Claude H. ‘Grits’ Gresham, Jr. is the shooting editor for Sports Afield magazine and a freelance photojournalist for publications such as Sports Illustrated, Gentlemen's Quarterly, and most outdoor shooting and fishing publications. He was a field host, producer, and consultant for ABC Television's ‘The American Sportsman’ series for 13 years and host of the syndicated series ‘Sports Afield.’ He is the author of six books, former editor of Louisiana Conservationist, and writer of a syndicated outdoor newspaper column for 20 years. He is involved in lectures, after-dinner speaking engagements, and personal appearances at sports shows, conventions, and celebrity pro-am golf tournaments. Mr. Gresham has received numerous honors including the LSU School of Forestry and Wildlife Alumnus of the Year and his induction to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He has attended the University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt University, Yale University, and LSU, where he received his B.S. in 1949 and an M.S. in 1950, both from the School of Forestry and Wildlife.

Dolores R. Spikes is president of the Southern University System and chancellor of Southern University of Baton Rouge. Dr. Spikes has been affiliated with the University since 1984, rising through the ranks from assistant professor of mathematics to her current position. A nationally recognized educator, she is a member of numerous boards and commissions, including the Commission of Women in Higher Education, the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Board of Harvard University Institute of Educational Management, and the Board of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Education. She was selected ‘Woman of the Year’ in 1986 by the Southern University Association of Women Students and likewise in 1987, was chosen the YWCA of Baton Rouge ‘Woman of the Year.’ She has received the Thurgood Marshall Black Education Fund Achievement Award and is a charter inductee to the Louisiana Black Hall of Fame. Dr. Spikes earned her B.S. degree from Southern University, an M.S. degree from the University of Illinois, and Ph.D. from LSU in 1971. She has also attended the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management.

Ellen Bryan Moore is a retired Register of State Lands for Louisiana with 25 service years in handling millions of dollars of state revenue from oil and gas and serving as custodian of all state-owned lands. While in office she served as ex-officio member and chairman of State Parks Board and was honored by the National Park and Recreation Association and the National Conference on State Parks for her devotion to the parks and recreation movement. She served for several years on the National Public Law Review Commission and was the chairman of the first Commission on the Status of Women. Mrs. Moore taught school in Baton Rouge for eight years and helped initiate the Head Start Program in Louisiana. She joined the Army in 1942, one of the first four women in Louisiana to enter the service of her country. She was the first woman to serve as a commanding officer of a military service unit and rose to the Army rank of captain. She has headed numerous state and local fund drives, including the Louisiana Heart Fund and the LSU Alumni Annual Fund. Mrs. Moore received a B.A. in education in 1933 and an M.A. in psychology in 1951, both degrees from LSU.

John B. Breaux is a United States senator from Louisiana, elected in 1986 after 14 years of service as a member of the House of Representatives. One of the Senate's most active and aggressive new members, he is presently chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a member of the Democratic National Committee's Executive Committee. He currently serves on the influential Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Committee on Aging, and as Chairman of the Merchant Marine Subcommittee. In 1990, Senator Breaux received the Propeller Club's Salute to Congress Award for his outstanding service to the maritime industry, and his sponsorship of important wetlands and wildlife conservation legislation has garnered him numerous awards. He received a B.S. degree at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and earned his Juris Doctorate from LSU in 1967.

Lloyd F. Collette was the founder of the United Credit Company, the forerunner of today's United Companies Financial Corporation. He was named chairman emeritus of the corporation in 1986 and held the title until his death in 1987. Under his leadership United Companies grew into a multi-million dollar corporation marketing insurance and annuities in 47 states and originating residential and commercial mortgage and consumer loans in 17 states. He directed the diversification of the corporation into 14 subsidiaries, including a communication corporation, a real estate brokerage and development company, and title insurance company. Over the years, Mr. Collette has accepted many honors including a 1983 ‘Marketer of the Year’ and the 1985 ‘Executive of the Year’ awards. His corporation was cited in the 1984 Forbesmagazine ‘Up and Comer 300’ and by Venture magazine as one of the top 50 national companies still run by its founder. In 1985 United Companies established the Lloyd F. Collette Endowed Chair of Insurance and Financial Services at LSU. He earned his B.S. degree in journalism at LSU in 1935.

Patrick F. Taylor is chairman and chief executive officer of Taylor Energy Company and owner of Circle Bar Ranch, a renowned embryo transfer cattle operation and a center for research into wildlife management. He has received national attention for his Taylor Plan which seeks to make a college education available to the citizens of Louisiana, regardless of their economic status. He sits on a number of boards including the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the World Trade Center, and the Institute for Human Understanding. He serves on the board of trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the National Petroleum Council. He has been recognized with numerous honors and awards, including his recent honorary Doctor of Science and Humane Letters from LSU. He is a member of the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Foundation and is a former member of the LSU Board of Supervisors. Mr. Taylor received his B.S. degree in petroleum engineering from LSU in 1962.

Alumnus of the Year

Robert S. Greer, Sr. is the retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer for Union National Life Insurance Company and Union National Fire Insurance Company. He led this Baton Rouge business to become one of the nation's top life and health insurance companies. The Greer family and Union National Life have been major supporters of LSU, and in 1989, Mr. Greer was honored with the establishment of the $1 million Robert S. Greer, Sr. Alumni Endowed Chair of Business Administration. He is a former president of the LSU Alumni Association, a founding member of the College of Business Administration's Partnership for Excellence board, a member of the LSU Foundation, and a member of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center Board of Directors. His civic activities include the Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, United Way, YMCA, Salvation Army, and Hospice Foundation of Greater Baton Rouge. He is a recipient of numerous awards including his 1987 induction to the LSU Hall of Distinction. He is a 1941 graduate of LSU.

Vincent A. Forte is founder and chairman of the board of Forte and Tablada, Inc., an engineering, architectural, and planning firm responsible for Louisiana's first hydro-electric power plant being built near Vidalia. This venture included 14 countries and 21 states in developing the world's largest, pre-fabricated, hydro-electric, power plant. Mr. Forte is respected nationwide for his work on this project and for his work in prison expansions, industrial projects, and architectural and civil designs. He organized the Louisiana Engineering Foundation and aided the Louisiana Engineering Society during his presidency to grow a membership of more than 2,500. He also organized the LSU Engineering Alumni Society, serves as advisor to the dean of the College of Engineering, and his company has developed a student assistance plan of practical work experience for engineering students attending LSU. He is a member of the LSU Alumni Association, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, and the LSU Foundation. Mr. Forte received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from LSU in 1949 and attended graduate school in 1951 and 1952.

Charles Howard Barré retired as director and vice president of refining from Marathon Oil Company, Findlay, Ohio, in 1984. He joined Marathon in Texas City, Texas, as a chemist in 1946 and steadily moved up in increasingly responsible positions in Marathon's operations in Munich, Germany, and in Findlay. He was made vice president of refining in 1971 and named director in 1977. Mr. Barré has served on the boards and as an officer of numerous corporations and businesses, including Citizen Savings and Loan of Tiffin, Ohio, the Compania Ibericia Refinadora de Petroles of Madrid, Spain, Erdol Refinere Mannheim, Mannheim, West Germany, San Francisco Plantation Foundation, Marathon Oil Foundation, the National Petroleum Refiners Association, and the American Petroleum Institute. He was a member of the LSU Foundation from 1978-89. Mr. Barré received his degree in industrial chemistry from LSU in 1943. He also attended Harvard University's Advanced Management Program in 1965.

Filmore P. Bordelon, Jr., is a family physician and clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He is coroner of Avoyelles Parish, the medical director of three nursing facilities, and a staff member of Humana Hospital in Marksville, Louisiana. Dr. Bordelon attained prominence in his profession through his numerous professional and civic activities. He was named Louisiana Family Physician of the Year in 1989, highlighting a career that began in 1948. He is an active supporter of LSU, having been a founding member of the Campanile Charities and the LSU Foundation, a past president of the LSU Alumni Association, and founder and past president of the LSU Annual Fund. Dr. Bordelon earned his bachelor's degree in arts and sciences from LSU in 1943 and received his medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in 1945.

Helen Gray Crawford is vice president of Crawford & Associates, Inc., in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she serves as senior warden of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. A longtime member of the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Foundation, Mrs. Crawford and her family endowed the Giles Wilkeson Gray Lecture Series in honor of her father, a renowned LSU speech professor. She was a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors from 1981 to 1988 and served as chairman of the board in 1985-86. Under her leadership, admission requirements were established at LSU. On August 6, 1990, President George H. Bush nominated Mrs. Crawford for a six-year term on the prestigious National Council on the Humanities (NEH), and the United States Senate unanimously confirmed her appointment. She was named to Omicron Delta Kappa in 1984 and cited as one of 100 distinguished members of Delta Delta Delta in 1988. She received a bachelor's in liberal arts from LSU in 1946.

Justin Wilson is an internationally recognized humorist and raconteur, who has sold millions of record albums and makes hundreds of personal appearances each year. Since 1965, he has written four cookbooks and three books of stories. More than one million Justin Wilson books are currently in print. His television series Louisiana Cookin' was recognized by an Emmy award nomination and Cable Guide Magazinehas named it the best cooking show for two consecutive years. Other television series to his credit are Cookin' Cajun and Louisiana Cookin' Outdoors. A professional member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, Mr. Wilson's lectures and consulting work in accident prevention have included assignments with NASA and tours of U.S. military bases in West Germany. Justin Wilson attended LSU in the early 1930s.

Alumnus of the Year

Kent Anderson is vice chairman of the Board of Directors of American Bancshares, Inc., of Monroe, Louisiana. He also has served as president and as a member of the board since joining the institution in 1973 after his retirement from Olinkraft, Inc. Mr. Anderson has long been an avid LSU supporter. He has served as president, president-elect, and treasurer of the LSU Alumni Association and has been a member of the prestigious Tower Club for 10 years. He is a founding member of the Ouachita Parish Alumni Chapter and a creator of the LSU Alumni Conclave. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the LSU Foundation. His numerous civic activities include work with St. Paul's Methodist Church, United Way of Ouachita Parish, and the Monroe Rotary Club. Mr. Anderson received his bachelor's degree in business in 1949 from LSU, where he was a member of the leadership fraternity Omicron Delta Kappa and the social fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Mary Frey Eaton is a member of the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council and one of Louisiana's most outstanding civic activists. In Baton Rouge, her civic work includes involvement with the Mayor's Beautification Commission, the Community Fund for the Arts, the Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and the Woman's Hospital Foundation. On the state level, she is a board member of the Council for a Better Louisiana and the Louisiana Educational Television Authority, as well as a member of a maintenance task force of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Mrs. Eaton has received the Baton Rouge Golden Deeds Award, the Volunteer Activist Award, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award. Her involvement with LSU includes participation on the CAMD Research Park Task Force, the School of Social Work Advisory Committee, and the LSU Baseball Coach's Committee. She is also active with the Friends of the LSU Library, the LSU Foundation, and the LSU Alumni Foundation. Mrs. Eaton received a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences from LSU in 1947.

Thomas G. Rhame is a United States Army major general currently assigned as the Chief of the United States Military Training Mission to Saudi Arabia. Prior to this appointment, he was the commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One), Fort Riley, Kansas. As commanding general, he led the 1st Infantry Division against Iraq during the Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, U.S. Army, and as Commander of the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center in Washington, D.C. He has had key appointments during a five-year tour with the Army in Europe, as well as a variety of progressive assignments during his military career. General Rhame's numerous awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal. He received a bachelor's degree in accounting from LSU in 1963 and was commissioned a second lieutenant through the ROTC. He holds an M.B.A. from Syracuse University, and his military education includes the U.S. Army War College and Armed Forces Staff College.

W. Henson Moore is Deputy Secretary of Energy, the number two ranking official at the United States Department of Energy. He has held the position since April 1989. Mr. Moore was senior partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan from January 1987 until he joined the administration. From 1975 until 1987, he served in the United States House of Representatives as a Member of Congress from the Sixth District of Louisiana. During his years on Capitol Hill, he served on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Agricultural Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. Before his election to Congress, Mr. Moore was a partner in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, law firm of Dale, Owen, Richardson, Taylor, and Mathew's. He served in the United States Army as a Captain in the Military Corps from 1965 to 1967. A longtime, active member of the LSU Alumni Association, Mr. Moore received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science from LSU and his J.D. from the LSU Law School.

Alumnus of the year

A. W. Noland, chairman of the board of The Powell Group, is active in a wide variety of business and civic affairs in Southwest Louisiana. He has chaired the aviation and agriculture committees of the Lake Charles Association of Commerce, served on the boards of the Louisiana Forestry Association, the Greater Lake Charles Water Company, Inc., the Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, and the Lake Charles Chamber of Commerce. He has been director of Pan American Life Insurance for 25 years. His business interests include forestry, farming and rice milling, oil and gas exploration, waste rice hull-to-energy production, and investments. His philanthropic endeavors include gifts to LSU made in the name of his son, the late Willis Noland, a 1967 graduate of LSU, who was active in alumni and development affairs of the University. His contribution to the LSU Alumni Association will be used in the construction of the new Lod Cook Alumni Center. The center's main hall, where all major activities and special events will take place, will be named the ‘Willis Noland Hall.’ Mr. Noland attended LSU in 1932, from which he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry Reserve, United States Army. He served on active duty during World War II.

Alvin L. Bertrand, an internationally recognized expert in rural sociology, served 35 years on the LSU faculty, attaining the University's highest professional rank, the Boyd Professorship. During his distinguished teaching and research career, he authored, co-authored, or edited numerous articles, books, and journals, including several published in foreign countries; served on many national, regional, and state committees and as an officer of a number of professional societies; and consulted for many federal, state, and private agencies and business concerns. He was the first American to head the World Organizations of Rural Sociologists and is the only person to date to have been elected to serve as president of the three, southern regional, sociological organizations. He is listed in 11 directories of eminent persons. After he retired from LSU in 1978, Dr. Bertrand developed an interest in desktop computers and today is writing instructional manuals and teaching the use of applications programs. He continues to consult on a limited basis and devotes a large portion of his time to community volunteer activities. Dr. Bertrand earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees at LSU in 1940 and 1948, respectively, and received his M.S. degree from the University of Kentucky in 1941.

Carlos A. Morales Troncoso is vice president of the Dominican Republic, a position to which he was elected in 1986 and re-elected in 1990. He also is Dominican Ambassador to the United States. Prior to re-election, Mr. Morales was chief executive officer of his country's largest employer, Gulf and Western Americans Corporation. He was a founder of the Caribbean Basin Sugar Group and has participated in the creation of several projects that are contributing to the economic and social development of the country. He has been recognized for his valuable contributions to the business community with several honors, among them the Dominican American Chamber of Commerce New York Man of the Year Award (1984), the LSU College of Business Administration Distinguished Alumnus Award (1981), and the Gulf and Western Industries, Inc., Award to Free Enterprise (1982). He holds an honorary degree from Chicago State University. Ever mindful of his strong LSU ties, Mr. Morales offers many University graduates employment at Gulf and Western and includes many alumni on his management team. He also has established a number of scholarships to enable students from the Dominican Republic to study at LSU. Vice President Morales received his B.S. in engineering from LSU in 1962.

G. Lee Griffin is chairman, president, chief executive officer of Premier Bancorp, Inc. and chairman of and chief executive officer of Premier Bank., N.A. He joined Premier's management training program in 1962 and held a number of senior management positions before assuming his current post in 1988. He serves on the board and executive committee of Visa U.S.A. and on several other professional organizations. Mr. Griffin's civic and community activities in Baton Rouge and around the state are numerous. He is a board member and past president of the LSU Foundation and the LSU College of Business Administration Partnership for Excellence and has served on the boards of the Rotary Club, Baton Rouge Symphony, Boy Scouts of America, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, Capital Area United Way, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), and Committee of 100. He is a member of the Conference Center Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and is a founder and past president of St. James Place. In 1984 he was named Volunteer Activist of the Year and in 1992 received the NCCJ Brotherhood Award. Mr. Griffin graduated from the University of Texas in 1960 and was awarded his master's degree in economics from LSU in 1962.

Henry A. Politz is chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was appointed a federal appellate judge in 1979 and named chief judge in 1992. Before his judicial appointment, he practiced law with Booth, Lockard, Jack, Pleasant & LeSage in Shreveport. Nationally recognized for his work in the areas of legal ethics, Judge Politz is currently serving on a committee of federal judges which renders advisory opinions on ethical matters and presently is revising the Code of Conduct for federal judicial offices and employees. He has held numerous offices in local and state professional associations and has served as an assistant bar examiner for the Louisiana Supreme Court. He is a visiting professor at the Hebert Law Center and was instrumental in bringing a full session of the Court of Appeals to the school. He also lectures at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. He served as a keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary celebration of the LSU Law Review and was selected as one of six prestigious former editors to write an introduction to the anniversary issue of the publication. Judge Politz received his B.A. from LSU in 1958 and his J.D. in 1959.

Hermann Moyse, Jr. is chairman of the board of City National Bank as well as chairman of First Commerce Corporation, City National's holding company. He joined City National in 1946 and held a number of management positions, including president and executive vice president, before he was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer in 1980. He retired as active officer of the bank in 1992. Mr. Moyse is active in and holds offices in the Louisiana Bankers Association and American Bankers Association. He holds directorships in more than a dozen civic, business, and fraternal organizations. He is a past treasurer of the LSU Alumni Association, has been a member of the LSU Foundation since 1972, and was a charter member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Alumni Chapter. The Louisiana Bankers Association recently honored him by endowing a chair in his name at LSU. The ‘Herman Moyse, Jr., Chair of Banking’ is in the College of Business Administration. Mr. Moyse was the second student in LSU's history to earn a 4.0 grade point average, which earned him designation as valedictorian of his graduating class. He earned his B.A. from LSU in 1942, did graduate work at LSU in 1946-47, and was a member of the first class of the University's School of Banking of the South.

Mary S. Metz, dean of University Extension at the University of California, Berkeley, has held faculty and administrative positions at Berkeley, Hood College, LSU, and Mills College. Before assuming her present position in 1991, Dr. Metz was president of Mills College in Oakland, California; provost and dean of the faculty at Hood College, Frederick, Maryland; and assistant to the chancellor and director of elementary and intermediate French programs at LSU. She also has been an instructor, visiting professor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, and visiting professor of French. Dr. Metz holds memberships and offices in 22 professional associations, serves on the boards of directors of eight corporations and foundations, and is active in numerous civic and community activities. Her honors and awards include honorary doctorates from Converse College, Chapman College, and Furman University, as well as a Distinguished Alumni Award from Furman in 1977. Her biographical listing appears in 10 directories of eminent persons. Dr. Metz graduated summa cum laude from Furman University in 1958 with a bachelor's in French and English and magna cum laude from LSU in 1966 with a Ph.D. in French. She also studied at the Institut Phonètique, Sorbonne, Paris.

Monroe Jackson Rathbone, Jr. has been medical director of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center since 1983 and was chief of staff there in 1969. After his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and a residency at Charity Hospital and Ochsner Foundation Hospital, he returned to Baton Rouge in 1958 to practice general surgery as a partner in The Surgery Clinic. Dr. Rathbone currently serves as chairman of the board for the Cancer, Radiation, and Research Foundation (Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center), is on the boards of the Hospice Foundation of Greater Baton Rouge and Gulf States Utilities, and is a founder and the medical director of American Liberty Life Insurance. He has served on the boards of the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the Baton Rouge General Medical Center, St. James Place, Episcopal High School, and All Saints Episcopal School. He has been president or officer of numerous professional and medical societies, including the East Baton Rouge Parish Medical Society, the Ochsner Alumni Association and Surgical Society, and the Greater Baton Rouge Cancer Society. He is active in community organizations and is a member of the L Club, the LSU Alumni Association, and a past member of the LSU Foundation. In 1992, he received the Arthritis Foundation's Humanitarian Award. Dr. Rathbone attended LSU from 1941-44 and received his M.D. from the LSU School of Medicine in 1949.

Alumnus of the Year

H. Rouse Caffey is chancellor of the LSU Agricultural Center, a position he has held since 1984. Since he joined LSU as an associate with the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, he has served in several capacities, including superintendent of the Agricultural Center's Rice Research Station, associate director of the Experiment Station System, and vice chancellor for administration and director of international programs. He also served as chancellor of LSU at Alexandria. Dr. Caffey has served as a consultant to several international rice programs for Ford Foundation, USAID, World Bank, university contracts, and private industry. LSU agricultural programs are respected worldwide because of his international agricultural leadership. He is serving a second three-year term as co-chairman of the Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences, an advisory board to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Dr. Caffey has served as co-chairman of the International Science and Education Council, national chairman of the budget committee of the Division of Agriculture for the national Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and president of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists. He was named 1986 Man of the Year in Service to Louisiana Agriculture. He is also credited with sharing with LSU the Agricultural Center's vast land holdings for the construction of the Lod Cook Alumni Center and playing fields adjoining the Student Recreational Sports Complex. In 1992, Dr. Caffey was named the College of Agriculture Alumnus of the Year. His undergraduate and master's degrees in agronomy-plant breeding were earned at Mississippi State University in 1951 and 1955 respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree in agronomy crops from LSU in 1959.

Harry J. Longwell is president of Exxon Company, U.S.A., the company with which he began his career as a drilling engineer in 1963. After a number of engineering and supervisory assignments in Louisiana, California, and Texas, Mr. Longwell was named operations director in the South Texas Division in Corpus Christi in 1974. Later that year, he moved to Los Angeles as operations manager of the Western Production Division, then in 1977, he became Western Division Manager. He served as operations manager in the Production Department in Houston from 1980 to 1983, when he was named vice president of the department with responsibility for the company's U.S. production activities. In 1986, he moved to London as vice president of exploration and production for Esso Europe, Inc. He returned to the U.S. as executive assistant to the chairman and the president of Exxon Corporation in New York. He became vice president of exploration and production for Exxon Company, International in Florham Park, New Jersey, in 1987, senior vice president in 1988, and executive vice president in 1990. He was named to his present position in 1992. Mr. Longwell is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Petroleum Institute and the LSU Foundation and is a past member of the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. He is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Greater Houston Partnership and United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast. In 1991, he was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction. Mr. Longwell graduated from LSU in 1963 with a B.S. in petroleum engineering.

James L. Dennis, an associate justice on the Supreme Court   of Louisiana since 1975, was one of the youngest judges ever elected to the   position. Acknowledged as one of Louisiana's foremost scholars, Judge Dennis   practiced law in Monroe for 10 years, served in the Louisiana House of   Representatives, on the District Court of Morehouse and Ouachita parishes and   on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, before he was elected to the Supreme   Court. He was a delegate to and chairman of the Judiciary Committee for the   Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1973; coordinator of the Louisiana   Constitutional Revision Commission; chairman of the Board of Governors of the   Louisiana Judicial College; and chairman of the Louisiana Commission on the   Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. Justice Dennis is a member of   the American Bar Association on Appellate Practice and the LSU Law Center's   Order of the Coif. He taught at the LSU Law Center and Tulane University   School of Law, received law school honors, and was managing editor of Louisiana   Law Review. Following his service in the U.S. Army, Justice Dennis   received his B.S. in 1959 from Louisiana Tech University, his J.D. from LSU   in 1962, and his L.L.M. from the University of Virginia in 1984.

Lee Berwick, a breeder of registered quarter horses and thoroughbred horses, is the president and founder of Delta Downs racetrack in Vinton, Louisiana, the first AQHA-approved quarter horse races in Louisiana. A former assistant professor of animal science at LSU, he coached the Livestock Judging Team from 1946-51 and established LSU's quarter horse breeding program in 1947. He was a breeder of purebred Hereford and Brahma cattle and has served as president of the Louisiana Cattleman's Association, the American Brahma Breeder's Association, and the American Quarter Horse Association and has been a national and international judge of purebred cattle and registered quarter horses. Mr. Berwick, who currently serves on the LSU Agricultural Development Council, will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1994. His philanthropic endeavors include gifts to the university in the forms of the Lee Berwick Top 100 Scholarship, the Kathryn Berwick Top 100 Scholarship, and the Lee Berwick Family Top 100 Scholarship. He has also set up the Lee Berwick Academic Excellence Fund in the College of Agriculture, with plans for it to be funded from the proceeds of a life insurance policy. Mr. Berwick served in the U.S. Army from 1942-46, attaining the rank of Major, U.S. Infantry. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the French Croix de Guerre, and the European Theater Operations ribbon with three battle stars for his service during World War II. He received his B.S. in 1942 and his M.S. in 1948, both in animal science and both from LSU.

Mary Lou Applewhite, a dermatologist, has maintained a private medical practice in Jefferson Parish since 1971. After her internship and residencies in dermatology and pathology at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Dr. Applewhite served as instructor at the Emory School of Medicine and held positions at the Ochsner Clinic and Ochsner Foundation Hospital. She received her Board Certification from the American Academy of Dermatology in 1961 and is currently a visiting professor at the LSU School of Medicine, as well as a member of the staffs at East Jefferson General and Lakeside Hospitals. She is actively involved with community and state affairs through memberships on boards and civic societies including the State Board of Medical Examiners, the Jefferson Council on Aging, Campfire, Inc., the Louisiana State Medical Society, Jefferson Parish Medical Society, and the Louisiana Dermatology Association. She is also a member in both Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies. An active member of the College of Basic Sciences Development Council, she has established the Mary Lou Applewhite Endowed Professorship in Zoology and Physiology, is using her fund-raising skills toward establishing the George Kent Chair in Zoology and Physiology, and was recently awarded the College of Basic Sciences Service Award. She is a member of the LSU Foundation and the LSU Alumni Association and is immediate past president of the association. Dr. Applewhite received her B.S. in zoology and physiology from LSU in 1951 and her M.D. from the LSU School of Medicine in 1955.

Reinosuke Hara is a vice chairman of Seiko Instruments, Inc., the company he joined in 1969. The following year he was made director of research and development and named to the management board. During the next several years, he rose to become managing director, executive senior managing director, executive vice president, president, and then vice chairman in 1993. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Hara earned his undergraduate degree and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Tokyo. From 1952-56, he did research in the United States at the University of Washington, Harvard University, and Louisiana State University. Following his return to Japan in 1956, he was employed by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, and from 1959-69 he was assistant director of the research division of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Dr. Hara is an active member of the College of Basic Sciences Development Council. He received the honorary Doctor of Science degree from LSU on May 21, 1992, for his strong ties to the University, the international attention he has focused on LSU throughout his distinguished career, his service as president of the Tokyo Chapter of the LSU Alumni Association, his service to the LSU College of Basic Sciences, and his generous financial support of LSU through basic sciences.

Thomas O. Ryder is president of the Establishment Services Worldwide Division of American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. and chairman of the board of the American Express Publishing Corporation. He joined American Express in 1984 as president and publisher of American Express Publishing Corporation and was appointed president and worldwide executive publisher in 1989. American Express publishes Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, Departures, Connections, and Your Company. Prior to American Express, he was senior vice president of CBS Magazines, where he was responsible for strategic planning and acquisitions, as well as such magazines as Road & Track, American Photographer, Mechanics Illustrated, and Field & Stream. He founded Education Today Co. in 1972, which published magazines for teachers and school administrators and founded the Learning Institute, one of the nation's largest educator training institutions. He also held positions at Xerox Education Publications and Time, Inc. Mr. Ryder is a member of the Manship School of Mass Communication Hall of Fame and serves on the school's advisory committee. He is also a member and officer in several professional organizations including the Magazine Publishers of America, the Young President's Organization, the Direct Marketing Association, and the Advertising Council. Mr. Ryder earned his B.A.J. from LSU in 1966.

Todd G. Cole is a managing director of Simat, Hellieson, and Eichner, Inc. (SH&E), an international aviation consulting firm and serves on the board of directors of CapMAC Holdings, Inc., Delta Life Corporation, Kaiser Resources, Inc., and NAC Re Corporation. Mr. Cole began his career at Delta Airlines in 1940 and rose to the positions of director and executive vice president. In 1963, he joined Eastern Airlines where he served as director, vice chairman, and chairman of the finance committee. He joined CIT Financial Corporation in 1969, became president in 1973, and was chairman and chief executive officer when he retired in 1986. He then began a consulting career and has had a variety of major aviation corporations as clients. Mr. Cole attended LSU from 1935 to 1937, became a certified public accountant in 1945, and received his J.D. from Woodrow Wilson College of Law in 1947. He is also a licensed private pilot.

Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder has been president and publisher of the Dumas Clarion newspaper since 1954 and was recently elected to a sixth term in the Arkansas State House of Representatives. She has served as president or chairman of numerous professional organizations, including the National Newspaper Association, the only woman to hold the position in the organization's 109-year history; the National Federation of Press Women; the Arkansas Press Association; the Little Rock Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists-Sigma Delta Chi; the Arkansas Press Women; and as a member of the Dean's Advisory Committee on Journalism at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Her professional awards include designations as an Arkansas Press Woman of Achievement and a National Press Woman of Achievement; the President's Award for Lifetime Achievement by the National Federation of Press Women; the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Arkansas Journalist of the Year; the Emma McKinney Award for the Nation's Outstanding Community Newspaperwoman; and the Arkansas Professional Woman of Distinction. Mrs. Schexnayder has been named Dumas Woman of the Year and is the only woman to have served as president of the Dumas Chamber of Commerce. She graduated with a B.A. in sociology and journalism from LSU in 1944 and attended graduate school at LSU in 1946 and 1947.

Doug Moreau, district attorney for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, has been a fixture in and around the LSU campus since his days as a member of the LSU football team in the 1960's. While at LSU, he was named All-Southeastern Conference and All-American in football. He was named the VFW Outstanding Amateur Athlete in the state of Louisiana in 1964. In that year, he was the SEC scoring champion and the nation's leader in field goals, and was named Sugar Bowl Most Valuable Player. He left LSU in 1966 as the football team's all-time scoring leader. After four years with the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, Mr. Moreau returned to Baton Rouge, where he entered law school at LSU. He practiced with the Baton Rouge law firm of Benton, Benton & Benton for one year before entering public life in the 19th Judicial District. He served four years as assistant district attorney before being elected Judge for Division B of the Baton Rouge City Court. Judge Moreau presided over City Court for two years and then spent the next 11 years as Judge in the 19th Judicial Court of the State of Louisiana. In 1990, Mr. Moreau was elected to the post he holds today as district attorney. He also serves as adjunct professor at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU and as an instructor at the Paralegal Institute in LSU's Division of Continuing Education. Moreau holds memberships in a variety of organizations, including the Louisiana State Bar Association; the Governor's Commission on Criminal Justice; the Louisiana Judicial College Bench Book Committee; the National Institute of Trial Advocacy Faculty; Omicron Delta Kappa Honorary Leadership Fraternity; Master, Dean Henry George McMahon Inn of Court Chapter, American Inns of Court; the National District Attorney's Association; and on the board of directors of the Louisiana District Attorney's Association. He was presented the Distinguished American Award by the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1989. Mr. Moreau earned his B.A. in business administration in 1967 and his J.D. from the LSU Law School in 1973.

Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick is a musician and civic activist who has taught and performed as a vocalist for more than 40 years. She taught for 21 years in Sulphur, Lake Charles, and Jennings, and taught for several years at McNeese State College and the LSU School of Music. Endowed professorships were established at the LSU School of Music and at Louisiana College by her husband to honor the high priority Mrs. Kirkpatrick places on education. She has performed as a soprano soloist for the Lake Charles ‘Messiah’ chorus, the National Mutual Broadcast ‘Messiah’ chorus, and the National Baptist Woman's Conference. She has served as president or chairman of numerous local and state-wide organizations, including the Louisiana Baptist Convention, the Louisiana Federation Music Clubs, the Louisiana Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing; the Louisiana Music Teachers Association, and the Legislative Mandated Task Force on Sex Education. She has also served on the Louisiana Board of Trustees for State Colleges, the Louisiana Board of Regents, and the Baton Rouge Symphony Board. Mrs. Kirkpatrick's awards include the Distinguished Alumni Award from Louisiana College, Who's Who of American Women, honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Louisiana College, LSU Mortar Board, the Baton Rouge Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews Award, and the SAI and Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Fraternities for music. She is the wife of Claude Kirkpatrick, the mother of Tom, Kay and Kris, and the grandmother of five. Mrs. Kirkpatrick received her B.A. in French and voice from Louisiana College in 1938, pursued advanced study at The Juilliard School of Music in New York, and earned a M.M. degree from LSU in 1965.

Gus Weill, author, playwright, poet, teacher, and public relations consultant, has been active, literally, in almost every area along the mass communications landscape. After his honorable discharge as a 1st Lieutenant from the United States Army, Mr. Weill began his long career with the opening of an advertising/public relations agency in Lafayette. He has continued in that field for more than 35 years, taking a two-year detour along the way to write for producer/director Otto Preminger and another four years to serve as Executive Secretary to Governor John J. McKeithen. An accomplished author, Mr. Weill has published six books, while five of his plays have come to life on the stage. He has always staffed his agency with LSU graduates, many of whom have gone on to achieve national acclaim, including political consultants James Carville and Raymond Strother. Mr. Weill has served as host of Louisiana Public Broadcasting's ‘Louisiana Legends’ television series, and co-host of WBRZ-TV'S ‘Point/Counterpoint.’ Mr. Weill himself was named a ‘Louisiana Legend’ in 1994 in recognition of his prestigious career in communications. Other honors and awards include Best Newspaper Column and later the Man of Action Award from the Louisiana Press Association; The Stanley Drama Award from Wagner College; the Distinguished Alumnus Award and induction into the LSU Journalism Hall of Fame by the LSU Journalism Association; the Community Service Award from the Louisiana NAACP; and the Pete Goldsby Award. He has also served, without accepting remuneration, as a visiting professor in the Division of Honors and Interdisciplinary Studies, as well as playwriting, at LSU. Mr. Weill is married to the former LeAnne Svigel, who holds two degrees from LSU and is president of Gus Weill, Inc. His son, Gus, attended LSU and is executive vice president of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide in New York. Mr. Weill graduated from LSU in 1955.

Jesse Coates, Sr. has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in chemical engineering, making his mark first in the world of industry before embarking on a highly-decorated academic career that spanned five decades. He held positions as a chemist and chemical engineer for six different companies in Louisiana and Texas between 1928 and 1936 while pursuing advanced degrees in chemical engineering and in 1936 began his long association as a faculty member at LSU. Dr. Coates started that year as an assistant professor and would later serve as department head, then department chairman, before retiring in 1973 as an Alumni Professor emeritus of chemical engineering. He holds memberships in a dozen honorary and professional societies and has received numerous awards, including the Louisiana Engineering Society Technical Achievement Medal; the Charles E. Coates Memorial Award; the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of Engineering Examiners; Chemical Engineering Magazine's ‘Man of the Year,’ and Westinghouse Electric Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has served as president of the Southeastern Section of the American Society of Engineering Education, as well as chairman of the Research Division of that organization; chairman of the Louisiana State Board for Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors; and as charter member and chairman of the Baton Rouge Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The Jesse Coates Award in Chemical Engineering was established by former students and friends in his honor in 1973. Dr. Coates earned a B.S. in chemical engineering at LSU in 1928 and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1932 and 1936 respectively.

Alumnus of the Year

John T. Shelton is vice chairman, executive vice president, director, and chief operations officer of Texas Olefins Company and its petrochemical subsidiary, Texas Petrochemicals Corporation in Houston, Texas. He joined Texas Olefins in 1983 after serving as general manager of Arco Chemical Company's Lyondell Petrochemical Complex and vice president of manufacturing for an Arco Chemical Joint Venture, Oxirane Chemical Company. Prior to beginning his career in the petrochemical industry, Mr. Shelton served in the United States Army from 1954-56. Mr. Shelton has long been a very generously active member of philanthropic organizations associated with LSU, including the LSU Foundation and the Tiger Athletic Foundation. His activities with the LSU Alumni Association include service on the Association's Board of Directors, as chairman of the Finance Committee, and as the Alumni Association's representative to the LSU Athletic Council. He has played a prominent role in the Alumni Association, both through scholarship development and recently, the construction of the new Lod Cook Alumni Center, where the gift shop is known as the John and Rose Ann Shelton Gift Center. He also sponsored a conference room located on the building's second floor. Mr. Shelton was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity while at LSU, serving as president in 1952. He received his B. S. in chemical engineering from LSU in 1953 and his J. D. from South Texas College of Law in Houston in 1975.

Linda Craft started playing golf at the relatively late age of 26. Two years later she turned pro, playing five years on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. She served in various capacities for the LPGA and in 1983, was awarded the Master Professional Rank of the LPGA Teaching Division. She was named National LPGA Teacher of the Year in 1987. Ms. Craft published three books, in addition to numerous articles on the game, and gave tips as a television commentator on national broadcasts of LPGA events for three years. In 1972, Ms. Craft teamed with fellow pro golfer Penny Zavichas to create the Craft-Zavichas Golf School in Pueblo, Colorado, which has achieved international recognition. In 1974, Ms. Craft was diagnosed with cancer. For the rest of her life, she actively battled that disease through timeless participation in charity golf events and other fund-raisers for the American Cancer Society. In 1990, she was awarded the ‘Ben Hogan Award’ at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and became the first recipient of the American Cancer Society's Award of Courage in 1991. Ms. Craft also received the Governor's Victory Award for the State of Texas in 1990, the LPGA Ellen Griffin Rolex Award for excellence in golf teaching, and the Golf Digest Founders Cup Award. She was inducted in 1988 into the Women's Hall of Fame of North Texas, the Jackson High School Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Texas Women's Hall of Fame for Athletics and Outstanding Achievements in Life in 1993. Ms. Craft received a B.A. in psychology from LSU in 1960. She passed away on Feb. 22, 1993, in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Paul Arst, agent emeritus with the Prudential Insurance Company of America, has been a leading member of both the business and civic communities in Baton Rouge since his days at LSU in the 1940's. During a distinguished career that began at Prudential in 1948, he has received numerous awards as a Chartered Life Underwriter, including the company's Southwestern Region No.1 agent; President's Club Qualifier for 40 consecutive years, a company record: the Million Dollar Round Table for 37 years; the Top of the Table in 1982 and 1985: the National Association of Life Underwriters National Quality Award for 41 consecutive years; the Louisiana Association of Life Underwriters Sales Award and Baton Rouge Association of Life Underwriters ‘Man of the Year’ in 1966. Mr. Arst is an honorary, lifetime member of the Louisiana State Jaycees and has served as campaign chairman and president of the United Givers Fund of Baton Rouge, the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, the Alumni of LSU's College of Business Administration, the LSU Alumni Association's Annual Fund, the Estate and Business Planning Council of Baton Rouge, the LSU National Alumni Association; and the Louisiana Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1989, he was one of two recipients of the Brotherhood Award, presented by the Baton Rouge Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Mr. Arst's philanthropic endeavors at LSU have resulted in three scholarships: the Paul and Ellen Arst Endowed Scholarship in the College of Business Administration, the Paul Arst, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in the School of Social Work, and the Paul and Ellen Arst Endowed Scholarship for Special Education Majors in the College of Education. Mr. Arst received a B.S. in commerce from LSU in 1942.

W. L. Tidwell has been a leader in petroleum geology and is an expert in the geology of oil fields in south Louisiana and offshore Louisiana. He is retired as chairman and CEO of Tidwell Engineering Services and now owns a majority interest in the Gruy Company, a petroleum engineering consulting firm. Mr. Tidwell is a certified petroleum geologist and is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the New Orleans and Houston Geological Society of Petroleum Engineers. Mr. Tidwell has long been active in the LSU Alumni Association, serving at various times on its board of directors and as president of the Houston Chapter, where he founded the Texas Tiger Golf Tournament. He also has served as director of the Tiger Athletic Foundation; director of the LSU Foundation; is a charter member of the LSU Geology Endowment; president of the LSU Geology Alumni; and charter member of the College of Basic Sciences Advisory Council. Mr. Tidwell is a two-time winner of the Alumni Service Award and was named ‘Mr. Houston LSU’ in 1974. He is a co-founder of the Tidwell-Barnidge Endowed Scholarship. A veteran of World War II, Mr. Tidwell received a B.S. in geology from LSU in 1950.

A retired, supervisory research agronomist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Charles N. Bollich made scientific discoveries during his 40 years of work that changed the scope of rice production in the southern United States and Central and South America.

Bollich's discovery and development of innovative rice cultivars, such as Lemont, Newrex, Lebonnet, and Labelle, have pushed the rice industries of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi to the cutting edge. Thanks to his efforts, these states have enjoyed unprecedented yields in productivity, enriching their rice-growing economies by an additional $7 billion since 1983.

Recipient of numerous accolades, including the American Society of Agronomy's Agronomic Achievement Award (1991), the Rice Foundation's Meritorious Service Award (1989), and the USDA Superior Service Award for Group Research (1987), Bollich has been named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America and a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and was honored at the International Rice Festival in Crowley, Louisiana. His career culminated with his 1994 induction into the Science Hall of Fame of the Agricultural Research Service.

Bollich has served as president of the Beaumont (Texas) Catholic School Board and the Texas Archeological Society and on the Board of Advisors of the Institute for Underwater Research. He graduated from LSU with his B.S. in 1950 and his Ph.D. in 1957 and is married to the former Peggy Fae Austrum.

Frank J. Polozola worked full-time throughout college to finance his education in LSU's College of Business Administration, where he was president of his junior class and later, at the LSU Law School. Between balancing jobs and school, he lettered in varsity baseball, playing on the 1961 SEC Championship Team. During law school, he was selected as a candidate for the LSU Law Review and was recognized with the Bureau of National Affairs Award.

After receiving his law degree in 1965, he worked as an attorney with Seale, Smith and Phelps in Baton Rouge and became a partner with the firm in 1968. He served the United States District Court (Middle District of Louisiana) as a magistrate, first part-time and later full-time, and is, today, a United States District Judge (Middle District of Louisiana). President from 1992 to 1993 of the District Judges Association of the Fifth Circuit, he is currently president of the American Inns of Court, Wex S. Malone Inn of Court.

Polozola's wisdom is not limited to the courtroom. He is an adjunct professor of law at the LSU Law School and has served the Southern University Law School in the same capacity in previous years. Since 1980, he has led seminars for United States District Judges at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., and has been a member of the Louisiana State Law Institute and the Federal Judicial Center's Committee on District Judge Education. He is the 1992 recipient of the Law League of Louisiana's Bernard J. Caillouet Award for Outstanding Contribution in Law Related Education and, in 1987, was inducted into LSU Law Center Hall of Fame. At the secondary level, he serves on the Catholic High School Board of Directors.

Polozola is married to Linda Kay White, and they have three children, Sheri, Gregory, and Gordon.

Fred Greer's LSU career spanned nearly 50 years; he studied journalism at LSU from 1939 to 1943 but did not earn a degree until he participated, at 73 years of age, in the 1992 commencement ceremonies.

Throughout the ‘interim,’ he served Union National Life faithfully up to his retirement in 1989, rising from agent to senior vice president / secretary and being named Marketer of the Year (1983) by the Sales and Marketing Executives of Greater Baton Rouge for his efforts to promote free enterprise. The best of his weekly columns for The Record, his insurance company's newsletter, were collected and published in 1988 by Francis & Lusky Co. under the title The Happy Road to Success: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.

In recognition for his community leadership and spirit of volunteerism, Greer has received numerous honors, including the National Red Cross Clara Barton Honor Award, the Golden Deeds Award of the Inter-Civic Council, which includes 44 local organizations, and in 1993 the Arthritis Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year award. He has been chairman of the Capital Area United Way and president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.

His children donated $100,000 to establish the Fred J. Greer, Jr., Chair in the Manship School of Mass Communication, with an additional $500,000 being raised by Greer and his friends. The chair, which will be devoted to the teaching of economics and ethics, has been approved by the Board of Regents and is awaiting $400,000 in state matching funds.

Greer is married to the former Betty Breaux.

Alumnus of the Year

Currently serving as president of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors, James Robert Peltier has also served on the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors and was president of the board in 1990-91. His sterling record of service to the University, which includes chairmanship of the LSU Board of Supervisors (1980-81), extends to the state: the Council for a Better Louisiana, Louisiana State Museum Foundation, Public Affairs Research Council, and Louisiana Cancer Society have benefited from his efforts.

An assistant professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the LSU School of Dentistry, Peltier received his B.S. from LSU in 1950 and D.D.S. from Loyola University of the South, interned at Duke University, and completed his residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. From 1954 to 1956, he was a captain in the U.S. Air Force Dental Corps. In different years, he has been president of the Southeastern Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, which he helped to found in 1969. The American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, and the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons all have awarded him the distinction of fellowship, and the Louisiana Dental Association made him the inaugural recipient of their distinguished achievement award.

Peltier has been honored by his hometown of Thibodaux, LA, where he is chairman of the board of Argent Bank, with the Outstanding Citizens Award, the Tri-Parish Volunteer Activist of the Year Award (1989), and, most recently, the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce Kennedy Award for Leadership and Dedication.

He and his wife, the former Benita Ann Armstrong, have three children and seven grandchildren. Managing to find time to pursue personal interests of writing and collecting, Peltier was named by Art and Antiques Magazine one of ‘America's Top 100 Greatest Collectors.’ The magazine published his article ‘Romance in the Stone,’ in its February/March 1994 issue.

On receiving her B.S. in 1966 and M.S. in 1968 from LSU in physical education, Joan Cowart Cronan went on to coach women's basketball and tennis prior to her segué into teaching and directing athletics.

Under Cronan's 10-year guidance as athletic director, the College of Charleston in South Carolina was recognized as having the number-one women's athletics program in the country by the American Women's Sports Foundation (1980). She is currently women's athletics director at the University of Tennessee.

Inducted into the College of Charleston Hall of Fame, Cronan has also been honored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association for her hard work, dedication, and success and was appointed to the 14-member Executive Committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She serves on the editorial board of College Athletic Management magazine.

Cronan's leadership extends beyond her women athletes to the Knoxville community: she serves on the boards of the Children's Hospital, YMCA, and Dogwood Arts and was chairperson for the 1991 Knoxville Area United Way fund Drive and president of the Executive Women's Association. In 1994, she received the Toastmaster's International Communication and Leadership Award and was named AOTT Citizen of the Year.

Her husband, Tom, is chairman of health, physical education, and recreation at Carson-Newman College (Tennessee), and they have two daughters, Kristi and Stacey.

Following his pre-med work at LSU, Julius H. Mullins received his M.B. and M.D. degrees from LSU Medical Center in New Orleans in 1936, completing his obstetrical and gynecological residency at LSU Medical Center and Charity Hospital. With the exception of the period of his World War II military service, he was in private practice in Baton Rouge, from 1940 until his retirement in 1986.

He has at different times held the position of vice chief of staff of Baton Rouge General Hospital and chief of staff at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, but perhaps his greatest contribution has been through his work at Woman's Hospital, where he was also chief of staff (1970). One of the 21founders and builders of the Woman's Hospital, he was president of the Woman's Hospital Foundation from 1956 to 1972, founded the annual Graffagino-Collins Memorial Lecture Series, and in 1986 wrote ‘Building the Woman's Hospital, the Mother House of Baton Rouge.’ Recently, before a joint meeting of the Seventh District of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London, he presented ‘An Analysis of 120,000 Obstetrical Deliveries at the Woman's Hospital from 1968 to 1988.’

Founder of the Dr. Edgar Hull Freshmen Scholarship fund and first president of the LSU Medical Center Alumni Association, Mullins was named the Medical Center's 1989 Alumnus of the Year.

He has shown dedication to the health and welfare of members of the community through chairing the Baton Rouge Rotary Club's Committee for ‘Shots for Tots,’ which immunized 888 infants and children on April 26, 1994, and serving the Baton Rouge Food Bank as president the same year. Married since 1939, Mullins and his wife, Dorothy Stebbins, have four children and nine grandchildren.

Ruth Loyd Miller's life has been a balance of erudition and experience. Having received her B.A. in speech from LSU in 1942, she passed the Louisiana Bar Examination and was admitted to practice in Louisiana state and federal courts in 1957 and ten years later, was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

She has campaigned for various candidates for office, among them Gov. Edwin W. Edwards and her husband, Minos D. Miller, Jr., a retired judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Miller was appointed by Edwards to the Louisiana Mineral Board as a delegate to Louisiana's Constitutional Convention and to the LSU Board of Supervisors, where she eventually became the first woman chair.

From 1969 to present, in what she calls ‘my private excursion into the field of private continuing education,’ Miller has researched Tudor and Elizabethan history and literature. Enrolling in graduate studies at the University of Southwestern Louisiana at the age of 63, she received her master's in English in 1987 and represents USL on the editorial advisory board for the Levy Humanities Series. Considered an authority on the Shakespearean authorship issue, Miller lectured on the history of the Earls of Oxford at Burlington House, Society of Antiquaries, where she was introduced by the Queen's personal herald. Awarded the first life-time achievement award of the Shakespeare-Oxford Society, the Millers have established the ‘Gladys Means Loyd Scholarship in Theater-Drama’ for a woman student and an endowment within the Deep South Writer's Conference.

In recognizing her during ‘Celebrate Family Week’ (1985), the Louisiana Inter-church Conference Newsletter noted that ‘she has been a trail blazer in Louisiana for racial justice, women's rights, and for the improvement of facilities for the handicapped.’

James Carville, whose political acumen as chief campaign strategist for the Clinton/Gore 1992 presidential ticket propelled his home state and alma mater into the limelight, grew up in Carville, a one-stop-sign town on the Mississippi River. His father was a postmaster as well as the owner of a general store, and his mother, ‘Miss Nippy,’ sold World Book encyclopedias to put her eight children through college.

After serving two years in the Marine Corps, Carville finished his undergraduate degree at LSU and went on to earn a law degree. He was litigator for a Baton Rouge law firm from 1973 to 1979 but was never happy working as a lawyer, and as a result, spent his free time as a consultant to Democrats running for local and statewide offices.

A protégé of veteran Louisiana campaign strategist Gus Weill, Carville ran and won gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns from 1986 to 1991 for Democrats in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Georgia. Since 1989, he has been half of the most imaginative political consulting team in the country, Washington, D.C.-based Carville & Begala. Currently serving as a senior political advisor to the President, he was recognized by the American Association of Political Consultants as Campaign Manager of the Year (1993) for his colorful and successful efforts on behalf of Bill Clinton and was also the focus, along with George Stephanopoulos, of the academy-award nominated documentary ‘The War Room.’ With his wife Mary Matalin, who was top campaign adviser to George Bush and now hosts the nightly political talk show ‘Equal Time’ on CNBC, Carville wrote the best-selling memoir All's Fair: Love, War, and Running for President.

Carville was the invited speaker at the December 1993, LSU, commencement exercises, where he received an honorary doctor of humane letters for his support of the University during the 1992 fiscal crisis.

A. J. M. ‘Bubba’ Oustalet, Jr. is president of three automobile retail dealerships and two real estate companies. Mr. Oustalet graduated from LSU's College of Engineering in 1947. He has contributed to LSU and has been recognized as a Grand Benefactor in the President's Awards for Lifetime Support. He has served as president for numerous automotive sales-related organizations, including the Ford Dealer Training School Class & Alumni, the National Ford Dealers Council of America, the Louisiana Auto Dealers Association, and the Ford Dealers Advertising Board. His civic activities through the years include service as chairman for the New Jennings American Legion Hospital Fund Drive, president of the Jennings Association of Commerce, chairman of the Lake Arthur New State Recreation Park from 1965 to present, a member of Louisiana Governor's Consumer Protection Board in 1971, and chairman of 1973 Jennings Hospital Intensive Care Fund Drive. Awards include 1960 Louisiana Outstanding Young Business Man, 1960 Outstanding Citizen of Jennings, 1969 Holy Cross Alumni Man of the Year, Louisiana's 1975 Outstanding Dealer, and 1976 Time Magazine National Quality Dealer.

Bert S. Turner is chairman of the board for 10 major   corporations, including Crest Inc., Harmony Corp., Industrial Technical Co.,   International Piping Systems Ltd., Motor Parts and Supply Co. Inc., and   Turner Industries Ltd. He is a director and executive member for Bank One.   Mr. Turner also is managing partner for TSMC, CMST, BTL, TL Co., and T-B Co.   and a partner of Louisiana Founders. He is a current board member of the   Louisiana Board of Regents and the Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation.   He has served as chairman of the LSU Board of Supervisors and is chairman   elect of the LSU Foundation. Other organizations with which Mr. Turner has   been affiliated include the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, the Baton Rouge   Jaycees, the Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation, the Business-Industry   Political Action Committee, the LSU CEBA Advisory Board, the Community   Services Council, the Louisiana Labor Management Commission, the United   Givers Fund, and the YMCA. Mr. Turner earned a bachelor's of science in   mechanical engineering from LSU in 1943. During his time at LSU, he was a   member of the College of Engineering Student Council, the Interfraternity   Athletic Council, and the LSU Post of American Society of Military Engineers.   Due to his consistent contributions to the LSU Alumni Association Annual Fund   and the LSU Foundation, Mr. Turner is listed as a Grand Benefactor in   the President's Award for Lifetime Support. He was awarded the   Distinguished Service Award for Baton Rouge in 1954, the Free Enterpriser of   the Year award for the 6th Congressional District in 1982 and named to the   LSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1993.

Carl Maddox served this university for more than two decades. He began in 1954 as coach for the football team's offensive backfield. Credits during his five-year stint as offensive backfield coach include Backfield Coach of the Year honors in 1958 for his role on that year's national championship LSU team. In 1960, he was named the first director of the LSU Union, serving eight years and overseeing construction of the building. In 1968, Mr. Maddox accepted the position of director of athletics. During his 11-year stint, he was responsible for the implementation of the women's inter-collegiate program, which included competition in volleyball, tennis, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, and diving. He also added four men's varsity sports: cross country running, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, and diving. Mr. Maddox hosted the 1973 NCAA Track and Field Championships and served on the SEC Executive Committee from 1973-76. Several sports facilities also were constructed or improved under Mr. Maddox's watch, including construction of the LSU Field House, Bernie Moore Track and Field Stadium, Dub Robinson Tennis Stadium, the baseball practice field, four new football practice fields, and expansion of the upper deck of Tiger Stadium. He also oversaw lighting of the Alex Box Stadium to allow night games. Mr. Maddox then moved on to serve as athletic director at Mississippi State University from 1979-83. Mr. Maddox earned a bachelor's degree in math in 1932 from LA Normal College (now named Northwestern State University) and taught math at Gulf Coast Military Academy in Mississippi from 1936 to 1942. He then earned a master's degree in physical education from LSU in 1943. Awards and honors include being named athletic director emeritus at LSU and MSU, inclusion in the Louisiana and Mississippi sports hall of fame, the LSU Tiger Hall of Distinction, and the Northwestern State University Athletic Hall of Fame. He also was awarded the All-American Football Foundation 1994 Lifetime Achievement Award and the Athletic Directors Association 1986-87 Distinguished Service Award for Athletic Administration.

Alumnus of the Year

Jack A. Andonie is the first medical director of Lakeside Hospital in New Orleans. He also founded and serves as the secretary-treasurer for the Lakeside Women's Specialty Center Ltd. and is director of the OB-GYN Department of the Lakeside Hospital Student Division and Resident Program of the LSU Medical School. Dr. Andonie earned his medical degree from LSU Medical School in 1962, served a rotating internship at New Orleans Charity Hospital until 1963, and completed his residency there three years later. He was honored with the Senior Class Award in 1964 and was chief resident from 1965-66. He is a diplomate of The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Andonie also is a member of the American Fertility Society, the Jefferson Parish Medical Society, the Louisiana State Medical Society, the Greater New Orleans Gynecology Obstetrics Society, the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, and the Catholic Physicians Guild. He was chairman of the LSU Board of Supervisors and is serving on that board's executive committee. He is also the board's vice chairman of the Athletic Committee and is a past chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. Dr. Andonie also serves on the board for the LSU Medical Center HEALTH CARE NETWORK. He is a founding member of the Feed My Sheep Inc. and is chairman of that organization's board. Dr. Andonie is a lifetime member of the Greater New Orleans LSU Alumni Association, Friends of the LSU Library and the Year Round Tiger Booster Club. He also serves on the LSU Chancellor's Fund Raising Advisory Committee, the Executive Committee of the Dr. Allen Copping Endowed Chair and the 1995-96 University Committee on Honorary Degrees for LSU. In addition, Dr. Andonie is the chairman of the LSU Alumni Association and chairs the 1996 LSU Alumni Association Fund. Due to his generous contributions to the LSU Alumni Association Annual Fund and other programs, he is being recognized as a Grand Benefactor of the LSU President's Award for Lifetime Support. Other organizations in which he is active include the 1996 WLAE-TV Jazz Brunch Committee, the Loyola University Century Club, the Knights of Columbus, and the American College of Physician Executives. He also has served on numerous boards in the past. Among the many awards garnered by Dr. Andonie are the LSU Medical Center's 1995 Alumnus of the Year, Loyola University's 1990 Integritas Vitae Award, and the 1988 Distinguished Service Award given by the Friends of LSU Library.

Jack Overton Colle is a life member of the LSU Alumni Association. He received the Alumni Chapter Service Award in 1969, as he was one of the founders of the Houston Alumni Chapter and along with his late wife, Olga Treigle Colle, served as the first fund-raising chairperson in the Houston area. In addition, he is a member of the LSU Foundation and served as its president in 1978. Mr. Colle formed his own company in 1949, only 11 years after earning a bachelor's of science degree in geology from LSU, and remains the company's CEO. Between graduation and the establishment of this successful business, Mr. Colle distinguished himself during World War II as an intelligence officer in the Southwest Pacific Theater. He is a charter member of the Petroleum Club, is founder and member of the first board of directors of the Society of Independent Earth Scientists, is a long-time member of the Independent Texas Producers and Royalty Owners Association, has served as president of the state section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, is a member of the Houston Geological Society, and has served as president of the Gulf Coast Section of the Society of Economic Paleontologists.

Dr. James R. Andrews, a founding member of the Alabama Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center (ASMOC) and the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Birmingham, AL, is internationally known for his scientific and clinical research contributions to the repair of knee, shoulder, and elbow injuries. The Birmingham surgeon is chairman and medical director of ASMI, medical director of Greater Atlanta Sports Medicine in Atlanta, GA, and mentor for more than 100 orthopaedic/sports medicine fellows at ASMOC. Dr. Andrews graduated from LSU in 1963 after becoming Southeastern Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault champion. He moved on to LSU's Medical School, where he graduated in 1967. After completing his orthopaedic residency at Tulane Medical School in 1972, he was awarded surgical fellowships in sports medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and a year later at the University of Lyon in Lyon, France. Professional credits include Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, national director of HEALTHSOUTH Sports Medicine Network, and member of the Medical and Safety Advisory Committee of USA Baseball. He has been awarded a doctor of laws degree from Livingston University, a doctor of science degree from Troy State University, and is a member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Andrews also has served on the NCAA Competitive Safeguards in Medical Aspects of Sports Committee and has served as a board member for the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, the International Knee Society, and Hospital Corporation of America.

Lea Sternberg and her late husband, Erich, are former owners of the highly successful chain of Goudchuax's/Maison Blanche stores. Mrs. Sternberg is dedicated to the furtherance of LSU's mission of education. She recently pledged $300,000 to LSU's Honors College to be used to endow professorships. Her kind donation could multiply because of future donations and state matching to $1 million. Mrs. Sternberg also is a level one lifetime benefactor for the LSU Foundation. For many years, she and her family have been very involved in community activities. In 1994, the Sternberg family donated a 26-acre tract of land to the Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission to establish a new park. Mrs. Sternberg has received the Americanism Award from the National Daughters of the American Revolution for helping immigrant families, and in 1994, she and her husband were named to the Baton Rouge Business Hall of Fame. She and her family also have been named Distinguished Citizens by the Istrouma Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America for their leadership in the community.

Richard F. Gill is founder and president of MERIT companies, a conglomerate of highly successful industrial construction and maintenance companies based in Baton Rouge. MERIT Industrial Constructors, one of Mr. Gill's enterprises, was chosen ‘New Business of the Year’ in 1984. He also is chairman and vice president of MERIT Environmental Services Inc., a minority business involved in environmental cleanup throughout the United States. Honors include nomination as the 1973 Baton Rouge Jaycees Outstanding Man of the Year in Baton Rouge, the 1986 national-level Associated Builders and Contractors National Beam Club Man of the Year, 1984 Member of the Year of the Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, and 1985 Member of the Year for the state-based Associated Builders and Contractors. He also was a member of the Louisiana Chapter of the Young President's Organization and currently is a member of the World President's Organization. Mr. Gill earned a bachelor's of arts from LSU in 1966, quickly earned a master's of business administration in 1969, and graduated from the Banking School of the South at LSU. He currently is a member of the board for the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation, to which he was elected the 1995-96 president. He also serves as a member of the advisory board for the LSU School of Construction. Civic involvement includes serving on the board of trustees/directors for the General Health System, serving as chairman on the Boy Scouts Exploring Division Century Club Drive, actively participating in the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Baton Rouge, and working with the United Way. Mr. Gill also has served on boards or committees for the Red Cross, the Jaycees, the Boys Club, the YMCA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Special Olympics, and the National Sports Festival.

Richard Lipsey was longtime president and general manager of Steinberg Sports Centers Inc and now serves as president of Lipsey's Inc. He also served on the executive committee for the National Buying Syndicate from 1974 to 1990 and was chairman of the syndicate's board. Mr. Lipsey graduated from LSU in 1961 with college honors: serving as a cadet colonel of the Army R.O.T.C., membership in the debate team, presidency of Zeta Beta Tau and Circle K, membership in the Scabbard & Blade, being named in the Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges, membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, and being named Distinguished Military Graduate. Because of his financial support of LSU, he has been recognized in the President's Awards for Lifetime Support. His subsequent professional credits include board member of Bank One, board member of Leshner Financial Group, board member of Baton Rouge Savings & Loan, and several positions in the Louisiana Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He also was named Sales Executive Marketer of the year in 1987. Community and civic credits include service as general campaign chairman and president of the Capital Area United Way, president of the Istrouma Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, the Baton Rouge Rotary Club, Baton Rouge Green, the Better Business Bureau, and various other organizations. At LSU, he is a charter member of the Business School Partnership in Excellence Board, a founder and 1st President of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, a member of the LSU Foundation, and former class chairman for the Alumni Association. He currently serves as a member of the LSU War Memorial Commission and the Ole War Skule Commission.

Dr. Thomas Casanova, a Crowley physician and Louisiana state senator, began his career at this university in 1968, but soon was propelled into the spotlight as a defensive back for the football team. He earned three consecutive All SEC and All American honors from 1969-71, received the Chris Schenkel Medallion, and was named in the Who's Who Among Students in American Universities in 1971-72. During this same time, he was named Outstanding Young Citizen by the Crowley Chamber of Commerce. After graduating from LSU in 1973, Dr. Casanova enrolled in the University of Cincinnati. While a medical school student there, he played professional football for the Cincinnati Bengals, earning such honors as NFL All Rookie Team member and All Pro in 1974, 1976, and 1977. He earned his doctor of medicine in 1979 and immediately began serving an internal medicine internship at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. He served his residency at LSU Medical School, then earned a fellowship in oculoplastic surgery at the University of Utah. He was certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology in 1984. He is affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Louisiana State Medical Society, Acadia Parish Medical Society, and Ducks Unlimited and was on the Board of Trustees for Colleges and Universities. Dr. Casanova also was a founding member of the Louisiana Clean Team anti-litter campaign. Dr. Casanova has been awarded an honorary doctor of science from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He currently serves as assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at LSU Medical School in New Orleans and University Medical Center in Lafayette, LA. He also serves as an oculoplastic consultant at the Hansen's Disease Research Center in Carville, LA, and is a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society's Sports Medicine Committee.

Ventura Barnes Colom is known world-wide for his scientific explorations and discovery of previously unknown bird species. Dr. Colom, who earned a doctorate from LSU in 1935, worked as an ornithologist for the Venezuela Department of Natural Resources. In that position he traveled to the jungles of the Amazon, African Congo and the Paraguana Peninsula. More than 2,300 bird species collected during his travels are displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. He conducted an African expedition from 1956 through 1968 to study the rarest animal species on that continent. He was the first Puerto Rican to belong to the Explorer Club of New York, the East African Professional Hunters Association of Nairobi, Kenya, Shikar Safari Club International, the Hunting Hall of Fame Foundation; and the American Museum. Dr. Colom also befriended Ernest Hemingway, who at that time was just emerging as a novelist. This friendship grew in large part because of their mutual interest in hunting. Dr. Colom's collection of hunting trophies included some animal species taken by Hemingway. This trophy collection, along with crafts and hunting instruments typical of the African tribes with which he spent time, were donated to the people of his native Puerto Rico. This collection still is open to the public.

Dr. Carl Baldridge was a founder, major stock holder, and director of American Bank and Trust Company (now known as Hancock Bank). He earned a bachelor's degree from LSU in 1933, followed in three years by a master's degree. He also graduated from Loyola Dental School in New Orleans before beginning a successful dental practice in Baton Rouge. The philanthropy of the late Baldridge was felt throughout his community. He and his late wife, Beulah Landry Baldridge, bequeathed 500 acres of farmland in St. Landry Parish to the LSU Agricultural Center and $500,000 to the 4-H Foundation. He also contributed $600,000 to LSU to establish an endowed chair in Neuroscience and $400,000 for Parkinson Research. The LSU School of Dentistry received $600,000 from Baldridge to establish an endowed chair in dental research and is set to receive an additional $1.4 million, which will be divided evenly to establish a loan fund for needy dental school students and to create a merit scholar loan fund. Baldridge also contributed $600,000 to Loyola University, $500,000 to the Lion's Club Sight Program and $1.6 million to religious affiliations. Other organizations which have benefited from Baldridge's generosity include The Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, the American Heart Association of the Capital City Area, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and the Shriner's Children Hospital. Baldridge was a member of Istrouma Baptist Church, the American Dental Association, the Greater Baton Rouge Dental Association, the East Baton Rouge Parish Dental Association, and numerous cattlemen associations. He also was a member of the LSU Alumni Association, was a charter member of the North Baton Rouge Lion's Club, and held memberships in Istrouma Lodge #414, York Rite BODIES Chapter #92, Royal Arch Masonry, Istrouma council #33, Istrouma Commandery #28 Knight Templar, 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Baton Rouge Body, Acacia Temple, and the Baton Rouge High Twelve.

Charles McClendon is one of the most well-known figures in collegiate football. He began his 44-year career at the University of Kentucky before moving to Vanderbilt University in 1952. His move to LSU in 1953 ultimately led to his being named this university's head football coach. During that 27-year era (ending in 1979), he produced more victories, more bowl engagements, more All-Americans, and more All-SEC players than any other coach in school history. He was named Kodak Coach of the Year in 1970 and was honored as SEC Coach of the Year twice. This native of Lewisville, AR, went on to serve 12 years as executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, from which he received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for contributions in the best interests of football. McClendon was inducted into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in 1986. He was presented the highest honor available from Orlando, FL, — the Chamber of Commerce's John Young Award — for his work as executive director of that city's Tangerine bowl from 1980-81 and was named 1983 Executive of the Year by the Orlando Chapter of Professional Secretaries International. McClendon is now working to raise $1 million for the Charles McClendon Scholarship Fund at LSU, which will provide financial assistance to children of former LSU football players who have completed their eligibility.

E.J. Ourso founded Security Industrial Insurance Company in 1948 and built that company's assets to more than $195 million with more than $1 billion of life insurance in force by 1994. In addition to this successful insurance venture, Ourso has acquired 56 insurance companies, funeral homes, cemeteries, and flower shops. For his successes, he was named 1989 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Baton Rouge Business Report. He was named 1996 Master Entrepreneur of the Year for Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Alabama Gulf Coast by the national Entrepreneur of the Year program. In 1996, Ourso sold his holdings in Security Industrial and founded a management company to administer proceeds from that sale. He has shared his prosperity with his community, donating millions of dollars to local charities. Ourso and his wife, Majory, formed the E.J. and Marjory B. Ourso Family Foundation and donated almost $6 million to the fund, which is administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Other contributions include $1 million to the Roman Catholic Church in Southeast Louisiana, $100,000 to St. Augustine High School's scholarship endowment fund, and $100,000 to the Society of the Holy Family Endowment Fund. He also spearheaded the establishment of an entrepreneurial skills studies program in conjunction with LSU at St. Augustine High School. Last year Ourso pledged $15 million to the LSU College of Business Administration. This was the largest gift ever given to an academic unit of the university and led to the renaming of the college in honor of Ourso and the establishment of the Marjory B. Ourso Center for Excellence in Teaching.

Elaine Durbin Abell, who practices law in Lafayette, LA, has long been active in the LSU community. She was the first woman elected President of the LSU student body, before earning her Bachelor of Science degree in General Business in 1964. She went on to earn a Juris Doctorate from the LSU Law School in 1969. Mrs. Abell was appointed to the LSU Board of Supervisors in 1987 and served as both Vice Chairman and Chairman during her term, which expired in 1994. She was also elected to the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1993 and served until 1995. In 1997, she began serving as a member of the Commission's Committee on Integrity of Institutions.

Mrs. Abell is a past President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Executive Committee member of the LSU Alumni Association and served two years on the LSU Athletic Council. In 1980, she was appointed to a four year term on the Louisiana State Mineral Board, where she served as Vice Chairman and Chairman. She is presently on the Board of Directors of the Woman's Foundation, Inc. and the Council for a Better Louisiana, where she served as Regional Vice President. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Iberia Savings Bank and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jefferson Bank.

Mrs. Abell is a member of the Lafayette Parish Bar Association, the New Orleans Bar Association, and the Louisiana State Bar Association. She was selected one of Lafayette's Outstanding Women in 1976 by the Lafayette Business and Professional Women's Club and in 1977, received the Lafayette Jaycee/Jaynes Outstanding Young Woman in Lafayette Award and the Outstanding Young Woman in Lafayette Award from the Louisiana Jaycee Jaynes. In 1987-88, she received the Sustainer of the Year Award from the Junior League of Lafayette. She also is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi and is listed in Who's Who of American Women, Personalities of the South,and Outstanding Young Women of America. She is married to Edward C. Abell, Jr. and has two children, Edward Charles Abell, III and Jessica Durbin Abell.

James C. Flores is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Energy Inc., a Baton Rouge-based oil and gas exploration and production company. The 38-year-old Lafayette, LA, native earned his bachelor's degree in corporate finance from LSU in 1981 and was awarded a second bachelor's degree in corporate finance from this University in 1982. Flores' duties as chairman, president, and CEO of Ocean Energy Inc. include overall responsibility for approximately 360 employees at the New York Stock Exchange-listed corporation. The company owns and operates interests in about 625 productive oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico with a combined daily net production of more than 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent. Flores is an active member of the LSU Alumni Association of Petroleum Landmen, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Kappa Alpha Alumni Association. He also serves as a director for the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association and the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.

Flores' philanthropic and leadership support of his Alma Mater includes service on the E. J. Ourso College of Business Administration Partnership for Excellence Board, as well as serving as a member of the LSU Foundation and a member of the LSU Campaign Council and Leadership Team. The Ourso College recently honored Flores as a junior member of the inaugural Hall of Distinction. In December of 1966, he was joined by his wife, Cherie, in pledging more than $2 million to the Ourso College for the benefit of the MBA program, which now bears their names.

Alumna of the Year

Laura Leach, who graduated from LSU's School of Business Administration in 1961, chaired the LSU Board of Supervisors in 1996 and has served on it since 1994. Other activities include serving on the boards of directors for The Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, the Louisiana Council on Child Abuse, Hibernia Corporation, Hibernia National Bank, Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company Inc., North American Land Co. Inc., Lacassane Company Inc., Calcasieu Real Estate Inc., the American Cancer Society's Calcasieu Parish Unit (which she chairs), and the Lake Charles Symphony. She also is an active member of the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Foundation, the Baton Rouge Community College Management Council, the Louisiana Student Financial Aid Council, the Lake Charles Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club, and the Calcasieu Parish Education Seminar. She is also a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lake Charles Inc. and serves on the advisory boards for the Children's Museum in Lake Charles and the Calcasieu Arts and Humanities. Leach also chairs Education First, an organization she initiated to stress the importance of funding education in Louisiana. Awards include the 1996 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Calcasieu Area Council Boy Scouts of America, the 1995 LSU Foundation President's Award, and the 1975 Outstanding Woman in Vernon Parish. She also has been granted a lifetime membership by Jaycee's/Jayne's.

M. J. ‘Mike’ Foster, Jr. earned a bachelor's degree from LSU in 1952. He served in the United States Air force during the Korean War and then returned to his home town of Franklin to work as a sugar cane framer. He then founded Bayou Sale construction firm to keep his farm crew together in the off season. That company now employs more than 200 workers. Foster has served as president of Sterling Sugars Inc. and led the company, which had been absorbing annual losses of $1 million, to annual profits of $1 million. He serves on the boards for several banks, is a junior warden of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, is president of the St. Mary Parish Farm Bureau, and is a member of the American Legion. Foster was elected to the state Senate in 1987, serving on the Judiciary A and Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committees, and chairing the Commerce Committee. His business acumen and success in the Senate led to his election as governor of Louisiana in 1996.To date, he has made improving higher education, spearheading faculty salary increases and funding bricks-and-mortar his priorities.

William W. Rucks IV is a private investor and venture capitalist from Lafayette, LA. He recently retired from Ocean Energy Inc. (formerly Flores & Rucks), a company which he helped develop from a two-man partnership in 1985 to a 290-employee company worth $1.25 billion in market capitalization by 1996. Rucks continues to serve on the company's board of directors and is one of its largest shareholders. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from LSU in 1979. He then worked with Union Oil Company of California as a petroleum landman until forming Flores and Rucks in 1985. Rucks and his wife, Catherine, pledged $2.06 million last December to LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration. In recognition of their generosity, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted to name LSU's Department of Management the William W. And Catherine M. Rucks Department of Management. William Rucks also was inducted into the College of Business Administration Hall of Distinction in March. Rucks is a member of the Lafayette Association of Petroleum Landmen, for which he has served as president. He also is a member of the President's Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association. He currently serves on the board of directors for First National Bank of Lafayette and the United Way of Acadiana. Other activities include serving on the Department of Management Executive Advisory Council, LSU Leadership Team, the LSU Foundation, and the University of Southwestern Louisiana's College of Business Administration Executive Advisory Council. Rucks is also a former director of the Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana.

In 1984, Aaron Beam, Jr. became one of the founders of Healthsouth Corp., which has grown into the nation's largest provider of outpatient surgery and rehabilitative healthcare services with more than 2000 facilities across the country and revenues exceeding $3.5 billion. In December 1997, Mr. Beam retired as chief financial officer of Healthsouth and member of Healthsouth's board of directors. His responsibilities for the corporation included investor relations accounting and financial reporting. Prior to founding Healthsouth, Mr. Beam was controller for the shared services division of Lifemark Corporation. Earlier in his career he served as controller for two private corporations, Control Automation Technology Company and Johnson Cover Company, both located in Houston, Texas.

In 1967, Mr. Beam received a bachelor's degree in economics from LSU and has continued to support the university ever since. Mr. Beam is a recipient of the LSU Alumni Association's 1996 Purple and Gold Award. This award was initiated in 1996 to honor individuals who have generously and consistently supported the programs and activities of the LSU Alumni Associations. Mr. Beam is a Star Benefactor on the LSU Foundation President's Awards for Lifetime Support and is a sponsor on the Wall of Honor at the Lod Cook Alumni Center for his help in development of the facility. Mr. Beam has also established an Endowed LSU Alumni Association Chancellor's Leadership Scholarship, which is awarded to students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership during high school, as well as outstanding academic achievement.

Mr. Beam serves on the boards of directors of Ramsey Health Care and Urocor, both publicly-held companies. He also serves on the boards of Professional Employer Services in New Orleans and the Leukemia Society in Birmingham, AL. Each year Mr. Beam hosts a fund-raising crawfish boil in Birmingham to benefit the Leukemia Society. In May 1998, 40,000 people attended the event, and $100,000 was raised to fight Leukemia. He is very active in the business and civic communities of Birmingham. He and his wife, Phyllis, have one daughter, Jennifer.

Born in Cheneyville, Louisiana, in 1905, Bingham C. Stewart moved to Baton Rouge, where he attended LSU and received a bachelor of science degree in 1926. Upon graduation he worked for his father's construction company. In 1938, he was hired by Henry and Arthur Boh as general superintendent of Boh Brothers Construction Co. in New Orleans.

In 1960, Mr. Stewart was named vice president and director of Boh Brothers and served in that capacity until 1989, when he was named vice chairman of the board. In 1998, Mr. Stewart celebrated his 60th anniversary with the company.

On November 17, 1993, Mr. Stewart was named to the Louisiana Highway Hall of Honor and was honored as an outstanding citizen for his involvement in state highway, street, bridge, and transportation systems.

In 1996, Mr. Stewart arranged for a $500,000 endowment to fund three professorships in LSU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, one titled the Bingham Cushman Stewart Distinguished Professorship and one named for each of his late wives — the Irma Louise Rush Stewart Professorship and the Elizabeth Howell Stewart Professorship. Mr. Stewart is a Grand Benefactor on the LSU Foundation President's Awards for Lifetime Support. This award recognizes the cumulative giving of individuals to all the main campus units and their support foundations, including LSU and A&M College, LSU Agricultural Center, Herbert Law Center, LSU Alumni Association, Tiger Athletic Foundation, and LSU Foundation.

Mr. Stewart served as chairman of the building committee of the New Orleans Federation of Churches and of the Rayne Memorial Methodist Church, of which he is a member. He also served as President of the Board of Trustees of Methodist Hospital and is a member of the New Orleans Rotary Club, Louisiana Engineering Society, and New Orleans Country Club.

Derryl H. Haymon is chairman of the Board of Directors for   Petroleum Service Corporation, the oldest and largest barge tankering company   in the country. PSC was formed in 1952 by Mr. Haymon, who saw a need for the   safe loading and unloading of barges at the docks of Standard Oil Company   once Standard Oil had ceased the activity themselves. Currently employing   nearly 1000 people in seven states, the company has expanded its services to   include other shipping-related tasks for the chemical and refining industry.   Petroleum Service Corporation is now a worldwide company based in Geneva   operating under the name SGS Petroleum Service Corporation.

Prior to founding PSC, Mr. Haymon worked for Standard Oil   Company. He was employed there for 33 years with a break to serve with the   U.S. Coast Guard during WWII. At Standard Oil, he held a variety of   positions, working his way up from being a hand on the riverboats that pushed   barges to being the supervisor in charge of the operation of Standard Oil   docks.

While working with Standard Oil and running PSC, Mr.   Haymon also constructed, owned, and operated apartments for students near the   LSU campus.

The oldest of eight children, Mr. Haymon was born at home   in Vernon Parish in 1915. Because the nearest town was Leesville, that was   designated his birthplace. A graduate of Central High School, Mr. Haymon   attended LSU for two years beginning in 1935. He was then forced to leave   college to support his family during the Depression.

Mr. Haymon met the former Helen Lois Gold while at LSU.   They married in 1941 and have five children, three of whom also graduated   from LSU.

Mr. Haymon and his wife have endowed two chairs at the LSU   School of Music and have helped with outfitting the New Music Building. He   was a recipient of the LSU Alumni Association's 1996 Purple and Gold Award   for his generous support of the Association through the years.

Eilleen Murphy Kean holds two degrees from LSU, a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences and a master's in library science. In college, she received Mortar Board's Outstanding Freshman Award and was chosen as a member of both Alpha Lambda Delta and Mu Sigma Rho. She also served as president of her sorority, Chi Omega. She was tapped a member of Mortar Board her senior year and was a member of both Phi Kappa Phi, a senior scholastic organization, and Women's Senior Court.

Upon graduation, Mrs. Kean worked in the LSU Law Library in 1945-46, where she was an instructor in legal bibliography. She helped organize the Anglo-American Art Museum (now known as the LSU Museum of Art) and served on the museum's board from its inception in 1970 until 1985; she served as president in 1976-77. Mrs. Kean was instrumental in lobbying the University administration and the Louisiana Legislature for capital improvement funds to renovate Hill Memorial Library for Special Collections and to add two floors to Middleton Library.

After helping revive the Friends of the LSU Libraries in 1974, Mrs. Kean and the late Rosalind McKenzie led the Annual Book Bazaar which has grown in sales from $500 back in its first year to over $67,500 in total sales this year. Proceeds of the Bazaar over that 22-year period have reached $861,000. The total endowment has grown over $1 million invested while also allowing $1 million in expenditures by LSU Libraries. In 1986 Mrs. Kean was presented with the Doris Dennis Smith award for meritorious service to the Book Bazaar.

Mrs. Kean has served on the Friends of LSU Libraries Board of Directors three times: 1974-76, 1980-88, and 1995 until the present. She received the Volunteer Activist Award in 1977, the Service Award from Friends of the LSU Libraries in 1985 and the Rosalind McKenzie Award in 1993. LSU presented Mrs. Kean with a Meritorious Service to the University Award in 1993.

In 1992, the R. Gordon Kean Memorial Fund was established by Mrs. Kean and her family, and in 1993, these gifts established the R. Gordon Kean Professorship. Mrs. Kean is a Sustainer on the LSU Foundation's President's Awards for Lifetime Support.

Mrs. Kean has served many organizations in the Baton Rouge community as well, including the Junior League of Baton Rouge, Family Counseling Service, Baton Rouge Symphony Association, Woman's Club, Inc., Baton Rouge Bar Association Auxiliary, United Way, Louisiana Arts and Science Center Guild, Volunteers of America, Our Lady of the Lake Hospital Woman's Auxiliary, YWCO, YWCA, Foundation for Historical Louisiana, and the Speech and Hearing Foundation.

Mrs. Kean was married to the late Richard Gordon Kean, Jr., who graduated from the LSU Law School in 1948. They have six children, five of whom received degrees from LSU.

J. Terrell Brown is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the United Companies Financial Corporation, a $2.3 billion diversified financial services group of companies active nationwide in the mortgage/consumer lending and insurance business, which has earned recognition as an emerging industry leader in the non-conforming lending business. Founded in Baton Rouge in 1946, United Companies is one of the largest publicly-traded corporations headquartered in Louisiana and is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Mr. Brown has devoted his entire professional career to the financial, mortgage lending and insurance industries. A native of Baton Rouge, Mr. Brown holds a bachelor's degree in finance from LSU. He joined United Companies in 1964 and served in a variety of operating and management positions prior to being elected president of the corporation in 1979. He was elected chief executive officer in 1985 and in 1995, was elected chairman of the board. Mr. Brown is also a member of the board of directors of United Companies and serves on several boards of the subsidiaries of United Companies.

He continues to be active with LSU, currently serving on the board of the LSU Foundation and the Pennington Biomedical Research Institute. He is a partner in the Partnership for Excellence at LSU and a member of the Education Endowment Fund. Through United Companies, he was instrumental in establishing the first endowed professorial chair at the LSU School of Business, the first endowed professorial chair at Southern University, as well as, the first endowed director's chair at Pennington.

Mr. Brown is a Trendsetter on the LSU Foundation President's Awards for Lifetime Support. Mr. Brown is active in the boards of several additional corporations, including Sizeler Real Estate, Hibernia Bank, Freeport McMoran-Sulphur, and Baton Rouge Credit Bureau, as well as, a member of several trade organizations. He is past chairman and board member of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

Mr. Brown is married to the former Mary Kay Collette, a 1964 graduate of the LSU School of Business Administration. They have three children: Collette Brown Bruce, J. Terrell Brown, Jr., and Lloyd Brown. He and his wife established the J. Terrell Brown and Mark Kay Brown Family Fund for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and gave $50,000 to the Louisiana Arts and Science Center Challenger Exhibit. He was inducted into the E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration Hall of Distinction in 1997.

Alumnus of the Year

Following his pre-med work at LSU, Julius H. Mullins received his M.B. and M.D. degrees from LSU Medical Center in New Orleans in 1936, completing his obstetrical and gynecological residency at LSU Medical Center and Charity Hospital. With the exception of the period of his World War II military service, he was in private practice in Baton Rouge, from 1940 until his retirement in 1986.

Dr. Mullins was on the 21 founders and builders of Woman's Hospital, where he was also chief of staff in 1970 and president of the Woman's Hospital Foundation from 1956 to 1972. He has held the positions of vice chief of staff of Baton Rouge General Hospital and chief of staff of Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. He was instrumental in the creation of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and served on the center's board for 20 years.

Dr. Mullins has recently pledged substantial annual contributions as seed money for the LSU Alumni Association's proposed theater and conference center, a multi-purpose facility that will seat 1,000 for a meal. Dr. Mullins was originally inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 1995. Founder of the Dr. Edgar Hull Freshman Scholarship fund and first president of the LSU Medical Center Alumni Association, Dr. Mullins was named the Medical Center's 1989 Alumnus of the Year.

Dr. Mullins has been honored as an activist by the J.C. Penny and the Speech and Hearing Foundation. He chaired the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank's capital fund drive, raising $550,000 for a new warehouse. As a long-time member of the Baton Rouge Rotary Club, Dr. Mullins chaired the ‘Shots for Tots’ program responsible for 888 immunizations in just one year.

Married to Dorothy Stebbins Mullins since 1939, the couple has four children and nine grandchildren.

Nelson Abell and Bennie Hughes married in 1947. They have three sons and seven grandchildren. Residents of Monroe, LA, Mr. and Mrs. Abell are Star Benefactors on the LSU Foundation President's Awards for Lifetime Support, Benefactors on the Wall of Honor at the Lod Cook Alumni Center, and members of the Lewis Graham Spencer Society.

Mrs. Abell was born in Monroe and graduated from LSU in 1946 with a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences. At LSU she was a member of Chi Omega, the YWCA Cabinet, Senior Women's Court, and Phi Kappa Phi. She is currently a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the National Society Colonial Dames of America, the Monroe Garden Study League, the Monroe and Town and Country Garden Clubs, the Junior Study Club, and the Potpourri Book Club.

Nelson Abell is chairman of Abell Corp., a conglomeration of fertilizer and plastics molding companies he founded in Monroe, Houston, Winchester, VA, and Stockton, CA.

Mr. Abell is general chairman of the Southwest Fertilizer Conference. He is past president of the National Fertilizer Solutions Assoc., past chairman of the Fertilizer Institute, and the only person to ever head both. In 1989, NFSA conferred upon Mr. Abell the Gold Leaf Award, an award that has been given only five times in its 35-year history.

A Georgia Tech alum, Mr. Abell has been one of LSU's alumni-by-choice. He received the LSU Alumni Association's Purple and Gold Award in 1997. Mr. Abell received the Silverstein Award for outstanding civic contributions in Monroe in 1990. He was named the Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and was the first chairman of the Ouachita Enterprise Corp.

Roger Houston Odgen is principal and co-founder of Stirling Properties as well as managing general partner of Maurin-Ogden Properties in New Orleans. These two companies are recognized leaders in commercial real estate in the southern U.S. He serves on the Urban Land Institute Council and is a former trustee and vice president for the Southern Region of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Mr. Ogden capped a remarkable career at LSU by graduating second in his class in the College of Business and Administration in 1968. Mr. Ogden was elected President of Junior Division, member of the LSU Student Senate, Student Body President, and Outstanding Kappa Sigma in 1967-1968. He received his Juris Doctorate from Tulane University School of Law in 1971, graduating Order of the Coif, and was selected to the Tulane Law Review and nominated to National Moot Court.

Mr. Ogden has been a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors since 1991. He is also a member of the LSU Foundation, has served on the board of LSU Alumni Association and as president of the LSU Past Student Body Presidents' Association. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Louisiana Education Policy Research Center in the College of Education and founded the Louisiana Institute of Entrepreneurship in the School of Business. Mr. Ogden is also a Trendsetter on the LSU Foundation Presidents' Awards for Lifetime Support, serves on the LSU Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors, and is chairman of the Advisory Board for the Stan Scott Cancer Center.

In New Orleans, Mr. Ogden has served as president of the Audubon Park Commission and chaired the development of Woldenberg Riverfront Park and the Aquarium of the Americas. He was awarded the Metropolitan Area Committee's ‘Special Achievement Award’ in 1991, and Gambit Magazine named him 1994 New Orleanian of the Year for his extraordinary vision and energetic devotion to the community. He is currently chairman of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Board overseeing the renovation of the Louisiana Judicial Center housing the State Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Ogden has served for more than a decade on the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Public Schools Scholarship Foundation.

Over the past 25 years Mr. Ogden has personally assembled The Ogden Collection which ranks today as one of the finest collections of Art of the American South in the world. Currently serving on the boards of directors of the Louisiana State Museum and the New Orleans Arts Public School, Mr. Ogden has also served on the boards of directors of the New Orleans Museum of Art, Contemporary Arts Center, and the Newcomb College of Art Advisory Board. He enthusiastically supports all aspects of the arts, visual and performing, throughout the state.

As senior partner of Boles, Boles and Ryan law firm of Monroe, William R. Boles has had a distinguished career. He was born in Rayville, LA and attended Northeast Louisiana University and Louisiana Tech and served in the navy during WWII before receiving his Juris Doctorate degree in 1950 from LSU, where he had served as Student Body President of the LSU Law School during the 1949-1950 term.

He established law offices in Rayville in 1950, with additional offices opening shortly thereafter in Monroe, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. He served as Louisiana State Senator from the 33rd Senatorial District of Louisiana comprising Richland, Franklin, and Catahoula Parishes from 1952 to 1956. He was one of the youngest state senators ever to serve, having been elected at the age of 24. He declined to seek re-election.

He is co-founder of First Fidelity Mortgage Company, chartered in 1956, with headquarters in Monroe. When the company was merged with Palomar Financial, a San Diego, California-based company, Mr. Boles was elected chairman of the board of Palomar Financial and served in that capacity until the company was sold in 1983.

He was co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of First American Bank and Trust of Louisiana (now Regions Bank of North Louisiana). He continues to serve as chairman of the board of directors of Regions Bank of North Louisiana and also serves as a member of the board of directors of Regions Financial Corporation.

Mr. Boles has remained active with his alma mater. When the LSU Law Center in Baton Rouge established its Hall of Fame in November 1987, Mr. Boles was an original inductee. Mr. Boles is a Sustainer on the LSU Foundation's Presidents' Awards for Lifetime Support. He is a Benefactor on the Wall of Honor at the Lod Cook Alumni Center as one of the individuals who donated $100,000 or more for the construction of the Lod Cook Alumni Center. Mr. Boles is also a member of the Lewis Spencer Graham Society, a society of special alumni and friends, whose focus is to help LSU realize its full potential.

He is married to the former Catherine Furlow from Elizabeth, Louisiana. They reside in Monroe and have four children and nine grandchildren.

Alumnus of the Year

As chairman of the ‘Bubba’ Oustalet Automotive Group, Mr. Oustalet works with franchises for seven automobile lines. He owns real estate companies in both Jennings, LA, and in Gulfport, MS, and is chairman of the Zigler Foundation in Jennings. The foundation is responsible for awarding more than 600 scholarships for students to attend state universities, founding the Ziegler Art Museum, and providing LSU with two professorships, among other endeavors.

Prior to earning a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from LSU in 1947, Mr. Oustalet served as a flight engineer for the United States Naval Air Force during World War II. Over the years, he has established a legacy of support to his alma mater. He currently serves on the LSU College of Engineering Advisory Committee. He is listed on the Wall of Honor of the Lod Cook Alumni Center for his support in the construction of the facility. He was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 1996 and received the LSU Alumni Association Purple and Gold Award in 1997. He also has received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Grand Benefactor level.

Highlights of Mr. Oustalet's career include being elected Chairman of the Board of the National Ford Dealers Council of America, where he was responsible for negotiations with Detroit, MI, automobile manufacturers. He served as president and director for the Ford Dealers Advertising Board for 35 years. In addition, he was one of six dealers chosen from 24,000 to be named a Time Magazine National Quality Dealer in 1976. He also has received a record 38 Distinguished Achievement Awards for exemplary sales, performance, and customer satisfaction ratings — Ford Motor Co.'s highest honor.

Mr. Oustalet's civic activities through the years include serving as president of the Jennings Association of Commerce, chairman of the fund drive to build the multimillion dollar Jennings American Legion Hospital, and chairman to build the Lake Arthur State Recreation Park. He serves on the board of directors for Whitney National Bank of Mississippi and formerly served on the board of directors for American Bank of Southwest Louisiana.

Mr. Oustalet has received numerous awards, including the 1960 Outstanding Young Businessman of Louisiana, the 1960 Outstanding Citizen of Jennings, the 1969 Holy Cross Alumni Man of the Year, Louisiana's 1975 Outstanding Automobile Dealer, and the President's Award from Ford Motor Co.

Mr. Oustalet and his wife, the former Lena Mae Easley, have 10 children who hold nine degrees from LSU.

Upon graduation from LSU, Carlos Flores returned home to Honduras to work as president, chief executive officer, and publisher of the country's largest newspaper, La Tribuna, which was founded by his father in the early 1970's. In that role he championed freedom of the press and free elections in his country. Those beliefs soon prompted him to resign from the paper's editorial staff to coordinate the ‘Florista’ political movement. Carlos Flores quickly realized his true calling; in 1997, he was elected president of Honduras.

Previously he served in the ministry of President Roberto Suzsao Cordova from 1983 to 1987 in a position equivalent to that of vice president. He was the youngest person ever to hold that post. He then served as president of the Central American Parliament, was a three-term representative to the national congress, and was president of the national executive committee of the Liberal Party of Honduras.

In comments during the inauguration ceremony, President Flores vowed to fight crime and poverty in the Central American nation. Another of his stated goals was to improve trade and tourism between Honduras and Louisiana. Many people of Louisiana later offered help and support during the aftermath of the destruction of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras last fall.

In addition to the two bachelor's degrees Carlos Flores earned while attending LSU, one in industrial engineering and one in international trade and finance, he also was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree during LSU's May 1995 commencement ceremony.

President Flores is married to the former Mary Carol Flake, an LSU alumna. They have two children.

Shortly after leaving LSU in 1949, Jeff Benhard's education and skills were put to the test. In October of that same year, he took over management of the family business interests when his father became ill. Since that time, Benhard has served as president and chief executive officer of various family-owned businesses and investments.

Mr. Benhard is an active volunteer for several campus organizations, including being a former president and a current member of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors and a founding member of the Junior Division Board. He serves on both the College of Agriculture Dean's Council and the Ag Center's Livestock Advisory Board. He is listed on the Wall of Honor of the Lod Cook Alumni Center for his support in the construction of the facility and has received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Star Benefactor Level.

He currently serves as a board member for Pan American Life Insurance Co. and was an executive vice president of Washington State Bank for the past 39 years. As a farmer and cattleman, Mr. Benhard also has been a member of various boards of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture including the Anhydrous Ammonia Commission. He is a former chairman of the St. Landry Parish Welfare board, the former president of the Louisiana Angus Association, the founder and president of the Louisiana Simmental Association, and a member of the Goodrich Petroleum Corp. Board of Directors.

Jeff Benhard is married to the former Mary Virginia Pearce of Alexandria, LA, who majored in home economics at LSU. They live in Palmetto and have three children, all of whom are LSU alumni, and five grandchildren.

Formerly the chairman and chief executive officer of the United Meridian Corp. of Houston, John Brock was named chairman of Ocean Energy Inc. when the two companies merged in March 1998. When Ocean Energy merged with Seagull Energy a year later, Mr. Brock retired from active management continuing to serve on the board of directors for Ocean Energy. Previously he had served as president and chief executive officer of United Meridian Crop. and UMC Petroleum Corp.for six years and as president and chief operating officer of the companies for three years.

Mr. Brock received a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from LSU in 1954. After serving in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, he worked for Chevron from 1956 to 1959 and for Quintana Petroleum Crop. from 1959 to 1980, serving in various capacities, including Executive Vice President — Oil and Gas, as well as president of several Quintana subsidiaries. He then founded the predecessor to Brock Energy in 1980, serving as its chairman, president, and chief executive officer until 1986 when he was named president and chief executive officer of Ensource Inc. Ensource was merged into United Meridian Corp. in 1989.

Mr. Brock has received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Trendsetter level and is a member of the LSU Alumni Association Lewis Spencer Graham Society. In addition to Ocean Energy Inc., he also serves on the board of directors for Southwest Bancorporation of Texas Inc., Southwest Bank of Texas, and Kanaly Trust Co. He is vice chairman and a member of the board of directors of St. Luke Episcopal Health System and St. Luke Episcopal Hospital.

John Brock is married to the former Dianne Miller. They live in Houston and have four children and 12 grandchildren.

Alumna of the Year

In addition to maintaining a private medical practice in New Orleans, Mary Lou Applewhite currently serves as a member of the staffs of both East Jefferson General Hospital and Lakeside Hospital. She also acts as visiting professor at the LSU School of Medicine, where she received a medical degree in 1955. Following graduation Dr. Applewhite completed her internship and residencies in dermatology and pathology at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and received board certification from the American Academy of Dermatology in 1961. She taught at the Emory School of Medicine and also held positions at the Ochsner Clinic and Ochsner Foundation hospital in New Orleans.

In addition to a successful medical career, Dr. Applewhite continues to serve her alma mater. She was a member of the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors for eight years, including serving as president in 1992. She was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 1993. She is listed on the Wall of Honor of the Lod Cook Alumni Center for her support in the construction of the facility and has received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Grand Benefactor level. As an active member and former chairman of the LSU College of Basic Sciences Development Council, she established the Mary Lou Applewhite Endowed Professorship in Zoology and Physiology, spearheaded the establishment of the George Kent Chair in Zoology and Physiology, and was awarded the College of Basic Sciences Service Award in 1993.

Dr. Applewhite is actively involved with several professional and civic organizations. A member of the State Board of Medical Examiners since 1992, she currently serves as the organization's president. She is a member of the American Medical Association, the Louisiana State Medical Society, and the Jefferson Parish Medical Society. She served as the first female president of the Louisiana Dermatology Association in 1979 and served as president of the boards of directors for the Jefferson Parish Council on Aging and Campfire Inc. In 1994-95 she served as a member of the Governor's Council for Higher Education in the 21st Century. She is also a member of both Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies.

Oskar R. ‘Buddy’ Menton enjoyed a 42-year career with Exxon including positions as assistant manager of the Baton Rouge Refinery, Esso A.G.'s Manager of Manufacturing for five refineries in Germany, assistant manager of manufacturing for Exxon U.S.A., and manager of marine and shipping for Exxon U.S.A. He was also on the board of directors for Monterey Coal Co.

Always loyal to his alma mater, Mr. Menton is listed on the Wall of Honor of the Lod Cook Alumni Center for his support in the construction of the facility. He received the LSU Alumni Association's 1996 Purple and Gold Award for backing its programs and has received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Star Benefactor level.

Mr. Menton also was involved with numerous professional organizations. He chaired several committees of the American Petroleum Institute, he served on the board of directors for American Waterway Operators, chairing the southern region, and he was a member of the American Bureau of Shipping.

Within his home community, Mr. Menton served as a member of the boards of directors for the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, the Baton Rouge Salvation Army and Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. In addition he chaired the committee for United Fund (now United Way) in both Baton Rouge and Houston. He was named Honorary Harbormaster for the Port of Galveston in Galveston, Texas, and was appointed Honorary Admiral in the Texas Navy by then Gov. Briscoe of Texas.

Mr. Menton married the former Mildred Voorhies, and they have one daughter. Until his death in 1997, Mr. Menton and his wife lived in Houston.

An internal medicine specialist for 40 years, Dr. Thomas Gandy retired from his Natchez, MS, practice in 1990. The many highlights of his professional career include serving as chief of staff at then Jefferson Davis Memorial Hospital in 1965, where he spearheaded efforts to establish both a coronary care and intensive care unit at the facility. He was the first physician to serve as chairman of the hospital's Board of Trustees. A member of the American College of Physicians and numerous additional professional organizations, Dr. Gandy was chosen by his peers to receive the Mississippi Medical Association's prestigious Community Service Award.

In 1960 Dr. Gandy rescued a collection of historic photographic negatives that depicted scenes from the Natchez area, restoring and cataloging the items. His collection included more than 70,000 negatives, thousands of which he has been able to print and enlarge for exhibition.

Dr. Gandy donated more than 30,000 of the historic negatives and some of the prints to his alma mater to enhance the material about Natchez already owned by LSU's Special Collections in the 1980s. Dr. Gandy, who received a bachelor's degree from LSU in 1942 and a doctorate from the LSU School of Medicine in 1944, has received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Benefactor level.

He has been active in organizations working to preserve the heritage of Natchez. Dr. Gandy served as chairman of the first Architectural Review Board and as president of the Natchez Historical Society. In addition, he is founder of the Historic Natchez Foundation.

Dr. Gandy is married to the former Joan Warren, and they have six children. Together the couple has written four books based on the collection of historic photographs. In 1995 they established a gallery in Natchez displaying more than 500 of the treasured pieces.

In addition to her strong support of LSU and the university's programs, Tutta Staples Vetter has been instrumental in organizations benefitting children and education. As a member of the LSU Alumni Association Board of Directors since 1987, she served as chairman for two years. On campus she also has served on the LSU Athletic Council, is a member of the Dean's Circle at the LSU College of Design and is on the Junior Division Advisory Board. She is a member of the Honorary Degree Committee and worked on the Chancellor's Search Committees of 1987 and 1998.

Mrs. Vetter and her husband, Cyril, are listed on the Wall of Honor of the Lod Cook Alumni Center for their support in the construction of the facility and have received the LSU Foundation President's Award for Lifetime Support at the Trendsetter level. The Vetters are also members of the LSU Alumni Association Lewis Spencer Graham Society and have established an Endowed Alumni Professorship through the LSU Alumni Association.

After receiving a bachelor of science degree in sociology from LSU, Tutta Vetter worked as a Head Start Teacher, as a director of social work for an indigent youth program, and served in a variety of management capacities in her family's restaurant enterprise for 15 years, part of that time as executive chef.

She has served on the board of directors for St. Joseph Academy in Baton Rouge, and on the advisory boards of the Baton Rouge Gallery and the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center, among others. In addition she and her husband served as the co-chairmen of the recent St. Joseph Academy Science and Technology Center Capital Campaign.

The Vetters have two daughters.

A bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering and a master's in civil engineering have provided William A. ‘Bill’ Callegari with the means for a varied career. At times cited for his expertise in oil spill containment and in control systems development for pipeline pumping stations, it was an early 1970's project designing a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant for The Woodlands, Texas, that inspired Mr. Callegari to concentrate his career on the water and wastewater treatment industry.

In 1974, he founded AM-TEX Corp. to provide management, expertise, and technical training to water and wastewater facilities, primarily focusing on municipal entities. In 20 years, Mr. Callegari grew the company from the original one-man operation to a strong regional corporation employing 275 people, producing over $20,000,000 in engineering projects annually. He served as the firm's chairman of the board and executive officer until selling AM-TEX to the fourth largest utility in the world in 1993. After a two-year ‘retirement,’ Mr. Callegari has been tapped by AquaSource and currently represents the southern United States as Regional President for the firm.

In addition to being listed on the Wall of Honor of the Lod Cook Alumni Center for his support in the construction of the facility, Mr. Callegari received the LSU Alumni Association Chapter Service Award in 1992 and in 1997, was named to the LSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction.

He has served on numerous professional and civic committees and boards relating to environmental control and waste water treatment, including the American Waterworks Association, the Federal Water Pollution Control Federation, and Texas Utilities Association. He was the first chairman of the Texas Water Commission Wastewater Certification Advisory Committee, and he co-founded the state's Association of Water Board Directors.

Bill Callegari is married to the former Ann Roy. They live in Houston and have four children and eleven grandchildren.