ENROLLED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 153
BY REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER
A RESOLUTION
To designate May 15, 2023, as Southern University Day at the state capitol.
WHEREAS, the Southern University System welcomed new leadership by naming
Dennis J. Shields as president of the Southern University System and chancellor of its
flagship, Southern University and A&M College; and
WHEREAS, under President-Chancellor Shields' leadership, which is grounded in
more than forty years of higher education experience, each Southern University campus
continues to advance, support, and promote economic, cultural, and workforce development
initiatives that bring benefits beyond the borders of the great state of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, students and faculty from throughout the Southern University System
are hosting their first "Research in the Rotunda" at the Louisiana state capitol where they
will share exceptional work and discovery that is transformative and meaningful for teaching
and learning; and
WHEREAS, Southern University and A&M College, a Carnegie Research 2
institution with high research activity, celebrates one hundred forty-three years of academic
and social progress, producing distinguished alumni such as recent Medal of Freedom
honoree Colonel Paris Davis (retired), who received the honor from President Joe Biden in
March 2023; and
WHEREAS, Southern continues to serve communities through various programs,
including its school of nursing partnership with the Ochsner Health System to create Jag
Mobile, a thirty-eight foot, state-of-the-art custom mobile health unit that provides services
to medically underserved communities within a fifty mile radius of the Baton Rouge
campus; and
Page 1 of 3 HR NO. 153 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, the Southern University Law Center celebrates seventy-five years of
opening doors for legal professionals; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Chancellor John K. Pierre, the Law Center
continues to thrive as a progressive and transformational legal education institution that
provides access and opportunity to its students and community through trending
programming and experiential learning; and
WHEREAS, Southern University at New Orleans will begin its bachelor of science
in Cybersecurity program in Fall 2023 to support Louisiana's initiative for a cyber workforce
and contribute a culturally representative STEM workforce in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Southern University at New Orleans has taken critical steps to support
community mental wellness by establishing a grief and trauma center on its campus and
student mental wellness with the establishment of its counseling center and ZEN Room; and
WHEREAS, Southern University at Shreveport celebrated fifty-five years of
providing an accessible, excellent educational experience to students and programming for
its surrounding community; and
WHEREAS, Southern University at Shreveport unveiled the Roy Griggs School of
Business that is advancing the institution's academic and workforce priorities by helping to
close the gap in the region and assisting in business retention and expansion efforts; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Board of Regents has approved more than ten new
academic programs at Southern University at Shreveport, including Airframe Technology
and Teaching (Grades 1-5); and
WHEREAS, the Southern University Ag Center's Mobile Education & Technology
Center can travel across the state of Louisiana to bring internet access, hands on testing, and
live instruction to the most marginalized areas and remote corners of the state; and
WHEREAS, the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Science's
Environmental Toxicology Ph.D. program is the only program of its kind in Louisiana,
offering four areas of specialization in chemical and biochemical toxicology, cellular and
molecular biology, developmental biology, material science, and bioinformatics; and
Page 2 of 3 HR NO. 153 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, the Southern University Laboratory School celebrated its one hundredth
anniversary of providing K-12 education and serving as a training program for effective
teaching methodologies; the Laboratory School has excelled in both academics and athletics
throughout its history.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate Monday, May 15, 2023, as Southern
University Day at the state capitol and does hereby acknowledge the invaluable contributions
this institution has made to the state of Louisiana
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Page 3 of 3