Securing Louisiana's
Future

 

Scholarship First Agenda

LSU's fierce drive for excellence is rooted in our mission to impact and serve Louisiana—providing pathways to higher learning, addressing critical problems through ground-breaking research and discovery, and bettering the lives of citizens in every parish.

Louisiana is at the center of many of our nation’s core challenges and opportunities because of our geography, culture, and economy.  LSU— through the collaborative teamwork of all of our campuses—will create solutions essential to the future of our state and nation.

Our vision is aspirational, and we embrace the responsibility of ascending to our potential. In service to our state, LSU is committed to achieving excellence in all areas—for our students’ success and to elevate Louisiana for the benefit of all. 

Priorities

LSU aspires to be among the Top 50 research universities in the United States, a lofty goal that is both within our reach and crucial in fulfilling our mission to solve Louisiana’s most intractable problems and, in turn, benefit the entire world. Achieving this vision will require all of us working together with a unified, singular purpose, truly exemplifying our mission to Build Teams That Win.

Learn more about our Research Strategic Growth Plan

LSU will merge traditional practices in agriculture with advancing technology and modern tools to improve outcomes for Louisiana farmers, ensure food security for every person in our state, and establish LSU AgCenter and Agricultural College as the leading providers of agricultural innovation and education for the nation.
See the Agriculture Priority in action.

Every endeavor we undertake is contingent upon our health. With eight institutions spanning Louisiana and all levels of higher education and research, LSU will help meet the challenge of improving the state’s health outcomes head-on. We will bring together top talent and resources, ranging from clinical research to artificial intelligence. 
See the Biomedical Priority in action.

Consistent with our charge as the state’s Sea Grant university, LSU will strengthen its position as a global leader in collaborative coastal research. We will find solutions to pressing problems experienced by Louisianans today, with a focus on hurricanes, flooding, land loss, and sea-level rise. Our resiliency in overcoming these challenges today will provide a roadmap for global decision-making in the future.
See the Coast Priority in action.

Through bold investment, partnerships, and building on strong platforms, such as our applied cybersecurity program and proud history of military service, LSU will produce the leaders and cyber warriors who are essential to protecting our economy, critical infrastructure, people, and borders. We will reimagine the defense of our future, by building cybersecurity, ROTC, and technical leadership programs that are the best of their kind in the United States.
See the Defense Priority in action.

LSU will partner with industry to find new ways to fuel our nation. By building a research platform for energy resilience, aimed at reducing carbon emissions and reusing and recycling carbon, we will translate existing resources and expertise into new opportunities and jobs to power Louisiana and protect the vitality of Louisiana’s energy industry.
See the Energy Priority in action.

Our Priorities in Action

Kristen Mauch of the LSU College of Art & Design and LSU School of Architecture is a Louisiana leader in water literacy, a relatively new field of study at the culmination of water-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

The first-ever residential summer camp for high schoolers offered by LSU Eunice in partnership with Acadiana Workforce Solutions and Ochsner Health—the Future Med Pros Boot Camp—taught Destinee Bellard healthcare skills she used right away.

Three-time LSU alum Carrie Elks has advice for aspiring researchers at LSU: If you get the chance, "Play for the home team!” Elks embodied that advice by studying at LSU and now as an assistant professor and researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

LSU student Jake Davis is a true team player. Not only is the Austin, Texas native a member of the LSU football team, but he is also part of the team transforming healthcare for the better as part of the research behind a new test that diagnoses sepsis in minutes.

Fox Foley, a PhD student in the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy, recently received the K.C. Donnelly Externship Award to do research at the Center for Nanoscale Materials Science at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

For National Blueberry Month, Pennington Biomedical researchers are sharing the health benefits of this "super" food, along with ways to incorporate blueberries into your diet.

 

From Our Campuses

With a sharp focus on research, extension and teaching, the LSU AgCenter makes advancements that benefit individuals and communities across the globe. The AgCenter, with offices in every parish and 15 research stations across the state, is committed to advancing agriculture in Louisiana. That pledge includes a dedication to the vital work of providing innovative practices and support for the food and fiber sector, while also improving agriculture’s valuable contributions to the state’s economy. The overall mission of the LSU AgCenter is to enhance the quality of life for people through research and educational programs that develop the best use of natural resources, conserve and protect the environment, enhance development of existing and new agricultural and related enterprises, develop human and community resources, and fulfill the acts of authorization and mandates of state and federal legislative bodies. Crop breeding programs are world-renowned, the Healthy Communities program is using novel approaches to improve health outcomes for citizens, and 4-H and FFA youth development programs reach 126,000 youth annually.

News from the AgCenter

Located in the state’s central region of Rapides Parish, LSU of Alexandria (LSUA), is recognized  for  excellence  in  undergraduate  education,  which  leads  to  prominent  placement in graduate school or the workforce . Central to this achievement is a commitment to innovation and the development of new and differentiated degree and certificate programs . As Louisiana’s public liberal arts institution, LSUA emphasizes the education of the whole person and does so with an eye toward the student’s success in achieving long-term professional goals . Highlighted by its new Center for Opportunity, Research, and Experiential Learning, LSUA has ramped up programming in hands-on, high-impact offerings that promote work-ready skills and career exploration.

News from the Alexandria Campus

As the flagship university of the system, LSU A&M is a leading research-intensive university, challenging undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development . Designated as a land-, sea-, and space-grant university, the Baton Rouge campus provides critical research support to Louisiana in all areas of science, agriculture, biomedical research, coastal studies, energy, and military defense.

News from the Baton Rouge Campus

Founded in 1964, Louisiana State University Eunice is the only comprehensive, two-year institution in the LSU System. Located in Acadia Parish, the campus serves more than 3,000 full-time and part-time students in the greater southwest Louisiana area with nearly one-third of its population coming from underrepresented communities. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, LSU Eunice is an open enrollment institution committed to providing a high-quality, high-value education that is both accessible and affordable.

News from the Eunice campus

LSU Health New Orleans (LSUHNO), established in 1931, is Louisiana's most comprehensive academic health sciences center, providing integrated teaching, research, patient care and public service functions to its citizens. LSU Health New Orleans’ globally renowned scientists conduct cutting-edge basic, translational, and clinical research—particularly in cancer, neuroscience, alcohol and drug abuse, infectious disease, and cardiovascular disease—to  reduce  health disparities, address critical medical needs, expand the much-needed health care and public health workforce, and bring novel  biomedical  innovations to the market for public benefit.

News from the Health New Orleans campus

Established in 1965, LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) is one of two health sciences centers in the LSU System and home to one of only 155 medical schools in the nation accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The primary mission of LSUHS is to teach, heal, and discover in order to advance the well-being of the state, region, and beyond. LSU Health Shreveport is home to six research centers, four of which are designated Centers of Research Excellence by the Louisiana Board of Regents, that concentrate on public health care needs of the state and region including cancer, cardiovascular disease, virology, immunology, neuroscience, and addiction.

News from the Health Shreveport campus

Opened in 1988, LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) puts science to work for a healthier Louisiana. PBRC is a world leader in obesity, diabetes, and nutrition research. As a scientific trailblazer, our researchers explore the leading edge of medical discovery and have helped change the way the United States and the world eat, exercise, and age by advancing treatments for chronic disease.

News from the Pennington Biomedical campus

Founded in 1967, Louisiana State University Shreveport offers a wide array of nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including a doctoral degree. The university’s mission is to educate a diverse population of graduate and undergraduate students; engage in regional and global thought leadership through community collaboration and service; and innovate to enhance the application of knowledge and intellectual discovery through faculty and student research and creative endeavors.

News from the Shreveport campus

Each of LSU's eight campuses is contributing to breakthroughs that have extensive effects on the people and industries within Louisiana and around the world.

  • A student works at LSU's Petroleum Engineering Research & Technology Transfer Laboratory.
  • Colin Anderson is building a model to help predict the flow of water in Louisiana's flat coastal landscape, which helps decide the life and death of deltas. In the photo, Colin Anderson stands in the Atchafalaya River Basin, North America's largest floodplain swamp.
  • Pennington Biomedical researchers Tiffany Stewart and Jennifer Rood, with Captain Michael Switzer of the Louisiana National Guard, have together spent decades working with the Department of Defense to help soldiers both physiologically and psychologically.
  • LSU Health Shreveport students and staff are getting closer to moving into a brand-new $84 million, 155,000-square-foot facility. Gov. John Bel Edwards, who toured the facility recently, says it will be a game changer.
  • The LSU Health Science New Orleans nursing program is ranked #10 in the nation.
  • Ashini Modi, Sonya Patel, Eshika Tandon, and Dr. Lynn Harrison researching Molecular and Cellular Physiology at LSU Health Shreveport.
  • Jenny Sones, associate professor of theriogenology at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, is the recipient of a Catalyst Award from the National Academy of Medicine, one of only 25 U.S.-based innovators to receive the award for 2020-22.
  • LSU researchers retrieve a core sample from the waters of he Gulf of Mexico. A team of researchers that includes experts from the LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences has been awarded a five-year, $1.75 million grant to document what is happening to estuarine ecosystems on Louisiana’s coastline.
  • LSU AgCenter rice researcher Dustin Harrell stands in a rice field with markers for different nitrogen rates. The university has developed 57 varieties of rice since 1911, doubled yields for farmers since 1970, representing 70% of all rice grown in Louisiana.
  • Airmen from Barksdale Air Force Base use the LSU Shreveport Cyber Collaboratory for training and professional development.
  • LSU Eunice Professor Emeritus Malcolm Vidrine, with his wife, Gail, has spent decades restoring Louisiana land as traditional Cajun prairie, including for cattle grazing. Vidrine and his LSUE colleagues are transforming agricultural education in Acadiana and supporting local farms.
  • LSU professor Kevin Xu and fellow LSU scientists are learning how to manage sediment to prevent land loss and improve hurricane preparedness in Louisiana's southernmost port, a key place for the U.S. energy industry.
  • In partnership and through contributions from Ochsner Lafayette General, Louisiana State University at Eunice will expand its Allied Health programs.
  • LSU Shreveport’s cybersecurity program was featured in University Headquarter’s list of Top 100 Best Affordable Cybersecurity Programs. LSUS was the only Louisiana-based university to earn a place in the top twenty schools featured in the ranking.
  • Student analyzing samples in the Veterinary Lab.
  • LSU Health New Orleans nursing student gaining valuable hands-on experience.
  • Students in Agriculture receive hands-on experience working with soils and crops at Hill Farm teaching facility and university gardens.