2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 23
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
A RESOLUTION
To commend and congratulate Gloria Nye, PhD upon her induction into the St. Landry
Parish Democratic Party Hall of Fame.
WHEREAS, Gloria Nye was born on March 31, 1943, to Gloria Birkholtz and Harry
Geise in LaPorte, Indiana, and she graduated from McArthur High School in West
Hollywood, Florida; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Nye was raised on a farm in LaPorte County, Indiana, and from
that rural, agricultural beginning, she has traveled across the country and, indeed, around the
world teaching and using her considerable skills in research and administration at
universities around the nation; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Nye earned her bachelor's degree from Sonoma State University in
California in political economics with a concentration in foreign trade and economic
development, and her master's degree from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Nye earned her PhD at Louisiana State University in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana in educational leadership and research and her doctoral dissertation and
attendant research, entitled "Mentoring to Build Diversity in the University Community",
received two Athena awards, national awards given for professional excellence, community
service, and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and
leadership skills; and
WHEREAS, at Louisiana State University, Dr. Nye was research and development
coordinator for the Center for Energy and her proposal to Louisiana then-Senator John
Breaux which became the University of Louisiana Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette,
Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Nye moved to the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
in St. Landry Parish, which closed in 2012 due to cuts in funding in higher education, but
Page 1 of 3 SR NO. 23 ENROLLED
her commitment to St. Landry Parish ended her academic wanderings and she and her family
firmly planted their roots in the lush Louisiana soil; and
WHEREAS, in St. Landry Parish, Dr. Nye became a member of the Rotary Club of
Opelousas in 2008, and for the year 2013-2014 she was honored with the "Rotarian of the
Year" award for initiating the organization's electronic newsletter, which was named Rotary
District 6200 Best Newsletter of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Nye established the Rotary Club of Opelousas' web page and has
served as the club's secretary and currently serves on the board of directors as
president-elect; and
WHEREAS, Gloria Nye has also been designated a "Paul Harris Fellow" which is
an honor given to Rotarians who support the Rotary Foundation for worldwide polio
eradication, clean water projects, and other humanitarian efforts to promote world peace and
understanding; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her remarkable accomplishments through the Rotary Club
of Opelousas and Rotary International, Dr. Nye has also worked tirelessly for an
organization named "Court Appointed Special Advocates" or CASA, which assists children,
often in foster parent situations, many of whom have been abused and neglected, to have a
lay person mentor and attend court with them, and the organization strives to bring light to
the distressing need for foster parents in the Louisiana court system; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, Gloria Nye brought her most important civic and social causes
together by organizing the Rotary Club's first annual donation of Christmas gifts for CASA
children, a program that has continued since, and in 2014 she received the CASA Board
Member of the Year award for the entire state of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Nye and her husband John have two sons, two daughters, and a
granddaughter who lives with them and is attending college; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Gloria Nye and her family have endowed undergraduate academic
scholarships at the University of Delaware and Purdue University, and have pledged two
more endowments for Louisiana State University, one of which honors of Dr. Martin Luther
King; and
WHEREAS, while these are merely a small sample of the generous deeds that have
Page 2 of 3 SR NO. 23 ENROLLED
been accomplished by Dr. Nye, her life has included deep commitments to family, academia,
community, and to bringing better opportunities to children who are dealing with difficult
issues in their young lives every day; and
WHEREAS, as a nonnative Louisianian, Gloria Nye came to this state and to St.
Landry Parish with a wealth of knowledge and experiences from across this country, all of
which strengthened the foundation for the selfless work that she has committed to in her city
and parish for which the entire parish and state are richer and kinder, and St. Landry Parish
has been fortunate enough to count her as an asset and a treasure; and
WHEREAS, the St. Landry Democratic Parish Executive Committee annually names
persons of high ethical and moral character who have promoted the principles of
constitutional equality, personal liberty, economic opportunity, and government and fiscal
responsibility whose impact has positively influenced the entire parish and the state; and
WHEREAS, the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, who is then considered to
be a member of the St. Landry Democratic Party Hall of Fame, is also a person who
recognizes and respects the diversity of all Americans and promotes the common unity of
all, leading her political party and displaying strong leadership throughout her career; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Nye has demonstrated a devotion to all of these principles of the St.
Landry Democratic Party with a lifetime of efforts in the academic arena and through social
services focused on children, championing the principles, especially the opportunities and
lives of the most vulnerable, that are so essential to the ideals of American democracy.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and congratulate Gloria Nye, PhD upon her induction into the St.
Landry Parish Democratic Party Hall of Fame.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Gloria Nye, PhD.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
Page 3 of 3