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La Make a Get Down 2007 Fall LOUISIANETHE MAGAZINE OF T HE UNIVERSI T Y O F L O U I S I A N A AT L A FAY E tt E Come See Translation: Drop by for a visit. In Cajun country, we’ll make you feel right at home - whether you prefer to dance at a festival or catch a sunset over the cypress trees. With Zydeco rhythms, Cajun & Creole flavors, Louisiana scenery and Southern hospitality you’ll agree – there’s no place like Lafayette. Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission www.lafayette.travel 337.232.3737 800.346.1958 E I've gotten hundreds of colorful PostIt® notes from Dr. Ray Authement since I began working at UL Lafayette in 1993. He attaches them to magazines he receives from other universities and forwards to me. I took the first few dozen for granted; they all looked alike. One day, I noticed a PostIt® note that was different. Instead of “FYI,” he had written something like, “Page 20. Article is well done.” Of course, I immediately flipped to that page and studied it. EDITOR’S NOT It took quite a few more “FYIs” and a couple more “See inside” messages to grasp what should have been obvious to me from the start: He apparently looks through all of the magazines before sending them along. I was amazed because of his already heavy workload. I’ve thought about those PostIt® notes a lot since Doc announced in late April that he plans to retire. It occurred to me that they reveal quite a bit about him and how he conducts busi- ness at the university. They are consistent, direct and efficient. They tell me that he has done his homework, that it’s important to know what other uni- versities are doing. Their subtler message is: If something is impor- tant, find the time to pay attention to it and share it with others. His little handwritten notes are also a refreshing personal touch in these days of e-mail and text messages. Believe it or not, we have not told Dr. Authement that this entire issue of La Louisiane is devoted to what he has done for the university. We were afraid he would ask us not to pay so much attention to him. But Dr. Authement’s leadership has positively influenced every aspect of the university and countless lives. We believe readers will look at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in a different way after reading about the remarkable journey he What’s your sign? began long before becoming its president. Quite frankly, I expect to be criticized by some Academy Sports and Outdoors LIDS Teche Drugs and Gifts readers for dedicating an entire issue of La Louisiane to one topic. 4232 Ambassador Caffery Acadiana Mall / 5725 Johnston Street 505 Jefferson Street But a few years ago, someone asked Doc what advice he would www.LIDS.com offer students. “When faced with a tough decision, do what you Albertsonʼs University Bookstore 2678 Johnston Street Louisiana Hot Stuff 600 McKinley know in your heart is right. That’s not always easy but you will 2863 & 4400 Ambassador Caffery 4409 Ambassador Caffery www.louisiana.edu/bookstore look back on your life without regrets,” he replied. And so I have. 1818 NE Evangeline Thruway I’m filled with a sadness that I can’t even describe whenever I’m Pieces of Eight Wal-Mart reminded that the steady stream of Dr. Authement’s PostIt® notes Bellʼs Sporting Goods 902 Coolidge Boulevard 2428 W. Pinhook Road will soon end. 4313 Johnston Street Sports Avenue 3142 Ambassador Caffery There is small comfort in a Buddhist proverb I read recently: Acadiana Mall 1229 NW Evangeline Thruway “If you’re facing the right direction, all you have to do is keep Follettʼs—The Book Store walking.” Thanks to Doc, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette 210 E. St. Mary Boulevard Womenʼs and Childrenʼs is facing the right direction. www.efollett.com Hospital Gift Shop All we have to do is keep walking. 4600 Ambassador Caffery Golfballs.com Inc. We hope you enjoy this issue of La Louisiane. 126 Arnould Blvd. www.Golfballs.com –– Kathleen Thames www.RagincajunGEAR.com a visiting professor at the University of ryl Felder, head of the Bi- Research Park Tenants RESEARCH North Carolina at Chapel hill. UNC, North ology Department, in an Carolina State University and duke Univer- article published in the At A Glance sity had already formed research triangle Summer 1992 issue of La Park, which would become one of the most Louisiane magazine. successful university research parks in the So University re- usgs NatioNal WetlaNds ReseaRch ceNteR United States. search Park was a viable Biological research is conducted here to help protect, restore South Louisiana would later experi- option for the NWRC. and manage natural resources, especially fish, wildlife and ence an outrageously prosperous Oil Boom. But other universities wetlands in the South. Bold Investment By the late 1970s, Lafayette had become across the country were the “Hub City” for oil companies, large courting that agency, too. University Research Park continues to flourish and small. the price of a barrel of crude So, Authement called for lafayette PRimaRy caRe facility oil rose from $14 in 1978 to $5 a barrel in some federal firepower. This is used to train medical residents in family practice. It n THE LATE 1980s, MOTORISTS DRIV- ties that would boost the local economy 1981. A headline in the New York Times in “We needed two represents a cooperative effort by Lafayette General Medical ing along Congress Street near Cajun while helping the university (now known 1981 trumpeted: “Lafayette, La.: home of a things: first, funding, Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, LSU IField saw horses and sheep grazing as UL Lafayette) elevate its stature as a re- Thousand millionaires.” and second, the coop- Medical Center, University Medical Center and UL Lafayette. on property owned by the University of search institution. But just a couple of years later, the eration of the U.S. Fish Southwestern Louisiana. price of oil plummeted, taking with it the and Wildlife Service. By 1990, the livestock had been relo- estuaRiNe habitats coastal fisheRies When USL President dr. ray Authe- cated to the university’s farm in Cade, La. oil-dependent economies of Lafayette and Sen. Bennett Johnston ReseaRch ceNteR ment looked at the same land, he saw the Thanks to some influential friends in Wash- Louisiana. So much focus had been placed secured the funding by future. In his mind’s eye, the farm animals ington, D.C., the first tenant in the 14-acre on the oil industry that other sectors of the virtue of his place on the Owned by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administra- and barns were replaced by research facili- University Research Park – the National economy had been neglected. Interior Appropriations tion, the center houses offices and labs for agencies such as Wetlands Research Center – opened for When state oil revenues dwindled, Subcommittee. Equally the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Army Corps of business in 199. Authement was forced to reduce the important, Sen. (John) Engineers. University Research Park Quick Facts Today, the NWRC has lots of com- university’s budget. From 198 to 1988, Breaux won over the USL endured eight budget cuts that totaled Fish and Wildlife Ser- pany. Its neighbors include: abdalla hall about $10 million. there were more reduc- vice, by virtue of the Land: 143 ACRES • the Lafayette Primary Care Facility; • the Estuarine habitats Coastal Fish- tions ahead. great respect he com- Occupants of this university-owned building include the Land Available for Development: 76 ACRES eries research Center; In the mid-1980s, USL decided to mands in the Capitol on Center for Business and Information technologies and the Number of Tenants: 13 • Abdalla hall; become proactive. “We set a goal to help, environmental issues,” Energy Institute. Employees: 431 • the Lafayette Economic develop- to create companies and bring jobs,” Au- Authement said in 1988. ment Authority; thement stated in an article published in Louisiana’s Con- lafayette ecoNomic develoPmeNt authoRity Developed Space: 313,157 SQUARE FEET • the Louisiana Immersive technolo- the may 1, 00, issue of The Times of Aca- gressional delegation Its mission is to contribute to economic growth in Lafayette Additional Space Currently gies Enterprise; and diana. Ultimately, he created 17 research was probably at the Parish. It does that in many ways, such as by helping local Under Development: 67,612 SQUARE FEET • hilton Garden Inn. centers to help reach that goal. peak of its power, due in companies develop markets and by recruiting business and Total Payroll: $26 MILLION Construction of the Cecil J. Picard USL needed to entice an “anchor” ten- part, to its seniority. For industry. Center for Child development is expected ant in University research Park, just like a the next few years, it commercial developer needs an “anchor” continued to help send Eraste Landry Rd. to begin soon. Until then, LITE is the new- est kid on the block. store for a new shopping mall. One of the federal projects and louisiaNa immeRsive techNologies eNteRPRise first prospects was the National Wetlands funding to USL. With LITE’s debut in 2006, UL La- Its three-story, egg-shaped glass enclosure reflects the ad- Research Center in Slidell, La., which was • In 1996, John- fayette stepped onto the world stage as vanced technology inside. LITE gives university researchers USGS National Wetlands Research a leader of technology and innovation. interested in relocating to a site closer to ston delivered a $10 Center and private industry access to supercomputers that can con- Researchers at LITE use a supercomputer, environmental biology researchers.