University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public, research university located in Lafayette, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and has the second largest enrollment in Louisiana.

Founded in 1898 as an industrial school, the institution developed into a four-year university during the twentieth century and became known by its present name in 1999. Concurrently the university evolved into a national research and doctoral university as noted by its Carnegie categorization as a RU/H: research university (high research activity). It offers Louisiana's only Ph.D. in francophone studies and Louisiana's only industrial design degree. The university has achieved several milestones in computer science, engineering and architecture. It is also home to a distinct College of the Arts.

Timeline

 * 1898 - State legislation passed allowing for creation of Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute (SLII).
 * 1899 - Board of Trustees Establish and donation of 25 acres of land by Girard family.
 * 1900 - Construction began and Dr. Edwin Stephens Named President.
 * 1901 - SLII opened September 18 with 100 students and eight faculty members.
 * 1903 - 18 students were the first to graduate from SLII.
 * 1920 - Began a four-year course culminating with a bachelor of arts degree.
 * 1921 - SLII was changed into the Southwestern Louisiana Institute of Liberal and Technical Learning (SLI).
 * 1960 - SLI became the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL).
 * 1984 - USL attempted to change its name to the University of Louisiana, which only lasted less than a month until overturned by a district court.
 * 1997 - University's privately held assets reach $75 million.
 * 1999 - USL was renamed the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette).

Notable firsts

 * 1954 - Within months of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, SLI admitted 70 African-American students, becoming the first all-white college in the Deep South to racially desegregate.
 * 1961 - Established the first university chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for students. It is named the ACM Alpha Student Chapter
 * 1962 - Offered the first master of science degree in computer science in the U.S.
 * 1994 - Created North America's first francophone studies Ph.D. program.
 * 2007 - The Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment (CAPE) successfully launches the State of Louisiana's first university student built satellite.
 * 2011 - UL Lafayette's College of Liberal Arts became the first public educational institution in Louisiana to offer a minor in LGBT studies.

Campus and other facilities






UL Lafayette's campus consists of 137 acres (554,000 m²) lined by live oak trees planted in 1900. Its quadrangle is encircled by a "Walk of Honor" path which contains more than 80,000 bricks bearing the names of every graduate, beginning with the first graduating class of 1903.
 * Campus

Also centered in the main campus is Cypress Lake, a swamp-like microcosm of the nearby Atchafalaya Basin, home to alligators, turtles, birds and fish.


 * Sports complex:The sports complex and Cajundome sit on 243 acres (983,000 m²). The complex also includes Cajun Field, Blackham Coliseum, Cajun Courts at the Culotta Tennis Center, and several other athletics facilities for training and competitions, fraternity and sorority rows, and the physical education and recreational facilities.


 * Research park:Adjacent to the athletic complex is the University Research Park of 148 acres (599,000 m²), which is home to the National Wetlands Research Center, a NASA Regional Application Center, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The nearby Center for Ecology and Environmental Technology has 51 acres (206,000 m²).


 * Renewable resources labs:The university has a 600 acre farm/renewable resources laboratory with a 30 acre pond for crawfish and catfish culture in Cade, Louisiana. It also has a 48 acre New Iberia Research Center in New Iberia, Louisiana, which is among the world's largest private non-human, primate breeding colonies. The university also has a horse farm in the center of Lafayette and several other farmlands around Acadiana.

Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum

The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum permanent collection consists of more than 1,500 works of art, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and photographs. This collection represents 18th, 19th and 20th century Louisiana, as well as the United States, Europe and Japan.

Traveling shows featuring work from national and internationally known artists such as Mark Rothko, James McNeil Whistler, Andrew Wyeth, Christopher Rauschenberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Deborah Butterfield and Pablo Picasso have been featured regularly. The museum also holds end-of-the-semester art shows featuring thesis work of graduating students of College of the Arts.

KRVS radio station

KRVS 88.7FM is a listener-supported public radio station facility currently licensed to UL Lafayette. KRVS operates on campus, located in Burke-Hawthorne Hall and plays Louisiana roots music such as Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp Rock, Swamp Pop, Blues, Jazz, and a variety of other programs. KRVS currently broadcasts to 651,000 residents in the Acadiana area of Louisiana. KRVS also broadcasts live from Festival International every April in support of local art and music.

Research
The university is a member of the Southeastern Universities Research Association and is categorized as a Carnegie RU/H: Research University (high research activity). UL Lafayette reported $51 million in external research funding from state, federal, private and self-generated funds for 2008. The university was rated one of the top 100 public research universities in the nation according to a 2010 report by The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. In 2012, it became the first Louisiana university designated as an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.

Wetlands research
The biology department has several distinguished professors who are contributing significantly to research on restoration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. Several research projects are in partnership with the National Wetlands Research Center housed in the university's research park.

LITE
In 2006 the university inaugurated the $29M technology initiative LITE Center, which offers the largest known three-dimensional-immersive auditorium for visualization of fully interactive 3D models and data sets for seismic analysis, computer-aided modeling, product stress test analysis and a host of other applications that require visualization of large data sets for scientists. The center collaborates with students in the architecture, engineering, computer science fields as well as others, allowing use of its facilities to increase local business and furthering of the technological economy in Lafayette. Some of the UL Lafayette research projects using or supported by LITE include:


 * Visualization of geophysical, topographic, and LIDAR data; Kinsland/Geology, Borst/CACS
 * LITE hosting Digital Media Stock Machine; Richard/Cinematic Arts Workshop
 * CajunBot/Robot in virtual and real environments; Lakhotia/CACS
 * Weather forecast simulations of extreme rainfall; Habib/Civil Engineering
 * Software tools for creation of outdoor scenes from LIDAR data; Chu/CACS
 * Virtual Reality Welder Trainer; Reiners/CACS, et al.
 * 3rd Generation Omnidirectional Treadmill; Cruz-Niera/Computer Engineering, et al.

Academic profile






UL Lafayette is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All undergraduate programs at UL Lafayette that are eligible for accreditation by professional agencies are accredited. The UL Lafayette Honors Program is an active member of the Louisiana, Southern Regional, and National Honors Councils. The university graduates about 1,100 students each fall and spring.

The university offers 78 undergraduate degree programs, 27 master's degree programs, and 8 Doctor of Philosophy programs, which include applied language and speech sciences, biology, computer engineering, computer science, educational leadership, English, francophone studies and mathematics. UL Lafayette has 10 colleges and schools:

Colleges and departments
College of the Arts The only Louisiana university with a separate College of the Arts, it combines architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts. The college offers the only industrial design degree in Louisiana.
 * The departments include: Architecture & Design, Music, Performing Arts and Visual Arts
 * The college has accreditation from the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research (FIDER); the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB); the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), Commission on Accreditation; and the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), Commission on Accreditation.

B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration Originally named the College of Commerce, it was established in 1952 and renamed the College of Business Administration in 1980. In 2003 it was renamed the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration after a donor to the college's endowment.
 * The departments include: Accounting, Economics & Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems & Multimedia Lab, Management, Management of Information Systems, Marketing & Legal Studies, Micro Business Development, Small Business Development.
 * The college has accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

College of Education
 * The departments include: Counselor Education, Curriculum & Instruction, Educational Foundations & Leadership, Kinesiology.
 * The college has accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

College of Engineering
 * The departments include: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Industrial Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering.
 * The college has accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE).

General Studies

Graduate School The school offers the only doctoral program in francophone studies in Louisiana. The school's doctoral program in cognitive science is in the process of being phased out.

College of Liberal Arts The college offers Louisiana's only minor in LGBT studies.
 * The departments include: communication, communicative disorders, counseling, criminal justice, English, history & geography & philosophy, Latin American studies, Louisiana studies, modern languages, political science, psychology, sociology/anthropology.
 * The college has accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); and the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

College of Nursing & Allied Health Professions
 * The departments include: undergraduate nursing, graduate nursing, dental hygiene, dietetics.
 * The college has accreditation from the American Dietetic Association, Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).

Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
 * The departments include: biology, chemistry, cognitive science, computer science, computer studies, geology, health information management, informatics, mathematics, military science, physics, renewable resources.
 * The college has accreditation from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

University College
 * The departments and programs include: DOORS Program, ENTRÉE Program, 60-Plus Program, Summer Visitor Program, High School Dual Enrollment Program, Post Baccalaureate, On Site Program.

Rankings

 * "Best 377 Colleges" 2013, The Princeton Review
 * "Best 296 Business Schools" 2013, The Princeton Review
 * "Best Colleges 2013," top 281 national universities (tier 2), U.S. News & World Report college rankings
 * "America's Best Colleges 2010" "from the student's point of view", Forbes Magazine.
 * "Best Southeastern Colleges" 2010, The Princeton Review
 * 99th among U.S. public research universities, 2010 report by The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.

Academic achievements
University press

UL Press is the largest academic publisher of Louisiana-related works and the second-largest academic publisher overall in the state. The press has been publishing since 1973 and previously imprinted under the Center for Louisiana Studies prior to 2009. The press is the only press for the UL system and publishes works beyond the nine-campuses.

Louisiana History

The journal Louisiana History is published quarterly through UL Lafayette by the Louisiana Historical Association. LHA was founded in New Orleans in 1889.

Louisiana Center for Cultural & Eco-Tourism

The center's research division houses the world's largest collection of Cajun and Creole folklore, oral history, and folklife materials and some of the nation's largest microfilm collections of French and Spanish colonial records.

CajunBot

In 2004, UL Lafayette students and faculty produced CajunBot, one of 25 autonomous vehicles that competed in the U.S. Department of Defense 2004 & 2005 DARPA Grand Challenges as well as the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. CajunBot, which was featured on CNN and on the Discovery Channel science series Robocars, used artificial intelligence and GPS positioning to navigate a designated route while detecting and avoiding obstacles.

CAPE

A group of UL Lafayette engineering students participating in the Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment (CAPE) built a small artificial satellite, known as a CubeSat, that was launched into orbit from the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2007.

BeauSoleil

In January 2008, The UL Lafayette School of Architecture Design was selected to participate in the 2009 Solar Decathlon. The entry of the Louisiana Solar Home named BeauSoleil took first place in market viability and was awarded the "People's Choice".

Student life


UL Lafayette students represent fifty-three states and possessions. More than seven hundred come from outside the United States.

Organizations
Student Organizations:
 * Student Government Association
 * The Graduate Council

Young Professional Organization Chapters: UL Lafayette offers a variety of young professional organizations associated with fields of study that routinely perform public services and interact with as well as promote local economic and environmental growth, public service projects or awareness.

Academic National Organizations
 * Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (Independent Greek Fraternity) (1947)
 * Sigma Alpha Iota (1943)

Vermilion Newspaper UL Lafayette publishes a weekly newspaper, established in 1904, named the Vermilion Newspaper. The newspaper is run by a student staff with faculty oversight and features local stories on music, art, business and campus events. The newspaper also works closely with the local newspaper The Lafayette Daily Advertiser concerning printing of the publication. The newspaper has a running tradition of publishing an April Fool's edition in which humorous and satirical stories are printed. The Vermilion has earned many SPJ journalist awards for published work since its inception.

The Vermilion has changed formats many times in its inception, ranging from a magazine cover and layout, to a traditional newspaper format. It has also run various in-house projects chronicling the night life and cultural events in Lafayette in an attempt to connect students with the local culture.

L'Acadien Yearbook Instituted in the first years of the University, L'Acadien yearbook is an annual publication chronicling the events and student life on campus. The Yearbook is staffed by students with a faculty oversight. The staff then holds a "Yearbook Day" in the Student Union passing out free yearbooks as soon as they are published. The staff holds positions that include graphic designers and journalists, among others.

Greek life UL Lafayette has several social, Greek-letter fraternities and sororities that date back to 1920.

Athletics


UL Lafayette's sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I FBS for football) in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in 16 NCAA sports teams (8 men's, 8 women's teams), including baseball, basketball (men's and women's), cross country (men's and women's), football, softball, women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's golf, tennis (men's and women's), and track and field (men's and women's, indoor and outdoor).

The athletic program formally began in 1904 with a track and field program. In recent years, the softball team has been among the most successful of all Ragin' Cajun teams, having won nine regular season championships, nine conference tournament championships, and earning five appearances in the Women's College World Series. The baseball, men's tennis, men's basketball, and football teams have won conference championships. In 2011, the football team won the New Orleans Bowl championship. In 2012, The Ragin' Cajuns played again for the second consecutive year in the R+L Carrier's New Orleans Bowl, and won against East Carolina University with a score of 43-34.

Notable people


UL Lafayette is home to many alumni who have held posts as business bellwethers, government and military leaders, Olympic and professional athletes, artists and entertainers. For example, from literature: James Lee Burke, Pulitzer nominee, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series; from entertainment Marc Breaux, choreographer of movies such as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Richard Simmons, TV fitness personality; from government: Kathleen Blanco, former Louisiana governor (2004–2008), John Breaux, former US senator (1987–2005), and Paul Hardy, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana.

Two military alumni Charles B. DeBellevue and Jefferson J. DeBlanc were recognized as flying aces; DeBlanc also was awarded the Medal of Honor. Captain Steven L. Bennett was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1974. Ace Charles B. DeBellevue and Medal of Honor recipient Steven L. Bennett were members of the ROTC program and both entered active duty with the Air Force after graduating in 1968.

Several distinguished faculty members have taught at the university, such as John Kennedy Toole, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Confederacy of Dunces, and Ernest J. Gaines, nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature and a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Paul Prudhomme, American celebrity chef, Elemore Morgan, Jr., internationally known landscape painter, and Burton Raffel, poet noted for his translation of Cervantes's Don Quixote.

Several football alumni have played in the National Football League, including Jake Delhomme (retired), Brian Mitchell (retired), Brandon Stokley (Denver Broncos), Ike Taylor (Pittsburgh Steelers), Charles Tillman (Chicago Bears) and Richie Cunningham (retired). Several baseball alumni have played in the Major Leagues, including Ron Guidry, retired (New York Yankees), who won the Cy Young Award. Kim Perrot played for the Houston Comets, helping them to win two WBNA championships. Other alumni include Olympic track and field medalist Hollis Conway and world-title trampolinist Leigh Hennessy, who holds the record for winning the most US national championships for women. Two alumni were inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame: Chris Cagle and Weldon Humble.