Homecoming Week is here Southeastern will celebrate Homecoming this week with a myriad of spirited activities
capped by tailgating, reunions, a parade and football action in Strawberry Stadium. With a theme of “Once Upon a Homecoming,” Homecoming 2017 is being sponsored
by Hammond Square, with the Southeastern Student Government Association sponsoring
all student-related activities. The week culminates with Homecoming Day Saturday,
Oct. 7, when the Lions take on Incarnate Word at 4 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. Homecoming Week will offer a number of time-honored traditions, such as Gumbo
YaYa for students, campus and community decorating contests, an alumni art exhibit,
and the FeLions’ Homecoming luncheon. Also, there are several new additions to the
Homecoming calendar, including a student kick-ball tournament, campus landmark scavenger
hunt and a “construction” competition in which structures are built using non-perishable
food item donations. The celebration begins on Monday with Business Week, Oct. 2-5, which features
a variety of lectures by specialists in numerous phases of business. The National
Pan-Hellenic Council Black Family Reunion will cap off the day on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
in the Student Union Mall. On Tuesday, Oct. 3, the action begins at 2 p.m. when students and faculty battle
it out in the Phi Kappa Phi Quiz Bowl in the Student Union Theatre. Tuesday evening
is also “Give Back Night” at LaCarreta, where a portion of the sales generated from
loyal Lion fans from 5 – 9 p.m. will be donated to the Alumni Association. On Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., students will enjoy free food and
fun on campus at Gumbo YaYa, where the 2017 Homecoming court will be introduced to
the student body. Also on tap at 12 p.m. is the annual Lyceum Lights faculty lecture in the Student
Union Ballroom C, featuring Southeastern Associate Professor of Counseling June Williams.
Williams will present “Person to Person: Retaining the Personal in an Online Environment.”
Also at noon is an Alumni Art Lecture by Dillon Raborn of Baton Rouge in the Contemporary
Art Gallery. At 7:30 p.m. that evening the student competition “Minute to Win It” will be
held in Strawberry Stadium. On Thursday, Oct. 5, the FeLions will host their Homecoming luncheon at The Mezzanine
in downtown Hammond at 11:30 a.m. Thursday evening kicks into gear at 6:30 p.m. at Cook Field on North Campus next
to the Alumni Center with a bonfire, pep rally and Roar Rally spirit competition sponsored
by SGA. Spectators can also enjoy music by the Spirit of the Southland Band, followed
by a Lip Sync contest for students at 8:30 p.m. in the University Center. Thursday will also feature a Lady Lion Volleyball match scheduled at 6 p.m. in
the University Center. The Southeastern Pennington Student Activity Center will be offering free workouts
for alumni all day Friday and Saturday. Also, the Alumni Association will host its annual Alumni Awards Evening Friday
at 6 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. Tickets for the event, sponsored by the Edwards
and Stevens Law Firm, are available at the Alumni Association or at 549-2150.
William T. Cefalu, M.D., chief scientific, medical and mission officer for the
American Diabetes Association (ADA) and a 1975 zoology graduate of Southeastern, will
be recognized as Alumnus of the Year, while Chuck Toney, owner and operator of The
Toney Law Office, LLC in New Orleans, will be honored as the Young Alumnus of the
Year. In addition, the African-American Alumni Chapter will host its annual Homecoming
mixer beginning at 9 p.m. in the Alumni Center. On Homecoming Day, Oct. 7, the focus shifts to Friendship Circle, where visitors
can enjoy tailgating, reunions and entertainment starting at 12 p.m. There will be
booths manned by area merchants and activities for children that include a variety
of crafts, face painting, mobile video game units and inflatables. Attendees are asked
to leave pets at home. Southeastern donors who have endowed scholarships and professorships will be
honored at 10 a.m. in the President’s Residence. The campus bookstore will open at
11 a.m. The annual Homecoming parade rolls at 12 p.m. Following the parade, Lion fans
can cheer on Head Coach Ron Roberts and his team during the “Lion Walk” as they make
their way through Friendship Circle to Strawberry Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Reunions and tailgating will be hosted by many of the university’s colleges and
divisions, as well as by groups such as the Former Football Players, ROTC, and Greek
organizations. The Alumni Association tailgate will take place in Friendship Circle
from 12 – 3:30 p.m. and is sponsored by Hammond Square, with food and drink sponsored
by Fleur de Lis Title, Payment Solutions, Inc. and Gnarly Barley. After pre-game activities, the Lions will kick off against Incarnate Word at
4 p.m. The 2017 Homecoming queen and king will be announced and crowned at halftime. Immediately after the game, the Greater Hammond Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown
Development District will host “Railroad Roar,” an evening of dining and entertainment
with specials offered by participating area businesses. For more information, call
the Greater Hammond Chamber at 345-4457. For a complete schedule of Homecoming 2017 events, visit www.southeastern.edu/homecoming or call the Alumni Center, 1-800-SLU-ALUM or 549-2150.
 HOMECOMING SPONSOR - Southeastern celebrates Homecoming Week, Oct. 1 – 7, with a theme of “Once Upon
a Homecoming.” Hammond Square is sponsoring this year’s Homecoming festivities. From
left are Charlotte Lyons with Stirling Properties/Hammond Square, Roomie the Lion,
Claire Draper of Stirling Properties/Hammond Square and Executive Director of Alumni
Relations Michelle Biggs.
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Southeastern launches new scholarships to attract high achieving students Southeastern has launched a new aggressive scholarship program aimed at rewarding
students for high achievement in high school. “Southeastern’s first and foremost priority is student success. These new
scholarship parameters and their generous aid offerings are designed to applaud those
students who achieved academic success in high school and will continue their success
at Southeastern,” said President John L. Crain. The new Priority Scholarships will be automatically awarded to all qualifying
students who apply to the university by Jan. 15, 2018. To apply for the new Priority
Scholarships, students need only apply to Southeastern for fall 2018. A student’s
application to the university serves as his or her application for the scholarship.
All students who qualify will receive the additional aid from the scholarships. The new annual scholarship awards are as follows: an ACT score of 30 or higher
and a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better, $7,000; ACT score of 27 – 29 and
a GPA of 3.5 – 4.0, $5,750 or a GPA of 3.0 to 3.49, $5,250; ACT score of 24 – 26 and
a GPA of 3.5 – 4.0, $3,500 or a GPA of 3.0 – 3.49, $3,000; ACT score of 23 and a GPA
of 3.5 or higher, $1,000. “Southeastern has always been a student-centered university. Our focus on
providing a caring environment with a second-to-none education is our hallmark,” said
Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management Kay Maurin. “These new scholarships
reward high achieving students with what amounts to a significant discount on their
college education.” Earlier this year, the university launched the Southeastern Promise to give
committed students a clear path to completing their degrees in four years, while locking
in their tuition rates against future increases. “Pairing these scholarships with signing on to the Southeastern Promise
will give students a top-level education at a great value,” said Maurin. Southeastern has been named in several lists for top value in higher education,
as well as among the top 50 colleges in the country for the financial aid packages
it offers to its students. These new initiatives further increase the value proposition for prospective
new students, Maurin added. For more information on these and other scholarships, contact the Office of Financial
Aid at 549-2244 or visit the website southeastern.edu/scholarships.
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Southeastern Dance Performance Project to present DanceInterwoven Southeastern’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts’ dance company, Dance Performance
Project, will present a concert in October. DanceInterwoven: A Night of Improvisational Dance and Music is scheduled Oct. 10
at 6:30 p.m. Part of Fanfare, the university’s fall arts festival, the concert will
begin outside of Pottle Auditorium. Director of Dance Keith “Skip” Costa said Southeastern’s resident improvisation dance
company will again present an exclusive concert of improvisation and performance. “The event will begin outside of the Pottle Music Building and will evolve into
a night of live music and dance ending inside on the Pottle stage,” he said. Dancers performing in the concert include Allison Mims of Pearl River, Brianna Denmark
of Denham Springs, Morgan Georgetown of Baker, Amanda Riviere of Laplace, Doreen Rolen
of Amite, Hayley Jordan of Baton Rouge, Amber Whiteside of Covington, Sean Gilvey
of Mandeville, Michaela Thanars of Slidell, Kayla Coston and Joseph Matherne of Hammond,
John Duplantier of Madisonville, Ashley Barbarin of White Castle, and Alaura Cervini
of Metairie. Tickets to the 60-minute concert are $8 for students, seniors and children and $10
general admission and will be available one hour prior to the performance in the Pottle
lobby. For more information, contact Costa at Keith.Costa@southeastern.edu.
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Cast chosen for Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre Workshop's ‘A Night on Broadway’ Southeastern’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop will present “A Night on Broadway” Thursday,
Oct. 5. Scheduled at 7:30 p.m., at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown
Hammond, the performance is part of Fanfare, the university’s annual fall festival
for the arts, humanities and social sciences. Instead of a full scale opera, explained Charles Effler, director of the Opera/Music
Theatre Workshop, this year’s presentation consists of Broadway solo songs and ensembles
set to the music of a live, on-stage orchestra. Advance tickets are available at the Columbia Theatre box office Monday through
Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will also be available one hour prior to the performance.
Ticket prices are $21 for adults; $18 for seniors, Southeastern faculty/staff and
non-Southeastern students; and $8 for children 12 and under. Southeastern students
are admitted free of charge with their university ID. “The most exciting thing about this concert of Broadway songs is the wide variety
of shows that the songs are drawn from,” Effler said. “We have a song from an early
classic Broadway show, ‘Showboat,’ which opened in 1927, we have songs from shows
that opened in this century, and just about and everything in between! There’s something
for everybody.” Included in the production are Broadway songs from “Sunday in the Park with George,”
“Ragtime,” “Sweeney Todd,” “The Adam’s Family,” “Carousel,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Les
Miserables,” “Gypsy,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Man of La Mancha,” “Kiss Me Kate,” and
more. Opera Workshop welcomes back guest stage director Alton Geno for this production.
In addition to a long career as a performer, choreographer, and director in New Orleans
and around the country, Geno directed Opera Workshop’s sold out-performances of “Sweeney
Todd,” as well as productions of “The Light in the Piazza,” “South Pacific,” “The
Wizard of Oz” and “The Music Man.” The cast for the production includes Deondra Bell, Sara Cage and Jason Lane of
Baton Rouge; Jody Bennett of Houston; Alexandria Bowers of Ponchatoula; Carley Duet
of Cut Off; Christina Duffaut and Cheyenne Moore of Slidell; Jessica Dunlap of Walker;
Randi Gaspard and Kaylin Guillory of Covington; Alfred Harper of New Orleans; Provence
Hatfield of Amite; Jeanetta Johnson of Bogalusa; Elizabeth Langely and Vivian McConnell
of Mandeville; Anne Lebranche of Abita Springs; Wesley Newton of Bourg; Cody Sires
of Chalmette; Hannah Turner of Central; and Haylee Zeringue, Prairieville. Effler will serve as musical director and conductor, and Department of Fine and
Performing Arts faculty member Benjamin Norman is designing the lighting. For more information about the Opera/Music Theatre Workshop contact Effler at
ceffler@southeastern.edu.
REHEARSING FOR A NIGHT ON BROADWAY - Southeastern students rehearse for Opera/Music Theatre Workshop's production of
“A Night on Broadway.” From left are Wesley Newton, Jody Bennett, Jason Lane, Cody
Sires and Alfred Harper.
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SGA to lead service project during Homecoming Week Southeastern’s Student Government Association is conducting a community service project
during Homecoming Week, Oct. 1 – 7, to benefit recent hurricane relief efforts. “The Southeastern Student Government Association is working with our University
of Louisiana System sister institutions to help the thousands in Florida, Texas and
Puerto Rico who have been affected by these tragedies,” said SGA President Seth Leto.
“As Southeastern students and as Lions, it is the least we can do to help our neighbors
in need, especially with so many of our own Lion family having experienced loss themselves
from past hurricanes and flooding.” To help those affected by the hurricanes, SGA is seeking the following items:
brooms, masks, totes, shovels, box cutters, gloves, water, bleach, paper towels, garbage
bags, tarps, and sponges. Community members can donate hurricane relief items to the Office of Student
Engagement, located in Student Union, room 2307, or at the following Homecoming Week
events: Homecoming Kickoff, The Black Family Reunion, Movie Night, Gumba Ya Ya, Minute
to Win It, and the Lip Sync contest. For a complete list of event locations and times,
please go to southeastern.edu/homecoming. For more information, contact SGA at 549-2296.
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Alumni Association honors distinguished graduates from academic colleges The Southeastern Alumni Association will honor a distinguished alumnus from each
of the university’s five colleges at its annual Alumni Awards Evening scheduled Oct.
6 as part of Homecoming Week festivities. This year’s honorees are A.J. Bodker, College of Education; Barbara Forrest,
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Eugene R. London Jr., College of
Science and Technology; Monica Nijoka, College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and
Robert Yarborough, College of Business. Executive Director of Alumni Relations Michelle Biggs said the award recognizes
graduates with unique accomplishments on a national or international level who continue
to utilize their degree from Southeastern to the fullest. A limited number of tickets
for the 7 p.m. event are available by calling the Alumni Association at 1-800-SLU-ALUM.
More information about this and other Southeastern Homecoming Week activities can
be found online at www.southeastern.edu/homecoming. Bodker is a 1952 graduate with a degree in elementary education. A lifelong citizen
of Ponchatoula, Bodker was a teacher and principal at Ponchatoula High School for
more than 35 years. After his retirement, he became a supervisor of student teachers.
Bodker has served on the North Oaks Health System’s Board of Commissioners for 12
years and now volunteers his time on the newly established North Oaks Foundation Board. A 1974 graduate with a degree in English and a current professor of philosophy
at Southeastern, Forrest is the co-author with Paul R. Gross of “Creationism’s Trojan
Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design,” which details the political and religious
aims of the intelligent design creationist movement. She has authored and co-authored
numerous articles in both academic and popular publications. In 2005, Forrest served
as an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the first legal case involving intelligent
design, which resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. She is a recipient
of Southeastern’s President Award for Excellence in Research, one of the university’s
highest honors for faculty and staff. A 1984 graduate with a degree in computer science, London serves as the president
of Systems Integration / Modeling & Simulation, Inc., and is a resident of Tullahoma,
Tenn. His leadership placed SIM&S on the path toward $50 million in annual receipts.
London has been recognized as Tullahoma Citizen of the Year, is the recipient of the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Citizen Award, and the city of Lucedale, Miss., awarded him
the Key to the City for his efforts in Mississippi during the post-Katrina rebuild.
An avid supporter of youth advancing their education, he is committed to providing
mentoring and intern opportunities for students interested in STEM centric fields.
He also rewards academic achievement through his investment in a scholarship honoring
his mother, the Doris A London Memorial Scholarship. Njoka, chief nursing officer of Baton Rouge General Hospital, is a 1977 graduate
of Southeastern with a degree in nursing. Previously she served as chief nursing officer
at the NeuroMedical Center in Baton Rouge. She has been honored by the Louisiana State
Nursing Association (LSNA) as Nurse Administrator of the Year and as a Woman of Achievement
by the Zonta Club. During her time at Baton Rouge General, she led the hospital to
three consecutive LSNA Hospital of the Year awards. CEO and co-owner of Manda Fine Meats, Yarborough is a 1974 Southeastern graduate
with a degree in marketing. He is the president of the Louisiana Grocers Manufacturers
Representatives Association, serves on the board of directors for Business First Bank,
and has served on the boards of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and Greater Baton
Rouge Boys and Girls Club. He was named Business Hall of Fame Laureate in 2017 by
“Baton Rouge Business Report” and received the “Mama Marion” Award from the Baton
Rouge Epicurean Society for service to the Baton Rouge community.
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LAA to Offer Bus Trip to Oct. 14 SLU Game at HBU The Lion Athletics Association (LAA) will offer fans an opportunity to travel to the
Southeastern football team’s Oct. 14 game at Houston Baptist. The bus will leave from the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics at 11:30
a.m. on game day and will return immediately following the 6:30 p.m. contest between
the Lions and the Huskies. The cost to be included on the trip is $80. Included in the cost is a ticket
to the game, a light lunch with drinks on the way to the game and snacks for the ride
home. For more information or to purchase a spot on the trip, contact Assistant Athletic
Director for Marketing and Development Tom Dawsey at 549-5226 or tdawsey@southeastern.edu. Interested parties can also visit the LAA office located in West Strawberry Stadium.
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Office of Admissions seeks Orientation Leaders The Office of Admissions is in the search of the best and brightest students to be
the university's Orientation Leaders for 2018. Faculty and Staff can now refer a student to be considered for this position. Once
students are referred by a faculty or staff member, the Admissions Office will contact
the student and encourage them to apply. Referral forms are simple to complete online at: southeastern.edu/orientationreferral.
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