NEWS

Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau stated twice during his fall faculty/staff meeting that, unless midyear cuts are announced, no furloughs or additional layoffs are in the plans.

“The state is going through difficult times and will probably go through difficult times in the future,” Reneau said. “I want you to know that Louisiana Tech has never stood at a higher point than it does now. There will be no furloughs or additional layoffs, unless midyear cuts are announced.”

Reneau added that it was the faculty and staff’s cooperation that made this possible.

“The faculty and staff have made the necessary changes to protect the academic, athletic and auxiliary cores of this university,” he said. “That’s tough, but everyone is working together.”

Reneau touted some of Tech’s successes from the past year, including the university’s elevation to a Tier 3 university by the U.S. News and World Report, which makes Tech second only to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, which is Tier 2, among the state’s public institutions. Tech also had a graduation rate of 53.07 percent and achieved the highest incoming freshman ACT rate in the university’s history and in the University of Louisiana System.

“I look forward to the future,” Reneau said. “There’s no excessive duplication of programs at Louisiana Tech and no mass inefficiency. We’ve never asked the state for a handout, and we’ve been good stewards of our money.”

Reneau mentioned the future of how the university would possibly be funded and the Legislation’s Tucker Commission, which has been established to reorganize and realign higher education.

“We would like to see performance-based funding,” he said. “If that comes about, next year, we wouldn’t have as much of a cut. It’s fair, it’s right and it’s time for this effort. That gives us hope.”

Louisiana Tech’s fall classes will begin Thursday, Sept. 10, and with the new academic year brings new changes, such as the university now purchasing its water from the city and using a newly-constructed pond to supply the university’s surface water, the reconstruction of the old Visual Arts Building and the imminent groundbreaking for the first building in the Research Park.

“We are positioned well,” Reneau said. “We’re ready for the year, and we’re ready for the next year.”

Following the presentation, the faculty and staff gave Reneau a standing ovation.

Written by Judith Roberts