NEWS

Louisiana Tech’s College of Business received a generous gift from the wife and son of the late Louie Randolph Davis Sr. The gift will fund the Grand Auditorium in the new College of Business building.

The new building, tentatively slated for groundbreaking in the fall of 2010, will house the new auditorium and will be named the “Louie Davis Memorial Auditorium.”

Davis was born in Stephens, Ark. He met and married Edna “Tootsie” Davis there. After high school, Davis was drafted into the Army and served in the Navy as well. Following his stint in the service, he began a lifelong career in the wholesale hardware business. He started his own company, South States, Inc., a wholesale hardware and building material distributor in 1970. His son, Randy, graduated from Tech in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Randy joined his father full-time in the family business until 1987, when he decided to pursue other opportunities outside the wholesale hardware business. Davis sold the company in 1994 and passed away in 2005.

Randy Davis said, “My father taught me the importance of imagination and the ability to think out of the box in order to achieve one’s goal.”

Davis’ success in the wholesale hardware business was largely attributable to his desire to provide retailer’s with alternative solutions.

“Louisiana Tech University is extremely grateful to the Davis family for their commitment to higher education,” President Dan Reneau said. “Their desire to create a lasting legacy in honor of Mr. Davis is simply outstanding.”

“The Davis’ very generous gift to the new College of Business building is highly significant,” Dr. James Lumpkin, dean of the College of Business, said. “Not only does this gift provide necessary funding for the new building but it also ensures that our students will receive their education in a world-class auditorium.”

The College of Business has plans for a new building that will be located near the site of the current building and adjacent to the new Research Park.

For more information, please contact Brian Miller, associate director of external relations, at (318)257-3701 or brianm@latech.edu.

Written by Brian Miller