Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, located in
Ruston, Louisiana, is a coeducational public
university with an approximate enrollment of 12,000 students. First instituted as the Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana in 1894, and then as Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in 1921, it is perhaps best known for its
engineering, professional
aviation, arts and
architecture programs and its
athletics, especially
football and women's
basketball. Louisiana Tech is a selective-admissions university and is attended by students from 50 states and 70 countries. The university runs on the quarter system rather than the more widely used semester system.
Louisiana Tech operates on the quarter system while awarding semester hours. Three quarters (fall, winter, spring) equal two semesters at other universities. This means that a full-time student takes 8 to 12 hours at time, equating to fewer classes with more time per class. Class times are generally either twice a week at 1 hour 50 minutes, or three times a week at 1 hour 15 minutes. Louisiana Tech operates a satellite campus at Barksdale Air Force base in
Shreveport and maintains an academic relationship with
Grambling State University, the area's primarily African-American college which operates on a semester system, located a few miles west of Ruston in Grambling, La.
Its men's sports teams are known as Bulldogs; women's teams are called Lady Techsters. The Bulldog football team has earned a reputation of being something of a 'giant killer' from recently having defeated such teams as Fresno State, Alabama, Boise State, Oklahoma State, Miss. St., California, and Michigan State- all on the road.
Following
Hurricane Katrina Louisiana Tech, like many other universities, opened its doors to those displaced by the storm. Students and non-students alike were welcomed into the Ruston community while the reconstruction efforts continued in southern Louisiana. Affected students were offered deferred tuition while non-students were allowed to stay in a dorm previously scheduled for demolition. Additionally, the Bulldog athletic program also opened up the football facilities including dorms, weight rooms, practice fields, and stadium to the Tulane Green Wave.
Louisiana Tech, a member of the
University of Louisiana System, has recently moved up from the Fourth to the Third Tier in the prestigious US News & World Report listing of National Universities. The move up effectively acknowledges, in a national forum, Louisiana Tech's status as an academic institution on par with the much larger Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Requirements for admission for all applicants includes at least a 15 Composite ACT Score or a 710 combined SAT score, and at least a 2.0/4.0 high school grade point average. Average ACT Score of incoming freshmen as of the 2005/06 school year was 22.5.
Louisiana Tech supports 378 faculty, 69% who hold the doctoral degree. Racially, Tech's faculty as of 2005 is 91% white, 2% African American, and 7% other races.
The city of Ruston offers limited entertainment options, so students spend a large amount of their free time participating in on-campus activities. Students can participate in Greek life, religious sponsored activities, intramural athletics, or the Student Government Association. For students interested in more focused activities, Louisiana Tech offers many special interest organizations. Among these are a student-run radio station and closed-circuit television station
Louisiana TechTV, as well as service organizations such as
Circle K (Kiwanis) and
Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, students often haunt one of several local bars or take roadtrips to
Monroe, Louisiana (~30mi),
Shreveport, Louisiana (~70mi), or
Dallas, Texas (~200mi) in order to find entertainment. Due to Louisiana's presence in the
Bible Belt, religion is a large component of many student's lives, as reflected in the abundance of on-campus religious organizations.
Though Louisiana Tech would not fit the traditional definition of a commuter school, a large number of students leave the campus on weekends. For this reason, many students refer to Tech as a "suitcase college." Some students opt to spend the weekend at home visiting friends, while others hold down jobs outside of Ruston. Though those students remaining on campus enjoy the increased availability of parking and other ammenities, administrators continue to search for ways to keep students in Ruston during the weekend. Things may be improving: In 2005, several chain restaurants opened their doors in anticipation of a movie theater chain which has since been built, becoming the first extant cineplex in northern Ruston and the only theatre in North Louisiana between Monroe and Shreveport on the I-20 corridor.
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Type - Four-year selective admissions university awarding bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees
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Enrollment - 12,000 students from 50 states and 70 countries
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Freshman class - 2,914 students
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Student/Faculty Ratio - 23:1
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Average Freshman ACT - 27.5
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Academic Calendar - Quarter system awarding semester hours. Three quarters (fall, winter, spring) equals two semesters at other universities.
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Affordability - Approximately 80% of students receive some form of financial assistance. Tuition in 2004-05 is $3,647 for state residents and $7,442 for out-of-state students (based on 8 or more credit hours per quarter - excludes summer school)
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Athletics - with 16 sports, the Bulldogs and Lady Techsters compete in the
Western Athletic Conference of
Division I of the
NCAA*Louisiana Tech's colors are Red and Reflex Blue.
*President Daniel Reneau began the biomedical engineering program at Tech while a professor in 1972.
*In 2005, Louisiana Tech began the first undergraduate program in the nation in
Nanosystems Engineering*Social
Greek-letter organizations' memberships comprise approximately 10% of the undergraduate population. The campus has nine
North-American Interfraternity Conference-recognized fraternities and four sororities recognized by the
National Panhellenic Conference.
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Louisiana Tech University Arboretum* The Quadrangle, featuring a fountain containing the original sculpture The Lady of the Mist
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Leon Barmore - former Lady Techsters basketball coach, member of the
Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Terry Bradshaw - former
American football quarterback with the
Pittsburgh Steelers of the
NFL*
Kix Brooks -
country music singer*
P.J. Brown - professional basketball player with the
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets of the NBA
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Tim Floyd -
basketball head coach*
Cheryl Ford - professional basketball player in the
WNBA*
Kim Gandy - President, National Organization for Women (NOW)
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Richard E. Hearne - retired Brigadier General,
U.S. Air Force;
Vietnam War veteran
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Phil Hiatt - retired
Major League Baseball player
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Betty Lennox - professional basketball player in the WNBA
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Karl Malone - retired professional basketball player (most notably with the
Utah Jazz) in the
NBA*
Luke McCown - American football quarterback with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL
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W. Fox McKeithen - Five-term Secretary of State of Louisiana
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Paul Millsap - professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the NBA
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Ryan Moats - American football runningback with the
Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL
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Kim Mulkey-Robertson - women's basketball coach,
Baylor University*
Brian Myrow -
Major League Baseball player in the
Los Angeles Dodgers system
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Tim Rattay - American football quarterback with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL
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Willie Roaf - NFL tackle with the
Kansas City Chiefs*
Victor Saracini - captain of
United Airlines Flight 175 (graduated
1982)
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Josh Scobee - American football kicker with the
Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL
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John Simonton - Founder of
PAiA Electronics, a manufacturer of analog
synthesizer kits.
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Matt Stover - American football kicker with the
Baltimore Ravens of the NFL
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Anthony J. Tolin - retired Brigadier General,
U.S. Air Force;
Vietnam War and
Desert Storm veteran
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Official university site*
Official athletics site*
KLPI (campus radio station)
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Tech Talk (campus newspaper)
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Student Government Association*
Louisiana TechTV
