NEWS

Roddey Engineering Services provides support for Louisiana Tech’s engineering, science building campaign

Dec 12, 2011 | Engineering and Science

Roddey Engineering Services, Inc. of Shreveport, Louisiana has announced it will donate $25,000 to Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science campaign for a new Integrated Engineering and Science building.   The gift moves the Campaign past the $3.1 million mark in investments from private donors, area businesses and industry. 
John B. ‘Bob’ Roddey, president of Roddey Engineering Services, Inc., announced the gift this week.  Roddey founded the company in 1985 and provides refinery processing and process control services in Louisiana and Texas.  He says that Louisiana Tech has provided the company with quality engineers since the business began operations.
“[The engineering graduates] have proven to be extremely qualified in applying the things that they have learned at Tech to real industry applications. After many years, I have found that hiring these young engineers soon after graduation gives the engineer a steep learning curve experiences resulting in increased value to the company over a short period of time. The engineers get the opportunity to learn details of unit design, operations, and troubleshooting in specialized processes such as catalytic reforming and hydro-treating.  We have also found the work ethic of the Tech engineers to be excellent.  In fact, all the members of the management team at Roddey Engineering are Louisiana Tech graduates.”
Stan Napper, dean of Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science, says the gift provides the Campaign with added momentum at the end of the 2011 calendar year. 
“We are grateful to Bob for his active and generous support of our College, through this gift and his service on our Engineering and Science Foundation. Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science is already regarded as a national leader in engineering and science education because of its integrated and projects-based approach. Unfortunately, our facilities have not kept up with our academic progress.  This building will provide new active learning space for first and second year engineering and science students, for the first time since Bogard Hall was opened in 1940. The modern facility will also serve as an excellent recruiting tool for our college, especially in East Texas where many high schools have outstanding facilities and where many of our peer colleges have also recently built new facilities.”
The new three-story Integrated Engineering and Science building will be located in Enterprise Park, adjacent to Bogard Hall, and will feature new active learning class labs, shops and meeting rooms for engineering, math and science classes.  The funds to construct the building will be raised primarily from alumni and corporate friends of the college and Napper says he plans to move forward in spite of the sluggish economy.
The College officially launched the Campaign in late September with a fundraising auction held at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant.
To learn more about the Campaign, visit www.latech.edu/coes/building.
Written by Catherine Fraser – cfraser@latech.edu