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Summer 2022
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A Note from Interim Provost Lee

Matt Lee speaking at events, shaking hands at commncement and posing for a group photo. Caption: Interim Executive Vice President & Provost Matt Lee celebrates the accomplishments of our students at graduation, faculty at a recognition ceremony and our university at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. 


Dear Colleagues,

This is my final communication to the campus community via the Office of Academic Affairs Newsletter. I primarily write this month to express my appreciation. It has been a privilege to serve the faculty, staff, students and external constituents over the course of the year in my role as interim executive vice president & provost. The curiosity, intellectual and creative innovation, compassion, grit, collaboration and commitment to excellence that you all bring to LSU reinforces that we are a community like no other. There are other flagships, there are other world-class public research universities, but there is only one LSU. The purple in our color scheme represents passion, and passion is what you bring to this place every day. Thank you for all you continue to do to make LSU a world-class institution.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, we enjoyed many significant accomplishments as a community over the last year. Perhaps most importantly, through careful deliberation and planning, we successfully navigated the pandemic while continuing to deliver the highest quality education. LSU stood out as a national model for effective public health measures in higher education, and for this we should be proud. Our historic experience with various crises positioned us for leadership on this issue, and our success in executing effective mitigation measures has been nationally recognized.

While our success in traversing the pandemic is important, our achievements go well beyond this. In addition to setting a fall freshman enrollment record, we have set year-over-year records for enrollment in LSU Online programs and dual enrollment. In other words, we are excelling at what a modern flagship should do — providing multiple on-ramps to talented students with the aim of educating the citizenry and preparing them for informed leadership in the institutions of civil society.  

Last summer we set a record for new research awards, and we are currently tracking to set another record. This year we re-established faculty seed grant programs in the Office of Research & Economic Development, laying the groundwork for additional records in the coming years. To excel and have impact, we must continue to invest in the promise and expertise of our people.

Eyeing opportunities to improve student success, we implemented a major restructuring of our student support units under the logic of a strategic enrollment management and student success framework. This positions us to improve our student academic outcomes and prepare for national leadership in a rapidly changing student recruitment market characterized by demand for value. [EOH1] We have bolstered this effort with the implementation of curricular pathway analytics and reform, already completed by many programs and in progress in all others. Reducing the complexity of our curricula will help us simplify and expedite a student’s path to their degree while maintaining the academic rigor that is the hallmark of LSU. We have also engaged in authentic conversations regarding the graduate student experience and the need to enhance their funding. This will lead to growth in our doctoral student body, and position us to further accelerate and grow our research program.

While we serve the state and continue our march toward international eminence, we now have the fundamentals of a strategic plan – particularly focal scholarly areas – to guide our investments and prioritize our next high-impact moves. To this end, we have successfully initiated a cluster hire in cyber security. Two eminent hires will join us this fall and there will be more to come. Their international stature will attract additional high caliber scholars and help consolidate our capacity and reputation in this space. We were also one of only 13 schools invited to join the American Council on Education Internationalization Lab, a significant distinction which will yield a thoughtful internationalization plan that will be implemented starting in early 2023. To be a great university we must be a global university.

From my perspective, our momentum is so strong right now that I routinely say “we are winning on every front”. This is not just naïve optimism. Faculty continue to garner prestigious appointments, including Carnegie and Guggenheim fellows, and memberships in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. Additionally, we saw breakthrough success with faculty in new fields receiving NSF CAREER awards.

Four-year graduation rates have improved for the last three cohorts. LSU Online received an award for excellence in innovation, our student athletes have set a new graduation success rate record, and our College of Agriculture Student Poultry Judging team won the National Championship. Indeed, we are winning in so many areas it is nearly impossible to keep tabs on it. When you intentionally cultivate a culture of excellence at every level, this is what you get

Perhaps even more exciting is that we are also preparing for the arrival of incoming Executive Vice President & Provost Roy Haggerty, an accomplished scholar and administrator who is eminently qualified to support President Tate in leading LSU. Provost Haggerty will bring fresh ideas and additional energy to an enterprise that is primed to attain the next level of impact and stature. Provost Haggerty and I are working closely over this summer to ensure he is well prepared to take over the reins in Academic Affairs and to seamlessly transition into the provost role. I know you all join me in welcoming him to campus and supporting his efforts to lead and collaborate with all of our campus constituencies.

In closing, a variety of thanks are in order. First, I must thank the staff in the Office of Academic Affairs. This group of extremely talented professionals is small but mighty. They carry an extremely heavy workload, and support the campus with tremendous expertise, professionalism, and frankly, good humor. Any provost would be unable to discharge their duties were it not for the Academic Affairs team, and their support has made the last year a true pleasure.

Second, I would like to thank the entire LSU family for your kindness, patience and encouragement over the last year. It has been eventful and productive and I enjoyed it immensely thanks to you all. Finally, as you might guess, due to the demanding cadence, this post becomes a de facto family affair. My incredible wife, Mimi, has graciously attended dozens upon dozens of LSU events with me, and has been received with great warmth at every one of them. I must publicly express my appreciation for her, as her unique mix of intellect, professional sophistication, social graces and widely-admired fashion sense has had to compensate for my own shortcomings on these fronts many times over.

This past year has shored up my allegiance to LSU and my appreciation for the powerful role she plays in supporting the needs of our state and shaping the lives of our future leaders. This is truly a magnificent enterprise, one that I have always been proud to contribute to and serve. I am very proud that my oldest child is attending LSU in the fall. He is coming here because we believe in this place, and we believe in it because of you. Thank you for your inspiration, and as always…

Geaux Tigers!

Matt Lee

Our People

Paul M. Hebert Law Center Dean Search

The Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the launch of the search for the dean of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Dean Troy Blanchard has agreed to chair the search, which will kick off before the start of the fall semester. More details will be released in the coming weeks, including the name of the search firm and members of the search committee.

College of Music & Dramatic Arts and Manship School of Mass Communication Dean Searches

The search for the dean of the College of Music & Dramatic Arts and the dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication will launch at the beginning of the fall semester. More information will be forthcoming in the upcoming weeks. 

University Faculty Awards Ceremony Photos

The university hosted the University Faculty Awards Ceremony & Reception to honor the 2021and 2022 award recipients. A listing of award winners and photographs from the ceremony can be found on the University Faculty Awards webpage. 

Faculty Promoted or Tenured Ceremony Photos

The annual Promotion & Tenure Ceremony was held on May 17 and celebrated those who were promoted and/or tenured in 2021 and 2022. Photographs of those honored can be found on the promotion and tenure webpage

Proposals for Spring 2023 Honors Courses

The Office of Academic Affairs invites you to become part of the Honors faculty by submitting a course proposal to the Ogden Honors College for spring 2023. For more information on teaching opportunities in the Honors College, and to find instructions on submitting a course proposal, visit Teach Honors Courses — LSU Honors College. Please direct any questions to Drew Lamonica Arms, associate dean of the Ogden Honors College, dlamoni@lsu.edu.

Program, Policies & Planning

SACSCOC Reaffirmation of Accreditation: 2024

All institutions accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) are required to undergo a review for reaffirmation of accreditation every 10 years.  While LSU has many on-going processes in place to ensure continuous compliance with SACSCOC requirements, the reaffirmation process provides the university with the opportunity for a comprehensive examination. This will document LSU's effectiveness in achieving its stated mission, its overall compliance for all standards, and its efforts in enhancing the quality of student learning as well as the quality of programs and services offered to its constituencies. The LSU Reaffirmation Launch began spring 2022. The timeline includes an off-site peer evaluation of compliance, an on-site review and QEP consultation, and a final review by the Commission’s Board of Trustees in December 2024.

LSU Elements & Discovery

Elements & DiscoveryIn the upcoming weeks, Elements & Discovery, the university's new faculty information system, will officially launch for faculty use. Faculty will be notified and invited to explore the system as well as provide an interface portal for faculty discovery and integration across the globe. Support will also be provided including live trainings, tutorials and guide sheets. 

Curricular Analytics - Revisions Timeline

For curricula with high complexity scores, college administration should ensure that any curricular revisions are included in one of the following Faculty Senate Courses and Curricula Committee meetings before the AY2023-24 Catalog is published in early March 2023. Per the timeline established in the March Dean’s Council meeting, your college should almost, if not already, have a framework in place that sets targets to revise curricula for student success. Beginning early fall, you should be routing curricular revisions to C&C.  

Welcome Week - Undergraduate Research Info Fair

The annual Undergraduate Research Information Fair will be held on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 1-3 p.m. in the Student Union ballroom. Faculty and graduate students are invited to host tables at this informal event where freshmen will have the opportunity to learn about research opportunities at LSU from the researchers themselves.

Those interested in hosting a table on behalf of their college, department, program, lab, research group, etc. can sign up at this form.   

Office of Testing & Evaluation Services

The testing center provides computer-based academic course testing. If you have any questions or would like information on setting up your academic course for testing in the testing center, please contact us at 225 578-1145 or email otes-testing@lsu.edu.  

During Welcome Week, the LSU Testing Center will administer incoming freshmen placement exams for possible credit in Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus, French, German, Latin, and Spanish, as well as the NexGen Writing (an English diagnostic exam required for students who do not have English ACT/SAT Scores). The Testing Center is also an authorized center for administering the GRE, Praxis, and IBT Toefl in agreement with the Educational Testing Service. The center reopened July 1, 2022, and operates Monday – Saturday, based on LSU’s scheduling.

 

Important Dates and Upcoming Events

  •  July 18 | NCBI Summer Workshop Information

  • August 9  | Summer Leadership Institute

    • 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Lod Cook Alumni Center
      Designed specifically for LSU administrators, the goal of the institute is to provide leadership with policy and procedural updates as well as other useful tools for the upcoming academic year. 
  • August 16 | New Faculty Summit

    • 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Coast & Environment Building
      LSU's annual New Faculty Summit offers new faculty the opportunity to learn more about how LSU can support their teaching, research, and community outreach. Session topics include effective teaching, university policies, promotion and tenure, resources for research and more. 
  • August 19 | REFRESH: New Energy for Teaching