Gumbo… jambalaya… tailgating… Saturdays in Death Valley… Mike’s roar...Tiger Football. Yes, the fall is here.
To faculty, staff, students, and fanatical alumni, I extend a hearty welcome to the new semester and a new beginning for the
E. J. Ourso College of Business. Just as championship football has become synonymous with LSU, so has academic excellence. On Friday, August 22, 2008, U.S. News & World Report released the rankings of its recent study of America’s best colleges and universities. LSU moved into the Top Tier of all U.S. universities based on its research and teaching. This is significant. To be national champions in athletics and academics is an ambitious and worthy goal. We will continue our climb to national prominence as we celebrate our college’s 80th anniversary and our University prepares for its sesquicentennial. With new Chancellor Michael Martin on board, we are poised for greater heights, building on a solid reputation for excellence in education.
We have the ambitious goal of making a great school greater, and we are receiving recognition for our efforts. Regarding fundraising, we are 75% of the way to our college’s new home: a state-of-the-art business education complex, which will be a showcase for LSU and Louisiana. I am encouraged by the aggressive sales and marketing campaign that we launched recently. It will enable us to close the gap on our funding needs so we can begin construction. Also, we continue to invest in retaining and attracting top students and world-renowned scholars in the disciplines of accounting, economics, finance, information systems and decision sciences, management, marketing, and public administration.
Our recipe for success is simple: retain and attract top scholars, reward and recognize dedicated staff, build distinctive programs, attract talented students, graduate them on time, and place them in exciting careers while continuously engaging our devoted alumni.
Stay involved. We are cooking up some new initiatives that will extend our reach and further build excellence. I look forward to meeting you this semester.
Geaux Tigers!
Eli Jones, Dean and
E. J. Ourso Distinguished Professor of Business
