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Policy Manual

INTRODUCTION

History, Mission, and Organization of the University

“As the flagship institution of the state, the vision of Louisiana State University is to be a leading doctoral/research extensive University, challenging undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development.  Designated as both a land-grant and sea-grant institution, the mission of LSU is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts.

“In implementing its mission, LSU is committed to:

• offer a broad array of undergraduate degree programs and extensive graduate research opportunities designed to attract and educate highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students;
• employ 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
• use its extensive resources to solve economic, environmental, and social challenges.”  (Mission Statement approved June 2003)

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College originated in grants of land made by the U.S. government.  In 1853 the Louisiana General Assembly established the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy near Pineville, Louisiana.  The institution opened in January 1860, with William Tecumseh Sherman as Superintendent.  Due to the Civil War, the school closed in June 1861 and reopened in April 1862.  The institution again closed due to an invasion by the Federal Army in April 1863 and reopened in October 1865.  Following a devastating fire in October 1869, the institution moved to Baton Rouge, reopening in November 1869.  In 1870, the name of the institution was changed to Louisiana State University.  The Louisiana State Agricultural & Mechanical College was established in 1874 and was merged with Louisiana State University in 1877 with the name of Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College.

LSU today holds a prominent position in American higher education and is committed to meeting the challenge of pursuing intellectual development for its students, expanding the bounds of knowledge through research, and creating economic opportunities for Louisiana.  LSU is in a state of dynamic transformation.  LSU 2010, the National Flagship Agendabrings into focus the University’s commitment to excellence at every level.

LSU holds the Carnegie Foundation’s classification of RU/VH: Research Universities (very high research activity).  Its instructional programs include approximately 200 undergraduate and graduate/professional degrees.  The University attracts approximately 20 percent of the state’s total enrollment in higher education and serves more than 30,000 students from across the country and globe.  LSU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees.  The Chancellor is the chief administrative officer of the University and reports to the President of the LSU System.  The Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost serves as both the chief academic officer and the chief operating officer of the University.

The major academic units of the University include the Colleges of Agriculture, Art & Design, Arts & Sciences, Basic Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, and Music & Dramatic Arts, and the Schools of The Coast & Environment, Library and Information Science, Mass Communication, Social Work, and Veterinary Medicine.  The Honors College serves all undergraduate programs.

History and Organization of Teacher Education at LSU

Teacher education at LSU had its beginnings during the 1906-1907 academic year, with a course in Philosophy of Education being created in the College of Arts and Sciences.  With this modest beginning, the Teachers’ College at LSU was created by the Board of Supervisors in August 1908 with two faculty members.  Its creation was simultaneous with the doors of the University being opened to “ladies.”  According to the 1908 Bulletin of the University, the purpose of the College was “to present in definite organization the instruction offered by the University to persons who wish to fit themselves for positions as supervisors, principals, and parish superintendents.”  It was not until later that the preparation of classroom teachers was included among the purposes of the College.

The LSU Teachers’ College was renamed the School of Education in 1939 and at that time incorporated the former School of Health and Physical Education as a department within the school.  In 1941 the name of the school was again changed, this time to the College of Education, which it remains today.

Early in its history, students completing certification programs received their degrees (if they went on for a degree after completing the typical two-year “normal school” certification within the University) from the College of Arts & Sciences.  Later, all initial candidates except those in music education, agricultural education, business education, home economics education, industrial education, and early childhood education (PK-K) matriculated into and graduated from the College of Education.  Today, initial candidates in PK-3, elementary education, and K-12 art and health and physical education matriculate into the College of Education, but beginning in the fall of 2003, initial candidates for secondary education again matriculated into and graduate from either the College of Arts & Sciences or the College of Basic Sciences.  Master’s level initial candidate certification, called the Holmes Programs (a five-year program in elementary education and a fifth-year program in secondary education), remains within the College of Education.  There is also a special education minor offered by the College.  (Initial candidates in music education receive their degrees from the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. Upon state approval of programs, initial candidates in agricultural education, business education, home economics education, and industrial education will receive their degrees from the College of Agriculture.) Programs for candidates at advanced levels are housed in the Colleges of Education (advanced degrees in teaching, counseling, educational leadership, and educational technology), Music and Dramatic Arts (instrumental and vocal music education), Arts & Sciences (school psychology, communication disorders), and in the School of Library and Information Science (library/media specialist  The unit that prepares educational professionals is thus spread across four colleges and one school within the University, presenting the challenges of a highly complex organizational structure with unparalleled opportunities for rich collaborative work. 

History of Kinesiology

The history of the LSU Department of Kinesiology dates back to 1914, when physical education activity courses were first taught.   The Department of Physical Education was established in 1919 with four faculty members.  From 1919 until 1936 succeeding athletic directors served as chairs for the department.  Notable among these were Charles C. Stroud and Michael J. Donahue.  Stroud, who received his training at Tufts Medical School where he was an outstanding football player, was named chair of the new department while on duty overseas in World War I. He came to LSU not only as athletic director but as instructor in physiology and coach of several sports including, at one time, a women’s basketball team.   Donahue is considered to have begun big time coaching at LSU and was the first full professor of physical education. He arrived in Baton Rouge in 1924 after stints at Yale and Auburn.

            In 1936 a majors’ curriculum in physical education was established and Alfred D. Browne, a nationally recognized physician and teacher, was hired to open a School of Health and Physical Education.  The number of faculty members tripled that year and the School began to acquire a national reputation as a center for physical education.  Somewhat unusual for the time, the School was administered through the College of Arts and Science and offered both teaching and non-teaching degrees including specialties in health, recreation, athletics, and dance.  The School was returned to department status within the College of Education in 1941, the same year Joy W. Kistler succeeded Brown as chair.  Professor Kistler retired in 1968 and was succeeded by Francis Drury. 

            From 1919 until 1952 physical education was part of the general education requirement for all students.  Those in the military could substitute ROTC for physical education but all others were required to take four semesters of basic physical activity.  During World War II all students took physical training; and after the war a two-year requirement for women and non-military men and a one-year requirement for those in ROTC continued until the early 1950's.

            The master’s program in health, physical education and recreation at LSU began with the opening of the School in 1936-37 and there were 35 degrees awarded in 1937-38.  The doctoral program was developed under Kistler’s guidance and became one of the strongest programs in the South.  The first PhD degree in Health and Physical Education was awarded in the summer of 1952 and by 1976 there were 32 PhD graduates and an additional 58 students had received Ed.D. degrees.  The doctoral program in physical education, along with all other doctoral programs in Louisiana, was evaluated by the Board of Regents in 1976.  The program at LSU was recommended to be the only degree retained in the state.  The graduate coordinator at the time was Jack K. Nelson.

            During the 1960's and 70's physical educators witnessed major shifts in curricula, mission and scope.  Up until the 1960's programs were designed to prepare professionals for careers in teaching, coaching, dance and recreation.  Following Franklin Henry’s 1964 definition of physical education as an academic discipline, the focus of departments at major universities, including LSU, changed directions.  Jerry Thomas was hired by LSU as chair of the Health and Physical Education Department in 1977, with the understanding that he was to strengthen the research component and expand the scope of the program to include curricula for students interested in a broad range of allied health professions.  One of his primary goals was to obtain school status and that proposal was approved in 1982.  As part of his plan to strengthen the School of Health, Physical Education, and Dance Professor Thomas hired a number of strong researchers in the sub-disciplinary areas of motor behavior and exercise physiology, and with the stronger research faculty the department reached a national level of quality.  In the 1985 Doctoral Review by the Board of Regents the PhD in physical education was recognized for academic excellence.  According to the report prepared by the External Review Team “Physical Education at LSU is probably among the top twenty in the United States at present.”

            Soon after the 1985 recognition of excellence there were severe budget problems at LSU and the School lost programs in dance, recreation, and health along with 10 instructors and several tenure-track lines.  Despite these cuts the unit’s national and international reputation for research and scholarship remained strong primarily because faculty sub-disciplinary groups were formed creating programs with a high degree of specialization.  In addition to the traditional charge of preparing physical education majors for the teaching profession, the mission was expanded to include the generation and dissemination of knowledge about all aspects of movement and its effects on physical activity.  The scope of the program was revised to include curricula for students interested in physical therapy, occupational therapy, fitness directors, athletic training, and other allied health professions.  The name of the unit was changed from the School of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance to the Department of Kinesiology in 1990 under the leadership of Don Franks who replaced Ron Byrd as who had served as Chair from 1982 through 1989.  Don Franks continued until 1995 when he left to accept a position at the University of Maryland.  Amelia Lee served as interim chair for one year and was appointed permanently in 1998.

            During the 1990's the quality of the graduate program continued to gain strength and in a 1991 publication (Kovar & McGlone, 1991) the LSU Department of Kinesiology ranked 19th in overall research productivity and 5th in publications per faculty member (see Appendix B).  Pilot surveys conducted by the American Academy of Kinesiology in 2003 and 2005 indicated that LSU Kinesiology scored above the mean on many of the quality indicators used as criteria for national excellence.  Since 1998 the department has adopted an aggressive plan to build Kinesiology into one of the elite departments in the nation and considerable progress has been made in achieving a number of objectives outlined in each year’s Strategic Plan.  Major accomplishments include recruitment and attraction of high quality doctoral students, establishment of a strong undergraduate curriculum, more emphasis on grant activity, and increased faculty productivity and national visibility.