SLS 172ES-38 ORIGINAL
2017 Second Extraordinary Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 8
BY SENATOR JOHNS
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Dr. Philip C. Williams, president of McNeese State
University, upon his retirement.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend and congratulate Dr. Philip C. Williams, president of McNeese State
3 University, on the occasion of his retirement.
4 WHEREAS, Dr. Philip C. Williams, who took office as president of McNeese State
5 University on July 1, 2010, as the sixth president in the university's seventy-eight year
6 history, will retire on June 30, 2017; and
7 WHEREAS, prior to his appointment at McNeese, the North Carolina native served
8 as president of the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama; and
9 WHEREAS, Dr. Williams earned his B.A., M.P.H., and PhD from the University of
10 North Carolina - Chapel Hill and JD from Columbia University; and
11 WHEREAS, he has served in leadership positions across the community, including
12 the board of directors of the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL), the Iberia Bank
13 Community Advisory Board, the Southwest Louisiana Alliance Foundation (regional
14 Chamber of Commerce) Board of Directors, and chair of the Southland Conference (NCAA
15 Division 1) Board of Directors, and as a member of the finance committee of the Church of
16 the Good Shepherd, and the CABL Leadership Louisiana Class of 2011; and
17 WHEREAS, Dr. Williams received both the 2017 Chairman's Cup Award for
18 McNeese's contributions to the Southwest Louisiana tourism industry and the 2013
Page 1 of 4 SR NO. 8
SLS 172ES-38 ORIGINAL
1 Community Service Award from the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention &
2 Visitors Bureau; and
3 WHEREAS, McNeese was recognized as the 2014 Louisiana Outstanding Arts
4 Organization by Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development
5 for providing the Southwest Louisiana community with easy access to exceptional arts and
6 humanities events that are unique to this area; and
7 WHEREAS, over $124 million was invested in campus facilities through state capital
8 outlay funds, local and federal grants, FEMA and insurance settlements, students'
9 self-generated assessments, and private donors that were either started or completed under
10 Dr. Williams' tenure; and
11 WHEREAS, Dr. Williams presided over the development of a new strategic plan,
12 which featured the promotion of innovative teaching and learning, regional partnerships,
13 service-learning opportunities, applied research, cultural engagement, athletic excellence,
14 and led the celebration of McNeese's 75th anniversary in 2014; and
15 WHEREAS, under Dr. Williams' leadership, McNeese continues to play a pivotal
16 role in providing well-prepared, innovative leaders by offering outstanding academic
17 programs and focusing on student success and affordability as U.S. News & World Report
18 named McNeese one of the best regional universities in the South for the sixth consecutive
19 year; and
20 WHEREAS, McNeese has been selected as a "Top School" in the 2017 Military
21 Advanced Education and Transition Guide to Colleges and Universities, and in 2016,
22 McNeese was also designated as a Military Friendly School by Victory Media and named
23 a "Governor's Military and Veteran Friendly Campus"; and
24 WHEREAS, McNeese signed a formal agreement with the U.S. Army to offer classes
25 and academic support services to soldiers, new and previously enrolled military students,
26 family members, and civilians at Fort Polk; and
27 WHEREAS, McNeese and Sowela Technical Community College have signed
28 agreements for shared services and residential housing between the two institutions; and
29 WHEREAS, McNeese hosted the first academic summit sponsored by the University
30 of Louisiana System that focused on service-learning, the arts, and undergraduate research;
Page 2 of 4 SR NO. 8
SLS 172ES-38 ORIGINAL
1 and
2 WHEREAS, McNeese's commercial free radio station, KBYS 88.3 FM, opened and
3 is Louisiana's first university-community radio station; and
4 WHEREAS, McNeese opened the Center for Advancement of Meat Production and
5 Processing (CAMPP), in Lacassine, as a satellite campus under the administration of the
6 Harold and Pearl Dripps Agricultural Sciences Department to conduct applied research
7 related to agricultural sciences and to support workforce development in the area; and
8 WHEREAS, with the opening of the Student Innovation Center in the SEED Center,
9 McNeese has positioned itself to be a university of innovation - one where new ideas and
10 emerging technologies are embraced to cultivate business creativity, innovation, and
11 invention for the future as McNeese was the second university in the country to offer a
12 unique innovation curriculum, which is open to all students; and
13 WHEREAS, McNeese's College of Engineering and Computer ranks third nationally
14 among all public and private engineering schools in terms of career return on investment for
15 its engineering majors by the 2017 College ROI Report by PayScale Inc., which tops all
16 engineering programs in the state of Louisiana; and
17 WHEREAS, McNeese won the 2015-2016 Southland Strong Community Service
18 Award that is presented to the SLC school whose student-athletes completed the most
19 service hours during the academic year; and
20 WHEREAS, McNeese won the 2014-2015 Southland Conference Academic
21 Performance Award for posting the best results among all schools on the NCAA Academic
22 Progress Rate covering all sports over a four-year period; and
23 WHEREAS, McNeese athletic teams won 11 regular Southland Conference season
24 championships and four Southland Conference tournament championships and McNeese
25 rodeo team members won three national individual rodeo championships; and
26 WHEREAS, Dr. Williams merits highest commendation for the indelible mark he
27 has left on McNeese State University and its students, faculty, and staff as a truly exemplary
28 educator and public servant.
29 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate does hereby commend Dr. Philip
30 C. Williams upon his retirement as president of McNeese State University and recognize and
Page 3 of 4 SR NO. 8
SLS 172ES-38 ORIGINAL
1 record his notable achievements and manifold contributions to the education community, his
2 students, the citizens of Lake Charles, and the state of Louisiana.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate does hereby wish Dr. Williams, his
4 wife, Sandra, and son, Grant, who has received both his bachelor's and master's from
5 McNeese, well on this next chapter of their lives.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Dr.
7 Philip C. Williams.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
SR 8 Original 2017 Second Extraordinary Session Johns
Commends Dr. Philip C. Williams upon his retirement as president of McNeese State
University.
Page 4 of 4