Editing Louisiana Tech University (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Louisiana Tech University}}

===Early years===
[[File:Hale Hall Louisiana Tech.jpg|right|thumb|Hale Hall, once a men's dormitory, is now the home of the Louisiana Tech School of Architecture & Office of Admissions.]]
'''Ruston College''', a forerunner to Louisiana Tech, was established in the middle 1880s by [[W. C. Friley]], a [[Southern Baptist]] pastor. This institution lasted for seven years and had annual enrollments of about 250 students.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOcxAQAAMAAJ&q=W.+C.+Friley+and+Vienna%2C+LA&pg=PA242|title=Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Louisiana|year=1892|publisher=[[Chicago]]: The Godspeed Company, 1892, p. 242|access-date=August 3, 2013}}</ref> Friley subsequently from 1892 to 1894 served as the first president of [[Hardin–Simmons University]] in [[Abilene, Texas]], and from 1909 to 1910, as the second president of [[Louisiana College]] in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]].

On May 14, 1894, the [[Lincoln Parish, Louisiana|Lincoln Parish]] Police Jury held a special session to outline plans to secure a regional industrial school. The police jury (a body similar to a county court or county commission in other states) called upon [[Louisiana State Legislature|State Representative]] [[George M. Lomax]] to introduce the proposed legislation during the upcoming session. Representative Lomax, [[Jackson Parish, Louisiana|Jackson Parish]] Representative J. T. M. Hancock, and journalist, lawyer, and future judge John B. Holstead fought for the passage of the bill. On July 6, 1894, the proposed bill was approved as Act No. 68 of the General Assembly of Louisiana.<ref name="Louisiana1897"/> The act established "The Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana", an industrial institute created for the education of white children in the arts and sciences.<ref name="Louisiana1897"/>

In 1894, [[Colonel]] [[Arthur T. Prescott]] was elected as the first president of the college. He moved to Ruston and began overseeing the construction of a two-story main building. The brick building housed eight large classrooms, an auditorium, a chemical laboratory, and two offices. A frame building was also built nearby and was used for the instruction of mechanics. The main building was located on a plot of {{convert|20|acre|m2}} that was donated to the school by Francis P. Stubbs. On September 23, 1895, the school started its first session with six faculty members and 202 students.

In May 1897, Harry Howard became the first graduate. Colonel Prescott awarded him with a Bachelor of Industry degree, but there was no formal commencement. The first formal commencement was held in the Ruston Opera House the following May with ten graduates receiving their diplomas.

Article 256 of the 1898 state constitution changed the school's name to Louisiana Industrial Institute.<ref name="Louisiana1898">{{cite book|author=Louisiana|title=Constitution of the State of Louisiana: May 12, 1898|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=97ESAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA100|access-date=June 23, 2011|year=1898|publisher=H. J. Hearsey, convention printer|page=100}}</ref> Two years later, the course of study was reorganized into two years of preparatory work and three years of college level courses. Students who were high school graduates were admitted to the seventh quarter (college level) of study without examination. As years went by, courses changed and admissions requirements tightened. From 1917 to 1925, several curricula were organized according to the junior college standards and were offered leading to the Bachelor of Industry degree. In 1919, the Board of Trustees enlarged the curricula and started granting a standard baccalaureate degree. The first of these was granted on June 15, 1921, a [[Bachelor of Science in Engineering]].

The Constitution adopted June 18, 1921, changed the name of the school in Article XII, Section 9, from Louisiana Industrial Institute to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute,<ref name="LouisianaWolff1921">{{cite book|author1=Louisiana|author2=Solomon Wolff|title=Constitution of the state of Louisiana: June 18, 1921|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVMbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA224|access-date=June 23, 2011|year=1921|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|page=224}}</ref> or "Louisiana Tech" for short.

===Expansion===
[[File:Keeny Hall from the Lady of the Mist.jpg|left|thumb|Keeny Hall: Administrative building dates to the middle 1930s; designed, along with several other Tech buildings by architect [[Edward F. Neild]] of [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]].]]
The Main Building, also known as Old Main, burned to the ground in December 1936,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Dailey |first1=Barbara Pfister |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fhJNTyiVQc0C |title=Ruston |last2=Pfister |first2=Pamela J. |last3=Pfister |first3=Pamela |date=2000 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-0584-8 |language=en}}</ref> but the columns that marked the entrance remain in place behind Prescott Memorial Library. By June 1936, construction on a new administration building had begun. On completion in January 1937, it was named Leche Hall in honor of then [[governor of Louisiana|Governor]] [[Richard W. Leche]] of [[New Orleans]]. The building was renamed after the death of former university president, [[J. E. Keeny]], and remains the remodeled Keeny Hall.

Louisiana Polytechnic Institute experienced an infrastructure growth spurt in 1939 and 1940. Seven buildings were designed by architect [[Edward F. Neild]] and completed at a cost of $2,054,270. These were Aswell Hall (girls' dormitory), Robinson Hall (men's dormitory for juniors and seniors), Tolliver Hall (880-seat dining hall), Bogard Hall (the Engineering Building), the S.J. Wages Power Plant, Reese Agricultural Hall (located on the South Campus Tech Farm), and the Howard Auditorium & Fine Arts Building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eye20creativecorridor.com/parishes/lincoln-parish|title=Lincoln Parish|work=eye20creativecorridor.com|access-date=May 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710105646/http://eye20creativecorridor.com/parishes/lincoln-parish|archive-date=July 10, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During World War II, Louisiana Polytechnic Institute was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the [[V-12 Navy College Training Program]] which offered students a path to a Navy commission.<ref name="list-of-v-12">{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/115-8thND/115-8ND-23.html |title=U.S. Naval Administration in World War II |publisher=HyperWar Foundation |access-date=September 29, 2011 |year=2011}}</ref>

After World War II, old army barracks were used to construct the student union and bookstore. It was known as the "Tonk" because it resembled a honky tonk. The building was replaced 15 years later but its nickname remained.<ref name=":0" />

In 1959, four students were awarded the first master's degrees by the institution.

===University era===
[[File:Revised Wyly Tower of Learning in Ruston, LA IMG 5673.JPG|250px|thumb|The 16-story Wyly Tower of Learning, named for the benefactors [[Sam Wyly]] and [[Charles Wyly]], is the most prominent building on the Louisiana Tech campus in [[Ruston, Louisiana]]. It was designed by the [[Bastrop, Louisiana|Bastrop]] architect [[Hugh G. Parker Jr.]] Though the Wyly Tower is the landmark campus structure, the university is planning to have the structure razed to make way for a revised library facility. The tower has been cited for lack of ventilation, [[asbestos]], difficulty of providing fire protection, and stairwells do not exit to the exterior of the building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latech.edu/masterplan/graphics/wt_plan.pdf|title=Wyly Tower Replacement|publisher=latech.edu|access-date=April 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402223104/http://www.latech.edu/masterplan/graphics/wt_plan.pdf|archive-date=April 2, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

In 1962, Foster Jay Taylor became the 12th President of the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, having succeeded [[Ralph L. Ropp]]. During his twenty-five years at president, Dr. Taylor oversaw the transformation of the former Louisiana Polytechnic Institute into Louisiana Tech University. The university's enrollment grew from about 3,000 students in 1962 to roughly 12,000 students in 1987. The first African-American students at Louisiana Tech, James Earl Potts (a transfer student from the nearby [[HBCU]] [[Grambling State University]]) and Bertha Bradford-Robinson, were admitted in the spring of 1965.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/education/2016/11/09/louisiana-tech-announces-creation-james-earl-potts-and-bertha-bradford-robinson-scholarship/93553354/|title=Louisiana Tech announces the creation of James Earl Potts and Bertha Bradford-Robinson Scholarship }}</ref>

Most of the modern buildings on the Main Campus were either built or renovated during Taylor's tenure as university president. The main athletic facilities were constructed during the Taylor Era including [[Joe Aillet Stadium]], the [[Thomas Assembly Center]], [[J.C. Love Field]], and the Lady Techster Softball Complex. In addition to the athletic facilities, the 16-story Wyly Tower, Student Bookstore, Nethken Hall ([[Electrical Engineering]] building), the University President's House, and the current College of Business Building were built on the Main Campus. In order to house the increasing student body of Louisiana Tech, Dr. Taylor led the construction of Graham, Harper, Kidd, Caruthers, and Neilson residence halls.

Taylor's time as Louisiana Tech president also marked the beginning of Lady Techster athletics. In 1974, Taylor established the [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball|Lady Techsters women's basketball]] program with a $5,000 appropriation. He hired [[Sonja Hogg]], a 28-year-old PE instructor at [[Ruston High School]], as the Lady Techsters' first head coach. Under Coach Hogg and her successor [[Leon Barmore]], the Lady Techsters won three National Championships during the 1980s.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065541/1/index.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121202230032/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1065541/1/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 2, 2012 |title=Belles Of The Ball |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=August 2, 2009 |date=November 19, 1986 }}</ref> In 1980, Dr. Taylor founded the [[Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters softball|Lady Techster Softball]] team with Barry Canterbury serving as the team's first head coach. The team made seven straight teams to the NCAA softball tournament and three trips to the [[Women's College World Series]] during the 1980s.

The first doctorate was awarded in 1971, a [[PhD]] in [[chemical engineering]].

In 1992, Louisiana Tech became a "selective admissions" university. This university has increased their admissions criteria four times since 2000 by raising the minimum overall grade point average, composite ACT score, and class ranking.

Louisiana Tech has earned recognition from the [[Louisiana Board of Regents]] for its graduation rate and retention rate. According to a report of the Louisiana Board of Regents published in December 2011, Louisiana Tech has the second-highest graduation rate among the fourteen public universities in the state of Louisiana. The 53.3% 6-year graduation rate is the highest in the [[University of Louisiana System]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://as400.regents.state.la.us/pdfs/grate/grs0405.pdf|title=2011 Board of Regents Graduation Rate report|website=state.la.us|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825182933/http://as400.regents.state.la.us/pdfs/grate/grs0405.pdf|archive-date=August 25, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Louisiana Tech has a 78.64% retention rate among incoming freshmen who stay with the same school after the first year, the top rate in the University of Louisiana System.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://as400.regents.state.la.us/pdfs/ssps/fall10/spsretn210.pdf|title=Board of Regents Retention Rate Report|website=state.la.us|access-date=May 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030650/http://as400.regents.state.la.us/pdfs/ssps/fall10/spsretn210.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The average time-to-degree ratio for Tech's graduates is 4.7 years, the fastest in the UL System.<ref>http://www.regents.doa.louisiana.gov/assets/docs/Data/TTD/2010-2011/TTDRPT20.PDF {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Louisiana Tech became the first in the world to confer a Bachelor of Science degree in [[nanosystems engineering]] when Josh Brown earned his degree in May 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.latech.edu/2007/06/25/first-nanosystems-engineering-major-to-be-commended/|title=First nanosystems engineering major to be commended|work=latech.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610053221/http://news.latech.edu/2007/06/25/first-nanosystems-engineering-major-to-be-commended/|archive-date=June 10, 2010}}</ref> Continuing its mission as an engineering pioneer, Louisiana Tech also launched the nation's first cyber engineering BS degree in 2012.

{{as of|2017|May|}}, Louisiana Tech has awarded more than 100,900 degrees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/local-news/la-tech-celebrates-100000th-graduate/|title=La Tech celebrates 100,000th graduate|date=May 20, 2017|access-date=August 13, 2019|archive-date=August 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813192654/https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/local-news/la-tech-celebrates-100000th-graduate/|url-status=dead}}</ref>