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Dr. Lacy and Edie Williams fund
LSUS Circle of Excellence Plaza

Click here to Buy a Brick

Vannie Thompson
LSUS unveiled plans in late October for the Dr. Lacy and Edie Williams Circle of Excellence Plaza, the largest single privately funded capital project in the university’s 40-year history.

Lacy and Edie are contributing $150,000 as the lead donors and underwriters of the brick plaza.

Conceptualized and designed by Shreveport’s Somdal Associates Landscape Architect Will Loe, the plaza is a highlight of the LSUS 40th Anniversary celebration and the centerpiece of the LSUS 2006-07 Annual Campaign. Somdal Associates donated Loe’s time and the firm’s resources to LSUS as an in-kind contribution. And, because of the Williamses’ visionary underwriting of this project to establish a beautiful focal point on the LSUS campus, all other donor participation in the plaza can be used for vital university programs.

Edie Broyles Williams, a 1988 graduate with a Bachelor of General Studies degree, is a member of the LSUS Alumni Association Board of Directors and Dr. Lacy Williams, who retired as a radiologist in 1998, is a member of the LSUS Foundation Board of Directors. The couple was honored in mid-November by the Shreveport Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals as the 2006 Philanthropists of the Year.

Even though Lacy was born in Dallas, they both claim Longview, Texas, as their hometown, graduated from Longview High School, attended the University of Texas-Austin and currently reside on Lake Cherokee in Longview. They are also co-chairs of fundraising for the Sutton Children’s Medical Center.

Lacy received his medical degree from the UT Medical Branch-Galveston, where he graduated with honors and membership in Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. He served in the U.S. Public Health Service and practiced medicine at Schumpert Medical Center. He is a past member of the Shreveport Medical Society Board of Directors, past president of the Radiological Society of Louisiana, a past fellow and counselor of the American College of Radiology and a former member of the Southfield School Board of Directors. Lacy is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Christus Schumpert Foundation, and is president of Will-Drill Resources of Shreveport.

Edie is a past president of Friends of Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, past president of the Rutherford House Board of Directors, served on St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral Vestry and as the Directress of the Altar Guild. She is also a past member of the executive committees of the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier and the Shreveport Symphony. Edie is currently vice president of the Regional Governing Board of Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, treasurer of the Shreveport Garden Study Club and a member of the Glen Retirement System Board of Directors.

Married in 1960, they have four children: Lacy Holmes Williams II, of Houston; Evelyn Ann Williams, of Austin; Claude Allen Williams, of Shreveport, and Claire Broyles Williams, of New York and Shreveport. They also have six grandchildren.

“The new Circle of Excellence Plaza will serve as a permanent recognition to those who support LSUS,” Edie Williams said. “What an exciting way to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of this outstanding university. I am proud to say that I am an LSUS graduate.”

LSUS has been a formidable mainstay in Shreveport-Bossier and its neighboring communities for many years. “Since its founding in 1967,” said Chancellor Vincent J. Marsala, who is a member of the original faculty, “this institution has been making an impact on our community, our region and the world. The Circle of Excellence Plaza gives everyone the opportunity to contribute and embrace the vision for LSUS we share with Edie and Lacy Williams as we celebrate our first 40 years.”

Marsala and the Williamses were joined at the Oct. 24 news conference and reception announcing the plaza by many alumni, current and retired faculty and staff, students and other supporters of the university. All were treated to an up-close, large-scale look at Loe’s plaza design, along with photorealistic renderings of the breathtaking structure. (Click here for ground-level view of plaza. Click here for aerial view of plaza.)

“This will be a real focal point on the campus,” said Randy Brown, president of the Board of Directors of the LSUS Alumni Association, which is spearheading the Annual Campaign along with the LSUS Foundation. “I’m really proud that the Alumni Association is a part of this great project. The entire community can enjoy and be proud of this brick plaza. It’s something you might expect to see only at schools much larger than LSUS.”

The plaza will be constructed adjacent to the east side of the circular drive that runs in front of the Administration Building and Noel Memorial Library on the Youree Drive side of the campus. Situated between the crepe myrtle-lined sidewalks leading to the Mall, the plaza is designed to be a self-contained, low-maintenance signature landmark complete with benches, gardens, an automatic irrigation system and durable, high-efficiency lighting. Ground is expected to be broken in the spring of 2007, with the dedication of the plaza being a highlight of the 40th Anniversary celebration next fall.

The professional, creative efforts of Loe and others at Somdal Associates were not lost on any of the few who got an advance glimpse of what was about to unfold.

“Amazing! The rendering is absolutely gorgeous,” said Student Government Association President Denitra Dennis after receiving it in a “Your Eyes Only” e-mail. “It far exceeded my expectations.” She could make the comparison with some degree of certainty because she has seen a similar display at her father’s alma mater. “When he visits his alma mater,” Dennis said of her father, “he always visits his brick. I believe (the plaza) will cause our students to want to return to their alma mater with the same pride and vigor.”

In response to the same e-mail Dennis received, Dr. Donna Austin, dean of the Division of Continuing Education and Public Service, said simply, “WOW!” She later commented enthusiastically, “Be prepared to be blown away. Graduates who relocate will not only have family and friends in Shreveport to return home to but (with this plaza) a little something extra.”

Bricks in the Dr. Lacy and Edie Williams Circle of Excellence Plaza can be purchased for $100 each and may have three rows of engraving with as many as 16 characters and spaces per row.

At each of the plaza’s four “Gateway” entrances, 4-foot-square “pavers” with centered bronze medallions are available for sponsorship. Bronze “Founding Gateway Medallions” will occupy the center position at each entry area. Somdal Associates’ in-kind contribution to the project – valued at $15,000 – set the level of support for the Founding Gateways, which include $10,000 endowed scholarships. The other three Founding Gateway Medallions will carry the inscriptions of the John and Cheryl Good Charitable Foundation, the George A. Khoury Jr. Foundation and Reed and Sofia Dickens. Reed Dickens, a 2000 graduate and the LSUS 2006 Distinguished Alumnus, owns Outside Eyes, Inc. Other gateway pavers are also available for sponsorship.

The four gardens and 16 gateway cornerstones may be sponsored at $10,000 each. The plaza’s 12 benches have been sponsored by Marcia Calhoun; Earlene Coleman; Janice Goode; Kelly Kemp Graves; Bobbie Hicks (2); Bradley S. Kemp; Sidney & Hollisann Kent; Norman & Peggy Kinsey; Dr. Vincent & Carol Ann Marsala; Bruce & Melissa Simon, and Anne C., Dr. John & Dr. Joseph Tabarlet.

A convenient order form is included in the “Pave the Way to Excellence” brochure that was mailed following the on-campus announcement. Orders may also be placed online at the LSUS Alumni Association’s secure Web site: www.lsusalumni.org/brick/. For more information, contact the LSUS Alumni Office at 318-797-5190 or Alumni@LSUS.edu.

“Participation in the Dr. Lacy and Edie Williams Circle of Excellence Plaza is an excellent way to leave a lasting legacy to your years at LSUS,” Marsala emphasized, “or to honor someone who helped make your dreams come true.”

Vannie Thompson is a 2000 LSUS graduate with a Bachelor of General Studies. She is serving an internship with the LSUS Office of University Development working on the 2006-07 Annual Campaign. She will receive her Master of Science degree in Human Services Administration in December.