Month: November 2022

Since 1925, Southeastern has continuously evolved as a strong academic institution while simultaneously staying committed to its two main pillars of excellence and caring. As we now look forward to celebrating our first 100 years, Southeastern is reimagining a unified brand that resonates with all audiences.

Globally and across the nation, higher education has become increasingly competitive, and students have more and more choices. Southeastern understands how important it is to communicate to its students, potential students, alumni, and supporters how unique our University is.

Because of this, Southeastern recently embarked on a concerted effort to discover the best ways to communicate our brand. Starting with market and identity research, our brand concept was turned into an action plan that is now being carried out across the University.

This is unfolding on all fronts, from our language to our logos, colors, type, photos, and videos. The following pages demonstrate these new elements in use.

One prominent aspect you will notice is our implementation of storytelling through student, alumni, and faculty profiles. These profiles do not tell what Southeastern offers and the monumental impact it can have—they show it. They help convey that it’s all about the path you take, the actions that make up your experience, and the destination you seek.

These profiles also help highlight what makes our University such a special place and how exceptional our students and alumni are, and they are just a sampling of the countless stories of determination, excellence, resilience, and persistence from across our University community. Using great storytelling, these stories can all join together to become the story of Southeastern.

Several of these profile stories, along with our other new brand elements, are featured below.

When put into action, this new rebrand concept elevates Southeastern as a strong academic institution with highly competitive degree programs, inspiring career experiences, and caring faculty and staff.

After an extensive renovation, the Alumni Center is now reopened and ready to welcome back alumni and all members of our Southeastern community.

The Alumni Center has been a respected landmark on Southeastern’s campus since it was erected in 1994. Proudly overlooking the main campus from West University Avenue, the 12,700-square-foot building serves as a hub for returning alumni, touring visitors, and the Hammond community. From phone-a-thons to networking events, reunions and more, the Alumni Center has experienced its fair share of campus happenings, and while it has always been home to the department’s staff, it has also served as an office space for various staff members from the University Advancement division of Southeastern. If walls could talk, the Alumni Center’s would have a rich history to tell!

Over the years, the activity and staff focuses within the building have adapted to remain relevant with Southeastern’s constituents and their needs. On February 7, 2022, after weeks of archiving and cleaning, the staff vacated the Alumni Center in preparation for the latest shift, a complete renovation and modernization of the space. Thanks to partial funding from the Southeastern Foundation, in six short months the Alumni Center was refreshed into a reimagined environment that has provided Southeastern and the Alumni staff the opportunity to better welcome alumni and guests onto our campus.

A fresh, distinguished façade imagined by the architects at Holly and Smith proudly displays Southeastern’s new shield logo. Upon entering the building, guests are now greeted by an open, inviting space. Vibrant greens paint the wall with pride. To the left of the lobby area lies the Alumni Association staff offices, and to the right and on the newly furbished second floor you’ll find members of the University Marketing and Communications team. The well-known banquet hall has been updated to better suit the wide variety of events and occasions it has traditionally been used for, and that space will soon be married with a unique outdoor kitchen crafted by Angelo’s Landscape Group. Together, the hall and new outdoor area will allow the Alumni Association to host more events and opportunities for our alumni, growing chapters, and the Hammond community.

Physical and metaphorical walls have been removed through this renovation, and we are excited for the future of the Association and the University. We invite you back to experience the improvements and hear about what’s on the horizon for Southeastern from the Alumni Association and University Advancement team. Visit us today at 500 West University Avenue!

BY OLIVIA GRAZIANO

Southeastern’s Nursing Program has been nationally and locally ranked by EduMed, an organization that connects students with expert-driven information about education, training, and financial aid opportunities in healthcare and medical support.

Southeastern ranked No. 1 in the state in Best Online Nursing Programs, No. 4 nationally in Most Affordable Online Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Programs, and No. 31 nationally in Top Nurse Practitioner Programs – Four Year Schools.

“I am not surprised our online graduate nursing education programs are nationally ranked,” said School of Nursing Department Head Ken Tillman. “Southeastern School of Nursing’s faculty members strive to provide quality online education based on nationally recognized standards and best practices for online delivery of course content.”

When ranking institutions, EduMed looked at factors such as academic and career support services, affordable tuition, and which schools provide the best fully and partially online programs.

“As we look to the future of healthcare and its growing demands from society at large, it is paramount that those who are interested in medical careers can find the best opportunities to get the necessary education to kickstart their dreams—and Southeastern offers just that,” said EduMed Outreach Coordinator Wes Harris.

The rankings can be accessed here.

Southeastern Instructor of Industrial Technology Anthony Blakeney has been honored with the WEMCO Excellence Award as the top educator in the country. A resident of Ponchatoula, Blakeney was nominated by his peers.

“For over two decades, Anthony has dedicated himself to teaching our students about welding technology. He has single-handedly developed the welding program into one that is not just regionally recognized, but also nationally recognized,” said College of Science and Technology Dean Daniel McCarthy. “He is more than deserving of this prestigious award, and we are proud to have him as a member of our faculty at Southeastern.”

WEMCO created the annual Excellence in Welding Awards to recognize individuals and organizations that are instrumental in raising the image of welding, strengthening the industry, and have shown exemplary dedication to promoting the image of welding in their communities.

“I am humbled to be recognized by my colleagues within the American Welding Society and by the American industrial sector,” Blakeney said. “My passion for my students has always driven what I do.”

Each year individuals from the welding industry nominate their peers for these awards. The nominations are submitted to the Excellence in Welding Committee, which reviews them carefully before the winners are selected. The winners are announced at the Excellence in Welding Awards Ceremony at the FABTECH Show. Blakeney will accept his award in Atlanta next month during the awards ceremony and luncheon.

Southeastern will provide independent, scientific monitoring of the Lake Maurepas ecosystem as part of Air Products’ work on its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex.

Air Products is to start preliminary studies on the viability of the Lake Maurepas area for a proposed ‘Blue Hydrogen’ production and carbon capture and permanent sequestration project. An essential component of these initial studies will be extensive environmental monitoring of the Lake Maurepas region by Southeastern, so that any impacts of this project can be understood, and data be made publicly available.

“Southeastern will be monitoring all facets of this project involving the lake to ensure up-to-date data and information are available. We will make all the data we record available to the public to ensure everyone’s right to know any findings,” said Dan McCarthy, dean of the College of Science and Technology.

“We realized from the outset that we needed comprehensive and independent monitoring of Lake Maurepas and said so publicly early in our work on this clean energy project,” said Louisiana Clean Energy Project Manager at Air Products Andrew Connolly. “We are pleased to have Southeastern serve this important role. Their scientists have been studying this ecosystem for decades and, with the Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station, they are singularly and best qualified to conduct this monitoring study.”

The scientists from Southeastern will be monitoring the marine life populations (fishes, crabs, shrimp) as well as the plant life in the surrounding wetlands, and also be on watch and studying any variations in water quality. All findings will be uploaded to a publicly accessible website that will be housed through Southeastern and which will be announced as it is developed and monitoring efforts have begun.

Southeastern has announced plans for new state-of-the-art facilities that will elevate both academics and athletics at the University. The facilities’ improvements will encompass over 50,000 square feet and are made possible through a combination of public and private funds.

The multi-phase, multi-year project will begin with an update and enhancement for the home of Lion Baseball – Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, where a new entranceway, ticket booth, and additional concessions area will be constructed for the upcoming baseball season. In addition, along the left-field line, a newly constructed baseball fieldhouse facility will include locker rooms, offices, meeting and storage space, as well as improved athletic training facilities. This new home for Southeastern Baseball is expected to be completed in late 2023.

In conjunction with private funds made available through the Lion Athletic Association and Southeastern Foundation, Southeastern was approved for a capital outlay project during the 2022 Legislative Session that will provide significant renovations and enhancements for the academic athletic training program as well as intercollegiate athletics.

The new and upgraded facilities will serve as home for the University’s Master of Science Program in Athletic Training along with Southeastern Intercollegiate Athletics. In addition to classrooms and laboratory facilities for the Athletic Training program, expanded space for sports medicine, new locker rooms, and offices for Southeastern football and soccer programs will be part of the project.

Southeastern is one of only three universities in the state of Louisiana that offers the degree in athletic training. The new facilities confirm Southeastern’s ongoing commitment to the athletic training academic program and greatly assist in helping ensure athletic training students become “real-world” ready as part of their academic experiences.

“We’re excited to announce this historic addition for Southeastern Athletics and our athletic training program,” Southeastern Director of Athletics Jay Artigues said. “This project is a game changer as the facility enhancements will not only be beneficial to our department, but the university and community as a whole. Our student-athletes continually embody our mission statement of excellence in the classroom, community, and competition, and this project will give the Lions and Lady Lions the opportunity to build on that success and elevate our programs to the next level.”

“Athletic trainers are highly trained health care professionals that support the sports medicine team,” College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Ann Carruth said. “As such, a strong partnership with athletics to provide real-world experiences is integral to the success of the program. We are very fortunate to have these new resources that will benefit the academic program and our students.”

The athletic training and intercollegiate athletics facilities project is currently in design, with construction anticipated to begin in early 2024 and completion expected by the fall of 2025.

“We are excited that donors, athletic boosters, and corporate sponsors are stepping up to provide private support to match state funds for these facility enhancements. For example, all of the baseball program enhancements are being made entirely through private funds. Significant private matching funds are also being raised to support the other facility enhancements,” said Southeastern President John Crain.

Thank you for joing us for Homecoming 2022!