Message from the Chancellor (January 23, 2012)
Each New Year brings the hope and promise of bright futures, new rewards and fewer challenges. LSUA began this academic year by offering classes in the new Multipurpose Academic Center (MPAC) and by hosting the first theatrical performance in the MPAC’s Black Box Theatre. Please enjoy a visual tour of the MPAC opening ceremonies.
This wonderful facility is now home to four academic departments and is the center of course offerings that comprise the bulk of the undergraduate core curriculum. The facilities include:
- 58 faculty offices
- 17 new classrooms
- 12 classrooms seating for 30 students.
- 2 classrooms seating for 85 students.
- 2 classrooms seating for 48 students.
- 1 “methods” classroom with seating for 30 students in Teacher Education.
- Computer Lab/Writing Lab for 20 students and study room for 6 students.
- Digital Media and Digital Photography Laboratory
- Painting/Drawing studio for 30 students.
- Ceramics studio for 24 students with kiln room and outdoor ceramics yard.
- Photography suite with lecture and work area for 20 students.
- Archive storage for LSUA permanent art collection.
- Chorale Room/Theatre rehearsal space.
- 4 music practice rooms with storage area.
- Black Box Theatre seating 175 persons; control booth, lighting, equipment system.
- Theatre support space: design rooms, costume shop, scenery shop and loading area.
- 3 office/studios for art faculty.
- 4 departmental office suites.
- Every classroom is a “Smart Classroom,” fully equipped with teaching and learning technology.
The completion of the Multipurpose Academic Center is complemented by the expansion of the Quadrangle. The final stage of this overall project calls for the removal of Jerry Myrick Drive (between Grady Britt Drive and Middleton Drive), expanding the Quadrangle’s green space, adding walkways from the MPAC to the center of the Quadrangle and creating the Jerry Myrick Plaza between the MPAC and the Brumfield-Caffey Annex. This latter plaza will include a passenger drop-off facility on Middleton Drive that will serve visitors to the MPAC, the Black Box Theatre and the Brumfield-Caffey Annex.
One project that will have little effect on the physical environment of LSU Alexandria, but manifold impacts on learning and administrative processes is the Network and Telephone Cabling Infrastructure Project. When completed, this project will have cost $2.6 million and all networks, routers, switches and fiber optic cabling will have been replaced. The initial phases of the project have begun with the replacement of the fiber optic cables on campus. Teaching, research and learning at LSUA will be enhanced with new network components, greater information bandwidth and significant capacity for expansion.
On Friday, January 20, 2012 we announced the completion of the LSUA Walking Trail. This 2.5 mile loop around and through parts of the campus is noteworthy on several dimensions; recreational walkers and joggers can enjoy the paths that wind through the beautiful Live Oak Trees, named for those who cared deeply for the mission of LSUA; the Trail enables walkers to pause and enjoy the water features of the campus and also skirts the edge of the beautiful Oakland Plantation Golf Course; a special exercise path is integrated into the Trail for those who wish to incorporate aerobic exercise; and, there are markers along the Trail indicating locations of structures which existed when the site was home to the Oakland Plantation. LSU Alexandria is especially thankful to The Rapides Foundation which funded the design and construction of the portion of the Trail that loops around the Baseball and Softball Complex.
Planning for the future entails more than technology upgrades, new buildings and campus beautification. Fundamental to all universities is the stature of its library as a central point of university learning. The LSUA James C. Bolton Library was built in 1965 and has served LSUA faculty and students very well; however, it is vital that the Bolton Library serve as a vehicle for 21st Century learning. In order to plan for this future and map the potential renovation of the facility, we have engaged Alex Cohen and Associates. They will work closely with the Bolton Library Study Committee of faculty, staff and students to seek input and information that will guide recommendations. This is a very exciting project that promises to open new learning opportunities for LSUA and the entire campus community.
I hope you have an opportunity to visit LSU Alexandria as a future student, as an alumnus or as a visitor. In my next message to you, I will be discussing current curricula offerings and the plans for future academic directions. Please feel free to contact me at chancellor@lsua.edu with your comments and questions.
Thank you.
Revised: 1/23/2012