Congratulations to President Ashley Mudd who was recently elected to serve as the 2012-2013 Chair of the UL System's Student Advisory Council (SAC).  http://www.ulsystem.edu/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=455

Effective February 15, 2012, Guillory Hall will be closed due to the renovation and expansion of the Student Union. We encourage you to study in the 24 Hour STEP Lab located on the first floor of the Conference Center. You will need your ID to access the lab. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions, please call 482-5516.

For the Spring 2011 cycle, twenty-one (21) awards totaling $352,201.61 were funded by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Student Technology Enhancement Program (STEP).  Of the those proposals funded, six (6) will have an annual sustainability fund impact of $36,609.00 (average $6,101.50/project).

The highest rated (by the STEP Council) grants for the cycle included: Mobile Apps and Website for UL; Electronic Swipe Card Access for Rougeau Hall; Wireless Internet, Rougeau Hall; Final Evacuation Chairs To Assist Disabled Persons In Building Emergencies; Essential Software & Equipment for Provision of Accommodations to Students with Disabilities; Using DVD Technology to Promote Clinical Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes among Nursing Students; and Building Network Equipment / Police Unit Laptop Computer / Server Storage Backup Unit.

In addition to the grants awarded for Spring 2011, the Student Government Association approved at its meeting on April 25, 2011, a plan to increase and improve wireless access for students on campus.  The plan, which was initiated last Fall, includes: a) surveying students to identify needs (completed June 2010); b) analyzing campus occupancy and utilization data based on classroom utilization (completed August 2010); c) selection of new standard access points and control equipment (completed October 2010); d) solicit approval from SGA to fund and initiate the project (completed April 25, 2011); e) acquisition, installation, and deployment of phase I equipment and infrastructure (completed in Library in February 2011); f) complete phase II, III, and IV of the project.  This plan uses the data collected from the student survey (supplemented by utilization data) to determine a priority list of buildings in which the new equipment will be deployed during the course of the four phase plan. 

To review the list of the funded grants, please use the link below to navigate to the awards list page.  Once there, click on the title of each proposal to review the summary information and access the detail proposal.  Note: All proposals are formatted in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Spring 2011 Awards List

ULL mapping out future

Show CaptionBRYAN TUCK/The Advocate

Construction continues on the new student housing and parking facility at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Thursday. The university’s master planning process is under way with public meetings scheduled in the fall for feedback on future campus growth.

LAFAYETTE — A master plan that will guide the future growth of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette over the next 15 years is now under development by Architects Southwest.

The plan is expected to be complete by mid-December and focuses on development of the main academic campus and the commons area, which includes the research park, athletic complexes and intramural fields, explained Architect Southwest’s Steve Oubre.

Potential uses for Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center will also be part of the master plan, ULL President Joe Savoie said in an email Thursday.

The St. Landry Street hospital, for sale for $36 million, will be vacated Saturday with the official opening of the new Lourdes hospital in south Lafayette on Saturday morning.

The property’s location — between ULL’s main campus and its property south of the academic campus including the research park and athletic complexes “offers some strategic opportunities to bring the campuses closer together,”  Savoie said.

“If the conditions are right, it would be an obvious advantage to the university to secure the property,” Savoie stated.

RCLCO — a national real estate consultant firm — is conducting an analysis of potential mixed-use development to create a research village in the university’s commons area.

Think of a mixed-use neighborhood — like Lafayette’s River Ranch — but instead of houses serving as the anchor, substitute public and private sector research buildings, Oubre explained.

Housing and commercial development are part of the research village concept, too, and will be explored, as well, he said.

“They’re going to be testing and evaluating what market potential do we have with that property to be working in concert with research,” Oubre said.

Oubre cited the University of South Carolina’s Innovista and North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus as examples of research villages.

Innovista boasts single-family homes, apartments and townhouses in a neighborhood setting alongside research industry and retail development.

The Centennial Campus tenants is a mix of governmental, corporate and nonprofit centers. Residential and retail units are also available. The campus also is a venue for community-wide events and features walking trails, a lake with a fishing pier and a public golf course.

Architecture and design students who are part of the university’s Community Design Workshop have also been part of the process since last spring, said Tom Sammons, ULL architecture professor, and workshop director.

Students will continue to gain experience through the project with oversight by Architects Southwest, Sammons said.

As part of the project, an urban code for the university will be developed that standardizes future development from signage to the architecture of new buildings, Oubre said.

Between now and December, charrettes — sessions with specific stakeholder groups to discuss the design and receive feedback — are planned. A charrette open to the general public is scheduled over a 10-day period in October.

Prior to that, sessions with the university audience are scheduled in August followed by a separate session with business and civic leaders to “test out” some potential retail and commercial concepts, Oubre said.

“It will be a very engaged process,” Oubre said. “We want input from everybody.”

Find this article at: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/latest/ULL-mapping-out-future.html?showAll=y&c=y

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 4, 2010 

Students Give UL System Schools High Marks in National Survey

BATON ROUGE – Eighty-six percent of students in the University of Louisiana System rate their educational experience as “Good” or “Excellent,” according to results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) released today. Additionally, 83 percent would attend the same institution if they had a chance to start their educational experience over.

“Students are our customers and this national survey affirms they believe they are getting a good return on their investment,” said UL System President Randy Moffett. NSSE is an annual survey of first-year students and seniors. This year 362,000 students from 564 U.S. colleges and universities completed the NSSE questionnaire. This is the first year all eight UL System schools participated in the survey.

Other significant findings from the UL System survey results include:

· 97 percent say the university provides the support they need to help succeed academically;

· 97 percent say they are acquiring a broad general education;

· 94 percent say they are acquiring job or work-related knowledge and skills;

· 79 percent rate the quality of academic advising as “Good” or “Excellent;”

· 76 percent rate faculty members as available, helpful or sympathetic;

· 60 percent rate administrative personnel and offices helpful, considerate and flexible; and

· 82 percent rate relationships with other students as friendly, supportive and a sense of belonging.

UL System Student Board Member Brook Sebren said, “These results do not surprise me at all. My experience at the University of Louisiana at Monroe has been extremely rewarding with everyone – from faculty to staff – coming together to push you to the next level. The universities in the UL System care about the success of their students.”

The full survey results including campus breakdowns can be found at www.ulsystem.edu. For more information about the National Survey of Student Engagement, visit http://nsse.iub.edu/html/annual_results.cfm.

-ULS-

EIGHT UNIVERSITIES STRONG: The University of Louisiana System is the largest higher education system in the state enrolling over 82,500 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Read President Savoie's blog for information regarding the progress on the University Strategic Plan.  This is one you do not want to miss!

http://louisiana.edu/blogs/president/

Be sure to watch the visual presentation of the plans for residential housing on campus:

http://www.louisiana.edu/Administration/President/HousingFlyThruFinal/

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been notified of a confirmed case of mumps on campus. Mumps is a contagious disease that is caused by the mumps virus. In adults, it can have serious complications.

Mumps spreads through the air. It can also be spread by when someone with mumps touches items or surfaces without washing their hands and someone else then touches the same surface and rubs their mouth or nose.

Mumps typically starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite and is followed by swelling of salivary glands (located under the ears or jaw). Anyone who is not immune from either previous mumps infection or from two doses of the MMR vaccine can get mumps if exposed to someone with mumps.

The Office of Public Health has been working in coordination with the UL Lafayette Student Health Center to identify close contacts and have been referring them to the Lafayette Parish Health Unit for immunizations if they are not fully immunized.

All UL students should check their immunization record to ensure that they have the required two doses of MMR vaccine. UL Lafayette students who have not been fully immunized can obtain the mumps vaccine at the Lafayette Parish Health Unit at 220 West Willow Street, Building A, by calling 262-5616 for an appointment or at their local health unit.

For more information, please go to this website, http://www.louisiana.edu/Student/Health/, or call the Office of Public Health at 337-262-5311