Brij Mohan
Professor of Social Work
Professor of Social Work
LSU'S Biweekly Newsletter for Faculty & Staff
February 9, 2007 |
VOL. 23, NO. 11 |
|
| Brij Mohan Professor of Social Work |
What were your previous positions and where?
I was a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Lucknow in India.
What are your research interests?
My research interests range from existential social work to international and comparative social work. Our National Association of Social Workers formally recognized me as “Social Work Pioneer.”
What brought you to LSU?
I chose LSU for many reasons. I received strong support from former Dean Bernard Wiest and Professors Emeriti Robert A. Perkins and Susan Dawson and was impressed by Wiest’s Columbia University background and my mentors’ affiliations with Columbia University, New York. I also preferred the campus’s sprawling oaks and blooming camellias while Oshkosh-Wisconsin was buried under 18 inches of snow on the day of my interview at LSU!
What do you enjoy most about LSU?
Teaching – I love my students, their feedback and support; opportunities for research and creative writing; the lagustrum scented campus, its design and classic beauty; an occasional lecture on the top of the Indian mounds or in the stairs of the open Greek theater.
AA proposed amendment to the general pricing policy for home football games was the major topic of January’s meeting of the LSU Board of Supervisors.
Athletic Director Skip Bertman presented the plan, which calls for ticket prices to increase from $36 to $45 for Southeastern Conference games as well as non-conference “premium games,” with tickets to other non-conference dates increased to $40. Reserved gameday parking permits will also increase in price.
Bertman explained to the board’s athletic committee that the price increase plan will seek to accomplish four goals: managing the increasing costs of home games, helping the athletic department to remain competitive in revenues, helping to pay for the continued development of athletic facilities and expanding the department’s reserve funds.
“Without those reserves, we never would have gotten through the football season following Hurricane Katrina,” said Bertman.
LSU’s current reserve fund of $3.25 million ranks seventh in the SEC. Georgia’s reserve fund leads the conference at $26 million.
Bertman also said that gameday expenses for football, including security and trash pickup on campus, have increased by $750,000 since 2004.
“It’s hard to do this,” said athletic committee chair Marty Chabert. “But we have to with these expenses going up. I don’t like it, but I’m convinced that it’s something we have to do.”
Not all members of the committee agreed, as Louis J. Lambert cast a dissenting vote.
Board Chair Rod West also cited a need for analysis of potential changes to the ticket pricing policy at earlier dates, to which Chancellor Sean O’Keefe suggested that the board consider re-examining the ticket policy on a yearly basis.
“That’s a challenge we are willing to undertake to help bring this process along,” O’Keefe said.
Other actions taken at the January meeting included the swearing in of new board member Stanley J. Jacobs of New Orleans, who takes over for Charles Cusimano.
The board also approved the establishment of the Wedon T. Smith Professorship in Civil Law at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
Three LSU departments rank in the top 10 in faculty productivity ratings, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
LSU ranked in the top 10 research universities in the fields of kinesiology and exercise science, food science and mass communications/media studies, in Academic Analytics’ 2005 Faculty Scholarly Production Index, which was published in The Chronicle.
The kinesiology program ranked third, while food science ranked fifth and mass communication eighth.
To compile the rankings Academic Analytics used a formula of faculty productivity to score university departments in the areas of publications – such as books, articles and citations by faculty members – federal grant dollars and awards and honors earned.
Kinesiology scored a 1.43, only .37 behind the top-ranked program at the University of South Carolina.
“I am proud of our faculty achievement in attaining national prominence,” said M. Jayne Fleener, dean of the College of Education, which oversees the kinesiology department. “This ranking is an example of their dedication to advancing the university’s flagship agenda and a reflection of their hard work and commitment to making a difference in the lives of so many.”
Food science, a department within the College of Agriculture, had a score of 1.55 and placed ahead of other state universities such as the universities of Florida and Wisconsin. Top-ranked Cornell had a score of 1.68.
“Our Food Science program has made significant advances in research,” said Kenneth L. Koonce, dean of the College of Agriculture. “The quantification of productivity and the high national ranking are evidence of the quality of our program in food science.”
The Manship School of Mass Communication had a score of 0.83, finishing just 0.8 behind Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. Pennsylvania State University at College Park was the top-ranked program with a score of 2.35.
“We have worked hard to increase our productivity and it has paid off. I’m proud of our faculty for achieving this status,” said Dean John Hamilton of the Manship School.
The rankings are available at The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Web site at http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/ page.php?institution=50&byinst=Go.
 |
| CCT Professor Thomas Sterling, left, gives a demonstration of the technology behind his “Introduction to High Performance Computing” course at the University of Arkansas on Dec. 18. Sterling conversed with CCT Director Ed Seidel, right, via high-speed Internet connections and HDTV streaming. |
When LSU computer science and Center for Computation & Technology, or CCT, Professor Thomas Sterling took to the podium Jan. 16 to teach his first class of the Spring 2007 semester, he was seen not only by the 27 LSU students in the class, but by many other students across the country and internationally as well.
Sterling’s new class, “Introduction to High-Performance Computing,” marks the first use of high-definition video broadcast via the Internet for distributed classroom instruction in the United States. The course represents the first use of such technology for intra-campus instruction.
“Introduction to High-Performance Computing” offers an interdisciplinary look at this emerging field and will be offered for credit through the LSU Computer Science Department to students at Louisiana Tech University, the University of Arkansas and Masryk University in the Czech Republic. Sterling’s lessons will be broadcast via high -definition television to students at these sites.
Sterling developed this course to address the “graying of the high-performance computing industry,” meaning there are not enough college graduates today who are trained in this field to fill jobs as others retire.
Also, many universities do not offer this course simply because they do not have the staff or resources to teach it, which deprives many students of the opportunity to learn about this field.
“With this course, we’re creating a level playing field,” Sterling said. “We are providing the opportunity for students with different professional goals to get the foundation they need.”
The initial course offering this spring is only at LSU and the four schools listed above, but Sterling plans to export the course to more students next year. Sterling is also in the process of writing a textbook and developing a series of DVDs and a Podcast of his lectures so that it will be easier to transmit the material around the world.
CCT Director Ed Seidel and Sterling conducted a demonstration of the technology that will be used for this class on Monday, Dec. 18, at the University of Arkansas for Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and other distinguished guests.
Sterling gave a presentation in Fayetteville that could be observed at LSU about how supercomputing is the new key to business development, while Seidel conversed with participants via HDTV streaming from LSU.
LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame during a special ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 27, in Winnfield, La., at the Louisiana Political Museum & Hall of Fame.
O’Keefe was one of eight Louisiana public figures to receive this recognition for 2007. Other inductees included Sen. Mary Landrieu, University of Louisiana System President Sally Clausen and former legislator and Speaker of the House Gen. Huntington “Hunt” Downer.
Inductees were chosen by a statewide selection committee based on the impact they have had on the politics of Louisiana. The Louisiana Political Museum & Hall of Fame will add memorabilia about the lives and political careers of the inductees to its permanent collection.
The museum is located in Winnfield, La., which is the hometown of former Louisiana governor Huey P. Long.
 |
| CCT Professor Thomas Sterling, left, gives a demonstration of the technology behind his “Introduction to High Performance Computing” course at the University of Arkansas on Dec. 18. Sterling conversed with CCT Director Ed Seidel, right, via high-speed Internet connections and HDTV streaming. |
The LSU Museum of Art traveling exhibition “Vanishing Wetlands: Two Views,” featuring the work of Louisiana wildlife photographer C C Lockwood and Louisiana artist Rhea Gary, is now on display in the nation’s capital until May 13.
The exhibit is housed in the Conservatory of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. – the oldest botanic garden in North America. The exhibit, which corresponds with Lockwood and Gary’s popular coffee-table book, “Marsh Mission: Capturing the Vanishing Wetlands” by LSU Press, features wildlife and wetland photos and paintings by Lockwood and Gary.
The Baton Rouge artists spent a year roaming through Louisiana marshes and wetlands by boat to document the unique terrain and its inhabitants. Some two dozen corporate, educational and governmental sponsors, particularly Louisiana Sea Grant, helped to make the expedition possible.
The exhibit is being displayed in Washington, D.C., to help raise awareness of Louisiana’s coastal wetland loss and to stimulate discussion among members of Congress and the nation about the need for national assistance in restoring the wetlands. The exhibit is being sponsored by LSU and the U.S. Botanic Garden, is presented by Shell Oil Company and is being shown in the historic garden at the request of U.S. Rep. Richard Baker.
The kickoff ceremony was held on Jan. 24, at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Speakers at the kickoff event included Sean O’Keefe, LSU chancellor; Laura Lindsay, interim executive director of the LSU Museum of Art; Holly Shimizu, executive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden; and Sara Glenn, Shell senior Washington counsel. Members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation and other government and industry representatives were also in attendance. Shell sponsored the kickoff event, and associate sponsors included Larry Franceski and Amanda DeBusk, Charlie Richardson and the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program.
The U.S. Botanic Garden is the fourth stop for the “Vanishing Wetlands” exhibit. When it leaves the garden, it will move on to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. While in Washington, D.C., the exhibit will be open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. free of charge.
The U.S. Botanic Garden was established by Congress in 1820 and moved to its present location in 1933. For more information on the garden or the exhibit visit the Web site of the U.S. Botanic Garden at http://www.usbg.gov/.