LSUA Commemorative History Book
A 144-page history of LSU Alexandria written by Dr. Jerry Sanson to
commemorate the university’s Golden Anniversary is available in a
hardcover book at the LSUA bookstore and online at www.lsua.edu. The
cost for “LSU Alexandria: Celebrating 50 years” is $40 plus shipping if
applicable. Proceeds will be used for scholarships administered through
the LSUA Foundation.
Sanson, interim chairman of the Department of Behavioral and Social
Sciences at LSUA, spent three years researching and writing the book.
Some of the primary sources were Dudley Frickie, the school’s first
registrar, and Fran Bolton Davis, whose father, James C. Bolton, was a
pioneer supporter of establishing a branch of the state flagship
university in Central Louisiana. Sanson also extracted an extensive
amount of information from records of the LSU Board of Supervisors,
LSUA Archives, The Alexandria Town Talk and Sentry, the campus student
newspaper.
The book contains more than 125 pictures, most of which were
selected by LSUA archivist Michelle Riggs. It was published by Donning
Co. Publishers of Virginia Beach, Va.
“One of the constant themes I discovered during the research
process was that the state seemed almost embarrassed to provide higher
education in Central Louisiana,” Sanson said. “What LSUA is today was
accomplished in the face of incredible odds.”
The book chronicles LSUA’s history – which is the second oldest
outside Baton Rouge in the LSU System -- in seven chapters. It also
includes lists of the original 25 faculty members, chancellors and
deans, and presidents of the Student Government Association since the
university’s founding in 1960. There are 1,500 copies available for
purchase.
Dr. David Manuel, LSUA’s ninth chancellor, wrote in the book’s
forward that Sanson “has offered the color and interpretations that
only a career faculty member and historian can craft. His account … is
both accurate and nuanced so that the reader will mark the significant
points of interest and appreciate the interplay of all parties
involved.”
Sanson, a long-time professor of history and political science,
also has written books on state and local government and Louisiana
during World War II, and he compiled “Camp Beauregard and Central
Louisiana” for the Louisiana National Guard. He has contributed
sections to 10 books on such topics as national security, Louisiana
governors, European imperialism, military history, American civil
rights and the politics of government.
The author, who earned master’s and doctoral degrees from LSU, has
held two endowed professorships and is a winner of the Bolton Award for
Teaching Excellence at LSUA. He is a member of the prestigious Company
of Fellows of the Louisiana Historical Association.
Purchase
The LSUA 50th Anniversary Books are now available for purchase at the LSUA Bookstore, stop by and get yours today. Starting next week you will be able to purchase the book through this website.