Introduction

This growth represents both an opportunity and an ever-evolving challenge for our college. We continue to work to keep pace with this burgeoning student population, with a clear demand for quality, diverse instructors to meet students’ instructional needs, support staff to help advise and guide students throughout their academic journey, and the modern infrastructure necessary to recruit and retain high-quality teaching faculty and researchers. The Our Lady of the Lake Health Interdisciplinary Science Building represents a vital first step in addressing these needs, with partners and supporters recently helping to fully fund the facility’s construction that will provide for interdisciplinary and high-impact collaboration across academic disciplines, research efforts, and public-private partnerships. We must build on this major accomplishment in working with LSU and external partners to further invest in the infrastructure that enables and elevates the college’s impact – from large-scale facilities to individual research laboratories.

Our Louisiana economy continues to evolve; we must position our college to contribute directly to this evolution and our state’s economic success, from research and service to directing our graduates to opportunities that enable them to stay in Louisiana and be part of this future impact. Major transitions are currently underway in sectors like energy, which will need an 80% increase in graduates of related fields to meet industry growth in the coming decades, and space science, as the world’s second space race continues to evolve, fueled by the proliferation of orbiting commercial and intelligence technology. Other huge
opportunities await in areas like data science, biomedicine, materials science, ecosystem interdependence, extreme environments ranging from plant tolerance to life on Mars, and other interdisciplinary programs that can bring together departments and colleges to address the world’s
grandest challenges in science – right from LSU’s campus, with the College of Science at the nucleus of this work.

Our college’s success is heavily supported and enabled
by our culture of philanthropy, with dedicated alumni,
industry partners, and even active faculty committed to
major gifts that have a meaningful impact on students,
research, and service across the college. We will continue to prioritize this culture and demonstrate to our supporters the significant role their partnership serves in elevating our college’s work. The same holds true for all those on whom we rely and with whom we collaborate – including other colleges and universities, funding agencies, industry partners, and communities throughout Louisiana and beyond. The future of our college will prioritize collaboration and interdisciplinarity at all levels and across all three pillars of LSU’s land-grant mission.

The aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt by many, contributing to an ever-increasing demand for mental health and other programs and services that help our students feel supported throughout their college experience – from onboarding as new students, to collaborating with and learning from others in our community, to seamlessly and intentionally offboarding our graduates into new careers or to continue their academic journey. Student needs are rapidly evolving with a very different profile of students entering college today and varying levels of college readiness when students arrive on campus. Our faculty and staff are navigating similar challenges in overall well-being and appropriate staffing and support to continue meeting the growing needs of all those we serve. As a university and college, we have focused on building an environment prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels. This commitment will remain true and of paramount importance to how we build and maintain an environment where all our employees, students, and stakeholders feel a true sense of belonging and can do their best work – both within the college and beyond as we develop scientific and societal solutions that meet the needs of the world around us.

As we think about our future as a college, we recognize
the tremendous opportunity in front of us to reinforce
our college’s position as a preeminent scientific resource that leads in both discovery and education in new and exciting ways. We are prepared to seize this opportunity as we continue building upon our legacy of excellence and innovation and setting the foundation of success for the next generation of STEM leaders in our state, nation, and world.