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Southeastern to meet demand for campus housing
Southeastern will soon begin construction of two new student housing facilities to
meet growing demand for campus living options. The multi-faceted project is slated
to begin in June with residence halls move-in set for fall 2018.
“This project is the culmination of an internal goal to provide our students
with modern, tech-friendly living spaces,” said Vice President for Administration
and Finance Sam Domiano. “We are proud to be able to incorporate new facilities on
campus that will add to our on-campus housing offerings, enhance programming and benefit
our students for years to come.”
The approximate $36 million undertaking is being funded as a third party financing
project through University Facilities, Inc., an affiliate organization of the university.
Bonds are sold to secure funds, with rental fees and other housing and auxiliary revenues
used to secure the debt. The project is supported by self-generated revenues, and
is not funded with state dollars.
A unique feature of the facility will be the incorporation of a hybrid geothermal
system for heating and cooling – the first of its kind in the state. This system is
projected to reduce energy costs by more than 50 percent, and will also serve as a
learning laboratory for real world experiences for Southeastern students in various
disciplines.
The four-story buildings will be situated on the western side of campus north
of Texas Drive and feature 556 beds available in a mix of shared double and private
double semi-suites.
Designed with student programming in mind, community corner lounges for socializing,
as well as quiet study rooms will be located throughout the buildings. In addition,
multipurpose space will be provided on the first floor of each building. The configuration
of these rooms, and the integrated technology, is intended to house classes, as well
host various social, entertainment, and other educational events.
The northernmost building will include a retail food venue on the first floor
that will be accessible from within the building and also from a north entrance. It
will include seating for up to 50 people. The south building will have a technology
enhanced living/learning classroom space capable of seating up to 40. Wireless card
readers will replace keys to enhance security, providing secure building and individual
room entry.
Zachary Taylor Hall will remain in use until the completion of construction of
the two new residence halls. The full project encompasses several phases and includes
the development of green space, configuration of parking lots, paving of walkways
and the addition of adjacent plaza areas.
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Southeastern temporarily closes area to pedestrians due to construction
As construction progresses this week on Southeastern’s new Computer Science and Technology
Building, additional space surrounding the project will be required to perform necessary
work.
In the interest of safety for passers-by, as well those working, the corner of
North Oak and West Dakota streets, from Ned McGehee Dr. south to West Dakota St. and
from North Pine St. east to North Oak St., will be closed to pedestrian traffic through
Monday, July 31.
Pedestrians are asked to use Ned McGehee Dr. and North Pine St. as a detour to
avoid the construction area.
For more information, contact Chris Asprion at 549-3333 or chris.asprion@southeastern.edu.
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Community Music School names Outstanding Musicians
Southeastern’s Community Music School announced Kathleen “Kate” Rush, Brennan Saenz
and Elijah “Eli” Strain as the Spring 2017 CMS Outstanding Musicians.
The Outstanding Musicians were chosen by audience votes during the final three
spring 2017 recitals. All three students are violinists from the studio of Community
Music School Director Jivka Duke. Saenz won the vote on the Tuesday, May 9 recital,
Rush had the highest number of votes from the recital on May 11, and Strain won the
vote of the Friday, May 12 recital.
“We congratulate our Spring 17 CMS Outstanding Musicians, as well as the other
45 young musicians who performed beautifully at the recitals, Duke said. “We are excited
to share our students’ accomplishments with the community as we have big hopes and
dreams for all of them.”
Rush lives in Covington and is an eighth grade student at Archbishop Hannan High
School. She has studied violin for eight-and-a-half years, but her accomplishments
don’t end with the violin, Duke said. Apart from her perfect scores on the English
and Reading sections of the ACT, Rush has had leading and major roles in drama and
musical theatre productions, and she recently co-piloted her first flight as a Cadet
Airman in the Civil Air Patrol. She is the president of her class and has been named
the 8th grade private school student of the year for the State of Louisiana.
Saenz was born in Seattle, Wash., and his first language was Mandarin, Chinese.
He currently lives in Mandeville and is a third grade student at Magnolia Trace Elementary
in Mandeville. Saenz has been playing violin for a little over two years and piano
for one year. He received the highest score at the Community Music School’s Spring
Festival in March of 2017, where he played both the violin and the piano.
Strain lives in Slidell and just finished fifth grade at Lake Harbor Middle School.
He has studied violin for four years. Strain also plays the piano and recently placed
first in the “Level I” category of the District Piano Rally. He also loves to sing
and hopes to be a star on Broadway someday, Duke said.
We are looking forward to the summer programs taking place the last two weeks
of June,” Duke added. “The Summer Band Camp as well as the Chamber Music, Guitar and
Orchestra workshops are still accepting registrations.”
“Due to the generous sponsorship of First Guaranty Bank, the CMS will once again
offer discounted tuition to students who are on reduced of free lunch at their schools,”
Duke said.
For more information about CMS summer programs and general registration, call
549-5502, or visit the CMS website at www.southeastern.edu/cms.
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Southeastern hosts children’s summer art workshop
Southeastern’s Department of Non-Credit Programs is sponsoring an art workshop this
summer for youths between the ages of 5-13.
Titled Children’s Art Workshop: Art by Design, the workshop spans eight days,
running July 10-20, Mondays - Thursdays, from 9:30-11 a.m. daily. Sessions will take
place on Southeastern’s campus in Clark Hall, located at 811 N. Pine Street in Hammond.
The $65 registration fee includes instruction and art supplies.
Instruction incorporates drawing and painting, which also includes learning about
inspiring famous artists. All students will complete a t-shirt design, model magic
sculpture and printmaking project.
Sessions are led by Southeastern art students under the direction of Professor
Kim Finley-Stansbury from the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. Space in the
camp is limited.
Payment and registration information are available online at www.southeastern.edu/noncredit.
For more information, call 549-2094.
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Southeastern student recognized with Gold Circle Award
The editor of the Southeastern’s 2016 yearbook, “Le Souvenir,” has been honored with
a Gold Circle Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York.
Tamara Alexander, a senior kinesiology major from Baton Rouge, received a third
place certificate for her page design and content featuring the university football
team. The pages showcased photos taken by Alexander, and other student staff photographers,
that were captured during the 2015 football season.
“I chose the pictures for the football spread in a way where I hoped we could
cover every aspect of football, such as defensive players, offensive players and special
teams,” said Alexander. “When we chose pictures to focus on the whole team, we had
a different variety and not just the same players in every picture.”
Alexander led a team of five student designers who worked on the yearbook.
In addition to working with “Le Souvenir,” Alexander holds a number of leadership
roles on campus. She is currently serving as the president of the Pi Iota chapter
of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and has served as the Vice President of the National
Pan-Hellenic Council for Southeastern. She is also a member of Order of Omega and
has consistently been named to the Honor Roll, Dean’s List, and President’s List.
Alexander has served as a Golden Girl and videographer for the university football
team and expects to graduate in the fall with a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology.
She plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in kinesiology.
“Tamara has consistently grown in her leadership, photography, and design abilities
during her time as a member of the staff,” said Dr. Lee. E. Lind, director of Student
Publications. “She has given ‘Le Souvenir’ a unique look and provided the community
with lasting memories in her photography and page design. We are very proud of her
recognition with this national award because it reaffirms that the skills Tamara has
developed here will serve her well after her graduation from Southeastern.”
The 34th annual Gold Circle Awards attracted more than 4,000 entries produced
by students at colleges, universities and secondary schools throughout the United
States. Judges cited a total of over 1,200 awards for either First, Second, or Third
Place or for Certificates of Merit for those deemed worthy of honorable mention.
The CSPA is an international student press association, founded in 1925, uniting
student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational
conference, idea exchanges and awards programs.
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University website refresh complete
The university’s southeastern.edu website launched a new look last month. The refresh
focused on two important areas: student recruitment and responsive design.
The homepage and many of the main pages, including Admissions, Academics, Campus
Life, About and News, now feature new looks, layout and content with improved mobile
responsiveness on any size device. The main homepage focuses on showcasing our campus
culture of excellence and caring to future Lions.
Currents students, faculty and staff have a new home on our updated site. The
My Den landing page features quick links to everything you need in one place - plus
campus news, events and announcements.
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Southeastern hosts advanced academics symposium for IB students
More than 20 students attending International Baccularete high schools throughout
the state participated in “Academic Celebration: A Symposium for Advanced Academics”
held on the Southeastern campus last week. It was the first such function held in
the Gulf South.
“The symposium was intended to prepare rising juniors in high school for advanced
academic courses, such as those offered through the IB Program,” explained program
director Cherissa Vitter, who coordinates Southeastern’s program designed to prepare
IB teachers. The Southeastern program, based in the Department of Teaching and Learning,
is the only one in the Gulf South.
Students participating in the program were accepted after a rigorous application
process, Vitter explained.
Participating in the program was Heather Michael, a doctoral candidate at Columbia
University, who wrote the curriculum for the symposium and spoke at the event.
At the conclusion of the academic symposium, students presented summaries of their
research in poster board presentations to Southeastern faculty, sponsors and family
members.
In addition to Southeastern, sponsors for the event included the United Way, City
of Hammond, First Guaranty Bank, Chick-fil-A, Nolan Steward Salon, Subway, Dancing
as One, the Teacher Development Lab and several individuals: Elizabeth Reno, Greg
Drude, Mike Lofaso, Tom Pistorius and William Davis.
 IB STUDENT SYMPOSIUM – Serenity Lewis, right, a junior at the International High School of New Orleans, explains
her research presentation on mental illness to Southeastern IB Coordinator Cherissa
Vitter, left, and Heather Michael, curriculum director for the Symposium for Advanced
Academics held last week on the Southeastern campus. More than 20 high school students
from advanced studies programs around the state participated in the three-day program.
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