SLS 23RS-2677 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 182
BY SENATOR FOIL
CONDOLENCES. Expresses sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends
of James Coleman on the occasion of his passing.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express sincere and heartfelt condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
3 to the family and friends of James Coleman on the occasion of his passing.
4 WHEREAS, it is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the members of the
5 Legislature and the citizens of Louisiana have learned of the passing of James Malcolm
6 Coleman on May 20, 2023, at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and
7 WHEREAS, James Malcolm Coleman was born on November 19, 1935, in Vinton,
8 Louisiana, to Leo George Coleman and Clara Gaudet Coleman; and
9 WHEREAS, James Coleman earned his bachelor of science in geology in 1958, and
10 his doctorate in 1966, from Louisiana State University (LSU); and
11 WHEREAS, James' career of more than forty-five years was one of high scientific
12 and administrative achievement; he was a world expert on deltaic sedimentation and riverine
13 processes, and he was LSU's only member of the National Academy of Engineering; and
14 WHEREAS, as a graduate student, James began studying the Mississippi River delta
15 in the 1960s and with his background, extended his work through field research in
16 Malaysia's Klang River delta, Pakistan's Ganges-Brahmaputra River system, the Arctic delta,
17 and the Ord and Burdekin Rivers of Australia; and
18 WHEREAS, James directed an investigation of worldwide delta variability funded
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SLS 23RS-2677 ORIGINAL
1 by the Office of Naval Research and served as co-chief scientist on the 1988 Deep Sea
2 Drilling Project, Leg 96, in the Gulf of Mexico, and this project ultimately led to greater
3 exploration by petroleum companies for oil and gas in deep water fan deposits; and
4 WHEREAS, after his promotion to full professor in 1975, James accepted his first
5 administrative post, director for the Coastal Studies Institute; and
6 WHEREAS, from 1985 to 1989, James served as chair of the LSU Department of
7 Geology and Geophysics and head of the School of Geosciences, and from 1989 to 1997, he
8 served as LSU's executive vice chancellor; and
9 WHEREAS, in 1998, he retired from LSU and returned to the Coastal Studies
10 Institute as a Boyd Professor, LSU's highest academic rank which he received in 1980; and
11 WHEREAS, James earned many awards and prestigious honors during his career
12 including the Shepard Medal for Excellence in Marine Geology, the Outstanding Educator
13 Award from the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, the Russian Kaptisa Gold
14 Medal of Honor for contributions to petroleum sciences, and was elected to the Russian
15 Academy of Natural Sciences; and
16 WHEREAS, in 2000, James was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S.
17 Commission on Ocean Policy and served on Governor Bobby Jindal's Commission on
18 Coastal Restoration and Conservation; and
19 WHEREAS, James was invited to be a member of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa
20 Phi, an organization promoting academic excellence in all fields of higher education, was
21 a member of the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, and served as chairman of the board of the
22 American Red Cross; and
23 WHEREAS, James is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Travis Alexander
24 Coleman, their two children, Thomas Malcolm Coleman and Sarah Coleman Fletcher,
25 daughter-in-law, Patti Huck Coleman, and grandson, James Wesley Coleman.
26 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
27 does hereby express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the passing of James Malcolm
28 Coleman.
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
30 Travis Alexander Coleman.
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SLS 23RS-2677 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kathy Liberty.
DIGEST
SR 182 Original 2023 Regular Session Foil
Expresses sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of James Coleman on
the occasion of his passing.
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