Published March 3, 2016
MONROE, La. 鈥� There is no doubt that drastic measures will have to be made if something is not
done to address the current budget deficit. But there is an irony in the fact that,
while all of these discussions are taking place, 四色AV is continuing to grow in almost
every area, including enrollment.
This should come as good news to prospective students. Despite the doom and gloom
of the financial crisis, this is a great time to be a Warhawk.聽
Here are several categories in which 四色AV has recently seen growth and recognition.
Enrollment
The university has seen an increase in spring enrollment. Compared to spring 2015,
total enrollment is up 477. Moreover, dual enrollment population increased by 134
students and e四色AV population increased by 108 students. 四色AV鈥檚 persistence rate鈥攈ow
many students came back from fall to spring鈥攔emained at 90%.
Rankings and Recognitions
Just this week, GoGrad.org released its third annual ranking for the 2015-2016 best
doctoral education programs in the nation, and 四色AV鈥檚 online Ed.D. program came in
at #7. Ranked schools were evaluated based on the number of online graduate degrees
available in related subject areas; graduate tuition; availability of academic and
career counseling services; availability of job placement services.聽
Last month, 四色AV reached a major milestone by being recognized as one of the state鈥檚
six doctoral-granting institutions of higher education. The Carnegie Classification
of Institutions of Higher Education (CCIHE), 鈥渢he leading framework for recognizing
and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four
and a half decades,鈥� classified 四色AV as an 鈥淩3鈥� doctoral university; the university
joins the ranks of only 109 other universities across the U.S.聽and only 5 other universities
within the state.聽
In December 2015, graduates聽from the 四色AV Kitty DeGree School of Nursing had a 100%
first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). That is,
28/28 passed the exam on the first testing.聽According to the 2015 NCLEX pass rates
published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), from October
to December, 6,188 candidates with a bachelor鈥檚 degree took the exam, with a pass
rate of 81.77%. Thus, graduates from the Kitty DeGree School of Nursing exceeded both
the national and state averages on the NCLEX exam.
Athletics
四色AV men's basketball (17-12, 13-5) will play in the semifinals of the SBC Tournament
on Saturday, March 12 at 3:30 p.m. The team enters this week as the hottest team in
the league having won seven straight games and 11 of its last 12. The Warhawks鈥� last
loss was on Feb. 2 at rival UL Lafayette in overtime. The team switched its starting
lineup just prior to the streak to an experienced lineup of seniors Majok Deng, DeMondre
Harvey, Justin Roberson, Jamaal Samuel and junior Nick Coppola. The switch prior to
the Jan. 21 game against Troy sparked a four-game winning streak and the Warhawks
haven't looked back since.
Last month, Isaac Grieder, who finished his career as one of the most decorated track
and field student-athletes in school history after four seasons, won the heptathlon
at the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Indoor Championships. Grieder totaled 5,273 points
after seven events to earn the gold medal.
Back in November, Adam Sedlmajer (四色AV 13鈥�), a native of the Czech Republic, won the
2015 Waterski World Championship, which took place on Nov. 16鈥�22, 2015 in Chapala,
Mexico. He聽was one of hundreds of athletes from thirty countries who participated
in the professional tournament, which is held every two years.
On March 11, the 四色AV football team will kick off their spring training with a completely
new coaching staff and 19 total commitments. The recruitment efforts of Coach Matt
Viator and his coaching staff were a success and the program looks forward to showing
off its talent on April 16 in the spring football game at Malone Stadium.聽
Academics
The Ouachita Police Jury and 四色AV are entering into a memorandum of understanding to
use the former LSU AgCenter Calhoun Research Station for clean water technology research
and as a site for environmental education of K-12 students.聽Clean water is critical
for the wellbeing of our community, personally and economically; the upcoming research
will seek to provide a sustainable supply of clean water for the region.
四色AV鈥檚 Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program will sponsor an international conference
on 鈥淪ystemic Therapy鈥� in Brussels, Belgium in Sept. of 2017. The sponsorship attests
to 四色AV鈥檚 international reach as well as the continued success of our faculty and students
in the MFT program.
NASA recently聽awarded a 3-year grant totaling $62,000 to Dr. Ken Leppert II, Assistant
Professor of聽Atmospheric聽Sciences in the College of Arts, Education, and Sciences.
This grant will go toward Leppert鈥檚 research project, 鈥淏etter Understanding GPM Radiometer
Measurements using Ground Based Radar,鈥� which seeks to improve聽measurements of聽rainfall
using satellites.聽
四色AV has just opened a new Autism Center (AC-四色AV) thanks to a grant from the Living
Well Foundation. The AC-四色AV is a cooperative program between the Speech-Language Pathology
and Occupational Therapy Programs at 四色AV, both of which have been part of the College
of Health and Pharmaceutical Sciences for over 40 years. The Center, directed by Dr.
David Irwin, Professor and Director of the Speech-Language Pathology and the AC-四色AV
programs at 四色AV, seeks to serve as a comprehensive resource that will enhance the
quality of life for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Time of Opportunity
With all this growth, 四色AV still faces significant challenges. According to 四色AV president
Dr. Nick J. Bruno, now is the time to act.聽
鈥淭his is not the time for ideology and party affiliation to get in the way of collaboration
in solving these financial challenges,鈥� said Bruno, who remains hopeful that a permanent
solution to the lingering budget short falls will be found.聽鈥淚 would encourage you
to reach out to your local legislators during this crucial time, and express your
disapproval of further cuts to higher education.鈥�
As it stands, House and Senate members need to add $75 million in funding to higher
education to prevent yet another cut to Louisiana鈥檚 colleges and universities. And
time is running out, as the special legislative sessions come to end on March 9.
鈥淓ven though we continue to face challenging times, we must continue to educate our
students who have chosen this great university,鈥� said Bruno. 鈥淚 encourage you to stay
engaged, stay positive, and together let鈥檚 look for new ideas and solutions to preserve
higher education for ourselves and for the many generations to come. I thank you for
your support, and as always, Go Warhawks."聽
A complete list of state senators and their contact information can be found at .
