Louisiana College

Infobox University
name = Louisiana College
motto = Deo, Veritati, Patriae (God, Truth, Country)
established = October 3, 1906
type = Private coeducational university
president = Dr. Joe Aguillard
city = Pineville
state = Louisiana
country = United States
students = about 1000
endowment = USD $27,064,817 [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2007_brief.php]
nickname = Wildcats
affiliations = Louisiana Baptist Convention
colors = Orange and Blue
website = http://www.lacollege.edu

Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,000 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms. Although the college is affiliated with a group of Baptist churches, who make up the membership of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, students need not be a member of that denomination to attend.

In recent years the school's administration and Board of Trustees have become more directly aligned with conservative Evangelical Christianity. Concerns about academic freedom and governance at the school led to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placing Louisiana College on probation in 2004. The probation was lifted in late 2005. In April 2006, the Board of Trustees passed a Christian Commitment Policy requiring faculty -- among other things -- to affirm a born-again faith in Jesus Christ and abstain from "public" use of alcohol.

The school's colors are orange and blue, and their athletics teams are known as the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats.

History

Louisiana College was founded in Pineville, Louisiana, on October 3, 1906. Baptist clergyman and educator Edwin O. Ware, Sr., is considered to have been the principal founder of the institution. He was both the college's financial agent, 1906-1907, and its first president, 1908-1909. Louisiana College (often referred to as "LC") is the successor to two earlier Louisiana Baptist schools, Mt. Lebanon University and Keatchie Female College. The first, a men's school founded in 1852 by the North Louisiana Baptist Convention, was located in the community of Mt. Lebanon in Bienville Parish. The women's college, founded in 1857 by the Grand Cane Association of Baptist Churches, was located in the community of Keatchie in De Soto Parish south of Shreveport. After a history beset by financial difficulties, both schools came under control of the Louisiana Baptist Convention in 1899. An Education Commission was selected by the state convention to administer the schools with the understanding that both would be succeeded by a more centrally located college as soon as a suitable campus could be selected. When Louisiana College was opened in 1906, Mt. Lebanon College was closed, followed by Keatchie a few years later. The enrollment of students in 1906 at the opening of the College was 19. Today, more than 10,000 have been graduated since the College was founded.

Louisiana College was administered by the Education Commission until 1921, when the commission was replaced by a Board of Trustees as called for in a new charter. The first administrative head of Louisiana College was W. F. Taylor, whose title was chairman of the faculty. Since its opening under President Edwin O. Ware, Louisiana College has had seven other presidents: Dr. W. C. Friley, in 1909; Dr. Claybrook Cottingham, in 1910; Dr. Edgar Godbold, in 1941; Dr. G. Earl Guinn, in 1951; Dr. Robert L. Lynn, in 1975; Dr. Rory Lee, in 1997; and Dr. Joe Aguillard, in 2005.

Among the benefactors of Louisiana College has been the family of Simon W. Tudor of Pineville, who founded Tudor Construction Co. in 1946. Tudor coached basketball, football, and baseball at the college in the 1910s. The men's dormitory Tudor Hall is named for him. Tudor was also chairman of the board of trustees from 1943-1953.

In recent years, Louisiana College has been the subject of some controversy under the leadership of Aguillard. Though accounts disagree about why or even how many, there has been an almost 70 percent faculty turnover since Aguillard assumed office in January 2005 ^{[http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/04/25/louisiana 1]} .

Campus

Louisiana College is situated on an 81-acre campus in Pineville. The school has twenty-five academic and residential buildings, which include:

* Alexandria Hall, constructed in 1920. This building is home to most of the college's administrative offices, the human behavior department, the history and business departments, the teacher education department, and the English, journalism and languages department.

* Cavanaugh Hall of Science, built in 1969, contains offices, classrooms and laboratory facilities for the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics and nursing. The building was named in 1975 to honor Charles J. Cavanaugh, professor of biology from 1945 to 1977.

* Weathersby Fine Arts Building, completed in 1961 and completely renovated in 1993, contains the departments of art and music. The building features an exhibition gallery with adjacent storeroom and a 151-seat recital hall.

* Guinn Auditorium and Religious Education Center, built in 1973, is home to the religious studies department and contains the 300-seat Frances Bolton Chapel and the 1,800-seat Guinn Auditorium. The auditorium is home to the Gladys Tatum West pipe organ, a 185-rank, five manual Moeller organ, one of the largest pipe organs in the Southern United States. The building is named in honor of Dr. G. Earl Guinn, a past president of Louisiana College.

* Martin Performing Arts Center, built in 1992, houses the communications and theatre departments, a 400-seat black-box theatre, a television studio, and Radio KZLC, 95.5 MHz FM.

* H. O. West Physical Education Building, which contains a 4,800-seat gymnasium, a heated swimming pool, and the department of health and physical education.

* Norton Library, which contains more than 130,000 volumes, 174,000 government documents, 75,000 items in microfilm and subscribes to over 500 periodicals. The building was built in 1955.

* Tudor Hall, a men's residence hall that has a capacity of 168 men. The building was constructed in 1957.

* English Village, a men's apartment complex open to upperclassmen. It houses 92 students and is noted for its rustic architecture.

* Church Hall, a former Methodist church, renovated into a men's residence hall. Church Hall is open to upperclassmen and also houses the football fieldhouse, the security office and the information technology office.

* Cottingham Hall, a women's residence hall, named in honor of Dr. Claybrook Cottingham, a former Louisiana College President. The hall was built in 1940 and houses 300 women. This is the largest residential building on the campus.

* College Drive Apartments, the newest building on the Louisiana College campus, being completed in 2001. This apartment building is open to upperclass women and can house 45.

* Hixson Student Center and Granberry Conference Center, constructed in 1997. This is the hub of student activities on the Louisiana College campus, housing the post office, a common area, a game room, various student life offices, a short-order restaurant, a computer lab, and the campus bookstore.

Academics

Louisiana College awards the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Social Work, and Bachelor of General Studies degrees and offers over 70 majors, minors and pre-professional programs. These programs are:

Division of Business

* Accounting
* Business Education
* Economics & Finance
* General Business
* Management/Marketing

Division of Education

* Athletic Training
* Elementary & Kindergarten Education
* Elementary Education
* Fitness & Wellness
* Health & Physical Education
* Secondary Education (see other divisions)
* Special Education (K-12) Dr. Brandon Lewis, ATC, Ph.D. CSCS

Division of History and Political Science

* History
* Political Science (minor only)
* Pre-Law
* Public Administration
* Social Studies Education

Division of Human Behavior

* Criminal Justice
* Psychology
* Social Work
* Sociology

Division of Humanities

* English
* English Education
* Foreign Languages
* French
* French Education
* Journalism
* Journalism Education (minor only)
* Multimedia
* Spanish (minor only)
* Spanish Education
* Web Design (minor only)

Division of Mathematics and Computer Science

* Computer Science (minor only)
* Mathematics
* Mathematics Education
* Pre-Engineering

Division of Natural Sciences

* Biology
* Chemistry
* Medical Technology
* Pre-Dental
* Pre-Dental Hygiene
* Pre-Medicine
* Pre-Occupational Therapy
* Pre-Optometry
* Pre-Pharmacy
* Pre-Physical Therapy
* Pre-Physician Assistant
* Pre-Rehabilitation Counseling
* Pre-Respiratory Therapy
* Pre-Veterinary Medicine
* Science Education

Division of Nursing

* Nursing (B.S.N.)
* Nursing (R.N. to B.S.N.)

Division of Religious Studies

* Biblical Languages (minor only)
* General Religion (minor only)
* Philosophy (minor only)
* Philosophy/Religion
* Religion
* Religious Education

Division of Visual and Performing Arts

* Art, Studio
* Art Education
* Church Music
* Communication Arts
* Graphic Design
* Media Communications
* Music
* Music Education
* Music Performance
* Piano Pedagogy
* Pre-Architecture
* Pre-Music Therapy
* Technical Theatre
* Theatre Arts

Louisiana College alumni

*Jimmie Davis, singer and Louisiana governor (1944-1948 and 1960-1964)
*Nelder Dawson, Alexandria newspaper executive
*Eric W. Harris, Alexandria businessman and founder of first Jaycees chapter in Louisiana; attended Louisiana College for two years
*Claude Kirkpatrick (1917-1997), member of Louisiana House of Representatives (1952-1960} from Jefferson Davis Parish, director of Louisiana Department of Public Works (1960-1964), candidate for governor in 1963, instigator of Toledo Bend Reservoir, president of Baton Rouge General Hospital, and builder of three shopping centers
*Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick (born 1918), member of Louisiana Board of Regents; state Baptist official; wife of Claude Kirkpatrick
*Baylus Benjamin McKinney, singer, songwriter, and music editor
*Tinka Milinović, singer, model, actress, dancer and television host.
*Arnold Jack Rosenthal, businessman, attorney, former Alexandria city commissioner (1973-1977)
*Morris Shapiro (1910-2008), Alexandria city attorney (1973-1977); former Rapides Parish School Board member
*Joe D. Smith, Jr. (1922-2008), publisher, general manager, and chairman of the board of the "Alexandria Daily Town Talk"
*Simon W. Tudor, educator and Pineville construction company owner

External links

* [http://www.lacollege.edu Louisiana College's homepage]
* [http://www.faithforwardradio.org/ Faith Forward]