Louisiana Tech University

Main article: History of Louisiana Tech University Early years Hale Hall, once a men's dormitory, is now the home of the Louisiana Tech School of Architecture & Office of Admissions. Ruston College , a forerunner to Louisiana Tech, was established in the middle 1880s by W. C. Friley , a Southern Baptist pastor. This institution lasted for seven years and had annual enrollments of about 250 students. [ 10 ] Friley subsequently from 1892 to 1894 served as the first president of Hardin–Simmons University in Abilene, Texas , and from 1909 to 1910, as the second president of Louisiana College in Pineville . On May 14, 1894, the Lincoln Parish Police Jury held a special session to outline plans to secure a regional industrial school. The police jury (a body similar to a county court or county commission in other states) called upon State Representative George M. Lomax to introduce the proposed legislation during the upcoming session. Representative Lomax, Jackson Parish Representative J. T. M. Hancock, and journalist, lawyer, and future judge John B. Holstead fought for the passage of the bill. On July 6, 1894, the proposed bill was approved as Act No. 68 of the General Assembly of Louisiana. [ 8 ] The act established "The Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana", an industrial institute created for the education of white children in the arts and sciences. [ 8 ] In 1894, Colonel Arthur T. Prescott was elected as the first president of the college. He moved to Ruston and began overseeing the construction of a two-story main building. The brick building housed eight large classrooms, an auditorium, a chemical laboratory, and two offices. A frame building was also built nearby and was used for the instruction of mechanics. The main building was located on a plot of 20 acres (81,000 m 2 ) that was donated to the school by Francis P. Stubbs. On September 23, 1895, the school started its first session with six faculty members and 202 students.

In May 1897, Harry Howard became the first graduate. Colonel Prescott awarded him with a Bachelor of Industry degree, but there was no formal commencement. The first formal commencement was held in the Ruston Opera House the following May with ten graduates receiving their diplomas. Article 256 of the 1898 state constitution changed the school's name to Louisiana Industrial Institute. [ 11 ] Two years later, the course of study was reorganized into two years of preparatory work and three years of college level courses. Students who were high school graduates were admitted to the seventh quarter (college level) of study without examination. As years went by, courses changed and admissions requirements tightened. From 1917 to 1925, several curricula were organized according to the junior college standards and were offered leading to the Bachelor of Industry degree. In 1919, the Board of Trustees enlarged the curricula and started granting a standard baccalaureate degree. The first of these was granted on June 15, 1921, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering . The Constitution adopted June 18, 1921, changed the name of the school in Article XII, Section 9, from Louisiana Industrial Institute to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, [ 12 ] or "Louisiana Tech" for short.

Keeny Hall: Administrative building dates to the middle 1930s; designed, along with several other Tech buildings by architect Edward F. Neild of Shreveport . The Main Building, also known as Old Main, burned to the ground in December 1936, [ 13 ] but the columns that marked the entrance remain in place behind Prescott Memorial Library. By June 1936, construction on a new administration building had begun. On completion in January 1937, it was named Leche Hall in honor of then Governor Richard W. Leche of New Orleans . The building was renamed after the death of former university president, J. E. Keeny , and remains the remodeled Keeny Hall. Louisiana Polytechnic Institute experienced an infrastructure growth spurt in 1939 and 1940. Seven buildings were designed by architect Edward F. Neild and completed at a cost of $2,054,270. These were Aswell Hall (girls' dormitory), Robinson Hall (men's dormitory for juniors and seniors), Tolliver Hall (880-seat dining hall), Bogard Hall (the Engineering Building), the S.J. Wages Power Plant, Reese Agricultural Hall (located on the South Campus Tech Farm), and the Howard Auditorium & Fine Arts Building. [ 14 ] During World War II, Louisiana Polytechnic Institute was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. [ 15 ] After World War II, old army barracks were used to construct the student union and bookstore. It was known as the "Tonk" because it resembled a honky tonk. The building was replaced 15 years later but its nickname remained. [ 13 ] In 1959, four students were awarded the first master's degrees by the institution.

The 16-story Wyly Tower of Learning, named for the benefactors Sam Wyly and Charles Wyly , is the most prominent building on the Louisiana Tech campus in Ruston, Louisiana . It was designed by the Bastrop architect Hugh G. Parker Jr. Though the Wyly Tower is the landmark campus structure, the university is planning to have the structure razed to make way for a revised library facility. The tower has been cited for lack of ventilation, asbestos , difficulty of providing fire protection, and stairwells do not exit to the exterior of the building. [ 16 ] In 1962, Foster Jay Taylor became the 12th President of the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, having succeeded Ralph L. Ropp . During his twenty-five years at president, Dr. Taylor oversaw the transformation of the former Louisiana Polytechnic Institute into Louisiana Tech University. The university's enrollment grew from about 3,000 students in 1962 to roughly 12,000 students in 1987. The first African-American students at Louisiana Tech, James Earl Potts (a transfer student from the nearby HBCU Grambling State University ) and Bertha Bradford-Robinson, were admitted in the spring of 1965. [ 17 ] Most of the modern buildings on the Main Campus were either built or renovated during Taylor's tenure as university president. The main athletic facilities were constructed during the Taylor Era including Joe Aillet Stadium , the Thomas Assembly Center , J.C. Love Field , and the Lady Techster Softball Complex. In addition to the athletic facilities, the 16-story Wyly Tower, Student Bookstore, Nethken Hall ( Electrical Engineering building), the University President's House, and the current College of Business Building were built on the Main Campus. In order to house the increasing student body of Louisiana Tech, Dr. Taylor led the construction of Graham, Harper, Kidd, Caruthers, and Neilson residence halls. Taylor's time as Louisiana Tech president also marked the beginning of Lady Techster athletics.