoral program in the country devoted exclusively to media and politics and the Reilly Center, which is devoted to research to promote public discourse.
The first doctoral class includes a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, the former foreign editor of the New York Times Web page and the youngest journalist to head a news bureau for a newspaper in India.
Izard recently completed 12 years as editor of Newspaper Research Journal. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Illinois. He will join the LSU Manship School Aug. 1.
For more information, call Linda Rewerts at 578-2177.
The LSU Paralegal Studies Program graduated eight students on Dec. 20, 2000, during a morning ceremony at the LSU Union.
Amos H. Davis, attorney at law and partner in the law firm of Smith & Davis L.L.P., was the speaker. Daniel C. Walsh, dean of continuing education, also addressed the graduates and their families.
The graduates were recognized for completing eight college-level courses, an internship and a legal-ethics seminar and are listed below:
Barbra D. Anastasio, Katherine Eustis Byrd, Allison H. Coogler, Julie M. Fontenot, Judy Fuller Harper of Baton Rouge; Linda H. Graham of Prairieville; Cynthia Nguyen of New Orleans; and Carolyn Crayton Matthews of Pickens, Miss.
Allison Coogler of Baton Rouge was awarded an honor-student certificate for maintaining an overall 4.0 grade-point average.
Begun in 1982, the Paralegal Studies Program is part of the LSU Division of Continuing Education. It is the only non-credit, certificate program approved by the American Bar Association in Louisiana.
For more information, contact program coordinator Charlotte DesHotels at 578-6760.
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences will establish a partnership with the Capital Area Animal Welfare Society through an endowment from Paula Garvey Manship.
Manship became interested in establishing the Arabella Fund Endowment through her niece, Nadine Carter-Russell, a long-time member of the animal welfare society.
The endowment will help LSU and the animal welfare society to provide medical treatment for animals, increase educational opportunities for veterinary students and create more service-learning community projects.
LSU veterinarians will assist by spaying and neutering animals and providing basic veterinary care to the animals before they are adopted. Manship has previously made similar gifts to the veterinary teaching hospital and equine intensive-care unit.
CAAWS is a non-profit organization created in 1979 to address the pet population problem in Baton Rouge and to help prevent animal suffering. Its primary function is to find responsible and loving homes for abandoned animals, and it also strongly advocates the spaying and neutering of all pets.
"These funds will be dedicated to reaching common goals between the Vet School and CAAWS. Because CAAWS requires veterinary services, this will help significantly with their daily operations in caring for the animals," said Dr. David Senior, head of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.
According to CAAWS volunteer Kim Cornelison, many of the animals cared for by CAAWS are sick with common diseases, such as ringworm and heart worms, making veterinary bills a major expense for the organization. CAAWS anticipates that this endowment will significantly help reduce veterinary care costs, freeing up their funds for humane education and spay/neuter programs.
"Much of Baton Rouge's pet population problem is based on the community's apathy or ignorance about responsible pet ownership. Until this apathy changes, the current euthanasia rates are unlikely to change. By partnering with LSU veterinary school in educational pursuits, CAAWS hopes to reach out to the community more effectively than it has done in the past," Cornelison said.
"Service-learning projects, aimed at reducing the East Baton Rouge loose dog and cat population, is another anticipated goal of the partnership," Senior said.
Service-learning projects are community service activities linked to courses at LSU. Students implement and run the programs and receive grades based upon their performance.
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The Holiday Decoration Committee held its annual decoration contest in December. Campus departments could compete in three categories: door decoration, office entrance and bulletin board. This year's competition featured a total of 24 participating departments. The winners were the Department of Biological Sciences in the door decoration and bulletin board, shown above and right, and the Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching for the category of office entrance, shown left. Those serving on the decoration committee were Lettie Becnel, Experimental Statistics; Jody Bissett, College of Agriculture; Ginger Conrad, Speech Communication; Mark Ewing, Budget and Planning; Vicky Tiller, Human Ecology; and Brenda Whittenberg, Sea Grant. Eliska Larimore, Human Ecology, served as the committee chair. | |