In 1959, the Louisiana Legislature authorized the establishment of LSUA as a two-year commuter college under the governance of the LSU Board of Supervisors. LSUA registered its first students in September of 1960. The first degree program, an Associate in Nursing degree, was initiated in the Division of Nursing in 1964.
The additional academic divisions of Liberal Arts, Business Administration, and Sciences were created in 1967. In 1974, LSUA was accredited by the Commission on 吃瓜直播s of the Southern Association of 吃瓜直播s and Schools (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. This accreditation was reaffirmed in 1984, 1994, and 2004.
Only one associate degree was available at LSUA from 1964 to March 1986, when the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science transfer degrees were approved. Over the next 15 years, several associate degree and certificate programs were added that the university continues to offer including:
From 1976 through Spring 2003, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical 吃瓜直播 offered the upper-level course work for select bachelor's degree programs on the LSUA campus through a program known as LSU Senior 吃瓜直播. Initially, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Bachelor of General Studies were offered. The Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education was added in 1982-83.
ALEXANDRIA - The Rotary Club of Alexandria has bestowed its highest honor, the Service Above Self award, upon LSUA鈥檚 Dr. Haywood Joiner. Joiner, an Air Force veteran, a twenty-five-year employee at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital, and an educator and administrator at LSUA since 2004, has lived a life devoted to service.
According to Scott Laliberte, the Rotary鈥檚 Chair of Community Service, the Service Above Self award was first given by Rotary International in 1911 for outstanding service, leadership, and integrity. It represents the highest honor bestowed upon a Rotarian. This year鈥檚 award winner was chosen by a committee through a competitive nomination process and represents only the 22nd time it has been awarded by Alexandria鈥檚 club.
Joiner鈥檚 award was announced by Melinda Anderson, Rotarian and current Chief of Staff to LSUA鈥檚 Chancellor. In her remarks, Anderson began, 鈥淚ndividuals best exemplify Service Above Self in their community and in humanitarian service, in any form and at any level. This person must have made a significant positive difference in the community, above and beyond normal activities, with no thought of self-benefit.鈥� She announced, 鈥淭his year鈥檚 recipient's contribution of personal time, energy, effort, and resources speak to his complete and total commitment to the future of our community. Dr. Haywood Joiner has gone above and beyond to make a significant positive difference in central Louisiana.鈥�
In true selfless fashion, Joiner was stunned by the award. 鈥淲ow. I am speechless,鈥� is all he could muster when he approached the podium. Joiner went on to express his gratitude to the members of the club. He noted being a Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Alexandria has been one of the best things in his life because of the many incredible servant-leaders he has met and worked alongside. He thanked his wife of fifty-five years, Mary, for supporting him in his work. Joiner concluded, 鈥淪ervice is what I do. It is what I have been called to do.鈥�
Dr. Joiner is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served four years as a Medical Laboratory Specialist with the Nellis AFB Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following an honorable discharge from the Air Force, he returned home to serve as a medical lab supervisor at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital. He was employed at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital for twenty-five years, serving in many positions across the organization.
In 1998, he accepted a position as Director of the Medical Laboratory Science program at Southern University, Shreveport, where he also served as Chairman of the Division of Allied Health. In 2004, Dr. Joiner joined LSUA and has served the LSUA campus and students tirelessly for the last eighteen years. Dr. Joiner currently serves as Dean of the 吃瓜直播 of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Joiner's civic and professional accomplishments include: past Board Chair and Member Emeritus of Central Louisiana Area Health Education Committee, past Board President and current member of the Arna Bontemps African American Museum Board of Directors, member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., past President of Cenla Kiwanis Club, past President of Rotary Club of Alexandria, past Education Division Chair of the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, board member of Health Occupations Student Association of Louisiana, member of the Workforce Investment Board, President of the Central Louisiana Regional Port, past Chair and current member of the Board of Trustees of Rapides Regional Medical Center, former Commissioner and Chair of the Rapides Parish Housing Authority, and former Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Rapides Parish Civil Service Commission.
Written by Adam Lord with Melinda Anderson
Photo credit - Nathan Parish | LSUA Division of Strategic Communications
On June 5, 2001, following approval by the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors and the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Legislature passed legislation (Senate Bill 853) allowing Louisiana State University at Alexandria to offer baccalaureate degrees. In December 2002, SACSCOC approved a substantive change request from LSUA, thereby accrediting the university to award both associate and baccalaureate degrees.
In Fall 2003, LSUA was reorganized into colleges and departments rather than divisions. The 吃瓜直播 of Arts and Sciences is comprised of the departments of Arts, English and Humanities; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Biological Sciences; and Mathematics and Physical Sciences. The 吃瓜直播 of Professional Studies is comprised of the departments of Allied Health, Business Administration, Education, and Nursing.
LSUA began offering four baccalaureate degrees in Fall 2003: Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Liberal Studies. Because there were students at LSUA who had completed upper-level course work through LSU Senior 吃瓜直播, LSUA produced its first bachelor's degree graduates in December 2003.
A Bachelor of Science in Psychology, approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors in March 2005, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, approved by the LSU Board in June 2006, are now offered. In 2008 the university began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, Communication Studies, and History, along with Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration, Criminal Justice, and Nursing.
In addition to the Department of Education offering courses that lead to an Associate of Arts in The Care and Development of Young Children and the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, courses are offered for alternative certification in the following areas: Elementary Education, Grades 1-5; Health and Physical Education, Grades K-12; and Secondary Education, Grades 6-12 for the areas of biology, English, history, and mathematics. Students who major in biology, English, history, or mathematics may declare Secondary Education as a minor in these areas of study, earning certification to teach that subject in Grades 6-12. Add-on certifications are available for Early Childhood Education (PK-3) and Special Education in area of existing certification(s).
The Oaks, the university’s first student housing complex, opened in the fall of 2007. The complex, which includes four apartment buildings and a community center.
LSUA hired its first athletic director in January 2007 and began competing in NAIA men’s baseball and women’s fast-pitch softball in Spring 2008. In January 2010, LSUA’s new on-campus baseball-softball complex was unveiled in an opening day dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The complex is located on the north side of campus adjacent to the Fitness Center and features seats transferred from the famed Alex Box Stadium on the Baton Rouge campus.
LSUA added five sports in 2014 including men’s and women’s basketball and soccer teams along with women’s tennis. LSUA joined the Red River Athletic Conference in 2014. The RRAC includes Bacone 吃瓜直播 (Okla.), Huston-Tilloston University (Texas), Jarvis Christian 吃瓜直播 (Texas), Langston University (Okla.), LSU-Shreveport, Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas), Paul Quinn 吃瓜直播 (Texas), Texas 吃瓜直播, University of St. Thomas (Texas), University of Texas-Brownsville, University of the Southwest (New Mexico) and Wiley 吃瓜直播 (Texas) in addition to LSUA.
The university’s newest building, Mulder Hall, was opened in August 2011. The building is a 70,000 square-foot facility that provides 18 classrooms, 4 academic department office suites, 52 faculty offices, 2 conference rooms, a computer lab and a writing lab, a painting and drawing studio, a ceramics studio, a photography suite, and a black box theater that seats 175 people.