Office of
Academic Affairs
Interim Executive Vice President & Provost Troy Blanchard
Troy Blanchard currently serves as the Interim Executive Vice President & Provost of Louisiana State University. Blanchard, the Chief Operating and Chief Academic Officer of LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, maintains executive oversight over instruction, student support, and research while simultaneously serving as the chief academic officer for all LSU campuses across the state and chief academic advisor to the President.
Blanchard joined the faculty of the LSU Department of Sociology in 2007 and has since held multiple leadership positions, most notably serving as dean of the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS)—one of LSU’s largest colleges— from 2019 through 2025.
Academic Enterprise
The Office of Academic Affairs supports the Executive Vice President & Provost in ensuring university excellence in learning, discovery, and engagement. The office works closely with the faculty senate and the president to advance LSU using a shared governance model. We also make communication and transparency a hallmark of the office. Lastly, the essence of our academic core--our faculty and staff--are preeminent in everything we do.
LSU ELEMENTS & DISCOVERY
LSU's faculty information system, Elements, allows for robust faculty activity data collection, maintenance and reporting on the teaching, research and service activities while the Discovery Module provides an interface for faculty collaboration and integration which allows collaborators to connect with faculty.
LSU astrophysicist Eric Burns is among scientists poring over data from NASA satellites and other facilities as they try to determine what caused an extraordinary cosmic outburst discovered July 2. Burns offers insight into the discovery.
Five LSU researchers are included in Clarivate’s list of Highly Cited Researchers of 2025, having demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields of research, based on citations of their published papers and expert judgement of their research impact.
Zuo “George” Xue, a professor in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment, reflects on the future of flood forecasting and innovations in how we protect our coastal communities in the face of intensifying storms.
Louisiana’s economy relies on metals and ceramics that can withstand extreme temperatures, pressure, and corrosion. At LSU’s EPIC Lab, researchers are investigating how to make metals and ceramics stronger, safer, and more reliable.
LSU assistant professor and researcher Aaron Bivins' lab recently published results from its deployment of a low-cost passive wastewater sampler that uses small pellets of activated charcoal to capture microorganisms from water for testing.
Dr. Juhee Haam is an assistant professor in LSU’s Department of Biological Sciences, whose research focuses on understanding memory and identifying brain health factors critical to preserving memory. She says sleep quality is critical for memory formation and preservation.