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Southeastern Louisiana University

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Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it became known as Southeastern Louisiana College. It achieved university status in 1970.

Southeastern Louisiana University
Former names
Hammond Junior College (1925–1928)
Southeastern Louisiana College (1928–1970)[1]
MottoFidelitas Integritas Fortitudo
Motto in English
Fidelity, Integrity, Fortitude
TypePublic university
Established1925; 99 years ago (1925)
Parent institution
UL System
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
Endowment$22.6 million (2021)[2]
PresidentWilliam S. Wainwright
Academic staff
501 full-time and 117 part-time[3]
Students14,298 (fall 2018)[3]
Undergraduates13,331[3]
Postgraduates967[3]
Location
Hammond, Louisiana
,
U.S.

30°30′50″N 90°28′06″W / 30.51389°N 90.46833°W / 30.51389; -90.46833
CampusUrban
ColorsGreen and gold[4]
   
NicknameLions and Lady Lions
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division I FCS – Southland
MascotRoomie the Lion
Websitewww.southeastern.edu

In the fall of 2019 there were 14,298 students enrolled. During the 1990s, Southeastern was one of the fastest-growing colleges in the United States.[5] The university is the third largest in Louisiana, trailing only LSU and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.[6]

Southeastern's colors are green and gold, and the mascot is a lion named Roomie. Southeastern's sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (FCS for football) in the Southland Conference.

History

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Commons Area in Southeastern's War Memorial Student Union
 
Fayard Hall, completed in 2001

Hammond Junior College was created in 1925. It was managed by the Tangipahoa Parish School Board and initially offered only a teaching certificate. The college moved to the Hunter Leake estate in north Hammond in 1927 to accommodate more students. The following year, its name changed to Southeastern Louisiana College and it joined the state's educational system under the state's board of education. The campus grew in the late 1920s and 1930s with the purchase of 60 acres (240,000 m2) and the construction of McGehee Hall and a gymnasium.

McGehee Hall, Southeastern Louisiana State University
 
 
 
 
LocationSoutheastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana
Coordinates30°30′42″N 90°28′02″W / 30.5116°N 90.4671°W / 30.5116; -90.4671
Area365 acres (148 ha)
Built1934
ArchitectWeiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth
Architectural styleColonial Revival, Other, Neo-Georgian
NRHP reference No.85000094[7]
Added to NRHPJanuary 18, 1985

Lucius McGehee Hall was built in 1935. As of 2009 it is the oldest building constructed by the university. McGehee Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The college's curricular offerings increased significantly in 1937 when the college received approval to offer bachelor's degrees. The first ones were awarded two years later.

 
Part of the campus, looking east: Zachary Taylor Hall (left foreground), Tangipahoa Hall (middle), Linus A. Sims Memorial Library (right)

Although Act 388 in 1938, an amendment to the 1920 Louisiana Constitution, granted the college the same legal status as other four-year colleges in the state, it did not provide for increased funding for the college.

In 1946 the college received initial accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Subsequent enrollment growth following the end of World War II required additional expansion and construction. This included the use of two steel barracks donated to the college; these were used as dormitories and named McNeely Hall (which was demolished in 2007).

 
Friendship Circle on Southeastern's campus is dominated by Friendship Oak.

The college's curricular offerings grew again in 1960 when the college established the Division of Graduate Studies. The college awarded its first graduate degree in 1967, the Education Specialist degree. The college completed the War Memorial Student Union in the mid-1960s; it claims to be "the only student union building in the United States dedicated to alumni who died in World War II." In 1970, the institution officially became Southeastern Louisiana University.

After years of planning and fundraising, the Southeastern Louisiana University Center was constructed. An 8000-seat (more if the floor level is used) arena, the University Center hosts all home basketball games and a variety of civic, cultural, and big-name entertainment events.

 
McGehee Hall's intricate masonry of the southwest corner

Fanfare, a festival celebrating the arts, humanities, and sciences, was begun in October 1986 by university faculty. It has grown into a month-long event.

In 1996 SLU joined the University of Louisiana System.

The university began to implement screened admissions standards in the fall of 2000. The following year, Southeastern took ownership of the historic Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond. The theater is operated by a separate foundation and presents a variety of theatrical works, concerts, and dance performances.[8]

 
Southeastern's main entrance

Southeastern Louisiana University played an important role in supporting students in the state and region in 2005. The university was not damaged by Hurricane Katrina so it was able to host nearly two thousand students from areas that were effected. A fountain was dedicated in 2007 to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita; as of 2009 it is the only such memorial fountain in existence.

 
Southeastern's parking garage, fitted to Strawberry Stadium
 
Southeastern President John L. Crain addresses the Faculty Senate.

Southeastern offers has its University Center for commencement exercises of high schools throughout the Northshore Region[9] and actively encouraging area high school students to continue on to the university level.[10]

Southeastern owns the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Hammond's Historic District. First opened in 1928, the Columbia was acquired by the university in the 1990s and renovated in the amount of $5.6 million. The large foyer is dedicated to the late State Senator John Hainkel, who was instrumental in obtaining the funding for the renovation.

Academics

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Academic rankings
Master's
Washington Monthly[11]370
Regional
U.S. News & World Report[12]RNP (South)
National
Forbes[13]611

Southeastern Louisiana University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award degrees at the Associate, Baccalaureate and Master's levels. Southeastern has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1946.

 
Medallion commemorating the 1930s governorship of Richard W. Leche at Strawberry Stadium

Southeastern consists of five colleges with 18 academic departments and programs offering over 60 degree programs.[14]

Southeastern's state-of-the-art Sims Library houses several important collections, including the Morrison Room, the Rayburn Collection, the Pineywoods People Exhibits, and the Center for Regional Studies.The Bill Evans archives are housed at the library.

The campus is also home for the state's sole commemoration of the governorship (1936–1939) of Richard W. Leche (1898–1965). It is a large medallion on the north exterior wall of the east side of Strawberry Stadium.

Southeastern offers nursing curricula in Hammond and Baton Rouge. In a consortium with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Southeastern offers a master of science in nursing.

Southeastern became a doctoral-granting institution in 2005 with the inauguration of a doctor of education in higher education leadership.

Southeastern's business programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The Southeastern Business School is located in Garret Hall. Southeastern was the first institution in Louisiana to achieve AACSB's separate and special accreditation in accounting[permanent dead link‍] Graduates of both the MBA program and the Executive MBA program are serving widely in education and industry.

In the aftermath of Tulane University's post-Katrina decision to close several engineering programs including computer engineering, Southeastern received approval from the Louisiana Board of Regents to develop an undergraduate curriculum in engineering technology within the Department of Computer Science & Industrial Technology.

Campus locations

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Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne speaking in the Twelve Oaks Cafeteria in 2012

Student life

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Fraternities and sororities

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There are 19 national or international social Greek letter organizations governed by three councils.[15]

Greek life

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Panhellenic Council

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Interfraternity Council

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National Panhellenic Council

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Athletics

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Southeastern eight-lane all-weather track
Main article: Southeastern Louisiana Lions

Southeastern Louisiana sponsors 16 NCAA Division I level varsity teams compete in the Southland Conference.

Southeastern has several state-of-the-art athletic facilities, including an eight-lane all-weather running track completed in 2011 (see inset).

Media

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Southeastern's major campus media and publications are the Lion's Roar (newspaper), KSLU (FM radio station), ByLion (weekly online publication), the Southeastern Channel (public access cable television channel), and Le Souvenir (official yearbook).

The Lion's Roar is the official newspaper of the students of Southeastern Louisiana University and has been in continuous publication since 1937.[16] ByLion newsletter is published weekly online for faculty and staff.[17] Le Souvenir is the student yearbook, published annually by students. Le Souvenir (French for "the memory") has been in continuous publication since 1929.[18]

Southeastern's KSLU-FM radio station began operation on November 11, 1974, as a radio club at the university. In 1988, KSLU became the first radio station in the South to install a digital touchscreen operating system. The installation was featured in Broadcast Engineering magazine.[citation needed] In 1993, an emergency-situation room was added using amateur radio equipment purchased with grants from State Farm Insurance and Louisiana Power & Light (a subsidiary of Entergy). During critical times, this room is staffed by local ham operators, members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in the Florida Parishes area. In 1996 KSLU began broadcasting globally via the internet.[19] A job at KSLU was the start of the media career of Robin Roberts.[20]

The Southeastern Channel officially began July 9, 2002. It won four Telly Awards in 2007. Staff member Steve Zaffuto won two Bronze Tellys for animation of "Native Sounds" and "Current Events" promotions, and Josh Kapusinski won a first-place Silver Telly for animation and a Bronze Telly for editing the "Florida Parish Chronicles" promo. Josh Kapusinski's "Florida Parish Chronicles" promo won a 2006 Emmy Award in the Suncoast Region.[21]

Notable people

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Alumni

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Faculty

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References

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  1. ^ "HISTORY". southeastern.edu. Southeastern Louisiana University. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Data USA: Southeastern Louisiana University". Data USA. October 21, 2023. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Southeastern Louisiana University College Navigator page". National Center for Education Statistics. 2020. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  4. ^ SLU Academic Style Guide (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  5. ^ "Southeastern Louisiana University - SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation". www2.southeastern.edu. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  6. ^ "Southeastern Louisiana University". US News Best Colleges. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "National Register Information System – (#85000094)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  8. ^ "About Us". Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  9. ^ Billy Turner, "Five Northshore High seniors face a dilemma, but they think they're on the right track" Archived May 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine in Times-Picayune (New Orleans), 2009 May 9, Saint Tammany Edition, pp. A1, A10.
  10. ^ Kia Hall Hayes, "Sneak preview at SLU: High schoolers see what's in store"[permanent dead link‍] in Times-Picayune, 2009 May 9, Saint Tammany Edition, pp. B1-B2.
  11. ^ "2024 Master's Universities Rankings". Washington Monthly. August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "2024-2025 Best Regional Universities Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. September 23, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  13. ^ "America's Top Colleges 2024". Forbes. September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  14. ^ Southeastern Louisiana University. (2015). [1] Archived September 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ "Fraternity and Sorority Life". www.southeastern.edu. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  16. ^ The Lion's Roar Newspaper Archived April 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ^ Southeastern Louisiana University. (2007). ByLion Archived August 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ^ Southeastern Louisiana University. (2006). Le Souvenir Archived September 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ^ Southeastern Louisiana University. (2006). 90.9 KSLU History Archived October 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ^ "Robin Roberts takes you back to school". Good Morning America. September 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  21. ^ Southeastern Louisiana University. (2007). Southeastern Channel wins four Telly awards Archived August 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
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