Southeastern Louisiana University

Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it became known as Southeastern Louisiana College. It achieved university status in 1970.

In the fall of 2019 there were 14,298 students enrolled. During the 1990s, Southeastern was one of the fastest-growing colleges in the United States. The university is the third largest in Louisiana, trailing only LSU and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Southeastern's colors are green and gold, and the mascot is a lion named Roomie. Southeastern's sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (FCS for football) in the Southland Conference.

History


Hammond Junior College was created in 1925. It was managed by the Tangipahoa Parish School Board and initially offered only a teaching certificate. The college moved to the Hunter Leake estate in north Hammond in 1927 to accommodate more students. The following year, its name changed to Southeastern Louisiana College and it joined the state's educational system under the state's board of education. The campus grew in the late 1920s and 1930s with the purchase of 60 acre and the construction of McGehee Hall and a gymnasium.

Lucius McGehee Hall was built in 1935. it is the oldest building constructed by the university. McGehee Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The college's curricular offerings increased significantly in 1937 when the college received approval to offer bachelor's degrees. The first ones were awarded two years later. Although Act 388 in 1938, an amendment to the 1920 Louisiana Constitution, granted the college the same legal status as other four-year colleges in the state, it did not provide for increased funding for the college.

In 1946 the college received initial accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Subsequent enrollment growth following the end of World War II required additional expansion and construction. This included the use of two steel barracks donated to the college; these were used as dormitories and named McNeely Hall (which was demolished in 2007).

The college's curricular offerings grew again in 1960 when the college established the Division of Graduate Studies. The college awarded its first graduate degree in 1967, the Education Specialist degree. The college completed the War Memorial Student Union in the mid-1960s; it claims to be "the only student union building in the United States dedicated to alumni who died in World War II." In 1970, the institution officially became Southeastern Louisiana University.

After years of planning and fundraising, the Southeastern Louisiana University Center was constructed. An 8000-seat (more if the floor level is used) arena, the University Center hosts all home basketball games and a variety of civic, cultural, and big-name entertainment events.

Fanfare, a festival celebrating the arts, humanities, and sciences, was begun in October 1986 by university faculty. It has grown into a month-long event.

In 1996 SLU joined the University of Louisiana System.

The university began to implement screened admissions standards in the fall of 2000. The following year, Southeastern took ownership of the historic Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond. The theater is operated by a separate foundation and presents a variety of theatrical works, concerts, and dance performances.

Southeastern Louisiana University played an important role in supporting students in the state and region in 2005. The university was not damaged by Hurricane Katrina so it was able to host nearly two thousand students from areas that were effected. A fountain was dedicated in 2007 to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita; it is the only such memorial fountain in existence.



Southeastern offers has its University Center for commencement exercises of high schools throughout the Northshore Region and actively encouraging area high school students to continue on to the university level.

Southeastern owns the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Hammond's Historic District. First opened in 1928, the Columbia was acquired by the university in the 1990s and renovated in the amount of $5.6 million. The large foyer is dedicated to the late State Senator John Hainkel, who was instrumental in obtaining the funding for the renovation.

Academics
Southeastern Louisiana University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award degrees at the Associate, Baccalaureate and Master's levels. Southeastern has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1946. Southeastern consists of five colleges with 18 academic departments and programs offering over 60 degree programs.

Southeastern's state-of-the-art Sims Library houses several important collections, including the Morrison Room, the Rayburn Collection, the Pineywoods People Exhibits, and the Center for Regional Studies.The Bill Evans archives are housed at the library.

The campus is also home for the state's sole commemoration of the governorship (1936–1939) of Richard W. Leche (1898–1965). It is a large medallion on the north exterior wall of the east side of Strawberry Stadium.

Southeastern offers nursing curricula in Hammond and Baton Rouge. In a consortium with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Southeastern offers a master of science in nursing.

Southeastern became a doctoral-granting institution in 2005 with the inauguration of a doctor of education in higher education leadership.

Southeastern's business programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The Southeastern Business School is located in Garret Hall. Southeastern was the first institution in Louisiana to achieve AACSB's separate and special accreditation in accounting. Graduates of both the MBA program and the Executive MBA program are serving widely in education and industry.

In the aftermath of Tulane University's post-Katrina decision to close several engineering programs including computer engineering, Southeastern received approval from the Louisiana Board of Regents to develop an undergraduate curriculum in engineering technology within the Department of Computer Science & Industrial Technology.

Campus locations

 * Southeastern's main campus is located in Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish.
 * Baton Rouge Center, Baton Rouge. The focus is nursing education.
 * Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center, Walker
 * Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station, a field research and educational facility located in Manchac, Louisiana, to study the Lake Pontchartrain estuarine ecosystem.

Fraternities and sororities
There are 19 national or international social Greek letter organizations governed by three councils.

Panhellenic Council

 * Alpha Omicron Pi 1963
 * Alpha Sigma Tau 1940
 * Phi Mu
 * Sigma Sigma Sigma 1964
 * Theta Phi Alpha 1990

Interfraternity Council

 * Delta Tau Delta 1969
 * Kappa Alpha Order 1980 (not recognized by the university)
 * Kappa Sigma 1989
 * Pi Kappa Alpha (closed 2022)
 * Sigma Tau Gamma 1939
 * Tau Kappa Epsilon 1961 (Reinstalled 2022)
 * Theta Chi 2000
 * Theta Xi 1963 (Reinstalled 2023)

National Panhellenic Council

 * Alpha Kappa Alpha
 * Alpha Phi Alpha
 * Delta Sigma Theta 1976
 * Kappa Alpha Psi
 * Omega Psi Phi
 * Phi Beta Sigma
 * Sigma Gamma Rho
 * Zeta Phi Beta

Athletics
Southeastern Louisiana sponsors 16 NCAA Division I level varsity teams compete in the Southland Conference. Southeastern has several state-of-the-art athletic facilities, including an eight-lane all-weather running track completed in 2011 (see inset).

Media
Southeastern's major campus media and publications are the Lion's Roar (newspaper), KSLU (FM radio station), ByLion (weekly online publication), the Southeastern Channel (public access cable television channel), and Le Souvenir (official yearbook).

The Lion's Roar is the official newspaper of the students of Southeastern Louisiana University and has been in continuous publication since 1937. ByLion newsletter is published weekly online for faculty and staff. Le Souvenir is the student yearbook, published annually by students. Le Souvenir (French for "the memory") has been in continuous publication since 1929.

Southeastern's KSLU-FM radio station began operation on November 11, 1974, as a radio club at the university. In 1988, KSLU became the first radio station in the South to install a digital touchscreen operating system. The installation was featured in Broadcast Engineering magazine. In 1993, an emergency-situation room was added using amateur radio equipment purchased with grants from State Farm Insurance and Louisiana Power & Light (a subsidiary of Entergy). During critical times, this room is staffed by local ham operators, members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in the Florida Parishes area. In 1996 KSLU began broadcasting globally via the internet. A job at KSLU was the start of the media career of Robin Roberts.

The Southeastern Channel officially began July 9, 2002. It won four Telly Awards in 2007. Staff member Steve Zaffuto won two Bronze Tellys for animation of "Native Sounds" and "Current Events" promotions, and Josh Kapusinski won a first-place Silver Telly for animation and a Bronze Telly for editing the "Florida Parish Chronicles" promo. Josh Kapusinski's "Florida Parish Chronicles" promo won a 2006 Emmy Award in the Suncoast Region.

Alumni

 * Amir Abdur-Rahim, college basketball coach
 * Robert Alford, professional football player
 * Wilson Alvarez, professional football player
 * Christine Amertil, 3 time Olympian and World Championship Silver Medalist
 * Billy Andrews, professional football player
 * Kayla Ard, college basketball coach
 * Horace Belton, professional football player
 * Bryan Bennett, professional football player
 * Kirk Bullinger, professional baseball player
 * Jerry Davis, professional football player
 * Donald Dykes, professional football player
 * Bill Evans, jazz pianist
 * Calvin Favron, professional football player
 * Gavin Fingleson, South African-born Australian, Olympic baseball player
 * John Fred Gourrier, lead singer of John Fred & the Playboys (Judy in Disguise)
 * Kevin Hughes, professional football player
 * Kyle Keller, professional baseball player
 * Cole Kelley, professional football player, Walter Payton Award Winner
 * Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton, professional basketball player and member of the Harlem Globetrotters
 * Wade Miley, professional baseball player
 * Harlan Miller, professional football player
 * Kevin Morgan, professional baseball player and executive
 * Albie Reisz, professional football player
 * Robin Roberts, television broadcaster
 * Mac Sceroler, professional baseball player
 * Carl Schutz, professional baseball player
 * Charlie Smith, Louisiana lobbyist
 * Bryan Spears, film and television producer
 * Lynne Spears, author and mother of Bryan (above), Britney, and Jamie Lynn Spears
 * Devonte Upson, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Jeff Williams, professional baseball player
 * Maxie Williams, professional football player

Faculty

 * Rhett Allain, physicist and blogger
 * Alfred J. Cox
 * John L. Crain
 * Barbara Forrest
 * Tim Gautreaux
 * Michael L. Kurtz