The Stately Oak
A Letter from the Dean: Resilience moves us forward
If there is one thing I know about Louisiana’s agricultural community, it is that we are resilient. This year alone we have had to contend with a pandemic, economic hardships and storms. As many of our daily routines paused earlier this year, the business of agriculture never stopped, and neither did the work of the LSU Ag.
Donors
Broussard Family creates endowment for LSU internship
The children of Charles E. and Rose Ashy Broussard, of Vermilion Parish, have created
an endowment to support an internship. The internship has been supported widely through
contributions and funding by many friends and business associates of the Broussard
family, for which the family is grateful.
Tracy Evans named to philanthropic post for LSU AgCenter, College of Ag
Tracy Evans has been named senior director of development for the LSU AgCenter, the College of Agriculture.
Gay family continues support for sugarcane research
Sugarcane and the Gay family are intertwined with the landscape of south Louisiana. Since the 1850s, the family has farmed the area, with sugarcane being the dominant crop. In order to keep this industry viable, the Gay family is endowing a second professorship and creating an internship for work in sugarcane variety development.
Dugas & LeBlanc endows gift to help LSU AgCenter sugar research
Grain elevator, processing professionals endow LSU College of Agriculture scholarship
The Gulf South Chapter of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) is endowing a scholarship in the LSU College of Agriculture.
Ray Schneider memorial scholarship
It is hard to overstate Ray Schneider’s dedication to the development and welfare of his graduate students. Schneider, who died in October of 2019, was a distinguished plant pathologist with the LSU AgCenter and a professor committed to seeing his students thrive.
Honoring LSU College of Agriculture Alumnus Don Welge
LSU College of Agriculture was saddened to learn of the passing of alumnus Donald “Don” E. Welge in April 2020. Welge was a passionate supporter of the LSU College of Agriculture, having majored in agricultural economics.
Nutrien funds AgCenter educational initiatives
The LSU AgCenter has been awarded a total of $50,000 a year for three years from Nutrien, a Canadian fertilizer company with operations in Geismar.
Faculty
Salassi heads AgCenter animal, plant programs
Michael Salassi has been named as LSU AgCenter associate vice president and program leader of animal and plant sciences.
Cover Stories
LSU alumni help create PPE manufacturing network
She works in fashion. He works in medicine. The couple’s collective skills married together helped create a supply chain to get Ochsner employees the protective gear they need during the COVID-19 pandemic. LSU alumni — and husband and wife — Bonnie and Stephen Fletcher own a women’s apparel boutique, Shake Your Bon Bon, in New Orleans, which Bonnie oversees while Stephen works in the Neuroscience Medical 3D Lab at Ochsner Health New Orleans.
Alumnus brews hand sanitizer in time of need
LSU College of Agriculture and Ogden Honors alumnus Jacob Landry is perhaps best known as the founder of Urban South, the largest craft brewery in New Orleans. But after winning a bid to produce hand sanitizer for the State of Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, he’s also known as an entrepreneurial pioneer, showing how companies can retool.
Spreading the word to combat COVID-19
To help gather support for other health care facilities, Sapp broadcasted an email to students and other faculty within her department. Several students responded to the call for masks and worked independently to sew face masks for hospitals and other health care facilities within their communities.
Giving back to the Baton Rouge community
When the COVID-19 outbreak hit Louisiana, there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). One of the supplies that the Baton Rouge community needed was cotton face masks.
COVID-19 safety measures have dramatically altered traditional ways of delivering educational information to children. LSU AgCenter Louisiana 4-H Youth Development has adapted its methods of service to fit into 4-H members’ current schoolhouses: their homes.
Students
LSU Champion for Tigers: student researching tiger genetics
Alessandra Bresnan, a graduate student in the College of Agriculture School of Renewable Natural Resources, is studying conservation genetics of captive and wild tigers with the hopes of bringing awareness to their plight.
Students receive year-end awards
Elizabeth Sicard was named the Gerald and Norma Dill Outstanding Senior in the LSU College of Agriculture.
2020-2021 Agriculture Student Association Officers
The Agriculture Student Association (ASA) serves the College of Agriculture by collaborating with the dean’s staff to put on several social and professional events for agricultural students each semester.
2020-2021 Les Voyageurs Officers
Eighteen students in aboard range of majors make up the 2020-2021 Les Voyageurs team.
Students, faculty overcome challenges of online learning
As LSU closed its physical campus in mid-March and classes shifted online, LSU College of Agriculture students and faculty moved to a virtual learning space. Switching to an online classroom model has forced many faculty to reconsider how they present their materials.
The LSU College of Agriculture comprises 10 departments and schools that house many prestigious faculty and talented students. While 2020 presented many unexpected challenges, our faculty and students continued to achieve excellence. Many attended conferences and events remotely and continued to function as teams from a distance.
Alumni
LSU College of Agriculture Stakeholder Summit moves to virtual platform
The LSU College of Agriculture Stakeholder Summit plays an essential role in keeping stakeholders informed on the college's current outlook and climate. This year the stakeholder summit held vital importance as the LSU College of Agriculture intended to unveil its newest strategic plan.
LSU alumnus José Arce named president-elect of American Veterinary Medical Association
Dr. José Arce, a veterinarian, is the first Puerto Rican and the first LSU graduate to be named president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Arce will serve his term as president-elect during 2020-2021.
LSU College of Agriculture names outstanding alumni
The LSU College of Agriculture has named Rogers Leonard and David Wilson as outstanding alumni for 2020. Marshall Hardwick received the early career alumni award.