In late August, the president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dr. E. Joseph Savoie made numerous groundbreaking announcements at the State of the University event. Topics included mental health services, campus improvement and the Lafayette Parish bicentennial time capsule.
The past year has been an impactful one for reasons both good and unfortunate. Last spring, the UL Lafayette community was rocked by the deaths of UL students, staff and other community members, including the suicide of Basil Bennett Brown.
“Hindsight is powerful,” President Savoie said, “it can also be productive, and reflecting on that sad time we recognize that there were many things we could have done better in communicating and offering support and recognizing how silence sometimes deepens pain and creates uncertainty.”
“You demanded,” he continued, “that we learn from these deaths, you asked us to do better and we heard you”. So, in response to the losses of last semester and in order to prevent another tragedy from taking place, the university has come together with a plan to better support its students.
This plan includes the hiring of additional counselors at the Counseling and Testing Center, as well as possibly placing on-site counselors within each resident hall. In addition, this summer, the university implemented Uwill, a virtual mental health support service which is available 24/7.
Uwill offers counseling sessions, medication management and a mental health crisis line available to all UL students and staff.
The president added that since Uwill’s implementation, within August 68 students have already used the potentially life-saving program.
ULPD, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, the Office of Communications and Marketing and the Student Affairs Division have all come together to create a new Emergency Notification System with the hopes of keeping students safe and informed.
The president also announced that “We are now managing more construction projects than at any time since before World War 2.”
Approximately $601 million fully-funded campus improvement projects are currently in design or under construction. This includes heating, cooling, elevator and security improvements for numerous buildings across campus, as well as new roofs for O.K. Allen, Agnes Edwards, the Brook Street Annex and the ROTC building.
Additionally, our oldest building Foster Hall, built in 1905, will receive a complete renovation alongside DeClouet Hall. Also included in this plan is the Engineering Student Centered Collaborative Building (ESCCB), which is just one of the many improvements coming to the sciences. Together with a new sciences building, the ESCCB and Oliver Hall will together comprise the STEM quad.
The new sciences building will serve as a collaborative space for biology, chemistry and the various other scientific majors here at UL Lafayette. Like the ESCCB, the structure will include a makerspace that will be used by students to expand their skill-set and gain experience in the laboratory setting.
And to address the issues facing Billeaud and Montgomery Hall, those buildings will both undergo renovations, set to begin in 2025 or 2026.
With ever increasing enrollment, the Office of Facility Management is also currently looking into building additional residence halls so that UL Lafayette students have the opportunity to live on campus regardless of demand.
The president also announced that $535 million worth of projects are currently in the design and fundraising process. The list of projects is long enough that it merits its own article, but some of the highlights include a Performing Arts Center, renovations for Angelle Hall and a new H.L. Griffin Hall.
Scott Hebert, the director of the Office of Facility Management, said “If we are able to get the funding, the idea is to build a brand new Griffin hall.” Nearly every student visits H.L. Griffin at some point in their academic career, be it for their major or their freshman English classes. The new building would cost $63 million, but if the office is unable to reach that goal, the current H.L. Griffin is sure to receive some much needed renovations.
Another huge change coming our way is the Lab School. Scott Hebert explained, “It’s an elementary school, a middle school and a high school that is basically taught and supported by the university. The College of Education is basically going to be the ones in charge of running it, and it’s going to provide opportunities for student teachers and the college kids to get real life experience.”
Provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, Dr. Jaimie Hebert, announced at the event that this year alone, a historic 65 new members of staff have been welcomed to campus as well as 45 doctoral teaching assistants.
The vice president also announced a mountain of proposed degrees coming our way including recording arts, medical technology and bioengineering. There are even some proposed certifications such as E-sports management, manufacturing & marketing and nursing informatics.
The president wrapped up his speech with a letter to the future, contained in the Lafayette Parish time capsule, set to open in 2135. He said, “This year as in years passed, we stood at the vanguard of innovation and helped to animate it, not for our benefit but for yours. Our work in this year as in every year has been for you.”