Dean Cynthia Peterson Receives 2018 Jacobs Professor of Excellence Award
Dean Cynthia Peterson, Amanda Knost, operations advisor Jacobs ECR North America;
Michael Authement, vice president of operations – Jacobs Baton Rouge, and Kenneth
Miles, assistant vice chancellor of Academic Affairs and executive director, Cox Communications
Academic Center for Student-Athletes. Photo Credit: Meredith Keating, LSU College of Science
Cynthia Peterson, dean of the LSU College of Science and Seola Arnaud and Richard V. Edwards Jr. Professor, has been awarded the 2018 Jacobs Professor of Excellence Award. Peterson was presented the award during an on-field presentation just before the LSU versus Mississippi State football game on Saturday, October 20.
“I am honored and humbled to be the 2018 recipient of the Jacobs’ Professor of Excellence Award. The values that Jacobs places on innovation, vision, and technical competency inspire leaders in higher education,” said Peterson. “My recognition for this award can be attributed to my wonderful colleagues, the faculty and staff in the LSU College of Science who embody excellence and are committed to our students. Those students are the future leaders of our great state and nation.”
Peterson is a proud LSU alumnus having earned a bachelor’s of science degree from LSU and a PhD in biochemistry from the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. Her area of expertise is the biophysical and protein chemistry of important circulatory and tissue-localized human proteins that regulate the formation and breakdown of blood clots.
Dean Peterson returned to LSU in 2014 as the first woman to lead LSU’s College of Science. In her time at LSU, she has launched a number of successful initiatives to grow the number of women and underrepresented minority faculty and students. She has also led efforts to improve undergraduate and graduate recruitment in math and science programs and create an environment that supports research that makes our state stronger, has a positive impact on our economy, and provides a rich learning and research environment for our future scientists.
This past summer, Dean Peterson was named among the city’s top Influential Women in Business by the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.