News Archive - 2016

Lamar University’s online master of science in nursing administration degree was ranked No. 7 out of the nation’s Top 30 most affordable programs for an online master of science in nursing (M.S.N.) in nursing leadership, nursing management, or nursing administration by bestmastersdegrees.com.

Lamar University students, faculty and staff are taking time from their busy end-of-the-semester schedules to join in an annual event honoring victims of crime.

In a ceremony among top university administrators, LU President Kenneth Evans and Pornphisud Mongkhonvanit, president of Bangkok, Thailand-based Siam Technology College, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further collaboration for shared academic programs with the intention of offering dual degree programs in digital learning and leading, business, and other academic subjects.

Lamar University formally dedicated the Wayne A. Reaud Building today (December 2) before an appreciative crowd of university faculty, staff, students and administrators joined by many others from the Southeast Texas community.

Lamar University students are taking a break from their books to de-stress with therapy dogs during finals week. The dogs will remain until December 8 to help students recharge before their exams.

John Ellis, a senior computer information science major from Bridge City, has found a unique opportunity to give back to his university and community. Ellis was recently awarded LU’s 2017 Presidential Summer Fellowship, a newly established award of up to $10,000 for summer research to the top two finalists in the application for the Beck Fellowship.

The Society of Physics Students national branch has awarded Lamar University’s Sigma Pi Sigma chapter as an "Outstanding Chapter Award for 2016."

Lamar University students have recently returned from Siem Reap Cambodia where they participated in the 9th annual UNESCO Policy Forum of the International Task Force on Teachers.

Seventy-one Lamar University nursing students joined the ranks of the Kappa Kappa Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Honor Society of Nursing at its annual induction ceremony November 17.

Miroslava Zendejas’s paper “A Qualitative Assessment of Substance Abuse Patterns of Inmates in a Correctional Facility within Southeast Texas” was named best paper at the Third Annual Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education Conference at Lamar University.

Lamar University honored six students with the Plummer Award, recognizing them as the top male and female graduates in December’s 2016 graduating class. LU President Kenneth Evans presented the awards during commencement ceremonies December 16 and 17 in the Montagne Center.

Like a big family reunion, alumni members of Lamar University’s social Greek fraternities and sororities will gather to celebrate 60 years of Greek Life at Lamar University. The Office of Alumni Affairs, in partnership with Greek Life, is hosting the celebration on Friday, Nov. 11.

Lamar University will celebrate International Education Week though an array of multicultural activities and events promoting this year’s theme, “Empowering Young People through International Education” from November 14 to 19. All events are free and open to the public.

Campus and community leaders gathered Friday (Nov. 11) to celebrate a new initiative to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in Texas and beyond thanks to a generous gift from Lamar University alumni Chuck and Becky Mason of Beaumont.

Lamar University will kick off its celebration of International Education Week (IEW) November 14 with a public talk in health sciences called “A Respectable Form of Addiction? Codeine Misuse in Ireland, the UK, and South Africa.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

Renovation of the Setzer Student Center will begin shortly as the building officially closes today. Adjustments in pedestrian paths and parking are necessary for safety and to provide construction crews access to the site.

Lamar University students, faculty, staff and the general public are invited to join panelist, Andy Coughlin, Maria Sandovici and John Wells for an open discussion on the impact of Brexit in European health care, trade, politics and public opinion.

Lamar University will host its 5th annual International Cultural Festival, Saturday, November 19, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Montagne Center. The free event, featuring international dance, dress, music and foods, will cap off International Education Week — a celebration of the many ways the world benefits from international education — Nov. 14 to 19.

International students at Lamar University are preparing to host the 5th annual International Cultural Festival, Saturday, November 19, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Montagne Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The Texas State University System Board of Regents today elected Rossanna Salazar of Austin chairman of the board and William F. Scott of Nederland vice chairman. Salazar and Scott were elected during the board's quarterly meeting on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.

Lamar University’s Cardinal Jazz Orchestra will perform classic and contemporary big band music and fresh arrangements of holiday classics with the Nederland High School Jazz Ensemble on Monday, Nov. 28. The free concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Nederland ISD Performing Arts Center.

Lamar University's Drumline and Percussion Ensemble took second place at the annual Percussive Arts Society's International Competition, Nov. 9 - 12, 2016, in Indianapolis. The Percussive Arts Society is a non-profit music-service organization whose mission is to promote percussion education, research, performance and appreciation throughout the world.

Jack Palestine, host of On the Edge, will take over the airwaves at 91.3 KVLU Public Radio on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. He will broadcast live from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. as a part of the station's end-of-year fund drive.

Lamar University students Linda Pham, a mathematics major from Bridge City, and Kay-Alana Turner, a business management and Spanish major from Lumberton, have been awarded the prestigious Gilman Scholarship.

Lamar University has selected two students as 2017 David J. Beck Fellows as well as two finalists as 2017 Presidential Summer Fellows, all announced at a reception in the University Event Center, Tuesday, November 22.

Lamar University’s Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) recently held the 2016-2017 Grant Recipient Award Reception to recognize 38 students and 31 faculty mentors behind 33 proposals that will receive funding this academic year.

AffordableColleges.com has recognized Lamar University for having some of the most affordable online master degree programs in the nation.

Lamar University’s Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) student Trevor Wieland of McKinney has been selected as a National Hispanic Scholar.

Commencement speakers representing diverse fields have been chosen to address students at Lamar University’s Fall 2016 commencement ceremonies held December 16 and 17 in the Montagne Center.

Brian Sattler, director of public relations at Lamar University since 1998 and resident of Bridge City, was honored with the university’s 2016 Julie & Ben Rogers Community Service Award at a December 6 program in the University Event Center of the Mary and John Gray Library. The Rogers family established the award in 1979 to encourage Lamar University faculty and staff to volunteer their service and talents to the community. The Lamar University Foundation maintains the endowM.E.nt that provides for the award.

The ExxonMobil Executive in Residence Program presents Chad Briggs, Lamar University alum and vice president of sales and technology at Air Liquide Global Engineering and Construction Solutions, to speak at the College of Business at 12:30 p.m. October 5 in the Galloway Business Building, Landes Auditorium.

A wide range of offices and programs at Lamar University that provide students with essential support services throughout college are being realigned in a bid to further enhance their effectiveness, officials said. The realignments, which became effective October 1, are taking place in response to the university’s strategic plan as it relates to critical areas of enrollment, retention and the ultimate success of all students.

Lamar University’s Mary and John Gray library and the Office of Alumni Affairs will be hosting a book signing and reception for Chuck Royston author of the novel “The Black Chip” at 7 p.m., November 7, on the 6th floor of the library.

Lamar University is hosting a Study Abroad Fair on the Brooks-Shivers Dining Hall lawn 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. October 11. Students will be informed about the opportunities and the benefits of studying abroad.

A partnership between Lamar University’s Disability Resource Center (DRC) and Police Department (LUPD) has resulted in the addition of a new, accessible shuttle on campus.

Volunteers broke ground Saturday, Oct. 8., to build the South Park Community Garden, an initiative by Lamar University and the Greater South Park Neighborhoods Partnership to provide access to gardening space, training and nutritious food for local residents and students.

J.T. Seaman, an instructor in Lamar University’s JoAnne Gay Dishman School of Nursing, has been named a Jonas Nurse Leader Scholar by the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. He is one of 12 doctoral students to be named to the 2016-18 cohort of Jonas Nurse Scholars.

Lamar University hosted about 50 governmental and business leaders in a regional meeting of Transportation Excellence for the 21st Century (TEX-21), October 13-14, in the Montagne Center. The group, whose motto is “Better Mobility Through Better Policy,” also toured ports in Beaumont, Port Arthur and the Sabine-Neches Navigation District.

Itzhak Perlman, internationally celebrated concert violinist, soloist, teacher and conductor, spoke to an attentive standing-room-only audience of music students in the Rothwell Recital Hall on Thursday, Oct. 6. Later that evening, Perlman would speak before a much larger public audience as the 12th in the Judge Joe J. Fisher Distinguished Lecture Series.

The Michael G. Weinert Entrepreneurship Lecture Series presents Alex Banayan, business author, venture capitalist and professional speaker, to talk at the College of Business October 26 at 12:30 p.m. in the Galloway Business Building, Landes Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Kumer Das, director of Lamar University’s Office of Undergraduate Research and associate professor of statistics, has been selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for a prestigious Fulbright International Education Administrator Seminar award to France and Germany this month.

Lamar University’s Reaud Honors College announced that it will host the annual Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC) conference March 31 to April 2 in its new home in the recently completed Wayne A. Reaud Building.

Major renovation of the Setzer Student Center begins in November, prompting a number of changes that will affect faculty, staff and students.

On the heels of entering into a Memorandum of Understanding in June to provide mutually-beneficial educational and professional development opportunities to help students and port professionals, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and Lamar University will sign a program agreement on October 26 that reflects their shared commitment in preparing port industry professionals and leaders for future opportunities and challenges.

Mary Scheer, chair of the Lamar University Department of History and director of the Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast, was inducted as a new fellow of the ETHA, the highest honor given by the association for scholarship and service, October 14.

Lamar University joins with the Texas Archive of Moving Images (TAMI) in the Texas Film Round-Up, October 21-23. On those days, TAMI staff will be present at the Mary and John Gray Library to collect films and videotapes from the public for free digitalization.

The Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast is pleased to host its inaugural student/faculty lecture, reception and booking signing November 9. The event will feature co-authors of “The Long Shadow: The Lutcher-Stark Lumber Dynasty”, Ellen Rienstra and Jo Ann Stiles.

At its 2016 Summit in Washington, D.C. this week, IIE’s Generation Study Abroad initiative recognized Lamar University and 11 other U.S. higher education institutions that have already exceeded their goals to boost study abroad participation. Nearly three times as many Lamar University students are studying abroad now than in 2014.

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown, on the Lamar University campus, will celebrate Yount-Lee Equestrian Day on November 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a day dedicated to learning about different breeds of horses.

Four students representing Lamar University’s Reaud Honors College shared their achievements with top scholars at the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) conference in Seattle, an annual meeting that unites honors colleges and programs to share ideas.

Lamar University Homecoming 2016 officially began today with a pep rally and city proclamation in front of the Brooks-Shivers Dining Hall.

Lamar University Department of English and Modern Languages presents Visiting Author: George Drew, Tuesday, November 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Executive Event Room of the Wayne A. Reaud Administration Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Homecoming weekend kicks off today, with the 7 p.m. Bonfire and Pep Rally while LU Soccer takes on McNeese at the LU Soccer Complex. At 9 p.m., student organizations will put finishing touches on their award-winning floats at the Float Building Party in Lot C-1 near the Sheila Umphrey Recreational Sports Center.

The ExxonMobil Executive in Residence Program presents Jennifer Warren, chief marketing officer of At Home, the home décor superstore, to speak at the LU College of Business about her success at 12:30 p.m., November 9 in the Galloway Building, Landes Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Three moot court teams from LU competed recently in the University of North Texas School of Law’s Invitational Moot Court Tournament—the largest undergraduate moot court invitational tournament in history – and received numerous individual and team awards

Lamar University’s JoAnne Gay Dishman Department of Nursing has announced that it will change its title to JoAnne Gay Dishman School of Nursing to better reflect the additions and development of educational opportunities over time that have elevated it to school status.

Lamar University recently finalized the new Jean L. Spitznagle Scholarship in Human Resources or Accounting, to first be awarded in fall 2017. The scholarship will help fund the education of students in either major as they pursue their studies.

The American Academy of Audiology has named Lamar University’s Vinaya Manchaiah, associate professor and director of audiology, to the 2016 class of Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology. Manchaiah is one of only a dozen individuals selected nationally for the honor.

The shaping of America required extraordinary courage by ordinary citizens who challenged the status quo to secure a better future, says National Park Service Park Ranger Josh Stringer who will guide a look at the NPS as an agent to protect our unique American story, heritage, and ideals set forth by America's founding documents. He speaks at the annual Constitution Day conference, 7 p.m. September 19 in the LIT Multipurpose Center Auditorium

Lamar University computer science graduate students Ankur Shah and Chandrakant Rudami, along with Department Chair Stefan Andrei, are creating an avatar-based interactive campus map application for Android, iPhone and iPad.

Omar Aguilar, sophomore civil engineering major from Port Arthur and recipient of the 2015-2016 Office of Undergraduate Research grant, recently completed a project which analyzed phthalates, or fake hormones, in plastic children’s items using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Lamar University has been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to apply for grants through HHMI’s $60 million Inclusive Excellence initiative to encourage colleges and universities to broaden access to science excellence for all students.

The ExxonMobil Executive in Residence Program introduces Helen Sharkey, a professional ethics speaker; to present her talk entitled “How I Became a White Collar Criminal” September 21 at 12:30 p.m. in the Galloway Business Building, Landes Auditorium. Sharkey is the first of four speakers to talk at the College of Business this semester.

A recent initiative by Lamar University and the Greater South Park Neighborhoods Partnership to create a South Park Community Garden will begin with a groundbreaking ceremony at the northwest corner of Jimmy Simmons Blvd. and Vermont Street on Oct. 8 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Lamar University Cheer and Dance is offering its 2016 “Pink Out” clinic for Pre-K through 8th graders. Participants will perform at the Lamar University vs. Southeastern Louisiana football game, Oct. 1.

A team of faculty, graduate and undergraduate researchers from LU has made significant progress toward developing digital technologies as an aid for hearing loss thanks to the funding from Lamar University’s Center for Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship (CICE).

The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) at Lamar University will host an Open House Saturday, October 8, in the Richard L. Price Auditorium, Herman Iles Building, John Gray Center. The Academy is an early entrance college residential honors program at Lamar University.

Lamar University has set another enrollment record and exceeded 15,000 students for the first time in the school’s history, officials announced today. Official figures for the fall 2016 semester taken on the 20th class day show the university has the highest enrollment in its history.

The Lamar University Academic Lecture Series presents a distinguished lecture featuring Richard Phillips, captain of the MV Maersk Alabama during its 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates. The event will be hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences on November 7 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the University Theater.

Lamar University’s Mary and John Gray Library will host “Gulf Coast Reads: On the same page,” an annual regional reading initiative focused on promoting the simultaneous reading or listening to a selected title by those living along the upper Texas Gulf Coast.

Lamar University will partner with the Texas Archive of Moving Images (TAMI) in the Texas Film Round-Up when it comes to Beaumont, October 21-23. On those days, TAMI staff will be present at LU’s Mary and John Gray Library to collect films and videotapes from the public for free digitalization.

Lamar University officials recently announced the establishment of the Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast, which will serve as a cultural hub for the region.

The Dishman Art Museum on the campus of Lamar University will host an opening reception on Friday, Sept. 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., for two exhibitions: Jamey Stillings: The Evolution of Ivanpah Solar; and The Great Exchange: Interactive Mail Art. Both shows will be on display through Nov. 20.

If there’s something strange in Gladys City, then it is probably time for another Spookfest at Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum! The 2016 Spindletop Spookfest will be held Thursday, October 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with trick or treating through the boomtown buildings and fun activities for “ghouls” and “goblins” of all ages.

Senior electrical engineering and physics dual degree student with a double major in mathematics, Nic Nikoloutsos, traveled to Taipei, Taiwan this summer to work under Che-Ming Jack Hu on experimental procedures in nanomedicine at Academia Sinica as one of two 2016 David J. Beck Fellows.

Lamar University will host a leg of the Southern Energy Freedom Tour, a series of presentations by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby on how to mitigate climate change challenges while improving American energy competitiveness, on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Dishman Lecture Hall.

Lamar University's newspaper, University Press, will host “UPLift: Career Portraits in Modern Media and Communications,” Wednesday, Oct. 26, from noon-2 p.m., on the Eighth Floor of the John and Mary Gray Library. The event is co-sponsored by the College of Fine Arts and Communication and the Department of Communication.

Lamar University's Cardinal Jazz Orchestra will perform their fall concert fall concert Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m. n the Rothwell Recital Hall. The program will feature fresh big band versions of such standards as Cole Porter’s Love for Sale and Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water. They will also perform original material by some of America’s most well known composers of contemporary big band music, including Gordon Goodwin, Bob Florence and Patrick Williams. Admission is free.

The Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music will host a staged reading of “My Music, My Love,” a one-act play written by Ellen Walker Rienstra in collaboration with Eduard Schmieder, Oct. 21-22, 2016. Tickets are $10 adult and $5 students with ID.

Lamar University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present the Tony Award-winning comedy “Boeing Boeing,” by Marc Camoletti, translated and adapted by Beverly Cross, Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 in the University Theatre. The 1960s French farce tells the story of Bernard, a self-styled Parisian lothario, who is simultaneously engaged to three different airline hostesses. His masterplan backfires when all three wind up at his apartment on the same day.

The Department of Theatre and Dance will present its fall dance concert, “Fall and Recovery,” Nov. 18 - 20 in the University Theatre. The evening of dance works performed by LU students encompasses many genres, including tap, jazz, musical theatre, modern, contemporary, and aerial silks, and is choreographed by dance faculty and select students.

Lamar University welcomes John Bello-Ogunu, Sr. as vice president for diversity and inclusion. He most recently was chief diversity officer and associate vice president at The College of Charleston, where he served since 2010.

Lamar University welcomes Natalie Tindall as chair of the Department of Communication. Tindall was most recently a faculty member of Georgia State University, where she was co-director of the communication graduate program.

The Lamar University Dance Team (LUDT) brought home top awards after attending camp at the University of Alabama for the first time.

Lamar University is pleased to announce the appointment of Edward Craig Ness to the position of vice president for finance and operations after a national search. He will begin the position September 1.

Keyana Carr of Lamar University is among a select group of exceptional students from across Texas to receive scholarships this year from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. Carr and others will be recognized formally at the foundation’s annual induction dinner October 27 in San Antonio.

Synthia Parveen Mallick, a 25-year-old Master’s student at LU, was awarded the American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellowship that will fund her tuition, fees, and living costs during the 2016-2017 academic year while she studies environmental engineering.

Do you need a place to go and have fun with your kids before they return to school? Spindletop-Gladys City will hold a free “Back-to-School” Day on August 20, 2016!

Lamar University’s Disability Resource Center recently announced a new policy setting clearer rules and guidelines for the presence of animals on campus. The result is that individuals with disabilities can more easily understand LU’s provisions and access from the assistance of a service animal.

The Lamar University Foundation has finalized a new scholarship to assist students in their pursuits in the study of communication. The Julian M. Galiano Memorial Scholarship in Communication was established upon the wishes of the late Julian Galiano, who was an important figure in southeast Texas news media.

Thanks to a grant from LU’s Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (CICE), the university’s Department of Industrial Engineering has made headway in a long-term project to develop a hybrid, brain-computer interface based rehabilitation system for victims of a neurological disease to regain their mobility.

Lamar University opened the new academic year with a reception and convocation for faculty and staff on Wednesday, August 17. Returning students begin moving in Thursday and classes start Monday, August 22.

Senior mechanical engineering major and Houston native Aaron Lavergne is a man of many hats. Actively involved in organizations varying from Greek Council and the Student Government Association to coaching little league baseball and presiding over Lamar’s branch of the National Society of Black Engineers, Lavergne attributes his involvement on campus and in the community to his philosophy that one should strive to give more than they receive.

The advent of affordable 3D printing has taken the fields of engineering and science by storm with its ability to create complex models used for everything from aerospace to biomedical devices. That same technology is also fueling a revolution in art and design.

Lamar University’s accounting majors have a new opportunity to defray their college costs through the recent establishment of the J. Sam and Dr. Elizabeth Ebanks Scholarship in Accounting.

The Dishman Art Museum on the campus of Lamar University will host an opening reception on Friday, Aug. 26, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., for two exhibitions: the Art Faculty Show; and Bayoulands: Photographs by Jason Miller.

Lamar University junior Cade Johnson of Lumberton joined researchers at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania to study cancer treatments this summer as his research project funded by the 2016 David J. Beck Fellowship at LU.

Lamar University has announced a new scholarship, the Diane Baker Scholarship in Music, for students pursuing music education. The scholarship was established in February 2016 with gifts from Baker’s many friends and colleagues.

LU art students will benefit from the recent agreement to begin the Merle Merritt Booker Scholarship in Art. The first award will be given in fall of 2016 to financially support a deserving art student towards his or her educational goals.

Lamar University recently finalized the Scott Curtis Memorial Scholarship in Athletics thanks to a gift from the Dugas Leger Law Firm. It will be awarded annually starting in the fall of 2017.

Lamar will be hosting its second Cardinal Color Run this Saturday, September 3, at 9 a.m. starting at the McDonald Gym Parking Lot. The free event, in which all Lamar students are welcome to run or walk through a course riddled with “color stations,” is one of the final events of Big Red Take Off — two weeks’ worth of welcoming activities on campus aimed at both new and returning students.

Lamar University welcomes world-renowned classical musician Itzhak Perlman as the 12th speaker in the Judge Joe J. Fisher Distinguished Lecture Series on October 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Montagne Center.

Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition named LU Professor of History Jeff Forret one of three finalists for the 18th annual Frederick Douglass Book Prize for his publication of “Slave Against Slave: Plantation Violence in the Old South and New Directions in Slavery Studies” by LSU Press.

Catalina Castillón has been appointed assistant director for the Office of Undergraduate Research, Director Kumer Das announced. Castillón is associate professor in the Department of English and Modern Languages and director of the Modern Languages Program, in which capacity she will continue to serve.

Lamar University has finalized a new international partnership in Mexico with the Universidad Veracruzana. The agreement will allow for the exchange of students on semester programs and will also encourage collaborative academic and research programs between faculty members.

Throughout the month of July, Lamar University Reaud Honors College students Victoria LaFleur, Ryan Sherer, Tara Hoch and Madison Marino participated in the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia, respectively.

The Lamar University Alumni Advisory Board has elected Ransom Jones ’88 of Beaumont to serve as 2016-2017 president. Carol Patteson Hebert ’89, ’90 of Nederland is past president and Tony Landry ’94 of Nederland will serve as president-elect.

Monsters, robots, clones and aliens — not the first things that come to mind when one thinks of ethics. Yet, those are subjects Lamar University’s English 2300 course uses to spark critical thinking in a new approach that explores ethics through literature.

Lamar University has honored Julia Fischer, assistant professor of art history, as the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for 2016. Fischer has been a member of Lamar’s faculty since 2013. “Raiders of the Lost Art: the Monuments Men and Their Legacy” will be the topic of her lecture, sponsored by ExxonMobil, to be presented Oct. 18.

In September 2015, Lamar University administrators put to the faculty and staff a new opportunity to advance the university’s scholarship in instruction, research and service. After soliciting and reviewing a number of proposals, the university administration has selected five “Visionary Projects” to receive a total of $1,080,000 in funding over the next three years.

Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum will hold an information and interest meeting on Thursday, July 21, for individuals interested in forming a vintage baseball team. Anyone age 13 and above is invited to hear about the rules and ideas for forming a team, practicing at the museum, and going to the Texas Vintage Base Ball competition.

Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology are working together to expand opportunities for students to successfully transfer from two-year programs at LIT into bachelor’s degree programs at Lamar University.

Thanks to the newly established Dr. Thomas C. McGill, Jr. Memorial Scholarship in Engineering, engineering students at Lamar University will be awarded financial assistance that will help fund their education and allow them to focus on their studies.

Lamar University’s Department of Earth and Space Sciences 21st annual Teaching Environmental Science summer institute introduced Southeast Texas EC-12 teachers to local environmental issues through first-hand experiences.

“Export: Graphic Design in Southeast Texas,” is currently on view at the Dishman Art Museum through July 31. The exhibition features locally designed work, including advertising, posters, brochures, web design, printmaking and illustrations. A reception with the designers will be held on Friday, June 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and reception is free.

The 14th annual Nightingale Experience will be held on June 10-11, 2016. Forty-five high school students will visit Lamar University's JoAnne Gay Dishman Department of Nursing and CHRISTUS Hospital - St. Elizabeth to learn about the nursing profession. The Nightingale Experience is a two-day event for high school students who are interested in nursing as a career choice.

A recent publication by Lamar University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Glenn Utter has been crafted in order to get its readers thinking critically about gun rights and gun control. Guns and Contemporary Society: The Past, Present, and Future of Firearms and Firearm Policy examines various approaches to firearms, including constitutional and legal issues, public health and criminal justice concerns, and perspectives on personal safety and self-defense.

Lamar University’s 10th annual ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (EMBHSSC) will be held on campus from June 19-July 1. Lamar University was selected by the Harris Foundation-ExxonMobil Foundation partnership as one of only 10 universities nationwide to receive funding for the camp.

A total of 645 Lamar University students earned places on the President’s List, President Kenneth Evans announced. Students who qualify for the President’s List carry a full course load of 12 semester hours or more with grade point averages of 4.0 for that semester. They automatically earn places on the deans’ List.

Lamar University conferred bachelor’s degrees to 741 individuals during spring commencement ceremonies.

Lamar University awarded 1,680 degrees at its Spring Commencement. Lamar University conferred 44 doctoral degrees, 895 master's degrees and 741 bachelor's degrees during the commencement ceremonies.

On May 27, six Lamar University’s College of Business students in Kakoli Bandyopadhyay’s Global Enrichment class boarded a plane bound for China. There, they visited some of the most renowned companies in the world, but the academic lessons they learned on the Study Abroad trip were subsequent to the new perspectives they gained. They quickly realized they could learn lessons about life never found in a textbook.

Middle school students are learning by doing at the 10th annual ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp — a free, two-week residential program for underserved sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students gifted in math and science hosted by Lamar University from June 19-July 1

A total of 1038 Lamar University students earned places on the deans’ List for the 2016 spring semester, deans of Lamar’s five academic colleges announced.

Six Lamar University faculty members received Distinguished Faculty Fellowships thanks to a generous contribution from Diane and Don Shaver of Beaumont, university officials announced.

LU’s high-energy X-plore Electrical Engineering summer camp offers 7th and 8th grade girls the opportunity to discover the potential of a career in electrical engineering this week with hands-on learning in circuits, programming, robotics and more.

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) has named Xiangyang (Sunny) Lei, associate professor of organic chemistry and interim chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, as the recipient of Lamar University’s 2016 Faculty Mentor Award.

Lamar University has received $251,350 in support from ExxonMobil for 2016. The corporation’s Beaumont area contributions committee awarded LU $95,500 for several projects, an amount that is combined with the contributions of ExxonMobil employees who are LU alumni, strengthened further by ExxonMobil’s generous employee matching gift program.

“LUTV on Fox,” an award-winning program from Lamar University’s Department of Communication, will air student-produced documentaries on a wide range of topics including sports, health, history, the local arts community and much more on Sunday, July 17. Produced by the students, alumni, staff and faculty of the department, the programs will air on KBTV Fox 4 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the 17th.

The Lamar University Seniors of Significance is a new award recognition presented by the Division of Student Engagement. The award recognizes seniors who will graduate in May, August or December for excellence in scholarship, leadership and community service and for bringing distinction to Lamar University.

A team of 16 senior LU mechanical engineering students will put the culmination of a year’s work designing and creating a mini dune buggy to the test in the SAE Baja Design Series West competition May 19-22 in Gorman, California.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs has awarded a $1.25 million grant to the Department of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education at Lamar University. The focus of the grant is to prepare teachers for deaf and hard of hearing students in kindergarten through 12th grade who have additional disabilities. During the five-year project, students will receive full funding to complete their masters’ in Deaf Studies and Deaf Education at LU.

A myriad of policies, procedures and policing are in place at Lamar University with one goal: a safe campus environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Ranging from high-tech camera systems to professional policing, creating a safe campus has many facets. Central to success, police say, is an active awareness by everyone.

Lamar University’s Students Advancing through Involvement in Research Student Talent Expansion Program (STAIRSTEP) hosted campus visits by 47 Central Medical Magnet High School students, their AP Biology teacher Randy Pemberton, and Assistant Principal Belinda George on April 22 and April 27.

Fifty area middle school students are expected to participate in the Lamar Introduction to Engineering (L.I.T.E.) summer program, hosted by Lamar University’s College of Engineering July 18-22, 2016. The free one-week non-residential camp serves incoming seventh and eighth-grade students who excel in mathematics and science.

Lamar University celebrated a new partnership with Lone Star College with an official ribbon cutting at the Lone Star College-University Center in The Woodlands.

Lamar University has been accepted into the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. A non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of scholarship and to recognition of nontraditional students pursuing higher education, Alpha Sigma Lambda honor society and its 300 member institutions recognize the special achievement of adult students who accomplish academic excellence while maintaining commitments to family and career. Lamar University will invite student candidates to membership in the Omega Gamma chapter of the society in the next several weeks.

“Studying abroad is such an amazing opportunity, and Lamar makes it so easy. There are no excuses not to go!” said Kirby Clayton, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in mathematics at Lamar University. The 20-year-old Orange native is spending the semester at Seoul Tech.

Lamar University invites students of all ages to a variety of summer camps to be held on campus this summer. Camps are offered for a variety of ages and interests with both daily and residential opportunities.

An innovative new business course for sophomores at Lamar University is gaining attention. BUSI 2300 “Introduction to Critical Thinking for Business Decision Making” was recently tapped the 2016 Bobby G. Bizzell Innovative Achievement Award runner-up by the Southwest Business Deans’ Association.

The Showcase of Southeast Texas marching band is gearing up for the 2016 season, its seventh since Lamar University reinstated the football program.

Seven Lamar University electrical engineering bachelor’s students and one graduate student were recently inducted into the Delta Beta chapter of Eta Kappa Nu, HKN, the national electrical and computer engineering honor society of IEEE.

Lamar University announces its first graduate through Lamar’s BSIE 2+2 online program. Tyler Currie of Orlando, Florida completed his senior design project exploring large-scale human resource scheduling and graduated in spring 2016.

The University Press (UP), Lamar’s student newspaper, has named three students as the editorial team for 2016-2017.

A recent publication by Lamar University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Glenn Utter has been crafted in order to get its readers thinking critically about gun rights and gun control.

Lamar University’s student chapter of Ducks Unlimited has been named to its Sweet 16 list of top-producing volunteer university chapters throughout the nation.

The Board of Regents of the Texas State University System today approved campus-specific policies regarding the possession of concealed handguns at the System’s eight member institutions. The policies, which take effect Aug. 1, 2016, were approved during the Board’s quarterly meeting at Texas State University’s Round Rock campus.

At its May 26 meeting, the 10-member Texas State University System Board of Regents approved the official concealed handgun policy for Lamar University students, employees and visitors that will go into effect August 1, 2016.

Lamar University staff and students fared very well in the 25th annual Excellence in the Media competition held by the Press Club of Southeast Texas bringing home 12 first-place trophies, 11 second-place awards, 9 third place awards, and one honorable mention at the event June 10.

Lamar University is offering a free community event for young students to take a peak into the exciting world of engineering. The event will be held at the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum on Saturday, April 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As part of Lamar University’s week-long events celebrating Earth Day, the public will have an opportunity to “Discover the Big Thicket with Maxine Johnston,” April 18 at 11 a.m. on the 6th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Family owned and operated grocery store chain Market Basket has contributed an additional $10,000 to the Market Basket Charitable Foundation Scholarship at Lamar University, thanks to participation in the Market Basket golf tournament held at the Beaumont Country Club March 28.

Three graduates of the Department of Communication recently premiered their short film project, “The Example,” a fictional account of historic race riots in Beaumont, at the Jefferson Theatre. Helming the project were writer Gordon Williams, who is also the studio operations manager for LUTV; director Wyatt Cagle; and producer Kenneth Dupuis.

CommunityBank of Texas has created an annually funded scholarship to support students at Lamar University.

During Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, some 100 8th grade girls from middle school campuses across Beaumont and Lumberton Independent School Districts will gather in Lamar University’s Setzer Student Center on April 7 to become innovators for a day as they learn about the exciting aspects of engineering careers.

Growing up in Beaumont in the 1960s as the daughter of Deaf parents, Kim Hunt witnessed firsthand the lack of access to communication as they visited public places and events. It became her dream to make museums and events accessible for Deaf residents and visitors to her hometown. To turn this dream into a reality, Hunt, now a Texas-certified court interpreter of American Sign Language, partnered with Cain Chiasson, an instructor and doctoral candidate in the Department of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education at Lamar University, to found Virtual QR Tours. The mission of this research project is to establish ASL tours in museums throughout the state of Texas and beyond.

Lamar University’s Department of English and Modern Languages’ Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish program and the Beaumont Children’s Museum will host a workshop on application of World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, April 23.

Lamar University mechanical engineering seniors will get hands-on experience in the career fields of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) thanks to a $5,000 grant from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

LU’s Office of Sustainability will observe Earth Week April 18-22 by hosting sustainability-related campus events and a video contest to promote the cause.

Eight students have been awarded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, the Office of Undergraduate Research at Lamar University announced. Seven proposals were selected from a field of 31 proposals for summer research. The Fellowships include a stipend for student and mentors, as well as research support.

Monica Harn, chair of Lamar University’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Diane H. Shaver Professorship in Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University officials announced.

Jim Rush, director of scholarships, earned honors April 11, as the fourth recipient of the Texas State University System Staff Excellence Award. He is a resident a 40-year veteran of the Lamar University staff.

Eight Lamar University student delegates recently traveled to New York City under the direction of geography professor Sarah Schwartz as participants in this spring’s National Model United Nations New York conference, the largest conference of its kind in the world. The students, who represented Botswana, returned with two awards for outstanding position papers and an appreciation for New York culture, the United Nations and international affairs.

Lamar University’s College of Engineering (COE) will be holding a Senior Design Symposium on April 29, 2016 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Cherry Engineering Building atrium to highlight seniors’ projects in four of the COE’s five academic departments.

Lamar University honored Daniel Chen as the 2016 University Professor at a ceremony in the Mary and John Gray Library April 14, 2016. Chen is professor in the Dan F. Smith Department of Chemical Engineering. The title University Professor is awarded for life and is the most prestigious faculty award conferred by Lamar’s academic community.

Lamar University recognized 11 retiring faculty members at the annual faculty awards ceremony in the University Reception Center, 8th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library, April 14, 2016.

Due to localized flooding, all classes that begin after 11 a.m. today are canceled and the campus will close at noon today. Campus will reopen tomorrow morning.

Lamar University has tapped industry expert Erik Stromberg as the inaugural executive director of the Center for Advances in Port Management after a national search, officials announced today.

Lamar University’s Cardinal Jazz Singers' concert on Thursday, April 28, will feature a variety of contemporary jazz selections from artists such as Bobby McFerrin and Kerry Marsh, and new music composed by faculty member Rebecca Windham, all performed a cappella or with a live student rhythm section. The free concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Rothwell Recital Hall.

The Lamar University Dance Team will demonstrate its talent and dedication at the 11th annual spring show, “In a Perfect World”, at the Jefferson Theater, 345 Fannin St. in Beaumont on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m.

Lamar University’s Students Advancing through Involvement in Research Student Talent Expansion Program (STAIRSTEP) recently hosted a campus visit by 43 Little Cypress Mauriceville High School students, their computer science and engineering teachers Terry Morris and Cory Parson, and Vice Principal Kristine Brown.

Remembering the number to call to reach Lamar University’s police in an emergency can be challenging — it’s 880-8311— but if you’ve downloaded the MyPD app you’ll have that number, and a whole lot more, in the palm of your hand.

Lamar University has selected 19 students to serve as Lamar Ambassadors. They will join 28 returning ambassadors in representing the student body at official university events during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Lamar University has been selected to receive $7,500 to support new study abroad scholarships as part of its commitment to the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Generation Study Abroad® initiative to increase the number and diversity of students who study abroad by the end of the decade.

Helping LU’s computer science graduates start terrific careers was the goal of the university’s first Computer Science Career Forum. The event, organized by the Center for Career and Professional Development and the Department of Computer Science, brought five industrial companies and government agencies to campus to meet with prospective employees.

Lamar University's A Cappella Choir, under the direction of conductor James Han, will perform their third "Love U" concert at 4 p.m., Sunday, May 1, in the Dishman Art Museum. An annual spring tradition, "Love U" celebrates the genre of love songs from the Elizabethan era through today. Admission is free and open to the public.

They’ve traveled thousands of miles for the opportunity to study with Lamar University faculty, dance with LU students, and learn as much as they can about Southeast Texas. And now that they’re here at Lamar University, their journey has just begun. For the next two weeks, 16 dance students from Taiwan’s Tianan University of Technology will be on campus to take classes, perform in dance three concerts, present a Taiwanese dance exhibition, and perhaps even take in an Astros game.

Senior civil engineering students have created plans to enhance the beauty and energy efficiency of LU’s campus by incorporating sustainable elements to existing structures. The research, analysis and design are part of the Civil Engineering Systems Design course’s Senior Design Project “Sustainability Plan for Lamar.”

Lamar University’s Third Annual Undergraduate Research Expo, which took place on April 20, saw a rise in attendance, presentations, student involvement and the number of academic departments represented from the 2015 expo.

Spindletop-Gladys City will hold a booksigning with Author Bartee Haile. This event will take place on Saturday, June 25, at 2 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. Haile is the leading Texas history newspaper columnist in the Lone Star State today.

Sports and games of the turn of the 20th century will be featured as Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum holds the first Gladys City Games, June 4.

Lamar University’s pond at the John Gray Center will undergo aesthetic improvements as the result of a Senior Design Project. “Lamar Beautification Project: Evaluation and Enhancement of Pond Water Quality, Sustainability, and Aesthetics at the John Gray Center,” is an effort by four civil engineering seniors for their Civil Engineering Systems Design courses.

Lamar University’s Concert Band will appear in concert at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 3, in the University Theatre. The Concert Band will be joined by the Honors Brass Quintet and piano soloist T.J. Senters, a music major from Beaumont. The program includes selections from Gustav Holst, Béla Bartók and many more. Admission is free.

The city of Houston recently installed a billboard-sized work of art by Lamar University faculty member Prince Thomas. Located on Jackson Street, near Minute Maid Park, “Family Portraits,” is a permanent installation commissioned by the Houston Art Alliance.

The Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music at Lamar University will present a guest artist recital featuring Christopher Adkins, principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, at 7:30 p.m, Monday, March 7, in the Rothwell Recital Hall. Adkins will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Pastorale” and G Major Suite for Cello, as well as several fairy tale-inspired selections by composers such as Maurice Ravel, Antonin Dvorak, Paul Hindemith and Christoph Gluck. Admission is free and open to the public.

Four Lamar University undergraduate students broke new ground for the university recently when they represented LU as its first participants in a Moot Court invitation held by the Texas Undergraduate Moot Court Association at Southern Methodist University.

Lamar University will host the Spring 2016 Mathematical Puzzle Programs (MaPP) Challenge, a team-based competition for high school students, on Saturday, April 23 from 11:45 a.m. to 5 pm. Each team of 6 to 8 students will be joined by a teacher chaperone that may not assist teams with the puzzles.

The Lamar University chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, will host Dr. John Hildebrand, Regents Professor of neuroscience in the departments of neurology, entomology and cellular biology at the University of Arizona, in a free public lecture March 22. Hildebrand will speak on “The most dangerous animals in the world: Arthropod vectors of disease.”

Lamar University’s research community will soon benefit from a 20-fold increase in data transfer speed thanks to a major project funded by a National Science Foundation grant. Through the NSF grant the LU research community will realize up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) speeds, according to Priscilla Parsons, vice president for information technology at LU.

Department of Art students will exhibit their work in the 3-person show, "Lamar University: Drawing and Painting the Human Figure," at Galeria del Norte in the Grant Fine Arts Center on the campus of San Jacinto Community College North in Houston. The show runs March 11 through April 8, with an opening reception on March 11 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The City of Beaumont’s Jazz at the Lake series kicks off this month headlined by Lamar University's Cardinal Jazz Orchestra and the Jimmy Simmons Quintet on Thursday, March 24, at 5:30 p.m. Held at the Event Centre, this concert is free and open to the public.

Lamar University has conferred dean emeritus status upon Russ Schultz, retired dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired members of the faculty and administration who have given faithful and distinguished service to the university for ten or more years.

Lamar University’s Montagne Center is currently serving as an American Red Cross Shelter in response to Sabine River flooding.

Lamar University’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Administration (ORSPA) has launched Competition Space, a new online program for electronic submission of proposals for internal research grants, research awards and limited submission applications. The site will allow LU faculty members to quickly identify internal funding opportunities such as the Research Enhancement Grant Program.

Lamar University’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Administration (ORSPA) has launched a new online program utilizing Pivot Gallery to enable the university to quickly and easily promote its talented researchers, and their work internally and to the world.

Lamar University’s online Master of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling scored second place in onlinecolleges.net’s “Best Online Master’s in Counseling 2016” which considers colleges and universities across the United States.

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) is calling for undergraduate students involved in research to submit abstracts for the third annual Undergraduate Research Expo that will be held April 20. Abstracts are due by March 31 and may be submitted online.

Lamar University will celebrate Le Grand Bal 2016, a gala evening of art, fine dining, dancing and entertainment on Saturday, April 2. This year’s theme, “Lamar Deco,” celebrates the glamour and luxury of the Jazz Age. Activities at the black-tie event include a reception and silent art auction at the Dishman Art Museum, as well as a gourmet buffet, libations, music and dancing in the Montagne Center.

Jeff Forret, professor of history at Lamar University, continues work on his next book, Williams’ Gang: A Slave Trader, His Cargo, and Justice in the Old South thanks to a 2016 Summer Stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Lamar University will honor four faculty members with 2016 University Merit Awards in recognition of outstanding performance in the classroom. Merit Awards will be presented to Ricardo Colon, Rebecca Weinbaum, Ashwini Kucknoor and Evan Wujcik, at the faculty awards ceremony, 1 p.m. April 14 in the University Reception Center, 8th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.

Eight Lamar University graduate students recently traveled to Silicon Valley as Gill Scholars to participate in Ignite, a three-day program aimed at providing students an immersive entrepreneurial experience. LU students joined with others from Rice University, UC-Davis and Texas Medical Center in visiting start-ups, high-tech firms and venture capital firms and gaining motivation, advice and exposure to innovation cultures from several key technology guest speakers.

A $25,000 gift from Maryann and Don Lyle will support an innovative design project for two kinetic sculptures that will be erected in the College of Engineering’s Cherry Building at Lamar University. LU alumnus Don Lyle, a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Board, and his wife, Maryann, are the founders of the Don M. and Maryann Lyle Foundation.

Registration is now open for the Lamar University’s Diversity and Inclusion Conference Saturday, April 9. The event, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., will be held in the Setzer Student Center and is free and open to all faculty, staff and students.

Students, teachers and professionals of physics from across the US will gather at Lamar University March 31-April 2 for the Joint Spring 2016 Meeting of the Texas sections of the American Physical Society (APS), American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and Zone 13 of the Society of Physics Students (SPS)

Lamar University’s Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music will host its inaugural Brass Festival, a three-day event celebrating brass instrumentalists, April 7-9, in the Simmons Music Building. The festival will offer guest artist, faculty and student performances, master classes, clinics and exhibits. It will conclude with a gala concert featuring world-renowned trumpeter Allen Vizzutti performing with LU’s Brass Choir and Cardinal Jazz Orchestra. Festival admission is $20 per person and is open to the public.

Despite the fact the 2015 football season ended more than four months ago, the honors continue to pour in for All-America running back Kade Harrington. The 2015 Southland Conference Player of the Year has been named a finalist for the Press Club of Southeast Texas Newsmaker of the Year Award.

The Omega Upsilon Chapter of Order of Omega at Lamar University honored 17 outstanding members of the fraternity and sorority community during its initiation ceremony March 30.

LU faculty coordinators brought together a large number of renowned scientists from across the country to present their work at the Joint Spring 2016 meeting of the Texas sections of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and Zone 13 of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) from March 31 to April 2.

Lamar University is at the top of the list of 35 schools selected for best value by Top Masters in Education for online Master of Education programs in the United States.

Yolanda Lee Conyers of Austin is vice president of Worldwide Human Resources and chief diversity officer of Lenovo and one of four Distinguished Alumni named by Lamar University for 2016. She will share “Leadership Lessons from My Father: Culture, Connection and Change” with Lamar University students, faculty and staff in a free public lecture, 10:20 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., in the Landes Auditorium of the Galloway Business Building.

Kumer Das, associate professor of statistics at Lamar University, was granted the Robert V. Hogg Award for Excellence in Teaching Introductory Statistics by the Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America (SIGMAA) on Statistics Education.

Lamar University’s Department of English and Modern Languages, Lamar Literary Press, and the Office of the Provost will sponsor readings by two prominent fiction writers as part of its Lamar Literary Festival series.

Lamar University students will be participating in the 2016 Student Leadership Conference Saturday, Feb. 6 where they will hear from keynote speaker Johnny Quinn, Olympian and former NFL player, and attend workshops to hone their leadership skills.

Lamar University Ambassador application packets will be available until March 4, 2016, in the Office of Alumni Affairs, Suite 102, of the Rudy C. Williams Building, in the John Gray Center on the Lamar University campus.

Nine graduate students from Lamar University will participate in Ignite!, a three-day entrepreneurship program in Silicon Valley, as 2016 Gill Scholars. The 2016 Ignite Entrepreneurship Trek to Silicon Valley will be held March 2-5. During the event, students will participate in field trips to Silicon Valley start-ups, high-tech firms and venture capital firms, as well as hear from numerous entrepreneurial guest speakers.

The popular aquarium species, native to the Pacific, has grown from an intentional or inadvertent release of as few as eight females off the Florida coast in the 1980s to a scourge along the eastern seaboard of the U.S., throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Today, Lionfish populations threaten to collapse entire reef ecosystems and cause incalculable losses for sport and commercial fisheries.

LU students gathered Saturday, Feb. 6 to join in the Big Thicket National Preserve’s ongoing longleaf pine reforestation project. HSA organized campus participation and rallied more than 40 students, staff members and friends to the location in the Big Sandy Creek Unit of the preserve.

Lamar University’s enrollment and semester credit hours both set new records, officials announced today.

Lamar University’s Club Tennis will return to the USTA National Championships in Cary, North Carolina, after winning the USTA Texas club of the year award for the second year in a row.

Four Lamar University students have been selected to participate in the National Presidential Nominating Conventions through the Washington Center’s Campaign 2016 program. Lamar’s participation in the program is made possible through a collaborative effort between the Reaud Honors College and the Department of Political Science.

The honors have been pouring in for Lamar University junior running back Kade Harrington following a stellar 2015 campaign, but none were as special as the honor he received Tuesday afternoon. A proclamation was read at Beaumont City Hall declaring Feb. 16, 2016 Kade Harrington Day.

When LU professor and chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages Jim Sanderson began writing his novel “El Camino del Rio” more than 20 years ago, he never anticipated the extent of the Texas-based book’s popularity. The novel was first published by the University of New Mexico for winning the Frank Waters contest as the “best book about the rural southwest.” After subsequent praise from The Washington Post and The New York Times, the novel has been selected in 2016 for republication in paperback and eBook by Brash Books.

The Lamar University Department of Earth and Space Sciences has received two three-year software licenses valued at roughly $1.7 million for research use, from Schlumberger, the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions to customers working in the oil and gas industry.

ExxonMobil presents Lt. Gen. Marvin Brailsford, U.S. Army retired, at Lamar University Feb. 24 in “An Evening with Lieutenant General Marvin Brailsford” in celebration of Black History Month. The presentation, sponsored by ExxonMobil’s Black Employee Success Team (BEST) and hosted by Lamar University, is free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the University Reception Center, 8th Floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.

Rising to meet the emerging global challenge of a rapidly aging population, social work majors at Lamar University gathered on Wednesday, February 17 to experience first-hand many of the trials facing the aging population by simulating the process of aging themselves.

LU students have received a $15,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s P3 Program (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) with their proposal to design and synthesize sustainable, environmentally friendly coating systems with self-healing and feedback properties using linseed oil monomers.

Lamar University senior Janet Lowe, of Thicket, who was majoring in social work and was president of the Social Worker Student Association, passed away Thursday in a car accident in Lumberton.

Lamar University’s ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp has been selected by the ExxonMobil Foundation and The Harris Foundation as one of 10 national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) camps to receive grants for June 2016.

From her time in the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) program at Lamar University, electrical engineering and mathematics major Tyler Doiron knew she wanted to be involved in the space industry.

LaTanya Afolayan has joined the advancement division at Lamar University as associate vice president for university advancement after a national search.

Jocelyn Robbins has joined the Division of Student Engagement as director of Career & Professional Development after a national search.

Lamar University has named four alumni as Distinguished Alumni for 2016, noting that their dedication to their professions, service to their communities and loyalty to their alma mater epitomizes the Lamar University spirit, official said. The award is the highest granted by the university to its graduates.

Six members of Lamar University’s Model United Nations delegation (MUNLU) will be attending the second annual TexMUN conference January 15-17 at the University of Texas at Austin.

The JASON Alliance of Southeast Texas (JASET) and Lamar University are holding the 2016 JASON Event in the Setzer Student Center weekdays, January 5-22, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for approximately 7,000 4th-8th grade science students from across Region V.

Lamar University will commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a special observance on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The event, “Remembering the Man … Remembering the Legacy,” will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Landes Auditorium of the Galloway Business Building.

When it comes to using our brains – for making the grade, or exceling in business – John Medina says we’ve got a lot to learn. The developmental biologist and author of Brain Rules’ 12 principles for striving and thriving at work, home and school, will share in a free public lecture at Lamar University Feb. 23.

Lamar University’s Police Department is offering the LUPD Citizens’ Police Academy this spring to help participants learn about the police profession and criminal justice system.

The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) will host Spring Review 2016 at the Mary and John Gray Library on Saturday, Feb. 20. The Academy is an early entrance college residential honors program at Lamar University.

Lamar University’s Office of Student Engagement is issuing a “Winter Wonderland” Advisory for new and returning students. It’s all part of the fun of Week of Welcome – a series of events to welcome students back to the campus and to introduce them to student life – that include a “Winter Wonderland” that is sure to the be the highlight of the week.

Lamar University’s Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music will host a master class with internationally renowned violinist Ryu Goto on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to observe the master class in the Rothwell Recital Hall. Admission is free

91.3 KVLU Public Radio will produce and air “Bayoulands,” a year-long documentary series exploring the people and places of Orange County, Texas. The program premieres Thursday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m., with a repeat broadcast on Sunday, Jan. 31.

Four LU Model United Nations (MUNLU) students representing Venezuela at the second annual TexMUN conference Jan 15-17 were named an honorable delegation by the Osgood Center for International Studies.

Career businessman, scientist and entrepreneur Brandon Price has been named the inaugural Ben J. Rogers Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies in the College of Business at Lamar University.

Junior Kelli Creel’s passionate interests in microbiology and dentistry have led her from the classrooms and labs of Lamar University to her biggest challenge yet; research with world-class scholars on the microbial communities entrapped in dental tartar of ancient Roman skeletons.

Senior Danny Grigsby, a triple major in management, general business entrepreneurship and general business, is the first LU student to experience the brand new Study Abroad program with ESC Rennes School of Business in France.

The Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music at Lamar University will present a guest artist concert featuring the jazz duo of pianist Joe LoCascio and saxophonist Woody Witt. The performance will be in the Rothwell Recital Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. LoCascio and Witt will perform music from their latest CD, “Absinthe: The Music of Billy Strayhorn.” Admission is free.

Lamar University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will perform the enchanting musical “A Year with Frog and Toad,” based on the beloved series of children’s books by Arnold Lobel, Feb. 26 through Feb. 28 in the University Theatre. Best friends Frog and Toad hop from the page to the stage in this exuberant story of friendship and adventure directed by faculty members Lou Arrington and Brian LeTraunik.