HLS 24RS-4223 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 121
BY REPRESENTATIVES TARVER, BOURRIAQUE, CARRIER, WILFORD CARTER,
FARNUM, GEYMANN, OWEN, AND ROMERO AND SENATORS REESE AND
STINE
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Dr. Daryl V. Burckel on the occasion of his retirement
as president of McNeese State University
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To commend Dr. Daryl V. Burckel on the occasion of his retirement as president of
3 McNeese State University.
4 WHEREAS, Daryl V. Burckel attended McNeese State University on a football
5scholarship; as the starting middle linebacker, he led the Cowboys to two Southland
6Conference championships and an appearance in the Independence Bowl; he was also
7recognized as the 1980 All-Southland Conference Defensive Most Valuable Player, and he
8received the Spirit of Independence Award following the bowl game; and
9 WHEREAS, Daryl was a gifted scholar, and he earned one of four national NCAA
10postgraduate academic scholarships; he graduated from McNeese with a bachelor's degree
11in accounting in 1980 and a master's degree in business administration in 1982; he then
12began his pursuit of a doctorate in accounting at Mississippi State University and graduated
13in 1986; and
14 WHEREAS, after completing his education, Dr. Burckel held faculty positions at
15McNeese State University, the University of New Orleans, and Mississippi State University;
16he returned to McNeese as a full-time faculty member in 1992 and became a professor of
17accounting and served as head of the McNeese Department of Accounting, Finance, and
18Economics; he also held the Arthur Hollins III Endowed Professorship of Accounting for
19many years; and
Page 1 of 3 HLS 24RS-4223 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 121
1 WHEREAS, Dr. Burckel has served as the seventh president of McNeese State
2University since July 1, 2017; as president, he set priorities and implemented initiatives to
3create a student-centric campus culture; he led the university through a tumultuous fourteen-
4month period that included the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, a
5severe winter storm, and a historically destructive flood; and
6 WHEREAS, under Dr. Burckel's leadership, the university reinforced its commitment
7to academic excellence and student success by streamlining the enrollment process, creating
8seamless pathways for transfer students, reinstating the Division of Student Affairs, reducing
9textbook costs, establishing a doctoral program in the College of Nursing and Health
10Professions, creating the Student Success Center, and forming the first science, engineering,
11and mathematics college in the state; and
12 WHEREAS, Dr. Burckel is very civically engaged; he has served as president and
13director of the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District Board, chairman of the board of
14directors for CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital, and chairman of the Southland Conference
15President's Group; he served on the board of directors for the Louisiana Housing
16Corporation, the Louisiana Land Trust, and Council for a Better Louisiana, and he currently
17sits on the board of directors for JD Bank; and
18 WHEREAS, Dr. Burckel is a veteran of Desert Storm and has achieved the rank of
19captain in the United States Army Reserves; and
20 WHEREAS, Dr. Daryl V. Burckel is a truly incredible individual whose many
21achievements warrant the highest measures of recognition.
22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
23commend Dr. Daryl V. Burckel on the occasion of his retirement from McNeese State
24University as its president; does hereby extend enduring appreciation to him for his service
25to McNeese State University, the state of Louisiana, and the United States; and does hereby
26extend sincerest wishes that he continue to prosper in all of his endeavors.
Page 2 of 3 HLS 24RS-4223 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 121
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)]
HCR 121 Original 2024 Regular Session Tarver
Commends Dr. Daryl Burckel on the occasion of his retirement from McNeese State
University.
Page 3 of 3