Joseph Cao: “Today, I rise in honor of Louisiana State University, which is celebrating 150 years of academic achievement and service…”

“Today, I rise in honor of Louisiana State University, which is celebrating 150 years of academic achievement and service to the State of Louisiana. This celebration marks the culmination of many goals for LSU as they reach the end of their second major capital campaign, the Forever LSU Campaign, and their academic blueprint for the future, the Flagship Agenda. LSU has had the longstanding goal of being designated as a tier 1 university by U.S. News & World Report, and for the past 2 years LSU has achieved this ranking. For the past 25 years, however, LSU has held the highest Carnegie Foundation classification, the designation of a ``very high research activity'' university. LSU is the State of Louisiana's flagship institution; and as the international leader in research, LSU is one of only 30 universities to have the great distinction of being designated as a land, sea and space-grant institution. Most recently, LSU won $10 million in grants and contracts related to the coast, including aquaculture, erosion, subsidence, storm modeling, and social resiliency to disasters. Further, LSU is deeply rooted in tradition and boasts a large percentage of students from the greater New Orleans area, which I represent. Most notably and nobly for citizens of Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina, LSU opened its doors to enroll an additional 2,700 students from the New Orleans area, and the LSU community housed thousands more.”