LSUA NEWS & EVENTS

LSU at Alexandria needs an alma mater, and the university’s 50th Anniversary Committee is sponsoring a contest to select an official school song. The winning songwriter will receive $2,500, and the alma mater will be heard publicly for the first time on opening night of the Generals’ new on-campus baseball/softball complex in early February.

Songwriters should submit an original composition on CD, including a score sheet with lyrics and music, to LSUA Alma Mater, Box 42, LSU at Alexandria, 8100 Highway 71 South, Alexandria, LA 71302. A contest entry form and copyright assignment agreement also must be included. Entries must be received before Nov. 1 to be considered.

Contestants may submit a maximum of three entries. The winning alma mater will be announced no later than Dec. 1. Additional information, rules and entry forms are available from Dr. Richard Elder, associate professor of psychology, at 427-4448 or relder@lsua.edu, and Dr. Callum Johnston, associate professor of early childhood education, at 473-6455 or cjohnston@lsua.edu.

A selection committee composed of LSUA students, faculty and staff and members of the community will determine the winner. Songwriters who want their works returned must include a self-addressed stamped envelope with their entry.

LSUA, which opened in the fall of 1960, will celebrate its golden anniversary with a series of events throughout the 2009-10 academic year.

Five LSU at Alexandria faculty members have been promoted by the LSU Board of Supervisors, announced Dr. Tom Armstrong, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. Six faculty members received tenure.

Dr. William Calbeck was promoted to professor of mathematics in the Department of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Associate professor rank was awarded to Dr. Julie Gill, kinesiology, Department of Education; Sheryl Herring, health sciences, Department of Allied Health; and Rusty Gaspard, reference librarian, Bolton Library. Cathy Robinson, phlebotomy, was promoted to assistant professor in the Department of Allied Health.

Gill, Herring and Gaspard also were among the newly tenured faculty. The others were Dr. Wayne McGraw, chemistry, Department of Mathematics and Physical Sciences; Adena Lejeune, accounting, and Dr. Don Yates, computer information systems, both in the Department of Business Administration.

“Promotion and tenure at this university represent a commitment to developing and maintaining a faculty dedicated to teaching excellence at the undergraduate level. They are achieved only after rigorous and thorough internal review,” Armstrong said. “Candidates also must pass muster from the LSU Board of Supervisors.”

The latest promotion and tenure awards are effective for the 2009-10 academic year.

The 2009 LSU at Alexandria baseball/softball media guide has been awarded a Top 10 designation in the annual NAIA publication contest, announced Dan Purvis, athletic director and baseball coach. The LSUA media guide tied for ninth among 43 entries in the multi-sport category. It was the only publication from a Louisiana school in any sport to receive recognition.

The 52-page media guide contains profiles of players and coaches, statistics, records, athletic history, photos and data on each opponent. The full-color cover features members of each team in uniform on a bulldozer used to build the new baseball/softball complex at LSUA. The fields will be completed this summer and be available for fall practice and the 2010 season.

Purvis created and produced the media guide, “Building a Tradition.”

“Once Upon a Mattress,” a slightly naughty musical comedy presented by the Empty Space Players from LSU at Alexandria, opens June 19 on the Hearn Stage at Kress Theatre in Alexandria. The performance at 7:30 p.m. is the first of 10 running through June 28.

Other performances are Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:30 and 7:30. The schedule resumes June 24-28 with performances at 7:30 each night and an additional matinee at 2:30 on June 27. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for seniors and area students, and $5 for LSUA students. Reservations can be made by calling Dr. Rhonda Shook, show producer, at 473-6573. Walk-up tickets will be sold if seats are available. Tickets cannot be purchased with a credit card.

“Once Upon a Mattress” is directed by Richard Gwartney, LSUA associate professor of theatre and communication studies. The acclaimed play is based on a book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer with music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Barer.

An adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea,” the storyline concerns a love-sick nobleman who must find a bride for his ruling Prince Dauntless before he is allowed to marry his own sweetheart. The prince’s overprotective mother, Queen Aggravian, remains adamantly opposed to marriage for her son, and she fashions a formidable test designed to scuttle his wedding plans.

Dr. Jerry Sanson, professor of history and political science at LSU at Alexandria, has been inducted into the Louisiana Historical Association Company of Fellows. The honor is reserved for “those who have made remarkable contributions to Louisiana’s culture, literature and history.”

Sanson, who has held two endowed professorships and is a Bolton Award for Teaching Excellence winner at LSUA, has written three books on Louisiana history -- “Louisiana State and Local Government,” “Louisiana During World War II,” and “Camp Beauregard and Central Louisiana “ -- and delivered more than 30 papers at regional, national and international levels. He also has contributed to several dozen books, journals and encyclopedia entries and has written more than 100 book reviews for scholarly journals.

“Dr. Sanson’s recognition by the Louisiana Historical Association is extremely well deserved, and it’s a rare honor that comes only after much meritorious service as an historian,” said Dr. Tom Armstrong, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs whose academic expertise is history. “It’s a mark of distinction for Dr. Sanson and one for LSUA, especially considering that he’s the only member of the Company of Fellows from Central Louisiana.”

Louisiana Public Broadcasting used Sanson as a resource for a documentary on former Gov. Earl Long. He also has led more than 25 programs in the Readings in Literature and Culture series for the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

“This is an extremely prestigious academic honor for Dr. Sanson, one that reflects exceptional classroom teaching and superb scholarship,” said Dr. Greg Gormanous, chairman of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Sanson has been a member of the LSUA faculty since 1983. He is a winner of the Max Bradbury Award for best article published in “North Louisiana History” journal and Award for Individual Accomplishment presented by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

Sanson is a graduate of Buckeye High School. He earned his undergraduate degree at Louisiana College and master’s and doctorate at LSU.