UL Forges Vision; New programs sharpen focus on academics

[NewsCopy]

VERMILION RED

  Red backpacks, red stadium cushions, red lanyards around necks - the burst of red across the UL student union marks the first step for the incoming freshman class: freshman orientation.

These students hope to leave the university transformed.

As it goes for the students, so it goes for the university. In recent months, UL has navigated a departure of its own - the retirement of former President Ray Authement, whose 34-year tenure was unprecedented. Now, with the arrival of new President Joseph Savoie, the university is poised for a transformation of its own, one which many hope will acknowledge the rich history of the institution while launching it forward as a university of national significance.

For students of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, the door to a college education was never closed. As an open admissions university, it embraced anyone with a high school diploma and the desire to pursue a college degree.

While this policy of open-door academics made USL a destination for many local first-generation college students, it fostered a "catch-all" academic reputation for the institution that rooted the school in its regional connections.

The rest of the story

Cody Daigle • cdaigle@theadvertiser.com • July 22, 2008

[cajun4life]

" I think we haven't had the success in marketing ourselves that we could have had," Cottonham said. "We know what's changed here. But not everyone out there knows it."

That should send a strong message to our marketing department.