LSU Scholarship First Bus Tour Sheds Light on Economic Development in Central Louisiana

LSU is taking its mission and message on the road this month.

The inaugural Scholarship Bus Tour will take LSU president William F. Tate IV and other guests on a 1,000-mile route around Louisiana.

ABC 31 News Reporter Keisha Swafford has the story on how much of an economic impact LSUA has on the state of Louisiana.

LSU President William F. Tate says, “LSU doesn’t exist today without the people of Central Louisiana.”

LSU’s original campus site in Pineville was the first stop on the LSU Scholarship First Bus Tour.

William F. Tate, LSU President says, “I was really moved by the fact that folks fought to have a world class university. We’re here on this tour to hear from them, to understand how we can be better, take it back to the brain trust, if you will, and execute a plan so our Scholarship First agenda, which is about agriculture, biomedical sciences, coastal research, defense, including ROTC and cyber and energy, we know we’re going to do that, but we want to know what else we need to do.”

LSUA is going along for the ride to raise awareness on how Louisiana impacts the economy.

LSUA Chancellor Dr. Paul Coreil says, “Through all these key areas that we’re talking about that are important like the coast, and cybersecurity, and medicine and health and energy and agriculture, the president is saying all of these are so crucial to the economy in Louisiana, we need our students to see where these areas have potential for careers.”

LSUA is proving to be an economic gold mine for the state of Louisiana.

The LSU President says, “Over $100 million in economic impact from LSUA, for this region and for the state, that’s quite powerful and I wanted them to understand that LSUA is part of a larger integrated system called LSU and that’s a 6-billion-dollar economic impact for our entire state.”

The bus tour is an opportunity to learn from key stakeholders, alumni, and elected officials to better serve Louisiana.

Tate says, “We know cyber is important because every business needs it, and we know that energy is important, but what else do we need? And the only way we’re going to find that out is to come out, talk to people, let them know we’re listening, and we care, and we want to make a difference in their lives.”

As they visit different cities, LSU can learn what matters to the people of Louisiana.

LSU’s Scholarship First Bus Tour will continue until March 16th.