Since opening its classrooms to students in 1967, LSUS has become the regional urban comprehensive university in the Shreveport-Bossier metropolitan area. Anchored along the picturesque Red River in southeast Shreveport, the beautifully landscaped LSUS campus serves as home to more than 4,500 students.
"We have nearly 40 undergraduate degree programs and a dozen master's degree programs," Chancellor Vincent Marsala said. "Our highly qualified faculty is evidenced in the fact that over 75% hold doctoral degrees in their discipline, and our student-teacher ratio is one of the lowest in the State."
Student access to technology is a top priority. All classrooms have Internet connections - well above the national average of 64 percent - and Moodle, an online course management system, makes course material available to students 24/7. In all, students can sit down in front of nearly 1,000 computers in subject-specific labs, high-traffic areas such as Noel Memorial Library and The Port restaurant, and a campus-wide computer lab with extended hours.
"We also have a number of centers and institutes," Marsala said, "that serve as valuable economic development and educational resources to the community, as well as to our students who are interested in business, industry, nonprofits and health care.
Among the units are the high-profile Center for Business and Economic Research, the Small Business Development Center and the Louisiana Consortium for Insurance and Financial Services. The Institute for Human Services and Public Policy is a major player in nonprofit education and the Red River Watershed Management Institute is receiving growing national attention for its benchmark wetlands research and proactive leadership in the development of the Haynesville Shale by bringing together industry, city, parish, state and federal government representatives to protect the groundwater resources of Northwest Louisiana.
Recent enhancements and developments have focused both campus and community attention on extracurricular student activities. In addition to myriad on-campus productions, festivals and events, the Student Organizations Council has staged musical and comedy concerts at the Strand Theater and Municipal Auditorium. While not a new program to LSU Shreveport, the Debate Team has recently established itself as one of the best collegiate debate programs in the region and is the 2003 and 2009 International Public Debate Association National Champions.
The LSUS Athletic program has quickly become one of the top NAIA programs in the country. Men's basketball has enjoyed five NAIA national tournament appearances while the Pilot's baseball has averaged 40 wins in six of the last seven seasons and qualified for regional tournament six times. The Lady Pilots basketball team was selected to play in the 2009 National Tournament and Women's soccer in its second year won the GCAC Championship.
All of these improvements continue to enhance the reputation of LSUS. As the regional university serving Shreveport-Bossier City Metro area and the Ark-La-Tex, the University has proven itself to be an institution of opportunity and quality.
