McNeese State University - Log Yearbook (Lake Charles, LA)

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over, or are they? THE GOWN AND cap say it all as Greg LeJeune and friends finally realize “‘the impossible dream.” DR. J. LARRY CRAIN, Pres- ident of the Board of Trust- ees, turns over the reigns of McNeese to Dr. Robert He- bert 26 Graduation @)

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ay 25 Academics

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ON CAMPUS, Dr. Robert Hebert’s team is headed by Drs. E. B. Hankins, Kenneth Sweeney, and Robert Earl Turner; the home front is maintained by Mrs. Hebert. Taking the big step r. Robert D. Hebert was installed as the fifth President of McNeese State Uni- versity during this year’s fall graduation ceremonies. His formal inauguration took place before some 370 graduates, the university's 91st graduating class. Hebert, who had been vice president of Ac- ademic Affairs at McNeese since 1980, suc- ceeded Dr. Jack V. Doland; Hebert was chosen by the Board of Trustees as Doland’s successor. Doland stepped down last June to seek — and win — a seat in the Louisiana Senate. At 48, Hebert is just one year younger than the university. His appointment to its presidency on the eve of its golden anniversary seems an ap- propriate beginning for a new era in McNeese’s growth and development, he says. “Much of the first 50 years has been spent in laying down the basic foundations,’ he said. “Now, we are ready to forge our own special and unique identity — to become a truly distin- guished regional university.”’ These are particularly challenging times, He- bert says, with so much attention being focused on the state’s economic and educational prob- lems. But his experience as academic vice pres- ident affords him a particularly advantageous perspective on how to deal with these problems. One of his top priorities, says Hebert, is to marshall private and corporate support for the university by establishing a systematic fund- raising program. “Students are the heart of a university,’’ he said. ‘Their concerns will be my concerns. !’m going to make every effort to assure them that their McNeese degree brings them the com- mensurate respect.”’ Hebert said he wants to strengthen ties with McNeese’s alumni, and he relies on their par- ticipation. He has also solicited the active sup- port of the area’s legislative delegation and com- munity leaders.