According to the philosophy statement that appears in the LSUE catalog, "the University strives to provide educational programs and related services which reflect and respond to the diversified interests, aptitudes, talents, needs, and goals of its constituency." LSUE seeks to meet these educational and cultural needs by attracting and maintaining an outstanding faculty that will provide a quality educational experience for all students.

The endowed professorship program is a major effort by the university, the community, the LSU Board of Supervisors, and the Louisiana Board of Regents to demonstrate commitment to quality of instruction by recognizing and fostering faculty excellence in professional projects/research that go beyond instructional responsibilities. The principle of each Endowed Professorship consists of funds donated by community sponsors and matched by the Board of Regents. The annual distribution of Endowed Professorship awards follows the guidelines set forth by the Board of Regents and the University's current policy statement, PS 62.

To be eligible to apply for an endowed professorship award, a faculty member must meet the following criteria:

1. Hold faculty rank at LSU at Eunice.
2. Be employed on a full‑time basis.
3. Be on a tenure track.

Applicants submit proposals that are evaluated by a campus-wide Selection Committee for Endowed Professorships. Each endowed professorship is awarded for a period of one year. Award recipients may re‑apply in subsequent years, but a recipient may not be granted two concurrent endowments.

2011-2012 Endowed Professorship Recipients

James E. Cordes, Ph.D., Endowed Professorship in Sciences

Dr. Cordes holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Arkansas and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Biology from Texas State University. While at Texas State, he was certified in secondary education. He taught at Texas State, the University of Arkansas and Arkansas College (Lyon College) prior to arriving at LSUE and has been recognized by "Who's Who Among America's Teachers". He has over twenty years of herpetological research experience working with parthenogenetic (all-female) Teiid lizards of the southwestern deserts and has been recognized by "Who's Who in Science and Engineering" and "American Men and Women of Science". He was nominated by the American Biographical Institute Board of International Research as one of the Institute’s “2011 Man of the Year” award recipients for distinctive accomplishments in his field. Dr. Cordes has been a faculty member at LSUE since 1991 achieving the rank of Professor of Biology in 2000, has been awarded seven Opelousas General Hospital Endowed Professorships in Science, and has authored 75+ peer-reviewed journal articles. Currently, he is working on research projects in New Mexicio.

Debra Vidrine, M.S.N., Endowed Professorship in Nursing

Ms. Vidrine holds a Master of Science in Maternal-Child Health Nursing with a focus in teaching from NSU in Shreveport. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from USL in Lafayette. Ms. Vidrine has 29 years of experience as a Registered Nurse licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. She also has Post-Master's advanced practice education from ULL in Lafayette as a Nurse Practitioner and is board certified in Family Practice by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and authorized to prescribe and distribute medications. In addition to her role as an Associate Professor of Nursing, she is active in the community as a Psychiatric nurse and a Family Practice health care provider. This faculty member is interested in research and university, public, and professional service. This award is her sixth in this category; she has also completed an URSI project.

Joshua Fontenot, Instructor Mathematics, Endowed Professorship in Public Policy

Joshua Fontenot holds a Master of Science in Mathematics from McNeese State University.  He received his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education Mathematics from McNeese in 2003.  He has currently been teaching courses in mathematics at LSU Eunice since 2005.  Joshua has just been approved for an LEQSF grant for tutoring in mathematics at LSU Eunice.  His endowed professorship award will be used to help fund the tutoring lab.

The following donors have made awards and specified how the award money is to be used:

• Two Lafayette General Memorial Center Endowed Professorships, awarded for nursing;
• The Opelousas General Hospital Endowed Professorship, awarded for science in support of nursing;
• The Fritz Lang Endowed Professorship, awarded for science in support of agriculture;
• The BellSouth, Atmos Energy, CenturyTel, CLECO, Entergy Louisiana Endowed Professorship, awarded for public policy;
• Two Distinguished Endowed Professorships in Science, Health/Safety or Economics

Past Endowed Professorship Recipients