Dr. Robert Spina, the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Lamar University, introduced Dr. James Marquart. Dr. Marquart has extensive experience in academic affairs, criminal justice, criminology and sociology. He joined Lamar University in 2015 and is now Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Today’s message focused on New Facilities, New People and New Programs at Lamar. James is extremely proud of a recent program developed by Brenda Nichols, LU Vice-Provost. Approximately 325 students have participated in the organization Harvey’s Heroes in response to the recent flooding of Hurricane Harvey. The program offered an internship so the students could earn academic credit for their work. Approximately 500 students volunteered even though some were not enrolled in the internship. The students worked in churches and the food bank, they provided shuttle services, they moved furniture and removed sheetrock from homes. This is an example of how the LU students and faculty responded quickly to a community need and made a real difference.
With the upcoming legislative session approaching, there are many important issues to discuss. Rural healthcare and aging in place is of high importance. Midstream involves the storage of chemicals and with our area petrochemical industry, this is also critical to our region. The ever-changing classroom requires innovation and vision. Digital labs, hybrid learning which includes some online courses and some on site courses, and web based courses is a challenge to all academic institutions.
New Faces at LU:
Dr. Dan W. French, Dean of LU College of Business
Dr. Lynn Maurer, Dean of LU College of Arts and Sciences
Marco Born, New LU Athletic Director
Dr. Arne Almquist, Dean of the Mary and John Gray Library
New Things at LU:
Dr. Vinaya Manchaiah - received $397,800 grant for audiology research
Roy Caruthers, Associate Director of Transfer Admissions - working on increasing admissions
Maryam Hamidi and Weilhang Zhu - working on a project with the Houston Toll Road Authority for traffic management of the Houston ship channel
Dr. Rebecca Weinbaum, Department Chair of LU Counseling and Special Populations - working to enhance school counselor mental health training
New Buildings at LU:
Science and Technology Building, a new 83,000-square-foot building dedicated to science and technology studies
Setzer Student Center – Completely remodeled Richard W. Setzer Student Center.
Campus Quadrangle – Beautiful newly designed space adjacent to the Setzer Center
Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship – Where research and application meets to commercialize ideas and promote entrepreneurship.
Recruitment and Retention:
There are many efforts to encourage students to attend LU. Lamar has been our best kept secret. The current faculty and staff are making sure that LU’s message is reaching those students who can benefit from the many positive aspects of a LU education. James is taking Lamar to the Community and also bringing the Community to Lamar University.
Side Note - We have a verbal commitment from James to join us as a member of Rotary – from the podium! He will be a valuable asset to our club.
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Several months ago, a set of car keys were left on a table following a meeting. It has a key fob that does not identify the owner, but the make of car. It also contains other keys that appear to be for an office. Please claim if they are yours and please check if they might belong to a guest you brought to a meeting with you.
