Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge, or simply Louisiana State University (LSU) is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. LSU currently includes 9 senior colleges and 3 schools, in addition to specialized centers, divisions, institutes, and offices. Enrollment, which has increased approximately 5% recently to host students from New Orleans displaced by Hurricane Katrina, stands at more than 30,000 students, and there are 1,300 full-time faculty members. LSU is one of only six American universities designated as a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant research center.

History

In 1853 the Louisiana General Assembly passed legislation creating a state institution of higher education named The Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana (French: l'Université de l'Etat de la Louisiane) near Pineville. The institution's first building was completed in 1859, and classes began in 1860. In 1861, the school's name was changed to "Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy" (le Lycée Scientifique et Militaire de l'Etat de la Louisiane).

Related Topics:
1853 - Pineville - 1859 - 1860 - 1861

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When the American Civil War broke out later that year, the school, like the rest of the country, was deeply affected. Faculty, administration, and students alike left the school, most to join or support the Confederate Army, but the school's first president, William Tecumseh Sherman resigned from the university and accepted a commission as a colonel in the Union Army. Later that year, Louisiana seceded from the Union, and the school was closed.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Confederate - William Tecumseh Sherman - Union

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The seminary re-opened for the spring session in 1862 only to close again less than a month later following military action by federal forces. The library's contents and many other items were destroyed, but the building was saved. The school remained closed until the conclusion of the war and reopened in the autumn of 1865. After the Pineville campus building burned down in 1865, classes resumed two weeks later at the "Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind" in Baton Rouge. In 1870, the seminary officially became "The Louisiana State University."

Related Topics:
1862 - 1865 - Baton Rouge - 1870

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Meanwhile, in 1874, the Louisiana State Agricultural & Mechanical College (later Louisiana A&M) opened as a separate school on the University of Louisiana campus in New Orleans. Classes were held there until the new campus in Chalmette, near New Orleans, was completed. This campus was racially integrated. Louisiana State University and Louisiana A&M College were combined in 1876 by the Louisiana Legislature, which prompted a title change to the current name. The legislature also made LSU the state's land-grant institution.

Related Topics:
1874 - University of Louisiana - New Orleans - Chalmette - 1876

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In 1886, the Department of the Interior transferred title of the Baton Rouge Arsenal, which had been seized by Louisiana militia during the Civil War, to the state of Louisiana. The former arsenal became the new campus. University President David F. Boyd paid for much of the repair and construction himself, without reimbursement.

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Olivia Davis became LSU's first female student in 1901. She graduated in 1905.

Related Topics:
1901 - 1905

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Architect Theodore Link's campus plan was approved and construction of present buildings began in 1922.

Related Topics:
Theodore Link - 1922

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In the fall of 1925, classes began on the Baton Rouge campus. It was dedicated the next year, and remains the primary campus of the University.

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In 1978, LSU became a sea-grant institution.

Related Topics:
1978 - Sea-grant

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