HLS 23RS-995 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 81
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHEAT
COMMENDAT IONS: Commends Dr. John L. Crain on the occasion of his retirement as
president of Southeastern Louisiana University
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Dr. John L. Crain on the occasion of his retirement as president of
3 Southeastern Louisiana University.
4 WHEREAS, on February 17, 2009, the Board of Supervisors for the University of
5Louisiana System appointed Dr. John L. Crain the fourteenth president of Southeastern
6Louisiana University (SLU), and at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, Dr. Crain will
7retire from the university as one of its longest serving and most successful presidents; and
8 WHEREAS, Dr. Crain was very much a Southeastern insider when he was appointed
9as president, having received his bachelor's degree (accounting, 1981) and his master of
10business administration (1984) from SLU and spent his academic career there; prior to
11becoming president, Dr. Crain served as a member of the accounting faculty, director of the
12Small Business Development Center, and provost and vice president for academic affairs;
13and
14 WHEREAS, Dr. Crain's exemplary academic accomplishments include authoring
15more that fifty refereed journal articles, receiving the President's Award for Excellence in
16Research, which is the university's highest faculty award, and service on the Louisiana Blue
17Ribbon Commission on Educational Excellence and the Board of Regents Master Plan
18National Advisory Panel Workgroup on Retention and Completion; and
19 WHEREAS, Dr. Crain's tenure as president was no doubt marked by numerous daily
20challenges of types that would be faced by the head of any large institution, but in his
21fourteen years at the helm, he also had to manage the university's response to crises that no
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HR NO. 81
1one could have foreseen, including several years of sizable state budget reductions stemming
2in part from a major national economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hurricane Ida,
3which passed directly over the campus and did substantial damage to the Hammond campus;
4and
5 WHEREAS, throughout it all, Dr. Crain did more than simply keeping the university
6afloat; he managed to oversee major facility improvements, including completion of the new
7student union and new residential facilities, the launch of several new academic programs
8and new academic support and campus life initiatives, some unprecedented successes in
9Lion athletics, and significant expansion of the Southeastern Foundation; and
10 WHEREAS, nothing is more important to the health and happiness of the citizens of
11the great state of Louisiana than individuals who invest their considerable personal talent in
12the service of the public good; Dr. John Crain has spent his professional career, including
13his tenure as president of Southeastern Louisiana University, making just that investment,
14and it is appropriate that the state should take this opportunity to recognize and honor him.
15 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
16Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Dr. John L. Crain on the occasion of his
17retirement as president of Southeastern Louisiana University; does hereby record for
18posterity some of his notable accomplishments and honorable service to the state; and does
19hereby express its sincerest hope that he continue to find success and fulfillment in the next
20chapter of his life.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 81 Original 2023 Regular Session Wheat
Commends Dr. John L. Crain on the occasion of his retirement as president of Southeastern
La. University.
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