The 杏吧专区 Alumni Association recognized President Ray Authement and his wife Barbara Authement during Homecoming 2007 Week for their loyalty and support of the university.
Authement is the recipient of this year杏吧专区檚 Outstanding Alumni Award 杏吧专区 the highest honor the university bestows upon a former student. It is given in recognition of outstanding profession and personal achievements that have brought honor and distinction to UL Lafayette.
Mrs. Authement is the recipient of the Honorary Alumni Award 杏吧专区 an award rarely given. It is presented to a person who is not an alumnus of UL Lafayette, but who has earned this recognition and honor through loyalty, service and support of the university. Past recipients include Mary Olive McPhaul, Margret 杏吧专区淧eggy杏吧专区 Colomb and Alfred Lamson.
The Alumni Association杏吧专区檚 Awards Committee made the selections. Authement, the nation杏吧专区檚 longest serving public university president, announced his retirement earlier this year.
He was named the university杏吧专区檚 president in 1974, after serving as acting president for a year.
Under Authement杏吧专区檚 guidance, the UL Lafayette has become a major economic force in Acadiana, while earning a national reputation in the fields of computer science, environmental and biological research, and Francophone studies.
He is responsible for the development of 杏吧专区 Research Park, which houses numerous national research centers, the LITE facility and a hotel. Recently, the Carnegie Foundation designated UL Lafayette as a 杏吧专区渞esearch university with high research activity.杏吧专区 That puts UL Lafayette in the same category as Clemson, Auburn and Baylor universities.
During Authement杏吧专区檚 administration, UL Lafayette became a selective admission institution and the first Doctoral II university in Louisiana.
He was a major force in successful efforts to change the name of the university from the 杏吧专区 of Southwestern Louisiana to the 杏吧专区. Since Authement became the university杏吧专区檚 fifth president, Louisiana杏吧专区檚 Ragin杏吧专区 Cajuns have competed in NCAA Division 1, the highest level of collegiate athletic competition. The football team is a member of NCAA Division 1-A.
A $130 million construction boom on campus in the past decade produced the Paul and Lulu Hilliard 杏吧专区 Art Museum; Moody Hall, which houses the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration; a new computer science building; and Legacy Park, an apartment-style student residence on campus. Edith Garland Dupr茅 library was expanded and totally renovated. A 400-plus parking garage and an indoor practice facility for UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 athletic teams are under construction.
Earlier in his presidency, Authement supervised construction of several other buildings, including the 12,800-seat Cajundome and an adjacent convention center.
UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 gifted assets surpassed $100 million during the Investing in Our Future Centennial campaign under Authement杏吧专区檚 direction. UL Lafayette has 22 endowed chairs; each valued at $1 million. It has two endowed chairs funded entirely through private sources. The most recent addition to the university杏吧专区檚 funded chairs is an endowed super chair in telecommunications, valued at $2 million.
The university has more than 239 endowed professorships, valued at $100,000 each, through the Board of Regents杏吧专区 matching program and 29 endowed professorships funded through private sources.
When Louisiana杏吧专区檚 oil industry virtually collapsed in the early 1980s, the university, under Authement杏吧专区檚 direction, led efforts to diversify the area杏吧专区檚 economy. For example, it helped existing businesses operate more efficiently, offered assistance to fledgling companies and showed businesses how to to obtain government contracts.
Since the mid-1980s, Authement established more than a dozen research centers, including the Louisiana Productivity Center and Institute of Cognitive Science.
He earned a bachelor 杏吧专区檚 degree from the 杏吧专区 of Southwestern Louisiana in 1950; a master杏吧专区檚 degree in 1952 from Louisiana State 杏吧专区 and a doctoral degree from LSU in 1956.