Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

As the flagship institution of the state, the vision of Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) [1] is to be a leading, research-extensive university, challenging undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development.  One of only 21 universities nationwide to achieve this status, LSU is designated as a land-, sea-, and space-grant institution. LSU is the only Southern Regional Education Board Four-Year I University in the state, and is one of only 73 public institutions classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Very High Research Activity Research University (and the only one in Louisiana) [2].  The mission of LSU [1] is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts. 

LSU is committed to offering a broad array of undergraduate degree programs and extensive graduate research opportunities designed to attract and educate highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students; employing faculty who are excellent teacher-scholars, nationally competitive in research and creative activities, and who contribute to a world-class knowledge base that is transferable to educational, professional, cultural, and economic enterprises; and using its extensive resources to solve economic, environmental, and social challenges [2].

The vision and mission are complemented by the first goal of Flagship 2020 [3]:

“Discovery: Expand discovery through transformative research and creative activities addressing contemporary and enduring issues that shape the way we live in the world.

1. Increase nationally-recognized research and creative activities.
2. Expand interdisciplinary solutions to significant social, environmental, economic, cultural, and educational problems.
3. Increase partnerships with industry to develop intellectual property and foster commercial applications.”

Performance indicators [4] for this goal are

Impact:  measures of scholarship and creative activity as determined by national norms in individual disciplines; national awards for faculty research/creative activity; faculty memberships in national academies.

Resource:  research expenditures; research expenditures per FTE (federal and local); research funding involving more than one unit.

Learning:  PhDs and Master’s degrees awarded (total and per FTE); placement of PhDs in tenure track positions and industry; number of post-doctoral associates.

Engagement:  patents awarded, number of start-up businesses from LSU research; licensing income; number of faculty consulting engagements; number of national/international symposia organized.  

Policy Statement (PS) 36-T Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty: Appointments, Reappointments, Promotions, Tenure, Annual Reviews, and Enhancement of Job Performance [5] describes the expectations of a faculty member related to faculty appointments, reappointments, promotion, tenure, annual reviews, and enhancement of faculty job performance. The term “scholarship” is defined in a broad sense to signify “contributions to knowledge in the disciplines appropriate to the department, at a level of quality and significance that is competitive by national standards.” Examples of scholarship are writings, creativity, and designs and are discipline driven. Examples of appropriate factors and evidence that may be used in judging scholarship include awards of grants or contracts, citations in research publications, published reviews by experts, and publications by respected journals and publishing houses.

In addition to PS-36, LSU has several policy statements directly related to research and research ethics, including  PS-68 University Intellectual Property Rights in Sponsored Research Projects [6] (see 3.2.14 Intellectual Property Rights, PS-69 Research Misconduct [7], and PS-98 LSU Financial Conflicts of Interest in Research [8]. 

The Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED)

This office oversees all research activities at LSU, including the Graduate School, as well as those involving economic development.  The mission of ORED is “to support a holistic, university-wide environment in which advanced research, effective scholarship, and economic development can thrive and support the LSU Flagship 2020 Agenda” [3].  The majority of the information summarized herein is from ORED reports [9] [10] [11] [12]. ORED has the following reporting units:

Administrative and Research Support Units

Office of Intellectual Property, Commercialization & Development [13]

Office of Sponsored Programs [14]

Graduate School [15]

Department of Research Communications [16]

Office of Undergraduate Research [17]

Research-Related Centers and Institutes

Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices [18]

Center for Computation Technology [19]

Center for Energy Studies [20]

Center for French and Francophone Studies

Stephenson National Center for Security Research and Training [21], which includes:

Fire and Emergency Training Institute [22]

Law Enforcement Online [23]

National Center for Biomedical Research and Training [24]

Stephenson National Center for Security Research and Training [25]

Stephenson Disaster Management Institute [26]

Life Course and Aging Center [27]

Louisiana Geological Survey [28]

Louisiana Space Consortium [29]

LSU Hurricane Center (currently suspended)

Louisiana Sea Grant College Program [30]

Center for Biomodular Multi Scale Systems (Inactive - administrative action pending)

Compliance Units

Institutional Review Board [31]

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee [32]

Inter-Institutional Biological and Recombinant DNA Safety Committee [33]

Radiation Safety Office [34]

University Research Safety Committee (a recently formed committee that oversees biological, chemical, and radiological safety issues on campus)

Economic Development Units

Louisiana Business and Technology Center (added after initiation of review process) [34]

Benchmarks for Flagship 2020’s Discovery Goal

Impact:  Measures of scholarship and creative activity as determined by national norms in individual disciplines; national awards for faculty research/creativity activity; faculty memberships in national academies.  The different colleges have different expectations from their faculty with regard to discipline-specific scholarship and creative activity, and different reporting methods.  Table 1 shows how differently five colleges/schools record faculty productivity from a standpoint of publications/presentations and of the type of presentations that faculty members contribute.  Scholarship is clearly discipline specific; for example, although very appropriate for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, poetry and stories may be an inappropriate way to adjudge the research/creative productivity of faculty in the College of Agriculture or the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

Table 1.  Research/creative output in representative colleges/schools at LSU
	2011	2011	2011	2012-2013	2011
	College of Agriculture [35]	College of Human Sciences and Education [36]	College of Humanities and Social Sciences [37]	School of Music [38]	Veterinary Clinical Sciences [39]
Refereed publications	417	223	301	14	40
Non-Refereed publications				3
Books & book chapters	49	46		2	10
Essays
Monographs, novels			24
Edited collections of essays			9
Articles, chapters, essays in collections			40
Films and Productions			18
Poems and Stories			61
National presentations	484	205			46
International presentations	76
Published abstracts					40
Published Proceedings					111
Lay Articles					1
12011-2012 2Baseline year after the reconfiguring of the COA

In the School of Music [38], in addition to the limited number of publications, the faculty also performed—an important creative activity for these faculty—at 60 international venues across five continents:

The discipline-specific nature of faculty’s creative efforts is reflected in PS-36T [5], the policy statement reflecting tenure and promotion.

In Material Sciences & Engineering, Professor Ward Plummer, a National Academy of Sciences member provides the essential leadership to make this focal area a particularly effective one for LSU. Although Professor Plummer is the only member of the National Academy of Sciences, the College of Science also has 30 faculty members that have been named as American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows and one who is an American Academy of Arts Fellow [39].  The LSU Academy of Scholars has a more complete list [40].

More recently, faculty from all colleges have received national awards, editorships, or other types of special recognition.  Examples are provided below, and these show the breadth of excellence across campus [11]:

Robert Carney, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Studies, named to National Academy of Sciences’ Gulf of Mexico Program Advisory Group

Lauren Pharr, PhD candidate, Department of Geography and Anthropology, selected as Visiting Scientist with Forensic Anthropology Unit of Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York City

Gabriela Gonzalez, Department of Physics and Astronomy, elected spokesperson for Laser-Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration (more than 900 worldwide members)

Omowumi Iledare, Center for Energy Studies, named President-Elect of International Association for Energy Economics

Margaret Reams and Nina Lam, Department of Environmental Sciences, Keynote Speakers at International Conference on Flood Awareness and Community Resilience

Susanne Brenner, Rongying Jin, Marcia Newcomer, and Kenneth Schafer named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Susanne Brenner and James Oxley named Fellows of the American Mathematical Society

Jeffrey Blackmon named Fellow of the American Physical Society

Bradley Cantrell, Landscape Architecture, winner of 2013 Garden Club of America Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture

Cara Blue Adams, Southern Review, awarded Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship

Dennis Parker, School of Music, performance at Carnegie Hall

James Honeycutt, Department of Communication Studies, Outstanding Scholar in Communication Theory from the Southern States Communication Association

Katherine Kemler, College of Music and Dramatic Arts, 2013 SEC Faculty Achievement Award

Pamela Pike, School of Music, Article of the Year by American Music Teacher

John Finley, Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture, Harris Award for Excellence in Food Science and Technology

Samuel Robison, LSU School of Social Work and Office of Social Service Research and Development, named Fellow of Center for Juvenile Justice Reform

Cristina Caminita, LSU Libraries, selected as Emerging Leader by American Library Association

Graham Bodie, Department of Communication Studies, ranked in top 1% of most prolific scholars publishing in communication journals and 2012 Early Career Award from Interpersonal Communication Division of National Communication Association

Ursula Emery McClure, School of Architecture, Charles E. Peterson Prize, American Institute of Architects (and others)

Arjen Boin, adjunct Professor in Public Administration Institute, Keynote Speech, OECD conference on Interagency Crisis Management

Mary Beth Lima, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, named Fellow of American Society of Engineering Education

Charles D’Agnostino, Louisiana Business & Technology Center, Outstanding Leadership in Technology Award

Bulent Unel, Dept. of Economics, named Associate Editor of Southern Economic Journal

Resource:  research expenditures; research expenditures per FTE (federal and local); research funding involving more than one unit.

External Funding

An important measure of any Research I institution is the amount and sources of sponsored research. LSU’s external sponsored programs funding during the fiscal year 2009 reached an all-time high of $156.3 million. With support from national sources, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Department of Homeland Security, and NASA, LSU is forging new frontiers in hurricane response and preparedness, bioscience, national security, technology, literature, coastal sciences, and genetics. At any given time, there are more than 2,000 sponsored research projects being conducted by the more than 6,000 faculty and graduate students at LSU. The following figures show the recent history of funding efforts at LSU and sources of funding.

The series of graphs below [42] summarize the total number of proposals submitted and the amount requested for the past five years, the external funding sources (dollars and percent) for FY 2011 and 2012, a five-year funding trend; research expenditures by FY from FY 2008/2009 to FY 2011/2012, the funding sources for FY 2011/2012 (federal and other), and a final summary table of the five-year funding history at LSU.

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Table 2: Dollar Amount of Research and Development Expenditures
2013 Annual Report: five-year average of FY 2007-08 through 2011-2012 (in thousands)
Federal	State	Industry	Institution	Other	Total
$80,582	$85,355	$10,694	$90,762	$12,688	$280,081
$89,593	$80,035	$11,046	$96,497	$17,609	$294,780
$97,407	$75,500	$20,507	$95,424	$1,034	$289,872
$97,517	$72,484	$22,730	$93,953	$1,157	$287,841
$92,551	$74,045	$23,141	$95,007	$651	$285,395
$91,530	$77,484	$17,624	$94,329	$6,628	$287,594
*NSF modified its survey fields beginning FY 10; LSU reclassified R&D funding sources to appropriately reflect these changes.

Learning:  PhDs and Master’s degrees awarded (total and per FTE); placement of PhDs in tenure track positions and industry; number of post-doctoral associates.

Student Progress in Graduate Degrees

Approximately 5,000 graduate students attend LSU (4,243 FTE), and the institution serves approximately 30,000 undergraduates (22,988 FTE). Thus 20% of the enrollment of the university is involved in programs that require knowledge of research and literature beyond the baccalaureate.  All doctoral students must complete a dissertation, and most master’s degree students must complete a thesis or research project that demonstrates scholarly competence.

During the 2012-2013 academic year, 322 students graduated at the doctoral level, and 1,234 students received the master’s degree. These figures document an increase of 26.3% and 12.8%, respectively, compared to the previous year [43].

Engagement:  patents awarded, number of start-up businesses from LSU research; licensing income; number of faculty consulting engagements; number of national/international symposia organized. 

Table 3 shows information on invention disclosures, patents filed and issued, the number of licenses/options signed; licensing income generated, start-up companies formed, and the number of industry sponsored research agreements from 2007 to 2012 [11].

Table 3.  Research and Economic Development Data
	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
# of Invention Disclosures	42	40	43	38	39
# of Patents Filed	34	30	22	32	38
# of Patents Issued	16	7	6	6	9
# of Licenses/Options Signed	3	4	3	5	4
Amount of Licensing Income Generated	$137,030.84	$123,003.00	$181,511.49	$164,791.04	$481,533.00
# of Start-Up Companies Formed	1	2	1	1	0
# of Industry-Sponsored Research Agreements	59	51	62	90	88

Collaborations [43].

The Louisiana Business & Technology Center (LBTC) and the LSU Innovation Park operate as the economic development arm of the university and are active with Louisiana Economic Development (LED), Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association (LIDEA), and other state, local, and regional economic development groups. The LBTC has assisted 62 Louisiana businesses win $23,150,000 in SBIR grant funding since 2008.  Many LBTC incubator clients have won these research grants, including Mezzo, Electrochemical Materials, Enervana, and Invertherm.  Since 1999, 188 LBTC clients have won over $55.8 million in awards, which are spent in Louisiana on payroll and purchases. 

The LBTC works with 34 incubator companies, 39 student incubator companies, five research park companies, and over 200 affiliate companies annually on developing technologies, business plans, and commercialization of technologies.  Currently, there are over 300 high paying jobs at the LSU Innovation Park/LBTC averaging $60,000 each.  The LBTC has documented the creation or saving of nearly 10,000 jobs since its inception. The 39 student incubator companies and the 30 student incubator graduates have created over 120 jobs, thus slowing the exodus of LSU graduates from Louisiana. The LBTC documents about six company graduations and eight-to-ten incubator startups annually and has assisted 200 + companies as affiliated companies start up or expand. In addition, LED, U.S. Department of Commerce, and other agencies are providing funding to the LBTC to develop an international trade and export assistance program to assist Louisiana businesses develop export programs and to stimulate direct foreign investment in Louisiana.  The LBTC is also designated by the NBIA as a "Soft Landing Incubator" to provide space and services to foreign companies interested in establishing a U.S. presence.  The LBTC has two international companies that have documented in excess of $5 million in annual sales.

The LBTC collaborates with LED, LABI, LIDEA and the regional chambers in the 11 parishes surrounding East Baton Rouge.  LBTC staff serve on the boards and committees of many economic development entities in the region and serve on committees statewide. The LBTC provides leadership to the Louisiana Business Incubation Association and has assisted most incubators in the state to get started. The LBTC offers services to Louisiana Tech University, to the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, and to the Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, assisting in business formation and job creation. Although the summary above provides useful information on recent activities, it is enlightening to contextualize the impact of the LBTC with a longer range view. Data provided below by the LBTC demonstrate the enduring impact on economic activity that this branch of LSU exhibits.

LBTC Overall Impact [Jan 1999 – Sept 2012]

• $163,657,649 in equity, grants and loans
• 6,418 businesses & entrepreneurs received technical and management assistance
• 4,034 projects completed
• 2,214 companies received Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) support
• 554 businesses started after receiving assistance, creating or saving at least 9,690 jobs
• 489 training events for 21,424 participants
• 28 Incubator Tenant Companies creating 140 full time jobs in Baton Rouge
  • 140 graduated tenants with 2,278 jobs created since 1989
  • 110 still in business = 78% success rate
• Since its inception in 2010, the Student Incubator Program has assisted 52 student businesses. The program has resulted in 25 businesses in operation, 53 jobs created, and 11 graduated businesses.

In the College of Engineering, the number of companies funding research projects with the college has increased approximately 8% from FY11 to FY12 to include 40 companies. On average, the College of Engineering Office of Corporate Relations and Economic Development hosts four multi-disciplinary campus visits per month for companies to interact and gauge interest with university faculty and research centers. This number does not account for site visits to corporate facilities, which average four per month. With an increase in student enrollment of 41% over the last five years, the Office of Corporate Relations and Economic Development has worked to increase the number of companies recruiting LSU engineers by 20% (192 total companies recruiting) over the past year. With strategic efforts, outreach has been targeted to Louisiana-based companies.

The college has also worked to create links with LED and the State’s seven regional economic development organizations to continue to support the region in its economic development efforts. Activities include attending and participating in client recruitment efforts with LED, BRAC, GNO Inc., NLEP, and LEDA (at least 11 within the current FY, July 1—March 9).  In addition to these organizations, the college has extended partnerships with the small-business and entrepreneurship community in Louisiana by assisting in connecting small businesses with faculty expertise through SBIR grants in partnership with LBTC; partnering with LBTC, Louisiana Technology Park, SpringBoard Baton Rouge, and LaunchPad New Orleans to assist small businesses in their workforce recruitment efforts; participating on the Louisiana Innovation Council commercialization working group for the advancement of technology transfer; and chairing the technology committee and participating in the academic committee through the Louisiana Technology Council.

The College of Engineering is an active partner with the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, the Louisiana Chemical Association, and the Baton Rouge Area Digital Industries Consortium and has given presentations to their respective groups over the last year to further develop relationships and align the college with needs of industry. The college has also invited the membership of each of these trade organizations to participate in the newly created research clusters. The college, its departments, and diversity programs host nine different industrial advisory boards, with meetings semi-annually consisting of more than ten corporate partners in each group that assist in guiding programmatic, research, academic, and philanthropic efforts. Since July 2012, the college has held over 75 introductory meetings with corporations to build connections through research and recruitment with the faculty and students within the college.

The Division of Economic Development, housed in the Economics Department and E.J. Ourso College of Business, works extensively with a number of agencies on Louisiana economic development initiatives.  Under a standing contract with LED, the division provides impact studies to evaluate the economic impact and tax revenue streams associated with proposed economic development projects.  The division also provides one-time studies on specific topics, such as the export content of various business sectors for LED. Additionally, the division works extensively with the Louisiana Workforce Commission on a variety of projects related to evaluating the needs of employers in Louisiana and better educating or training workers to take advantage of opportunities in Louisiana. The division also provides regular reports to the Department of Health and Hospitals on the number of uninsured children and adults.  Likewise, the division provides an annual Tourism Satellite Account report to the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism measuring the number of jobs and tax dollars attributable to tourism.  The division is also currently working on a project to quantify the economic value and potential economic impact of coastal erosion in Louisiana and on the state and nation as a whole.

The College of Science remains heavily engaged with industrial sponsors in R&D activity that is pertinent to economic development issues. Through grants and contracts with approximately 30 industrial and non-academic sponsors, faculty in the departments of geology, biological sciences, chemistry, mathematics, physics and astronomy, and those affiliated with the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices were awarded more than $3,170,000 in funds to support this activity.

NOTE: The narrative continues in "3.3.1.4 (Continued)."