LSUverse

It will be held on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, in the LSU Student Recreation Center (UREC) from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., immediately following the LSU Candlelight Celebration.

Holiday on Campus is a wonderful opportunity for LSU students, staff, faculty, and their children to kick off the holiday season while assisting the Baton Rouge community.  Children are encouraged to donate a new, unwrapped toy for the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.  Adults are asked to bring non-perishable food items to benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Children will enjoy crafts, entertainment, refreshments, a rock climbing room and games provided by University Recreation, door prizes and a visit from Santa.

Our program is successful each year thanks to generous contributions by the LSU community, local businesses, and the efforts of members of the Holiday on Campus Committee, Staff Senate and LSU student and staff volunteers.

Come join the family fun!

• Proving that LSU is being nationally recognized, the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture once again ranks atop lists of the best programs in the U.S. according to DesignIntelligence, the leading journal of the design professions. The school’s undergraduate program was again recognized as the top program in the country, while the school’s graduate program placed second, behind only Harvard University.
  
  
• In recognition of sustained excellence in climate and environmental studies, LSU has been selected to partner with the University of Oklahoma to develop and run one of only eight newly-announced U.S. Department of the Interior regional climate science centers nationwide. The center will link weather and climate projections with on-the-ground decisions about how best to manage federal lands, natural resources, and fish and wildlife in the south-central United States.
  
  
• A LSU physics professor recently published a first-of-its-kind textbook with the Oxford University Press. Titled “A First Course in Loop Quantum Gravity,” it is the first textbook to cover loop quantum gravity material at the undergraduate level, and was based on a course the professor developed and taught at LSU.
  
  
• An economic driver for Louisiana, LSU’s Louisiana Business & Technology Center recently celebrated its 23rd anniversary. The celebration honored the accomplishments of the LBTC and the achievements of its small business incubator tenants. The LBTC, an integral part of LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business’s Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, endeavors to enhance economic development in Louisiana through the support of existing small businesses and the development of new businesses.
  
  
• Taking their LSU educations into the real world, two recent graduates of LSU’s Elementary Holmes Program in the College of Education are spending 10 months in Huangshi, China, teaching English to high school students.
  
  
• Showing that LSU wins off the field as well as on the field, LSU posted the second-highest graduation rate in the Southeastern Conference in the sport of football, according to the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate data that was recently released. LSU football’s Graduation Success Rate, or GSR, of 77 trails only Vanderbilt’s mark of 86. The only other SEC football program with a GSR above 70 is Florida at 76.
  
  
• In helping to preserve Louisiana’s coastal resources, a faculty member from the Department of Biological Sciences recently testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources in Washington, D.C. He presented findings on the lingering effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico, particularly the impact it has had on the Gulf’s abundant killifish. This research is the first report in scientific literature on the biological effects of the oil spill in fish. The research shows that while the fish are safe for human consumption, the effects seen in the fish from the oiled site suggest impacts on growth, reproduction and development.
  
  
• In conjunction with Veterans Day, LSU honored its proud military heritage with a Veterans Day observance, a star-studded USO Show, and the Annual Assembly and Hall of Honor induction ceremony. Twelve distinguished alumni were inducted into the military Hall of Honor as part of the annual “LSU Salutes” celebration. The inductees, all of whom must have attended LSU and served in the military, are selected based on their involvement with the university, as well as with the military and community.
  
  
• Playing a role in educating professional athletes, LSU Executive Education, part of the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute in the E. J. Ourso College of Business, hosted its second annual “Beyond the Game: Transitioning from MLB to Your Next Career.” The program is specifically designed for retired or about-to-be-retired Major League Baseball players and will prepare former athletes for life after the game, with a focus on business acumen and skill development. The program is following in the successful footsteps of a similar workshop held for NFL players by LSU Executive Education.
  
  
• Proving once again that LSU is recognized at an international level, an LSU geography professor has been invited to participate in a highly selective gathering of environmental historians in Brazil. He will meet with a distinguished international group of environmental historians from South America, Europe, Asia and North America in Florianopolis, Brazil. He will also be a featured speaker at the Second International Workshop in History of the Environment: Environmental Disasters and Sustainability, where he will report on recovery in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.
  
  
• As a leader in college athletics, LSU was at the forefront as the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics recently met with NCAA President Mark Emmert in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, LSU Chancellor Michael Martin participated in a panel discussion on the future of Division I athletics. The group also discussed topics such as the values guiding college sports, policy changes being considered by the NCAA, the impact of conference realignments and whether athletes should be compensated beyond current scholarship limits.

The following was emailed to the LSU campus community on 11/18/11:

In the wake of sad and alarming child-abuse allegations from the campus of Pennsylvania State University, our own LSU family remains ever-vigilant over the well-being and security of children, both on our campus and involved with off-campus LSU-sponsored activities. On any given day, hundreds of children pass through our corridors and along our sidewalks on campus tours, to attend performances, to participate in camps and as students of our own University Laboratory School and child-care facilities.
 
Below is Executive Order BJ 11-23 issued by Governor Jindal and outlining the responsibilities of University employees when confronted with possible cases of child abuse and neglect. Without any hesitation, University employees should report child abuse and neglect instantly. Reporting a crime or even suspicion of crime is the cornerstone of our “See Something, Say Something” campaign. As stated in Section 2 of the executive order below, “The report shall be made to the local child protection unit of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services and a local or state law enforcement agency.”
 
The safety of all who are part of our campus community, especially children, is of the utmost importance to me and must be a priority for all at this University. Please become familiar with the “See Something, Say Something” campaign as well as the executive order below.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mike Martin
Chancellor
 

EXECUTIVE ORDER
BJ 11-23
Supplemental Mandatory Reporting Requirements of Child Abuse and Neglect
 

WHEREAS, we must always be vigilant in protecting our children and creating a safe environment for them;

WHEREAS, certain persons currently are required to report incidents of child abuse or neglect, including health practitioners, social workers, law enforcement officers, film and photographic print processors, child care providers and certain teachers and school staff members who provide training and supervision of children;

WHEREAS, current mandatory reporting laws do not require college or university professors, administrators, coaches or school staff members to report cases of child abuse or neglect when they have cause to believe that a child’s physical or mental health or welfare is endangered as a result of the abuse or neglect;

WHEREAS, More than 11,000 high school students in Louisiana are enrolled in dual enrollment courses for credit, many of which are taught on postsecondary campuses and by postsecondary faculty and, therefore, it is highly likely that Louisiana technical or vocational school, community college, college and university professors, administrators, coaches and other school employees will have contact with or be responsible for the supervision of children through these and other cross-curricular, athletic, and cultural activities; and

WHEREAS, the health, safety and best interests of our children is of paramount concern for all Louisianians and it is appropriate and necessary that the State do everything within its means to ensure that suspected cases of abuse and neglect of our children are reported to the proper authorities;

NOW THEREFORE, I, BOBBY JINDAL, Governor of the State of Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:

SECTION 1: All public technical or vocational school, community college, college, or university professors, administrators, coaches and other school employees shall report child abuse or neglect as soon as possible once observing an incident of child abuse or neglect or learning of an incident of child abuse or neglect and that person has cause to believe that child abuse or neglect actually occurred.

SECTION 2: The report shall be made to the local child protection unit of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services and a local or state law enforcement agency. The report shall contain the information, if known, required by Ch. C. Art. 610 (B) and (C).

SECTION 3: “Child” shall be defined as in Ch. C. Art. 603 (5), and “abuse” and “neglect” shall be defined as in Ch. C. Art. 603 (1) and (16).

SECTION 4: This Order is effective upon signature and shall continue in effect until amended, modified, terminated, or rescinded by the Governor, or terminated by operation of law.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand officially and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of Louisiana, at the Capitol, in the City of Baton Rouge, on this 16th day of November, 2011.

Bobby Jindal
Governor

ATTEST BY
THE GOVERNOR
Tom Schedler
Secretary of State