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University History

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 Թֱs of the Southern Association of Թֱs 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:

  • Associate of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science (1996)
  • Associate of Arts in The Care and Development of Young Children (Spring 2001)
  • Certificate in Pharmacy Technology (Spring 2001)
  • Associate of Science in Radiologic Technology (Fall 2001)

From 1976 through Spring 2003, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Թֱ offered the upper-level course work for select bachelor's degree programs on the LSUA campus through a program known as LSU Senior Թֱ. 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.

128 Undergraduate Research Presentations Delivered at LSUA’s Scholar Day 2023

Apr 27, 2023, 14:27 PM
LSUA held the 5th annual Scholar Day this week with 128 student undergraduate research presentations.

LSUA held the 5th annual Scholar Day this week with 128 student undergraduate research presentations.

 

Scholar Day is a one-day event highlighting the scholarly achievements of LSUA students and faculty. This multidisciplinary event celebrates the scholarship and creative activity happening in classrooms across LSUA. Students work with a faculty mentor during the semester to conduct a research project inspired by course material or personal interests within their major. The culmination of this work is the presentation at Scholar Day. Student presentations included poster presentations, submitted scholarly papers, and oral presentations, and there were several lunch-and-learn sessions with LSUA faculty.

 

Undergraduate scholarship on display this year ranged across many disciplines from nursing and biological sciences to education and psychology. Valerie Kendrick, from the School of Nursing, asked: “How are hospitalized patients affected by musical therapy?” Taylor Spencer, Biology, researched ways to increase sustainability for small beef cattle farms. Jessica Eubanks, in the School of Education, considered explicit reading strategies in the secondary classroom. Ji’bril Harris, Psychology, presented on “Perceptions of Black Women Based on Hair Texture.” These were just four of the 128 incredibly insightful topics researched!

 

Judges from the community, faculty, and staff scored presentations throughout the day. Scholar Day culminated with awards for outstanding presentations and faculty mentorship.

 

The winners for Outstanding Poster Presentation were:

 

Accounting and Finance - Kendall Powell

English and Humanities - Qua-Morah Hawkins

Education - Raegan Brossett, Kylee Reed

Nursing - Carli Bishop, Baleigh Marshall, Sarah Watson, Cameryn Mayeux

Biological Sciences - Daniel Reynolds and Ashton Futrell (group)

History - Christian Singletary

Disaster Science Management - Amanda Fuglaar

Psychology - Elena McConachie

 

The winners for Outstanding Oral Presentation were:

 

Allied Health - Amy Termina

Biology - Faith McCauley

Chemistry - Destiny Harrison

Education - Lauren Andries

Criminal Justice - Emrie Albritton, Elizabeth Kelone, and Katelynn Gauthier (group)

Psychology - Lauren McCann and Claire Plauche (group)

Political Science - Emrie Albritton and Kayla Ramos (group)

History - Christian Singletary

Humanities - Destiny Harrison and Ji'Bril Harris (group)

English - Angela Felix

Kinesiology - Keeley Mcleod

 

The winner for Outstanding Faculty Mentor was Krista Redmond, Adjunct Professor of Education. 

 

 

Written by Adam Lord

Photo credit - Mira Parks | LSUA Strategic Communications

Pictured - Raegan Brossett, LSUA School of Education

Recent Times

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 Թֱ 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 Թֱ 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 Թֱ, 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 Թֱ (Okla.), Huston-Tilloston University (Texas), Jarvis Christian Թֱ (Texas), Langston University (Okla.), LSU-Shreveport, Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas), Paul Quinn Թֱ (Texas), Texas Թֱ, University of St. Thomas (Texas), University of Texas-Brownsville, University of the Southwest (New Mexico) and Wiley Թֱ (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.

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