In 1959, the Louisiana Legislature authorized the establishment of LSUA as a two-year commuter college under the governance of the LSU Board of Supervisors. LSUA registered its first students in September of 1960. The first degree program, an Associate in Nursing degree, was initiated in the Division of Nursing in 1964.
The additional academic divisions of Liberal Arts, Business Administration, and Sciences were created in 1967. In 1974, LSUA was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. This accreditation was reaffirmed in 1984, 1994, and 2004.
Only one associate degree was available at LSUA from 1964 to March 1986, when the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science transfer degrees were approved. Over the next 15 years, several associate degree and certificate programs were added that the university continues to offer including:
From 1976 through Spring 2003, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College offered the upper-level course work for select bachelor's degree programs on the LSUA campus through a program known as LSU Senior College. Initially, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Bachelor of General Studies were offered. The Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education was added in 1982-83.
For the first time in its program history, the LSUA women’s tennis team advances to the semifinals of the national tournament. The Generals outlasted No. 6 SCAD Savannah 4-0 on Thursday afternoon at the Mobile Tennis Center.
With the victory, LSUA (19-0) matched its most wins for a single season in school history, tying the 19 victories in 2017.
“Our girls, Coach Todd Urbina, and I are all so excited about making it to the semifinals of the National Tennis Tournament for the first time,” LSUA Women’s Tennis Head Coach Melinda Descant said. “The girls have worked really hard at practice for this all year and have fought hard on the courts during all of the matches in the tournament. I’m so proud of these young ladies.”
The Generals play No. 2 Keiser on Friday at 1 pm, who knocked off Xavier 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
In the clinching match, Romero Gomez dominated the first set 6-1 before Yu came back to win the second set 6-2. It looked as if Yu would hold on in the deciding third set, trading points with Romero Gomez and leading 3-2, but the LSUA junior stormed back with four consecutive games to win the set and clinch the match, setting off a celebration on the court. The clinching point came at a time when four singles matches were in the third set with SCAD (11-5) holding slim advantages in three of them.
LSUA began the day by taking a pair of matches in doubles, led once again by Romero Gomez with her partner Sofia Beggiatto. The pairing fell behind 2-1 early in their match at the No. 3 doubles spot before rallying off five consecutive games to win the match.
Annemart Kleijn has continued to be a machine, both in singles and doubles. With the matches at Nos. 1 and 2 in doubles coming down to the wire, the pairing of Kleijn and Olivia Scattini dug deep and came away with a 7-5 victory at No. 1 to earn the doubles point for the third-seeded Generals.
In the match, LSUA jumped out to a 5-1 advantage before the SCAD (11-5) pairing of Alessia Piccoliori and Francina Puig Llompart stormed back with four straight games to knot the match at 5. But the LSUA duo dug deep and rattled off two in a row to clinch the point for the Generals.
Kleijn also emerged with a straight sets victory in singles once again, not allowing her opponent to win any games in the second set, coming away with a 6-4, 6-0, triumph against Tova Tilk Tobrand. Out of the four sets she has played in singles in the NAIA Tournament, she has not allowed her opponent to win a game in three of the sets.
The Generals dominated the first sets, winning five of the six opening sets, before the Bees flipped the script and came away with four victories in the second set, forcing four matches to go the distance.
LSUA’s final victory came at No. 1 in a close match between Candela Bonivardi and Priya Sukkanha. After Sukkanha won a tight first set 6-4 and led a close second set 5-4, she had to retire due to injury and the Generals earned the point, which gave them a 3-0 lead before Romero Gomez clinched the match moments later.
The winner of the semifinal match will take on the winner of No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett and No. 5 Montreat in the title match on Saturday afternoon.
Mobile Tennis Center, Mobile, Ala.
Written by Jonathon Zenk, LSUA Athletics
Image credit - Cameron Mosely
On June 5, 2001, following approval by the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors and the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Legislature passed legislation (Senate Bill 853) allowing Louisiana State University at Alexandria to offer baccalaureate degrees. In December 2002, SACSCOC approved a substantive change request from LSUA, thereby accrediting the university to award both associate and baccalaureate degrees.
In Fall 2003, LSUA was reorganized into colleges and departments rather than divisions. The College of Arts and Sciences is comprised of the departments of Arts, English and Humanities; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Biological Sciences; and Mathematics and Physical Sciences. The College of Professional Studies is comprised of the departments of Allied Health, Business Administration, Education, and Nursing.
LSUA began offering four baccalaureate degrees in Fall 2003: Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Liberal Studies. Because there were students at LSUA who had completed upper-level course work through LSU Senior College, LSUA produced its first bachelor's degree graduates in December 2003.
A Bachelor of Science in Psychology, approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors in March 2005, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, approved by the LSU Board in June 2006, are now offered. In 2008 the university began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, Communication Studies, and History, along with Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration, Criminal Justice, and Nursing.
In addition to the Department of Education offering courses that lead to an Associate of Arts in The Care and Development of Young Children and the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, courses are offered for alternative certification in the following areas: Elementary Education, Grades 1-5; Health and Physical Education, Grades K-12; and Secondary Education, Grades 6-12 for the areas of biology, English, history, and mathematics. Students who major in biology, English, history, or mathematics may declare Secondary Education as a minor in these areas of study, earning certification to teach that subject in Grades 6-12. Add-on certifications are available for Early Childhood Education (PK-3) and Special Education in area of existing certification(s).
The Oaks, the university’s first student housing complex, opened in the fall of 2007. The complex, which includes four apartment buildings and a community center.
LSUA hired its first athletic director in January 2007 and began competing in NAIA men’s baseball and women’s fast-pitch softball in Spring 2008. In January 2010, LSUA’s new on-campus baseball-softball complex was unveiled in an opening day dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The complex is located on the north side of campus adjacent to the Fitness Center and features seats transferred from the famed Alex Box Stadium on the Baton Rouge campus.
LSUA added five sports in 2014 including men’s and women’s basketball and soccer teams along with women’s tennis. LSUA joined the Red River Athletic Conference in 2014. The RRAC includes Bacone College (Okla.), Huston-Tilloston University (Texas), Jarvis Christian College (Texas), Langston University (Okla.), LSU-Shreveport, Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas), Paul Quinn College (Texas), Texas College, University of St. Thomas (Texas), University of Texas-Brownsville, University of the Southwest (New Mexico) and Wiley College (Texas) in addition to LSUA.
The university’s newest building, Mulder Hall, was opened in August 2011. The building is a 70,000 square-foot facility that provides 18 classrooms, 4 academic department office suites, 52 faculty offices, 2 conference rooms, a computer lab and a writing lab, a painting and drawing studio, a ceramics studio, a photography suite, and a black box theater that seats 175 people.