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

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Dr. Joe Gray Taylor ie Peed ea sOP OE Pare « | i L LLONIHSV M Historian, Scholar, Author, Teacher D. Joe Gray Taylor, former Dean of Liberal Arts, contributed much of his life and work to the advancement of McNeese State University. Following a brief illness, Dr. Taylor passed away on December 8, 1987. Dr. Taylor served the students, faculty and administration of McNeese, as well as the Lake Charles community and Louisiana, for 25 years. He was a noted historian, scholar, author, and teacher. He became head of the Department of History at McNeese in 1968, and became Dean of Liberal Arts in 1983. He was the recipient of the first McNeese Distinguished Teacher Award in 1979. Dr. Taylor dedicated much of his life to researching and writing books about Louisiana; these efforts include Louisiana: A Bicentennial History. He wrote several books on Southern history and the history of the d. S. Air Force. He recently completed a history of McNeese State University. In 1984, he received the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. In 1987, the Endowment for the Humanities presented Dr. Taylor with the Humanist of the Year Award. College of Liberal Arts 55

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World of change he College of Liberal Arts con- sists of the deparments of Communication and Theatre, History, Languages, Music, Social Sciences, and Visual Arts. The Col- lege provides specialized training in a vast number of specific fields of learning and profession. As in every curriculum, each new year brings changes. This year saw a remodeling of the mass communi- cations field. It was divided into three sub fields consisting of: Print and Broadcast Journalism; Advertising and Public Relations; and Broadcast Production and Performance. This change came about entirely for the benefit of the students, so that the faculty could concentrate on the in- terests of each individual. The year brought about another change in a much less fortunate way. Joe Gray Taylor, former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, died after a battle with illness. To fill this honored position, Dr. Millard Jones was ap- pointed by the state Board of Trust- ees for Colleges and Universities on January 4, 1988. Dr. Jones has been employed at McNeese since 1975 serving as As- sistant Professor (1975-1980), Asso- ciate Professor (1980-1987), Profes- sor (1987), and now as the new Dean of Liberal Arts. THESE DAYS, Millard Jones is slamming his books on a bigger desk after becoming Dean of Lib- eral Arts. 54 College of Liberal Arts ) He holds undergraduate and mas- ter’s degrees from Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Kansas at Lawrence. While at McNeese, Dr. Jones has served as Academic Advisor to un- dergraduate English majors, Faculty Advisor of the Kappa Sigma Frater- nity, General Editor of the Ten-Year Self-Study, and Vice-Chairman and Secretary of the Faculty Council. He has served as chairman on several committees, including the Com- mencement Committee, the Literary Rally Academic Display, and the Stu- dent Organizations Committee. He has also been a member of the Screening Committee for the Aca- demic Vice-President, the Education- al Board of The McNeese Review , the Directors of the McNeese Alumni Association, the Ad Hoc Merit Sys- tem Study Committee, the Depart- mental Curriculum Review Commit- tee, the McNeese Humanities Committee, and the McNeese- Alumni Presidential Search Commit- tee. Besides his involvement at McNeese, Dr. Jones is active in com- munity affairs. He has served as Di- rector of the Lake Charles Little The- atre Lecture Series, and he has been a Board Member of the Lake Charles Little Theatre. Dr. Jones has also presented many scholarly papers at professional meetings, and he holds memberships in several professional organizations. ¢ } R 4 . be P,

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CHRIS MARCELLO is careful to select only the best hues when developing a portrait. ART MAJORS Suzy Day and Bethany Miller ea- gerly produce prints for the Christmas Art Sale. Seth Trahan, Penny Burr and company finish the “Russian Bottle Dance” in their Theatre 274 Dance Recital final exam. The class, instructed by Keitha Manning, taught students the various steps used in theatrical dance and stage pres- ence. The excitement of pre- paring a term paper is just too much for Stacy DeBose to handle. The McNeese Department of Music Christmas Choir proudly concludes another seasonal performance to an enthusiastic audience. Everyone knows that no language is stagnant, so this wise student siezes every opportunity to hone his German skills. 56 College of Liberal Arts @)