SLS 19RS-571 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 25
BY SENATOR CHABERT
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Dr. Christopher F. D'Elia, the dean of LSU's College of
the Coast and Environment, on receiving the Wes Tunnell Lifetime Recognition for Gulf
Science and Conservation.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Dr. Christopher F. D'Elia upon being named the first recipient of the Wes
3 Tunnell Lifetime Recognition for Gulf Science and Conservation by the Gulf of
4 Mexico University Research Collaborative.
5 WHEREAS, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
6 (LSU) has a coastal legacy dating back nearly a century and is at the forefront of coastal and
7 environmental discoveries and research on every continent; and
8 WHEREAS, more than two hundred faculty equip about one thousand graduates per
9 year with the multidisciplinary tools needed to solve vital coastal issues; and
10 WHEREAS, LSU is a globally-renowned leader in educating the coastal workforce
11 and provides a gold standard for coastal and environmental expertise; and
12 WHEREAS, LSU's College of the Coast and Environment is the only college within
13 the university in which the sole focus is the coast and environment, and in which its tenured
14 and tenure-track faculty have the highest per capita research funding at LSU; and
15 WHEREAS, the College of the Coast and Environment has the highest percentage
16 of undergraduates participating in mentored research within LSU; and
17 WHEREAS, the college's Coastal Environmental Science program reports that one
18 hundred percent of its undergraduates acquire employment or acceptance into graduate or
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SLS 19RS-571 ORIGINAL
1 professional programs within two months of graduation; and
2 WHEREAS, Dr. Christopher F. D'Elia, the LSU's longest-serving dean, served as
3 professor and dean of the College of the Coast and Environment since 2009, and has brought
4 passion, experience, and leadership to his position; and
5 WHEREAS, during his tenure, Dr. D'Elia expanded the School of the Coast and
6 Environment into a college and established an award-winning outreach program for
7 underserved students from Scotlandville Magnet High School; and
8 WHEREAS, he has performed outstanding community service in more than twenty
9 professional and outreach organizations, has held numerous research grants, and has
10 authored or coauthored more than sixty scientific publications on the nutrient dynamics of
11 estuaries and coral reefs, science policy and energy, and environment; and
12 WHEREAS, Dr. Christopher F. D'Elia was recently recognized for his lifetime of
13 dedication and achievement in support of a healthy and sustainable Gulf of Mexico
14 environment and economy by the Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative which
15 honored him as the first recipient of the Wes Tunnell Lifetime Recognition for Gulf Science
16 and Conservation.
17 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
18 does hereby commend and congratulate Dr. Christopher F. D'Elia for his lifetime of
19 dedication and achievement in support of a healthy and sustainable Gulf of Mexico
20 environment and economy, and upon being named the first recipient of the Wes Tunnell
21 Lifetime Recognition for Gulf Science and Conservation by the Gulf of Mexico University
22 Research Collaborative.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to LSU
24 System President F. King Alexander and Dr. Christopher F. D'Elia.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alan Miller.
DIGEST
SR 25 Original 2019 Regular Session Chabert
Commends Christopher F. D'Elia upon being named the first recipient of the Wes Tunnell
Lifetime Recognition for Gulf Science and Conservation by the Gulf of Mexico University
Research Collaborative.
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