MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY

'McNeese State University', founded in 1939, is a university located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Originally called 'Lake Charles Junior College', the name became John McNeese Junior College in 1940; the school was part of the Louisiana State University system. In 1950, the school parted from the LSU system and became McNeese State College; in 1970, the institution gained university status.
McNeese's colors are blue and gold. The school's men's sports teams are known as the Cowboys, while the women's athetic teams are the Cowgirls. McNeese State sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA) for football) in the Southland Conference.

Contents

History

University Leadership

Campus

Academics

Athletics

Student Organizations

Notable Alumni

External link

History

McNeese State University was founded in 1939 as a division of Louisiana State University, offering only the first two years of higher education. Originally called Lake Charles Junior College, the name became John McNeese Junior College in 1940 by resolution of the University Board of Supervisors in honor of a pioneer Southwest Louisiana educator.
Advanced to four-year status and separated from L.S.U. in 1950, the University was renamed McNeese State College; and its administration was transferred to the Louisiana State Board of Education. Act 138 of the 1970 Louisiana Legislature gave the institution its present name, McNeese State University. McNeese gained significant recognition in 1954 through admission to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the highest accrediting agency in the United States for such schools in the South.
The Legislature authorized McNeese to offer curricula leading to the master's degree in 1960, and to the degree of Education Specialist in 1966. In addition to the Graduate School, McNeese University's academic organization includes the colleges of Business, Education, Engineering and Technology, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Science, the Division of Continuing Education, and the Division of Basic Studies.
McNeese opened its doors in 1939 on an 86-acre tract donated by the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury with a physical plant of two buildings: the former Administration Building (Kaufman Hall) and the McNeese Arena (Ralph O. Ward Memorial Gym). The Main Auditorium, now Francis G. Bulber Auditorium, was completed in 1940 as the third building on the campus. The three structures are still in use today. In 1989, the auditorium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

University Leadership

★ Dr. Joseph T. Farrar (1939-1940

★ Dr. William B. Hatcher (1940-1941)

★ Dr. Rodney Cline (1941-1944)
(Prior to 1944, University leadership were called deans. After 1944, the term President came to designate the universities' head individual)

★ Dr. Lether Edward Frazar (1944-1955) Retired in 1955, became lieutenant governor of Louisiana thereafter

★ Dr. Wayne N. Cusic (1955-1969) Retired in 1969

★ Dr. Thomas S. Leary (1969-1980) Resigned from presidency

★ Dr. Jack Doland (1980-1986) Resigned in order to run for state office

★ Dr. Robert Hebert (1986-present)

Campus

The McNeese State University main campus occupies 99-acres in South Lake Charles along the Contraband Bayou. The main campus also includes 68 main buildings. In addition to the main campus, the physical plant also includes the 402-acre McNeese Farm, a 65-acre Athletic plant, and the Burton Coliseum.

Academics

McNeese State University offers 83 degree programs under the Colleges of Business, Education, Engineering and
Technology, Liberal Arts, Nursing and Science, the Division of General and Basic Studies, and the Doré School of Graduate Studies.
Joe Gray Taylor, distinguished historian of Louisiana and the American South, was the chairman of the McNeese history department and later the dean of the College of Liberal Arts prior to his death in 1987.

Athletics

McNeese State University's teams are nicknamed the Cowboys (or Cowgirls). Their football team plays at Cowboy Stadium, also known as "The Hole", on the edge of campus. Their basketball teams play at Burton Coliseum south of campus. The baseball team hosts games at Cowboy Diamond.

Student Organizations

McNeese State University's speech and debate team is recognized as a national powerhouse, and it boasts numerous national championships over the last 40 years.
The McNeese State University newspaper is The Contraband, a weekly publication which has existed since the 1960s.
Delta Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order is based at McNeese. Chartered in 1969, the Chapter has placed in the Top 15% of KA chapters 14 times, and has placed in the Top 3 Chapters once in 2001, earning the George C. Marshall award for Chapter Excellence. Delta Xi also hosts an annual softball tournament in honor of Conway LeBleu, an alumni who was killed at the Branch-Davidian compound while serving for the bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. The tournament is the largest brotherhood event in the country for Kappa Alphas and has been running for 40 years.

Notable Alumni

★ Danny Ardoin - Major League Baseball catcher with the Colorado Rockies

★ Ben Broussard - Major League Baseball first baseman for the Seattle Mariners

★ Tierre Brown - Perennial National Basketball Association player and MVP of the NBA Development League in 2004

★ James David Cain - Veteran state representative and state senator from Calcasieu, Beauregard, and Vernon parishes

★ Andre Dubus - Writer of short fiction, including the work "Killings" which was adapted into the Oscar-nominated motion picture In the Bedroom

★ Joe Dumars - National Basketball Association former guard for the Detroit Pistons and MVP of the 1989 NBA Finals; member of the Basketball Hall of Fame

★ Bob Howry - Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs

★ Dan Richey - Former state representative and state senator and Republican political activist

★ B.J. Sams - Punt and kick-off returner for the Baltimore Ravens

★ Zach Bronson - Former Safety for the San Fransico 49ers from 1997-2003

★ Kavika Pittman - Former Defensive End and 2nd-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1996 NFL Draft

★ Kerry Joseph - Quarterback and 1st overall draft pick of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL. He is only the 3rd QB in CFL history to rush for more than a 1,000 yards in one season.

★ Leonard Smith - Former 1st round draft pick, 17th overall, of the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) in the 1983 NFL Draft. He played cornerback and safety in the NFL for the Cardinals from 1983-1988 and the Buffalo Bills from 1988-1991.

External link

★ McNeese State University website