University of Louisiana at Lafayette
French nickname	l'Université des Acadiens
Established	1900
School type	Public
President	Ray P. Authement
Location	Lafayette, LA USA
Campus	Urban
Enrollment	15,564 undergraduate 1,511 graduate 17,075 total enrollment
Faculty	713
Athletic teams	Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns®
Colors	Vermilion and White
Homepage	www.louisiana.edu

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a coeducational public research university also known as UL Lafayette or Louisiana-Lafayette, is located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana. It is the second largest university in Louisiana, and the largest campus within the University of Louisiana System.

Founded in 1900 as an industrial institute, the university became known by its present name in 1999. The university is a member of the Southeastern Universities Research Association and is categorized as a Carnegie RU/H: Research University (high research activity), the only UL system campus to receive the latter doctoral distinction and among the top 5% of all U.S. colleges.

UL Lafayette is recognized for excellence in computer science and environmental biology. It offers Louisiana's only PhD in Francophone studies and only doctoral degree in cognitive science. It is the only Louisiana university with a separate College of the Arts.

Campuses

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UL Lafayette's main campus consists of 137 acres (554,000 m²) lined by live oak trees planted in 1900. Its quadrangle is encircled by a Walk of Honor path which contains more than 80,000 bricks bearing the names of every graduate, beginning with the first graduating class of 1903. Also centered in the main campus is Cypress Lake, a swamp-like microcosm of the nearby Atchafalaya Basin, home to alligators, turtles, birds and fish.

The athletic complex and Cajundome sit on 243 acres (983,000 m²). Adjacent is the University Research Park of 148 acres (599,000 m²) which is home to the National Wetlands Research Center, a NASA Regional Application Center, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The nearby Center for Ecology and Environmental Technology has 51 acres (206,000 m²).

The university has a 600-acre farm/renewable resources laboratory with a 30-acre pond for crawfish and catfish culture in Cade, Louisiana. It also has a 48-acre New Iberia Research Center in New Iberia, Louisiana, which is among the world's largest private non-human, primate breeding colonies.

The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum permanent collection consists of more than 1,500 works of art, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and photographs. This collection represents 18th, 19th and 20th century Louisiana, as well as the United States, Europe and Japan.

Organization

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UL Lafayette has 10 colleges and schools, one of the largest honors program in Louisiana and offers 80 undergraduate degree programs, 29 master's degree programs, and 9 Doctor of Philosophy programs, which are applied language and speech sciences, biology, cognitive science, computer engineering, computer science, educational leadership, English, Francophone studies, and mathematics.

Academics

A selective admissions university, UL Lafayette is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All undergraduate programs at UL Lafayette that are eligible for accreditation by professional agencies are accredited.

UL Lafayette is featured in the 2006 edition of America's Best Value Colleges, a Princeton Review/Random House college guidebook, featuring fewer than 100 U.S. schools. The university was included in the 2005 edition of The Best 357 Colleges and its MBA program was included in the 2005 edition of The Best 143 Business Schools, both by The Princeton Review. The university graduates about 1,100 students each fall and spring.

Colleges and departments

Students

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• UL Lafayette students represent 53 states and possessions.
• 709 are international students from diverse countries.

Academic achievements

A group of UL Lafayette students participating in the Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment (CAPE) are building a small artificial satellite, known as a CubeSat, that will be launched into orbit from the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2006. In 2004, UL Lafayette students and faculty produced CajunBot, one of 25 autonomous vehicles that competed in the U.S. Department of Defense DARPA Grand Challenge. CajunBot, which was featured on CNN, uses artificial intelligence and GPS positioning to navigate a designated route while detecting and avoiding obstacles.

Campus life

• Student Government Association
• The Vermilion is the university's weekly student newspaper and was established in 1904.

Greek life

Sports

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UL Lafayette's sports teams, known as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns, participate in NCAA Division I (I-A for football) in the Sun Belt Conference. Sports media often refer to the university as Louisiana-Lafayette.

History

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• 1898 - State legislature approved the creation of an "industrial institute and academy."
• 1900 - Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute (SLII) established.
• 1901 - SLII opened its doors on Sept. 18 with 100 students and eight faculty members.
• 1903 - 18 students were the first to graduate from SLII.
• 1920 - Began a four-year course culminating with a bachelor of arts degree.
• 1921 - SLII was upgraded to the Southwestern Louisiana Institute (SLI).
• 1960 - SLI became the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL).
• 1984 - USL attempted to change its name to the University of Louisiana, which only lasted a few days until overturned by a district court.
• 1999 - USL was renamed the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette or Louisiana).

Presidents

• 1900-1938: Edwin Lewis Stephens
• 1938-1941: Lether Edward Frazar
• 1941-1966: Joel Lafayette Fletcher
• 1966-1974: Clyde Lee Rougeou
• 1974-present: Ray P. Authement

Notable firsts

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• 1954 - Within months of the "separate but equal" decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, SLI admitted 70 African American students, to become the first all white college in the Deep South to achieve racial desegregation.
• 1961 - Established the first university chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for students.
• 1994 - Created North America's first Francophone studies Ph.D. program.

Notable alumni and faculty

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UL Lafayette notable alumni have held posts as business bellwethers, government leaders, Olympic medalists, professional athletes, artists and entertainers. Also several distinguished faculty members have taught at the university.

External links

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• University of Louisiana at Lafayette, official university website
• Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns^®, official athletics website
• UL Alumni Association, official alumni website

University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Educational institutions established in 1900 | Universities and colleges in Louisiana | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools | Sun Belt Conference | Acadiana